Happy New Year 2012

Hello kids, in most of the world, it's already 2012 but here in the US it isn't!  Anyway, this has been a good year...we got the Daytona USA port and Bart's Supermodel emulator.  I made it through one semester of gaming school which is a great accomplishment.  We've had our horrible setbacks like the Japanese quake but we made it through for now.  Let's hope that next year is better.  I know I have brutal gaming school starting again in January 9th which really sucks on top of a bevy of other video game and real-world news so let's pray for the best.  Oh, you know it's gonna be a BLAST leading up to Dec. 21.

I really don't care much about New Year's since I think it's another excuse for people to party.  It's a digit turning in the calendar.  But without New Year's our Christmas break wouldn't be nearly as long so be thankful for that.  And Auld Lang Syne is an annoying song...the phrase means "old friends" so what the hell does that mean?  An opportunity to crack a stupid joke like, "I haven't seen you since last year,"?  And fireworks are kind of cool but if you go outside for just a minute you come back smelling like smoke and that's not fun.  And New Year's Resolutions are stupid--make a resolution EVERY DAY, not just on Jan. 1st.

I've had this blog for a year and a half.  Last year, for good old time's sake, I posted my personal Top 10 posts of 2010.  Now I'm going to do the same for 2011.  Problem is I have 12 months of posts to glaze over as opposed to 6 months from last year so it's gonna be tough.  So here's my Top 10 in no particular order:

1. The Forza 3 Experience -This was the second post I made in 2011 and it's prett-ay good.  Playing online and getting my ass kicked...so much fun.

2. BOYCOTT GAMEINFORMER MAGAZINE, SCREW BURNOUT - Wow!  This has to be my angriest moment in the history of this blog.  No way you insult OutRun 2 on my watch.  If you want to see why I hate Burnout and mainstream gaming media, read this....

3. Super Sprint Remake Preview - While you can download the game in this post, that preview post lays out everything for you. :3

4. DAYTONA USA YYYYEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH - STOKED for a new Daytona USA port!!!  Plus more fun pics that should Sega should take to heart.

5. LEAVE SEGA ALONE!!! - Haters gonna hate on Sega, but what is Sega doing about it?  This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.

6. Group Think In Video Games? - Why do people keep playing the same video games?  Now you know why.

7. OutRun 2: Bring A Road Map!! - Awesome diagram of real-world OutRun 2 locations!

8. Awesome Scud Race Magazine Article!!! - You want to read something uplifting on Scud Race?  Now you got it.  Very interesting read with a special thanks to the Blue Skies Daily blog affiliate of ours.

9. Gaming School: How I Learned To Stop Worrying (About Grades) And Love To Ridicule Everyone - This entry is totally personal but it basically exposes the stupidity in grades at school.  And I throw people under the bus, cool!!

10. Supermodel Emulator...First Time I've Played Daytona 2 In A Long, LLLooooonnnngggg Time... - I was awe-struck to play the Supermodel emulator for the first time...and that was just the first release (no sound) running at 10% speed on my slow-ass laptop...

11 (Dammit can't believe I forgot this one!). Sega: More Sinister Than Meets The Eye? - The truth about Sega is out there.


Honorable Mentions:

* Daytona USA Guide: Make A Paper Hornet!!! -  I bought the Daytona USA guide books a while back and now here's some of the scans.  Fantastic Daytona media for you!

* What I Learned About Game Design In Three Days (And How It Pertains To Sega Racers) - At FIEA, I learned some good stuff in game design/publishing so now's your chance to digest it.  It's gold, Jerry, GOLD!!!

* TWO CATASTROPHIC RACE FAILS IN ONE DAY - Still f***in' hilarious even in 2012.

* Daytona USA Reviews--Kill Me Now - While I can't load up my Top 10 with bitter "everyone sucks" posts, this one takes the cake as you Daytona USA port haters get your dues.

* More Thoughts About Dan Wheldon Crash - Dan's fatal crash at Las Vegas still hurts and here's some more retrospect on this whole thing.

EDIT: * Original Lego Racers PICS 2: DAYTONA USA EDITION - Yo dawg, I heard you like legos...?

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There's many more good posts of mine I wish I could showcase but I can't.  Hey, I still have more things to talk about in the near future.  Until then, see you in 2012.

Forza Four First Looks

Yes guys, I got Forza 4 for Christmas (even though my brother already owned a copy and he hacked for 100 mil credits and doesn't even play seriously so what's the point of buying a second copy) and that's been eating up most of my time.

I know not everyone reading this likes Forza, but I'll say this.  I've had a soft spot in my heart for Gran Turismo simulation/collect 'em all racers.  And Forza is doing a good job of that.  I know it's mainstream but it's still leagues better (or solid) than Need for Speed, Gran Turismo 5, or anything not from Sega.  I can be all cool and hip and completely disregard any game that has sold more than 250k copies, but what's the point?  That just makes me look like an IDIOT!!

I'm not hipster enough of a gamer.  Look at me, I run out of witty things to say about bad games...all I can do is dish out generic insults.

NEW FEATURES IN THIS GAME THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN IN PREVIOUS FORZAS:

* Twelve cars on track at once.
* A "far chase" cam, like the 4th VR button in Daytona USA & Scud Race (FINALLY!!!)
* New tracks: Infineon, Indianapolis, and Burmese Alps (Forza's token snow level at last!!).
* Car handling seems to feel better.
* Jeremy Clarkson's sexy voice.
* A bunch of new cars.
* IT RUNS AT 60 FRAMES PER SECOND!!!
* New options allow you to fidget with the car physics, AI difficulty, and whatnot with greater detail.
* They split the 20+ min races into pieces, therefore eliminating the endurance race aspect in favor of not having you commit suicide.

So anyway, because I reached Level 50 in Forza 3, the game gives me a few Forza 4 gift cars--a Bugatti Veyron, a Ferrari F430, that Peugeot LeMans car, etc.  So that's nice althought it sucks having to remake all that money all over again.

I'm plowing through the single-player races and it's kind of the same thing as Forza 3 (read my wonderful F3 adventures here).  My goal is to learn to drive like a champ and make lots of extra money.  So you know what that means?  NO DRIVING AIDS!!!  Those are mainstream.  The more options you turn off, the greater percentage of money you get.  So set that G-D switch to "Expert" and never look back.

I've been driving without aids since Forza 3 and could've turned 'em off in Gran Turismo but the lack of analog controls hurt.  With no ABS and TCS, it's a matter of not pressing the gas or brake 100%.  Really, TCS is a major pain for S-rank cars and up because in the lower gears, flooring it on a turn will pretty much get you killed.  Try playing Fujimi Kaido in a R1 car and don't touch any of the walls or other drivers.  Car handling can be so flimsy in this game...it's strange going from Daytona USA to Forza like that.

Did I mention I've also turned off the rewinds?  If you lose a race, it's not the end of the world.  I may restart the race if I get damaged too early but other than that, I just take my lumps and move on to the next race.  You don't need to finish 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st like in Gran Turismo to be successful.

The only driving aide I really consider is Braking line and only because the 10% deduction is well worth the cost of not overshooting a turn.  Though I've played through 4 Gran Turismo's (including other racers) without the driving line so do I really need it now? 

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Rubbin' is racing.  This may sound completely contrary to what I preach, but it's kind of fun to trade paint and bump the other cars.  I'm not endorsing the Burnout-style approach to racing (everything explodes into a trillion pieces), nor am I endorsing "dirty driving."  Sometimes, you gotta throw the car around to make a pass.  It's like basketball--each player has six fouls to give and if they ain't using them, then they're doing something wrong.  So GTFO the way, noobs...I don't need to rear-end you again to get you to move, huh?  Car damage shouldn't be new especially if you've played Daytona USA 2 before (which I assume you all have).

Damage can sound brutal but the main goal is to protect the Engine (lower speed/accel) and the Steering Wheel (car can veer to the left/right like a broken RC car).  If you lose either of those, the race is practically over.  Body damage is peanuts although it can hinder your car's top speed if it gets too bad.  Repair costs aren't too bad (10% of my massive paycheck thanks to Difficulty bonuses) unless you get in major pileups, like this one:

I was in the lead when I scraped the wall in my Ford GT40 which was enough to put the car in an inevitable tailspin.  So I hit reverse, backed up into the middle of road, hit first gear and then this idiot rear-ends me.  That means I get insurance money!  But no, I won the race and he lost so haha.

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Now about the cars.  One of my main goals from the start was to remake the Daytona 2 cars from Forza 3.  That sounds great but one problem--the stock cars in the game are too damn expensive.  In F3, they were about 75K but in F4, they're 900K.  Much more expensive.

When I did buy the stock cars, I was delightfully surprised from what I saw.  See, both stock cars have a default of 710 PI.  In F3, they could only top out at 740 which is lousy since they're 60 PI away from the ceiling so they were nowhere near competitive in the R3 class.  But in F4, you can add even more upgrades to the car.  You can add more engine parts, weight reduction, you name it.  Both the Ford and Chevy stock cars can reach 800 PI and these things are BULLETS, dammit!!  Surprisingly good handling and they can compete in the R3 class, FINALLY.  Still shocked that they took out the Dodge stock car and didn't add any new cars (no Car of Tomorrows, etc.).

Hey, now we know that evil Electronic Arts stole the Porsche license away from Turn10 so Forza 4 only has RUFs in it.  Oh boohoo, that's terrible, but the last time I checked, GT5 had 5 RUFs.  So how many does Forza 4 have?  ONE.  Well, one more if you include the collector's edition, but what's to stop them from including more?  F3 had 15-something Porsches, but F4 can only get one RUF.  At least T10 is releasing 10 DLC cars each month so there's gotta be one or two more in the future.  I want my Porsche 911 equivalent, dammit!!

But there's one thing about the game that deserves major credit.  If you played Forza 3, you'd know that All-Wheel-Drive cars were massively overpowered.  F3 didn't take into account the car's "mechnical grip" or whatever so basically the game understated their ability and therefore, gave players more PI space for upgrades and stuff.  This was on par with the overpowered bikes from Mario Kart Wii in terms of retardedness.  If you weren't using an AWD car online (except in R1 races), you lost, plain and simple.

In Forza 4, this is no longer the case and Rear-Wheel-Drive cars have the upper hand.  With that being said, RWD cars may be a bit overpowered now.  AWD drivetrains may be weighed too heavily now.  But that's a matter for serious debate that I really don't belong.  The way I see it, it's more realistic being that all major pavement races such as NASCAR, F1, Indy Car, and LeMans, use RWD drivetrains.  It's also better because RWD is harder to drive because you're more prone to spinouts, therefore AWD retains the "easy level car" element.  Compare that to F3 where AWD were more powerful AND easier to control, therefore giving you NO incentive to ride RWD unless you are a masochist.  So IMO, Forza 4 > Forza 3.

