VGC's Anonymous/"General" Topic:

[ignition365]

Yeah, the shift towards lim print and digital pushed me to PC gaming.  The only things I buy for console these days are bargain bin/clearance and exclusives.  I've still got my outliers like Yakuza/Like a Dragon and Assassin's Creed where I'll keep going PS and Xbox respectively for consistency, but at this point, I still wait on bargain bin or clearance prices for those anyway.  Otherwise, I'm waiting for steam key bundles for games... because everything gets bundled eventually.

[tripredacus]

I'm not sure if I mentioned it here yet. I am working on developing a video game, but it is a baseball simulator. It is a modern version of Major League Manager, the game I've been playing since the 90s. I am writing it in Python. I think it will be quite a long time still before I will actually have something usable as a replacement and I also plan to release the source when I am done with what I want the program to be.

The work I've done so far is building out some of the menus, designed the database and populated some of it mainly creating the leagues, divisions and teams. The next part I am working on is how to add players from the application itself.

[marvelvscapcom2]

Mafia: Old Country preorder drop at 49.99!!  Super damn radical.




I could be wrong. But in a world of everyone raising their prices. This could be worth encouraging with a buy. Perhaps they know people might feel that way and buy more.  The deluxe edition is 59.99 which is typically 80 to 100 from the other big guys.

Mafia games are typically 50+ hour sandbox games as well so it's not like were getting a Mario Land port for 50.  I'm so beyond stoked for this game.  Definitely old school italy mob movie vibes. Like godfather.

[marvelvscapcom2]

Nintendo new update to license agreement.  Which pops up on any screen essentially bricking your switch if you decide not to sign their contractual agreement by force. Which we have become so comfortable being forced to do we forget our actual rights or hardly ever read them. If you bought 200 switch games. You own zero. Even physical ones.  Physcial were unplayable as well. Nintendo decides weather or not your purchases are yours. And you gotta play their game to play their games. What says Nintendo cant do this permanently towards the end to force you to upgrade? Physical means nothing on that platform.


https://youtube.com/shorts/9bcNRLwzn6s?si=QWq26Pw-wrM33Psj

Nintendo in 2025.

[dhaabi]

I'm not sure if I mentioned it here yet. I am working on developing a video game, but it is a baseball simulator. It is a modern version of Major League Manager, the game I've been playing since the 90s. I am writing it in Python. I think it will be quite a long time still before I will actually have something usable as a replacement and I also plan to release the source when I am done with what I want the program to be.

The work I've done so far is building out some of the menus, designed the database and populated some of it mainly creating the leagues, divisions and teams. The next part I am working on is how to add players from the application itself.

That's cool to hear. I'm assuming that there just aren't modern (or even remotely newer) alternatives available which offer the same features you're interested in. Or is there another reason you've stuck with Major League Manager for so long?

Mafia games are typically 50+ hour sandbox games as well so it's not like were getting a Mario Land port for 50.  I'm so beyond stoked for this game.  Definitely old school italy mob movie vibes. Like godfather.

Isn't that just the case for Mafia III? Of the three, only it incorporated sandbox elements whereas the first two titles are straightforward linear narratives. The trailers for The Old Country do look really nice, though. Hopefully 2K's selling point for it works in their favor.

On another note. Is this game on anyone else's radar? I have been lured into preordering it. Heres to hoping it's epic.

The Midnight Walk has had my attention for a while. I've read some mixed thoughts about it—particularly in regards to its VR capabilities—since it's released, though.

[tripredacus]

I'm not sure if I mentioned it here yet. I am working on developing a video game, but it is a baseball simulator. It is a modern version of Major League Manager, the game I've been playing since the 90s. I am writing it in Python. I think it will be quite a long time still before I will actually have something usable as a replacement and I also plan to release the source when I am done with what I want the program to be.

The work I've done so far is building out some of the menus, designed the database and populated some of it mainly creating the leagues, divisions and teams. The next part I am working on is how to add players from the application itself.

That's cool to hear. I'm assuming that there just aren't modern (or even remotely newer) alternatives available which offer the same features you're interested in. Or is there another reason you've stuck with Major League Manager for so long?

I've tried other simulators before, they all have their charm. Baseball Mogul has a lot going for it and while I haven't yet tried OOTP I thought I read that is made by the same people. I've also tried Strategic Baseball Simulator as well. There are tradeoffs with both of those, they add some good things but take away others. None of the ones I've tried are able to give me what I really want. Even with this project it is not entirely what I want but I'm not really seeing any alternative.

MLM has a few bugs that cause problems when using the program for a long period of time. There are two data files for pitchers and batters that are of fixed length. When you add a player of either type, it appends to the end of the file. There is an "address" file that maps players to teams. If you delete a player from the game, it removes the player from the address file but not the player file. Once EOF is reached on either of the player files, no new players can be added and the player data gets corrupted.

