I'm not opposed to digital - my Steam and GOG libraries attest to that, not to mention my XBLA games stuck on my 360 - but I am opposed to the contraction of choice.
People like physical things. It's nice to have a physical copy of your favourite book, film, album, game. People also like choice. If I want to pay extra for a physical release, why not give me that choice?
I love the Vita - I have three of them: an OLED and two slims (one is a Japanese model in a nice light-blue colour).
Sony gave up on it far too early. It had the power to do some truly impressive stuff, but it's a classic example of excellent hardware without the software support. There are quite a few decent Vita games to be had, though, so it's not as if it's a dead weight, it's just that the library deserved to be much bigger.
However, if you've never owned one today you can pick up a boxed example very cheaply and put custom firmware on it.
CFW really opens up the device. You can use SD2Vita cards that let you use SD cards instead of the Sony cards. You can find all sorts of homebrew and ports. You can install custom mods to tailor the device how you like and/or fix various issues like stick-drift or the colours on the LCD models. The Adrenaline emulator turns the Vita into a pumped PSP - playing PSP games at the Vita's resolution (which is exactly 2x the PSPs) looks amazing. And then there's pkgj.
Additionally you can buy all sorts of accessories for the Vita on AliExpress. Screen protectors, grips, L2 R2 triggers, cases (including cases that can accomodate the Vita in its grip). You can get all sorts of more convenient charging options from hardware soldering mods to simple plug and play USB to Vita type cables. Parts are also available if you need to replace sticks, buttons, or batteries.
One thing I've wondered is why the powers that be adopted the word piracy for the unauthorised copying and distribution of material.
Not only is the offence nothing like real-world piracy, in the culture pirates are, and have been, cool for decades.
I do feel a bit for Sandy, though. In his later years my dad suffered from severe mental decline - and eventually dementia. Only in retrospect were the warning signs apparent. Starting in his early 70s he'd make up stuff that he'd done, take credit for things he hadn't, and generally misremember events, and/or blame people for historic slights that never were. I have no idea if those signs had been recognised earlier if anything could have been done.
@no_donatello Neither of them were developed by or published by 3DO.
This is what makes me wonder what rights have been bought up, except for the name and possibly some games nobody wants. I believe even the hardware was sold off back in the day.
As technically brilliant and influential as Quake is, the Quake games never really did it for me in the same way as Doom, Duke 3D, Unreal, and Half-Life did.
I did enjoy Quake 3 Arena, but I think that was more for the social aspects of fragging my friends at LAN parties (remember those?!).
Even today they aren't games I go back to. Something like NOLF or the first Red Faction is more likely to get my attention.
I don't know who was in charge of reviews at Sonic the Comic, but those scores are all over the place!
Gunstar Heroes - 80% Shinobi 3 - 85% Landstalker - 80% (Includes the telltale sign that the reviewer never really played the game: criticising the long intro). Jungle Strike - 85% Final Fight - 75% Cosmic Spacehead - 90% Robo Aleste - 75%
As a dyed-in-the-wool Sega fanboy I can honestly say... I've never liked Sonic! For all of their impressive graphics and speed, I always felt the 16-bit Sonic games lacked depth and lacked control. I never liked the 90s "Attitude" of the character either.
I own both of the Dreamcast outings, but never really got on with them. After that I didn't pay much attention. Somehow Sonic Generations ended up in my Steam library, but I haven't played that.
There is one exception, however: Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed! That game is absolutely awesome!
@Guru_Larry Donnington was the European GP for 1993. There was supposed to be an event in Japan, but it was cancelled and Donnington got to host an event.
I think Bernie Ecclestone was fairly keen for Donnington to host to send a rocket up Silverstone's backside. There were always a lot of complaints about Silverstone's lack of investment and the general crapiness of the facilities.
It was a bit of a surprising announcement; I was expecting a Commodore-themed tablet or something like that.
I do get why the newly-resurrected Commodore are doing this, though. The brand/company isn't going to survive on nostalgia alone. There's a cap on how many people want a C64 (or Amiga, if that happens) who don't already have a solution or are prepared to buy something new in addition to what they have. So that means new products.
Whether or not this will be a huge success is anyone's guess. Let's say they've done some market research and estimated there's a world-wide market for about 5,000 of these. At $500 a pop that's sales of... checks maths... $2,500,000. If you have all the supply chains, manufacturing, marketing and all the rest of it ready to go it's worth a roll of the dice.
I haven't played a train game in... wow... well over 40 years at this point.