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I also noticed something funny.  If you look at all the AI drivers, they either come from the US, Europe, or Japan.  And they only drive cars from their native lands.  Like J. Evans and R. Brown only drive American cars.  And M. Rossi and P. Muller only drive European cars (doesn't matter the country...Italian drivers will choose German cars).  What the hell is this?  I'm American and I don't mind driving Subaru or Ferrari cars if I had the chance.  Damn fanboys.

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Hey, make sure while you're playing this game to crank up the Gran Turismo beats.  Cause no dosage of Top Gear & Jeremy Clarkson can save this annoying dubstep/electronica soundtrack.











When I talk about Forza 4, I'm not saying this game is perfect...for one thing, this game still doesn't have pit crew animations while Gran Turismo 4 (and even f***in' Virtua Racing) did.  Also, F4 has a miniscule amount of smoke and fire (tiny exhaust fumes, ha) which is really lame.  From what I heard, this game was supposed to have car fires but Ferrari would've pulled out had Turn10 added that so it was cut.  Particle effects gone...come on, people, take the "restrictors" off this bad boy! And I know this ain't as "magical" as old racers like Daytona or Gran Turismo but it's still pretty good.

But you know what would make this game REALLY good?  Take all the tracks from Gran Turismo 5 and put them in this game?  Yeah, that would be awesome, BUT....  Let's take Forza 4's car buying/upgrade system and use Daytona USA's car handling/physics/visuals.  THIS GAME NEEDS TO BE MADE ASAP!!!

Clarkson's face while playing Daytona USA

I still wonder how long Forza 4 will last for me until it's discarded or usurped by something else.  Oh well, that's my take on the game for now.  Not a bad game at all so it's worth it, I guess.

Also be sure to use the Forza 3 Car Setup Tool...still works fairly well in Forza 4 although I still don't know how to find tire width other than in the upgrade shop.

EDIT: Review Score: 9.25 out of 10.

Daytona USA 2 In Forza Four!!!! (Plus More)

THE HEAT

IS

BACK....

Daytona USA 2 cars have been ported to Forza Motorsport 4!!!

They're on the Forza Storefront (all 15, 5 per car) for FREE!!!  Money is not a problem for me.

So Forza 4 will not import car designs.  However, they will import car vinyls.  So I took my Forza 3 cars, copied all 5 sides of the car to their own layer, and pasted them on the Forza 4 cars.  It took a bit of alignment to do so but it was relatively easy I suppose.  So WHY THE HELL couldn't Forza 4 just import car designs from Forza 3 and save us the inconvenience???  The Ford and Chevy stock cars are EXACTLY the same as before.  Oops, way to drop the ball, Turn10.

Sadly, many designs for Forza 2/3 will never make it to 4 unless the previous owners redo the layer process above.  Only the original designer can edit and upload designs.  It's stupid.  Will I ever be able to drive the Seinfeld "Assman" car in Forza 4?  Don't count on it.

Now I was presented with one dilemma while making designs and you may have spotted it already.  They removed the Dodge stock car from Forza 4.  Now why the hell did they do that.  First of all, three car models align perfect with the trio: Chums Gum = Chevrolet, Scorpio = Pontiac (in our case, Dodge), Phantom = Ford.  But now the Phantom and Scorpio share the same model.  Second is that you can't just Ctrl-V, Ctrl-C the vinyls from a Dodge to a Ford/Chevy and have them line up.  So I copied pieces of the Scorpio and lined them up.  Ironed out some of the flaws while I was at it too.

For the Scorpio, I picked the Ford for three dumb reasons.  One, because the Ford has the black spoiler and the Scorpio in Daytona 2 has a black spoiler as well.  Chevy has a while spoiler that's really lame.  Two, because I felt that Ford has the more "stout" stature of the two cars.  Three, because most fan Hornets are using the Chevy model so I wanted to balance it out (Hornet & Chums Gum = Chevy, Scorpio & Phantom = Ford).

I want to talk more about the actual Forza 4 gameplay itself later.  Until then, I'll leave you with some more Sega cars on the Marketplace, none of which I made (except the other Phantom car):

I did this myself...I have an affinity for old boxy cars--in this case, a '71 Nissan Skyline GT-R.  Easy to move vinyls around, ha.

I think you might've seen these two cars from an old arcade game that involves driving on dirt.

The McLaren from Scud Race.

Well, it's not the most perfect Hornet I've seen though it's the most complete.  The Chevy stock car just doesn't do this justice--it needs some old Buick or something.

Nice to see Daytona: Championship Edition get some props--this is a very well done car.  Taco Bay, HAHA!!

Yes, the two Ninja drone cars from Daytona, sweet!

Ok, cya later.

Merry Christmas, Now Go Buy OutRun Online Arcade NOW

Hi guys, I'm sorry I didn't make an "official" Christmas post but I've been fading in and out for the last few days.  I also got sidewinded by Nagoshi and football stuff.  Overall, it wasn't a great Christmas: there weren't a whole lot of Christmas lights around but at the mall, they added a San Francisco Rush 2049 arcade machine (with a screen tinted green...someone please fix that) and the Fast & Furious twin cabinet was broken.  HAHA!  Otherwise, the time leading up to it wasn't that much fun but at least I got to spend time with friends and family so that is good.

Now I was going to say this earlier but I planned this for now.  This is my plea:

For everyone who has an Xbox 360, please go buy OutRun Online Arcade.  You have until Dec 31 to buy it.  That gives you two days to do it.  Then the game will be removed from the marketplace due to an expiry with the Ferrari license.

