How and why would the imm-sim fall out of favour? Have they ever been out of favour with the public? I can't recall anyone actually exclaiming they don't like imm-sims and wished there were less imm-sims.
It is literally the perfect genre. Edge sounds like they're just being Edge, as usual. Never forget this same magazine scored Gunstar Heroes a 6 and asked why you can't talk to monsters in Doom. Despite a procession of anonymous staff never credited (I realise this changed recently), they are clueless.
Edge couldn't find their buttocks with both hands and roadmap.
There are plenty of modern imm-sims which enthusiasts can point a person to if they need more.
I own the original disc, and a modded PS3, which I bought to play EX Troopers patched into English. However, I bought the PS3 with EX Troopers pre-installed. How easy is it to patch PS3 games? Because I want to jump into this. And yet I am also afraid of how daunting the task is.
I'm downloading the 2.3 gigabyte patch. Bloody hell!
I shall post back here if I can get it to work. I hope it's just a case of ripping direct to my console HDD and then FTPing this over.
EDIT:
Damn it. My copy of the game is the greatest hits re-release, which is BLJM55006!
Can anyone confirm if this will work with the patch??
@gmar Indeed! There was a whole section in the original draft, with quotes from Hiroshi Suzuki discussing it, but I cut it to save space, since it was tangential.The final version ended up around 3000 words, and I am increasingly concerned that overly long features, with lots of side tangents, put readers off.
@retrogamer1 I hope so too. They don't need remakes. Just light touch remasters. Improve the frame eate. The low res textures add to the alien looking post apoc atmosphere!
@retrogamer1 Source? I'm not trying to argue, but I recall the director saying it WAS lost, in the Polygon article on Saga. Which I confirmed with the article author. And it was also printed in an interview in GamesTM magazine.
If I had a quid for every time I read something about management not having a clue, I'd probably have this entire planet's reserve of currencies. I get a little buzz every time I see it; seems like a universal truth.
@HammerGalladeBro What are the tags for the embedded quote you did? How do you do it?
@MontyMole How did I not realise this? I have over 80 tabs open, for TE articles I someday need to get around to reading. And there's a bookmark option! Thank you!
ROB is amazing though. I have a mint condition ROB, and while Stack Up sucks (and can actually break the robot), Gyromite is amazing. You have to juggle physically spinning tops, which are weighted, to raise and lower obstacles in-game. It's very meta, and I utterly love it.
@Martin_H A lot of these indie Steam games angle themselves as "modern retro", as in they use low res pixel art, they replicate old styles of game design, etc. There's that retro awards thing announced a while back, and they had multiple categories for "new old style game" or whatever.
For a time I was taken in by this, years back, but eventually concluded why play a facsimile of a classic rather than the classic itself? I'm not actively trying to defend the validity of this news piece - that's just how I interpreted it when I saw it.
I only came to the comments to annoy the AI techbros. All of whom are on my ignore list anyway, LOL.
As for this news, I keep thinking about it. In 2004, I applied to game design courses at Uni, and very nearly went to Abbertay Dundee to study games design (I was accepted but ended up withdrawing). And slowly I saw the industry change, from small teams in the 90s, to massive teams of hundreds, and it became soulless. And everyone was saying: indies will save us! And now I see indies smothered by slop, and I ponder: who will save the indies now?
I'm glad I never got into the industry. It's bad enough looking in from the outside, but if I was actually an employee on the inside, it would be utterly soul destroying.
@SecretSeashell Indeed. I had this problem with PSN on the PS4 already 5+ years ago.
When PSN launched, almost everything had some degree of quality. Releases were limited, and I bought a lot of stuff because it was all interesting and new.
Fast forward to five years ago... I'd spend an hour scrolling through thousands of examples of cheap nasty shovelware. Just weird dump trash, the kind of things you'd find for free on old flash websites. I couldn't understand who made it or why, or who was buying it.
Now AI has allowed this to ramp up to insane suffocating levels.
What's the point of even browsing the stores anymore when it's just wall to wall ****. I might just stick to retro. There's only a finite number of Saturn or PS2 games, not infinity slop.
@slider1983 It's not connected to the internet. And you could just ignore the updates and be fine. They can't remotely brick it.
What I meant is: If you wanted to update you had to jump through their hoops, their way. So every firmware update you use has to be tied to the serial number on your system. I have to log in, beg for the update, and it provides me with a serial coded update for my unit only.
Trying to update using a file not serial coded to your unit will brick it.
Krikzz does not do that.
He sells a product. He puts updates online. You just use them. No fuss.
CybDyn Systems with PSIO forces you to jump through hoops if you want updates, and trying to use an update not coded for the serial number of your unit destroys it.
Because in their ****ed up mind, anyone without a serial number must be a clone.
I have an authorised unit. But I despise how they treat me.
I still vividly remember N64 magazine, in its dedicated RPG section*, speculating how amazing OOT would be before release, when it was still touted as a 64DD add-on. Would we get yearly instalments on update disks? Would we play through each year of Link's life as he grew into adulthood? The hype from the writers and readers' letter was an experience in and of itself. And then in the end it was a cartridge release!
I'm not that interested in modern gaming, but I can't imagine this level excitement any more. Times have changed. Back then, your only source of info was magazines - the internet at the time mainly recycled magazine news.
I still find it amazing an N64 had a monthly RPG section running at multiple pages, when the system only had like what... 4 or 5 actual RPGs released over its life? Even that's pushing it.
@slider1983
Anti-consumer behaviour. Punishes those of us who bought an original, due to being upset with people who bought clones. Threatened to dox customers at one point. Set-up enormous insane hurdles to update the hardware, require you register a license, get an ID number, synchronise it with an online account - while threatening to brick the unit you have if the rules aren't followed at every stage. Does not allow license transfers, meaning you can never sell the hardware you bought. Later updates became bloated, slowing the thing down - it now takes a full 30 seconds from cold boot to the menu, whereas before it was closer to 5~10 seconds. Owner acted in a hostile manner to customers on social media.
