The Spam Thread!

[huckleberrypie]

Seeing as how PinballFX 2 is just a MS rebadge of Zen Studio's "Zen Pinball", a Linux port isn't totally out of the question under the original name. The devs of Pinball Arcade do have a Linux port in mind, but they state it's low priority as they want to focus on the modern game consoles and PC first.

The Linux version of Steam has lots of games available since they have their own Linux spin, SteamOS. There are even some AAA games to boot. Perhaps if Linux becomes more popular due to MS introducing controversial features into their OS, game developers may see Linux development as financially viable.

I mean, Android runs off a Linux kernel, and the NES Classic Mini also runs off Linux. Linux seems to be very popular among embedded systems and small gadgets, but it's still isn't nearly as popular on the desktop.

Primarily because MS holds both customers and developers by the neck, and Linux gained a dubious rep for being perceived as hard or complex to use.

[cpd2009]

The part about Linux being hard/complex to use still rings true sometimes. If you plan on only sticking with open source drivers and software and don't really have any major Windows software needs, then distros like Ubuntu or Debian would work rather nicely.

It's gets a bit more difficult when it comes to proprietary drivers. Drivers are built against the current running Linux kernel and if you upgrade the Kernel to patch a security flaw, you will have to rebuild those drivers against the updated kernel and uninstall the old kernel. With Linux Mint, the upgraded kernels don't remove the old ones for compatibility reasons. So yeah, Kernel updates have the possibility of breaking your system if you use proprietary drivers.

Windows programs running under Wine is also another story. As I mentioned, Sonic Adventure DX and PinballFX 2 run beautifully, provided you are running a lightweight desktop system. Pinball Arcade only partially works. It runs, but it's stuck in a very tiny window and you can't change the resolution in-game. The config utility that is supposed to do that doesn't work under Wine. That was the deal breaker for me. I tried it in another distro and it gave the same result, so I assume the latest version doesn't run correctly under any version of Wine.

Thus, back to Windows 10. I did use Handbrake and I now plan on using the Windows version for DVD ripping.

[huckleberrypie]

I was bored so I made a doll out of a fictional character:




And yes, that's Cora Cartmell from the Titanic movie.
AG claims that the Create Your Own line allows you to make bespoke dolls with over a million possible combinations, so I'm sure people would be having fun times coming up with their own.

[cpd2009]

I was bored so I made a doll out of a fictional character:




And yes, that's Cora Cartmell from the Titanic movie.
AG claims that the Create Your Own line allows you to make bespoke dolls with over a million possible combinations, so I'm sure people would be having fun times coming up with their own.

That reminds me of Build-a-Bear Workshop, even though it's not entirely the same thing. AG could bring something like this to their stores if they haven't already, the ability to create a custom AG doll much like how BaBW lets you create your own teddy bear or licensed plushie. I nearly went to BaBW one year to create a Fluttershy plushie but they were all out. :/

I am now making a new YTP. It's been ages since I made one, but after watching videos from people like DaThings1 and Combuskenisawesome, I may be getting my creative spark back. I would recommend cs188 as well, but his videos go into the NSFW territory with the raunchy sentence mixing.

[huckleberrypie]

They actually have the CYO doll line in their flagship stores at the very least, and yeah it is indeed reminiscent of Build A Bear except with dolls.

I'll be looking forward to your YTP too mate.

[huckleberrypie]

Not sure if Dolly Babe, Dolly Politically Correct, Dolly the Sheep or Dolly Parton. :/

[cpd2009]

Not much happening on my end, as the process of moving towards independent living is slowly progressing. I did make a big decision regarding my retro gaming setup. I ditched the bulky CRT for a flat panel LCD TV. A local rummage sale had a very well-cared-for LCD TV from 2004, a Sylvania 6620LE. It's 20'' in size and it's a standard definition unit. No HDMI nor digital tuner. Everything is still analog with one component input and one composite/S-Video input.

Being a standard def LCD TV, there doesn't seem to be any input lag with this TV. I'm able to play Super Mario Bros just fine. I wanted to move everything over to my HDTV, but my low-end Sansui set does have lag over the analog inputs. And I can't afford an HDMI upscaler either.

The picture quality is rather good for a TV that is over 10 years old. The backlight still seems to be good and the colors are rather bright. There is motion blur, but it's nothing horrible. When playing retro games, they look fine to me and don't appear too "blocky" as modern HDTVs tend to make them. I have no idea what the pixel resolution of the LCD panel is. It doesn't state that in the manual I saw.