We had two on the Beeb. Southern Belle and I want to say Eastern Star. Southern Belle was particularly memorable as it was the London to Brighton line I travelled on a lot, and featured some of the real world landmarks including Battersea Power Station.
What still stands out to me is that both games played out in real time, so chugging along at 30 mph it would take two hours to do the complete journey! I wish I had that sort of focus/concentration power now. I reckon if I can stay on task for 40 minutes or so now I'm doing ok.
@Deuteros You probably want something with a bit more poke for N64 and Dreamcast. The Cube XX can play both, but the harder-to-emulate titles won't be full speed.
My current go to device is the TrimUI Smart Pro S. That does N64 and Dreamcast almost flawlessly, with the occasional dips. It can also do a good deal of PSP. I did need to buy a grip for it to make it more comfortable to use.
Another couple of options that reviewed well - but I don't have either - are the Mangmi Air X and the Ayaneo Pocket Air Mini. They both float around the $100 mark and are more powerful than the TrimUI. Both are Android based and will require a bit more setup, which can be a put off.
12 months ago there were a lot of decent options in the $150-$200 range that would have been ideal. But what with RAM prices etc. that mid-range market has practically vanished and the next step up is around $200-$250, which is a big jump. If you can find them on sale the Retroid Pocket 5 and Flip 2 are good shouts, although it might be worth spending the little bit extra on the Pocket 6.
For me going above about $250 isn't worth it. I made that mistake with the Odin 2. It was so expensive that I don't really like taking it out of the house and although it's a very capable machine it turns out that I'd much rather play PS2 and Gamecube on a big screen, with my other handhelds for everything else, so it doesn't get used very much.
Another option to consider is a controller for your phone. I've got a couple of good ones from Game Sir and Abxylute. I do prefer the bespoke handhelds, but if I've got a phone with me most of the time anyway taking a controller isn't too much extra bother.
As a speaker of only one language - English, and that poorly - I can't comment on the quality of translations. But isn't there an additional technical constraint that the translation has to fit in the space occupied by the original text or else you get allsorts of overflows and crashes?
The real villain of the piece is the Trade Mark system itself. I think most people would think it's reasonable to protect a company or product from competitors, imposters, or those seeking to profit from an established name. But as is usually the case, the law is an arse and far too permissive in the favour of the TM holder.
If you want to see some examples of real Trade Mark trolling, checkout the antics of any big global brand. They go after people that no reasonable person would consider fair or appropriate.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. "
@Gravyc I suddenly understand why you and people like you hate AI so much. It has rumbled the game. It has exposed the so-called “creative industries” for what they really are: populated by zero-talent grifters who have spent the last decades churning out low-quality, tool-assisted, corporate rubbish and called it “Art” and themselves “Artists”. All the while stealing other people’s work and justifying it as “inspiration”.
No wonder you’re all so fearful. Along comes AI. It plays by exactly the same rules as you do, but can do it faster, better, cheaper. You can see the gravy train drying up, the trough emptying. AI levels the field and makes you redundant. Obsolete, in fact.
The sweetest part of it all is that you did it to yourselves. Every single one of you who accepted a wage over a commission is to blame. Every single one of you who promulgated the lie that “inspiration” is “Art” is to blame.
The Banksy age is over. It won’t be missed. We’re all Banksy now.
@Hexapus Not even remotely? So no triangles or wings in a certain configuration? You could have fooled me.
I'm arguing for consistency in how we criticise multi-billion dollar corporations. I'm not saying that the AI wasn't influenced by the Triforce symbol, but that the Triforce symbol is at best a pastiche of other works, forms and styles, none of which Nintendo created. So when you say the AI generated a 1:1 facsimile of the symbol (it didn't, by the way), I say it created a derivative work in exactly the same way Nintendo did.
Bored? Far from it. We're living in an unprecedented time. No humans before us (as far as we know, anyway) have ever experienced anything like AI. The potential, the dangers, the ethics - it's a fascinating topic. AI is here, though, and I truly believe the only way we're going to navigate the future is by discussing it. What we should not lose sight of, however, is that the world wasn't all milk and honey before it arrived, especially when we're talking about multi-billion dollar companies and their practices.
@Hexapus Well let's consider the rest of the design. What I can see is a stylised eagle. Those have appeared in countless cultures around the world from the distant past to the current day, so I don't think Nintendo can claim any ownership of that either.
I will concede that Nintendo may have created a derivative work... but I think the Freemasons got there first!
