I'm a few months behind the curve, but this place exists in a weird pocket dimension where that's probably fine.

I haven't really been playing videogames at all for the past eight years or so, other than socially playing AoE and stuff with friends. In fact, the last game I got really hyped about (Sonic Generations doesn't count) was the Mother 3 translation.

This game, though! It definitely lives up to the hype. So good. It's a great game, and it examines (among other things) what it even means to be playing a game, and it does it without being overbearing. It exemplifies all the good stuff about old 90s jRPGs, without the problematic parts, and still works even if you haven't played the old games it cribs from, so it's very accessible to people who otherwise wouldn't play games (which is probably the best thing about it). Everything is sincerely, unironically, authentically good. Gameplay, music, writing, environments, atmosphere. Not to mention it was made mostly by one guy, is dirt cheap, and runs on ancient hardware.

Definitely a worthy spiritual successor to Mother/Earthbound. My headcanon is that this is MOTHER 4. (also that gaster is dr. andonuts)

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/12/11/remastered-sonic-the-hedgehog-2-hits-android-ios-tomorrow-with/

http://toucharcade.com/2013/12/11/sonic-the-hedgehog-2-remastered-hitting-this-week-features-long-lost-hidden-palace-zone/

Within a month of Paul McGann returning as the Doctor, we get Hidden Palace in a Sonic game.

Hello, it's been a while! Right, so here I am, making my obligatory one post of the year or something. (I lurk here a lot, I swear!  )

A while back, me and my friend Jimmy started a band. We're kind of a New Wave band, or something, I guess. This is what happens when you have a guy who really prefers Devo growing up in a town where the only local music is metalcore. We're called SCARY MERCEDES, and we just recorded this EP called "Ambulatory".

http://www.sendspace.com/file/e1krm2

Opinions would be cool?

I want to call it a warzone, but I can't. Yeah, security breaches, backups getting leaked to nasty people, going up and down. It's especially puzzling when you're still way outside the drama loop despite being able to read the oldbie forms (no, I'm not sure why I'm an oldbie).

It's just weird that when things aren't insane, it's a really peaceful place from my perspective! The Engineering forums are incredibly productive, everyone appears to work fairly and play nice, and the site is full of stuff! The last group of bad-behavior bans caught me totally off guard because I'd never seen a problem with either of those people, and I'd like to think I pay attention to the forums. I'm absolutely serious when I say that I really can't imagine why anyone would hack a forum with hopes of getting rid of Tweaker. I mean, he seems like an OK admin to me!

So, uh... what happened?

I also posted this at the "Oh Kee Pa" Phish forum because I think this is really interesting. If you don't like Phish then here's a complete soundboard recording of a live show, they're really good.

So I was messing around looking at Phish.com, looking at one of their old newsletters from 1992, and in the Q/A section (answered by guitarist/bandleader Trey Anastasio), I saw something neat.

Some minor background; "Gamehenge" is a rock opera-type thing by Phish that they played in the late 80s and early 90s. None of it was ever officially released, but it was heavily bootlegged and is highly sought after by Phish fans. Songs from the Gamehenge song cycle are still played today, but they haven't played it all since about 1994.

The letter:

Phish:
Will Gamehendge ever be released?
:

Let me start by saying that if you don't know what (or where) Gamehendge is you might want to check out "The Lizards," "Colonel Forbin," "Wilson," "The Sloth," "Tela," "Llama," "McGrupp and the Watchful Hosemasters," or any number of songs that tell the story. You coiuld also get on the Phish.net and try to find a copy of "The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday," a poorly recorded but extremely accurate description of the Wilson Years in Gamehendge.
Regarding ites eventual release, many ideas have been tossed around, including animating it, releasing it as an album, or staging it as a play (its original purpose). Right now, though, I can pretty confidently say that we intend to release it as a virtual reality interactive CD-ROM or CD-I DBK. You may have heard that CD-I (CD Interactive) television is going to be on the market within a year or so. This technology would allow the user to enter the virtual reality of Gamegendge on their TV (or computer) and basically "travel" around Gamehendge hearing different music and meeting different characters. For instance, you could "fly" over the forest with the Famous Mockinbird, seeing everything from the bird's perspective and landing wherever you wanted to. You could climb the mountain with Col. Forbin, or venture into the ghetto and meet the sloth.
This may all sound a bit bizarre, but the technology exists and it won't be long before CD-I machines for your TV will be available to the general public.

