G'Day everyone its a very overcast Saturday here right now........ Been another crap week weather wise..... Only two nice days out of the entire week...... The rest of the time its been strong wind and rain.......

As for my kindey stone...... I have no idea whats happened...... All the time is gone and I feel great but I didnt feel the stone pass...... I just woke up one morning feel great and completely pain free...... Instead of having this constant dull ache in my lower abdonmen..... *shrugs* So I dont know...... So im not high on painkillers this week so hopfully this post will be more coherent that last weeks........... Also I have been back hitting the threadmill the past few days........ Struggled the first time back on...... Even just missing a few days really knocked my fitness around.....

I was able to take the dog for a walk both of the nice days this week...... Im planning of giving her a bath tomorrow...... Hopfully the weather holds out for it........

I had a Birthday during the week...... I did not get anything (Besides the kidney stone)...... I will wait for the Black Friday sales and pick up a cheap game on Steam during the sale...... I already have a game in mind.......

As for gaming........ I have still been doing the Halloween spooky games....... As well as the usual NFL games.......

Some screenshots from this past week........


Some helpful cheerleaders......
Screeshot from - Ninja Baseball Bat Man (1993 Irem)


Yeah I dont know what this is meant to be either.......
Screeshot from - Majuu Ou (English Patched) (1995 KSS)


Since the statue of libery cant fight cause shes a statue........ She challenges you to a quiz game.......
Screenshot from - Kid Dracula (English Patched) (1990 Konami)


Map from Silent Debuggers showing the lettered innter blocks (A - H) and the outer block (at the bottom)..... The outer block gets larger and more complex with every level...... This map will come in handy when I talk about the game below....... Foreshadowing.....
Screenshot from - Silent Debuggers (1991 NEC)

This week I played.......

Arcade

Haunted Castle (1988 Konami) - Platformer
Nightmare in the Dark (2000 Eleven) - Platformer - Neo Geo
Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge (1995 Capcom) - Fighting
Ninja Baseball Bat Man (1993 Irem) - Beat 'em up


Console

DEcapAttack (1991 Sega) - Sega Mega Drive - Platformer
Kid Dracula (English Patched) (1990 Konami) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Monster Party (1989 Bandai) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Silent Debuggers (1991 NEC) - NES PC Engine - Survival horror
Splatterhouse (1990 Namco) - PC Engine - Beat 'em up
Super Castlevania IV (Uncensored v2.1) (1991 Konami) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
Majuu Ou (English Patched) (1995 KSS) - Super Nintendo Entertainment System - Platformer
NFL Blitz (1998 Midway) - Nintendo 64 - Sports (Football)
NFL Blitz 2023 (2022 NFL Blitz Resurrection) - Nintnedo 64 - Sports (Football)
Tecmo Super Bowl 2023 (2022 TecmoBowl.org) - Nintendo Entertainment System - Sports (Football)


PC

Terraria (2011 Re-Logic) - Survival

My Birthday game was....... Ninja Baseball Bat Man (1993 Irem)........ My all time favourite arcade beat 'em up game...... Its so wacky and awesome dumb fun....... That is why I play it on my Birthday every year...... I usually play it twice a year as I get the urge to play it about every 6 months...... The story is real simple...... A gold statue has been stolen and broken up to 6 pieces and scattered all over the country....... You need to beat the bosses and retrieve each piece of the statue....... Its got a really nice cartoony look about it and the animations are great........ Eyes bug out and other cartoony effects happen when getting hit..... Its a bright and colorful big dumb fun game and thats just the way I like it.......

The 2 best best games I played this week that wernt Castlevania or Ninja Baseball Bat Man were................ Majuu Ou (English Patched) (1995 KSS).......... Its a really good and very weird action platformer game....... The pixel art is great and the boss designs are weird and wonderful as you could see from the screenshot above....... The main game mechanic is that after defeating a boss is drops a giant gem that changes colour and what colour it is when you pick it up dictates what demon you will be for the next level...... The different demons have different abilities....... Really good game..... Would highly recommend....

