RocketDude

I am curious to see how Freeman gets through Ravenholm, I was under the impression that ammo was scarcer in the chapter to encourage using the Gravity Gun.

This definitely seems like a better idea of how to approach your production pipeline. Thank you for the update, it means a lot.

Yeah, the YT comments mention that the game's story apparently does get a bit deeper and actually kinda tackles the implications of its premise, but it really does feel like they don't have the courage to go all-in on it. I was surprised you left off with the story, but I guess it had to do with the progression being slowed down by the leveling. Also, Ross, I'm pleasantly surprised that you know about Brad Neely. "Baby Cakes Sees A Play" is one of my favorite videos ever.

I fairly liked it, but I can see how Ross's version of Freeman will come into tension with Valve's more rail-roaded approach to storytelling and immersion in HL2. It's not easy to stick the landing, and it seems Ross might not have stuck it here. I'm hoping/anticipating that Freeman will come around a little near the end of HL2, that we may see real changes to Freeman's characterization. Maybe he'll not reflexively draw a gun on the Vorts, at least.

I might need to re-watch this on my PC, but I could swear several of the dudes had the same voice as the PC. I almost swore that Thumbnail Jacket Man was the same dude as the Vampire Prince from the intro.

That figures, most of the CD space must have went towards the compressed video. I kinda miss this 90's FMV cheese. I remember reading a comment, probably on Ross's Phantasmagoria 2 video, that said that the acting in these games often had to be exaggerated because of the low res and high compression subtracting details.

Jesus, well excuse me for being a dude who just doesn't want to pay Microsoft for fucking Solitaire.

Okay, yes, Android is not at all what Stallman envisioned, but from the Eric S. Raymond perspective, I think it's an example of Linux's slow, steady progress in winning the computer wars. Linux wins not by crushing the competition via strict adherence to the command line, it wins by being the freer and friendlier option, to the point that even rivals like Microsoft will have to buy in: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=8764

I wouldn't agree with that, necessarily. I think the last decade has proved that Linux can be user-friendly and painless, you just need big initiatives and some corporate backing to push it forward (Android and Proton).

I think if I had to give awards for this game, it'd probably be like this (also taking some inspiration from the YT comments): -Soft Utopia: Caldoria seems like a perfect society, but mimics our current one quite a lot, which takes away those important Utopia Points. -No True Timeline: Choosing between Turbo and Pegasus Prime is not the easiest choice, as Turbo's age and remaining technical flaws makes it the technically inferior version, but Pegasus Prime's additions and changes causes the game to lose that same mysterious early-90's vibe the original had, in addition to the added challenge in some spots. -Future's Past: While the lack of visits to pre-21st-century times are regrettable, the degree to which Journeyman commits to its sci-fi worldbuilding is impressive.

As some people have noted in the comments, iTunes and Apple Music already use DRM such that, even if content you buy is downloaded to your system, you still need their software to actually open it. So, while I don't know the specifics of movies from iTunes (I haven't touched anything Apple since getting a smartphone in 2012), there's a chance that such movies are still encrypted and that Apple has a #2 situation set up anyways. Thus, there's an opening for the lawsuit.

I am reasonably sure that that is from Army of Darkness. Also, I think both Ross and Mandalore's approach to holiday videos are valid. You can either try something *very unique*, or try to end the year on a good note. I liked this episode, for what it's worth, and I'm fine with this being a more cozy, shorter episode.

I guess the best summary for this game would be: "Looks like Diablo, but it ain't Diablo at all." Also, that was one of the best birthday presents I could ever get, so thank you, Ross.

I suppose there is a sort of sense in that. I.e., "if you don't work with us now, don't be surprised if we don't want to work with you later." Still a bit silly, but it probably discourages publishers taking rain checks on platforms while also potentially generating some sales for the platform owner.

Did not know that first bit. By "cult of Sonic," I was kind of referring to the weird fanart-y side, though maybe it arose independently of Penders' weirdness.

Oh yeah, another comment: a lot of the "cult of Sonic" weirdness is probably thanks to Ken Penders' run on the Archie Comic's Sonic the Hedgehog comic series, which was also the basis for the Saturday morning cartoon series. It's funny you mentioned not knowing "Sonic's cousin," since the comics gave Knuckles a huge family tree--Penders also really likes Knuckles and the echidnas, for some reason.

