Messages

[General Gaming / Re: Stories being shoehorned into games]

This is not really a trend of modern games though.  There have always been games where the gameplay and design came first, while the story was written after.  Tomb Raider 2 is a perfect example of this, Core knew where they wanted to send the player and designed all the level themes first, they then just made up a plot to loosely connect the dots at the last minute.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What game would YOU have packed in with the Turbo?]

R-Type.  /thread

[Off-Topic / Re: Windows 10]

How do you get rid of the Win 10 Icon on my taskbar?

I'm fine with Windows 7 Home Premium

You need to uninstall the Windows Update that adds it.  Just google it.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Damn Super!!!! Nice stang get! Sorry I didn't let go of my board sooner but I like it a lot, it's such a fun game

I wasn't really expecting you to ever trade/sell that one off lol.  Stang is certainly one of the best pure shooters I've played in a long time.  No gimicks, no tricks, just wave after wave of insanely fast enemies, plus incredibly detailed graphics and one of the best soundtracks ever.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Recent gets

X68000 Trackball
See it in action here:

MOOSTANG GET!!!!

[General Gaming / Re: FM TOWNS discussion]

Owner of
Le Fresh
Le UX20
Le CarMarty

While I quite enjoy my systems I would not recommend a Towns to anyone unless they really know what they are getting into.

As for your HR I'm guessing you have Power Supply Issues.  Changing all capacitors might solve the issue, but you may also need to replace other components as well.  Nothing lasts forever.  Caps are easy, start with those.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: How spirited about Ninja Spirit are you?]

Great game, if you think it's too easy put it on arcade mode where it's one hit death.  Makes things a lot harder for sure.

The closest Irem ever got to a sequel was Ken-go.  It plays totally differently, but still a very good game.  Has never been ported to a console though.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best Shoot Em Ups on Turbografx & PC Engine]

Cotton is cheap enough that I think all should try it, many claim it's way too difficult but I think it's just about right personally.

I'm still puzzled as to why Cotton has such a reputation for being difficult. Sure, the hitbox is larger than most, but there's not a lot of bullets to dodge anyway. Not to mention the PCE version gives you invincibility during magic attacks and has safespots against the tougher bosses. (Then again, most players don't even know about the fairy magic, so there is that to consider...)

Nonetheless, it's one of the all-time greats. The music alone makes the PCE version a must play.

I believe most people complain about your power level getting divided by half upon death.  A few deaths in a row and a lot of people just give up.  But I think anyone should be able to clear the first loop, just put both turbo switches on max and never stop firing.

Have you played the X68000 version?  It is not a simple arcade port, it is actually a remix version which contains an amazing amount of new content, including completely new boss fights.  Almost everything was changed up in some way, even the cloud enemies have new sprites.   An amazing version that rarely gets the recognition it deserves.  And if you want a real challenge, put the the difficulty on ''You Do!!'' mode and see if you can actually clear the first stage lol.

[Off-Topic / Re: Saver or spender?]

Saver.  Though I have no problem spending a good chunk of cash when the timing is right.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Best Shoot Em Ups on Turbografx & PC Engine]

For my tastes:

Cotton
Sapphire
Sylphia

These are kind of specialty choices though.  Cotton is cheap enough that I think all should try it, many claim it's way too difficult but I think it's just about right personally.

Sapphire tends to get shit on a lot due to the price, but it truly is an amazing show piece for the system that I think all fans of the hardware should try at least once.

Sylphia costs a lot, is super easy even on the hardest settings, and really isn't that good of a shooter on a technical level.  But the pure atmosphere of it is like nothing else.  A game I just relax too and let the style and mood slowly consume me.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Can LD-ROM2 games be played on non-LD?]

Manhatten Requiem is good if J. B. Harold is your thing.  But Vajra 2 is certainly the highlight of the LD-ROM2 exclusives.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Can LD-ROM2 games be played on non-LD?]

LaserActive games and LaserDisc Arcade games are actually quite different.   Arcade games use a standard LD for video, and a ROM board which contains the overlay sprites, and all the controlling hardware.

LA discs however contain the videos on the analog portions of the disc, while the sprites and data are on the digital portions.   The PACs render the sprites, but the overlay hardware is in the LA unit itself.

When arcade games are played, the disc is pure video so it will chapter jump to each video as needed.  The LA isn't able to do this and actually loads chunks of video into the digital memory, and streams it from there.  The digital memory space is limited of course, so TimeGal (which has a ton of unique death videos) actually has to pause and load quite often, the arcade original was much smoother in motion.

[General Gaming / Re: Best Japanese-to-English Mistranslations? (aka ENGRISH)]

[Off-Topic / Re: Windows 10]

I upgraded my desktop from Win 8 and it now runs like a proper modern computer (webpages now load instantly, like on my freaking phone).