There was a brief period in the mid 2000s where you could find SD LCD TVs among the HD sets, yet CRTs still were more popular. CRTs finally died out around the late 2000s in the states, along with the SD LCDs. HD sets became the dominant standard from there on.

[huckleberrypie]

And I've also upgraded my display to a 1080p AOC monitor, model M2060SWD. The output can be a tad blurry especially in motion, but hey it's 1080p for cheap.

[cpd2009]

And I've also upgraded my display to a 1080p AOC monitor, model M2060SWD. The output can be a tad blurry especially in motion, but hey it's 1080p for cheap.

My previous monitor was also an AOC, which was just given to me by relatives since they didn't need it. It was also 1080p, but I was rather unsatisfied with it since it was extremely bright even on lower settings, and seemed barebones. I later upgraded to my current Dell S2316H, which is far better in image quality and features, but it is more expensive to make up for that fact.

I will have to put my Nintendo Switch plans on hold, at least until early January or February. I am getting close to making my big move out of the house and I need to do some penny pinching for that to happen. Once I land a regular job, I can start stashing away money for the Switch. I need at least $500 or $600 for the system, a pro controller, and a game or two.

In related Switch news, some surprising announcements were made in a recent Nintendo Direct, most importantly, DOOM and Wolfenstein are getting Switch ports along with L.A. Noire. I know that I have never been into games like L.A. Noire, but I'm getting an itch to play it on the Switch. Who knows? If the Switch port of L.A. Noire does well, perhaps other R* games will get ported?

The buzz in America lately is the Super NES Classic Edition, the sequel to the infamous NES Classic from last fall. It even has the same motherboard and internals as the NES classic and it's already being hacked. It contains 21 games, including the unreleased StarFox 2. It's nice, but there are so many other classic SNES games left out such as Super Mario All-Stars, TMNT IV Turtles in Time, and many others. I was considering getting one of these and selling off my game collection, but decided not to. There are several "HD" Famiclone systems coming out, including two appealing twin NES/SNES units from different brands. My flat panel TV has some bad input lag over analog connections so some kind of HD clone is necessary to play on my TV. These are just standard Famiclone hardware with an attached HDMI scaler board, but it would allow me to ditch my secondary TV set for gaming. Collecting carts is getting expensive, but since I already have so many, why should I spend an additional $80 for a NES classic in a new shell and different games? If I want to play StarFox 2, I will wait for the Virtual Console release... if it ever happens.

I was also going to sell my old Xbox 360 that I got from a rummage sale last year, but it's one of the early units from 2006. Based on peoples experiences, these things will all eventually fail due to their inherent design flaws. I don't know if the pawn shop will even take it since it's so old. It works fine, but I'd imagine they prefer the newer slim 360 units.

[huckleberrypie]

Yeah, the overly bright display seems to be AOC's thing for some reason. It does give me a bit of eyestrain, hence why I contemplated on selling it in favour of a better monitor some time.

CrackIsCheaper indeed with hobbies like games and such, and in my case, dolls and computer parts. I find it something of a double-standard for some to complain about AGs being so expensive, yet don't seem to mind spending over $500 on an iPhone or an Xbox. As for L.A. Noire, it did gain at least some minor acclaim in Japan since it played like a visual novel with an open world tacked into it. Pretty sure the game would run more or less fine on the Switch, it's that I'm still disappointed at Nintendo's standing philosophy of taking on a Suzuki Hayabusa with a Harley-Davidson, if you get my drift.

Both the SNES Classic and the previous NES run on the same Allwinner R16 SoC, and from what I've heard this can boot Android as seen on a number of car head units being experimented on XDA. Assuming one can solder in an SD card slot, it should be theoretically possible to flash Android into the device for maximum lulz. Pretty sure someone would rip the StarFox 2 ROM off the SNESC and post it on some emulation site lol, especially as ROMs sold by Nintendo are by and large the same as the ones pirated a decade or so ago, apart from those that had to be altered due to licensing or content issues.

There is that, and it ended up in a MemeticMutation from what I've read, not to mention that it basically gave Sony the golden opportunity to gain the upper hand for a time, as developers initially struggled to write code for the Cell which affected the PS3's reception somewhat. Though I'm sure someone who is into modding old consoles might still be interested.