Go here to download the game (if you're too lazy to download off your console)...the price has been fluctuating between 400 and 800 MSP but oh well.  IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY.  Also, if you're feeling extra generous, be sure to download the gamer pics and BG themes!!  Get these before they're gone forever!

Now about the game being removed from the marketplace.  A common misconception is that you won't be able to play the game after it's not on the marketplace.  This is not true.  As long as the game remains on your hard drive, you can play it "forever."  Essentially what happens is that the game still remains on the marketplace servers and you can redownload it as many times as you want ASSUMING you purchased the game before Dec 31.  Same thing applies to a few old Midway game I purchased: Paperboy and Root Beer Tapper.  I can still play those even though they've been delisted years ago.

It's like a club and the only way you can get in is if you buy a ticket before the deadline so buy that ticket (to ride) now!

And I know some people may not be as interested in racing games, but this game's a blast.  Dashing gameplay, Ferraris, colorful environments, uplifting music, and hot babes.  It's a therapeutic game, even if you only play it for just an hour.  It'll change your life.  It changed mine!



YouTube comments: "best 800 points ive ever spent" and "This title is actually worth the 800 points..I loved the original on the master system.. brings back so many memories!"  Well said.

Now I'll post a few extra pics to try to convince you otherwise:

AWESOME OUTRUN BOX ART!!!

Dec 31 . My stratagy to sell sega Racing Games is working!!  Now you know hwy I have the most wwebsite as on the internet.  so go put on your big boy hat and Play Outrun Online Arcade . peace out =)

Supplemental Reading.

NAGOSHI TALKING ABOUT DAYTONA USA, WHAT IS THIS

I didn't even watch this video before posting it, IT MUST BEEN SEEN BY EVERYONE...!!!  NAGOSHI COMES OUT ON DAYTONA USA!!!

EDIT: I will go back and add what he said:

* 41 was a lucky number he heard from a fortune teller.

* Racing games were one of his team's strong points.  He was on a business trip when he happened to spot a NASCAR race on TV.  It was simple and fun so he presented it as a different direction for the market.

* The AI in Daytona USA is vastly different per car.  Some try to block you, some move out of the way.  It's randomized for that true arcade experience.

* Driving games should be "exciting and refreshing."  He wants players to feel like a race car driver...that they feel "better" after playing the game (I AGREE!!!).

* He had a chance to visit a NASCAR track (not drive, unfortunately) and the track was so steep he couldn't stand on it.  For this reason, the Beginner track is what made the game so great.  He loves this course and the vast amount of time to make it shows.

* He saw Daytona's success in Japanese arcades but was unsure in the rest of the world.  Fifteen years after the game's launch, he saw a Daytona cabinet in a London airport arcade and thought, "Wow, this game is for real."

* He's proud to be the game's producer and it's something that kept him in the game industry for 23 years.  So he thanks you and I for being such great fans.

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I don't have much to say.  Judging from what he said, it's clear that he's the "main man" behind Daytona, not Yu Suzuki, not Makoto Osaki.  Nagoshi came up with the #41 car...too bad the luck didn't translate to Daytona 2.

I think it's strange that it took him fifteen years to realize the game's worldwide impact.  Has he EVER browsed the Internet before???  Anyway, did he pitch the idea for the XBLA Daytona remake as a response to his newfound discovery?  Maybe so.  Now maybe he is loosened up to the idea behind another Daytona?  I don't buy it.

We may have learned a few new things, but I don't know what else he could've said.  Funny that this would proceed my philantropic gaming rant.  So if it's okay if I make the games I like, then doesn't the same apply to Nagoshi?  What can I do about it?  Disregarding his ridiculous lifestyle, it's his choice on what games to make.  Well, at least he could stop acting ridiculous and come out and say, "Thank you Daytona USA fans" (with that sympathetic English translator's voice) which is exactly what he did so...what else can he do?  Just say, "I was completely wrong, I will only make racing games from now on"?

I think with the resurgence of Sega media, now more people know about Scud Race and Daytona 2 than ever before so Nagoshi may see some pressure.  I think most of us are wising up to his antics.

I get on Nagoshi's case a lot but I have to say thanks for the work you've done for racing games so far and good luck with the future.  Even if it's just a bunch of Yakuza sequels.  Maybe he'll wise up but who knows.

Christmas Presents: More Free Games, Racing Pitches, Etc.

Well, you got Super Sprint which is a great present on its own.  But because I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you in on a surprise Christmas stocking stuffer:

Download Pong With Guns!!!  I actually made this game years ago in my undergrad college.  Shoot the blocks but don't shoot or let the balls fall down.  Game gets faster as you score more points.  The catch is this game uses Seinfeld quotes as sound effects!!!  It's a shallow game but you may like it.

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Oh, and I do have this.  I got the racing game pitch I made in November.  Someone recorded them all and I had mine on the computer for about a month.  I was too reluctant to show anyone.  But since you are all my friends, I'll show it.  Please bear in mind this pitch was given in front of about 50 people (including the Production professor):



It's just not worth hiding from the camera anymore...I don't care, I hate watching everyone else showcase their winning pitches so here's mine.

For about a week, all I heard was how great my pitch was (from both students and faculty) though the game didn't make it.  Which sucks since the point of the pitch was to get the game made more than anything.   Now that I think about it, FIEA is just a bad venue to make games in anyway.  Just stick with the safe pick beat 'em up/adventure game and call it a day.  It's all about portfolio work more than anything.

