Well, I just made it back home after the first night of the Tramlines free music festival.
I went out tonight and...
* Visited the Kid Acne exhibition in the Millenium Gallery (mostly I went into there because it was cold outside and warm inside but it turned out to be a cool exhibition). There's a lot of his street art around town. I really like his drawings, especially his warrior women dotted around the place, but hate the slogans he's painted around town. Especially on Paternoster Row. There used to be some cool art on one wall - which was his own - but he painted over it with "You'll thank me one day". And it's rubbish in comparison! :(
* Went to a pub called Henry's because my colleagues had told me that our friend (another ex-colleague) was playing there later. I bought a drink and sat about 9ft from the stage (a very small and slightly wobbly stage), and I heard:
- a lady called Emily who was really excellent, and seemed really sweet and nice and friendly, and somewhat shocked at how much the audience liked her. Which was A LOT. :) But most of her songs were about being angry at someone, and she was certainly expressive about it!
facebook
myspace
She was much better than on her myspace recordings! She said she's playing Soyo tomorrow, then taking a break from gigging for a while to record an EP with a record label. :D
During one of the songs, one of my friends - Ali - was on the phone and there was a quiet moment in a song and all anyone heard was "I'M IN THE BEER GARDEN - IN HENRY'S". Everyone laughed and eventually she did too. At the end of the song everyone in the place was laughing, and she thanked everyone in the room.... EXCEPT HIM.
XD
And the next time started off with lyrics that were along the lines of "you don't care and you never listen" and everyone was in stitches.
XD
Carried on like a pro after that, pretty super awesome. :)
- the Don Barrel Gents. A two-piece guitar group who are cool and always good to listen to.
http://donbarrellgents.co.uk/
I used to work with Lee, the one of the two who doesn't sing and likes tuning his guitar. Even if I didn't know Lee, I'd still like them. :) The one of the two who sings has a really unusual way of playing his guitar - he uses it as a percussion instrument sometimes, and Lee does twiddly bits. :)
* Then I went out to the area in front of City Hall and saw Heaven 17 perform "Temptation"!
Well, they had a set starting at 9pm but we decided to stay and listen to our friend... well, no-one could remember more than one song, so we figured if we arrived at 9:45 we'd get that song. And our plan worked! :D
It was better than the original, but... well, the original is a good song, I like it a lot, but the vocals were a bit out of tune, and they've got better since. :)
So they played that and everyone jumped around and cheered, and then they performed "Being Boiled" (which is a Human League song)... and that was it. The guy who's lead shouted "Up the Owls!" and there was a lot of booing, but maybe it helped make everyone clear off sharpish. :P
And then I came home. A friend mentioned they plan to meet up a The Shakespeare tomorrow to attend Lee's gig, but I have no specific plans I am dedicated to at the moment. There's tons going on, and I can only be at one place at a time!
I can hear live music coming from outside still, I guess it must be at the Riverside Cafe. I am too tired to venture any further though.
Friday, 22 July 2011
Capcom, oh Capcom...
It's funny... almost seems like a lot of Japanese companies that used to be kings of the video game world about 10 - 15 years ago have kind of imploded in recent years... destroying themselves from within.
In recent times, Capcom have:
* Implemented DRM on certain downloadable PS3 games so you need to be connected to the playstation network in order to play them, even games with no online features. See: source. This is because they don't like people "sharing" games by logging onto more than one PS3 with their account and downloading the game so it can be played on both consoles. Really didn't work out well when PSN was taken offline for several weeks.
* As far as I know, they're not going to publish any more Ace Attorney games in English. :(
* Implemented Evil DRM for the new Resident Evil spin-off game on 3DS, where you can't restart the game over from the start. Source. This is because they make no money on 2nd hand games and don't like that. So you can't ever replay the game you bought from the start. If there's any point where you mess up and want to start over and do it better you can't. If you want to go back and replay the early parts of the game with the knowledge of what you know in later stages to see how it pans out, you can't.