And the other one was........... Monster Party (1989 Bandai)......... An often overlooked game this was way better than I thought it would be....... Of course this was meant to be a full on parody game....... That was cancelled and turned into what it is today........ The levels are simple (besides the 6th level) but what makes this fun is the enemy design and boss designs its some really good imaginative designs that work really well...... Being the monster is much more fun that being the human....... And it is a pity you dont spend more time as the monster......... But overall its a good solid fun Halloween game.....

The 2 worst games I played this week that wasnt Haunted Castled were............. DEcapAttack (1991 Sega)........ Its not fun......... Thats the main issue...... Its not fun....... Looking at screenshots and art you assume is going to be a fun game....... Oh boy....... Its not fun at all....... Decap always takes 2 mroe steps when you let go of the d-pad....... meaning its very hard to do the precision platofrming this game asks you to make........ And then a few levels in I fight the boss but im not alowed to leave cause I didnt not find an item that I apparently need to find but they did not tell me about...... so I have to backtrack to find it...... I hate it when games do that......... If you need me to find or collect something...... TELL ME!!!!

The other one was......... Silent Debuggers (1991 NEC)....... This game is the text book definition of "Missed Opportunity"..... A really cool and interesting idea on paper that is ruined by the gameplay mechanics...... The game has a time limit of 100 Minutes that countsdown in real time..... Thats not so much of a problem...... The problem is there are 8 lettered Blocks (A - H) that also get randomly attacked during the game...... Some lettered blocks have nothing in them..... Others have very important things in them like ammunition, battery recharger and the power for the lights..... etc...... If a lettered block gets destroyed it is gone for the rest of the game (G block gets destoryed you can not refill your ammunition for the rest of the game)........ Even after you complete the level and move down to the next level....... AND if all 8 blocks gets destroyed...... GAME OVER........ So there is a time limit AND a block limit.......... This was a bad bad bad mechanic....... Running backwards and forwards between the letter blocks and the outer block is a pain in the arse and even more so when there is a time limit........ The more time spent not killing monsters in the outer block means the less time you have to kill them and you can only go down to the next level by killing all the monsters in the outer block..... There is a Normal and Hard difficulty option........ But the only difference between them is the number of monsters in the outer block........ On Normal the lettered blocks should have been disabled only for the current level and then you get access to them all again on the next level........ And have them periminently disabled on Hard....... This would have actually made a difference to the difficulty of the game........ The game has a really good concept and ideas but its just so frustrating to play........

A quick shoutout to Kid Dracula (English Patched) (1990 Konami)...... A really good chibi styled platformer...... The controls are really nice...... The chibi artstyle works really well...... It has some good humour and other silliness going on (You can see an example of that in the screenshot above)....... Its a very light hearted game..... But dont let that fool you...... It can be a really difficult game in places...... Im looking at you rail section....... ugh........ But overall it is a really good game that just misses out on the top 2 best.......

This week I will be continuing my Spooky Games playlist...... Got some real interesting games coming up..... As well as the usual suspects.......

As for non gaming....... I will continue to hit the treadmill again and im hoping to get the dog on more walks....... If the weather ever improves that is...... And theres always work...... I missed a few days work cause of the kidney stone so im hoping to pick up some more work over the next few weekends to make up for money lost not working......

Quoting: itscalledrealityI am attending an Oktoberfest here in the states which means lots of beer and brats

Dont get to drunk and crash your bike

Well this post has gone on long enough....... Hope you all have a good week.....

Last edited by StoneColdSpider on 14 October 2022 at 9:13 pm UTC

My Halloweeny picks continue, with the third one I've chosen being Five Nights at Freddy's;



For anyone who somehow hasn't heard of this one, it's a mouse-controlled horror-themed game which puts you in the shoes of a security-guard who's trying to keep themselves safe from a group of possessed animatronic animal mascots that roam a pizza-parlour at night. The game's limited animation helps the tension, as it adds to the impression that the animatronics move in a stilted and unpredictable way, and lets the imagination fill in the rest. You have a limited amount of electricity to check the cameras, use the lights, and temporarily close the security-doors, and you have to manage that effectively in order to survive until 6am of each progressively-trickier in-game night-shift.

