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This thread is for stupid GAMING questions that don't deserve their own thread

What would the difference be to the end user?

Fairly sure the emulator is upscaling it to an HD resolution, I've seen no indication that the TV is getting in a different resolution signal at any point in the process.
Yeah, I was just having an argument with someone who kept telling me that the emulator the Wii U uses for VC games was rendering the game in standard definition and my TV just upscaled it to HD, which I'm pretty sure is wrong because wouldn't it look like shit then?
 
Yeah, I was just having an argument with someone who kept telling me that the emulator the Wii U uses for VC games was rendering the game in standard definition and my TV just upscaled it to HD, which I'm pretty sure is wrong because wouldn't it look like shit then?
No, the upscaler on a good TV is on par or better than what you will find in a console. You need to change the resolution the game is being rendered at if you want to improve the image quality significantly. If you download an emulator for PC you can tweak the settings yourself.
 

red731

Member
Can PS3 update without the HDMI being plugged in?
Meaning turn ON, no output, download stuff, turn OFF?

Obvious answer, right? Haha
 

mclem

Member
No, the upscaler on a good TV is on par or better than what you will find in a console. You need to change the resolution the game is being rendered at if you want to improve the image quality significantly. If you download an emulator for PC you can tweak the settings yourself.

While that's broadly true, wouldn't it be the case that going for simple pixel doubling (tripling, quadrupling, whatever fills the screen best) within the emulator would be better than sending out an extremely low-res framebuffer and permitting the TV to upscale it? I guess it might depend on the TV, but I'd expect them to default to a more ambitious form of upscaling than a straight expansion.
 

mclem

Member
Two odd questions about Lego Harry Potter:

First, does "Years 1-4" contain any references to later books, or does it stick very strictly within that range? Wondering if I ought to finish rereading the entire saga first or could dive into the Lego game halfway through.

Second, I recall a blog somewhere which consisted of someone who hasn't read the books or seen the film (but knows the basic premise of the universe) playing the Lego Harry Potter games and writing posts which detailed how he interpreted the storyline based on the usual Lego miming and slapstick. I put that to one side and left it until I got around to playing the games after I first saw it, but I'm only just *now* starting to think about playing them, and I can't for the life of me find that blog again! Does anyone recall it?
 
While that's broadly true, wouldn't it be the case that going for simple pixel doubling (tripling, quadrupling, whatever fills the screen best) within the emulator would be better than sending out an extremely low-res framebuffer and permitting the TV to upscale it? I guess it might depend on the TV, but I'd expect them to default to a more ambitious form of upscaling than a straight expansion.
That's true. Using nearest-neighbor upscaling would result in a much nicer image. Unfortunately I have the impression that it's more common for both consoles and TVs to use something closer to bilinear interpolation which will result in a softer image and a loss of detail. I'm sure there is a thread about the topic somewhere on this board.
 
Two odd questions about Lego Harry Potter:

First, does "Years 1-4" contain any references to later books, or does it stick very strictly within that range? Wondering if I ought to finish rereading the entire saga first or could dive into the Lego game halfway through.

Second, I recall a blog somewhere which consisted of someone who hasn't read the books or seen the film (but knows the basic premise of the universe) playing the Lego Harry Potter games and writing posts which detailed how he interpreted the storyline based on the usual Lego miming and slapstick. I put that to one side and left it until I got around to playing the games after I first saw it, but I'm only just *now* starting to think about playing them, and I can't for the life of me find that blog again! Does anyone recall it?
Yes, Years 1-4 is strictly Years 1-4. Dive away and enjoy the best Harry Potter game(s) ever made. For your second question, I do not recall :(
 

mclem

Member
Second, I recall a blog somewhere which consisted of someone who hasn't read the books or seen the film (but knows the basic premise of the universe) playing the Lego Harry Potter games and writing posts which detailed how he interpreted the storyline based on the usual Lego miming and slapstick. I put that to one side and left it until I got around to playing the games after I first saw it, but I'm only just *now* starting to think about playing them, and I can't for the life of me find that blog again! Does anyone recall it?

