The Coop

Hey all. Just swinging by to say that the bios for all the Darkstalkers characters are basically done, but I intend to go through and rewrite the first three (one of those things where as you did them, you got better at it by the second half). I contacted Linearity a few weeks ago and gave her the same basic status update, but I've been swamped with finals work and second to final projects. As such, I haven't gotten to go through them yet. But with this semester coming to a close soon, I'll be able to finish them up. Anyway, they're basically complete, they just need some cleaning up. And you won't believe how many games Morrigan's been in

In a game that's supposedly the Dreamcast's last hurrah in Japan, there's a boss that's a real fight. In Under Defeat, you fly a rather powerful helicopter against waves of enemies. Now, some enemies are a pain, others are easily blown to hell in half a second. The bosses, in the first four stages can be challenging at times, but it's the final boss (fittingly) that's a real beast to fight. It's a big, BIG tank-like tower of guns. Besides having to destroy a serious amount of firepower on the front side on this thing, there's the main tower itself. On one side of it, you have twin miniguns, twin cannons, and a searchlight that, if you get caught in it, will turn the whole screen white and blind you. The miniguns are self explanatory. The cannons fire exploding shots that send bullets in all directions. And of course, there's a central gun in the middle of all this, that fires it's own special brand of bullets... the kind that spreads out as it travels by firing to either side of it. Should you get past all of this, then the tower rotates, and brings forth the BIG gun. This gun, is a monster. It fires a single massive shell that detonates off screen. The shock wave from this shell slams your helicopter forward into anything in front of you, kicking up a huge dust cloud as it does so. When the shock wave ends, bullets come streaming in from the direction of the detonation, covering much of the screen. The tank has a single weak point, and it's placed in a somewhat cruel area. I won't say where, as I don't want to spoil the battle for anyone interested in playing it, but you'll understand what I mean when you fight this thing. It's a very cool and graphically impressive game, and it's a great way for the ol' DC to go out. But the final boss is a real challenge.

If its from some old game system like SNES, Genesis, NES, etc. You can reduce the color palette to 256 colors (or 16 depending on the system). Also, if its a size reduction, use nearest neighbor interpolation instead of bicubic or bilinear. Gifs only go up to 256 colors, and for something like re-sizing, I'd personally stay away from "Nearest Neighbor". My reasoning is, that while Bicubic and Bilinear may make an image or a sprite blurry, Nearest Neighbor actually throws out pixel data. This makes reconstruction a lot harder, because at least some (if not a lot) of what you're working on just essentially vanished. At least with Bilinear and Bicubic, you can go in, clean up the image and redraw areas with the pencil tool so they're clearer... and you'd have a fuzzy guide remaining for what and where things are.

If the sharpening tool doesn't do the job, you may simply have to go in and sharpen it yourself using the pencil tool so you can adjust it pixel by pixel.

You've never played Alien Hominid I take it? That would be the main character, holding his gun. Here's the image I shrunk down and cleaned up... a lot. And yes, this is official art. The game originally started out as a single level Flash game, but it was later made into a full blown game for consoles that retained it's Flash-based graphics... I added in the second antenna on the little guy. Accidentally forgot it the first time, so here's the slightly updated one... LT: No problem. As far as video games, never touch the stuff.

Any thoughts on my Alien Hominid avatar, LT? Good? Bad? Needs work? afk? LT: Seems set.

I made another one, just because I was playing it a couple days ago... LT: I can't even tell what it is, per se, but sure. Probably just because I've never played it. Some alien holding a...jar. Let's assume of olive oil. Is this even a ripped sprite in the first place?

Konami's evil. It was said a number of times in the past within the hallowed walls of this thread, but I'm being reminded of it again. Why? Because the final (?) form of Dracula in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness is just not fair. I've gotten to the point of actually taking no damage from his first form. I've had to replay this battle so many times, that it's gotten to that level. But as soon as I get warped away into the void and Dracula takes on that monstrous form, I just can't beat him. Long range attacks, up close and personal attacks... it'll like all the blocking that I learned how to do just became useless. Thanks to some of the battles that led up to this point (especially against a certain Belmont and Saint Germain), I had gotten pretty good at getting the perfect block so they get knocked back a bit (opening them up for a hammering). But this block seems like it does nothing to stop Dracula from pummeling you when he's up close. While I've gotten a bit better at dodging the long range beam and fireball shots, I'm just getting my ass kicked once he zooms in and starts swinging and leaving behind those damned blood trails. There's got to be something I'm missing. Most final forms have a pattern or set up that allows you to get in there and hit him repeatedly with at least some regularity, while also giving you the chance to get away afterwards. But in this game, I just can't seem find it.

