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spacecadet

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Posts posted by spacecadet

  1. Posted

    I believe mine was also Lunar Lander. I remember my brother, who was 17 at the time while I was 7, absolutely loved it and definitely introduced me to it. The only earlier game it could have been was Space Invaders, but I think I actually played that later once I was playing arcade games on my own. I don't have any memory of playing that with my brother, so I must have been a little older. Lunar Lander, though, I pretty much *only* remember playing with him. He'd go seeking it out, wherever we were. And if we ever passed by it, we had to stop and play it.

  4. Posted

    What would that look like? Not having HDR, I would guess that HDR everywhere would be a good thing, not a bug.

     

    On my TV it usually doesn't look that bad, but that's because my TV doesn't really do HDR very well anyway. But it looks weird. Everything is super-contrasty but at the same time the black level is really bad (grey-ish) because the brightness of the TV is cranked to the max. This doesn't happen with actual HDR content.

     

    Since HDR is kinda BS as it is (most TV's aren't bright enough to really do it well), I'll bet a lot of people use the Xbox Netflix app as it is and either don't notice the issue or maybe wonder why it looks a little weird but not enough to do anything about it. But there are a lot of people who have complained about it too. And since every TV I know of switches to HDR mode automatically, there's no real way for the viewer to fix it. Netflix just has to stop passing that HDR flag or whatever that tells the TV to go into that mode.

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    I use my Xbox One S primarily for streaming and 4K Blu-Ray. I don't play a lot of games on it.

     

    Nice thing about it as opposed to the PS4 is that it just uses regular infrared, so you can use any universal remote with it. It is, as far as I know, unique among the current gen consoles in that way.

     

    One downside to it is that if you have an HDR TV set, the Xbox One Netflix app has had a bug forever in that it displays absolutely everything in HDR, including the menus as well as content that wasn't filmed in HDR. I don't know why they don't fix this; people have been complaining about it for years. So I don't use the Xbox for Netflix; I use my TV's built-in app for that. But I do use it for HBO, Showtime, Starz, AMC, Fox and YouTube.

     

    I use my PS3 in my bedroom for streaming and movies. But I have a PS3-specific remote, since it uses Bluetooth just like the PS4. (The PS3 also has a better official remote than the PS4, and I don't have a full A/V setup in that room so its remote works fine for just the console and TV.)

     

    I don't think most people would have a reason to have a separate streaming dongle or box if you have a current or last-gen console from Sony or MS. I'm not sure about Nintendo, but I feel like the Wii U's interface would have gotten in the way and I don't think the Switch even has most streaming apps. There may be some smaller apps that Sony and MS don't have, but that might be the only reason you'd need something else. That or you have an HDR TV and an Xbox One, and your TV doesn't have its own Netflix. But that's a pretty specific case that's probably not common.

  6. Posted

    Well, that was the rationale for its cancellation in the 2000's, but then the industry decided it couldn't live without it and brought it back.

     

    I think these big companies that can afford to put on their own shows that they control probably don't need E3. But I think it does help smaller companies (and I mean that in the relative sense; I just mean companies smaller than Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo). And I think the industry already learned once before that there's more to a show like E3 than just the actual news that comes out of it; there's the excitement that it generates by its event status. It makes people pay attention. If you release a trailer for an upcoming game in the middle of November, it's pretty likely that nobody's going to bother watching it because except for the really hardcore who are always watching, most people are not paying attention in general. But ironically, do it during E3 and people will pay attention despite all the extra competition, because they're paying attention to everything going on there. That's especially true if you manage to get your game on one of those "Best of E3" lists.

     

    We'll see if the industry ends up repeating its mistake of the previous decade. I don't think Sony skipping E3 is necessarily a mistake, but if anyone other than Nintendo or MS follows suit and/or the big 3 don't end up putting on their own shows as a replacement, that will be a mistake.

  7. Posted

    My dad gave me his old Tandy 1000 back in the 90's. I thought it was a joke and never touched it, but I have a thing for keeping gifts so it followed me around from then until now. Finally hooked it up about a year or so ago because I read about the special graphics modes it had and I was really taken with the whole machine. I have the 1000RL/HD and it's very compact, has a great startup sound, and does a really good impression of an EGA-based machine. I also just enjoy the fact that it was a machine made in the 1990's that was based around an 8086. That'd be like making a computer today based on a Core 2 Duo or something, but then giving it a GeForce 1060. Just a really interesting and strange machine for its time.