I have no speed issues with 7.  Cold start to desktop in less then a minute and everything is fast and snappy.  Having an SSD does help quite a bit though.

[Off-Topic / Re: Windows 10]

Sticking with 7 over here.  Unless you have a touch screen I really see no point to anything later.  Plus I still use some old ass Yamaha MIDI software as there is no modern replacement.

[General Gaming / Any Super Nintendo games that either don't suck or don't have cheap difficulty?]

I have tried very hard, and this system seems to have very little worth playing.  Growing up as an NES kid I was truly hoping for amazing things, but let's face it, this thing sucks.

Super Mario World.  No imagination at all compared to 3.  Dinosaur World?  Rolf, Master Higgens covered that shit years ago.  And you know Higgens actually got mad pussy from that chick everytime.  Hell Higgens is such a player he probably was doing anal with the dinos as he rode them, he knows how to party.  Oh and what I am fighting in Dino World?  Football players, what? This game sucks.  And in the next Mario game, the poor plumber became such a little bitch that he can't even walk, a god damned dinosaur has to carry around his lazy ass.  IT SUCKS IT SUCKS IT SUCKS!

Well let's see how about Star Wars?  LucasArts was the man back in the 90's, their PC games were high quality works of art.  Now we got Super StarWars here, hmm it seems this game is quite challenging, I get hit again and again, but wait everything drops a heart.  So it don't matter if I gets hit or not.  And now look falling death platforms in the Sandcrawler with not warning.  WTF is this shit?  So cheap, so lame, so SNES.  Hell, on Fami we had a StarWars game where Vader turns into a big pink shark.  Odd, sure, but damn amazing and fun to play, guess I expect too much from a box called SUPER.

After that?  Well Super Metroid was ok, but really loses it's appeal after one full playthrough.  And then we got MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7, MODE 7.........

FUCK THIS SHIT, OB3Y PCE!

[General Gaming / Re: Advice needed on MVS]

If you get an MVS mobo with controller ports, you can simply hook your AES controllers directly to them and bypass the supergun controller ports completely.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

It's got some neat ideas, and sense of humor, but it's honestly quite terrible.  I bought mine as it was cheap and had pretty much no info at the time.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Gradius II Die-cast Vic Viper]

Never seen one of these before.  According to the seller these were raffled off to people who bought PCE Gradius II.

I am too lazy to research this, but the box is clearly official, labeled Not for Sale, and is from 1992, so I'd say the story is probably accurate.

http://page7.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g154943693

[General Gaming / Re: Favorite Sega Saturn music]

Guardian Force needs to be mentioned.

[General Gaming / Re: Would you purchase officially licensed and produced reproduction games]

Licensed and cheap, sure why not?

Homemade repros?  No interest.

[Off-Topic / Re: Yet another reason why not to get a Xbox]

Unless I missed something I still see no reason to get either console, unless there is some exclusive you are truly dieing to play.  I built my computer before either was even released and it still kicks the crap out of both hardware wise, and pc games often cost 2/3 less then the console versions..

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What are the prices in Japan for these Titles?]

1941 isn't too bad.  I'd say 15-20,000 is still doable if you look around.  Due to it being SuperGrafx the demand just isn't there really.  What is a pain in the ass is finding one with the slipcover in good condition, almost all of them are faded and roughed up quite a bit.

Sylphia with spiner is probably around 30-40,000 these days.  Often priced higher then Sapphire.  Madou I think 25,000 is still easy enough to find again as it doesn't really have a strong following, but it is probably the one you will have to look the hardest for to actually find.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: What are the prices in Japan for these Titles?]

You shouldn't have any trouble finding all of those in Tokyo.  Though prices won't be cheap.  The retro game stores mostly cater to tourists these days and they price accordingly.  Sylphia and Madou will be the most expensive games on the list.

[Off-Topic / Re: What are YOU watching on YouTube.com?]

Bored watching this at work:

Lol that stupid CM is on ALL THE FUCKING TIME.  Like every commercial break. XD

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

My trusty 22'' Iiyama CRT monitor finally died.  So I bought an Eizo Foris FG2421.  I must say I'm quite impressed, the contrast and brightness is fantastic, and coupled with the 240hertz mode it's a very pleasing replacement.  Highly recommended.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Question about auctions]

Another thing to note is with the rise of proxies and international bidders, prices are skyrocketing.  10 years ago, yahoo was a gold mine as it was a lot harder for internationals (which generally bid way higher then locals) to get in.   These days prices aren't much better then ebay, often more expensive depending on where you live in the world.  The real reason to use yahoo these days is for finding extremely rare items that a person wants at any cost.  Not recommended for bargain hunters on a budget.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: trying to understand scanlines....]

