Conference Call

GWJ Conference Call Episode 149

District 9, Section 8, Fat Princess, rabbit's IIL Sturmovik Hangups, Dawn of Discovery, Lots and Lots of Your Emails and more!

This week we're clearing out the email backlog in preparation for the Fall gaming season. Only one more week before our big 150th show! If you want to submit a question or comment call in to our voicemail line at (612) 284-4563.

To contact us, email [email protected]! Send us your thoughts on the show, pressing issues you want to talk about or whatever else is on your mind. You can even send a 30 second audio question or comment (MP3 format please) if you're so inclined. You can also submit a question or comment call in to our voicemail line at (612) 284-4563!

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Show credits

Music credits: 

Intro Music - Ian Dorsch, Willowtree Audioworks

"Bridger" (Daniel Lawrence Walker) - www.daniellawrencewalker.com - 0:42:10

Outro: "I Wanna Friend You Up" - Slumberland - http://www.luckyghost.com

Comments

I'm 100% with Julian on controlling things in an inverted manner. Strangely, i've recently been playing console shooters in the unnatural way... just like all the other neanderthals. I still prefer flying with the inverted control scheme and also using the mouse in the same way but for some reason my mind has flipped how my thumbs control console shooters whereas previously i'd be running around with the grass or sky filling my screen. Are there any neurological biologists/medical people out there who might be able to shed some light on this development? Or maybe they might want to bring me in for testing.

It was a nice show this week guys. Felt quite relaxed compared to some of the recent ones.

That was some tasteful editing of my original email Certis, but if you had read the whole thing a lot more people would be listening through the archives of GWJ Radio ;-). That episode was so funny I almost got fired for laughing out loud.

Great show all! Look forward to the big 1...5...0 next week

Two whole days without buying Madden 10? Congratulations! You should treat yourself by buying Madden 10.

PyromanFO wrote:

Two whole days without buying Madden 10? Congratulations! You should treat yourself by buying Madden 10.

You know that Bill Harris has given it the seal of approval a.k.a. "best american football game ever".

Duoae wrote:

I'm 100% with Julian on controlling things in an inverted manner. Strangely, i've recently been playing console shooters in the unnatural way... just like all the other neanderthals. I still prefer flying with the inverted control scheme and also using the mouse in the same way but for some reason my mind has flipped how my thumbs control console shooters whereas previously i'd be running around with the grass or sky filling my screen. Are there any neurological biologists/medical people out there who might be able to shed some light on this development? Or maybe they might want to bring me in for testing.

I used to play FPSs with Invert Mouse on. I decided it was a pain reconfiguring every game I played and I forced myself to play with a "normal" mouse. It only took a couple of days for my brain to switch, but it wasn't that painful. That's not to say I don't still get confused on console games, but I don't play those enough to really burn those into my neurons.

Yay, You pronounced my last name right. Maybe I should have referenced my username.

Thanks for the response on my "keeping the podcast fresh" email. Its always nice to hear a little on the planning on the podcast itself.

I want to expand of something Rob mentioned and it relates to in-game chat. I'm surely not interested in a multiplayer game that forbids chat, but I would love a game where I could disable it.

Current example: I'm really enjoying Battlefield Heroes at the moment. It's a friendly, non-bloody, free FPS that I'd love to play with my boy. However, I absolutely hate the idea of my boy having to converse with any of the 25% of the community that appear to be socio-pathic douche-nozzles.

Extending it further, I can think of a short list of multiplayer games that I'd love to share with my son, if only a toggle switch existed in the options.

You know that Bill Harris has given it the seal of approval a.k.a. "best american football game ever".

I have to admit that my strength is wavering. I need to hold strong! Almost a week w/out Madden -- I can DO this!

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

oh great. Just came here to see where to get that friend you up song and it is in the first post. You guys don't disappoint. Keep up the good work.

So glad to hear you think that Fat Princess might be worth picking back up at later dates. That adds to the value of my potential PS3 purchase, which was made worth considering by the price cut.

Just so I know, there aren't any major District 9 spoilers in the show are there? I unfortunately haven't seen it yet and probably won't until this weekend. Should my ears be on the lookout?

