Kenogu Labz

I thought Chain of Memories was fun... never got around to beating it, though. Once I got my head wrapped around the control system, it was a blast. It's the only one I've played from the series, though, so I also played entirely out of any form of context, which also led to confusion with a lot of the terms used, hehe.

Hehehe, that mining shaft is a lot more messed up than the one I found. This one looks like they found some funky anti-gravity stuff. Crysis, anyone?

You'd probably need to modify the launcher if it's setting its own parameters internally. Not sure if this is true or not, but I'm pretty sure the launcher is overriding the default Java settings with its own 'expanded' memory, which Notch and co. have determined to be 'sufficient' on most systems. Just a personal guess, could be completely off-base though.

I don't remember exaclty what, but MMBN4 just really felt unpolished. The samples they used in that soundtrack just didn't seem to fit; too gritty, I suppose, and not quite in tune all the time. I don't remember the details of that one, but I just remember it being not quite as solid. I think it might have also had to do with the Net zone designs.

Seconding the MMBN games. Story may be a weakpoint, but boy are they fun. The combat system is basically all about fast-paced action and thinking on your feet, along with classic Megaman know-your-enemy tactics. The random encounters might be a bit of a turn-off thanks to their frequency, but that's the worst I can think of. Each new installment also changes up how various aspects are managed. MMBN 3 and 6, iirc, both have 'mod systems' that boost stats or give special perks by fitting shapes onto a grid. You can spend hours trying to arrange the grid to get the perks you need; surprisingly addictive, in its own way. MMBN 5 is also notable in that it plays out various missions as a sort of metagame, in which you control a set of units to take out the opponent within a minimal number of turns. It adds another fascinating layer that I thought worked out pretty well. Anyway, enough ranting from me. Lots of good memories from that series.

Hollywood Brass? Sooo jealous. This is gonna be fantastic.

A useful skill you'll need to learn is the separation of the abstractions of the game from the programming language. In other words, it shouldn't matter here whether you're using Python, C#, Ruby, or any other language. The language is a vehicle to accomplish your goal (from a broad perspective, anyway. If you choose to program it in Scheme, that's a different issue altogether, hahah). From what I've seen of Python, you should be able to represent the camera as an object-type (or class). The camera would store, for example, the coordinates of the top-left view corner that would be presented to the player. In your game's logic loop, when drawing the graphics, you would then ask the current camera object where the corner is, and based on that, you would know where to draw the other entities in the level. If you're having a hard time understanding how an object-oriented system would work, I'd strongly advise picking up some books or, if possible, taking a course or two in basic programming. Even online tutorials can help you with those concepts. Trying to make any program - let alone a game - without understanding how to use the program structures available to you would just be fruitless and frustrating to you very quickly. Also make sure you know what Pygame does and doesn't do for you; you might need to build other supplementary structure that interfaces with Pygame to suit your game's system. Aaaaand sorry for the heavy jargon. D:

Quite honestly, though, getting frustrated and not playing on a server because the players are good won't get you anywhere. If you're not challenged to play better, you simply won't get better. People who play in pub servers all the time may feel like they're good players, but only because they've learned how to beat minimal first-order tactics. As soon as they jump into a server with 'pro' players, they get their butt kicked. I've found pushing myself to play on the OCR server to really help my skill-level, limited though it may be. And, although I feel like punching my fist through the monitor on some nights, it's a total blast on others. Let playing with expert players be a motivating and learning factor, not a reason to quit.

You can't download it from Ubiktune; you can only listen. Loved what I heard, may just pick this up!

Heh, thanks for the slot! I'll be sure to put it to good use. I'll try and send in a donation to pick up the slack. JGShogun's been out a computer for the last few weeks, but his new one's coming in soon, and he'll be back in action within a couple weeks. I'll be sure to let him know about it.