After a couple of weeks of not appearing here, Bomberman is back in action for my post this weekend, with Bomberman 64: The Second Attack! for the Nintendo 64;



Since I don't enjoy "collectathon" titles, I was never interested in Bomberman 64 or Bomberman Hero (the other Bomberman games on the N64, barring one final Japan-only mini-game compilation - https://bomberman.fandom.com/wiki/Bomberman_64_(2001) ), so I was curious when I discovered that this one takes a different approach - it's basically the standard Bomberman gameplay, but without grid-based movement and with added ladders. This game went quite heavy on the lore side of things (it sometimes has a bit of a dark edge to it, which is an interesting contrast to the series' usual optimistic nature), and opens out with a universe creation-myth which sets up the main story. It also added some new Battle Mode games, some of which, to my knowledge, haven't reappeared since then.

Very little on the N64 appeals to me in general (the console was a regretted purchase back in the day), with the lone title that I like on the system being the 2.5D platformer Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, so it'll be interesting to see if Bomberman 64: The Second Attack! changes this.

I want to thank StoneColdSpider for his help with getting this one up and running - I hadn't realised that Mupen64Plus-Next was available within RetroPie/RetroArch, and it's much better than the regular Mupen64Plus that gets built by default. This means that I no longer have to use Project64 via Wine for N64 titles, which is very helpful indeed.


Per a discussion that I had with itscalledreality in last week's thread, this pick was actually almost a different game entirely! Specifically, the much-maligned Bomberman: Act Zero. But despite my best efforts, it's currently a no-go due to emulation issues. I'll be keeping tabs on this one for the future, however, because I'm just crazy enough to want to be one of the few Bomberman fans who've actually played this spectacularly-poorly-selling game.

Quoting: itscalledrealityand biking, biking, biking before the weather is over and it's icy, icy, icy.

Yikes! Don't slip!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderAs for my kindey stone...... I have no idea whats happened...... All the time is gone and I feel great but I didnt feel the stone pass...... I just woke up one morning feel great and completely pain free...... Instead of having this constant dull ache in my lower abdonmen.....

Good news!

Last edited by Pengling on 14 October 2022 at 9:42 pm UTC

Quoting: PenglingPer a discussion that I had with itscalledreality in last week's thread, this pick was actually almost a different game entirely! Specifically, the much-maligned Bomberman: Act Zero. But despite my best efforts, it's currently a no-go due to emulation issues. I

The emulation is fine..... Its the game itself warning you not to play it...... If it allowed you to play it your face would melt off like in the Indiana Jones movie

Quoting: PenglingSince I don't enjoy "collectathon" titles

Thats a good thing...... Only psychopaths and axe murders like collectathons......

Quoting: PenglingI want to thank StoneColdSpider for his help with getting this one up and running - I hadn't realised that Mupen64Plus-Next was available within RetroPie/RetroArch, and it's much better than the regular Mupen64Plus that gets built by default. This means that I no longer have to use Project64 via Wine for N64 titles, which is very helpful indeed.

Thats ok anytime.... Im glad it is working well for you.......
Now if only you could help me get Beetle Saturn working

Last edited by StoneColdSpider on 15 October 2022 at 9:17 pm UTC

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThe emulation is fine..... Its the game itself warning you not to play it...... If it allowed you to play it your face would melt off like in the Indiana Jones movie

Hahahahaha!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderNow if only you could help me get Beetle Saturn working

I really wish I could - the Saturn deserves to be remembered! I don't get why we haven't been able to sort it out, thus far.

