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deepthaw

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Posts posted by deepthaw

  1. Posted

    34. Ultimate DOOM and DOOM II (PC) - I play these so often it's almost like they are a part of the same game to me, so I may as well just glue my first playthroughs of the year together here. I ran through Ultimate DOOM about two weeks ago, then I ran through DOOM II the other night (Ultra Violence on both, naturally). I still feel like Ultimate DOOM holds up fantastic with some truly amazing map design, although Episode 4 still feels inconsistent with me with some really, really strong maps, and some fairly lackluster ones too. DOOM II is a bit different in that when I play through in a single sitting, I get worn out faster than I do with Ultimate DOOM. That's probably due to the intensity level being raised across the board, and the fact it's not episodic in nature--you just go from one map to the next, so for someone like me who binges, I am less likely to take a break. Also, DOOM II has a tendency of using more muted colors, less bright blues and things like the original DOOM did, so I feel that can wear on me as well in a long session. Still, there's still a lot of map designs here that are tough to top, and both of these games combined are an absolute favorite of mine. With these campaigns I typically use the Gzdoom source port which lets me play them at 1080p, as well as interpolated for a framerate higher than the stock MS-DOS versions (60, versus 35).

     

    You should replay Duke Nukem 3D. Holds up rather well, and has some similar source ports for higher res, etc.

  2. Posted

    I agree with the CRPG Addict recommendation, that guy is amazing.

     

    I would start with the GOG forums, but I'm new to the series.

     

    Were you there when these were new? I remember trying Pool of Radiance as a teenager and running away FAST from the turn-based combat and simple graphics. Now that I'm older, I can see the appeal, but wonder if too much time has passed and perhaps you had to be there?

     

    I replayed Pool of Radiance recently and it held up surprisingly well. Combat can become a chore when you fight one million kobolds, but I still made it through.

  4. Posted

    I didn't say it was all platformers, but there were so many of them. My friends with NES's collections were at least 90% platformers.

     

     

    I was a huge fan of Ultima games, but could not stand the NES version.

     

    The NES versions of Ultima were acceptable enough in that they got me curious for the computer versions, so they're a win in that respect!

  6. Posted

    NES was not limited to platformers in the slightest. There were titles like Solar Jetman, R.C. Pro-Am, Snake Rattle 'n Roll, Punch-Out, none of which fall into the platformer stereotype.

     

    We couldn't afford a computer when I was a kid, but I still managed to discover adventure and strategy games via my NES (Maniac Mansion, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.) PCs were better for those type of games, but the NES ports weren't awful.

     

    Meanwhile, I'm struggling to think of contemporary action games, even on computers, that had the depth of content that a game like Castlevania III or Ninja Gaiden had.

     

    RPGs were an interesting sticking point: Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior) was an intentional nod to the likes of Ultima & Wizardry, but also defined the console RPG vs the computer RPG. Some PC to NES RPG ports were excellent (Wizardry), others were fair-to-middling (Ultima III & IV). The console style of RPG seemed better received in my area, with friends viewing Ultima as "Dragon Warrior but confusing and with food." I stuck with Ultima and got heavily into it on PCs, but I still enjoyed the likes of Final Fantasy.

    • Like 2

  9. Posted

    I grew up on the Atari 2600, but jumped ship to the NES as soon as it was released and quickly wasted most of my childhood in front of one. A huge chunk of my life has been spent playing Street Fighter and its descendants. All of these are left-hand controller, right hand buttons. I still play games today, and everything modern is the same way.

     

    But when I go to the local arcade and visit my old regular, Ms. Pac-Man, I still instinctively play with my right hand. I don't even think about it. I guess it's the lack of buttons.

     

    How about you folks: Despite decades of learning to play "left-handed" do you find yourselves switching it up in the arcade when it's possible?

  10. Posted

    Finally got a TV stand for my Trinitron, everything's working great.

     

    Unfortunately - the Trinitron has a minor scratch. You can't notice it 98% of the time, but my mind is utterly fixated on it. I've heard that the best you can do for CRT scratches is the filler stuff from eyeglass repair kits. Anybody have any experience with that?

  12. Posted

    Son got a Switch for Christmas. When he's not playing a Mario or Lego game, I'm using it for indie games (mostly.) Most of them are retro-styled.

     

    Blaster Master Zero

    Remake of the NES classic. Part of the "enhanced" retro style of modern games that look 8-bit, but upon further investigation, clearly do things that a real 8-bit system couldn't handle. Quality title - my main gripe was that the difficulty was too low. The original Blaster Master was brutal - this one was far too easy.