@Bot_Bot_69 It doesn't really matter either way. The substantive point is: You cannot be accused of plagiarising Nintendo's "work" if Nintendo did not, in fact, create that "work".
@Thad I just happen to think we should be consistent in our criticism of mega-corporations. If the claim is plagiarism then Nintendo has no more right to the Triforce than anybody else, including AI.
Ah, but even the Triforce is a rip off of the Hojo clan's family crest.
"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9
@Deuteros The Morph 2K will work fine with your 4K (or likely u-HD) TV.
Here's my understanding of the state of play:
There's a lot of FUD and confusion about upscaling. But really it's all about taking a small image (say 240p) and blowing it up fast enough so it looks good on a modern display. That's the magic of the upscaler - it does this and more besides - very fast.
TVs have their own built-in upscalers, but they aren't optimised for old video game consoles (and most new TVs don't support legacy AV connectors). What they are good at is taking a 720p or 1080p feed and upscaling that signal to something bigger. In the case of 1080p to 2160p (or U-HD or consumer 4k) it's simply a cheap doubling operation that adds practically zero latency.
So the benefit of a 4k upscaler is that it avoids the TVs upscaler entirely. So what you really need to consider is input options (sources supported), output options (scanlines, glow, picture adjustments etc), latency, and how much you want to spend.
For what it's worth I currently use a Mcbazel ODV-GBS-C, which is < £80, for my Mega Drive and PS2. I have no complaints on a 4k(U-HD) display.
"I had fully expected the language barrier to present problems"
As I get older I'm starting to question some of my life choices. I suspect I'm like other people in that I've spent the last 35 odd years wanting to play some Japanese games, but couldn't due to the language barrier. So why is it it that I spent precisely 0 of those years learning the language? You'd think 35 years would be more than enough time to become fluent, and probably a lot less than that.
@-wc- "You are in control of how many games you download, and which games, specifically!"
While this is undoubtedly true, it took me an almost embarrassingly long time to realise that truth. When I first got in to emulation I downloaded full rom sets for just about every system I could find. The state of rom dumps and collections at the time meant this included bad dumps, hacks, multiple regions and so on. So many games, yet so few of them played - and a lot of the games I did play were only for a few minutes each at best.
My advice for anyone who wants to start emulating, but doesn't know where to begin is:
1) Start with games you remember from the past.
2) Seek out top x games for system y lists. These can reveal some true classics.
3) Have a look at some properly curated retro collections (eg Taito Legends). The best of these have gem after gem.
4) See if you can find a "Let's play..." community. Not only will you find great games you've never heard of, but I find it's more fun to play a game with other people either competitively or just for fun.
5) Have a hunt through magazine archives to see what was well reviewed at the time. I've found lots of games this way.
6) Don't overload yourself. I suggest having a list of 5-10 games that you're actually going to play is more than enough for most people. Some games you're just going to keep going back to, so you can put those on your keepers list and cycle something else into your list of games to try.
If this comes to anything, which I doubt, it'll be a lazy Christmas market thing. Something you get for that older male relative who's difficult to buy for.
I remember years and years ago wandering the North Laines in Brighton and happening across a fantasy/sci-fi shop, a bit like a Forbidden Planet but more shabby-chic. Inside was a complete treasure trove of fantasy books, artwork, models, figurines, games, trinkets and pretty much you name it.
Anyway, amongst those treasures was a complete set of Steve Jackson's Sorcery! illustrated by John Blanche, which I snapped up for about £7. An absolute steal given how much they go for now.
@Sketcz Amazing! A mystery solved... but with many questions!
What was the deal with all the secrecy? That episode of Bad Influence went out on 8th December 1992, two weeks after Sonic 2sDay. I guess the Japan feature was recorded well in advance, so maybe Sega were genuinely concerned about leaks? Or maybe Bad Influence was just trying to be cool?
I thought the GG and MS versions of Sonic 2 were developed by a different company than Sega. Makes me wonder how closely Sega worked with its partners give our man Hiroshi seems to be heavily involved and gets a "thanks" in the credits.
Why show Bad Influence the GG and/or MS version of the game? Secrecy again? Giving Bad Influence the fob-off? Maybe Hiroshi was the only person available or willing on the day?
Anyway, thanks very much @Sketcz for digging into this! Big thanks to your contact as well. I feel we've uncovered a bit of gaming archaeology that may otherwise have been lost to time.
I still rate the Taito Legends collections as some of the best value retro compilations. I picked them both up for PS2 on ebay still shrink-wrapped for £5 each. That's where I first played Cameltry, although as I recall it wasn't compatible with the paddle controller in the special version of Cleopatra Fortune for PS1.