Found it. Sort of. At least, found a link to it - it appears that it's a forum, not a blog (dunno if it has a standalone form)... but I get a 503 service unavailable when I try to read it. Poop. Well, at least I can start poking the Wayback machine now.

Edit: If anyone is interested, here is where it begins. It does contain a couple of later-series spoilers when detailing the basics he does know.
 

MattyG

Banned
Why is Persona 3 FES PS2 classics only $4? I thought it was usually $10. Not complaining, it just surprised me, and I didn't see that it was a sales price or anything.

Also, what's the Atelier series like? Should I give it a shot? And if I should, which one should I start with? I have a Vita, PS3, WiiU, 3DS and PS4, but I prefer my portables and WiiU (for bc Wii games) right now.

And what are some other good JRPGs I can play this summer? Roght now I'm playing Bravely Default, planning on finishing FFX, then I'll start Xenoblade and then Ys: Memories of Celceta, probably followed up with P4G, P3FES and SMT4. What are some good ones that I missed?
 
Why is Persona 3 FES PS2 classics only $4? I thought it was usually $10. Not complaining, it just surprised me, and I didn't see that it was a sales price or anything.

Also, what's the Atelier series like? Should I give it a shot? And if I should, which one should I start with? I have a Vita and PS3, I prefer my Vita right now.

It's a sale price.

As for Atelier, I never really liked it. It depends what you like in your RPGs, if you want to take your time and just chill out, Atelier is probably not for you. It always felt like a stress to me, having deadlines all the time and worrying that I was going to run out of time to do stuff. If you don't mind that though, it seemed like it'd have been a great game in the right hands.
 

MattyG

Banned
It's a sale price.

As for Atelier, I never really liked it. It depends what you like in your RPGs, if you want to take your time and just chill out, Atelier is probably not for you. It always felt like a stress to me, having deadlines all the time and worrying that I was going to run out of time to do stuff. If you don't mind that though, it seemed like it'd have been a great game in the right hands.
Are they all timed? I read something about that on the Wiki page, but it sounded like it was on a game by game basis, some are, some aren't. I really hate timers, and I'm always dreading missions that give me a strict time limit, so it sounds like Atelier may not be for me if that's the case. Which is a shame because it looks pretty good. Maybe I'll just grab Tales of Xillia instead or something.
 
as you ageing, do you feel you lost interest to play games ?

Today I turn 39 and have been playing games since I was 4.

Today, I am going to be getting a PS4.

I have not lost interest at all, I still love and enjoy this hobby. I've seen it evolve and devolve to some extent, but still love it.

That's just me though, I don't know of many people my age that are still as into this hobby as I am.
 
Not trophies/achievements in general, but just ridiculous ones. Especially MP trophies for games with really shitty and inactive MP.

I believe there is something of a requirement made by both Sony and MS to include a certain amount of trophies for certain games. For instance the original AC never had any trophies or achievements

I do also hate trophies for MP modes that are often large time sinks or completely inactive after a certain point
 

Bishop89

Member
Then you might need additional storage space. The basic unit only comes with 8 GB and IIRC a large part of that is needed for the operating system.

Waiting is also an option. Since launch I've gotten 6 retail games, 2 downloads, and 5 Virtual Console games. I wouldn't be surprised if it was possible to store those on a basic system.

I can see myself purchasing a lot of VC games, depending how big the library is though, I am the library is shit though so probably wont even have a lot of games to buy anyways lol.

Still unsure which HDD to get from the above. MMmm
 

coopolon

Member
In pikmin 1 will play controls, if I get like halfway through knocking down a wall or expanding a bridge and have to leave for night, will it save my partial progress and I can just do the last bit the next day?
 
What are the chances that Nintendo will eventually put Fire Emblem:Radiant Dawn on E-shop? Its like 85-125 dollars online and non of the gamestops in my state have a copy.
 