     

    Mighty Gunvolt Burst

    After Capcom decided to stop making Mega Man games, his creator went on to make Mighty No. 9 (which was poorly received) while the people who worked on the Mega Man Zero games went on to make Gunvolt. This is a crossover between those series done in 8-bit style. Basically a Mega Man clone except for a highly customizable weapon system. So customizable in fact, that the customizations become mostly meaningless once you realize how to make the most ridiculously powerful weapons you can. Difficult is somewhat inconsistent, but it's an otherwise enjoyable (and cheap!) couple evenings of play.

     

    Retro City Rampage

    This was originally a proof of concept for a Grand Theft Auto (in the style of 1 & 2, not 3 and later) game for NES. Filled to the brim with retrogaming and pop-culture references. I had a lot of fun stealing the van from TMNT for the NES and plowing through civilians. There are a handful of segments that steal mechanics from other classic games, and it feels like a missed opportunity that there weren't more of these. By the end, it felt more like work than fun to finish the game, but was overall enjoyable. Includes the NES proof-of-concept as a bonus feature.

     

    Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

    Technically neither classic nor retro, this game nonetheless instilled in me the sense of wonder and exploration that I felt as a child when I first played the original Zelda. There's a reason practically every place that gives gaming awards gave it game of the year. Even the jaded grognards among us (which I frequently am) need to give it a try. It's the only game I've logged 70+ hours on in over a decade, and it never felt like it was dragging. And apparently the Wii U version is just as good as the Switch version, so you might not even need to buy a Switch.

  13. Posted

    Some weirdness to be aware of which I discovered on my Vizio 4K LCD.

     

    Different HDMI ports may have different input lag. Weird, I know. I picked up my TV specifically because it had excellent input lag but I found out that it's only one HDMI input that has that minimal lag.

     

    So it might be worth researching your particular TV to see if that's true, or even just switching around ports.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    After trying off-and-on to get my Retropie working on a CRT, I found that somebody made some custom shaders that make it work *much* better.

     

    https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/11628/240p-and-mame-scaling

     

    Basically - the Retropie can do 240p over composite if you have the right cable (like a Zune AV cable). But since it can't do all the custom timings and so on, stuff like SNES games end up with either the wrong aspect ratio (because they run at 256x224) or bad scrolling artifacts (from trying to scale that 256 pixels to 320x240.)

     

    The directions on here include the shaders that cleaned up all of those scrolling artifacts and make it look ... well, about as good as you'd expect a classic game system running on composite to look. Haven't gotten to try it on my 27" Trinitron yet to see if it stays acceptable, but I think it'll work well enough to tide me over until I can get the actual systems.

  18. Posted

    I have two CRTs, a little 13 inch or so Trinitron as well as a 27 inch Trinitron I picked up yesterday. Moved into a house last year, and I believe I've already identified a corner of the basement that will become my retrogaming nook.

     

    I've been playing with getting composite output on my Retropie and it actually looks pretty nice on the smaller one. Once I bring the big CRT inside I'll move the Pi over.

     

    Long term plan is to hook up actual game systems to it and phase out the Pi. Already have a 5200 on which I'm awaiting the parts to do a power mod, and I've been keeping an eye out for a cheap Genesis/Megadrive.

     

    Ironically - I grew up playing the hell out of my NES and SNES and have next to no interest in picking either back up for my retro collection. It's partially the price, and partially that I'm eager to play the games I missed out on.

  21. Posted

    Was given an Atari 5200 recently, which has kickstarted my long dormant need to start restoring/collecting classic consoles and computers.

     

    What are the basics everybody should have in a "retro-restore" kit? Even the cheap stuff, so that you don't get halfway through a project then grumble because you have to run down the street and spend two bucks buying something. What I've got so far is:

     

    Soldering Kit

    Desoldering wick & pump

    Electronics kit with a bunch of resisters/capacitors (none of which will be what I need, but I tried...)

    Conductive paint/pen

    Screwdriver with all the weird bits

    Drill with small bits

    99.9% alcohol

    Q-Tips

    Baking soda

    Magic Eraser(s)

    Paper Towels

    Windex

    Goo-Gone

     

    What else will I find extremely useful to have? (I need to replace my helping hands I lost in a move...) Particular IC socket sizes that should always be on hand?

    • Like 1
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