Messages

126

TalkBack / Re: RFN: Doin' It Live... for the Kids!

« on: December 08, 2010, 07:22:48 PM »

Is part 2 up yet?

Not to be rude, but isn't this one of those questions that answers themselves?

127

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 32: Horribly Wrong

« on: December 07, 2010, 06:11:54 PM »

or is Minecraft (we have to keep Nate on somehow!).

So, the other day in minecraft I decided to start a new world, and it is probably the best world I have spawned in to date. For starters, I spawned close to a surficial lava pool- which is great for making obsidian. Nearby there is a cave network, in which I have already found tons of iron, and the coastland is heavily forested. One of the more interesting aspects of this world is the peninsula that curves to run parallel to the coast, the top of which is dotted with deep wells. Almost all the way up to the edge of the sea are some large, snowy mountains, they seem pretty impassable but I may make a watch tower on top of them to survey both the land behind, and the archipelago that extends from the opposite side of the peninsula.

So far I have made an obsidian portal that allows me to travel to the netherworld, a fairly extensive mine inside of a mountain face, and a minecart track that will take me from my house on the peninsula to my inland mines.

.... and because I don't know where else I would pimp this, here's the DMP Jonny had me on for. The way I see it, people in this thread already put up with me, so they're more likely (or less?) to find this relevant. Or perhaps they would just like to know what this death metal I constantly reference is: http://www.crosstawk.com/newbusiness/2010/12/7/discover-music-project-episode-7.html

128

General Chat / Re: I have computer related questions. Can you help?

« on: December 06, 2010, 10:56:50 PM »

If I play any game for around a minute (Minecraft or Crysis, doesn't matter) the screen will eventually be marred with some spatterings of purple or green pixels. Usually, these pixels are drawn in along contour lines withing the image currently being displayed.

Doing other things, like watching Hulu, won't mess up the computer, which leads me to believe I am only running into problems with things that run in 3d. My temperatures seem fine, around 65 F.

Maybe my Nvidia 8800 GT has begun to flip out, or at least I suspect that's what the problem is. I do have the most recent drivers... le sigh.

EDIT: Now the screen will be filled with any number of graphical wonders, and then throw my computer into a crash. Sometimes, I can recover from it with a quick leap to the task manager, but it is always crippled after the save.

Perhaps this is the universe's way of telling me I need to study for finals. Universe, just let me F*** my own life up, okay?!

Final update:

Yep, busted graphics card. Fortunately my dad had an untouched 9500 sitting in a drawer so I can get by for a while.

129

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive #15: The World Ends With You (DS) Discussion

« on: December 03, 2010, 04:23:55 PM »

My brother just deleted my game, because he hit new game instead of using the chapter feature.... Now I have to play through again... Not such a bad thing, but all my pins!!! Lost to the void!

... and that is why I am very thankful to have a sister.

130

General Gaming / Re: My First Person Dilemma....

« on: December 03, 2010, 03:33:21 AM »

I have a whole stack of games but got Orange Box when it went on sale this past weekend. For $7.50 I just couldn't turn it down. Anyways, I am finding HL2 to be the most fun I've had in a single player FPS to date- and I've played most of the big titles. I would move the Orange Box up on that list.

I held off on Half-Life 2 for a long time. I was on dial-up at the time and was hoping that the idea of Steam would die. I still hate Steam, but have made a few concessions when no alternatives are present. That said, I still feel that Half-Life 2 feels fairly vanilla. I had a blast with Episode 2 however.

Just curious, why do you hate Steam? I have yet to encounter any issues with it, and I enjoy their sales.

131

General Gaming / Re: My First Person Dilemma....

« on: December 01, 2010, 08:08:54 PM »

Really though, there's not much reason to avoid Portal. It's a very short game. It's not all that difficult either. It's very amusing however, both in the physics as well as the dialogue. It may be worth getting out the way first... it wouldn't take much time or effort.