* Took some characters out of Marvel vs Capcom 3 that people were really looking forward to, just so they can sell DLC..... but that's turned into another version that comes out in a few months time. To make loyal fans buy the same thing twice.
* Streetfighter IV DRM
and now.... cancelled Megaman Legends 3, which I was kind of looking forward to; I liked the PS1 Megaman Legends games (and the Tron Bonne game... actually I just like Servbots!)
And they blame the fans for not creating content for the game.
There are various online campaigns running at the moment; fans begging for the game.
I'm thinking if Capcom don't want to continue the project, and the original creator has jumped ship already, it's a bad idea to force them to make it just for the money. They might just take the name of the thing you liked, put a "3" on the end, and release something heartlessly created - derivative but without the magic. And then people will spend money, but they won't like what they've bought and will complain even more.
I can't think of an appropriate equivalent in videogames at the moment. I'm thinking we'd end up with Bat out of Hell 3. But with Servbots.
In recent times, Capcom have:
* Implemented DRM on certain downloadable PS3 games so you need to be connected to the playstation network in order to play them, even games with no online features. See: source. This is because they don't like people "sharing" games by logging onto more than one PS3 with their account and downloading the game so it can be played on both consoles. Really didn't work out well when PSN was taken offline for several weeks.
* As far as I know, they're not going to publish any more Ace Attorney games in English. :(
* Implemented Evil DRM for the new Resident Evil spin-off game on 3DS, where you can't restart the game over from the start. Source. This is because they make no money on 2nd hand games and don't like that. So you can't ever replay the game you bought from the start. If there's any point where you mess up and want to start over and do it better you can't. If you want to go back and replay the early parts of the game with the knowledge of what you know in later stages to see how it pans out, you can't.
* Took some characters out of Marvel vs Capcom 3 that people were really looking forward to, just so they can sell DLC..... but that's turned into another version that comes out in a few months time. To make loyal fans buy the same thing twice.
* Streetfighter IV DRM
and now.... cancelled Megaman Legends 3, which I was kind of looking forward to; I liked the PS1 Megaman Legends games (and the Tron Bonne game... actually I just like Servbots!)
And they blame the fans for not creating content for the game.
There are various online campaigns running at the moment; fans begging for the game.
I'm thinking if Capcom don't want to continue the project, and the original creator has jumped ship already, it's a bad idea to force them to make it just for the money. They might just take the name of the thing you liked, put a "3" on the end, and release something heartlessly created - derivative but without the magic. And then people will spend money, but they won't like what they've bought and will complain even more.
I can't think of an appropriate equivalent in videogames at the moment. I'm thinking we'd end up with Bat out of Hell 3. But with Servbots.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Thursday, 16 June 2011
New Dancing Eyes game announced for PS3 Move
official Dancing Eyes website
Yesssss. :D
Coincidentally, I was playing the 1996 version on the arcade machine at work last week to the vast amusement of a crowd of braying colleagues, staring on in disbelief and rapture, and suggesting "choose the schoolgirl! Yes, he's nice".
I was just browsing the list of games and someone was "what is that??" so I started it up at his request.
It's that lovely mixture of bizarre and somewhat NSFW-ness that added to everyone's entertainment.
Did anyone suspect that this is one of my all-time favourite arcade games? That it wasn't just luck and I have played it through to the end before? ...well, I forgot myself and picked it up straight off without instructions, so, er, something something something. ^_^
I was thinking at the time "I wish they'd made another game like this. Maybe someone like Tecmo would pick it up"
And here we are.
I dunno what's with this website, though; it seems to repeat the some things over and over, and I don't see any release date or price.
And I still kind of have a wish for Tecmo ladies.
This, and the Time Crisis / Razing Storm / Deadstorm Pirates pack (also from Namco) are the only things that are making me think "maybe there is something on PS3 / Move I'd like to play after all".
Yesssss. :D
Coincidentally, I was playing the 1996 version on the arcade machine at work last week to the vast amusement of a crowd of braying colleagues, staring on in disbelief and rapture, and suggesting "choose the schoolgirl! Yes, he's nice".