Unsure how gaming related this is but I have access to US Netflix on WiiU, everything else is UK. I was wondering is there anyway on the Netflix app on WiiU of putting films into a List? Other Netflix apps I have let you do this but this is us app so different selection.
 

MattyG

Banned
Is the Valkyria Chronicles series dead? I just started playing the first one for the first time and I absolutely love it, but 2 is the only other one available in NA and it doesn't sound like Sega has any further plans for the series.
 
Just watched IGN's latest podcast regarding the next gen consoles life span and would like some opinions on what everyone else thinks. Gaffers How long do you think this next gen console life span will last? I am hoping they can atleast string it out to 6 years.
 
Is the Valkyria Chronicles series dead? I just started playing the first one for the first time and I absolutely love it, but 2 is the only other one available in NA and it doesn't sound like Sega has any further plans for the series.
The sequel was a disappointment for me. If you want to play the third game there is a fan translation for it. There are also browser and mobile games in the series in Japanese.

Just watched IGN's latest podcast regarding the next gen consoles life span and would like some opinions on what everyone else thinks. Gaffers How long do you think this next gen console life span will last? I am hoping they can atleast string it out to 6 years.
My guess is that this generation will be as long as the previous ones. We will get new systems in about 6 years and the systems will be on sale for another 4, fulfilling Sony's ten year plan.
 

Beholda

Neo Member
In video games, why are ventilation shafts always large enough to fit a crouched adult man and positioned in easily accessible areas where all you need to do is take off a grate?
 

StuBurns

Banned
I think the generation will last a year less than the previous one.

The reason the PS360 generation was longer was primarily because the new consoles had to be sold at cost, not a notable loss, so to get a comparable bump, we had to wait another year so they could do it without the drastic financial repercussions. Now they've eaten that year, we cant get back to 5/6 years.
In video games, why are ventilation shafts always large enough to fit a crouched adult man and positioned in easily accessible areas where all you need to do is take off a grate?
Because the game industry stole the concept from the action movies they aped. I think it's pretty much all James Cameron's fault given it's heavy use in Aliens.
 

score01

Member
So, I have to change the controller port for the Psycho Mantis fight but I have never understood why? If he is reading my thoughts surely he can do it from either port?
 

StuBurns

Banned
In Metal Gear Solid, why does Snake repeat the last thing said, ever so dramatically?
Hind D? Second floor basement? The Darpa Chief? Rex?

Second floor basement happens twice actually.

The localizer, Jeremy Blaustein, had to write dialogue to match the video animation that had already been completed, so that's an element of it.
 

mclem

Member
Is the Valkyria Chronicles series dead? I just started playing the first one for the first time and I absolutely love it, but 2 is the only other one available in NA and it doesn't sound like Sega has any further plans for the series.

It's probably dead, although it does look like Codename S.T.E.A.M. may well scratch a similar itch in terms of game design.
 

Canucked

Member
Here's a question I have.

During Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV I've noticed sometimes when I'm running, the area on the boarders of my character have an odd visual "thing" going on, like it almost looks pixelated. It's hard to explain and doesn't happen often. I notice it most when I'm running through grass.

I have no idea if this is a PS4 thing, an Ubisoft thing or a TV display thing.
 

mclem

Member
Here's a question I have.

During Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV I've noticed sometimes when I'm running, the area on the boarders of my character have an odd visual "thing" going on, like it almost looks pixelated. It's hard to explain and doesn't happen often. I notice it most when I'm running through grass.

I have no idea if this is a PS4 thing, an Ubisoft thing or a TV display thing.

I can't be sure what the *specific* reason is, but I'm fairly sure that's a concession made to either enable some sort of graphical effect or to optimise the renderer; probably regarded as an acceptable sacrifice.

(I assume, at least, that HDMI transmits signals uncompressed, so it's not going to be compression artifacts? The time I was developing was before the rise of HD)
 
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