I must get around to getting some sort of paddle affair for my PC, then I can MAME it.
Comments 342
Re: Random: "This Is Cringeworthy" - Commodore's Callback 8020 Holster Gets Ridiculed By Fans
When the phone was announced I thought it was something Gareth from The Office would have... Now the holster is out!
Re: Hands On: I Was Already Excited About Truxton Extreme, But Playing It On A Next-Gen Cinema Screen Is Something Else
Truxton!
My first introduction to it was via Mark from Classic Game Room. His enthusiasm for it rubbed off on me, but it's devilishly hard.
This sequel looks amazing.
Re: "Like Having A Dead Body Handcuffed To You" - Co-Founder Of Codemasters Predicted The Death Of Physical Media 13 Years Ago
I'm not opposed to digital - my Steam and GOG libraries attest to that, not to mention my XBLA games stuck on my 360 - but I am opposed to the contraction of choice.
People like physical things. It's nice to have a physical copy of your favourite book, film, album, game. People also like choice. If I want to pay extra for a physical release, why not give me that choice?
Re: "Instead Of The Vita, We Should've Made PSP 2" - Shawn Layden Sticks It To Sony's Last Handheld
I love the Vita - I have three of them: an OLED and two slims (one is a Japanese model in a nice light-blue colour).
Sony gave up on it far too early. It had the power to do some truly impressive stuff, but it's a classic example of excellent hardware without the software support. There are quite a few decent Vita games to be had, though, so it's not as if it's a dead weight, it's just that the library deserved to be much bigger.
However, if you've never owned one today you can pick up a boxed example very cheaply and put custom firmware on it.
CFW really opens up the device. You can use SD2Vita cards that let you use SD cards instead of the Sony cards. You can find all sorts of homebrew and ports. You can install custom mods to tailor the device how you like and/or fix various issues like stick-drift or the colours on the LCD models. The Adrenaline emulator turns the Vita into a pumped PSP - playing PSP games at the Vita's resolution (which is exactly 2x the PSPs) looks amazing. And then there's pkgj.
Additionally you can buy all sorts of accessories for the Vita on AliExpress. Screen protectors, grips, L2 R2 triggers, cases (including cases that can accomodate the Vita in its grip). You can get all sorts of more convenient charging options from hardware soldering mods to simple plug and play USB to Vita type cables. Parts are also available if you need to replace sticks, buttons, or batteries.
I thoroughly recommend getting one.
Re: Sega's Crazy Taxi Spins Its Wheels Thanks To Another GenAI Kerfuffle
The anti AI folk: Will nobody think of the real artists!
Marketing people: This AI stuff is way quicker than Photoshop!
Re: "Not The Same Thing" - John Romero Challenges DOOM Designer's Claim Piracy Indirectly "Gutted" id
One thing I've wondered is why the powers that be adopted the word piracy for the unauthorised copying and distribution of material.
Not only is the offence nothing like real-world piracy, in the culture pirates are, and have been, cool for decades.
I do feel a bit for Sandy, though. In his later years my dad suffered from severe mental decline - and eventually dementia. Only in retrospect were the warning signs apparent. Starting in his early 70s he'd make up stuff that he'd done, take credit for things he hadn't, and generally misremember events, and/or blame people for historic slights that never were. I have no idea if those signs had been recognised earlier if anything could have been done.
I hope that isn't the case for Sandy.
Re: 3DO's New Owner "Working Carefully Through Complexities" To Return To The Hardware Arena
@slider1983 I'm just waiting for the crowd funding options 😉
Re: 3DO's New Owner "Working Carefully Through Complexities" To Return To The Hardware Arena
This all has an Alejandro Martin whiff to it.
Re: "The Return Of A Legend" - 3DO Might Be Returning As An Independent Game Company
@no_donatello Neither of them were developed by or published by 3DO.
This is what makes me wonder what rights have been bought up, except for the name and possibly some games nobody wants. I believe even the hardware was sold off back in the day.
Re: "The Return Of A Legend" - 3DO Might Be Returning As An Independent Game Company
Even if you include games published by the 3DO company for other systems, what remains of licences must surely be some pretty thin gruel.
Re: Nintendo On Drugs, No TV Until '76 And Rampant Piracy - How South Africa's Crazy Video Game History Shaped Me As A Gamer
A fascinating read - the sort of thing you can't get from more mainstream sources!