I was able to work around this with the help of an Italian architect who created a method for rebuilding the roster files, but this task is tedious. I have had it on my list to develop a program that does this roster rebuild, but I hadn't actually done much with it. Basically what this method does is remove the un-mapped (deleted) players from the data files and rebuild them and adjust the address file accordingly. I've also considered trying to "replace" the underlying data engine in the game, basically to have the rosters and lineups be managed by an external program and then run the game via a wrapper and deliver it the information it needs to play a game, but the issue ends up being that I am finding it incredibly difficult to reverse engineer the MZ to determine exactly how the original game works.

[marvelvscapcom2]

My vita arrived today fully hacked and modded to run homebrews with buddies old account on it lol.  It had 100smof ps1 games. Psp games and even vita games for free.

I initiated a factory reset and removed all of that though. I know i'll be questioning if that was the right decision for a while. But I wanted it to feel fresh and new.  The emulators were cluttering the home screen.


Also even if its a slim chance. My PS account being banned because they detect a homebrew console is not something I can risk. So its squeaky clean. I even formatted the system memory and removed the link between the old account.  Its like out of the box.


So far the console looks gorgeous. Really loving it. And I was never much of a hacking kinda person anyway. Not judging it. But I just get overwhelmed when theirs 2000 files. .exe and all that.  I guess I made the right choice. I kinda like oem feel. Even on ps3.

[tripredacus]

I was able to finally confirm that my Japanese PS3 works, and it is good it lets me set English as the default language. But like the PS2, Japan uses the circle button for confirmation instead of X like on US models. I think I had mentioned before my AVR situation with HDMI. At least for the PS3 I can set it to use HDMI for video and optical for audio, which I did. But it turns out the optical doesn't work on this AVR either.

So I will need to find a new AVR, I don't think it is worth it to fix this one. I did forget I had an extra older one that doesn't support HDMI. In the future I can perhaps use that instead. Normally I would use a PS3 on the downstairs TV but there is not enough power outlets there.

[bikingjahuty]

And just like that, I'm done with XBONE collecting...sort of.


I picked up Halo Wars 2 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection this afternoon, which were the two last XBONE games I wanted to get. A little background, I bought a $50 XBONE console off FB Marketplace two weeks ago and through a combination of luck and actively seeking the dozen games I wanted for it out, I've already completed that collection. The XBONE was never a console I had much interest in aside from a few exclusives, which is why I held off on getting one until I could get one for cheap. I may still get a few of the Forza games at some point, but as far as the "must have" exclusives, I now have all those.

[dhaabi]

And just like that, I'm done with XBONE collecting...sort of.

I own three physical games for Xbox One, one of which I should remove from the collection. Another is the Rare Replay compilation that I don't feel strongly about but should probably hold on to I suppose, and the one remaining is Sunset Overdrive which may be okay for my tastes but is something I haven't played to know for sure. So despite owning an Xbox One and an Xbox One X which both just so happened to be free, there is very little that entices me. I suppose if I were to ever become interested in racing games, there is always Forza, but that may be the only exclusive game(s) I feel are worth buying. Out of everything the Xbox One offers, its best feature is its convenience to play select Xbox and Xbox 360 games. If I were to buy another physical game for the system, I'd be surprised.

[bikingjahuty]

And just like that, I'm done with XBONE collecting...sort of.

I own three physical games for Xbox One, one of which I should remove from the collection. Another is the Rare Replay compilation that I don't feel strongly about but should probably hold on to I suppose, and the one remaining is Sunset Overdrive which may be okay for my tastes but is something I haven't played to know for sure. So despite owning an Xbox One and an Xbox One X which both just so happened to be free, there is very little that entices me. I suppose if I were to ever become interested in racing games, there is always Forza, but that may be the only exclusive game(s) I feel are worth buying. Out of everything the Xbox One offers, its best feature is its convenience to play select Xbox and Xbox 360 games. If I were to buy another physical game for the system, I'd be surprised.

Funny enough, I've owned Rare Replay, Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break, and Shenmue 1 & 2 Collection (not an XBONE exclusive, just wanted to own all releases of it) years before buying the actual console to play them on. Unless you're hardcore into Halo, Forza, or I suppose Gears of War (although that's about to change with the PS5 collection coming out), I have no idea why anyone would buy an XBONE over a PS4. There are almost no exclusives for it. I actually picked up Ryse even though I originally wasn't going to because I just wanted one more exclusive game for it, and it being only $3 when I bought it may have had something to do with it too lol. Despite this, I do contend that the console is worth owning, just don't pay a lot for one lol.

