James

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Nintendo seems to have always had a problem with low resolution textures, though. This is even true with the Nintendo 64. And within Nintendo's own teams, the results vary significantly. Twilight Princess definitely suffers from texture problems that other NCL-developed GameCube games don't seem to have and I'm not entirely sure why that is. It reminds me of how it took Nintendo a little while to correctly apply the new anti-aliaising features on the Nintendo 64 (compare their first generation games with their fourth or fifth generation games for example). And while TP's visuals have arguably dated more than some of its contemporaries, you will definitely find that the last two hardware generations are likely to age the most in terms of graphics. In some ways we are only now coming into an age of truly sophisticated 3D graphics. This is one reason why I think it can be harder to play 32 or 128 bit games now, as compared to 16 or 8 bit games (especially with the current renaissance in retro graphic design). Looking at Skyward Sword, though, I think Nintendo are pretty much keeping on-par with other high-end Wii offerings. But at the same time, I have no doubt at all that the game will go through further changes before release. And we will also see a ton of new levels as well. From what I have seen (especially what looks like a fire temple), the graphics are a pretty significant step above TP.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I personally didn't mind the red, but it was a very strong colour - very hard on the eyes, especially with such a minimal theme.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]We'll see how it goes - it can be changed to any colour. Possibly we can have different versions of XL Basic with different colours.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I've been doing a little CSS-fiddling today and you may notice some minor changes. The width of the site has been tightened up just a little bit. It'll still stretch with your browser window, but I've slightly reduced the padding so that the edges of the site don't sit so close to the browser window now. I think it makes the site look just a little tidier. I have also changed the colouring on XL Basic from red to blue. Since XL Basic is...well, basic...a simple change to the font colour can make quite a big difference to how the page looks. I actually think the blue looks a little bit more relaxing and pleasant on such a simple skin design. I hope you guys like these changes, even though they are very minor.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Just to update everyone, I'm still working on my post (I'm expecting it to be my final post in the RPG), but hopefully that will be online soon. Regarding any future Almagest RPGs, Shy, are you intending to just start one or will we do what we did here and create a Backstage topic first?[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]*wishes it was summer here* [/font]

[quote name='Nerdsy' date='13 July 2010 - 08:56 AM' timestamp='1278971784' post='697196'] [color=deeppink]I don't like the way they're phrasing things in this Alpaca commercial. I mean, "[i]when[/i]" I decide to raise Alpacas? At best it's presumptuous, at worst it's ominous.[/color] [/quote] [font="Palatino Linotype"]Wow, I'm relieved we haven't had those Orwellian Alpaca commercials here where I live. Sounds scary. [/font]

[quote=Brasil]Gone is the weird, dry awkward humor, replaced with overly serious dissertations on the nature of humanity. Wesker has become a complete ******* joke...he went from a ***** of a middle manager to some ultra-Matrix-leather movie villain but he's completely lacking Hugo Weaving's suave sinister charm.[/quote] [font="Palatino Linotype"]Resident Evil 5 may have been lame in terms of plot, but it's really no worse than much of the series. Have you played Code Veronica, lately? The word "Ashford" makes me want to cry. And CaNz, regarding TWW being a flop...I'm not sure in what sense you mean that, but for me, the absolute worst part was the Triforce shard hunting rubbish at the end. In my view that almost broke the experience completely - it was decidedly un-Nintendo, from a design philosophy point of view. Had they replaced that with something substantive, I think I would have liked TWW quite a bit more (not that I [i]disliked[/i] it - but issues like those prevented it from being as solid as its predecessors I think).[/font]

[quote name='CaNz' date='11 July 2010 - 07:29 PM' timestamp='1278836973' post='697099'] i cant find a good torrent for karate kid... all of them are low quality camera bootlegs... [/quote] [font="Palatino Linotype"]Go to the cinema. If nothing else, the experience is way better. [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]From what little I played, I think my favourite thing was just how the game actually started - wandering around town in the middle of the night. There's something about the idea of that which really plays into a kid's imagination. It's also why I really loved the opening sequence to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, where you wake up at night during a storm and have to venture off into the darkness. I can't really put my finger on it, but there's something cool about that. Does this make sense? Haha.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]Speaking of movies, I just saw the new Karate Kid movie last night. It surprised me - I think I actually liked it as much as - or more than - the original. It's well worth seeing if you get the chance.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I actually never played much of Earthbound, but I did get about halfway through Mother 3, which is an absolutely incredible game. You're right - Mother 3 really has quite a sad story and it's surprisingly emotional even compared to console games that have access to better technology. Now I really feel like I should go back and play the original Earthbound on SNES. I think I literally played only a few minutes of it, but never the full game.[/font]

