Lurker > Kerred

http://retroachievements.org/user/kerred

Started recently.

^ Yes, we call our guy who handles telemarketers "Sam". So if someone asks for Sam, that means Scam.

My favorite outright scams:

- Rocky Mountain Power calling "claiming" they will shut off our power today (thus hurting our business) unless we pay by credit card over the phone. lol

- Yellow Pages is now public domain, so scammers create a company called Yellow Pages and claim we owe them $400 in service fees.

I get at least 1-2 calls a day at my store.

The most common ones:

- You google/facebook listings are not good enough, pay us money and we'll get you more exposure on those sites

- We can lower your credit card merchant fees.

- Get a new business loan (usually automated)

I found the quickest way is to tell them the owner (who we call Sam, short for Scam) works remotely and can only be reached by email. The telemarketer will often say "ok" and hang up immediately. This is because they are most profitable when they have someone walk into the store to pressure the sale.

About merchant fees, small business pay about 1-3% for EVERY sale they make. Yes, 1-3% of your profits go to your credit card processor. Its actually an insanely complicated method. Everything from the cost of the product, to whether debit or credit is used, whether the card was swiped, chipped, or entered manually. So telemarketers love to exploit this, like companies that offer to do your taxes for you.

50Blessings posted...

It seems liek a book CEmen would enjoy

IIRC this board also lost its s*** over scott pilgrim.

The movie or the comic? Anything that has a Chrono Trigger reference is a-ok in my book with the comic :D I liked the movie more just because after watching Baby Driver I could feel the rhythm of movement a lot more in Pilgrim.

On a side note, did Dark Link ever come back in another Zelda, or was he just in Zelda 2? (there was Ocarina of Time, but that wasn't as epic as Dark Link was to me)

flussence posted...

when you get to the part with the delorean remember that's the author describing their actual irl car

even with the Ghostbusters logo on it?

That's... crin.... SWEET!

oh and 100% less Uganda Knuckles.

Halfway through it now. Its probably not good to everyone else, but since I get all the references, its super awesome. I played so much Joust on the Coleco, so it was pretty spot on with the description, especially that the main thing you had to learn was you needed to be just slightly above your opponent, not jump on them, but come in at like a 10 degree angle in front of them. :D

weapon_d00d816 posted...

Xbox One Elite

how is the Elite dPad for retro games and/or THPS?

The standard 360 pad is atrocious for retro games.

The Chrome "raise to a 4 way pad" was good, but just something about its pivot was harder to get near frame perfect precision.

BignutzisBack posted...

I too beat Cave story with a steam controller as kb/m is for plebs

Well its a platformer, so of course controller is the way to go.

Unless.. are there people who speed run with kb/m for platformers that don't require exploiting a keyboard specifically (i.e. pushing 3 directions at once)?

I recall VVVVVV speed runners prefer a keyboard and mouse.

The only downside I have find precision wise with a steam controller is after 2,000 hours and over a year is the A button was starting to stick. Brushed out with a toothbrush, and doesn't stick, but has that miniscule difference in pushing with the other buttons.

What controller SHOULD I have used to beat Cuphead, Cave Story, and Dark Souls with?

or that game that helped you get through a tough time?

armandro posted...

but isnt that a good thing??

The only thing that changed now is instead of Wizards defending law suits, local business owners now have to defend against law suits.

So just like EMV credit cards in America, Visa/Mastercard passed the blame to the business owners :)

Bought my Timberlands in 1999. Still going strong, though I only wear them a few times a year.

^ I was surprised as I though Isaac was just a small company to make it to the Walmart big leagues.

From what I understand, 43,000 were published for the US this time. I need to look that up.

^ Ditto, but its a shame someone is profiting off of it. I would be fine with paying for background checks, but would be much better if that was Wizard's responsibility. Fortunately Wizards has not had any actual incidents reported of sexual assault by their judges.

The Pokemon Company pays for background checks for their high level professors of I recall.

spanky1 posted...

Wait is it finally out for full retail release?

Or is it still in that weird, mysterious kickstarter phase where there's all kinds of different editions and people are getting them randomly?

official release date was January 19th, but most places already sold out due to pre-orders a long time ago.

Miniature Market only had 113 left after their pre-orders, and sold out within 1 hour.

Game store manager here.

I was lucky enough to get 20 Gloomhavens (most local stores got less than 10 in the US). Those were just enough to fill our pre-orders back in June O____o

But everyone's been loving it, and coincidentally I designed a card combat like system similar to Gloomhaven a while ago, and I'm glad someone had the same vision I had!

Enjoy, and I wish you best in actually finishing it XD

Also, I was informed that "guy" still does MtG unboxing and review videos, so he is obviously exploiting an Internet army for his own personal profit.

