jp-30

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Posts posted by jp-30

  7. Posted

    We've had this system in New Zealand for many years now (I see it's the NZ based system the BBC are using).

    The problem being in the flyover you have to start from the south and fly north (so as the country doesn't look Upside-Down, or look like you're flying backwards).

    So, after years of having the weather presented North-to-South (??), the UK could be in for a major South-to-North shock! :o I see angry masses with pitchforks and burning sticks.

    And don't worry too much Jake - It's more of a pre rendered 3D backdrop with cell-shaded sprite overlays...

  8. Posted

    I'm sad about the state of affairs of LEC, and I'm afraid they'll become a publisher of mainly star wars/generic games. I really hope not, hell,r emember when we looked forward to even Star Wars games? Back in the age of Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, and Xwing series? And even farther back, when they made like one star wars game and 4 original titles?

    To be pefectly honest, the Star Wars games I can play (ie. PC ones) that are forthcoming - Republic Commando, Battlefront, KOTOR2 and the LEGO game, all look pretty good to me. I'll probably end up buying all of them. Some even before the first price drop which is when I usually make my game purchases.

  9. Posted

    Ahh. 8-bit gaming memories.

    I used to play Mercenary on my CBM-Plus/4, but chances are you played it on a C64.

    mercenary.jpg

    I recall the thrill the first time I just damn well stole the Dominion Dart off the launchpad. I also remember the first time I beat the game, probably through earning enough credits to buy a spaceship. I know I beat it another way too, I think by finding a hyperdrive and repairing a spaceship. There were other ways too, like being gifter a ship by either the Palyars or Mechanoids, but I don't think I ever managed that.

    The one thing I didn't like was that none of the other vehicles in the game were as good as the Dart that you got right at the start of the game, making using them pointless.

    Anyway, I'm playing it again, and not at super low CBM resolution on an emulator, but via this nifty little freeware conversion for Windows. How big? Yes, a 362KB download.

    [benson] Well, what are you waiting for? [/benson]

    download

  13. Posted

    You might also look into getting a USB --> console adapter and buying a used/pre-owned PS2 or XBox controller from your local Gamestop/EB/Whatever. Might cost more but you'll probably get a more durable controller, and the button layout will be more Psychonauts friendly :)

    The advantage of a dedicated PC controller is all the extra buttons (for flight sims) and the ability to program them to replicate mouse buttons, keyboard buttons etc. But agreed, if Psychonauts is the only game you're wanting to use a gamepad for an actual xbox controller on your PC would be ideal.

  14. Posted

    I've played a fair few Xbox games now (Indy, GTA, Splinter Cell, Halo, KOTOR) and I like the controller. It's never taken me much effort to get used to it in its various different configurations. Psychonauts seeming so console-y, I'm hoping it will support a gamepad on the PC, and that I can get one thats a bit like the Xbox pad. I was raised on a Sega Megadrive (Genesis) as well as a PC too, so gamepads are in my blood. Not sure what types there are out there for the PC though.

    For the rare occasions I need to use a joystick on my PC (the x-wing games, the odd WW2 combat flight sim), I use this puppy, the Analog 3.

    pc_dual_analogv3.gif

    http://europe.thrustmaster.com/products/dsp_fam.php?fam=5

    12 programmable buttons, 8-way D-pad, dual analogue sticks.

    It's all good. You can get vibrating ones too (I think) & wireless, but they were outside my budget. Logitech & microsoft make decent PC gamepad alteratives, but for value for money I don't think you can beat the thrustmaster.

  18. Posted

    Just posted on mixnmojo;

    LucasArts forbidden from making Star Wars games

    ...well, LucasFilm Games, really. And we're talking 20-25 years ago. A post on slashdot has revealed some articles by Chip Morningstar about the early LucasFilm Games' MMORPG predecessor 'Habitat' and better yet, this detailed report about the establishment of, and mindset within LucasFilm Games.

    ...Because of the phenomenal success of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, Lucasfilm existed in a weird kind of bubble that made it very different from other companies, especially companies in the computer games industry. Most of this weirdness had to do with money, or expectations about money. The basic attitude can be summed up as, "we are Lucasfilm, people will pay us."....