[marvelvscapcom2]

Well I got to play a switch 2 today. Spent about 15 minutes with Donkey Kong Bonanza. My takeaways are...  immediate awe and enjoyment followed by sadness that I cant buy one. Because I cant support the company at its current pricing and posturing. But maybe someday

But

Pros:

The joysticks are much improved and feel closer to ps4. With this console. A pro controller may be optional rather than manditory like Switch 1's joke of joycons. The black color scheme is truly sexy. It feels more mature. And able to handle entertaining both kids and games. It also feels more diverse in general.

The buttons feel slightly clickier and the pro controller which I also got to try has touch clickers in the back.  The haptic feedback is nice.

The graphics are pretty. Is it ps5 pro pretty? Even in dock mode? No. But its servicable. And overall the colors and frames are really really good. Not one dip in frames. Really clean.

Donkey kong bananza is basically mario odyssey level great. What a blast. It is goty bar none.  A glorious homage to donkey kong as a character.

Cons:

Lineup is very small and isolated.

The whole keycard lameness and pricing

It has the same UI. Which to me is lazy. I dont like the Switch 1 UI. Its so uninventive. Feels like a cheap leap frog tablet.  No tabs. No diversity. No customization outside of colors and profile. Eh. Definitely playing it safe. I really wish it had some wildly modern super grid layout with navigation smoothness.  (I know this is my preferences and millions love switch UI. So maybe its good they give someone what they are used to).


I really want one. But we must stay strong friends

[bikingjahuty]

Well I got to play a switch 2 today. Spent about 15 minutes with Donkey Kong Bonanza. My takeaways are...  immediate awe and enjoyment followed by sadness that I cant buy one. Because I cant support the company at its current pricing and posturing. But maybe someday

You could always buy a used one and used games for it. I've said this before, but I'm holding off until either there's some game that I cannot resist, or until the console has been out for at least 3 years or so. I figure by then we should know if Nintendo starts doing the key card thing with their first party games, or if some other ridiculous anti consumer, anti ownership crap is implemented. Assuming that doesn't happen, I'll pick one up and likely have a nice chunk of exclusives to catch up on. In many ways, The Switch 2 reminds me a bit of my experience with the Gamecube back in the day. I was never big into the Gamecube and still am not, but I eventually did get one during the console's run, as well as a handful of games I really enjoyed.

[marvelvscapcom2]

Well I got to play a switch 2 today. Spent about 15 minutes with Donkey Kong Bonanza. My takeaways are...  immediate awe and enjoyment followed by sadness that I cant buy one. Because I cant support the company at its current pricing and posturing. But maybe someday

You could always buy a used one and used games for it. I've said this before, but I'm holding off until either there's some game that I cannot resist, or until the console has been out for at least 3 years or so. I figure by then we should know if Nintendo starts doing the key card thing with their first party games, or if some other ridiculous anti consumer, anti ownership crap is implemented. Assuming that doesn't happen, I'll pick one up and likely have a nice chunk of exclusives to catch up on. In many ways, The Switch 2 reminds me a bit of my experience with the Gamecube back in the day. I was never big into the Gamecube and still am not, but I eventually did get one during the console's run, as well as a handful of games I really enjoyed.

I knew I shouldnt have played Donkey Kong Bananza lol. I felt the same as you. I'm still not eager for it. I think its Nintendos least ambitious product in history. But I just had to play the game. A good 20 minutes too. But im gonna try to hold out for the 2nd  or 3rd masterpiece. I overall enjoyed my time with it but I waited almost 5 years before buying Switch 1 and I never play it now.  I dont wanna do the same with 2 and have it collect dust. Its still fairly underpowered.

Sadly it seems anyone selling used locally is trying to scalp and price gouge. I'd have assumed it would cool off with the stock replenish but all are 500+ on ebay (bundle) I dont get people who try to become Bezos by flipping consoles at like 5 percent gain each. Thats such a volatile and exhausting endeavor even if you manage to turn a profit by some miracle. Maybe ill wait until they get desperate and start selling at 425.

Is their a console seller that would force you to buy one? For example Mario Odyssey 2? 

[dhaabi]

Is their a console seller that would force you to buy one? For example Mario Odyssey 2?

For a lot of people, Donkey Kong Bananza is being touted as the spiritual successor to Super Mario Odyssey. I really enjoyed my time playing Odyssey, and I became much more receptive to Bananza after its focused gameplay trailer shortly before its release. But after watching a fair amount of the game in-person as someone else plays, it does not look that fun to me. There doesn't seem to be that much of a challenge in any regard to find and gain the collectibles which is its main gameplay component, so all that's left is to mindlessly destroy things. To me, Bananza seems like some totally stripped-down version of Minecraft that's somehow mixed with Wreck-It Ralph which I suppose is appealing to most. Maybe it's perfect for someone wanting to totally disengage in thought after a long day, but it's come across as rather boring to me which is a shame. Needless to say, I'm quite surprised at the glowing reception it's received.