I was just browsing the list of games and someone was "what is that??" so I started it up at his request.
It's that lovely mixture of bizarre and somewhat NSFW-ness that added to everyone's entertainment.
Did anyone suspect that this is one of my all-time favourite arcade games? That it wasn't just luck and I have played it through to the end before? ...well, I forgot myself and picked it up straight off without instructions, so, er, something something something. ^_^
I was thinking at the time "I wish they'd made another game like this. Maybe someone like Tecmo would pick it up"
And here we are.
I dunno what's with this website, though; it seems to repeat the some things over and over, and I don't see any release date or price.
And I still kind of have a wish for Tecmo ladies.
This, and the Time Crisis / Razing Storm / Deadstorm Pirates pack (also from Namco) are the only things that are making me think "maybe there is something on PS3 / Move I'd like to play after all".
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Thoughts on the recent gaming website hacking incidents
The website for the computer game company Codemasters got hacked and announced it earlier today - a friend of mine at work was pretty miffed when he got an email about it. He was complaining that gaming platforms have been targetted by hackers so much his same details must have been stolen about 4 times now.
Another developer joined in and started lamenting the fact that the same rules that apply to online financial institutions (PCI DSS) don't seem apply to other websites who hold personal data.
Things are difficult to secure these days. Soon after PSN was hacked, Bloomberg reported that Amazon's EC2 elastic cloud servers had been used. For a small amount of money, a person can use a huge amount of processing power, and this includes brute force attacks on passwords - last year, SHA-1 was shown to be broken within 40 seconds. I suppose it is to be expected that if you allow people to hire Superman as a cheap labourer, someone will get him to rob a bank.
I've seen people seriously suggest that bcrypt is used to store passwords simply because the algorithm is slow to execute, in order to slow down attackers.
You can try and put in all the stops you can think of - for example, if they get 20 passwords wrong in quick succession, lock the account. That sort of thing. But if the attackers have already got in and can attempt to decrypt your data at their leisure, slowing them down is all you can do.
I still think when you're buying digital property, you shouldn't need to give out all this information. Why should you need to hand over your address etc, and why do these companies think they should be keeping this information?
All they need is temporary use of payment - perhaps an external payment provider - and perhaps some login credentials to their system. If card details need to be stored, tokenization will help (but note what I said earlier).
Earlier this week, the 3DS eshop came online and I added some funds onto the wallet for my 3DS to buy Legend Of Zelda : Link's Awakening DX (which is as brilliant as it always was!), and all it asked for were card details. They put through the transaction and Nintendo don't retain the card number, because they have no need to.
So a few weeks ago when the hackers broke in to Nintendo's systems, there was nothing there for them to take. And they said there was "no harm" meant, but it sort of seems more like "no paydirt".
It's a bit like... if there's no way to fully secure things, or you don't want to put money into seriously beefing up security, don't store anything valuable. Same as - if you're going to park your car somewhere you know people are likely to break a window to steal stuff, you don't leave your sat nav, wallet, ipad, work tools, or other valuables on display.
I also read that three people in Spain have been arrested for allegedly hacking the Playstation network. I hope they have the right people, and if so, that justice is fully served!
Another developer joined in and started lamenting the fact that the same rules that apply to online financial institutions (PCI DSS) don't seem apply to other websites who hold personal data.
Things are difficult to secure these days. Soon after PSN was hacked, Bloomberg reported that Amazon's EC2 elastic cloud servers had been used. For a small amount of money, a person can use a huge amount of processing power, and this includes brute force attacks on passwords - last year, SHA-1 was shown to be broken within 40 seconds. I suppose it is to be expected that if you allow people to hire Superman as a cheap labourer, someone will get him to rob a bank.
I've seen people seriously suggest that bcrypt is used to store passwords simply because the algorithm is slow to execute, in order to slow down attackers.
You can try and put in all the stops you can think of - for example, if they get 20 passwords wrong in quick succession, lock the account. That sort of thing. But if the attackers have already got in and can attempt to decrypt your data at their leisure, slowing them down is all you can do.