Just absolutely vile contempt for people who bought the unit in good faith originally. I felt like I was being punished by them for giving them business.
To be clear, when first buying it, there was no need for any of this. You just downloaded some simple updates and away you went. It was nice. Then they got ass-mad that someone had cloned the hardware so took it out on customers.
Krikzz on the other hand is an upstanding bloke. Nice to his customers, respects the user base and community, does great work, professional, efficient, just all round absolute excellence. And the products are fast and fantastic. He just leaves the firmware updates on his root directory for anyone to grab any time. Super cool person.
@PinballBuzzbro I'm not on socmed - but WHOA! This is a bombshell and explains much! Who is the current owner? Is it still Nightcrawler? I interviewed him 20 years ago to boost publicity for the site and community. He seemed super cool. So the banning felt like a betrayal. I did a lot for that community back in the day. Sad to see it turn to ****.
@Tankov "But it doesn't have to be like that with game localization and recompilation."
I wouldn't bet on it. I made a topic on romhacking dot net, one of the leading resources for fan translations, asking the community to rally together against AI slop translations, stating that for the last 20 years we had produced great fan-translations without needing AI slop.
And the result?
I was permanently banned from the RHDN forum.
Because I dared to speak against the use of AI in fan-translations.
So it's already happened. The fan-translations community, or certainly the gatekeepers in charge of RHDN, have pressed their lips against the giant orifice on the wall vomiting out AI slop, and they are breathing it in deeply!
@EarthboundBenjy
No, it's cool. It's made me rethink a lot of things about older games - I have very young family members getting into games, and this situation with the spoiler made me think about the fact that for them, every game is new, even old ones, and everything is a spoiler.
So if we are to treat old games with the respect they deserve, then we need to acknowledge that they will continue to be played by new, younger players, and we should attempt as much as possible to preserve the magic of a first time play-through.
You only get one once, per game. I think the spoiler joke was funny, but only among a group of my peers who, like me, grew up with these games so know it already. Fine for a conversation, or group chat on a forum, but not for an article attempting to introduce a game to potentially new players.
And what I really want is for great games to have as wide an audience as possible.
So from now on I shall be avoiding major spoilers, no matter a game's age.
I just brought up some sick reading this. Each day we step closer to fulfilling our dreams of building the TORMENT NEXUS!
Why does Peter Thiel look like a robot or alien wearing an uncomfortable human flesh suit?
I also don't understand the desire for this. In 2026 the average monthly number of games released on Steam is over a thousand. Some months over 2000. My private back catalogue of physical games stands at over 1000 titles, not counting Steam or emulation.
We are saturated with already existing games, for dirt cheap prices, or in some cases free. I don't mean piracy - I literally mean all the free games on Itch. All human made.
@slider1983 I think there was a small misunderstanding here.
I said: "I've not actually played Strider 2, I only know it by reputation, but Ranger X is one of my all-time favourite games on any system. Clearly I am now going to have to play Strider 2 for more of that Ranger X goodness."
My reason for not playing it was not due to what people said about it. In fact, people trashing it has made me want to play it over the years. I've seen Dan Curley post on Facebook about it before (and I've even prodded him, suggesting he write about it), so I actually knew some of what he said here, and again, it made me want to check it out purely for curiosity.
So, I was making a joke: "well, if EGM rates it the same as Ranger X then I must play it!"
But the truth is it's been on my to play list for many years. Why I've not actually played it yet? Well, time, energy, motivation, other games to play, etc. I loaded it up once, got a couple of screens in, but again: my backlog is huge. I literally have a notepad diary, keeping track of what I finish, what I'm playing, and what I want to play next.
@slider1983 "So you'd rather remain ignorant based on what others tell you?"
I don't understand the question. Is this referring to my not following modern reviews? Or something else I said here? I feel there's been a misunderstanding.
I saw the AI version of Pilotwings 64 recently - despite it being my favourite N64 game I refuse to play vibe coded slop. I then found the human team also working on PW64. I really hope they finish it. As said by others, the AI recomps are always broken and never get fixed.
I'm also unsubscribing from Esoterica. The channel has become a nonstop high pressure slop hose, blasting out thick jets of the damned filth.
@Martin_H
I'm quite sure Paul and I have no plans for an updated version, and I highly doubt Sam does. This version is the version. But Paul did say in his recent interview he'd like to do a proper sequel, Volume 2, if this does well.
@MSaturn
Thank you! I really appreciate that. It took 5 years and had some challenges. Especially getting volume 3 out. Anyone who has worked on a big project will know things don't always go according to plan.
As for EGM, backers have a PDF of the final book. It's real. This is just one last final hurdle to clear.
I backed. I also contributed a tiny backer written piece. I've also done a KS myself. And I personally know some of the people involved.
I'm fine with everything that's happened. I feel sorry that they are facing such negativity.
@White1ce
How could this be a scam? The online archive, which would have been a lot of work, went up months ago and continues to be updated. The digital version of the book was sent out. And they DID print test copies, highlighting an error they wanted to correct.
Which happens. I personally had errors with false transparencies and the printer resizing random pages. It was beyond maddening.
They've offered refunds.
If anyone is that angry, take the refund with a kind heart and leave them to finish the project. Otherwise try to empathise with the size and complexity of such a project.
Or go and enjoy the digital archive while waiting.
They're more patient than me - I just forcibly refunded anyone complaining so I didn't have to deal with it.
I have followed this project since backing, and every single updates brings hateful angry people out of the shadows to berate them. Jeez. Relax. Take the refund or chill out. I don't understand the position of: "I refuse the refund, but I'm still going to stand here screaming to make sure everyone feels my anger."
I personally believe and trust them unreservedly. And they have my empathy for their difficult situation.
Let's stop with the cruelty and accusations of scams.