I think I did myself in when I said "let's go for the iconic style over technical," cause these pitches were all about satisfying the artists (the largest voting block), let's just get that out of the way now.  But I'm going to say this now.  If you pitch it, they will come...no, I'm not pandering to these folks.  This is pretty much what I want and then people will get behind it, I know so.  We won't quit, even in the face of peer pressure, vertical slices, whatever.  Stay the course.

SOMEBODY E-MAIL THIS VIDEO TO SEGA!!!

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And I'll foreshadow my next post with this:

Philanthropy In Game Design

phi·lan·thro·py

noun \fə-ˈlan(t)-thrə-pē\

plural phi·lan·thro·pies

Definition of PHILANTHROPY

1: goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially : active effort to promote human welfare

2 a : an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes b : an organization distributing or supported by funds set aside for humanitarian purposes 

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Because Christmas is the Season of Giving, I figure I'll talk about this. There's several reasons why people make video games, mostly a combination of these I'm about to mention:

* To make money.  Dirty sexy money.  Don't doubt that the developers of Minecraft, Angry Birds, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, etc. are laughing their asses off to the bank right now.  Granted, profit is not bad (you NEED money to live) but for some, it's less about the game and more about the money.  We know that.

SEX WITH MONEY!!!

* To educate or get some point across to the audience.  Like if you hate McDonald's, you make a game about cows getting slaughtered.  These games suck.  Like in Dead Rising *MILD SPOILER* the outbreak was caused by genetically mutated cows.  And there's a subtle message about the "evils" of American consumerism (zombies in a mall).  So instead of buying things from evil corporate Wal-Mart, I should turn of electricity and water, sit at home at my farm, plant a field of and knit a quilt (get the yarn from my own livestock).  Whatever you say, boss.

* This is a big one--you get to make games that personally move YOU.  Think arty-farty stuff here.  You want to make a game about an elf going around stabbing monsters with swords?  Or a game about rolling stuff up in a ball?  Or a game about a dad who will cut off his pinky finger to save his son?  You got it.

Thankfully we have visionaries who will go the distance to make "art" like this.  It's great.  It's where we get the Marios, Sonics, and *cough* Halos of gaming.

* Then there's the opposite of the above.  Rather than make games for yourself, you make games that cater to other people's wants.  Oh dear, who will make a good Sonic game?  Well, Sega will do it because we love the fans (really?).  Or who will a new motion control Zelda game or a Gran Turismo game on the Xbox?  While there's the money motive involved (SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!), you know some Good Guy Greg's (or GGG for short) are patting themselves on the back like "Good job, we made those people happy."

And this is when I reach a conundrum.  I'll say this--my main goal, as sad as it is, is to make a new Daytona game (or some equivalent).  It's just branded into my psyche and it won't go away.

But instead, I'm detoured by all sorts of other games.  Like Battle Fortress Tortoise for school.  Games I'm not as enthusiastic about working on but I know there's a fanbase who'd love to see this game get made.  More people than Daytona USA for sure.  I'm still feeling a bit rebellious seeing as my game pitch never had a chance but am I being an ass for being stubborn in my pursuit for more racing games?

So this is where free will comes in.  Let's throw out money and fame for a second.  If you had the choice to make a game you LIKE that won't please as many people or a game you DON'T LIKE but will please many, what do you do?  A guess a good example would be like Peter Parker in the Spiderman move.  Do you save Mary Jane or the school bus full of kids?  And no, you can't save both--Peter got lucky there, you can't.

Isn't it a bit selfish to make games that you like even though they won't do much good for everyone else?  How is that a bad thing--YOU'RE the one putting in tons of mental labor, not them.  The video game industry is such a mess now with people begging to get "what they want" that you'll leave some out to try and that's the breaks.  Besides, if you make a great game, maybe you'll be able to "convert" them to your side.  I don't think you could make some crazy games like Katamari Damacy or Shenmue without hoping for this to kick in.  Besides, if the majority of fans got what they wanted, then we'd be sitting on a mountain of Call of Duties, Halos, Zeldas, and Final Fantasies.  Geez.

Oh well, I know that Sega is throwing us fans crumbs....we got Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and OutRun 2 ports recently, but I feel there's more.  Like it took the work of people like Bart to emulate Model3 games when Sega seemed unwilling to do so.  The question is how far is Sega going to go to satisfy our miniscule fanbase?  Just admit it--there's not a whole lot of people itching for a new Daytona.  There's however a lot more people itching for a new Sonic and that's what you get--more Sonic games (thankfully, they're better now).

I guess that's why I'm working at becoming a game programmer cause I'm taking matters into my own hands.  Oh, I want people to play games and be happy but if I'm assigned to a project that I have some say in, I don't know which way I'll go.  Be sure to leave feedback so I can know what the people want...rambling idiots on message boards DO NOT COUNT.

Batman was never really "loved" by the people.  He just swooped into the save the day and off he went.  No one knew who his true identity so they couldn't really thank him.  A true GGG.  So who are you going to be--Batman or some egotistical jerk?

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EDIT: On the contrary, I went to sleep and was reminded of this quote from Talladega Nights that no one seems to remember.  It's the end of the movie:

Reese Bobby, the bum father waiting in the parking lot, says, "Hey Ricky, let me ask you a question.  Who'd you win that race for?"  And Ricky replies, "I guess if I really gotta think about it, I just went out there and drove...and knew that no matter what happened, my boys, my momma, and my lady would love me."

Maybe there is no shame in doing my own thing since I'm just doing what I love and maybe people will understand.

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I think I'm over-analyzing this topic.