Re: "There Are A Hundred Things We Could Have Done Differently" - Quake's Creators Reflect On The "Grim Cost" Of The Classic FPS
As technically brilliant and influential as Quake is, the Quake games never really did it for me in the same way as Doom, Duke 3D, Unreal, and Half-Life did.
I did enjoy Quake 3 Arena, but I think that was more for the social aspects of fragging my friends at LAN parties (remember those?!).
Even today they aren't games I go back to. Something like NOLF or the first Red Faction is more likely to get my attention.
Re: The Making Of Tomb Raider 1997 - 2000 To Chart "Pivotal Period" In The Legendary Series
@metaphysician The same publisher does other books on video game related topics, of equal or longer length, in full colour for far less.
By the way, don't expect this to be a big coffee table book. It isn't.
Re: The Making Of Tomb Raider 1997 - 2000 To Chart "Pivotal Period" In The Legendary Series
Is today "International Ludicrously Expensive Retro Stuff Day"?
$99 repro carts of Sonic.
$400 dumbphones
£14 Atari magazines
and now £35 for a ~250 page book?
What's going on?
Re: "I No Longer Wish To Spend My Limited Free Time Dealing With Negativity" - Sega Mania Kills Sonic The Comic AI Fan Remaster
I don't know who was in charge of reviews at Sonic the Comic, but those scores are all over the place!
Gunstar Heroes - 80%
Shinobi 3 - 85%
Landstalker - 80% (Includes the telltale sign that the reviewer never really played the game: criticising the long intro).
Jungle Strike - 85%
Final Fight - 75%
Cosmic Spacehead - 90%
Robo Aleste - 75%
Re: Retroid Announces The Retroid Pocket Nova, A New 4:3 "Modern OLED" Handheld
If we know one thing about Retroid: if there's a way to muck something up, Retroid will muck it up.
Re: Game Changer: Sonic The Hedgehog - 35 Years Ago, A Short-But-Sweet Love Affair Was Born
As a dyed-in-the-wool Sega fanboy I can honestly say... I've never liked Sonic! For all of their impressive graphics and speed, I always felt the 16-bit Sonic games lacked depth and lacked control. I never liked the 90s "Attitude" of the character either.
I own both of the Dreamcast outings, but never really got on with them. After that I didn't pay much attention. Somehow Sonic Generations ended up in my Steam library, but I haven't played that.
There is one exception, however: Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed! That game is absolutely awesome!
Re: Flashback: The Day Sega Took Over An F1 Race, And Ayrton Senna Lifted A Sonic Trophy
@Guru_Larry Donnington was the European GP for 1993. There was supposed to be an event in Japan, but it was cancelled and Donnington got to host an event.
I think Bernie Ecclestone was fairly keen for Donnington to host to send a rocket up Silverstone's backside. There were always a lot of complaints about Silverstone's lack of investment and the general crapiness of the facilities.
Re: Random Game Saturday: Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PlayStation)
If I've played Silver Star and Eternal Blue on the Mega-CD and wanted to replay them, is it worth playing the PSX versions over the Mega-CD?
Re: "This Isn't Your Granny's Flip Phone" - Commodore Defends Its $500 Dumbphone
It was a bit of a surprising announcement; I was expecting a Commodore-themed tablet or something like that.
I do get why the newly-resurrected Commodore are doing this, though. The brand/company isn't going to survive on nostalgia alone. There's a cap on how many people want a C64 (or Amiga, if that happens) who don't already have a solution or are prepared to buy something new in addition to what they have. So that means new products.
Whether or not this will be a huge success is anyone's guess. Let's say they've done some market research and estimated there's a world-wide market for about 5,000 of these. At $500 a pop that's sales of... checks maths... $2,500,000. If you have all the supply chains, manufacturing, marketing and all the rest of it ready to go it's worth a roll of the dice.
Re: Developer Of Densha De Go "Tribute" Admits To Using AI, Considers Halting The Project Over "Online Hate & Accusations"
I haven't played a train game in... wow... well over 40 years at this point.
We had two on the Beeb. Southern Belle and I want to say Eastern Star. Southern Belle was particularly memorable as it was the London to Brighton line I travelled on a lot, and featured some of the real world landmarks including Battersea Power Station.
What still stands out to me is that both games played out in real time, so chugging along at 30 mph it would take two hours to do the complete journey! I wish I had that sort of focus/concentration power now. I reckon if I can stay on task for 40 minutes or so now I'm doing ok.