@dodgykebaab I take it from your reply that you are finally acknowledging that AI steals from others? Because once that is accepted, there is no defence for AI. Its list of evils is long.
@AndyVGR I refer you to my car analogy lower down from my first post. Please do not conflate Generative AI with machines or things like prosthetic legs.
Again... I know the techbros are keen to scream "it's just a TOOL bro!" But they are lying to you. A car runs on petrol or diesel. A prosthetic leg uses basic resources like metal and plastic.
GenAI functions by stealing the work of others, burning huge amounts of energy, destroying the environment, destroying physical books, etc.
And before someone comes at me with how cars and phones do similar, the scale of GenAI, the existential threat it poses to our species, and the fact it's stealing the work of myself and friends, makes this a far worse evil.
Please, stop conflating GenAI with functional mechanical devices. This is a fallacy.
@GlamReaper Never heard of these sweets before. But now I want to play a physical game of Othello / Reversi against another human using them, on an excruciatingly hot summer day.
I'm very happy with this - at the very least, a human being translated those words. Which washes away the sadness at the fact I'll never get to play Shadowrun on Mega CD. I lost one cyberpunk RPG, but gained another. An even trade.
@mjparker77
I second this Neo Mr Do! suggestion. Absolutely fantastic MVS game. There are AES conversions, which I might get, but I'm holding out just in case we get an official release on AES+.
@Kev711
Please stop conflating machines and tools with AI, which is fed on the work of others.
To give an easy to analogy, I own a BMW 7 Series as my car. it is a machine. I like it. This car runs on diesel. It does not run on the scraped tears and dreams of a thousand unpaid creators.
"This is what AI does best, folks," adds Brett Viker. "It opens the door for dreamers to make their projects a reality by tearing down the barriers to entry. We should be all for this."
No, I am not for this, I oppose this. I want people to stop framing this as if it's opening doors, and people who resist it are somehow gatekeeping their freedom of expression.
I know I said I'd stop commenting on AI, but this infuriates me.
If you can't play an instrument, or you can't learn a foreign language, or you're not willing to put the time in to refine your drawing ability, or learn to code, or do anything for that matter...
Then please don't do it. Just stop. Do something else. Stop filling the world with AI slop just because you "really, really, really wanna feel like you're doing it so really bad - look at me mum! I'm making stuff!".
I don't care - you can make your stuff after practising in your chosen field.
I'd love to play saxophone jazz. But I accept that I'm never going to.
This is not some magical enabling elixir. AI is a poison that makes you think you're achieving something, when in fact you're not. Like injecting steroids.
And it functions only by having stolen the work of other creative people, such as myself with writing, and my friends who are artists, programmers, musicians, etc. People who have spent decades using their creative muscle to get better.
We should all be for this? No Brett, no we should not.
Fascinating. How did the Messiah chip bypass the security then? I got one pre-installed in my PS2, and it ended up being able to boot anything I threw at it.
@retrogamer1 Hello. Thanks for the comment and kinds words.
Games I have waited years to play are now fenced off from me forever. They will never be retranslated by humans, and this knowledge causes me physical pain. My chest and gut tense up, because it is almost if these games have been erased. That is how I see it. I refuse to play AI translations.
And so the topic makes me quite emotional. I find that Gen-AI is such an intense and overwhelming trigger point for me, given the long list of things I dislike about it, that I find it difficult to moderate my statements. As such, and because it also drains a lot of energy, I'm thinking of refraining from commenting on AI.
Many of my colleagues feel similarly about AI, so I know my POV is still conveyed. And my silence is not the result of changing my views.
But I'm going to step back from discussing this topic. I did not mean to offend any member of the community - I just wish I could make them feel, in their hearts, what I feel.
@metaphysician "...if it only lasts an hour with no prospect of replay value? That's a bad use of $80, if that is its price. You'll have one hour of fun, and then nothing until the next time you can afford an $80 entertainment purchase on your budget."
There is a huge debate to be had around game length, pricing ranges, sales, the used physical market, length, etc. I'd enjoy a robust discussion on it actually.
But to save time and space here, while I broadly agree with your statement over an $80 game lasting an hour, my specific example was a person on GameFAQs saying 40 hours for a game - which had cost me £20 used; would have cost him maybe $60 new. But even if we're going with $80, complaining that 40 hours is too short feels... Like the wrong argument.
I would want a cheaper game, not a longer game. I've finished thousands of games in my life. There were very few that were able to hold my interest beyond the 40 hour mark. I get bored and want a different experience. It's also why I rarely play sequels. Why would I want the same experience again?
I suppose fundamentally the implication is that what I want from games is different from what you or this GFaqs poster wants. I need constant novelty to hold my interest, so I prefer games which are between 5 and 10 hours.
@Razieluigi I can recall when less than a 7 was scathing, and 7 still worth checking. Then I recall less than 8 being scathing. Have we reached the era of less than 9 being scathing?
I don't follow modern reviews. But I can imagine it. Any good examples you've stumbled across?
I know youngers are pretty weird. Found a guy on GFaqs complaining 40 hours was too short for a game. "In this economy" he said, he needed to get his money's worth, so 80 hours, or maybe 60 at a minimum.
He seemed like the sort who would say 8 is a crap score.
I'm glad we can still openly discuss AI on TE. GameTalk's forum have implemented a new rule banning the criticism of AI.
"You will eat your slop and like it!" - is what I imagine the forum mods said silently in their minds.
Also I was banned from RHDN for criticising AI use in fan-translations. I stated that for 25+ years the community has been human beings working together to create these patches, and now we're increasingly seeing members suckle at the slop machine. Apparently this was seen as disruptive.
From my perspective it looks like those in power on other websites are circling the wagons. They want AI, they want you to learn to love AI, and any attempt to criticise it will be punished.
Which is frustrating and insane. I saw a few people reacting to the new rules saying this was good, since they don't want to be aware of how the majority hate AI slop.
