Messages

16

Classic Video Games / Re: CRT Eulogy

« on: May 21, 2018, 03:43:30 pm »

You truly have my deepest sympathy. I've only got one CRT and I'll be devastated whenever it buys the farm. I hope you find a solution that makes you happy sooner rather than later.

In the short term, maybe look at this little device on Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V2ULHBS/. I've bought one and used it a bit in my bedroom (no CRT in there), and it's serviceable with the original consoles, if not ideal. Right now I run an AV Famicom (composite) and a 3DO (S-video) through it. For the cost, it's a good temporary solution if nothing else.

17

General / Re: Homebrews In The Collection Do You?

« on: May 20, 2018, 08:47:48 pm »

I've got a few homebrew games, but I'm not typically impressed with them, so I haven't sought out a lot.

That said, I did contribute to the kickstarter for Tanglewood because the original demo was so impressive. I've also been meaning to buy a copy of Owlia because it was so fun watching that game come together. If a modern developer of retro games seems to be doing something really cool, I'm interested. But there just seems to be a lot of shovelware, too, so I find myself being pretty restrained.

18

General / Re: Do you buy games to play or put on your shelf?

« on: May 20, 2018, 08:41:20 pm »

Both.

+1

I particularly love the look of a tower full of NES games and my spinning CD shelves with my TurboGrafx/PC Engine/SuperCD games. And even though I have all kinds of multi carts and such, there's nothing like taking a game off the shelf, holding the media, thumbing through the book, and jamming said media into the console to get going.

19

General / Re: Do you prefer new games or retro games?

« on: May 20, 2018, 08:38:13 pm »

I'm a total retro purist. The only disc-based system I use with any frequency is my PC Engine Duo, which I love dearly. Finally got a 3DO not too long ago, but I'm pretty unimpressed and probably going to sell it.

The newest systems I own are N64 and PS1, and I don't even leave them hooked up because I just don't enjoy them. Of course it's all preference, but I just really love gaming pre-3D and whatnot. So much creativity in the games, and game music before CD-based systems just really hits me in the right place.

And truly, I'm afraid to get into newer games because there are still SO MANY retro games I want to play through that I may never get through them all. Gotta prioritize!

20

Off Topic / Re: The facebook analytical regime. Mark Zuckerberg is God.

« on: April 15, 2018, 01:41:04 am »

I think the OP may actually be Mike Tyson.

21

General / Re: Which Console Or Platform Gets The Least Use Currently

« on: April 05, 2018, 10:55:25 am »

My 3DO hasn't gotten a lot of love... yet! 

22

Hardware and Tech / Re: Want to connect Nintendo to an HDTV

« on: March 27, 2018, 12:12:18 am »

One last tip for both of you: find the video settings for whichever input your converter is plugged into, and CHANGE YOUR RATIO TO 4:3. It fixes the stretch & improves the image. Very important step if you're using a converter!

Thanks for the input, hoshichiri. I looked at all my video settings right off the bat, but I have a really cheap TV. Seems there are 4 or 5 different "zoom modes," but I'm not finding any way to set a 4:3 ratio at all. The options are stretched, stretched, stretched, and ridiculously stretched.

This is my 2ary setup (bedroom) anyway.. I have a CRT in the game room, and it "just works" of course. Thank goodness for that!

What's your TV model? Just in case someone here knows a workaround.

The brand is Element, model ELEFW328. It's a POS. I use it primary with Roku, but I had a few extra consoles so I set out on this fool's errand

It's not really that bad, though. The 3DO looks surprisingly good.

23

Hardware and Tech / Re: Want to connect Nintendo to an HDTV

« on: March 16, 2018, 12:58:47 pm »

One last tip for both of you: find the video settings for whichever input your converter is plugged into, and CHANGE YOUR RATIO TO 4:3. It fixes the stretch & improves the image. Very important step if you're using a converter!

Thanks for the input, hoshichiri. I looked at all my video settings right off the bat, but I have a really cheap TV. Seems there are 4 or 5 different "zoom modes," but I'm not finding any way to set a 4:3 ratio at all. The options are stretched, stretched, stretched, and ridiculously stretched.

This is my 2ary setup (bedroom) anyway.. I have a CRT in the game room, and it "just works" of course. Thank goodness for that!

24

Hardware and Tech / Re: Want to connect Nintendo to an HDTV

« on: March 08, 2018, 11:02:00 pm »

I've been using this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V2ULHBS/

It's basic, and everything is still stretched out, but I haven't been able to detect any lag. Supports 720 and 1080.

I've only had it for a few weeks, though, so this is not an endorsement. I primarily use a CRT.

25

Classic Video Games / Re: Repro Game Carts

« on: February 15, 2018, 12:24:14 am »

There are literally dozens of Fami games that have fan translation patches, many of which are actually worth playing. 

26

Classic Video Games / Re: Repro Game Carts

« on: February 13, 2018, 01:39:33 pm »

I can see getting repro's of homebrew games since it would be awesome to play homebrews on the real consoles themselves rather than a emulator. But overall I try to avoid repros when it comes to original games that come out. What about you guys?

I especially like having original Famicom carts modified with the English translation patch.

27

Classic Video Games / Re: Shmups on a budget

« on: July 08, 2017, 12:35:55 pm »

SNES is kind of a terrible system for shooters.

I've never understood why this mentality seemed to prevail on the internet when the SNES actually has a fine library of shmups. Some fantastic ones off the top of my head:

-Aero Fighters
-Axelay
-Darius Twin
-Gradius III
-R-Type III: Third Lightning
-Raiden Trad
-STG: Strike Gunner
-Super R-Type
-Thunder Spirits
-U.N. Squadron

I feel it's just a victim of it's time. In comparison to it's contemporaries, the Sega Genesis, and ESPECIALLY the TurboGrafx-16, yeah, the list comes up a little short. But compared to most systems in general, that's a fine library of blowing things up. It's just that those other 2 systems just happened to really specialize in shmups.

For me it's mainly a matter of how slow-paced the SNES shooters are. They're beautiful to look at, but on average they're just boring compared to what we got on the MD/Genesis and TG16/PCE.

28

Classic Video Games / Re: Shmups on a budget

« on: July 06, 2017, 11:34:50 pm »

Gradius and Life Force on the NES are both must-haves, and I don't think they're all that pricey. SNES is kind of a terrible system for shooters. I think Earth Defense Force is still affordable, and while it's not in my top 5, I think the value is there.

29

Classic Video Games / Re: I heard retro game prices have peaked

« on: July 03, 2017, 10:02:28 am »

I heard retro game prices have peaked, and are beginning a slow decline as of 2016/2017. Examples include earthbound and wild guns. Any truth to this?

These games are no longer being produced. As long as there is demand for these products with a static supply, prices will trend upward over the long term. Econ 101.

That's not necessarily true when it comes to collectibles, though. Collector market bubbles burst, and interest rises and fades with trends and changing generations.

The baseball card market bottoming out in the late 80s is a perfect example. Or the bubble-burst of the comic collector's market in the 90s.

"As long as there is demand...."

30

Classic Video Games / Re: I heard retro game prices have peaked

« on: July 01, 2017, 11:05:43 am »

I heard retro game prices have peaked, and are beginning a slow decline as of 2016/2017. Examples include earthbound and wild guns. Any truth to this?

These games are no longer being produced. As long as there is demand for these products with a static supply, prices will trend upward over the long term. Econ 101.