    ...This frame of mind colored everything. It lead to a couple of fundamental constraints that rather tightly restricted what we could do. The first rule was that we were not to do anything that required spending the company's own money. We could do pretty much whatever we wanted, but we had to get somebody else to pay for it, arguments about ROI not withstanding. The second constraint was that although we had a fairly high level of creative freedom, we were absolutely forbidden from doing anything that made use of the company's film properties, especially Star Wars. That was viewed as just like spending money, since these properties were, in effect, money in the bank. If somebody else wanted to make a Star Wars game, they had to pay a hefty license fee, and so we made money no matter how well or how poorly their game did, whereas if we made such a game ourselves we would be taking all the risk if it bombed (and never mind that we'd also get 100% of the upside if the game was a hit).

    Madness. Sheer madness. Sheer madness that worked.

    Links;

    http://www.mixnmojo.com/

    http://games.slashdot.org/games/04/08/03/0718236.shtml?tid=209

    http://www.fudco.com/chip/lessons.html

    http://www.fudco.com/habitat/archives/000021.html

  19. Posted

    Apparently the demo is actually for JK2. (Says the readme files, and the fact that it won't run in JA.)

    Oh, yeah. The old 1 level demo is for JK2 (though I thought Jedi Outcast mods worked in Jedi Academy // shrug //).

    The development has been ported to Academy, and the upcoming 3 level download will be Academy only, trust me.

  20. Posted

    You know, if you wanted to make Kyle's ass even hotter and give him a pair of those Prince style pants (yes, you know the ones), I did write a tutorial.

    Well, not specifically on making Kyle's ass hotter, you understand.

    http://web.archive.org/web/20030411053810/http://www.theforce.net/games/jo/skinning.shtml

    It's offline right now, so some of the images in the archive linked above are broken. I'm slowly reformatting it, bringing in some 3rd party help on JA specifics and sound and converting to pdf to post at the usual modding sites.

    And here's one reason for owning Jedi Academy (the JKII sequel);

    http://darkforces.jediknight.net/

    One level demo out now, 3 level demo in final testing for release in the next month or so.

  22. Posted

    (Reposted from mixnmojo.com)

    Theforce.net reports on forthcoming plans to shop a gaming concept to LucasFilm whereby the game input is controlled via brainwaves.

    Steven Barnes: "there is a project that I am working on that would... control the video game with your feelings, instead of with a joystick, literally use the force to control the game ... you would attach sensors to your body and use your feelings to control the game ... I'm part of a project to work with this right now I can't tell you anymore about it but we hopefully will be presenting this to Lucasfilm within a month or so and if this happens we'll probably be announcing it at the Indiana meeting next year [Celebration?] But I don't know if this will happen but I have been telling these people that with their technology with what I know about storytelling that it could be done and that the Star Wars fan would support it if it works"

    For all the details, the original source, audio of the interview and info on Steven Barnes, visit the links provided at theforce.net. Further info on the state of harnessing neural waves to control applications can be read here.

    Am I the only person envisaging implant chips in gamer's skulls, and Star Wars: Yoda's Force Lift Challenge at the next E3?

  23. Posted

    The idea of the latter part was to turn the movie abruptly into a stereotypical Hollywood movie — it worked on so many levels. It was executed masterfully, you just had to watch it carefully — if you blinked you would miss it.

    I realised a few days after watching it that 'The idea of the latter part was to turn the movie abruptly into a stereotypical Hollywood movie'.

    It still didn't work for me at all at the time of viewing. A bit too clever for its own good, I guess (as far as I was concerned, at any rate).

  24. Posted

    I always thought it'd be interesting to see Adaptation the Game, where the player character is assigned the impossible task of adapting Adaptation the movie into a video game.

    It would start off as an adventure game... then as the character attends the game developers seminar, all hell would break loose and turn into a zombie killing fps. oh what fun

    Being a big fan of "Being John Malkovich" (along with the rest of the world except my parents who said it was "stupid"), I was rather looking forward to Adaptation. And it started great, but I was thoroughly disappointed with the shootings, and stalkings, and runnings-over and such in the latter stages of the film.

    I guess that's where your Carmageddon/GTA section would begin?

  25. Posted

    the only other two-solution puzzle I can remember from that time period was the Orat part in the first Space Quest. the origins of non-linear gaming?

    Zork had different ways to solve puzzles - one that I sort of recall off the top of my head out is the Loud Room puzzle, where you could type ECHO (changed room acoustics), or wait until after you'd emptied the dam (no more noise from the water rushing nearby) to progress beyond it.

    Still, maybe infocom text adventures are prior to the time period you're referring to? ;)