Darklink42

I'd like to request a new sig. The only idea I have right now is to have Dark Link and Link back to back, with some kind of cool background. I was thinking maybe a view of Hyrule Castle, but it doesn't have to be anything specific. Alternatively, if someone comes up with a cooler idea than that, which probably wouldn't be that hard, I'm down. I've had the one I've got up now since even before I joined up here. Long overdue for a change, I do believe.

Mine's also in my sig, but for posterity: http://darklink42.blogspot.com/ An ongoing collection of short stories that I've been writing.

Worked out pretty well for me I think. It's actually my album from 1998, following in the vein of Sugar Ray and Smash Mouth.

So, small update. Had a guy look at it, he told me that the sheer age of the hard drive is probably what killed it. The magnet in the hard drive came loose, which is apparent by the fact that the hard drive rattles when you move it. I checked out that link to the newegg product, but just to make sure I wanted to know if it would be compatible. Here's the info on the hard drive: http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/menuitem.ef1eac5265e3375befca8644eac4f0a0/ I found that by typing in the model number on disk, so it should be the right one.

Well that's better news than having to get a brand new one. I'll give it a try and see what happens. Update you when that happens. Thanks for all the help so far guys.

We'll see where I'm at, but I'd like to go to this one since I can get there on my own this time around. Just put me down as interested for now.

Here's what I've got so far: -The only thing I can get it to do upon turning on, other than going to setup, is to display a message after about seven seconds saying a disc read error occured, ctrl+alt+del to restart. This of course, only takes it back to that message again. -It is a Dell Inspiron 1000 (inherited from my grandma, so it's not top of the line by any means.) Runs on Windows XP, has an Intel (probably celeron) -I don't know a lot about laptops, and only know enough to generally troubleshoot. All that I know right now is that there is a slight possibility it got fried either from my girlfriend spilling soda near it (I didn't see any soda actually touch it, but I also didn't clean up the mess either. It was also charging all night and in standby mode so the thought has occurred to me that the power might have surged or something. Any help or advice would be awesome, if you need more details just ask. Thanks in advance guys.

That was really awesome. I hope they do make more of those. I liked the way they chose to explain why some characters weren't returning, and Kirby as a Lecter type was an excellant choice. Also got me curious how they'll approach some of the other characters. "Say hello to your brother for me."

I'd like to point out that it's not quite as simple as a sprite rip. I made that ship from a combination of sprites. In fact, both of the tiles I've made have taken a couple of hours each. It's not as easy as it seems to shrink everything down and compose it in a manner that is fitting to the image I have in my head. Could I draw them out? Perhaps. I did the watery background behind the ship, and plan to do other things in my own style. But working with sprites is easier and also more evocative of the game in question. If people can do completely original work, then power to them. (Otaku's stuff looks amazing and you're no slouch yourself.)

But it is universally known to gamers to denote a Zelda game given it's primary status as the Triforce. Just have to wait and see I suppose.

My greatest nostalgia moment was playing through Contra 3 with my best friend. We were only 6 or 7 at the time, but we would constantly challenge ourselves to see how far we could get. Didn't know about the Konami code back then, so the farthest we ever got was those two hanging aliens. Used to scare the crap out of me, especially when the giant alien pops through the screen. There are others to, a couple of them spring to mind. The first time a game really scared me was Resident Evil. Stupid dogs busting through those windows. Swear to god I paused the game and rolled backwards so fast I had no idea why I was standing up. Similarly, Eternal Darkness on the Cube later got me so freaked out I jumped when the actual phone rang. I remeber Turok, and fighting that stupid T-rex. Wasn't scared of it, but for some reason I kept ass-walking backwards as I fought it, it was like actually having it in my face. Had to pause and scootch forward again and then proceed. I remember too the first time I beat Time Crisis 2 in the arcades. I suddenly knew what it felt like to beat an arcade game through sheer persistence and lots of quarters. I still can't figure out why people let arcades disappear. There is no console or PC game I've played that can match that level of satisfaction. And lastly, I remember the first time I played a Soul Calibur game on my own. I have never smashed a controller out of sheer unadultered rage before or since SC3. I don't think I've ver been that pissed about anything in my life. It was the only time I've ever quit playing a game. My thick-headed determination usually has me pressing on until I win, but there was no winning that game and in the end my PS2 controller gave up its life by being brutally smashed to pieces on the carpet padded concrete of my room.