I watched my friend spend eight hours on Portal, he insisted that I not help him. Most people can hammer it out in a good sitting though.

132

General Gaming / Re: My First Person Dilemma....

« on: December 01, 2010, 08:04:02 PM »

You're not going to miss out on anything by sitting the Orange Box off to the side for the time being. In fact, if nothing else, you'll have an even better experience once you do get around to it. Valve is CONSTANTLY updating the games, adding new achievements, new levels, enhancing the graphics, etc. Besides, by the time HL2:EP3 comes out, you'd probably have forgotten the entire plot of the series had you played them originally. : : :

True, but Portal, on the other hand, doesn't have a sequel in the future that's currently vaporware.  You play Portal now, you're all set for next April with Portal 2.  And it's not like you need to play Half Life 2 to understand Portal.  I haven't played HL2, and I enjoyed Portal just fine.

I have a whole stack of games but got Orange Box when it went on sale this past weekend. For $7.50 I just couldn't turn it down. Anyways, I am finding HL2 to be the most fun I've had in a single player FPS to date- and I've played most of the big titles. I would move the Orange Box up on that list.

133

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 84: Anger Satiation

« on: December 01, 2010, 08:00:36 PM »

Also glad to see someone else listens to RPG backtrack.

Backtrack rocks, I won their Castlevania contest I really appreciate having an archive of deep discussions on games that I enjoyed or would like to someday play.

I do think there is plenty of room to improve Backtrack. They often have too many hosts; I think I counted seven once. The audio quality gets pretty hairy, some hosts are very sleepy because of geographical diversity, and those radio dramas... oh god, the radio dramas.

134

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 31: A Brief Interlude

« on: December 01, 2010, 07:56:07 PM »

My god I love Mustafa.  Not only does he have the same taste in music as me but shares my totally indifference towards comic books.  Also Dark Knight and Watchman are totally overated.  : :

You can hear more from the audio terrorist on the Touch Gen podcast.

Oh god the terrorist joke. That is gonna get me cavity searched some day...

135

General Chat / Re: Introduction

« on: November 30, 2010, 11:22:25 PM »

No, it doesn't realize that, because it's a bot. Must be related to these bots:

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=1830.msg640869#msg640869

Shhhh... Mop! Can't you see that jrlibrarian was initiating the Turing test? 

136

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 31: A Brief Interlude

« on: November 30, 2010, 11:08:26 PM »

Did you guys forget about the downloads?

Actually, it was Nintendo that forgot about the downloads.

137

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 221: Prelude to Epicness

« on: November 29, 2010, 10:36:43 PM »

During the podcast, it did at first sound like the money was going to NWR. Mostly because Jonny mentioned the extra bandwidth costs, and that people would pay to offset it. It doesn't immediately follow that the money will be a donation.

Having edited the episode, I can confirm that Jonny said we will make recordings of the live show "available to anyone who donates" prior to mentioning the additional bandwidth costs and so forth. So, while obviously I can't argue with the fact that you heard it that way Nathan, I think Jonny made it very clear that he was talking about money going to Child's Play even before discussing the logisitical and cost reasons for limiting the availability of the recordings.

Now that Jonny clarified that the access-via-donation is simply a way to limit server drain the whole thing makes a little more sense. I had thought that the plan was just to encourage more donations; the dual purpose makes even more sense.

I did realize that Jonny wasn't asking people to send money to NWR shortly after the original conversation started Greg, I was just pointing out how someone who didn't listen quite as closely may have become confused.

138

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 221: Prelude to Epicness

« on: November 29, 2010, 03:00:51 PM »

I'd actually put it this way: "you'll give money to benefit ill children and like it!" I guess it's up to each person whether or not they consider this to be setting a dangerous precedent for the future; charity, as you know, is like gravity--all it takes is a little push...

During the podcast, it did at first sound like the money was going to NWR. Mostly because Jonny mentioned the extra bandwidth costs, and that people would pay to offset it. It doesn't immediately follow that the money will be a donation.