Let that be a lesson to you kids: don't listen to anyone on the Internet, they are using you ;)

there is a Magic the Gathering youtuber (i don't remember his name, not worth my time) who does your typical "drama" stuff by being aggressive towards female cosplayers at events, your usual jerk who does jerk stuff people find entertaining and makes lots of ad revenue.

Well because Wizards of the Coast banned him from events, this guy went out of his way to try and take down Wizards of the Coast. He first researched a whole bunch of DCI judges, finding their crime history, and spammed all those in a sex registry to give Wizards a bad image.

Now since DCI judges are not Wizards staff, they pass the responsibility onto the store.

So now my store has to pay for background checks if anyone wants to judge at our events.

Fortunately all my staff are L1-L2 judges already, but I feel bad for anyone that owns a store and has to deal with this crap by proxy ._.

^ figured so. the first 5 episodes will probably be enough for her to get the gist of it.

I assume there has been more than just the Red/Blue tv show? Or would that be the preferred way to watch?

Figure she could use a lesson in what her daddy does every Saturday for 50 people ._.

Keep in mind these are the controllers I played, most likely at least 2,000 hours on each throughout the years.

_KGC_ posted...

idk if I can rate the PS3/4 Controller over the Switch Pro Controller tbh

One has like a 4 hour battery life, the other has like 40

Battery life hasn't been an issue for my personal tastes, as I tend to have docks I just quickly put a controller on. And for the Steam controller I use rechargable AA's. I also don't tend to play super long gaming sessions, so I'm one of the very few that has struggled with battery life.

What the batteries affect for me though is the weight. except for the SNES controller, I prefer a bit of weight.

DarkChozoGhost posted...

Kerred if I PM you will you answer it?

i'll try :D

Flintlock_Staff posted...

@Kerred where do you rank the gamecube controller

I'm still contemplating that, due to the decades of experience with modern button design.

It felt comfy if I recall, felt very natural for Smash Bros and Monkey Ball. The triggers had the little grooves that felt good if I remember. I don't recall mine breaking or getting as much crap on it or much wear and tear.

The problem is I used the Wavebird controller, and being able to FINALLY have a wireless controller was just wonderful.

SimpleMan posted...

Where's the Saturn?

Sadly I cannot remember much about the Saturn controller.

I finished Panzer Dragon Saga on it. The controller if I recall felt weird, but was fully functional for PDS. But that was a JRPG, so accuracy wasn't a thing for that.

GoddessPerry_08 posted...

Wtf the 360 controller was legit perfect

I have owned 7 360 controllers. the dpad... well, look at the Xbox One controller, they knew something was wrong with the 360 controller ;)

The gold chrome 360 controller though was good as it solved most of my gripes with the standard 360 controller.

Mikablu posted...

>God Tier
>Steam Controller

I don't know what illegal substance you're on right now, but you might wanna lay off it for a while.

Its actually more the Steam platform than the controller. Imagine being able to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel mp4 you have on your external drive, then start up an SNES emulator, then switch to Cuphead , and finally The Gaming Historian on youtube, then fall asleep to your music playlist, all with minimal loading, and never having to touch your TV remote or change inputs!

So far I am ranked Expert on Rocket League, and am halfway through Cuphead using the Steam controller. I also beat Super Meat Boy with the Steam Controller. So I can't blame the controller on not being accurate.

RebelElite791 posted...

Hahahahahahahahaha joke topic

If I posted my true feelings, no one would post. Remember I always lie about what I say so you post in it ;)

LordFarquad1312 posted...

lmao, XBOX 360 and N64 on the same tier.

The 360 controller I found was tolerable.

Unfortunately the standard 360 controller suffered from the lack of 4-way pads (as a THPS/retro vet this was frustrating playing such games), the triggers had that annoying springy sound, and the boy do the coating on the sticks wear out fast.

I'd rate the N64 lower, but just for its innovation at the time deserves higher credit.

What is your favorite controller?

The xbox elite? The one you use for Smash Bros? :)

This will include controllers on portable systems

God Tier

SNES Controller: This is perfect for its time AND today. light, round, responsive buttons for years, no sticking, lovely rubber padding. There's a reason Retrolink and Buffalo pretty much emulate everything about the controller.

PS3-4 Controller: The wireless and bluetooth aspects are the main step about the PS2 controller. So much capabilities but still with that just right amount of weight and feel to it. Can you imagine if Sony went through with that silly "boomerang" PS3 controller?

Steam Controller: I've used this with launch and can say after thousands of hours this holds up and then some. Its become a point where I rare if at all use my keyboard in the living room. This controller operates everything on any platform with precision. The only downside is there is no 4-way dpad for speed running retro games, but since I Mostly play old school JRPGs and don't speed run as much anymore, this is not an issue for me.