[quote name='Sangome' date='11 July 2010 - 06:37 AM' timestamp='1278790621' post='697063'] [color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]I just wanted to jump in and say that Majora's Mask has been available on the Virtual Console in all regions [including the PAL region] since April/May of last year. You guys actually got it one month before the US did. But yeah, it's there. :3 [url="http://www.nintendo.com.au/index.php?action=catalogue&prodcat_id=39&prod_id=19805&pageID=4"]Ta da[/url] [/font][/color] [/quote] [font="Palatino Linotype"]Oh really? That would make sense, considering I wasn't using my Wii on the internet at the time - d'oh. Well, I'm definitely going to have to download it now. Although I actually agree with you that I'd love to see MM as a remake on 3DS. My biggest question at the moment, though, is what other stuff we haven't yet seen from Skyward Sword - the actual E3 demo was relatively short and was pretty much limited to demonstrating the actual game controls. I'm very keen to see other parts of the world and to know more about the dungeon setup. Skyward Sword could still trump Twilight Princess for me, if it introduces further changes beyond just controls.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I know this is going to seem like such a small point, but I think my biggest disappointment with Twilight Princess is its relative [i]blandness[/i]. It seems to have been the one Zelda that Nintendo was really trying to aim at the so-called "hardcore" crowd - but the result was to create what they thought was the epitome of a traditional 3D Zelda. Don't get me wrong - Twilight Princess was undoubtedly a brilliant game in its own right. I think Brasil would say that too. I would personally put it on a similar level to The Wind Waker. TWW didn't really add a great deal in terms of gameplay, but at least it had a unique concept (sailing) and a very unique visual design, which I quite liked. I'm not a huge fan of TP's art style, but I think its gameplay generally improved on TWW. So it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. I always keep going back to Majora's Mask, because, for me, that game really gave us a glimpse of what a 3D Zelda can be - I mean, beyond the standard that OoT set. The groundhog day concept worked incredibly well and it's actually one of the most clever and well-implemented systems I've ever seen in a video game. It was so central to the gameplay but it never became boring or, ironically, repetitive. Also, Majora's Mask didn't seem afraid to really strike new ground for Zelda. When I think back to what it was like being a Zora...it was just sublime. Visiting each of the different parts of the world felt so varied, as well. You were really stepping into those different characters. And, in general, I really loved the offbeat visual style and music. Even the general plot had this wonderful surreal element to it. I know I will probably never get my wish, but I'd really love to see a new Zelda game that lives up to Majora's legacy - or that at least tries to go in a similar direction. As it is, I'm still waiting for MM to be released on Virtual Console. [/font]

[quote name='Saint Casillas' date='09 July 2010 - 04:11 PM' timestamp='1278652263' post='696955'] [font="Garamond"] PAUL IS PREDICTING TOMORROW GOOOO PAUL[/font] [/quote] [font="Palatino Linotype"]I think Paul should be our mascot. Why didn't I use an octopus on the "O" instead of a cat? :\[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I don't think mods can give infractions to each other, but probably they have never tried it. Besides, if a mod ever does something infraction-worthy, they usually end up receiving a personal message from me instead. So maybe mod infractions will never be necessary. [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I thought I'd pin this topic - it'll be our first pinned topic for a proper Con forum. [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I agree with chibi. No more rape discussion, thanks. Next topic! (Cat, I really sympathise with your latest post, but I removed it in the interest of allowing this topic to move forward. If I see more idiotic rape discussion, I'll sort it out). [/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I know this is about software, but I decided to move this topic to the Art Studio forum. It just feels like a more natural fit here. [/font]

[quote name='chibi-master' date='07 July 2010 - 01:03 PM' timestamp='1278468189' post='696683'] Well we can't exactly call it that seeing as the religion is based on Ace. I think we should call it The Order of the Fedora. [/quote] [font="Palatino Linotype"]The Church of Fedorology? :\ Haha.[/font]

[font="Palatino Linotype"]I have no problem at all with this. It would be good to actually tighten things up and finally move the Convention Center, etc... Once you are happy with this, let me know and I'll help you make all of the changes.[/font]