The problem is, if you silence people through rules, and prevent anyone from speaking out, then you become oblivious to what people want or think. If 85% of users despise it, but can't say anything because of the rules, the silence you hear and the lack of opposition does not mean people suddenly love it.
To use an analogy: it's like injecting morphine into your leg and then setting it on fire and saying: "see! the burning doesn't hurt!"
It looks like there's no opposition to AI only because you've now silenced everyone.
I've said it before and I'll say it for as long as my lungs draw breath: **** AI.
I despise AI with every cell in my body.
It not only devalues human culture, it physically destroys it (books are shredded to feed the monster); it destroys jobs and livelihoods; it ruins the environment; it drives up energy costs; it drives up component costs.
It does a long list of real world horrors so that lazy people can cut corners and greedy corporations can profit more easily and quicker.
AI is not some disruptive new tool we've invented. It is the darkest of poisons that is now encroaching and overwhelming every aspect of our lives. It is the manifestation of evil born from the sins of sloth and greed.
@sbeng135 True! I've introduced it to several people who don't know any Japanese and they were able to enjoy many of the gags purely visually / interactively. It's a shame it didn't get a worldwide release, even without localisation.
But listening to the comedian's dialogue, I felt a longing to hear those words in English.
@Ruka I studied it at GCSE, A-levels, and university for 3 months. Altogether for 6 years. I could never get past a glass ceiling when it came to the kanji. I realised that my brain simply was not wired for languages. I wanted to be fluent so badly. No one made me study it at school, I voluntarily attended classes during my free periods. I made the study cards. Read the study books. I even sat with MGS trying to match the Japanese dialogue to the kanji, etc.
After 6 years I just could not progress further.
I firmly believe you either have the genetics to master a second language or you don't. Because 6 years of dogged determined study did not blossom into proficiency.
Comments 1,019
Re: 'I Don't Think You Can Look at Breath of the Wild and Not See a Little Bit of Deus Ex in It'
How and why would the imm-sim fall out of favour? Have they ever been out of favour with the public? I can't recall anyone actually exclaiming they don't like imm-sims and wished there were less imm-sims.
It is literally the perfect genre. Edge sounds like they're just being Edge, as usual. Never forget this same magazine scored Gunstar Heroes a 6 and asked why you can't talk to monsters in Doom. Despite a procession of anonymous staff never credited (I realise this changed recently), they are clueless.
Edge couldn't find their buttocks with both hands and roadmap.
There are plenty of modern imm-sims which enthusiasts can point a person to if they need more.
Re: Most Triumphant! Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: Arcade Announced For PC and Consoles
@Martin_H
Yes! Good shout.
Re: Most Triumphant! Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: Arcade Announced For PC and Consoles
The Atari Lynx adventure based on B&T was great. I just wanted to say that.
Re: 'It Took a Lot of Work' - the Elusive PS3 Title Like a Dragon: Kenzan! Has Just Received an AI-Free Fan Translation
I own the original disc, and a modded PS3, which I bought to play EX Troopers patched into English. However, I bought the PS3 with EX Troopers pre-installed. How easy is it to patch PS3 games? Because I want to jump into this. And yet I am also afraid of how daunting the task is.
I'm downloading the 2.3 gigabyte patch. Bloody hell!
I shall post back here if I can get it to work. I hope it's just a case of ripping direct to my console HDD and then FTPing this over.
EDIT:
Damn it. My copy of the game is the greatest hits re-release, which is BLJM55006!
Can anyone confirm if this will work with the patch??
Re: Feature: Before Metal Gear and Resident Evil, a Trio of Japanese Devs Blazed a Trail in Stealth and Survival Horror
@gmar
Indeed! There was a whole section in the original draft, with quotes from Hiroshi Suzuki discussing it, but I cut it to save space, since it was tangential.The final version ended up around 3000 words, and I am increasingly concerned that overly long features, with lots of side tangents, put readers off.
Re: Happy Halloween! Who Do You Think Are Gaming's Scariest and Most Memorable Monsters?
"I'm going trick-or-treating at the Sony Centre, dressed as a DISC!"
Too soon ðŸ˜
Re: Get Your Laps In: Tehkan's 1982 Hit Swimmer Makes a Splash on Arcade Archives 2
Ryuichi Nishizawa, creator of Wonder Boy, worked on this. It's actually a super fun little arcade title.
Re: 1994 PC Engine CD Classic The Legend of Xanadu Receives New Fan-Translation
@GlamReaper
Glorious! I shall add it to the never ending backlog.
Re: 'I Hope This Wonderful Game Lives On Forever' - Panzer Dragoon Saga Gets PC 'Recomp' from the Dev Behind Yaba Sanshiro
@retrogamer1
I hope so too. They don't need remakes. Just light touch remasters. Improve the frame eate. The low res textures add to the alien looking post apoc atmosphere!
Re: 1994 PC Engine CD Classic The Legend of Xanadu Receives New Fan-Translation
AI free?
I've been thinking about this game for 20 years. The side-scrolling sections are beautiful, especially for the system.
Re: 'I Hope This Wonderful Game Lives On Forever' - Panzer Dragoon Saga Gets PC 'Recomp' from the Dev Behind Yaba Sanshiro
@retrogamer1
THANK YOU! I was not aware of this clip, and this is GLORIOUS new info! Well, new to me. I see the clip is 6 or 7 years old, LOL.
Re: Rare's N64 Classic Blast Corps Just Got an '100% Gen-AI Free' Recomp, with a Ton of Explosive New Features
For anyone else who loves Blast Corps, there's a fan sequel of sorts for PC too:
https://www.raregamer.co.uk/studio-besus-interview/
Re: 'I Hope This Wonderful Game Lives On Forever' - Panzer Dragoon Saga Gets PC 'Recomp' from the Dev Behind Yaba Sanshiro
@retrogamer1
Source? I'm not trying to argue, but I recall the director saying it WAS lost, in the Polygon article on Saga. Which I confirmed with the article author. And it was also printed in an interview in GamesTM magazine.