--Trey

The fact that Trey called out the CD-I format specifically tells me he was thinking about Phillips' infamous game console and not the SEGA CD, although it might have been able to pull it off.

For those of you (this part is directed at the Phish fans) who don't know your video game history), the CD-I is regarded as the laughingstock of the early 90s. It wasn't really intended for games; most of what it did felt more like a fancy DVD menu, especially considering the device's horrible controls. There were a bunch of (technologically advanced) edutainment games on the console, but most popular are the disasterous Nintendo-licensed games released in 1993. Due to a contractual loophole resulting from the cancellation of a planned Phillips-designed CD drive for the Super Nintendo, Phillips somehow wound up with rights to use Mario and Link in some video games. The results: Hotel Mario, Link: The Faces Of Evil, Zelda: The Wand Of Gamelon, and Zelda's Adventure. They were awful. They all featured animated cutscenes and voice-acting, which was quite a feat, but they were poorly drawn and badly acted. The games themselves were awful.

Let's look at Trey's vision, though. By all means, it was possible. The CD-I could handle high-quality audio, and full motion video. So long as you didn't rely on having good controls, it would have worked. Making the art presentable wasn't a worry: after all, look who would have been in charge of it! The Phish video game, had it been realized, would have been far ahead of its time, served as an excellent form of cross-marketing, and maybe even given the CD-I a legitimate application. It could have changed video gaming and Phish history.



TL;DR: there was going to be a game featuring these men

+


                                                                    =

                                                     

I'M FAMOUS


FAMOUS!

and of all the places, right in my home state.


phish


reunion


in HAMPTON.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0808/House_Dems_turn_out_out_the_light_but_GOP_keep_talking.html

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democrats adjourned the House, turned off the lights and killed the microphones, but Republicans are still on the floor talking gas prices.

Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP leaders opposed the motion to adjourn the House, arguing that Pelosi's refusal to schedule a vote allowing offshore drilling is hurting the American economy. They have refused to leave the floor after the adjournment motion passed at 11:23 a.m., and they are busy bashing Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for leaving town for the August recess.

At one point, the lights went off in the House and the microphones were turned off in the chamber, meaning Republicans were talking in the dark. But as Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz..) was speaking, the lights went back on and the microphones were turned on shortly afterward.

But C-SPAN, which has no control over the cameras in the chamber, has stopped broadcasting the House floor, meaning no one was witnessing this except the assembled Republicans, their aides, and one Democrat, Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio), who has now left.

Only about a half-dozen Republicans were on the floor when this began, but the crowd has grown to about 20, according to Patrick O'Connor.

---

Democratic aides were furious at the GOP stunt, and reporters were kicked out of the Speaker's Lobby, the space next to the House floor where they normally interview lawmakers.

"You're not covering this, are you?" complained one senior Democratic aide. Another called the Republicans "morons" for staying on the floor.

Update: The Capitol Police are now trying to kick reporters out of the press gallery above the floor, meaning we can't watch the Republicans anymore. But Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) is now in the gallery talking to reporters, so the cops have held off for a minute. Clearly, Democrats don't want Republicans getting any press for this episode. GOP leaders are trying to find other Republicans to rotate in for Blunt so reporters aren't kicked out.

---

Rep Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) just pretended to be a Democrat. He stood on the other side  of the chamber and listed all of the GOP bills that the Dems killed.

He then said, "I am a Democrat, and here is my energy plan" and he held up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it. He paraded around the House floor with the sign while the crowd cheered.

And THIS is why I'm not a Democrat anymore. The Democrats have become just as bad as the Republicans were, and decide to go on vacation and silence anyone who points it out. Open government, my ass.

holy shit

[spoiler]HOLY SHIT[/spoiler]

I've been thinking about getting a storage card for my DS, so I could emulate games and the like. However, I have absolutely no idea where to start; which card is the best, and easiest to install (a plug-and-play thing that didn't depend on some Windows app would be great)? Where is the best place to get them?

So, I just downloaded, labelled, numbered, and organized the entire Brawl soundtrack that's been circulating. 16 hours, 314 tracks, it's huge. Huge and awesome.

The only place one will ever find Live And Learn, Ai no Uta, Mona Pizza's Song, and a thrash-metal version of Gourmet Race in one place.

Stands alongside Mario Galaxy, Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound as the most amazing game soundtrack ever. Although it's not really a fair comparison since the songs are, in some cases, up to 20 years old.

Discuss.