Happy Festivus 2.0

It's December 23 which is Festivus worldwide.  Now my (second) Airing of Grievances, this time on events from the year Twenty Eleven:

MICROSOFT SUCKS -- Cause they continue to ram the Kinect up our asses and it will always suck and nothing can change my mind.

NINTENDO SUCKS -- 3DS is overrated and cause Link keeps winning the GameFAQs character contests and it's beyond stupid at this point.

NAMCO SUCKS -- Ridge Racer Unbounded is trash and RR Vita is incredibly lacking (five cars and three tracks???????????).

SONY SUCKS -- They got hacked and couldn't do anything about it.

ELECTRONIC ARTS SUCKS -- What "unique" games have they made besides Madden and other perennial sports titles?  EDIT: FYI, Mass Effect, Battlefield, and even NFS: The Run were made by separate studios.  Also, Origin is spyware, you noobs.

CAPCOM SUCKS -- Cause they don't like racing games, that's why.  And they couldn't be arsed into putting MEGA MAN in MvC3 (this offends me even as a non-Capcom fan).

SKYRIM SUCKS -- Overrated, buggy, time-consuming trash.

BATTLEFIELD SUCKS -- I just don't care, lol.

CALL OF DUTY SUCKS -- MW3 is bad, rofl.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT SUCKS -- This game will always suck and its dwindling players shows...

NEED FOR SPEED SUCKS -- RUN JACK RUN FROM THE POLICE AND THE ONCOMING TRAIN!!!

BURNOUT SUCKS -- It just does.

FAST & THE FURIOUS SUCKS -- You're killing arcades with this trash!!!

GAME INFORMER SUCKS -- They trashed OutRun 2 but loved Burnout Crash, UNEXCUSEABLE.

OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE SUCKS -- Horrible Daytona USA review.

SPIKE TV SUCKS -- Turning gaming into an advertising cesspool and teabagging the guy in front of Shigeru Miyamoto.

G4TV SUCKS -- I don't know what they did wrong but I'm fairly certain Adam Sessler said something stupid.

REDDIT GAMING SUCKS -- Too many stupid ass Advice Animal memes.

TOSHIHIRO NAGOSHI SUCKS -- What has he done lately but make another studio for Yakuza games?

GAMEFAQS SUCKS -- Damn do I hate this website.  Every board is either run by absolute buffoons/trolls or picky moderators.

FIEA SUCKS -- How was a game about an anime-style teddy bear wielding a sword chosen over the sweet racing game I suggested?

AMERICAN IDOL SUCKS -- I hate this show.

DISNEY WORLD SUCKS -- Everything is overpriced there.

NFL REFEREES SUCK -- Officiating has been horrible all year.  Finally someone calls the zebras out (and gets picked up on live TV) and then he gets penalized again.  What BS, this is the No Fun League now.  I swear, if the Saints get cheated out of a game by one of these phantom calls, I'm going to lose my s***.



I suddenly like the St. Louis Rams now (after the Saints debacle earlier this year).

VIDEO GAMES SUCK - They're a waste of your time.  So why do I plan on making these very time-wasters for a living?  Same reason people make porn or sell drugs, cause they're STUPID.

Sega, however, does not suck.  Just when I thought you couldn't get any stupider...you find a way to totally redeem yourself!!!!  (Daytona USA)

YOU ALL STINK!!!

Time now for the Feats of Strength.  Until you (FnF fanboys) pin me to the ground, Festivus is not over.  YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME???  YOU GOT IT!!!

Modern Warfare 3 Roast!!!

Hello everyone, I've been home from school for a few days.  And it wasn't my intention to buy MW3 but my brother did so I figured I'd play it for achievements and tell you what I think.  And I have no idea why I'm talking about this but let's get it over with.

The game is mediocre.  Well, it's not bad but having played through everything (besides online MP but come on man, no more of that), I liked Black Ops and even MW2 better.

So where do I begin?  The campaign.  Alright, so you know the story--Europe and the US are attacked by Russia and Price and Soap and Price hunt Makarov.  Okay, so the storyline is over but the most apparent thing is the game seems less appealing than last time.  Let me explain:

The first thing I noticed is that there's way too many city levels.  Because this is "World War 3,"  you get to run through a ravaged New York, London, Paris, Berlin, and Prague.  You think that's enough cities?  These urban levels seem to make up a grand majority of the game and they all tend to look the same after a while...navigating your way through rubble from destroyed buildings.  Personally, I thought the levels from MW2 were cooler, particularly the Airport (the Spec Ops/MP level, I hated No Russian), the downtown area (fighting on top of Nate's), and the neighborhood.  EDIT: Seriously, there's nearby neighborhoods (Covington/Mandeville, LA) that look just like the ones in MW2.  Ha, bunch of rich snobs who don't know how to drive (terrible traffic in that town).

Another thing weird about the game is the weapon selection.  Many classic weapons are back, such as the MP5, AK47, and Barrett 50 cal but they've all received makeovers.  Please bear in mind that the game takes place in 2020, hence making this "Slightly Futuristic Warfare 3."  Most guns are redone for the 21st century and look like airsoft guns painted entirely black, olive, or brown.  Look what they did to the AK47, come on man, where's the wood?  And then you got even more random guns like the "FMG9" and the "PP90M1" as if some dudes decided to mash together a couple of letters & numbers and call it a day.  What happened to the iconic guns like the Famas, AUG, or even the Tar21??  They don't even seem cool/shiny from a Perfect Dark perspective...they're just weird.

WHAT IS THIS???

And what's this--a gun that uses ketchup squirt bottles as magazines.  I buy it.