Re: The Making Of: Addams Family Values, Ocean Software's Attempt to Mix Hollywood & the Legend of Zelda
If I had a quid for every time I read something about management not having a clue, I'd probably have this entire planet's reserve of currencies. I get a little buzz every time I see it; seems like a universal truth.
@HammerGalladeBro
What are the tags for the embedded quote you did? How do you do it?
@MontyMole
How did I not realise this? I have over 80 tabs open, for TE articles I someday need to get around to reading. And there's a bookmark option! Thank you!
Re: 'There Was Nothing Worse than Thinking About the Virtual Boy' - Nintendo Power's Gail Tilden Wasn't a Fan of the Red-Screened Flop
ROB is amazing though. I have a mint condition ROB, and while Stack Up sucks (and can actually break the robot), Gyromite is amazing. You have to juggle physically spinning tops, which are weighted, to raise and lower obstacles in-game. It's very meta, and I utterly love it.
Re: Thin End of the Wedge: Steam Next Fest Under Fire as Demo Festival Drowns in a Flood of AI Slop
@Martin_H
A lot of these indie Steam games angle themselves as "modern retro", as in they use low res pixel art, they replicate old styles of game design, etc. There's that retro awards thing announced a while back, and they had multiple categories for "new old style game" or whatever.
For a time I was taken in by this, years back, but eventually concluded why play a facsimile of a classic rather than the classic itself? I'm not actively trying to defend the validity of this news piece - that's just how I interpreted it when I saw it.
I only came to the comments to annoy the AI techbros. All of whom are on my ignore list anyway, LOL.
As for this news, I keep thinking about it. In 2004, I applied to game design courses at Uni, and very nearly went to Abbertay Dundee to study games design (I was accepted but ended up withdrawing). And slowly I saw the industry change, from small teams in the 90s, to massive teams of hundreds, and it became soulless. And everyone was saying: indies will save us! And now I see indies smothered by slop, and I ponder: who will save the indies now?
I'm glad I never got into the industry. It's bad enough looking in from the outside, but if I was actually an employee on the inside, it would be utterly soul destroying.
Re: Thin End of the Wedge: Steam Next Fest Under Fire as Demo Festival Drowns in a Flood of AI Slop
@SecretSeashell
Indeed. I had this problem with PSN on the PS4 already 5+ years ago.
When PSN launched, almost everything had some degree of quality. Releases were limited, and I bought a lot of stuff because it was all interesting and new.
Fast forward to five years ago... I'd spend an hour scrolling through thousands of examples of cheap nasty shovelware. Just weird dump trash, the kind of things you'd find for free on old flash websites. I couldn't understand who made it or why, or who was buying it.
Now AI has allowed this to ramp up to insane suffocating levels.
What's the point of even browsing the stores anymore when it's just wall to wall ****. I might just stick to retro. There's only a finite number of Saturn or PS2 games, not infinity slop.
Re: EverDrive Maker Krikzz Is Working on a Plug-and-Play PlayStation Optical Drive Emulator
@slider1983
It's not connected to the internet. And you could just ignore the updates and be fine. They can't remotely brick it.
What I meant is:
If you wanted to update you had to jump through their hoops, their way. So every firmware update you use has to be tied to the serial number on your system. I have to log in, beg for the update, and it provides me with a serial coded update for my unit only.
Trying to update using a file not serial coded to your unit will brick it.
Krikzz does not do that.
He sells a product. He puts updates online. You just use them. No fuss.
CybDyn Systems with PSIO forces you to jump through hoops if you want updates, and trying to use an update not coded for the serial number of your unit destroys it.
Because in their ****ed up mind, anyone without a serial number must be a clone.
I have an authorised unit. But I despise how they treat me.
Re: Game Changer: Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Not Quite My Favourite Zelda, but Utterly Mind-Blowing Back in 1998
I still vividly remember N64 magazine, in its dedicated RPG section*, speculating how amazing OOT would be before release, when it was still touted as a 64DD add-on. Would we get yearly instalments on update disks? Would we play through each year of Link's life as he grew into adulthood? The hype from the writers and readers' letter was an experience in and of itself. And then in the end it was a cartridge release!
I'm not that interested in modern gaming, but I can't imagine this level excitement any more. Times have changed. Back then, your only source of info was magazines - the internet at the time mainly recycled magazine news.
Re: EverDrive Maker Krikzz Is Working on a Plug-and-Play PlayStation Optical Drive Emulator
@slider1983
Anti-consumer behaviour. Punishes those of us who bought an original, due to being upset with people who bought clones. Threatened to dox customers at one point. Set-up enormous insane hurdles to update the hardware, require you register a license, get an ID number, synchronise it with an online account - while threatening to brick the unit you have if the rules aren't followed at every stage. Does not allow license transfers, meaning you can never sell the hardware you bought. Later updates became bloated, slowing the thing down - it now takes a full 30 seconds from cold boot to the menu, whereas before it was closer to 5~10 seconds. Owner acted in a hostile manner to customers on social media.
Just absolutely vile contempt for people who bought the unit in good faith originally. I felt like I was being punished by them for giving them business.
To be clear, when first buying it, there was no need for any of this. You just downloaded some simple updates and away you went. It was nice. Then they got ass-mad that someone had cloned the hardware so took it out on customers.
Krikzz on the other hand is an upstanding bloke. Nice to his customers, respects the user base and community, does great work, professional, efficient, just all round absolute excellence. And the products are fast and fantastic. He just leaves the firmware updates on his root directory for anyone to grab any time. Super cool person.
Re: EverDrive Maker Krikzz Is Working on a Plug-and-Play PlayStation Optical Drive Emulator
Thank ****. I hate the company behind PSIO; it's about time we had an adult producing something for PS1.