Re: Review: Super Pocket Rare Edition - Banjo-Kazooie Alone Makes This A Must-Buy At £50
@Deuteros No problem. Happy gaming! 👍
Re: Review: Super Pocket Rare Edition - Banjo-Kazooie Alone Makes This A Must-Buy At £50
@Deuteros You probably want something with a bit more poke for N64 and Dreamcast. The Cube XX can play both, but the harder-to-emulate titles won't be full speed.
My current go to device is the TrimUI Smart Pro S. That does N64 and Dreamcast almost flawlessly, with the occasional dips. It can also do a good deal of PSP. I did need to buy a grip for it to make it more comfortable to use.
Another couple of options that reviewed well - but I don't have either - are the Mangmi Air X and the Ayaneo Pocket Air Mini. They both float around the $100 mark and are more powerful than the TrimUI. Both are Android based and will require a bit more setup, which can be a put off.
12 months ago there were a lot of decent options in the $150-$200 range that would have been ideal. But what with RAM prices etc. that mid-range market has practically vanished and the next step up is around $200-$250, which is a big jump. If you can find them on sale the Retroid Pocket 5 and Flip 2 are good shouts, although it might be worth spending the little bit extra on the Pocket 6.
For me going above about $250 isn't worth it. I made that mistake with the Odin 2. It was so expensive that I don't really like taking it out of the house and although it's a very capable machine it turns out that I'd much rather play PS2 and Gamecube on a big screen, with my other handhelds for everything else, so it doesn't get used very much.
Another option to consider is a controller for your phone. I've got a couple of good ones from Game Sir and Abxylute. I do prefer the bespoke handhelds, but if I've got a phone with me most of the time anyway taking a controller isn't too much extra bother.
Hope that has given you some ideas!
Re: Romhack.ing Disables AI-Translated Patch Downloads Following Langrisser V Upset
As a speaker of only one language - English, and that poorly - I can't comment on the quality of translations. But isn't there an additional technical constraint that the translation has to fit in the space occupied by the original text or else you get allsorts of overflows and crashes?
Re: Review: Super Pocket Rare Edition - Banjo-Kazooie Alone Makes This A Must-Buy At £50
@-wc- "On an unrelated note, I got an Anbernic RG Cube XX the other day and it's fantastic!"
An excellent choice, sir!
If you haven't already, I recommend putting the custom Knulli firmware on it.
Then buy Pico-8 and install on device.
Enjoy!
Re: 'Diggy Diggy Mole' Is "A New Metroid-Like NES Platformer" About A Mole With A Pickaxe Embedded In Its Skull
I don't know about anybody else, but that styrofoam block is a real deal maker.
The game? That looks pretty good too.
Re: "This Is From Zelda, If You Didn't Know" - Test Footage Highlights The Danger Of Using GenAI In Video Game Development
@Right_Said_Brett Well, let's talk about it then.
What do you mean by creativity?
Re: "We Have The Means To Fight This Case To The End" - Gaming's Most Infamous Trademark Troll Is Back
@ShawnsterOZ But Microsoft did sue a 17 year old Canadian for registering a domain called MikeRoweSoft dot com.
Re: "We Have The Means To Fight This Case To The End" - Gaming's Most Infamous Trademark Troll Is Back
The real villain of the piece is the Trade Mark system itself. I think most people would think it's reasonable to protect a company or product from competitors, imposters, or those seeking to profit from an established name. But as is usually the case, the law is an arse and far too permissive in the favour of the TM holder.
If you want to see some examples of real Trade Mark trolling, checkout the antics of any big global brand. They go after people that no reasonable person would consider fair or appropriate.
Re: "It Was Extremely Hard To Say Goodbye To Crash" - Naughty Dog Founder On That "Abysmal" Universal Studios Deal
If they gave him over 100 million dollars in the first few weeks, why didn't he just rent a better space?
Re: "This Is From Zelda, If You Didn't Know" - Test Footage Highlights The Danger Of Using GenAI In Video Game Development
@Bot_Bot_69 Define creation.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. "
Re: "This Is From Zelda, If You Didn't Know" - Test Footage Highlights The Danger Of Using GenAI In Video Game Development
@Gravyc I suddenly understand why you and people like you hate AI so much. It has rumbled the game. It has exposed the so-called “creative industries” for what they really are: populated by zero-talent grifters who have spent the last decades churning out low-quality, tool-assisted, corporate rubbish and called it “Art” and themselves “Artists”. All the while stealing other people’s work and justifying it as “inspiration”.
No wonder you’re all so fearful. Along comes AI. It plays by exactly the same rules as you do, but can do it faster, better, cheaper. You can see the gravy train drying up, the trough emptying. AI levels the field and makes you redundant. Obsolete, in fact.