Last edited by Pengling on 15 October 2022 at 9:21 pm UTC

This weekend I will be outdoors and visiting people mainly. This is what I've been playing since last I posted on these threads

Android

Slice & Dice by tann - located here - https://tann.itch.io/slice-dice

I plan on buying this one. It's simple and complex. The model reminds me of shareware days as you get a lot of content and good understanding of the game for the demo. I've been on the passenger side of a car for a good portion of this week and this has been my go to game. Outside of Fotonica and Shattered Pixel Dungeon it's been a game I'm now putting on my 'must install' list for when I travel for phone gaming. It does not have a Linux version but feel free to recommend a Linux native game like it so that I could check it out.

Desktop/HTPC

My wife decided to stop messing with Steam. She bought a few games that interest her and during this week had time to play them but they all had issues. She refunded and started the delete account process. I feel the same way honestly as our time on Steam has been more miss than hit. This is my 2nd time attempting to get into it and this is her first time. I think we are just spoiled with cloud gaming and playing older games that just work with no effort. So sadly we never got around to trying out Monaco.

We have been playing Pikuniku and Galaxy Champions TV. These have been excellent when we have nothing to watch and just want to snuggle under a blanket and play something in the living room. We have them have on itch.io and they are fantastic co-op games.

Boardgames

Here to Slay is the latest game added to my collection. My wife played it with her friends at a brunch thing and they seem to love it. I will get a chance next week to play it.

Hello;

Tried Kenshi a bunch over the weekend.... It's an interesting game, reminds me a bit of Elite Dangerous in that the world is very broad, but not very deep. While the absolute freedom of the game is nice, it also means it has a lack of a gameplay loop, since the game dumps you with no real direction or objectives, it gets pretty boring quick unless you "discover" something fun to do.

Might try something else today, not sure. I've been in the mood for a simulation/builder, but RimWorld, Factorio, and Cities don't seem appealing to me right now.

As for right now, tv repair. My tv has horizontal, temporary distortions that the internets say is a slightly loose ZIF cable. I'll find out here in a few...

Edit: Not the ZIF cables' seating, so new Tcon board. It's either that or a new LCD panel and at that point, it would be easier to get a new TV.

Last edited by denyasis on 16 October 2022 at 7:04 pm UTC

Quoting: PenglingI really wish I could - the Saturn deserves to be remembered! I don't get why we haven't been able to sort it out, thus far.

So I tried out RetroArch on Steam instead of the RetroArch Arch Linux Package that I normally use.......
Used the same BIOS and the same Isos and Beetle Saturn works fine in Steam version........ I have NFI how that works but it does...... So I guess I will keep the Steam version installed for Saturn games........ Its really weird...... All the RetroArch drivers and settings are the same for both.......

after i missed Warhammer 40k darktide (its not working with wine proton)
here i go
Worms Rumble (32p action packed deathmatch)
overwatch 2 (of course battlenet works best on linux)
League of Legends (this is on windows due to lol buggy with wine)
Wolcen lords of mayhem(ge-proton 7.x)

Quoting: Kuduzkehpanafter i missed Warhammer 40k darktide (its not working with wine proton)
here i go
Worms Rumble (32p action packed deathmatch)
overwatch 2 (of course battlenet works best on linux)
League of Legends (this is on windows due to lol buggy with wine)
Wolcen lords of mayhem(ge-proton 7.x)

Vermintide never worked with Linux, so not surprising here.

Who doesn’t love some worms.

Quoting: denyasisHello;

Tried Kenshi a bunch over the weekend.... It's an interesting game, reminds me a bit of Elite Dangerous in that the world is very broad, but not very deep. While the absolute freedom of the game is nice, it also means it has a lack of a gameplay loop, since the game dumps you with no real direction or objectives, it gets pretty boring quick unless you "discover" something fun to do.

Might try something else today, not sure. I've been in the mood for a simulation/builder, but RimWorld, Factorio, and Cities don't seem appealing to me right now.

As for right now, tv repair. My tv has horizontal, temporary distortions that the internets say is a slightly loose ZIF cable. I'll find out here in a few...

Edit: Not the ZIF cables' seating, so new Tcon board. It's either that or a new LCD panel and at that point, it would be easier to get a new TV.

You’re braver than me working on a TV.