Re: 'The Community Aspect of Decompilation Has Been Broken' - decomp.dev Closes in the Wake of AI-Based 'Bad Actors'
@PinballBuzzbro
I'm not on socmed - but WHOA! This is a bombshell and explains much! Who is the current owner? Is it still Nightcrawler? I interviewed him 20 years ago to boost publicity for the site and community. He seemed super cool. So the banning felt like a betrayal. I did a lot for that community back in the day. Sad to see it turn to ****.
Re: 'The Community Aspect of Decompilation Has Been Broken' - decomp.dev Closes in the Wake of AI-Based 'Bad Actors'
@Tankov
"But it doesn't have to be like that with game localization and recompilation."
I wouldn't bet on it. I made a topic on romhacking dot net, one of the leading resources for fan translations, asking the community to rally together against AI slop translations, stating that for the last 20 years we had produced great fan-translations without needing AI slop.
And the result?
I was permanently banned from the RHDN forum.
Because I dared to speak against the use of AI in fan-translations.
So it's already happened. The fan-translations community, or certainly the gatekeepers in charge of RHDN, have pressed their lips against the giant orifice on the wall vomiting out AI slop, and they are breathing it in deeply!
Re: The Making Of: Suikoden II, A JRPG To Match 'Game Of Thrones' In Intrigue And Impact
@EarthboundBenjy
No, it's cool. It's made me rethink a lot of things about older games - I have very young family members getting into games, and this situation with the spoiler made me think about the fact that for them, every game is new, even old ones, and everything is a spoiler.
So if we are to treat old games with the respect they deserve, then we need to acknowledge that they will continue to be played by new, younger players, and we should attempt as much as possible to preserve the magic of a first time play-through.
You only get one once, per game. I think the spoiler joke was funny, but only among a group of my peers who, like me, grew up with these games so know it already. Fine for a conversation, or group chat on a forum, but not for an article attempting to introduce a game to potentially new players.
And what I really want is for great games to have as wide an audience as possible.
So from now on I shall be avoiding major spoilers, no matter a game's age.
Re: The Making Of: Suikoden II, A JRPG To Match 'Game Of Thrones' In Intrigue And Impact
@EarthboundBenjy
Fixed! Well, it was fixed a while back after your last message and I forgot to ping you. Sorry.
Re: Antstream Is Creating An AI-Powered Brain Rot Gaming Platform, And 'Mr Antichrist' Peter Thiel Is A Backer
I just brought up some sick reading this. Each day we step closer to fulfilling our dreams of building the TORMENT NEXUS!
Why does Peter Thiel look like a robot or alien wearing an uncomfortable human flesh suit?
I also don't understand the desire for this. In 2026 the average monthly number of games released on Steam is over a thousand. Some months over 2000. My private back catalogue of physical games stands at over 1000 titles, not counting Steam or emulation.
We are saturated with already existing games, for dirt cheap prices, or in some cases free. I don't mean piracy - I literally mean all the free games on Itch. All human made.
Who TF is this aimed at?!
Re: The Making Of: Strider II - One Of The Worst Sequels In Video Game History, And I Should Know - I Had To Test It
@slider1983
I think there was a small misunderstanding here.
I said:
"I've not actually played Strider 2, I only know it by reputation, but Ranger X is one of my all-time favourite games on any system. Clearly I am now going to have to play Strider 2 for more of that Ranger X goodness."
My reason for not playing it was not due to what people said about it. In fact, people trashing it has made me want to play it over the years. I've seen Dan Curley post on Facebook about it before (and I've even prodded him, suggesting he write about it), so I actually knew some of what he said here, and again, it made me want to check it out purely for curiosity.
So, I was making a joke: "well, if EGM rates it the same as Ranger X then I must play it!"
But the truth is it's been on my to play list for many years. Why I've not actually played it yet? Well, time, energy, motivation, other games to play, etc. I loaded it up once, got a couple of screens in, but again: my backlog is huge. I literally have a notepad diary, keeping track of what I finish, what I'm playing, and what I want to play next.
I hope this clears up any confusion.
Re: Poll: Have You Ever Imported A Video Game?
Importing was my life!
I imported for pretty much every system, apart from things like the Jaguar.
In fact I even imported systems, like my NEC Duo R.
The reasons were many: uncensored, 60Hz, earlier releases, import exclusives, extra content, etc.
The MD, SNES, PS1, and Saturn were totally different machines when you imported.
And the PC Engine series was a world unto itself!
Who are these weirdos claiming few imported?
Re: The Making Of: Strider II - One Of The Worst Sequels In Video Game History, And I Should Know - I Had To Test It
@slider1983
"So you'd rather remain ignorant based on what others tell you?"
I don't understand the question. Is this referring to my not following modern reviews? Or something else I said here? I feel there's been a misunderstanding.
Re: Interview: "In Ten Years' Time, Half the People in the Book May No Longer Be Alive" - Paul Drury on Why 'The Arcade 1971-1999' Is So Important
@Martin_H
Thank you! ^_^
I hope you enjoy reading it.
Re: Feature: "It's Insulting & Hurtful" - Beetle Adventure Racing Decomp Dev Kicks Back Against The Rise Of AI Recomps
I saw the AI version of Pilotwings 64 recently - despite it being my favourite N64 game I refuse to play vibe coded slop. I then found the human team also working on PW64. I really hope they finish it. As said by others, the AI recomps are always broken and never get fixed.
I'm also unsubscribing from Esoterica. The channel has become a nonstop high pressure slop hose, blasting out thick jets of the damned filth.
Re: Interview: "In Ten Years' Time, Half the People in the Book May No Longer Be Alive" - Paul Drury on Why 'The Arcade 1971-1999' Is So Important
@Martin_H
I'm quite sure Paul and I have no plans for an updated version, and I highly doubt Sam does. This version is the version. But Paul did say in his recent interview he'd like to do a proper sequel, Volume 2, if this does well.