The sweetest part of it all is that you did it to yourselves. Every single one of you who accepted a wage over a commission is to blame. Every single one of you who promulgated the lie that “inspiration” is “Art” is to blame.
The Banksy age is over. It won’t be missed. We’re all Banksy now.
Re: "This Is From Zelda, If You Didn't Know" - Test Footage Highlights The Danger Of Using GenAI In Video Game Development
@Hexapus Not even remotely? So no triangles or wings in a certain configuration? You could have fooled me.
I'm arguing for consistency in how we criticise multi-billion dollar corporations. I'm not saying that the AI wasn't influenced by the Triforce symbol, but that the Triforce symbol is at best a pastiche of other works, forms and styles, none of which Nintendo created. So when you say the AI generated a 1:1 facsimile of the symbol (it didn't, by the way), I say it created a derivative work in exactly the same way Nintendo did.
Bored? Far from it. We're living in an unprecedented time. No humans before us (as far as we know, anyway) have ever experienced anything like AI. The potential, the dangers, the ethics - it's a fascinating topic. AI is here, though, and I truly believe the only way we're going to navigate the future is by discussing it. What we should not lose sight of, however, is that the world wasn't all milk and honey before it arrived, especially when we're talking about multi-billion dollar companies and their practices.
Re: "This Is From Zelda, If You Didn't Know" - Test Footage Highlights The Danger Of Using GenAI In Video Game Development
@Hexapus Well let's consider the rest of the design. What I can see is a stylised eagle. Those have appeared in countless cultures around the world from the distant past to the current day, so I don't think Nintendo can claim any ownership of that either.
I will concede that Nintendo may have created a derivative work... but I think the Freemasons got there first!
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/17/6d/74/176d74833713a272ee778e2acb99e16b.jpg
Re: "This Is From Zelda, If You Didn't Know" - Test Footage Highlights The Danger Of Using GenAI In Video Game Development
@Bot_Bot_69 It doesn't really matter either way. The substantive point is: You cannot be accused of plagiarising Nintendo's "work" if Nintendo did not, in fact, create that "work".
Re: "This Is From Zelda, If You Didn't Know" - Test Footage Highlights The Danger Of Using GenAI In Video Game Development
@Thad I just happen to think we should be consistent in our criticism of mega-corporations. If the claim is plagiarism then Nintendo has no more right to the Triforce than anybody else, including AI.
Re: 'The Tetris Story' Aims To Chart The Incredible History Of "The One Game Nobody Can Ever Put Down"
Reminds me, I haven't seen Tetris: From Russia with Love for a long time. Might have to do that this evening.
Re: "This Is From Zelda, If You Didn't Know" - Test Footage Highlights The Danger Of Using GenAI In Video Game Development
Ah, but even the Triforce is a rip off of the Hojo clan's family crest.
"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 1:9
Re: Review: Pixel FX Morph 2K - For $200, This Is Amazing Value For Money
@Deuteros The Morph 2K will work fine with your 4K (or likely u-HD) TV.
Here's my understanding of the state of play:
There's a lot of FUD and confusion about upscaling. But really it's all about taking a small image (say 240p) and blowing it up fast enough so it looks good on a modern display. That's the magic of the upscaler - it does this and more besides - very fast.
TVs have their own built-in upscalers, but they aren't optimised for old video game consoles (and most new TVs don't support legacy AV connectors). What they are good at is taking a 720p or 1080p feed and upscaling that signal to something bigger. In the case of 1080p to 2160p (or U-HD or consumer 4k) it's simply a cheap doubling operation that adds practically zero latency.
So the benefit of a 4k upscaler is that it avoids the TVs upscaler entirely. So what you really need to consider is input options (sources supported), output options (scanlines, glow, picture adjustments etc), latency, and how much you want to spend.
For what it's worth I currently use a Mcbazel ODV-GBS-C, which is < £80, for my Mega Drive and PS2. I have no complaints on a 4k(U-HD) display.
Re: "How Embarrassing" - Sega's Getting Some Serious Blowback For Using GenAI In Crazy Taxi: World Tour
@Ducklizard When the Dot Com bubble burst it didn't take the Internet with it. Like it or not AI is with us...
... unless there's some sort of Butlerian Jihad.
Re: "How Embarrassing" - Sega's Getting Some Serious Blowback For Using GenAI In Crazy Taxi: World Tour
Well I'm still excited for the game, that trailer was awesome!