Scanlines depend on the TV/monitor you are using.  The thick heavy scanline look came from tri-sync arcade and PC monitors.  When displaying 31khz (VGA) about 480 lines, scanlines are tiny, however when those monitors display 15khz, only about 240 lines are used, hence there is empty space between each line resulting in those thick scanlines.

However older mono (15khz) and dual (15/24khz) displays do not display the image that way, they still do have scanlines, but they are only as thick as the space between pixels, and the spaces are the same distance in both the horizonal and vertical lines, meaning you get a tiny grid as opposed to the above lines.

What you prefer is in the eye of the beholder.  I prefer the older original grid look, but with the popularity of candy cabs in home use, the super thick lines are what a lot of people have become used to.

Since scanlines are the space between pixels, generally the larger the display the wider they will become.  For a more accurate measurement the dot pitch rating is the amount of space between pixels.

Sony TVs work a bit differently, their Trinitron tech displays differently then standard types.  Iirc, tritrons use octogonal pixels as opposed to the standard squares.  For this reason even the standard SD Wegas tend to have thick heavy scanlines.

The Sony HD-CRTs use special tech and upscales everything.  Hence 240p/480i content is upscaled and you lose the scanlines completely, they also will have issues with things like 3D LCD shutters and light-guns because of this.

In the end though you really need to find a look that suits you.  For years lots of people were quite happy with their Sony PVMs, but then the thief fudoh proclaimed that Sony BVMs were the best picture ever, so everyone started dumping their perfectly good PVMs for BVMs.  Don't fall into that trap, just get a decent RGB display that fits your needs and be happy with it.

For myself I prefer to use a dual-sync when I can, but the X68000 requires a tri-sync so I have both.  Not counting weirdo devices that need specialty monitors (FM Towns).

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

No, its a Memory Base 128.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: ROM AMP for SALE]

That price is a joke. Can easily be picked up in Japan for about 12,000yen if you know where to look.  Never buy anything game related from ebay uk.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Favorite Valis game?]

Not talking about Valis X.  Talking about the Japanese computer versions of Valis II (PC98, MSX, X68000) they are totally different things lol.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Favorite Valis game?]

For PCE, I'm going with Valis I.  Gameplay may not be the greatest, but the game itself is just more ''Valisly'' then the rest if you can understand that.  School girl goes solo against all odds.  Music is great too.  When I just want to relax and have some fun I could seriously play the first stage over and over and over lol.

For the entire series, I think I have to give it to the X68000 version of Valis II.  The game has horrid controls, but once you get used to it's weirdness, the style and design is really awesome.  Most especially the violence.  The original computer versions of Valis II are gory, no holds barred, and depressing as hell.  The console versions were really toned down in dark content and it really weakens the story imo.  Watching the insane shit Yuko goes through in the uncensored II is quite eye opening.

I also have a softspot for the MSX version of Valis I.  It is a terrible game in every category, but I don't know I still like to play it now and then.  There is nothing good about it at all, but I still enjoy it....lol.

[Off-Topic / Re: The first first person shooter and it ain't Doom or Wolfenstein]

Sega's Last Resort was 8 players in the arcade.  2 per cab.  The FM Towns port supports 4 players via serial cable (2 computers) as well.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

If you have a flashcard for any number of systems, or even if you just own a Mega CD, you can run one of these:

http://junkerhq.net/xrgb/index.php/240p_test_suite
(scroll down for links to downloads)

Like I mentioned, the "checkerboard" pattern is probably the meanest one. If your set can do that perfectly, that would be amazing. The "color bleed check" pattern, and the "backlit zone test" moved via d-pad from the center to the corners, are also essential. Of course, any other patterns you want to check would be interesting as well.

The Sony KV-29DX650 actually doesn't have scanlines at all - it's an HDCRT. Yet while other HDCRT sets seem to convert 240p directly to 1080i (which is still much better than LCDs that do some crazy multi-stage conversion and throw away half the video content), this actually does true 240p. If you're curious, I'll take some shots.

Sadly the only flash cart I own is for the MSX lol.  I have an RGB modded LaserActive for both SCD and PCE use.  Sorry but I will refuse to run CDRs in my LA.  So I have no way of doing this really.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

I'm guessing it's this:

http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d165889512

Hey SuperDeadite, I would love to see some shots of screens from the 240p test suite on that thing. The checkerboard pattern is maybe the most stressful, and the color bleed check is really good to see as well. The backlit zone test is maybe the best to use to check the corners for convergence accuracy as well.

I believe that the Sony KV-29DX650, which was only ever released in Japan in 2003, is the best consumer level gaming CRT ever released. It doesn't do 24khz or VGA, but it's got an RGB input, and it does really well at those tests. It does not do perfectly, however, and I would love to see how that thing stacks up. If it aces those tests, I just might try and get one.