Re: "We Bear Full Responsibility For Where We're At" - After $1.8 Million Raised & Months Of Silence, EGM Updates Backers On Book Delays
@MSaturn
Thank you! I really appreciate that. It took 5 years and had some challenges. Especially getting volume 3 out. Anyone who has worked on a big project will know things don't always go according to plan.
As for EGM, backers have a PDF of the final book. It's real. This is just one last final hurdle to clear.
Re: "We Bear Full Responsibility For Where We're At" - After $1.8 Million Raised & Months Of Silence, EGM Updates Backers On Book Delays
I backed. I also contributed a tiny backer written piece. I've also done a KS myself. And I personally know some of the people involved.
I'm fine with everything that's happened. I feel sorry that they are facing such negativity.
@White1ce
How could this be a scam? The online archive, which would have been a lot of work, went up months ago and continues to be updated. The digital version of the book was sent out. And they DID print test copies, highlighting an error they wanted to correct.
Which happens. I personally had errors with false transparencies and the printer resizing random pages. It was beyond maddening.
They've offered refunds.
If anyone is that angry, take the refund with a kind heart and leave them to finish the project. Otherwise try to empathise with the size and complexity of such a project.
Or go and enjoy the digital archive while waiting.
They're more patient than me - I just forcibly refunded anyone complaining so I didn't have to deal with it.
I have followed this project since backing, and every single updates brings hateful angry people out of the shadows to berate them. Jeez. Relax. Take the refund or chill out. I don't understand the position of:
"I refuse the refund, but I'm still going to stand here screaming to make sure everyone feels my anger."
I personally believe and trust them unreservedly. And they have my empathy for their difficult situation.
Let's stop with the cruelty and accusations of scams.
Re: "It Trivialises The Hobby" - GoldenEye Running On SNES Triggers More Debate Over Vibe-Coded Retro Projects
@dodgykebaab
I take it from your reply that you are finally acknowledging that AI steals from others? Because once that is accepted, there is no defence for AI. Its list of evils is long.
Re: "It Trivialises The Hobby" - GoldenEye Running On SNES Triggers More Debate Over Vibe-Coded Retro Projects
@AndyVGR
I refer you to my car analogy lower down from my first post. Please do not conflate Generative AI with machines or things like prosthetic legs.
Again... I know the techbros are keen to scream "it's just a TOOL bro!" But they are lying to you. A car runs on petrol or diesel. A prosthetic leg uses basic resources like metal and plastic.
GenAI functions by stealing the work of others, burning huge amounts of energy, destroying the environment, destroying physical books, etc.
And before someone comes at me with how cars and phones do similar, the scale of GenAI, the existential threat it poses to our species, and the fact it's stealing the work of myself and friends, makes this a far worse evil.
Please, stop conflating GenAI with functional mechanical devices. This is a fallacy.
@dodgykebaab
What @Deway and @Bot_Bot_69 said.
Re: "A Piece Of N64 History, No Longer Lost" - Unreleased Title 'Kaminari no Gotoku: Choukousoku Igo' Found & Preserved
@GlamReaper
Never heard of these sweets before. But now I want to play a physical game of Othello / Reversi against another human using them, on an excruciatingly hot summer day.
Re: 'I Feel Very Strongly About AI Use In Most Cases' - English Patch Released For Obscure Saturn Cyberpunk RPG Cyber Doll
I'm very happy with this - at the very least, a human being translated those words. Which washes away the sadness at the fact I'll never get to play Shadowrun on Mega CD. I lost one cyberpunk RPG, but gained another. An even trade.
Re: Four More Neo Geo AES+ Games Have Been Confirmed
@mjparker77
I second this Neo Mr Do! suggestion. Absolutely fantastic MVS game. There are AES conversions, which I might get, but I'm holding out just in case we get an official release on AES+.
Re: "It Trivialises The Hobby" - GoldenEye Running On SNES Triggers More Debate Over Vibe-Coded Retro Projects
@Kev711
Please stop conflating machines and tools with AI, which is fed on the work of others.
To give an easy to analogy, I own a BMW 7 Series as my car. it is a machine. I like it. This car runs on diesel. It does not run on the scraped tears and dreams of a thousand unpaid creators.
Re: "It Trivialises The Hobby" - GoldenEye Running On SNES Triggers More Debate Over Vibe-Coded Retro Projects
"This is what AI does best, folks," adds Brett Viker. "It opens the door for dreamers to make their projects a reality by tearing down the barriers to entry. We should be all for this."
No, I am not for this, I oppose this. I want people to stop framing this as if it's opening doors, and people who resist it are somehow gatekeeping their freedom of expression.
I know I said I'd stop commenting on AI, but this infuriates me.
If you can't play an instrument, or you can't learn a foreign language, or you're not willing to put the time in to refine your drawing ability, or learn to code, or do anything for that matter...
Then please don't do it. Just stop. Do something else. Stop filling the world with AI slop just because you "really, really, really wanna feel like you're doing it so really bad - look at me mum! I'm making stuff!".
I don't care - you can make your stuff after practising in your chosen field.
I'd love to play saxophone jazz. But I accept that I'm never going to.
This is not some magical enabling elixir. AI is a poison that makes you think you're achieving something, when in fact you're not. Like injecting steroids.
And it functions only by having stolen the work of other creative people, such as myself with writing, and my friends who are artists, programmers, musicians, etc. People who have spent decades using their creative muscle to get better.
We should all be for this? No Brett, no we should not.
Re: The PS2 Tough Nut Security Chip 'MechaCon' Has Finally Been Cracked Open
Fascinating. How did the Messiah chip bypass the security then? I got one pre-installed in my PS2, and it ended up being able to boot anything I threw at it.
Re: A Second English Translation For Sega CD Shadowrun Appears, And It's Also AI-Assisted
@retrogamer1
Hello. Thanks for the comment and kinds words.