Re: Random Game Saturday: Langrisser III (Sega Saturn)
@smoreon I just might try that... check back with me in 35 years 😁
Re: Random Game Saturday: Langrisser III (Sega Saturn)
"I had fully expected the language barrier to present problems"
As I get older I'm starting to question some of my life choices. I suspect I'm like other people in that I've spent the last 35 odd years wanting to play some Japanese games, but couldn't due to the language barrier. So why is it it that I spent precisely 0 of those years learning the language? You'd think 35 years would be more than enough time to become fluent, and probably a lot less than that.
Re: "I Think They Are Missing A Trick" - Evercade Boss Says The Games Industry Is Failing Older Players
@-wc- "You are in control of how many games you download, and which games, specifically!"
While this is undoubtedly true, it took me an almost embarrassingly long time to realise that truth. When I first got in to emulation I downloaded full rom sets for just about every system I could find. The state of rom dumps and collections at the time meant this included bad dumps, hacks, multiple regions and so on. So many games, yet so few of them played - and a lot of the games I did play were only for a few minutes each at best.
My advice for anyone who wants to start emulating, but doesn't know where to begin is:
1) Start with games you remember from the past.
2) Seek out top x games for system y lists. These can reveal some true classics.
3) Have a look at some properly curated retro collections (eg Taito Legends). The best of these have gem after gem.
4) See if you can find a "Let's play..." community. Not only will you find great games you've never heard of, but I find it's more fun to play a game with other people either competitively or just for fun.
5) Have a hunt through magazine archives to see what was well reviewed at the time. I've found lots of games this way.
6) Don't overload yourself. I suggest having a list of 5-10 games that you're actually going to play is more than enough for most people. Some games you're just going to keep going back to, so you can put those on your keepers list and cycle something else into your list of games to try.
Re: Rumour: Sega Might Be Releasing A Low-Cost Handheld With Removable Game Carts
If this comes to anything, which I doubt, it'll be a lazy Christmas market thing. Something you get for that older male relative who's difficult to buy for.
Re: "The Best To Ever Do It" - Warhammer And Fighting Fantasy Artist John Blanche Has Died
I remember years and years ago wandering the North Laines in Brighton and happening across a fantasy/sci-fi shop, a bit like a Forbidden Planet but more shabby-chic. Inside was a complete treasure trove of fantasy books, artwork, models, figurines, games, trinkets and pretty much you name it.
Anyway, amongst those treasures was a complete set of Steve Jackson's Sorcery! illustrated by John Blanche, which I snapped up for about £7. An absolute steal given how much they go for now.
Re: "I Am Not Making Up This Story" - You Won't Believe What Yuji Naka Wanted To Call Billy Hatcher And The Giant Egg
@Sketcz Amazing! A mystery solved... but with many questions!
What was the deal with all the secrecy? That episode of Bad Influence went out on 8th December 1992, two weeks after Sonic 2sDay. I guess the Japan feature was recorded well in advance, so maybe Sega were genuinely concerned about leaks? Or maybe Bad Influence was just trying to be cool?
I thought the GG and MS versions of Sonic 2 were developed by a different company than Sega. Makes me wonder how closely Sega worked with its partners give our man Hiroshi seems to be heavily involved and gets a "thanks" in the credits.
Why show Bad Influence the GG and/or MS version of the game? Secrecy again? Giving Bad Influence the fob-off? Maybe Hiroshi was the only person available or willing on the day?
Anyway, thanks very much @Sketcz for digging into this! Big thanks to your contact as well. I feel we've uncovered a bit of gaming archaeology that may otherwise have been lost to time.
Re: "Spin the Maze, Roll the Ball!" - Taito's Quirky Puzzler 'Cameltry' Is Heading To Switch, PlayStation, & Xbox
I still rate the Taito Legends collections as some of the best value retro compilations. I picked them both up for PS2 on ebay still shrink-wrapped for £5 each. That's where I first played Cameltry, although as I recall it wasn't compatible with the paddle controller in the special version of Cleopatra Fortune for PS1.
I must get around to getting some sort of paddle affair for my PC, then I can MAME it.
Re: "I Am Not Making Up This Story" - You Won't Believe What Yuji Naka Wanted To Call Billy Hatcher And The Giant Egg
Thanks @Sketcz - hopefully your contact can clear this up for us!
Re: "A Bold Mechanical Timepiece" - This Limited Edition Missile Command Watch Could Be Yours, If You Have £455 To Burn
@ojisan Yeah, but in the world where everybody is skint it costs a small fortune!