This gun is from Perfect Dark, a game leagues better than MW3.

 Another weird thing about this game is the graphics.  So I talked about this before--the game runs at 60 FPS but at the cost of using an old graphics engine.  That's fine by me.  But there's some place where the texturing really sucks.  Like in the Berlin level, next to the gutted office building is this destroyed skyscraper with this single black & white texture which is supposed to resembled shattered glass but it really looks horrible when you stop to focus in on it.  Then there's small doodads like books and beer cans that look pixelated and blocky up-close.  So that's lame.  EDIT: Hell, I even feel MW3 in general has more washed-out hues than MW2...It's probably an Infinity Ward (MW2 studio) vs. Sledgehammer (MW3 studio) thing.  I feel more depressed this time around. 

Remember the Spike VGA's and how MW3 won FPS of the Year?  When I think about Battlefield 3, it should've won purely because it's a detailed game built from scratch but MW3 is obviously rehashed.  So Spike TV sucks but you already knew that.

Enough about graphics--there's the storyline.  I'm only two levels left before I complete this campaign on Veteran and it's rigged with many of the same cliches:

* Character gets in a vehicle such as a truck, tank, or helicopter.  Shoot some guys and stuff.  Then, on queue, it crashes and the character is dazed for 15 seconds as he crawls from the wreckage.  In all honesty, this happens at least once per level.  Hell, the character doesn't even need to be riding in a vehicle to become dazed--he falls or gets hurt somehow regardless.  It gets old.

* Run through the shanty town level!  Instead of Brazil from MW2, it's Africa in MW3 (yes that means shooting lots of black people...very politically incorrect game).  Eventually, while fleeing, you fall through the floor and are forced to take an alternative route to regroup with the team.  EDIT: I think this "fall through the floor" gag happened five times in the game--once in India, twice in Africa, once in France (tank falls through parking garage), and once in the final stage (though that one was deliberate since Price broke the glass floor).

* Price and Sandman (your invincible American ally in MW3) run through the level, killing thousands of bad guys while begging you to keep up as you're bleeding to death.  Meanwhile, the rest of the NPCs are as dumb as bricks.

* Breach through the doors, shoot everyone in slow motion.  Usually need to free some hostage in the process.

* Guy gets injured and you have to carry him to the safehouse/chopper.

* Use some support gadget like the Valkyrie rockets or the UGV once for 30 seconds, never to be used again in the entire campaign.

* STEALTH LEVELS!!!  Basically, use silences and knives to take out the guards that wander off from the path.  Either that or just follow Price.  I'm serious--it's predictable just following Price and moving when he tells you to since you know you'll never get caught.  Riveting stuff there, gentlemen.

* EDIT: S***, there's a tank in the way!!!  Grab the Javelin/Stinger/RPG and take down those tanks ASAP!!

* The "prison island" level from MW2 is back.  Break into the prison to gather some VIP/intel and get out.

* Russian bad guys.  Um, the Cold War ended 20 years ago, didn't it?



Call of Duty huh...COLD WAR'S BACK ON!!!

* Underwater sequence where you plant mines & board a ship/submarine.

* Temporary characters that you play as for just one level then are immediately killed when the level is through (see the Russian hijack level).

* THE EPIC CONCLUSION that pits your character and the antagonist in a fight to the death.  The antagonist is about to win but then some other factor comes into play (i.e. your friend distracts him for a second) and then you take him out by mashing some buttons AKA stabbing/strangling/drowning/headshotting him to death.

* "Edgy" cutscene that involves watching some innocent people die a gruesome death.

I thought "No Russian" was horrible, but I laughed at this.  It made no sense.

 

* This isn't a cliche but it's still confusing to me anyway.  So pertaining to the game's plot, we know that Russia officially invaded the US, right?  Then Makarov planted the dirty bombs around Europe, but why was Russia still okay with this (their men just put on the gas masks and were all fine and dandy like that was part of their plan)?  I thought Makarov and Russia were at odds, seeing at he just kidnapped the Russian President and tried to torture him for the nuke codes???  I don't get it.

* Another thing: Didn't anyone think the Russian plane level was ripped right out of Perfect Dark?  No really, you're on a plane with the President (of Russia, same thing) and it's taken over by terrorists. You kill the terrorists, but not before the plane takes a dive into a tundra.  Then you walk around in the winter wonderland and the wrecked fuselage and save the President.  But MW3 doesn't involve aliens or human clones so minus 20 points, Activision.

* Also, the level in Somalia with Price, Soap, and Yuri driving the jeep along the beach...didn't that remind anyone of that beach level from Time Crisis 3?  EDIT: And the helicopter sequence, just like the heli level from Time Crisis 4???

EDIT: It just dawned on me.  Speaking of cliches that is...how come some gadgets were never used in the Campaign or Spec Ops?  How about using throwing knives, claymores, or heartbeat sensors to take out enemies?  Seriously, remember pissing around in Goldeneye N64 with throwing knives (Bunker 2) and mines (Caverns, Facility, you name it)?  I don't think I've ever used those ONCE throughout the entire MW3 campaign.  Also, I think you used the riot shield only once but that was lame.

No really, maybe I'm just QQing but in the end, the Campaign mode is just a test of my patience.  Killing hundreds of nameless Russians so I can move up and "trigger" my teammates to move forwards with the next sequence?  I'm not a big fan of scripted sequences.  On Veteran, it gets worse since you have to play peek-a-boo with the AI since you can get downed quicker than a dime hooker so you have to stay in cover and heal whenever you can.  Why I still continue to play these Call of Duty campaigns on Veteran...for tradition's sake I suppose.