Double post, but here's the completed tile for Pearlsong by The Wingless. Hope he approves. Edit: Now with more readable numbers.

Wow, this thing sure seemed to die in a hurry. I'm working right now on one for Pearlsong, and will shortly be putting one together for Braving Tal Tal Heights probably tomorrow. If I don't finish the first one tonight, I'll put up the background I've got so far. Edit: Here's the background, as promised. I want to put the ship and maybe some eels int he background, but it's a little tougher than I thought it was going to be. Should get it soon though.

Oh shi- I have that one, or most of it anyways. Got it from my step dad a long time ago. Unfortunately, he was a fan of gluing pieces together so some of them got broken and the body of the ship is entirely one piece.

I'm getting glitches all over the place too. I enter stuff, go to press the button, and I'm logged out with no trace of registering. What's up with that? Edit: It's Firefox 3. I got it to work on IE just fine as well.

I was thinking the same thing as what's already been said when I read the title. It depends on the kinds of things you're looking to use the handheld for. I have both a DS and a PSP, but I end up playing the DS a lot more. The DS has a decent stable of games when you're looking for variety and solo play. It's really a pain in the ass with most games though to get multi-player up. A lot of friend codes and other stuff serve as more frustrating than user friendly. It's also, as has been mentioned, got the entire GBA lineup behind it which is great if you've been playing GBA games before buying. In my opinion, the DS has a far superior battery life as well, and can be charged pretty quickly. On the other hand, the PSP is pretty fun too. It's got a much more mature lineup of games, and while smaller in number, just as viable as anything the DS has. The downside is twofold. The first is that they come on bulkier disks (UMDs). Easier to find if you lose one, pain in the ass when you're trying to pack them up for a long trip. They also run the risk of getting scratched, which has never happened to me, but has happened to others I've known. The other downside being there aren't a great number of new games coming out for it. You won't have to sort through a ton of shovel-ware to find them, but you are going to have to wait awhile to get them. I haven't really wanted to buy a new game for PSP since God of War, and looking back, the only game I've wanted prior that I don't have is Crisis Core. But it does have an adjustable lighting feature which is great, the sound is spectacular, and being able to hunt down other people's wireless and tap it to check up on the forums no matter where you are is more fun than it should be given that it's probably not legal. Some people complain about the little nib that calls itself a analog stick, I've never had a problem with it. It's the square button that can get a bit sticky. Still, not a deal breaker, at least for me. Those are my opinions though, and you're certainly entitled to pick as you will. Either one is a fair choice, depending on what you want out of your handheld and what kind of games you're in to. Enjoy either one. (If you do go the PSP route, try Mega Man Powered Up. My favorite game for that system, hands down.)

A Particular Request This is the first short story I came up with. Hope you guys like it. Edit: As I said before, I really liked RD's idea of writing at least one short story a week. And yes, I even copied the blog location. Not out of unoriginality, but rather because I used to use that site and really like the minimalist layout. Nothing other than the story and it's comments. The link is here: http://darklink42.blogspot.com More to come as I clean out some of my old folders.

I actually want to give this a try as well. Can't say that I have any experience, but if I can help out, I figure I'll try.

I think I might copy your idea, RD. This has already gotten me started on a couple of cool ideas, and I think with a healthy deadline, I might actually be able to get back into the swing of things again. Kudos to the both of you.

You'd think they'd have learned from the N-gage. It's also damn limiting to those of us that didn't run out to buy the new ipod (like myself). I like the one I have now just fine, so I guess this news doesn't affect me either way. Still, kind of a bummer. I'd have liked to play a new MGS.

I'm down for some short story writing as well. It'll be a breath of fresh air after working on just one character for four months.

My best is 53 seconds and some change.

Best record so far for me was 192 red things and 8 bags. Got the one at the beginning not by taking the loop system but by lucky jumping accident(Edit: actually, I figured it out. You hold the jump button as you climb to get more air). I too can't seem to get the appropriate angle for the jump. That's where the final red things are all at I think. As for the last bag, it's under the final red crane, but in a little alcove that I have no idea how to reach. Any ideas?

I think he might have been shooting for aplomb, but that's just a guess.

How about this one for Cryptic Marble? I wanted to do more or a bigger picture, but I think this one turned out pretty good. Now with readable numbers.