Howdy, all! I'm currently trying to work on a chiptune suite, with the central theme being our humble set of local planets. I haven't exactly made it far through the list, but I'd like to at least get some opinions, suggestions and criticisms before I keep plunging forward. Specifically, it'd be helpful to know: Thoughts on the sample sets: irritating? Not broad enough? Needs more bass? More mids? I have two in use so far, but I'm planning on writing at least one on emulated NES chip, and I'm hoping to play around with another chip as well; perhaps the Genesis, if I start learning about FM synthesis. Mastering: does everything sound at least fairly balanced? Highs too piercing? Structure: Does the pacing feel too rushed? This is a bit tricky right now, given I only have two songs I've considered 'completed', but getting feedback on those would be helpful. And here is the current tracklist (as of August 2011): Mercurial Commodore (Complete, unpolished) This uses a sample set somewhat akin to the Commodore 64. I've toyed around with this several times; the original was far too straightforward, and was basically the same line repeated twice. I've attempted to fix that by culling out multiple parts in the first half. I don't know where the swing-beat came from, though. Venusian Wrath (Complete, unpolished) This is the same sample set as used in Mercurial Commodore, but is more fast-paced and action-oriented. It's also been the more mutable of the two; I keep tweaking this one in odd ways, trying to make everything blend better, or lengthening it slightly. Terrestrial Bondage (Incomplete) This one diverges from the C64 sample set, instead using only lo-fi samples to create more of a late tracker-era chiptune. I've gotten only as far as heard here, and am currently completely stuck past that point. I've got a line in my head, buuut I'm having a rough time when it comes to transcribing it. Ahh, cruel muse. Martian Mischief (Incomplete) Back to the C64 samples; I really need to use these less. Anyway, this one came about more by fiddling around than anything; I was trying to aim for a song with only swung rhythm, but here, too, it feels like it's rambling, without any sense of direction. May scrap and start anew, may not. Sound like it could go somewhere? That's what I've got so far. Your critique's much appreciated, if you have any to spare!

Well, if Jonne Valtonen did the arrangement, that doesn't surprise me. He seems unwilling to use it fully, if only because 'it's been done before', and it's relatively tough to rearrange that song in orchestral form. Though he did a hilarious job of teasing the fans in the Symphonic Fantasies Final Fantasy arrangements.

Picked this up during the sale. You were right on the money, DarkeSword; this was done just right. It also seems to have a bit of a smoother learning curve than their other games, which is a big help. Thanks for the recommendation!

...Except Chrono Cross was really a good game in terms of choice; generally, you're not crippled by character choice. And it didn't change much at all in terms of story impact -- unlike, say, a Bioware game. Though there is a bit of frustration, for sure. Can't say I've played any games from Obsidian, though. Sounds like I'm not necessarily missing out on much, but I'm with the 'let 'em try' crowd. If they can be pressured to take their time, they'll reap the benefits in the end. Somehow, though, this sounds rather far-fetched to me. I don't see that piece of IP being handed over that carelessly.

Man, the Distant Worlds arrangements are quite excellent, but hearing them in concert and meeting the composer himself would be that much more awesome.

Indeed! That would be fantastic to get an official release in the US, given they keep the spirit of the original in story and system. ...Good luck with that, though. They wouldn't turn enough profit from it; unless, perhaps, they decided to stick with polished 2-d graphics. But then they'd lose profit from all the graphics junkies that wouldn't even give it a second-glance... preeeetty much a lose-lose situation all around.

A bunch of people here are playing it.

, from Chrono Cross. And that's not the only one on the soundtrack. I have yet to hear another game that uses synths that well. Not completely convincing, but certainly excellent. Just catch those frets.

Ah, bummer. Oh well, I'm guessing they'll return votes for that category.

'Ballerina Spy' for Best Costume, iirc. And 'kiss me' for Most Dramatic. Silly, but certainly fit the category. :3

Mousewheel's borked anyway. Numbers more accurate. Enough pithy back-and-forth bickering, though. It's being fixed anyway; thanks Powerlord!

The problem is that, even though it doesn't cover the 1-3 buttons any more, it still blocked access to them while the chooser was up, making the change moot. :/

Whaaaaaaaat on earth. Just heard 'Ghost of Rattman'. How bizarre can you get. I mean, a bit fitting I suppose, but weeeeeeird.

It's tough to find many on this site that long, due to the filesize restriction. You may have a bit more luck looking at Dwelling of Duels entries and the like. My knowledge of all the ReMixes isn't thorough, though. There may very well be one that fits your qualifications.