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    Surprisingly I think mine was not until I had my first PC clone in 1993 or so and had to install extra VRAM in order to get all the graphics modes promised on the box when I bought my computer. Packard Bell mailed it to all owners of my machine as part of a lawsuit settlement or something. So technically it wasn't an "upgrade" since it just gave me what I was supposed to have to begin with, but it was an upgrade from what the computer actually had.

     

    My first intentional upgrade must have been installing an 8MB RAM SIMM to bring my total to 12MB. Either that or it was upgrading my hard drive from 170MB to 340MB. I can't remember which I did first.

     

    I had my Apple IIc for 8 years before I got my PC but I don't think I ever did anything to it. It had most of the possible upgrades for an Apple II already. I did wish I could get one of the RAM upgrades that were available for early IIc's but I think I figured out that my machine ROM didn't support it.

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    I recently bought a Wii. It would not read a disc so I opened it up and was horrified to find that it was clogged up with many dead roaches (whole, legs, body chunks). It was SO GROSS I almost tossed it. But I cleaned it out instead. It works fine now. But it was the worst I have ever seen. I think someone had spilled a bit of something in it at one point, too. That might have attracted the roaches. Ick.

     

    That's horrifying that it was literally clogged with roaches to the point that it wouldn't read discs. I've heard of consoles infested with roaches but not to that point.

     

    I've read that it's actually the warmth of the system that they're attracted to, so if you live somewhere that has roaches to begin with, they're very likely to try to take up residence in your game console. Probably especially true if it's on a lot.

     

    Luckily I have never had this experience, but I've definitely bought some things that I kind of *expected* would be infested with something. But thankfully, they were all just very dirty, none actually have had bugs.

  10. Posted · Edited by spacecadet

    I immediately wipe down literally everything I buy secondhand with either a disinfecting wipe or some alcohol. You never know what touched anything before you got it, you never know what the "dirt" you're seeing really is, and a lot of bacteria can live for a long time on plastic. For any little nooks and crannies, I use either a toothpick to press in the wipe or an alcohol swab, or an alcohol-soaked q-tip. I do this right away because I don't really even want to be handling something with someone else's bacteria on it at all, including while otherwise cleaning it.

     

    Then I usually use some vinegar based window cleaner. Sometimes that's all that's really necessary.

     

    If something is just all gunked up and heavily soiled, I'll go back and forth between alcohol and window cleaner a few times until it's really clean. Very bad cases sometimes need disassembly, vacuuming out of internal parts and putting the shell and sometimes other plastic parts in the dishwasher. Obviously you have to be careful with the latter, because that'll potentially cause stickers and things like that to come unglued, and will obviously damage any paper labels that might be stuck on plastic. You also need to make sure to turn OFF heated drying, and you might want to use a gentle cycle (my dishwasher has a cycle for "fine china" that I usually use.) But it can make anything like new again as long as you check first to make sure there's nothing that could potentially get ruined by spraying it with hot water and aggressive cleaning solutions for up to an hour.

     

    Warm water and dish soap should work too, but at that point I'd probably just use the dishwasher if you have one. If something's going to be safe to submerge under soap and water, it's usually safe to put it in the dishwasher and it'll be easier and more effective.

     

    For any really stubborn marks, magic eraser sponges really do work. Though be gentle with those too, because they are abrasive so you can theoretically wear plastic down with one. I never have, though; everything I've used one on came out great, but then I do try to use a light pressure. Let the sponge do the work. The sharp fibers are going to rub off whatever mark is on the plastic almost regardless of how hard you press.

    • Like 2

  11. Posted

    I have owned an Inty 1, Inty 2 and Sears Super Video Arcade. They're all cool in their own ways. If I were going to own just one, though, it'd probably be just the regular old Intellivision 1. It's kind of the six switch 2600 of Intellivisions; it's the one that just feels the most "Intellivision-like".

     

    The Sears Super Video Arcade is definitely cool because it just looks so, so retro (and did even at the time). I don't think the detachable controllers are that much of an advantage, though, because they can be really hard to find on their own. It's actually easier to replace controllers on a regular Intellivision 1 because they're just much easier to find, and it's really five minutes to open the system and replace them once you know how to do it.