I still think when you're buying digital property, you shouldn't need to give out all this information. Why should you need to hand over your address etc, and why do these companies think they should be keeping this information?
All they need is temporary use of payment - perhaps an external payment provider - and perhaps some login credentials to their system. If card details need to be stored, tokenization will help (but note what I said earlier).
Earlier this week, the 3DS eshop came online and I added some funds onto the wallet for my 3DS to buy Legend Of Zelda : Link's Awakening DX (which is as brilliant as it always was!), and all it asked for were card details. They put through the transaction and Nintendo don't retain the card number, because they have no need to.
So a few weeks ago when the hackers broke in to Nintendo's systems, there was nothing there for them to take. And they said there was "no harm" meant, but it sort of seems more like "no paydirt".
It's a bit like... if there's no way to fully secure things, or you don't want to put money into seriously beefing up security, don't store anything valuable. Same as - if you're going to park your car somewhere you know people are likely to break a window to steal stuff, you don't leave your sat nav, wallet, ipad, work tools, or other valuables on display.
I also read that three people in Spain have been arrested for allegedly hacking the Playstation network. I hope they have the right people, and if so, that justice is fully served!
Friday, 10 June 2011
Watching Utena in remembrance...
I read in the news on ANN earlier today that an actress had died. It was Kawakami Tomoko (nb: lastname, forename). According to the news article, she was 41 years old, and retired suddenly in 2008 with a hospitalisation, and has now died of ovarian cancer. It is terrible, very tragic indeed. She used to be quite prolific.
It's also quite tragic when I think of some of the characters she played, also dying young.
I wonder whether she was aware she was seriously ill in the run up to her sudden retirement.
This evening, I decided to begin watching the new remastered DVDs of Shoujo Kakumei Utena which she starred in. A great series, one of my all time favourites, one that was really instrumental in getting me into anime many years ago. Yet, I haven't watched it in years.
These new Nozomi version DVDs really do the series justice. The 5.1 Japanese sound works really well, and the picture is far, far better than the old Software Sculptors DVDs... though those are some of the worst official US DVDs I own (the VHS version was better than those DVDs!)
There's been far too much death this year. But it's best to remember in life.
It's also quite tragic when I think of some of the characters she played, also dying young.
I wonder whether she was aware she was seriously ill in the run up to her sudden retirement.
This evening, I decided to begin watching the new remastered DVDs of Shoujo Kakumei Utena which she starred in. A great series, one of my all time favourites, one that was really instrumental in getting me into anime many years ago. Yet, I haven't watched it in years.
These new Nozomi version DVDs really do the series justice. The 5.1 Japanese sound works really well, and the picture is far, far better than the old Software Sculptors DVDs... though those are some of the worst official US DVDs I own (the VHS version was better than those DVDs!)
There's been far too much death this year. But it's best to remember in life.
Thursday, 9 June 2011
2 player play using 3D TV tech
At E3, Sony demonstrated a way that 2 people can play a game on the same TV and look at 2 complete different images, without split screen.
When we saw it (watching a video at lunch at work), we all guessed how it could be done.
I found something that mentions how it's done: It works on any 3D TV; each person wears 3D glasses, one sees "left" the other sees "right" but they are two different 2D pictures.
Sounds like a cool use of existing technology! :)
When we saw it (watching a video at lunch at work), we all guessed how it could be done.
I found something that mentions how it's done: It works on any 3D TV; each person wears 3D glasses, one sees "left" the other sees "right" but they are two different 2D pictures.
Sounds like a cool use of existing technology! :)
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Nintendo 3DS
I ended up buying a 3DS when it came out. Mostly because it was heavily discounted on Amazon. It still costs a lot more than other consoles in the DS range.
I quite like the machine, I just wish it had some great games out for it. It doesn't even have a game as good as "Project Rub" for showing off the features. Mostly what is out are sequels, ports and the most anticipated game is a remake of Legend Of Zelda Ocarina Of Time. I'd like something truly new, showing off some innovation.
