Gaming video Catch-All

Meanwhile I played the original so much that the new graphics just look so wrong to me and therefore I play on the original, bad textures and character models and all.

Plus, some of the environments and enemy models don't perfectly match the original geometry and hit boxes, so you'll encounter invisible walls or bullets will go through heads. And not, like, because brains came out from the back of the skull afterward, but because they just phased on through.

Probably doesn't make much of a difference unless you're playing on something like Legendary, though.

ccesarano wrote:

Meanwhile I played the original so much that the new graphics just look so wrong to me and therefore I play on the original, bad textures and character models and all.

Plus, some of the environments and enemy models don't perfectly match the original geometry and hit boxes, so you'll encounter invisible walls or bullets will go through heads. And not, like, because brains came out from the back of the skull afterward, but because they just phased on through.

Probably doesn't make much of a difference unless you're playing on something like Legendary, though.

My son accidentally switched the graphics mode to the old one and said "ooo this looks nice". I was trying to explain to him what a CRT TV was and why he should be glad he never had to play games on one. CRT monitors yay. CRT TVs nay.

Eh, I dunno man. I kind of hate the weight and size that CRT monitors and TVs took up, *but*, given the low-resolution of the games, the CRT allowed the pixels to blur together in a fashion that smoothed the pixels out and made those old 16-bit games look gorgeous in a way HDTV's won't allow. It's why I appreciate the CRT filter Nintendo developed for their SNES Classic and NES and SNES online for Switch. Unfortunately, most other attempts to generate a CRT filter are nothing more than lines on the screen with zero attempt to imitate that blur-effect which smoothed the sharp, jaggy pixels out.

I imagine to a lot of people this sounds silly since you want a sharper image most of the time, that all them jaggy pixels are less aesthetically pleasing to me, whereas the CRT presented the image in a way that allowed colors to blend in a smoother gradient that just... worked.

That all said, early 3D looked ugly no matter what type of monitor it was on.

ccesarano wrote:

Eh, I dunno man. I kind of hate the weight and size that CRT monitors and TVs took up, *but*, given the low-resolution of the games, the CRT allowed the pixels to blur together in a fashion that smoothed the pixels out and made those old 16-bit games look gorgeous in a way HDTV's won't allow. It's why I appreciate the CRT filter Nintendo developed for their SNES Classic and NES and SNES online for Switch. Unfortunately, most other attempts to generate a CRT filter are nothing more than lines on the screen with zero attempt to imitate that blur-effect which smoothed the sharp, jaggy pixels out.

I imagine to a lot of people this sounds silly since you want a sharper image most of the time, that all them jaggy pixels are less aesthetically pleasing to me, whereas the CRT presented the image in a way that allowed colors to blend in a smoother gradient that just... worked.

That all said, early 3D looked ugly no matter what type of monitor it was on.

I wish I never got rid of my old Sony 1600x1200 CRT monitor. It weighed a lot tho. I gave it up the last time I moved. Sad day.

This chap edited the Sifu trailer amongst others but I found him through an unofficial trailer he did for Uncharted: Lost Legacy.

Immortals Fenyx Rising The Lost Gods DLC Review

Hands-On SMT III Nocturne HD - A Grim, Fascinating World

Well another game to add to my list to look forward to.

But considering my backlog and the $70 price tag I think I will be waiting for someone else to finish and buy it used.

I’ve been replaying DS games recently and appreciating how well the design has aged. I’m way better “trained” now than when I first played them tho.

VaatiVidya always does a great job of pulling together lore from the Souls games into a compelling video you can appreciate even if you aren't into the gameplay. Demon's Souls is still my favorite Souls game despite only ever having played the PS3 version (don't own a PS5 yet). I remember hearing about this new difficult but fair game in 2009 and hunting around trying to find a copy and no one in my city had one. Had to get a copy in a neighboring city. Completely worth the long drive.

I’m looking forward to playing it on PS5 when a I get one.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...

Playlist of LudoNarraCon 2021 talks about designing narratives in video games. Lots of great stuff about great indie games (including Blaseball)!

20 Minutes of D&D Dark Alliance Gameplay
* it is pretty but somehow quite dull.

Free PC update to Metro Exodus looks really good if you have the hardware for it. My 2060 has RT but not fast enough for all these updates at max settings. I own the game on Xbone and am waiting for the XBSX patch this year. XBSX version won’t have anywhere near as much RT features as PC enhanced version but I’ll still be happy with the improvements.

I love those moments in Souls games where I come across a sign on the ground from another player that says “gorgeous view ahead” and I look up from the grimy stressful environment and just enjoy a view for a moment.

I bought this in the PS4 sale. Daft games like this aren’t usually my thing but the gameplay is fun.

Looks like a charming little Zelda like game.

pandasuit wrote:

Returnal: Buy, wait for sale, never touch? Or wait until I can finally get a PS5

Lost Soul Aside, another new AAA game from a Chinese developer:

It's a character action game with an art style that looks heavily inspired by modern Final Fantasy. I think this looks very promising.

I do have two tiny nitpicks about this gameplay snippet. 1) The double jump looks goofy. 2) The protagonist's basic sword attack sound effect sounds bad, like something out of a PS1 game.

Looks like Sony helped fund development, so it'll be exclusive to PS4/PS5 for some period of time.

A competitive multiplayer FPS with time travel mechanics? Wut? Interesting concept but I’m more interested in watching experts play it than trying myself.

I played the first Halo on Legendary and remember repeating one section, when two elites were arriving in the area where I was recovering my shields at almost exactly the same time, endlessly as I improved my position by tiny increments finding new ammo or grenades or moving to a specific spot. It was second by second stuff but I adored solving that puzzle.

This video reminded me of those times but it never got this extreme. There are four of them playing and they put nearly all the skulls on, including one where they have to melee an enemy to recharge shields and where, if one of them dies, they all have to go back to the last check point. It’s painful, hypnotic and, strangely, an incredible watch. At least it was for me.

The real pain starts almost exactly one hour in. I’d say you could start there.

Biomutant — New Gameplay Today (4K)

Biomutant looks great! Already pre-ordered this one!

Yeah, I'd have to say that Dark Alliance went from a day one purchase to a not interested with that gameplay video. I don't think there is a single class that I want to play let alone looks fun to play. How do you make an archer boring? And the threat management guy that can't take hits worth a damn?