Games I have waited years to play are now fenced off from me forever. They will never be retranslated by humans, and this knowledge causes me physical pain. My chest and gut tense up, because it is almost if these games have been erased. That is how I see it. I refuse to play AI translations.
And so the topic makes me quite emotional. I find that Gen-AI is such an intense and overwhelming trigger point for me, given the long list of things I dislike about it, that I find it difficult to moderate my statements. As such, and because it also drains a lot of energy, I'm thinking of refraining from commenting on AI.
Many of my colleagues feel similarly about AI, so I know my POV is still conveyed. And my silence is not the result of changing my views.
But I'm going to step back from discussing this topic. I did not mean to offend any member of the community - I just wish I could make them feel, in their hearts, what I feel.
Re: The Making Of: Strider II - One Of The Worst Sequels In Video Game History, And I Should Know - I Had To Test It
@metaphysician
"...if it only lasts an hour with no prospect of replay value? That's a bad use of $80, if that is its price. You'll have one hour of fun, and then nothing until the next time you can afford an $80 entertainment purchase on your budget."
There is a huge debate to be had around game length, pricing ranges, sales, the used physical market, length, etc. I'd enjoy a robust discussion on it actually.
But to save time and space here, while I broadly agree with your statement over an $80 game lasting an hour, my specific example was a person on GameFAQs saying 40 hours for a game - which had cost me £20 used; would have cost him maybe $60 new. But even if we're going with $80, complaining that 40 hours is too short feels... Like the wrong argument.
I would want a cheaper game, not a longer game. I've finished thousands of games in my life. There were very few that were able to hold my interest beyond the 40 hour mark. I get bored and want a different experience. It's also why I rarely play sequels. Why would I want the same experience again?
I suppose fundamentally the implication is that what I want from games is different from what you or this GFaqs poster wants. I need constant novelty to hold my interest, so I prefer games which are between 5 and 10 hours.
Re: The Making Of: Strider 2 - One Of The Worst Sequels In Video Game History, And I Should Know - I Had To Test It
@Razieluigi
I can recall when less than a 7 was scathing, and 7 still worth checking. Then I recall less than 8 being scathing. Have we reached the era of less than 9 being scathing?
I don't follow modern reviews. But I can imagine it. Any good examples you've stumbled across?
I know youngers are pretty weird. Found a guy on GFaqs complaining 40 hours was too short for a game. "In this economy" he said, he needed to get his money's worth, so 80 hours, or maybe 60 at a minimum.
He seemed like the sort who would say 8 is a crap score.
Re: A Second English Translation For Sega CD Shadowrun Appears, And It's Also AI-Assisted
I'm glad we can still openly discuss AI on TE. GameTalk's forum have implemented a new rule banning the criticism of AI.
"You will eat your slop and like it!" - is what I imagine the forum mods said silently in their minds.
Also I was banned from RHDN for criticising AI use in fan-translations. I stated that for 25+ years the community has been human beings working together to create these patches, and now we're increasingly seeing members suckle at the slop machine. Apparently this was seen as disruptive.
From my perspective it looks like those in power on other websites are circling the wagons. They want AI, they want you to learn to love AI, and any attempt to criticise it will be punished.
Which is frustrating and insane. I saw a few people reacting to the new rules saying this was good, since they don't want to be aware of how the majority hate AI slop.
The problem is, if you silence people through rules, and prevent anyone from speaking out, then you become oblivious to what people want or think. If 85% of users despise it, but can't say anything because of the rules, the silence you hear and the lack of opposition does not mean people suddenly love it.
To use an analogy: it's like injecting morphine into your leg and then setting it on fire and saying: "see! the burning doesn't hurt!"
It looks like there's no opposition to AI only because you've now silenced everyone.
I've said it before and I'll say it for as long as my lungs draw breath: **** AI.
I despise AI with every cell in my body.
It not only devalues human culture, it physically destroys it (books are shredded to feed the monster); it destroys jobs and livelihoods; it ruins the environment; it drives up energy costs; it drives up component costs.
It does a long list of real world horrors so that lazy people can cut corners and greedy corporations can profit more easily and quicker.
AI is not some disruptive new tool we've invented. It is the darkest of poisons that is now encroaching and overwhelming every aspect of our lives. It is the manifestation of evil born from the sins of sloth and greed.
Re: The Making Of: Strider 2 - One Of The Worst Sequels In Video Game History, And I Should Know - I Had To Test It
Strider 2 and Ranger X scored the same with two of the EGM reviewers. Incredible.
I've not actually played Strider 2, I only know it by reputation, but Ranger X is one of my all-time favourite games on any system.
Clearly I am now going to have to play Strider 2 for more of that Ranger X goodness.
Re: Mamma Mia! After 30 Years, Super Mario Bros. 2's Satellaview Exclusive Sequel Has Just Got An English Fan Dub
@sbeng135
True! I've introduced it to several people who don't know any Japanese and they were able to enjoy many of the gags purely visually / interactively. It's a shame it didn't get a worldwide release, even without localisation.
But listening to the comedian's dialogue, I felt a longing to hear those words in English.
Re: Mamma Mia! After 30 Years, Super Mario Bros. 2's Satellaview Exclusive Sequel Has Just Got An English Fan Dub
I love the increased fan dubbing by the community.
It gives me hope of enjoying Pole's Big Adventure properly one day.
Re: Sega CD Shadowrun's English Translation Was Developed Using AI
@Ruka I studied it at GCSE, A-levels, and university for 3 months. Altogether for 6 years. I could never get past a glass ceiling when it came to the kanji. I realised that my brain simply was not wired for languages. I wanted to be fluent so badly. No one made me study it at school, I voluntarily attended classes during my free periods. I made the study cards. Read the study books. I even sat with MGS trying to match the Japanese dialogue to the kanji, etc.
After 6 years I just could not progress further.
I firmly believe you either have the genetics to master a second language or you don't. Because 6 years of dogged determined study did not blossom into proficiency.