The eshop comes out tomorrow, everyone gets a free copy of Excitebike 3D (which I imagine will be like the visualiser in the 3DS's MP3 player - an 8-bit game with 3D in layers, découpage style), and a free 3D Pokedex application compatible with Pokemon Black and White.
Quite fun, but still not quite the killer app.
I have played two 3DS games on cartridge:
* Lego Star Wars III The Clone Wars, which I borrowed from a colleague and finished really quickly (71% overall completion). It's not bad, but feels quite shallow and bland - not nearly as good as the Lego Star Wars games on Xbox 360.
* Puzzle Bobble Universe, which I bought for £12.99 on Amazon thinking "it's puzzle bobble, how could it go wrong?" but... it's far too easy, and there's no Arcade mode. I've started playing "endless mode" and it truly is endless - I've been going 7 hours now, I've gone past level 2700 now, and it's not getting difficult. I am quite bored, but it's against my nature to simply give up. :(
Super Street Fighter IV seems to be the most popular game around, from what I have detected on players I have passed in town, but I don't think I need another copy of that game. I already own it on my home consoles and haven't played it that much. Dead Or Alive Dimensions might be good, but I will wait for the price to drop.
The built in software is much better. Streetpass is kind of a meta-game, you seek out other people in the real world carrying 3DSes, to pass by and collect puzzle pieces, or work as RPG characters in a simulated quest. The games don't have much substance, but it's fun to think about where in town you're likely to find people with 3DSes. The detection seems a bit flaky though - sometimes it would pick up a friend's 3DS, other times not. Even if they were right next to each other, and could pick up other people's consoles!
Face Raiders - where you take a photo of someone and shoot little balls at it, as it's stretched to pull funny faces - is far more fun than I thought it would be. It's genuinely funny!
The 3D... I usually leave it on minimum setting, the less I notice it, the better it works, is my opinion. Overdone 3D is just annoying - I am hoping that people will "grow out of" doing it like that - a bit like when they first invented colour films and dressed everyone up in the most outgrageously gaudy clothes to show the technology off. It'll be better when they forget to show it off.
The 3D technology doesn't work at all on my brother, he finds it immediately irritating. Fortunately, all the applications and games look great with the 3D switched off. :)
3DS games are all region locked, but DS games appear not to be. I've been happily playing both European and American DS games. The screen size is larger on 3DS than on DS, so it's upscaled via software, and as with all different models of DS, the colours are a bit different. Some games (e.g. Ghost Trick) look great on 3DS, other games (e.g. Pokemon White) look a lot better to me on DS.
Battery life on 3DS seems great when leaving it on sleep mode for Streetpass, when playing DS games, and Puzzle Bobble Universe (but it does appear to be a very simple game). It was not so good with Lego Star Wars III, and I understand it's very short with some other games. I am mainly using it as a DS these days, so it's not much of an issue for me.
So, that's all I have to say about 3DS so far. Seems a good little machine, I use it every day, but is so lacking in retail games that sometimes I can't help but feel like I am the proud owner of a brand new Neo Geo Color Pocket. :/
I quite like the machine, I just wish it had some great games out for it. It doesn't even have a game as good as "Project Rub" for showing off the features. Mostly what is out are sequels, ports and the most anticipated game is a remake of Legend Of Zelda Ocarina Of Time. I'd like something truly new, showing off some innovation.
The eshop comes out tomorrow, everyone gets a free copy of Excitebike 3D (which I imagine will be like the visualiser in the 3DS's MP3 player - an 8-bit game with 3D in layers, découpage style), and a free 3D Pokedex application compatible with Pokemon Black and White.
Quite fun, but still not quite the killer app.
I have played two 3DS games on cartridge:
* Lego Star Wars III The Clone Wars, which I borrowed from a colleague and finished really quickly (71% overall completion). It's not bad, but feels quite shallow and bland - not nearly as good as the Lego Star Wars games on Xbox 360.
