Steam Backlog: Neon Beats

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Aug 28, 2019

Filed under: Game Reviews 69 comments

Here we have yet another musical platformer that I shouldn’t have bought but couldn’t help myself. This didn’t work out the last time I tried it. I’m sure it will fail the next time I try it. Evidently I can’t learn from my mistakes.

In the past I’ve said that I’m rubbish at 2D platformers. That’s basically true, but I don’t think that’s what keeps me from enjoying the genre. I’m rubbish at fighting games, but I still enjoy mashing the buttons and listening to the absurd sounds the combatants make when they pummel each other. Also, the cutscenes are usually… really something. I’m not so hot at driving games, but I can still enjoy them on the lower difficulty settings.

For the record, you control the square thing. The small square thing. The one in the middle of the screen.
For the record, you control the square thing. The small square thing. The one in the middle of the screen.

No, this problem goes deeper than being “good” at something.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Steam Backlog: Neon Beats”

 


 

Procgen Background

By Paul Spooner Posted Tuesday Aug 27, 2019

Filed under: Projects 45 comments

So, I’ve made quite a few space ships in this series, but none of them have received as much criticism as the background starfield.We’re not counting the tubes, okay? Okay. So that’s what I’m going to be working on today. It’s not going to turn out great, but it will be much better than it was. I mean, you can see the result in the splash image, so you can go straight to the comments if you see anything you don’t like.

The background effect was built without referenceMy first mistake? Hardly. but I had something in mind about big crosses and circles around startlingly bright stars. I think it probably came from some of the illustrations in the GURPS space source booksor the TMNT Guide to the Universe, but it was vague, and I’m lazy. So instead of improving the background until it objectively looked good, I just kept lowering my standard of what I was expecting while I was working until I thought “yeah, that looks good enough” and moved on to the spaceship making part. This is why reference is so important, at least for me. Maybe some people have enough internal artistic sense to force themselves to create a refrerence-free success, but I’m not that person. Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Procgen Background”

 


 

Diecast #271: EGS Hypocrisy, Broken Games, WoW Classic

By Shamus Posted Monday Aug 26, 2019

Filed under: Diecast 181 comments

I’ve been playing Rage 2 this week. Did the world forget that game exists? I haven’t heard anyone mention it in months. I guess Campster covered it last month, so that counts as a bit of relevance. Still, this game came and went so fast.

It’s so forgettable I forgot to talk about it on my own podcast, even though I’m in the middle of a playthrough!



Hosts: Paul, Shamus. Episode edited by Issac.

Show notes: Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Diecast #271: EGS Hypocrisy, Broken Games, WoW Classic”

 


 

#52 Finale Part 1

By Shamus Posted Sunday Aug 25, 2019

Filed under: DM of the Rings 23 comments

As promised, here is the remainder of the Act II story arc for Chainmail Bikini. It turns out the full end of the story was way, way too long to fit into a single post. (Always count on me to find the size limits for written text. Brevity is a cross-class skill for me.) So the end of the story will be posted in the next entry. Today you get the remainder of Act II. The next post will tell the story of Act III and bring the story to a close.

This isn’t broken up into jokes, but instead functions as a list of joke ideas and hooks. It won’t be funny, but it should give you an idea of how things were supposed to turn out.

When I write the comic I come up with arcs or scenes, and then Shawn and I work to turn those scenes into individual jokes. If you remember in the last few strips before the end of Chainmail Bikini, they’d met a shopkeeper who kept trying to give directions through the swamp but kept being ignored. This was the first half of one such scene. The gist was that they thwarted the attempted railroading more or less without even realizing it. This scene would end with Casey finding some clumsy way to keep the railroad going even with the shopkeeper dead.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “#52 Finale Part 1”

 


 

Achilles and the Grognard: Top Hat Guy Finds His Feet

By Bob Case Posted Saturday Aug 24, 2019

Filed under: Video Games 102 comments

Achilles: I think I’m starting to get the hang of this game.

The Grognard: Are you? How so?

Achilles: I have a full party now, and a couple +1 weapons. I’ve knocked out a few side quests – house full of spiders here, ogre with a stolen magical belt there. Even took a long trek way out to a gnoll fortress to rescue a witch for a guy with a hamster and a head wound.

The Grognard: Most people would be confused by that sentence, but it’s good to know you have Minsc and Dynaheir now.

Dynaheir is hidden down in one of these pits. If you don't pay attention to the area's opening cinematic I could see someone missing her.
Dynaheir is hidden down in one of these pits. If you don't pay attention to the area's opening cinematic I could see someone missing her.

Achilles: I’ve also learned a few things.

The Grognard: Such as?

Achilles: Give everyone a ranged weapon, and plenty of ammo.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Achilles and the Grognard: Top Hat Guy Finds His Feet”

 


 

Ding 48!

By Shamus Posted Saturday Aug 24, 2019

Filed under: Landmarks 50 comments

Wait, ANOTHER birthday? I just had one a couple of… Well, okay. I guess that was about a year ago. That makes sense I guess. Still, it feels like these things are getting closer together.

I’m trying to stay in shape. Someone suggested I should get into cycling. So I’ve been watching Global Cycling Network and Seth’s Bike Hacks. I even watched the exhausting run as Kilian Bron fought for 1st place in a field of 1,400 riders in MEGAVALANCHE 2019. I also watched a couple of guys try to tackle the 1903 Tour de France on period-appropriate bikes, although that one almost did me in.

I haven’t lost any weight yet. Am I watching the wrong videos?

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Ding 48!”