     

    The Intellivision II is cool just to see how much more modern it is, but functionally it's just not quite as good as the original model. The combined on/off/reset button is annoying to use, and the controller keypads suck.

  12. Posted

    Secondly, while it might be "normal" (as in "widespread") for companies/mods to block people and delete posts wherever it may happen it definitely does not make it okay.

     

    Sure it does. People need to learn that they can't be jerks on the internet anymore than they can be in real life, that's all. If you're a jerk in real life, you're liable to get punched. You're getting off easy on the internet by just getting blocked.

     

    You're not talking to the government here. There's no free speech. Any private entity is well within their rights to block anyone they don't like. And "bad blood" is relative. You may not like it, but 10 other people may not like to see a toxic presence online spreading negativity. It's just a business decision.

     

    I don't work for Atgames, btw.

    • Like 5

  13. Posted

    This is why I refused to sell my core collection this time around, although I purged quite a bit. I bought and sold two major collections since 1992. Both times I thought I had gotten over my nostalgia for these old games but the time would come around again and I have a huge desire to play them again. Best thing to do is put it all aside or away in storage when those interests fade but keep them around for when that desire inevitably returns.

     

    Yeah, same thing happened to me the first couple times I thought I was over classic gaming. Sold a bunch of stuff both times, and later regretted it both times. Best to keep it around unless you really need the space or money. I didn't; was just trying to streamline my life. But what the heck... I don't think the meaning of life is "getting rid of stuff". (Neither is accumulating it, but once you do have it, may as well keep it.)

     

    I'm currently downsizing a little bit but it's because I have to to get ready to move. I'm still planning to take most of my game stuff with me and probably replace most of what I'm selling now later.

     

    I realize too that this is slightly off the original topic, which was about the simplistic gameplay of 80's games and the realization thereof, not about downsizing a collection. It was also specifically about arcades, though I think it applies to consoles too. And I do admit that there are certain consoles I keep around mostly for nostalgia reasons, not gameplay... but then I *never* particularly liked any of the games on the Atari 2600, even as a kid. But I have one now because my cousins did and I remember playing it at their house.

     

    As for arcade games, I mean there are probably too many great games from the 80's that I still enjoy playing to even list. And I keep finding more in MAME.

    • Like 2

  14. Posted

     

    I agree with most of that article.

     

    There's being "mean" and then there's legitimate criticism. Just because somebody criticizes your product doesn't make them "mean" - maybe they even make some good points that you might (as the product's creator) want to listen to.

     

    I get the feeling that Tallarico is one of those guys who's got such blinders on about his product that he can't see the forest for the trees. He has fallen in love with his idea. That's dangerous in any industry.

  15. Posted

    How about the console upgrade train?

    For me it's pretty much the same thing. There was a time when I *had* to have all the newest consoles; I even stood in line to get them on day one. I thought I was over that; I never had an original Wii or Wii U (until like a year ago), never had an Xbox 360 or original Xbox One. I had a PS3 and that was it.

     

    But somehow, I currently have a PS4, Xbox One S and Switch. (And I even had an Xbox One X for like a minute and a half.) So I guess I'm back on that train.

     

    It's a little different now in that I have them all for different reasons unique to each system (the PS4 at this point I mainly have for PSVR; the Xbox for streaming and 4K Blu-Ray; the Switch for its unique form factor, though I haven't used it all that much recently, to be honest). In the old days, it was just "there's a new game console!" and that alone was enough. I don't know if I'll rush out and buy every replacement for the current systems; it depends on what they actually do. But I can't say I won't buy all of them either. Probably depends on my financial situation at the time. If I'm flush with cash, I'm probably more likely to buy all of them like I used to, just because they're there. Game consoles are definitely something I do just like to have, if money's not an issue. But my financial health seems to change a lot.

  16. Posted

    Speaking for myself, I realized a long time ago that interests come and go... and then come and go again. And then again. At this point in my life, I think I know what my interests actually are, and they just rotate. Sometimes I'm really into old video games. Sometimes it fades and I'm into, I dunno, guitars or something for a while. But then it comes back.

     

    I don't think I'd ever say the train has left the station on any of my hobbies or interests. If I was interested once, I can and probably will be again. It's just a lull.

    • Like 3

  17. Posted

    how "guh "is right when it's an a?