I totally remember that fight, Coop. Did you ever beat her? I didn't, but then it wasn't my game, so I had limited time to try it out. I did, but it's the type of battle that luck needs to be on your side. Demona doesn't seem to have a pattern that I could make out as far as where she appears as she darts around, so I think you need a little good fortune to comer out on top. Granted, it'd been a while since I played, so I'm likely a bit rusty at this game, but I don't recall ever having an easy battle against her.

How many remember the cartoon "Gargoyles"? How many know that it spawned a video game on the Genesis? Well it did, and there's a final boss in it that's a pain. In the final level, you come up against Demona. However, this isn't a normal Demona... it's a super powered version thanks to the Eye of Odin. She really doesn't have that many attacks, but she's a hard little wench to hit. She's darting all around the screen in seemingly random paths, and while she's doing this, there are fire rocks hitting the platform that you need to stand on to hit her. This fire covers much of the platform when the rocks hit, and you have to dodge it. As you dodge it, Demona seems to have a nasty habit of streaking by and hitting you at that exact moment. The fun part of this, is that there are areas where, if you fall into them, you're dead right there. So besides Demona zipping around slashing at you, and fire rocks covering the one platform you can stand on, you have instant death waiting for you on both sides of that platform besides. This part wouldn't be that hard if it weren't for the fact that Demona's movements are damn fast. Your chances to hit her are limited thanks to her speed, and this makes all the swipings, fire and such result in a long, sometimes tedious, and frustrating battle.

OH! Ooooohhhhh... this is bad. Okay. So while I was at a local flea, I decided to pick up a copy of the original Darkstalkers game for the PS1. I'd heard various things about it, ranging from it being programmed by Psygnosis (published by Capcom), to it's being a better port of Darkstalkers than the Saturn version of Nightwarriors was of that arcade game. So, since it was damn near in mint condition, I figured what the hell and grabbed it for a whopping $7. Ho-ly shit. This game, is hard. I don't mean "you just have yet to learn the moves"-hard, I mean "GAH! MAKE IT STOP!"-hard. On one star, this game will kick your ass. On eight stars? Just give it up. The difficulty level of this game is ramped way up compared to Nightwarriors and Vampire Savior (Darkstlkers 3 for PS1 folk). I tried the game on four stars. After three hours, I got to Pyron, the final boss. I couldn't beat him. I honestly couldn't beat him. I'm rather good with Jon Talbain and Morrigan. I can beat both Saturn games quite handsomely on four stars of difficulty. But the PS1 Darkstalkers is just insane. Pyron moves so quickly from one attack to another, I was starting to think he was stopping one attack before it was actually over so he could do the next one. Jump in the air? Get knocked down. Stay on the ground? Get pummeled. It was a no-win situation. I don't know if the rumors regarding Psygnosis' programming the game are true, but whether they're responsible or not, the PS1 Darkstalkers game is a test of will and endurance... topped by an ego crippling encounter with the final boss. I think I'll go play Vampire savior on my Saturn on eight stars of difficulty. It's easier

Fare thee well, VGF. May Flock of Seagulls sing thee to thy rest.

Not yet apparently.

It's all an early April Fool's joke. He'll pop up in the chatroom, type in bold letters the word "GOTCHA!", and then split.

So much for a two hour show. After hanging around for the first hour and a half, I just checked and everyone's still there. GO TO BED PEOPLE!

Yeah, he really should. I sent him a small package too. Via email and PM. So hurry up, Mr. Oji! I tried to send it to him via E-mail, but I got an undeliverable error returned.

Send it over, so I can check it out. Check your PMs Larry.

Hey Larry, any chance of squeezing in a final remix from me? Something brand new with an appropriately fitting title for the final VGF?

... Sorry.

- Cakewalk Music Creator 2002 - Whatever free MP3 maker I can find (Audacity/CDex) - My imagination That's all I have, and none of it's warez

LT: Good job on the Quake logos, Matt, and what I guess is a bomb icon from Serious Sam. How am I supposed to use the DarkStalkers ones if they're one big image? Most of them, you can't even tell what they are, so they're no good. But can I get the OLD Frankenstein and the NEW Anakaris out of that group? EDIT: Made a few updates to the three Quake Avatars so that they were a bit clearer (especially the Quake 3 one, which also needed to be centered), and the Serious Sam logo. Not sure if the SS logo is clear enough yet though. Also took out the two Darkstalkers ones you mentioned Larry... LT: Any possibility to make the Quake ones 32x32 rather than 31x32? Not a big deal if you're like "fuck it", as they're within the size limit anyway, but lemme know. The rest are bueno. Thanks a lot, bro. Edit 2: Made the Quake and Quake 3 avatars 32x32. LT: U a hero!

