Jake Posted September 3, 2014 Idle Thumbs 174: Live from the Metropolitan Ballroom We went to PAX and recorded an episode live in front of a bunch of wonderful people who could all hear us, though we could not hear one another. That didn't stop us from trying to communicate, and we think the results speak for themselves. This episode was rated 3 out of 5 hosts by all in attendance; we hope it finds an audience in you. Games Discussed: Screencheat, Screensheet, Screamsheet, Pikmin 2, Sentris, The Behemoth's Fourth Game, Michael Crichton's Orb, Firewatch Listen on the Episode Page Listen on Soundcloud Listen in iTunes Subscribe to the RSS Feed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted September 4, 2014 Oh man, great show, guys. Chris: have you eve read Dwarf Fortress patch notes? They're incredible. just from the last few changelog entries alone: Made historical figures react properly to historical undead Stopped a conversation crash from talking to mute creatures about their troubles Adjusted emotional strain vs. willpower etc. calculation Stopped non-historical dwarves from coming back as ghosts (put in fix for old saves that should lay them to rest soon after unpause) Made people not so eager to jump in on the side of their relatives and friends if the relative/friend is berserk/etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Posted September 4, 2014 Haha I think I saw someone retweet an account that just posts lines from that. Super good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theinternetftw Posted September 4, 2014 Anyone have a link to that account? I could add it to my other humorous-and/or-fascinating patch note readings, such as keeping up with dolphin and the rampage. (warning, clicking either link will lead you to the inside-est of baseballs in two very different fields) edit: vague googling didn't find the account, but it did find this which is a more than nice consolation really. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brannigan Posted September 4, 2014 the sims 4 patch notes are already pretty good. They just put a stop to self-replicating babies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillTheCat Posted September 4, 2014 Regarding the Giant Bomb panel's difficulty in explaining what firewatch is. Part of it was played up for laughs and part if it is that Brad Shoemaker never does a great job explaining games that don't fit the usual "meets meets meets" categorization. <3 Brad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrimsonMajor Posted September 4, 2014 Kind of bumbed we didn't get to hear the live rendition of the theme song Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Synnah Posted September 4, 2014 Anyone have a link to that account? I could add it to my other humorous-and/or-fascinating patch note readings, such as keeping up with dolphin and the rampage. (warning, clicking either link will lead you to the inside-est of baseballs in two very different fields) I believe the account is Dwarf Fortress.txt. Also, the Crusader Kings II patch notes are pretty much always full of amazing stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tegan Posted September 4, 2014 Regarding the Giant Bomb panel's difficulty in explaining what firewatch is. Part of it was played up for laughs and part if it is that Brad Shoemaker never does a great job explaining games that don't fit the usual "meets meets meets" categorization. <3 Brad. "Game takes place during fall of Berlin Wall." -gamebomb.ru By the way, props to Chris for "fuck those guys." Jeff Gerstmann expressed similar sentiment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikemariano Posted September 4, 2014 (via Seth Sommerfeld) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merus Posted September 4, 2014 Also, the Crusader Kings II patch notes are pretty much always full of amazing stuff. You now have to be independent to create an antipope Tweaked various religious events Added Jewish buildings That's an interesting priority there guys Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
undermind9 Posted September 4, 2014 Welltris was a pretty deep cut. it was actually my first introduction to a Tetris game on our first 286, it wasnt until a demo cartridge containing the counter-norm Atari version of Tetris on the NES that i figured out it should be a top down game (officially named TETЯIS: The Soviet Mind Game) Welltris opening screen - Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sclpls Posted September 4, 2014 Love Letter is a great game. There are a number of board games by Japanese game designers that similarly feature a minimal amount of components but nonetheless have very deep gameplay, and as someone that lives in a small apartment and doesn't have a ton of room for board games I love them. Cheaty Mages, 8 Minute Empire, and Sail to India are the ones that spring to mind immediately. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DukeBG Posted September 4, 2014 I want to see what was happening in the intro so bad... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tberton Posted September 4, 2014 I can vouch that The Duke is legitimately great. It's one of the best two-player games out there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted September 4, 2014 Love Letter is a great game. There are a number of board games by Japanese game designers that similarly feature a minimal amount of components but nonetheless have very deep gameplay, and as someone that lives in a small apartment and doesn't have a ton of room for board games I love them. Cheaty Mages, 8 Minute Empire, and Sail to India are the ones that spring to mind immediately. Yeah, the Japanese micro-games movement is great. The two I currently own, Love Letter and One Night Ultimate Werewolf, are getting more play right now than any other game in my collection. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RubixsQube Posted September 4, 2014 It was so fascinating to watch when Chris and Jake streamed Pikmin 2 multiplayer on twitch because of the fact that Jake did the rotation of the z-axis deal (discussed in the podcast) in order to prevent Chris from seeing what mischief he was up to, but he also undercut it all by getting quiet and giddy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
axemtitanium Posted September 4, 2014 Is there a video version of the panel to look forward to or will I have to listen to it like a plebian? I don't mind being a plebian, just wondering. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SecretAsianMan Posted September 4, 2014 It was so fascinating to watch when Chris and Jake streamed Pikmin 2 multiplayer on twitch because of the fact that Jake did the rotation of the z-axis deal (discussed in the podcast) in order to prevent Chris from seeing what mischief he was up to, but he also undercut it all by getting quiet and giddy. I remember that too. I love weird subtle tactics like that. I remember doing those kinds of things when playing Goldeneye multiplayer with my friends. A game built entirely on screen looking sounds like it would encourage similar shenanigans. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tberton Posted September 4, 2014 Yeah, the Japanese micro-games movement is great. The two I currently own, Love Letter and One Night Ultimate Werewolf, are getting more play right now than any other game in my collection. I hadn't thought of those as being in the same family, but yeah, it makes sense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gormongous Posted September 4, 2014 I hadn't thought of those as being in the same family, but yeah, it makes sense. Heh, my criteria were really just 1) Japanese designer, and 2) tiny box. They both fill the same kind of space in a night, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apelsin Posted September 4, 2014 Regarding the Giant Bomb panel's difficulty in explaining what firewatch is. Part of it was played up for laughs and part if it is that Brad Shoemaker never does a great job explaining games that don't fit the usual "meets meets meets" categorization. <3 Brad. I like Brad. Edit: Btw, will you post a picture of the BigDog poster? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bjorn Posted September 4, 2014 My wife, barely able to hear the podcast from another room, walks in and says to me: "Why did Idle Thumbs add a laugh track to the podcast?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seasleepy Posted September 4, 2014 You can see the PAX posters here. They are excellent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barichnikov Posted September 4, 2014 For some reason, my brain farted and I went from thinking (sequentially) 1) Far Cry 4 has animal fights gameplay, and Ubi are showing that at pax 2) It's not real animals, NPCs are fighting in animal suits 3) They actually paid people to have fights for the public on the show floor? 4) Oh no, it was attendees fighting for a ps4 (as finally explained clearly) lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites