Hexapus

@MontyMole Indeed. I'm not in favor of police raids to stop video game piracy but these people have been very public with the fact that there's money(£61,000) being exchanged for the purpose of dumping and most likely distributing game files that don't legally belong to anyone involved in the transaction.

These random conspiracy theories about Sega or fans are ignoring the fact that **you don't have the right to distribute copies of something that's not legally yours**.

There's also a chance that the recycling company that sold the games had no legal right to do so. It may have been expected or even guaranteed that they would wipe the carts of all data before recycling what ever parts could be re-used. Like taking documents to a shredder but with data. I'm not saying that is what happened but it's possible.

I'm not against video game preservation or even piracy really but it's pretty obvious that the people involved should have been more discreet.

Raise a lot of money to "preserve" a rough cut of a Disney film that you obtained through questionable methods and see how fast you end up making a plea deal in court.

@Coalescence While I'm a fan of David Lynch/Twin Peaks and I thought this was kind of a cool idea, I have to agree. People really need to come up with their own ideas and pursue their own vision as fervently as they make these fan-games.

@The_Nintend_Pedant I like how our comments were deleted but The Big Lebowski quote stays. To be fair, I did feel a bit like Walter after I posted it.

"I'm staying.

I'm finishing my coffee.

Enjoying my coffee."
🤘

I tried an earlier version of this mod and found it really difficult. Hopefully the update evens it out a bit.

On the subject of Castlevania mods, check out Symphony of Horrors. It's Simon's Quest remade in Unity(?) but it looks really cool and it retains the pixel art, music, and gameplay of the original with modern lighting effects and 3D environments.

I can't really do it justice by describing it but it looks really unique. It's still in development from "First Serve Gaming" who posts regular updates on youtube.

I'm guessing a "boomer shooter" rapidly uses up all your computer's resources and then blames you when everything crashes.

The ROM was uploaded today. Fully playable on Retroarch with a custom genesis-plus-gx core.

@Sketcz @mossrc Perhaps it's just the way the quote is worded but...
"The thing I like most about Twin Peaks: coffee and donuts. That's it."
makes it sound like he doesn't think much of Twin Peaks to me.

If I said "The thing I like most about your show is the close up of the controllers. That's it." it doesn't sound very flattering.

Maybe it's the "That's it." at the end. I know donuts and coffee are kind of a running gag in Twin Peaks but "That's it." for a show that's famous or infamous for being a strange, sometimes flawed, work of art? Unless there's some key detail I'm forgetting, donuts could be cut from the show entirely and it would have no impact on the story.

My initial reading of it was a dig at Lynch/Twin Peaks, apologies if I misunderstood the intent.

I'm sure it makes sense in the context of the interview. Thanks for the clarification.

They're not going to win people over when one of their main quotes is trashing Twin Peaks. It speaks volumes about the quality (or lack thereof) of this series.

When you can't sell your product on its own merits just trash a critically acclaimed and beloved series.

"Deadly Premonition" sounds like vhs tape from Best of the Worst.

New Earthion footage starts around 5:33:15

All these games look pretty cool to me, especially Browning and Legion.

The black and white pixel art looks really good. A welcome change of pace. Color is overrated.

The R-Type cover particularly stands out in my memory.

So cool to see the work of some of these old school artists. Most of them remain kind of obscure but have a large body of work. Even if their style didn't fit the games sometimes, I've grown to appreciate the regional covers that were produced in the 80s/90s.

@Protion9 No problem. I can see why you might think that because Cartoon Network's Toonami was part of the rise of popularity in the 2000s but that was a buildup over decades. Astroboy was first broadcast in the US in 1963.

I was into Japanese animation but Anime really exploded here in the late '80s and early '90s. Akira was a pretty big hit among the "nerd" population. That's when I became hooked on anime and rented every VHS I could find. I still have a modest collection of VHS, manga, and anime magazines from that time period. The Golden age of anime in my opinion.

@Protion9 Americans ignored anime until the early 2000s? This is completely false.

Speed Racer, Gigantor, Astroboy were among others that were broadcast in the USA in the 70s. Astroboy 1980 was the first anime I ever saw followed by Macross(Robotech), Mazinger Z, and not to mention a dozen or so US/Japanese joint productions in the 80s. All broadcast over the airwaves, I'm not even talking about cable television.

A Hellraiser NES game seems incredibly odd considering Nintendo's family friendly stance. "This isn't for your eyes!"

Do you get to play as Frank trying to get your skin back or do you have to try and open the box?

As @avcrypt pointed out, it's conflict that drives any good story. How many times have you watched a show or film and thought, "if only they did X and then Y wouldn't have happened." yeah and then the story ends and the credits roll.

No one wants to hear about a young European lad going about his day playing video games in the 80s. Whether you are aware or not, you need the conflict in the story, you need things to go wrong to keep you interested. Just look at the response to this article and social media posts.

Also the US is not some kind of hive mind, intentionally ignoring the rest of the world. Depending on who you ask we're either the "greatest country in the world" or "on the brink of collapse/fascism". We don't agree on much of anything.

Maybe stop making broad generalizations about different cultures, countries, continents, and their consumers. There's regular comments on this site that fit the definition of bigotry, often directed at the US.

Combo system looks good. Sometimes these "retro" fighting games can be pretty shallow. Looking forward to it.

@MontyMole Check out this website https://www.retrodock.com/finder/
You can choose the price you would want and systems you want to emulate. Emulating up to PS1 has become the standard for handhelds $40 and above. N64, PSP, and Saturn emulation is where things get more complicated.

My Anbernic RG351P from 2020(?) still works and runs PS1 perfectly with custom firmware. I got an Anbernic 35XX+ back in November for $46. I was kind of expecting the build quality to take a hit but it's really nice.

Anbernic makes quality products in my experience, especially when you get into the $75 - $200 range.

People see this stuff online and assume it's cheap "Chinese junk" without even holding one in their hands. That may have been true 10 years ago when all you could get was Nintendo on a Chip type devices but things have drastically changed in just a few years.

Imagine playing this game for hours and hours only to beat the game by drinking Victory gin in the Chestnut Tree Cafe and capitulating to Big Brother.

Oh man this looks incredible. The Terminator and T2 are among of my favorite films. A welcome surprise.

As great as his old work is, his newer work is even more incredible. Great interview!

"the VOGONS forum" name checks out.

"Here is what to do if you want to get a lift from a Vogon:
forget it.
They are one of the most unpleasant races in the Galaxy. Not actually evil, but bad-tempered, bureaucratic, officious and callous."

@Astropez "One that can, idk, create poses on demand for character references, extend an idea to improve art"

No need to use Ai, this has been a feature in digital art programs for years. You can bring in 3D models of people and objects, rotate around them, move their limbs, zoom in/out, etc.. Not to mention the thousands of pose photos that people have made available for free for artists to use. Seems like you should have known this if you knew what you were talking about.

"...and proper regulations, people will finally realise that generative AI is just another tool for artists."

Why would such a benign tool for artists need regulation? Do the 10 million Ai images that have flooded the internet over the last few years count as a "few bad corpo"?

"I'm not sure if you're trolling or if you don't actually know what you're talking about... Let's admit you're an artist (something I actually doubt..."

The best thing about this argument is that someone might see you calling me a liar and then see that I am indeed a professional artist. Just in case they don't want to click my profile, they can google hexapus-ink.

Almost makes this all worth while... almost.
Cheers

@Astropez There's a link to my IG in my profile. I'm arguing that Ai is doing something that has no historical equal or analogy.

Your claim that a Wacom tablet/digital art is the same as Ai is wrong. It doesn't actually do anything extra for you, the artist draws and paints with pixels instead of graphite, ink, and paint. That's it. Sure it helps to have layers and undo to fix a mistake but it also opens up a whole new set of problems. Traditional art has its own set of problems. Honestly I don't remember any outrage over digital art and I became aware of it around 1996.

If you want to be good at anything you have to put in the work. This is not optional. You're not creating art if you're typing in a prompt, the computer is the artist, not you. You're not a chef if you order a steak nor are you the butcher.

The printing press only replicated what was already created, it didn't write the books.

And yes I was having a bit of fun with that last comment since @poyo_pie was just repeating what he already stated and was conveniently ignoring my points.

Sure, people could and I'm sure some do, use Midjourney as reference material. Is that what happened with the sexy space girls in this article?

If you don't have the skills to do something, and you truly want to be a programmer, for example, then learn to code. If you want to be a writer, learn how to write. Practice, fail, try again, fail some more. Worthwhile endeavors take time and you only cheat yourself when you let the computer do the work for you. Which btw is totally optional and not the necessity that you and others would like people to believe.

Edit: I deleted my third reply to Poyo_Pie for the sake of civility. I admit that it sounded funnier in my head than it did on paper. My apologies if came across as offensive.

@poyo_pie I'm not just talking about jobs and it's clear that you, like so many others, cannot tell the difference between art and product.

Who would Stephen King hire to hand write for him? He would do it himself with pen and paper, obviously. I cannot blame you for your ignorance of the creative process but equating creating art to using a calculator or a cash register is clearly ignorance.

If you think Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and other programs won't 100% replace an artist, you're being a bit naive as the game in this article is proof that they just let the computer make the art for them without even fixing the two left hands error. "it's a bonus!"

Why would an industry built in no small part by artists, such as video games or films, see the artist as a waste of resources? Especially when the artists of various forms are pretty low on the monetary scale as it is.

You see art as an obstacle that needs to be done away with or made more efficient/cost effective, where an artist that creates with true expression needs to create as one needs to eat and sleep.

Leave it up to the machines and you get soulless repetition that may look nice on the surface but it lacks the human qualities that gives art its true value. I'm not saying these programs/Ai don't make impressive images, they do at times but it's almost alien in its interpretation of what it was supposed to create.

Again, I'm not talking about reproduction machinery, I'm talking about automating the creative act itself which is what AI "art" programs set out to do. I find it very hypocritical and quite bizarre that every other task is seen as essential but the human artist is deemed expendable. Especially within the creative industries.

@poyo_pie "keep in mind, at one point in history the same fear mongering was happening with type writers, calculators, and computers" = False Equivalence

Stephen King didn't sit down at his typewriter and say "okay, typewriter, give me scary story" when he wrote The Shining.
Gutenberg's printing press didn't write the Bible as it printed a book for the first time. That was work done by humans and mass produced, that same work, by a tool. The tool didn't create anything. This is not the same as AI generated imagery.

Typing in a prompt is not the same as using a paint brush or a Wacom tablet. Don't tell me that my lifetime of practice and study of drawing and painting is the equivalent to you typing prompts into Midjourney.

We are not the same and you sound like you have no idea what it means to put in the effort, time, and sacrifice needed to create something well or the value of doing it. You just want it fast and easy and above all else free.

"...some people just simply can't afford artists, and learning art takes time."

You take your car to a mechanic to get it fixed. You get a plumber to fix your sink. You get an accountant to do your taxes. Shall I go on? These people do you a service with skills you don't have and you pay for it.

If you don't want to pay an artist for their skills, fine, use ai. Just don't expect anyone to pay you for your coding skills, full stop.

@dok5555555 Yeah but it's only a matter of time before those problems are sorted out and we won't be able to tell. Whether that's ultimately a good or bad thing is debatable.

@dok5555555 it's getting hard to tell. If you look at the awkwardly dancing space girls on the soundtrack image, it appears that the one with blue gloves has two left hands. Her hand that's closest to the other space girl is backwards. Her thumb should be on the other side.

The cleavage one has different shaped pupils. Eyes are a telltale sign as they are often misshapen. It's not that human's can't make the same mistakes but AI imagery is usually deformed in some way.

If you look at the thousands of AI waifus that these programs spew out, you'll see that they all use similar techniques with lighting and color. They're probably trained with the same 10 artist's work. Sometimes I'll see something really impressive then notice that the woman's dress has mutated into her leg or something.

Have you ever seen John Carpenter's The Thing?

@HelenaFG13 No problem! All the best to you and your future games!

@HelenaFG13 Don't let that become the excuse that keeps you from creating. You can find many creative people claiming that they can't do what they want because of X, Y, and Z but the truth is, they're scared.

I've been there. It's difficult to push forward with such a daunting task and the "excuses" start to look like real obstacles. I've seen many artist friends completely give up and use the "they won't let me" line. "They" might be money, family, kids, corporations, the government, etc.. I've seen it a lot. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

If you truly have passion for your ideas, see them through. Go boldly forward regardless of the unknown(and probably unreal) dangers ahead. If you make something so good that a corporation wants to sue you, deal with it when and if it happens. Nothing is stopping you.

@turboxray "I shall leave you as you left me, marooned for all eternity, in the center of a dead Mega Drive... buried alive.”

@MrPeanutbutterz I'm aware. It was either a copyright issue or SoA just wanted a different name. I've read conflicting stories but I'm guessing it was a little of both.

As much as I love all things Japanese and would like to side with SoJ, the fact is that SoA made the Genesis a success by taking Nintendo head on in a way SoJ wouldn't. SoA is largely responsible for Sega's glory days and we got to reap the benefits of the 16bit rivalry they started.
It should be celebrated even if you prefer the name Mega Drive.

Like I said, I do like the name Mega Drive, but "Genesis does..." and the name is not going away anytime soon.

@SilentBluntman I never said it wasn't called the Megadrive in Japan first. However you said the name Genesis was "inaccurate" which is false.

@MrPeanutbutterz @Elthesensai @SilentBluntman @bring_on_branstons
Lets check the UK web that sits atop Big Ben... hold on, it's actually called the world wide web and it says that Sega was started in the US and it eventually became a joint US-Japanese venture... 50 years before Sega Europe even existed. It also says that the Mega Drive came out in 1988 in Japan and the Sega Genesis came out in August of 1989 and it didn't come out in the UK until September of 1990, a full year and a month after North America.

So the black/grey grid motif that we all know and love came from Sega of America, which contributed to the success of the Sega Genesis while it was failing as the Megadrive in Japan. The same style that's often erroneously referred to online as the "European theme".

It wasn't Genesis replacing Megadrive on the box, it was Megadrive logos replacing the Genesis logo. If anything, the Genesis is the true name of the console since it was the success of the NA market that made it a global contender.
So it seems that "you Americans" have to accommodate your British "quirks" because without us you wouldn't even have your Virgin Mastertronic Mega Drives.

I do like the name Mega Drive but journalists and fans can call it whatever they like. It's ironic no one here is whingeing about the SNES not being called the Super Famicom in the article.

@PinballBuzzbro Sound design and music are really taken for granted across all media unfortunately. I didn't notice anything in this(I'll take your word for it) but I totally get what you mean.
Anytime I hear the BFG sound or the dragon sounds from War Craft 2 in a movie or when sound/music/dialogue is arbitrarily changed, it grinds my gears.

Not that this game sounds bad in any way, I'll be downloading this for sure. Batman Returns has a special place in my heart.

@Yojimbo The Amico. I'm not defending him or the money that was taken but I think Tellerico just made some unbelievable blunders with the development/company. It was a fascinating train wreck for sure but at least Tellerico had some experience and he's not a total villain.

The Supersega just seems like a criminal enterprise.

@Bod2019 I think you may be on to something. They used the Sega name, the logo/font, and claim it will play all of Sega's games. They could have called it anything else, especially if they were serious about making a console.

It's the perfect cover when they say the money is all tied up in legal fees. I wonder if Sega even sent a cease and desist letter.

At best they'll claim this was all performance art/parody and the people that got scammed payed for the experience.

@Coolmusic That would be great! Megaman vs Astroboy, who will win?

Wow thanks for sharing this. I love seeing concept sketches, especially from Capcom.

I'm a fan of the SNES but any tool is only as good as the skill level of the person using it. Revenge of Shinobi was practically a launch title on the MD and it has some of the greatest music of the entire 16-bit generation.

The idea that the MD had "bad sound" is only perpetuated by brand loyalists in order to make their favorite company seem superior and ultimately the only choice.

Much like the claim that the Genesis "just had Sonic and sports games", it's basically propaganda at this point.

Truxton 2 is really underrated. Some of the best pixel art I've ever seen. A lot of people talk about Truxton, partly because of the old CGR videos, but Truxton 2 is rarely mentioned.

@mollipen Ah I should have gone to Youtube. Thanks for clearing it up! It's interesting that they sent the VHS tape to you during the trial.

I loved GameFan! I still have 4 issues that I managed to hold onto over the years. You guys had the best screenshots and paper quality in my opinion. It felt like you were getting something special with each issue.

Edit: It turns out I have 11 issues - 7 from 1993 and 4 from 1994.

The Vs screen and character art is pretty blatant. Other than that it looks like a lot of the other SF2 clones from back in the day.

What I really want to know is where she "found" this VHS tape. Why do people always post these amazing finds but never explain how they found the rare item?

I can't imagine how much money it would take to beat Magician Lord in an arcade. Even playing it at home involves continuing every few minutes. Good luck staying transformed for more than 5 seconds before you lose the power up.

Definitely one of the hardest games ever made. It's just so cool to me that I keep coming back to it. I remember seeing it in an arcade and being blown away by the art style and concept.

Edit: What happened to that SNES version? That looked like faithful port of the first stage.

@FurgelFrNurgle I agree but maybe not as insulted lol. Really over-hyped for sure but the bar is low for western animated shows.

I thought season one was okay(first 6 episodes?) but season 2 was a chore to get through with some really sloppy/rough animation in parts. Besides the Alucard scenes which were pretty good, there wasn't much that I enjoyed about the show.

I can overlook the choppy animation but the story and dialogue was also bad in my opinion. Dracula's motivation episode followed by an episode with Dracula's minions explaining Dracula's motivations. Never getting to Dracula's castle... Animation isn't cheap, make it count.

I know people really like it so I don't want to trash it too much but it was not my cup of tea.

@RetroGames Yeah the MD SCIV intro looks pretty rough at the moment but the gameplay seems to be largely intact.

I'm definitely more excited about a possible SNES Bloodlines. Hopefully they see it through to the end.

I thought the tap card was a cool idea. Almost like an alternate reality where games and programs were distributed that way. I could imagine it being used in a gritty sci-fi film set in the "future". Cramped apartment with a retro futuristic screen and a game console. "High tech, low life" Cool novelty to have on a shelf for sure.

Discs on the other hand, I'm not so sure about. Why not use real or burned discs at that point?