Tier 2

Xbox One, Dreamcast, Wavebird, Nintendo Pro Controller (various), PS1-2 Controller

Tier 3

NES controller
NES Advantage
PS1 Pre-Dual Shock
Nintendo 3Ds
GameBoy
Sega Genesis

N64 Controller: the only reason its tier 3 was just the innovation at the time. Today I'd put this at Tier 4. No efficiency, the wonkyness of the analog stick over time, the crusti-ness that builds up, and the grooves in the stick aren't pleasant.

Wii Nunchuck
Gameboy
Xbox 360 Controller

Tier 4

Game Gear
Sega Master System
DDR Dance Pad
NES Power Pad
Logitech PC Controller

Garbage Tier

Coleco Vision Controller: The telephone with an analog stick on it that wasn't an analog stick. This thing cramped you up big time.

Atari 2600 Controller

Virtual Boy Controller: 6 AA Batteries weighs this thing down, which hands in the back of the controller!!!! You can use the AC adapter, but the adapter doesn't lock in place. So if you push the controller down too hard on something, the adapter pops out and the VB shuts off. And since very little games had a save feature (Wario Land), you just had to start over.

Coleco Vision Trackball
MadCatz N64 Controller
Xbox Launch Controller

LinksLiege posted...

Closest I got was that I created the story to an RPG I had plans to make in something like RPG Maker. Also laid down some ideas for battle mechanics and equipment types.

Then I realized I gave little to no shits about the game aspect, and converted the story of the game into the plot of the novel I'm working on.

Only Ken Gao can turn a story into a game :)

InTheEyesOfFire posted...

I made a level for thief 2. Working on another.

Video or link to the thief 2 level? :D

Remember:

- All electronic machines for the most part are pre-determined. Those "bonus rounds" for slot machines. It doesn't matter what you door or tornado you pick, the machine decided what you should get at the start.

- Remember casino chips are just like Battlefront 2 credits, or whatever they used as alternative currency for loot boxes. ;)

- The less time you spend gambling, the better (with some exceptions). I am a fan of Cirque De Sole myself, and a big fan of Penn & Teller.

Kamala_Harris posted...

I actually took a video game making class week long summer camp in 2006 and made this war plane fighting game it was pretty cool

Nice, what language? I would assume it was a web/browser based game?

^ Just imagine how much time is spent on all the details in that game. Normally small details like that would get you fired because you are wasting the company's time and money, and small little things like that can hamper the rest of the design with unknown bugs.

I love that Nintendo encourages their staff to add so much detail most people won't notice.

Dont worry, all my programming knowledge is outdated now.

Kazi1212 posted...

I was the lead developer for Skyrim, not a big deal or anything

Oh Todd, you are so silly.

I was lucky enough to speak with Ananda Gupta, lead designer of Xcom Enemy Within. It was great to hear him explain how he would explain Twilight Struggle to people, one of my favorite GOAT's.

DocileOrangeCup posted...

oooh mister big shot

lol. I am actually quite proud of Slyde's main design, but there is a lot i would change. I made the tutorial because Xbox 360 games required all those crappy over-explanation tutorials, as did all the Facebook games at the time, so I tried to design it for the unsaavy game. Big mistake. I should have just had NO tutorial and a single screen with w,a,s,d and mouse controls, highlighting the Match Number.

^ ha, weird. Everything stays I guess



(feels)

Welp got in my rabbit hole of slyde.

The resolution is awful now, and the tutorial windows suck due to the size of the text. But the gallery and arcade mode are still playable despite the sound effect wav files not working anymore :(

My history:

9 years old back in the 80's. I made notebook adventures. I would draw a town on one page, and when you go in a house, you turn to that page that the house had as its street address. So if the house numbers had 30 on it, you turn to page 30. It was a detective game.

15 years old in 1995: TI-82 Calculator multiplayer game called Thieves. Every day in each class, I'd give my calculator to a classmate, they'd "log in", and try to collect as much money as they could (or steal it from other classmates). First to 3000 gold wins. This took almost a year as there were no instructions for the TI-82 I had to learn how the language worked solely from trial and error.

18 years old: My first MUD, which was a Zork-editor game. It was short, and was real easy as I wanted to make a LOGICAL text adventure game for once.

20 years old: Speequest. I used RPG Maker 98 to make an adventure/puzzle RPG in RPG Maker. It was short.

25 years old.
http://slyde.50webs.com/

I can't believe this website is still up! O____o It has a level editor so some of you CE people designed levels for it ;)

I Like Toast posted...

The civ vi expansion isn't out yet

When will the mod come out to fix the expansion for high level play? :)

JustMyOpinion posted...

Shitposters like lesser vegy and kineth. Complain about them.

Who? (I have ignored quite a few people over the years)

Actually i lied: i bought The Witcher 3 this year

2017 has been a great year for gaming for me. I played hit after hit. (Side note: completely ignored AAA games this year).

So i need something to be salty about so i dont make others saltier as a result.

Thanks!

Anyone else?

He had an entourage with him. I didn't know that's a thing with writers O_o

Manga or anime?