* Puzzle Bobble Universe, which I bought for £12.99 on Amazon thinking "it's puzzle bobble, how could it go wrong?" but... it's far too easy, and there's no Arcade mode. I've started playing "endless mode" and it truly is endless - I've been going 7 hours now, I've gone past level 2700 now, and it's not getting difficult. I am quite bored, but it's against my nature to simply give up. :(
Super Street Fighter IV seems to be the most popular game around, from what I have detected on players I have passed in town, but I don't think I need another copy of that game. I already own it on my home consoles and haven't played it that much. Dead Or Alive Dimensions might be good, but I will wait for the price to drop.
The built in software is much better. Streetpass is kind of a meta-game, you seek out other people in the real world carrying 3DSes, to pass by and collect puzzle pieces, or work as RPG characters in a simulated quest. The games don't have much substance, but it's fun to think about where in town you're likely to find people with 3DSes. The detection seems a bit flaky though - sometimes it would pick up a friend's 3DS, other times not. Even if they were right next to each other, and could pick up other people's consoles!
Face Raiders - where you take a photo of someone and shoot little balls at it, as it's stretched to pull funny faces - is far more fun than I thought it would be. It's genuinely funny!
The 3D... I usually leave it on minimum setting, the less I notice it, the better it works, is my opinion. Overdone 3D is just annoying - I am hoping that people will "grow out of" doing it like that - a bit like when they first invented colour films and dressed everyone up in the most outgrageously gaudy clothes to show the technology off. It'll be better when they forget to show it off.
The 3D technology doesn't work at all on my brother, he finds it immediately irritating. Fortunately, all the applications and games look great with the 3D switched off. :)
3DS games are all region locked, but DS games appear not to be. I've been happily playing both European and American DS games. The screen size is larger on 3DS than on DS, so it's upscaled via software, and as with all different models of DS, the colours are a bit different. Some games (e.g. Ghost Trick) look great on 3DS, other games (e.g. Pokemon White) look a lot better to me on DS.
Battery life on 3DS seems great when leaving it on sleep mode for Streetpass, when playing DS games, and Puzzle Bobble Universe (but it does appear to be a very simple game). It was not so good with Lego Star Wars III, and I understand it's very short with some other games. I am mainly using it as a DS these days, so it's not much of an issue for me.
So, that's all I have to say about 3DS so far. Seems a good little machine, I use it every day, but is so lacking in retail games that sometimes I can't help but feel like I am the proud owner of a brand new Neo Geo Color Pocket. :/
Harsh reality...
Occasionally, I see news articles about such and such a person complaining that video games are unrealistic about death. That people do not turn into shiny gold coins.
But...
As a very rare drop, I have a shiny gold coin. Or rather, a cheque for a shiny gold coin, bequeathed to me. It took a lot of work, mostly from my aunts.
A human being, 8 decades of life, and of memories, and what does it turn into in the end? A collection of shiny gold coins. That's all.
I'd trade any number of them to get my granny back. R.I.P.
But...
As a very rare drop, I have a shiny gold coin. Or rather, a cheque for a shiny gold coin, bequeathed to me. It took a lot of work, mostly from my aunts.
A human being, 8 decades of life, and of memories, and what does it turn into in the end? A collection of shiny gold coins. That's all.
I'd trade any number of them to get my granny back. R.I.P.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Marvel Pinball Soundtrack available for free
The soundtrack to Zen Studios' Marvel Pinball is now available for free:
Marvel Pinball Soundtrack
I like the Spider-Man tracks best. Well.... the Spider-Man table is my favourite to play too.
I'm looking forward to the Fantastic Four table in a few weeks, and apparently Zen are getting ready to release one table per month after that! I have high hopes for them!
Marvel Pinball Soundtrack
I like the Spider-Man tracks best. Well.... the Spider-Man table is my favourite to play too.
I'm looking forward to the Fantastic Four table in a few weeks, and apparently Zen are getting ready to release one table per month after that! I have high hopes for them!
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