Yes it's one of those, but if you go through his website and not yahoo, it's a bit cheaper, and he also will give you a another discount if you buy the TwinSync as well.  The yahoo auctions are more like advertisements then anything else.

As for the best CRT, that's a difficult question.  Some people really love the super thick scanlines on Nanao's and Sonys.  This actually doesn't have those, in 15khz mode it looks a lot more like a classic dual-sync arcade monitor.

As for myself, I adore the X68000 and FM Towns computers, these need to have a tri-sync monitor for 100% compatibility.  Some X68000 games actually use 31khz for menus and 15khz during the gameplay, switching back and forth.  So it's tri-sync, or XPC-4.

I also love my SuperCassetteVision which will not work on a Sony TV without a buffer which nobody makes anymore.  (Read Tokyo RGB Hospice for more info).  And I have arcade boards like Xexex, which don't work on Sonys either (picture just rolls and rolls)

For my interests, this monitor with the TwinSync is simply ideal.   In the end it really comes down to what you actually want to play.  I'm happy to try this test thing though if you could supply some links.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Candy cabs look nice, but take up too much space and are kind of a pain to connect other things too besides arcade games.  The monitor is mounted in a big wooden box.  So very easy and totally safe to rotate, plus I can easily use this for consoles, computers, and arcade games.

The connection box was sold separately, but you get a discount if you order both as a bundle.  It has RCA jacks for audio output on the side.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

I live in Japan.  Due to arcades still being alive here there are still a few Japanese arcade suppliers that have batches made every few years or so.  This beast is 29'' and weighs 105lbs, you wouldn't want to try importing one overseas...

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Well I got tired of messing around with scalers and 20 year old CRTs that tend to have random issues.  So I said fuck it and bought this beast.  Truly brand new (manufactured in 2014) true flat auto trisync arcade monitor.  Very expensive I'll admit, but I couldn't be more pleased.



Connections Box


Testing with the X68000

31khz


24khz


15khz

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: RetroFreak: New competition for Retron 5 with PCE/TG16 support]

No NeoGeo? fuck this shit

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: The Official Pioneer LaserActive Player thread-]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pioneer-Laser-Active-Display-/141656219383?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20fb5e5ef7

[General Gaming / Re: What's your favorite 16-bit action RPG?]

Not my favorite, but I highly recommend everyone gives Silkroad 2 on X68000 a try.  It's like a super cute version of Zelda with really purdy graphics.  Really nice for a doujin, and you don't see many doujins of this type of game.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Been searching for this one for over 3 years now. 

That cover looks pretty awesome!  Google says that it's an action game? 

Yeah it's kinda of a cross between Tower of Druaga and Gals Panic with boss fights if that makes any sense lol.  Music is quite enjoyable too.

Jesus Christ I wish I could sneak into superdeadite's apt. and play all his games when he was sleeping.

Yes, I know that sounds demented.

If you visit, you are welcome to play, no need to sneak.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Why PCEFX 2014?]

Another reason was for a long time accounts could only be activated by Aaron directly...

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Been searching for this one for over 3 years now. 

That cover looks pretty awesome!  Google says that it's an action game? 

Yeah it's kinda of a cross between Tower of Druaga and Gals Panic with boss fights if that makes any sense lol.  Music is quite enjoyable too.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Been searching for this one for over 3 years now. 

[Off-Topic / Re: Music videos RUIN most songs]

Really depends honestly.  In the case of Wink, it wasn't just about the music, it was about creating an image, the music is just part of the image.

[Off-Topic / Re: Show off THE computers!!!]

The modern PC on the right:
i3 Haswell 4340 (3.6ghz)
MSI GTX 770 Lightning
8gb RAM
Sata III SSD
Win 7

The monitor may be old, but maximum res is QXGA@85 and no lag.  Analog Video for the win.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Spenoza's Blessings: R-Types PS1]

I am interested in this raffle my email is bizideacloud@icloud.com my number is 19092237599

A/S/L?

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Spenoza's Blessings: R-Types PS1]

I applaud your generosity, but,  you say you don't need both the PS1 and PCE releases.  Before you give this away, you do realize they are not the same thing right?

PCE R-Type I =  R-Type I Stages 1-4
PCE R-Type II = R-Type I Stages 5-8

PS1 R-Types contains arcade ports of the original R-Type and also the REAL R-Type 2.

If you give R-Types away, you are losing R-Type 2 completely, it doesn't exist on PCE.

And don't sign me up either lol.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: How much difference does the Arcade Card really make with a Duo-R?]

Maybe not underrated, but definitely overpriced.

Price should never be used to judge a game's quality though.  I spent about $250 on my original cibbler copy.  Sure that is a lot of money for one game.  But considering that new Xbone/PC4 console games cost about $60 a pop and are far less interesting in the long term, meh the money is no issue imo.