Speedhuntr wrote:

Just so I know, there aren't any major District 9 spoilers in the show are there? I unfortunately haven't seen it yet and probably won't until this weekend. Should my ears be on the lookout?

No, nothing at all really. Unless you didn't know District 9 was about aliens.

Where can one acquire an mp3 of the I want to friend you up song?

carrotpanic wrote:

Where can one acquire an mp3 of the I want to friend you up song?

If anyone is interested in any of the music that we run on the show you can follow the links the artists provide in the show credits and if the song isn't there you can usually find an e-mail for the artist on their site. You can request a copy directly from them. We don't give out copies of the music we use on the show because they don't belong to us. The artists are just nice enough to let use them.

Glad to hear Fallout 3 is belatedly working it's magic. I remember Giant Bomb's first and second reactions to F3.

First reaction: "I've been playing Fallout 3 and I have to say... a little bit boring."
Second reaction (a week or two later): "I've played 40 hours so far..."

On the subject of playing games twice; I often enjoy my second play through of a game more than the first. I'm generally pesamistic about my own gaming abilities and I tend not to learn games properly. On the first play through I spend half my time wondering if I'll make it to the end of the game and the other half feeling that I'm not using all the spells/weapons/ninja powers properly. On the second play through I know I can beat the game and I've generally learned all the wrinkles so I can relax and have fun.

That said, I think it has to be a particular type of game. I have to love playing the game. The fights have to be unpredictable and dynamic i.e. they don't play out the same way every time.

larrymadill wrote:
Speedhuntr wrote:

Just so I know, there aren't any major District 9 spoilers in the show are there? I unfortunately haven't seen it yet and probably won't until this weekend. Should my ears be on the lookout?

No, nothing at all really. Unless you didn't know District 9 was about aliens.

Wait?? WHat?

To clarify the voicemail, last week's show they were talking about Wipeout HD Fury, even if they used the incorrect name, there was an expansion pack released for Wipeout HD called Fury. And it's rad.

Good show guys.

Rabbit obviously hasn't played Falcon 4

A comment about having to play games through twice to see the content.

Some games work well with this. One being fallout 3, you can play through on good, and the game is much different if going the other way. However if you play somewhere in the middle you don't really get the best of either. I played through on Good the first time and then played again as evil and robbed just about everyone and broke into everything I could find, which I thought was very fun.

A game that doesn't do this well that I've played recently is inFamous. I played through as good and started a 2nd play through as evil and it got boring really fast and I just couldn't bear to do it all again just to see a few different abilities.

Mindcloud

Gaald wrote:
carrotpanic wrote:

Where can one acquire an mp3 of the I want to friend you up song?

If anyone is interested in any of the music that we run on the show you can follow the links the artists provide in the show credits and if the song isn't there you can usually find an e-mail for the artist on their site. You can request a copy directly from them. We don't give out copies of the music we use on the show because they don't belong to us. The artists are just nice enough to let use them.

I didn't mean to imply that you should or do. The song wasn't available on his site so I'll inquire directly. Thanks!

carrotpanic wrote:
Gaald wrote:
carrotpanic wrote:

Where can one acquire an mp3 of the I want to friend you up song?

If anyone is interested in any of the music that we run on the show you can follow the links the artists provide in the show credits and if the song isn't there you can usually find an e-mail for the artist on their site. You can request a copy directly from them. We don't give out copies of the music we use on the show because they don't belong to us. The artists are just nice enough to let use them.

I didn't mean to imply that you should or do. The song wasn't available on his site so I'll inquire directly. Thanks!

No problems. You weren't the only one to ask.

I probably would have too if I didn't already have it.

Mindcloud wrote:

A game that doesn't do this well that I've played recently is inFamous. I played through as good and started a 2nd play through as evil and it got boring really fast and I just couldn't bear to do it all again just to see a few different abilities.

I agree with this, and in essence I agree with both Certis and Elysium's points. I have no problem with a game, like a WRPG, that blocks content based on my decisions, because if I had access to all the content on one playthrough then how on earth could they make your choices meaningful in any way? But even in that context, I rarely play the game twice, not only because of the severe time restraints, but because I like to just keep my unique experience based on my play style alone.