     

    Well I'm not really sure which side you're arguing here. I never said it should be "guh", just that it definitely should *not* be "See-guh". But the "a" in "Sega" is not actually an English "a". It's a Japanese が. "Sega" is one of those words that started out English, gets incorporated into Japanese and then shortened in Japanese (otherwise we'd pronounce it "Ser-gay"), and then gets re-romanized back into English literally just for dramatic effect in the logo. But the "ga" can only be pronounced "gah" in English. I'm willing to allow "guh" no matter how you pronounce the "Se" part because even some Japanese pronounce it "guh" depending on accent, and there's no actual "guh" sound in Japanese so some people do pronounce "gah" that way there. But the "Se" part is clearly "Seh" - it cannot be anything else.

     

    It would be like pronouncing "Sony" as "Sunny" or "Sah-nee", both of which are clearly wrong and anybody in the world (as far as I know) would agree. There's a correct pronunciation and then there are incorrect pronunciations; that's it. I think it's being generous to say that within the correct pronunciation, there can be *some* minor variations due to accent, but there's a point at which it's just totally wrong.

  19. Posted

    The "Say-guh" and "Seg-uh" are pretty similar and may come down to accents... but the "See-guh"? That could also be an accent thing because I mostly hear it from Australians or Europeans... but still.

    Yeah, it's clearly wrong. I'll give any Europeans and Australians a deal, though: we give them "See-guh" (I mean, just for them; we keep pronouncing it correctly ourselves) if they will absolutely shut the hell up about "solder". God, they are absolutely insufferable about that word.

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    Retronauts (the podcast) likes to pronouce Xevious as

     

    ZEH-vee-us

     

    which I suppose makes sense, if it were a Japanese word

     

    But I don't think it is ... at least not in my little American-centric mind. It's dangerous, it's devious, it's XEVIOUS (ZEE-vee-us)

     

    right?

     

    Don't make me read stuff I wrote 12 years ago!

     

    I'm pretty sure "Xevious" is an American title and should be pronounced "Zee-vee-us".

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    I guess what do you consider finish? If for you beating Bowser is finishing the game then its not bad at all.

    I didn't get close to beating Bowser. I think I finished that desert level and then started the next one, got frustrated and quit and never returned.

     

    I think I'm kinda over this style of game, where you need to keep doing the same thing over and over until you're good enough at a particular section to not die. Those kinds of games just frustrate me now. I used to like building up my hand-eye coordination until I could pass a section of a platformer, but now it feels like kind of a waste of my time. When am I ever going to use that skill again? I realize this is the way an old person thinks about video games.

     

    The games I find myself gravitating towards these days are games with either more generalized skills (so, they could be action games relying on hand-eye coordination, but not *specific* movements that only apply to that game), or games where I need to use my brain and think through problems to reach the goal.

     

    I *know* my general hand-eye coordination is pretty good too, because I just took a pilot assessment test for a major airline and I got a score literally 5 times higher than some *actual pilots* who were taking the same test. But still I get frustrated and quit playing freakin' Super Mario Odyssey. It's these games with super-specific skills that only apply to that game that I can't deal with anymore.

    • Like 2

  22. Posted

    It's a little warmer in color than it probably was originally, but I don't think I'd retrobrite it. I don't actually think these were 100% grey to begin with - I used one at the time they were current, and I have one now and have photographed it in different light and it definitely shifts in appearance depending on that. So I probably wouldn't worry about it.

     

    I do think your white balance on the photos itself is probably a little on the warm side, which is affecting its appearance here. Mine can look like that if my camera doesn't have a good white reference point.

  24. Posted

    Yeah, I'm getting to that point too. Over the past year I think I've hardly bought anything but short, and mostly old games. Mario Odyssey might be one of the last, if not the last, "long" games I've bought in that time. And of course, I never finished it, or even came close.

  25. Posted

    Yeah, I have several games with price tags like that as well; big ones too, with 1983 release dates.

     

    A little while back I got a bunch of Atari stuff from a guy who was an executive at Warner Communications when Atari owned them (I'm actually planning to sell his 800 and 2600 pretty soon myself), and *he* had games with $2.99 price tags on them. Which suggests to me that the retailers did their best but eventually sent them back to Atari and if this guy and other employees didn't take them, they were going to meet an Alamagordo-like fate, or worse.

    • Like 1
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