139

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 221: Prelude to Epicness

« on: November 28, 2010, 01:18:53 PM »

Why does Greg hate friendship?

That aspect of TWEWY's story annoyed me as well, especially since the game uses headphones to symbolize an anti-social personality. I usually have headphones, or at least an earbud in, and it certainly doesn't mean I don't understand, as Greg put it, "the value of friendship."

140

TalkBack / Re: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light Review

« on: November 28, 2010, 12:09:13 PM »

I didn't care for Avalon code, the demo alone was enough to put me off of it.

141

TalkBack / Re: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light Review

« on: November 28, 2010, 01:20:27 AM »

James, I would like to recommend Suikoden: Tierkries for the DS as a good RPG for you to play. It is a turn based game in the same traditional sense as the older Final Fantasy games. It has good graphics to boot as well. Again, I recommend the game to you.

I know this was meant for James, but thanks for the recommendation Kytim- I had completely forgotten about this one. Now that it has gone down in price I am going to grab it to play once break starts!

142

General Chat / Re: Your #1 meal at Fast Food Restaurants

« on: November 26, 2010, 07:26:37 PM »

fried chicken (which you really can't **** up)

Have you ever tried Albertsons fried chicken?

143

General Chat / Re: Your #1 meal at Fast Food Restaurants

« on: November 26, 2010, 02:42:04 PM »

I just went to Popeyes and I think I'm through with that place, at least that specific one.

I've never had a good eating experience at my Popeye's, so I've just not bothered trying other locations. Then again, I tend to hate the "fast" version of southern food.

144

General Gaming / Re: Gran Turismo 5

« on: November 26, 2010, 02:37:15 PM »

My uncle was having some fun yesterday driving full tilt into other racers with the only repercussion being the silly "doonk" crash sound.

I don't want to learn how to race without damage for 20 levels, I think I can handle the "real game" from the start.

145

General Gaming / Re: Gran Turismo 5

« on: November 26, 2010, 04:30:32 AM »

I'm disappointed that the walls are so stupid still. You just bounce off of then and its a legit tactic to use the wall to help you get around corners if you screw up a turn. Just like in the other Gran Turismos. And also, I'd like there to be a little feedback, like sparks or something when you hit walls. It just seems like the sense of speed isn't there. But hey, maybe thats for realism.

The graphics are gorgeous, but the shadows are hiding for some reason. They are always jittering.

I find it hilarious that hurling myself into a group of racers and having them effectively carry me through a tough turn is consistently the quickest way for me to pull into first.

146

General Chat / Re: Official "Happy Birthday Internet Friend" Thread

« on: November 25, 2010, 02:25:58 PM »

I already posted this on Facebook yesterday, but I will spread the embarrassment - Happy Birthday Zach!

147

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 31: A Brief Interlude

« on: November 24, 2010, 11:56:42 PM »

I'm not sure where I would post this elsewhere, so happy Thanksgiving everyone!

148

TalkBack / Re: RFN: Doin' It Live... for the Kids!

« on: November 24, 2010, 01:18:00 PM »

I hate that this takes place the weekend before finals

149

General Chat / Re: Rate/Review The last Album you heard

« on: November 23, 2010, 05:51:17 AM »

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan:

I normally stick to death metal, but the most recent episode of DMP turned me on to Bob Dylan. Maybe its the near-theatrical nature of the songs, or how considered the musical subtleties are, but I love this album. I can't say I like all of the songs, I would say that Honey, Allow me just one more chance is definitely a stinker. Who knows, maybe it will grow on me.

I am finding that I enjoy Dylan's darker humor much more than his blatantly silly songs.

150

Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 220: Not That Kind of Doctor

« on: November 23, 2010, 01:57:27 AM »

I gritted my teeth as James defended Red Steel, not because I disagreed, but because it signified yet another instance of our cross-podcast identity duality.