But I don't care how most games push "re-playability" as a feature when it's something really superficial (like inFamous), and most of the game is extremely similar. This is especially the case when you feel punished for not re-playing it. (i.e. to get the "real" ending, play this incredibly linear game on a harder difficulty or by performing some tedious collection task) Even worse is how games that don't bother with this are sometimes still treated negatively in reviews for it.

Also, the person who emailed this question must like taking his time. I find it takes me significantly longer to play games then most people (if people say the campaign lasts 5 hours, you can bet it'll take me at least 6), and I did every side quest I found in Mass Effect, and I still finished around the 25 hour mark. I have no idea how you could come close to reaching 60.

I am throwing myself whole-heartedly at IL-2, but I was horrified that the analog sticks were doing the opposite of what I expect--exactly as Rabbit described. My brother informed me that it's the European layout for R/C controllers. I haven't verified this, but it would make sense, since it's a European company.

This doesn't mean they shouldn't include the option to switch between them. Already the game's official forums are swarming with this complaint--so here's hoping they fix this oversight in time for the release of the full version. Of course you could do like I did, and shell out for an xbox-compatible flightstick. I grabbed a Saitek Aviator because it a) would work and b) wasn't crazy-expensive. I've been playing the demo with it and it works great.

philosofrenzy wrote:

I am throwing myself whole-heartedly at IL-2, but I was horrified that the analog sticks were doing the opposite of what I expect--exactly as Rabbit described. My brother informed me that it's the European layout for R/C controllers. I haven't verified this, but it would make sense, since it's a European company.

The ailerons are on the left in Europe with the throttle on the right and vice versa in the US. IMO, the Euro version makes more sense... i mean think about almost every other acceleration mechanism: in general, they're on the right (any car/bike/plane [for the main pilot except in fighters?] acceleration/brake systems, acceleration is on the right - including for game controllers). If it were the other way around it'd be counter intuitive to every other system.

Duoae wrote:

The ailerons are on the left in Europe with the throttle on the right and vice versa in the US. IMO, the Euro version makes more sense... i mean think about almost every other acceleration mechanism: in general, they're on the right (any car/bike/plane [for the main pilot except in fighters?] acceleration/brake systems, acceleration is on the right - including for game controllers). If it were the other way around it'd be counter intuitive to every other system.

Maybe so, maybe no. But I think the main defect here is not that one control or another is in an unexpected place, but rather that the layout is not configurable. I'd love to see a legitimate excuse for that for any game. It can't cost that much extra in development. And don't even think of dragging out the Resident Evil 5 rationalization of "increased tension".

Hans

hidannik wrote:
Duoae wrote:

The ailerons are on the left in Europe with the throttle on the right and vice versa in the US. IMO, the Euro version makes more sense... i mean think about almost every other acceleration mechanism: in general, they're on the right (any car/bike/plane [for the main pilot except in fighters?] acceleration/brake systems, acceleration is on the right - including for game controllers). If it were the other way around it'd be counter intuitive to every other system.

Maybe so, maybe no. But I think the main defect here is not that one control or another is in an unexpected place, but rather that the layout is not configurable. I'd love to see a legitimate excuse for that for any game. It can't cost that much extra in development. And don't even think of dragging out the Resident Evil 5 rationalization of "increased tension".

Hans

Hey, i'm with you on configuration options.... though i've not seen a game sine the N64 that allowed you to switch the 'movement' and 'acceleration' analogue sticks around. It used to be a cool feature that somehow never got accepted by gamers or developers and i still believe that the N64 controller is the best one ever created.... It was by far the most comfortable for me and allowed righties and lefties to play the way they wanted. Nintendo have mostly kept this philosophy but they (and 3rd party developers) seem to keep forgetting this type of implementation on the DS and Wii.

I'm a week late on this call out, so probably nobody but the 2 people left posting in here will read this, but I noticed this today:

The show notes wrote:

(An Friendly 46.7 megs, 1:21:39)