Read a great article that was once posted on Kotaku.  Basically, Call of Duty just holds your hands the whole way.

Do whatever this man says!

Now, what about the REST of the game?  Spec Ops, I don't even give a rat's ass about anymore.  Basically, they took the same stages you ran through in Campaign but added alternative objectives.  Seriously, some levels you're walking "backwards" from the original level, so it's kind of a cheap way to make a stage.  Recycle assets whenever you can, that's the ticket for all you game devs.  We'll notice but will we care?  Not many of us...

But forget about Spec Ops for a second--I'm mostly talking about Survival mode.  It's basically Modern Warfare's response to Zombies and it's not bad.  You're dropped in one of the sixteen multiplayer maps as stronger enemies flood into the level.  You can buy items from boxes & stuff.  While this is a fun diversion, it's not as "creative" as Zombies since all the devs really needed to do was take a multiplayer level and add three item boxes to it.  That's all.  Some levels are more difficult than others but only because the game spawns stronger enemies at an earlier stage.

Since I already got the "Survive to Wave 15 on all Survival maps" achievement, I guess I'll give you a few tips.  Don't buy new weapons--just take the MP5, AK47, ACR (Remington, rofl), or FAD, buy a red dot, and hang on to it until the next weapon appears.  Make it your goal to buy an LMG (I use the PKP Pecheneg cause it has a cool name) with a Red Dot & Grip.  Buy two Sentry Guns and place their backs to the corner so that no one can sneak up on them.

Every 5th round (or close to it), the game will send in choppers and/or Juggernauts.  My advice is, before the round, buy body armor and flashbangs.  Then move the sentry guns inside so the choppers can't destroy them.  Once the round begins, try to kill the regular soldiers & dogs early to get them out of the way.  While inside (to avoid machine gun fire), throw a flashbang on a Juggernaut, run up and shoot him in the face with your LMG.  When he comes to, run away and repeat.  Then shoot the choppter until it dies.  Once I have my two LMGs and sentry guns, I buy riot squads, perk care packages, and air strikes.  And that's about it until the game sends in the whole Chinese army to kill you and that's when I give up (usually around Wave 25 or so).

Really, judging from the way Survival mode went, I'm just not as into this game as I was Black Ops or even MW2.  The guns and the MP maps just seem bland for me.  I never want to talk about this game anymore and if you bought it for your kids for Christmas, then you're just an idiot so go bring it back right now...

REVIEW SCORE: 1*10^-10000 out of 10.  bro I'm so cool for dissing mw3 rofl

So why am I still playing this game despite not liking it?  It's like drugs, man...

EDIT: Just beat the entire MW3 campaign on Veteran.  There were no "impossible" parts so it was quite easy.  I'm thankful since as a busy game designer, I don't have time for frustrating, time-consuming things (I get that in droves from programming alone).  But really, my life suddenly has meaning cause I beat MW3 once and for all.

And I'll leave the wonderful multiplayer rant on this (not my video):

Gun pics from Call of Duty Wiki.

Download Super Sprint Version 1.0

Steps:

Click Here To Download Super Sprint (5.11 mb).

Extract File to Some Directory.

Play the Game.

???

PROFIT!!!

For what it's worth, read the lousy readme and DON'T delete/edit fmodex.dll or any files in the Assets folder.

I went back and fixed the bugs that I mentioned.  Plus my main concern was getting the game to work identically regardless of computer.  I'm using time-based movement (as opposed to frame-based movement). Each computer should run this at near 60-FPS.  Whatever, I'll discuss some intricacies on the game later.  Leave me feedback for future updates.

Super Sprint Remake Preview

I decided against providing a link to the game now because there's maybe one or two things left to fix in terms of gameplay.  So here is a teaser post just for you.

FEATURES:

Up to 3 players on one computer!  (4+ players is totally possible but we don't have enough room around the keyboard)
Up to 8 cars simultaneously on screen!
Seven redone tracks! (Thanks to my accomplices for help)
Same stuff as original, like tornadoes, oil slicks, wrenches, etc.!
Attract mode for arcade diehards!
Run in 1024x768 resolution (full-screen available)!
Made with OpenGL and C++!!!!

CONTROLS:

C - P1 gas
Z - P1 left
X - P1 right

/ ? - P2 gas
, < - P2 left
. > - P2 right

Numpad 3 - P3 gas
Numpad 1 - P3 left
Numpad 2 - P3 right

Enter - Pause/Hold to speed up Continue screen/Go forward menu screen

Esc - Go back menu screen


LOTS OF SCREENSHOTS: 

BUGS:

I know there are at least two.  One is if you're playing Casual Mode and someone signs in mid-game and picks an AI computer's color, sometimes the cars won't switch color (no two cars have the same color, though).  Another is the AI will seldom start headbutting the wall to go to nowhere but this only seems to happen on the bottom road on Track 4 and 7.  I can't think of anything else.  It is what it is now.  I'll fix those if they become more apparent (and they really aren't at the moment).

MORE THINGS:

I still have the chance to add more features ESPECIALLY new tracks, if anyone's interested.  It's actually quite easy to put new tracks into the game.  I must show you that and other programming tricks I used in a later post.

Anyway, comment and let me hear some feedback.  I'm not done working on this game just yet.

Note that this video is just the demo/attract mode and that the computer doesn't have engine SFX enabled like human players do.

Bonus points if you're able to guess which game I borrowed the car sprites from.