I've seen that as a criticism of Ross before, but here, it isn't necessarily pejorative.

Okay, fair enough! Also, re: Tom White being Peter Chimaera...is that really true, or is this just a joke? I feel like Peter Chimaera's real identity is a total mystery, just like that of My Immortal's author.

In fairness, Tails' plane here in Heroes is the Tornado II, a jet-powered successor to the original Tornado plane seen in the classic games, which was a propeller biplane. IIRC, in Sonic Adventure, where it debuted, the Tornado II started out in a more conventional plane shape (with a propeller made of energy blades powered by a spinning Chaos Emerald for a nosecone!), before transforming into the weird four-winged jet thing that reminds me of one of those weird experimental jets from the 50's (in fact, I'm pretty sure there was a design much like that, a four-winged jet plane that was practically a rocket, and it was always pointed up at an angle when on its landing gear). Also, Ross, apparently the PC version of Heroes is just jankier than the console versions. I remember playing Heroes at the age of like 12 on GameCube and I did not struggle nearly as much as you did. Then again, I also rather liked the casino stages, so maybe we're just not drift-compatible. As for Tails' tails...don't think too hard about it, it's just a stylish character design. That said, perhaps if his tails worked like like a dual-rotor helicoper, that wouldn't look so weird. Actually, I think some of the comics and cartoons showed him doing that.

Funny, the "Invasion" skin is based off of Raptor: Call of the Shadows, an old shmup published by Apogee. I'm curious if it'll ever be on Game Dungeon, since you did Tyrian. In any case, that skin is a good way to repurpose game sprites, IMO.

Whoo, congrats to the winners! "Evil" did not cross my mind when I picked mine. I guess I kinda see it? Are we talking "evil" in a cool way, or in the "bad design" way?

LASERmecha_4000.wsz Other ones I liked:

Re: Microsoft, I'm surprised you didn't mention that Valve was unhappy with Microsoft's de facto monopoly on the OS space around the days of Windows 8, and so started up their Linux developments to give themselves an out, and now we have Proton. I wonder what the numbers for Windows 10 adoption look like after they ended support for 7. Speaking of which, I have to agree with one of the YouTube commenters, it may be time for you to give up on Windows and move to Linux for good. You may want to firewall your current Windows 7 install, but you probably should make the move sooner rather than later. In my experience, transitioning to Linux has been a lot less painful than I would have imagined, but then, I don't have a ton invested into my Win7 ecosystem beyond Steam and the like. Your GOG games are another issue, but WINE is a thing (and if not, maybe you could get your non-Steam games to work with Proton somehow). But yeah, good episode, though somewhat depressing.

I forgot to comment on the Mionix Naos in the thread for the GUI video. I was like "hey, that's my old mouse!" when I saw it. Mine became near-useless as well, I'm gonna bet it was the scroll wheel's click and/or the mouse buttons themselves. As to what I replaced it with? I'm gonna second/third the Logitech G502. Specifically, I use the HERO variant. It hits most of your wants, I'd say. The scroll wheel DOES have buttons right next to it, but one of them does this neat thing where it "unlocks" the scroll wheel and lets you spin it freely for faster scrolling. The sensitivity-changing buttons are off to the side of the left mouse button, and you probably won't hit them by accident. The thumb buttons are pretty unobtrusive and your hand will rest in such a way that you definitely won't accidentally press them.

I actually was fine with Windows 7's UI for years, but at the start of this year, I made the jump to Linux, specifically Fedora, and after some getting used to, I kind of rather like its GNOME-based GUI. If I need to switch windows or open something, I just need to throw my cursor into the top-left corner of the screen to bring up the favorites dock and the window view. I do admit that I kind of want to have a more sci-fi-inspired interface, but I personally will put up with what I need to put up with. I also think that most of the attempts to innovate in UI have been in the mobile space, though as someone who uses a Samsung, most changes nowadays are more aesthetic than functional--that is to say, the appearance is changed moreso than button placement and the like.