Wow. This game's final bosses are a pain. I've been playing Shining the Holy Ark again for a while now, and I finally reached the end. It's been a few years since I last played and won, and I'd forgotten how this final section is a bitch. It's one of those endings were you don't fight a boss, but rather two bosses... one of whom has helpers. First, you fight Rilix who summons a pair of very large armored Evil Vampires to her side. Besides her pounding on you with top level Freeze spells and various attacks like Poison Claw and such, you also have to contend with her large helpers... who have all sorts of attacks and magic of their own. Once (if?) you manage to make it through all this, you win right? Wrong. I won't say who or what is the final boss (I won't ruin the fun), or even what you have to beat on the thing. But know that it's big, powerful, and not only does it do plenty of damage with it's attacks, it has one spell that can bring the game to a fast end... Soul Steal. If it hits, that character dies right on the spot. So you go from being pummeled by three different powerful monsters, to being killed instantly by one. Granted, there are spells and such that can bring characters back to life, but magic points run out, and so do items. Having tried several times to win, I think I'll be doing some leveling up before I try again. Edit: Damned spelling again...

I'm currently stuck in Burnout 3: Take Down. Now while it's true that there are no "bosses" persé, there is a final race... or at least, a second to final race. I have everything done but two events in the USA section. I've unlocked most of the cars, earned all the money-based ones from the crash events, and overall, I've done well in the game. But this final part is just... almost cheating. The second to last event is Grand Prix race of four tracks in a row, and holy hell is it hard. You're stuck with the Formula 1 car, which is quite fast. Sadly, it's also extremely squirrelly in the rear, and it steers like a brick once you get going. It's so light, that as you gain speed, you're almost floating just off the ground, making maneuvering a real pain. No only that, but the course is littered with traffic (moreso than usual), and the other cars seem to have this uncanny ability to stick to the road like they have super glue on their tires... despite having the same type of car you do. It's the type of thing that makes racing games feel cheap, and it's a shame this game resorts to this kind of bullshittery right at the end of an otherwise great and very fun game. I've been trying to beat this damned race for a week now, and the best I've done is fourth place over all. I'm almost scared to see what the final event will be, if this is what they're throwing at me right before it.

Last weekend, I got in the mood the play through Clive Barker's Undying again. It'd been a while, so I figured what the hell. I played through and made good progress, making it to the final boss of the game without any real trouble from the other bosses. And that's when I was reminded of what a pain in the ass the game's final boss was. I won't say it's name, as that would wreck some of the surprise. However, it's big, it's worm-like, and it has a weak point that I still don't know exactly where it is. Besides having very large tentacles in the water that can swat you dead in two hits, you have to blow off a few things from it's body. This part's very easy, as it only takes a few blasts of dynamite. However, what follows is both simple, and seemingly impossible. Now it's gut opens up and tries to suck you in. A quick shot from the gun and that's done. Then it leans down, and... something opens on it's head. Here's the hard part. You're supposed to hit it somewhere, but I've never figured out where though. So while you're trying to hit that mysterious weak point, you've still got tentacles trying to swat you, and the gut that tries to suck you in if you don't hit the weak point after a certain amount of time. Now, I've beaten the boss, and I've seen the ending. But, I still have no clue where it's weak point is. As such, it turns into an endurance test to see how long you can go before you either win, or run out of health and healing items. So much of it's easy, but it's that last bit of info that winds up making it tough. Something tells me though, if I ever do learn where that spot is, it'll be like the final boss in [i}Quake where it becomes so easy to win, it's sad

I've mentioned a few bosses from the Serious Sam series of games, but I have a new one that I think deserves mentioning. At the end of Serious Sam 2, you go through the usual deal... namely, massive numbers of enemies that just keep coming in never ending, mind numbingly numerous waves. If you get through all that, you fight the final boss. Basically, it's a really big pyramid called the Mental institution building. There's one weak spot, and it slowly rolls forward. Yes, it can crush you, and yes the weak spot comes and goes. So what does this final boss do? Well, it's protected by various suicide planes, fighter planes and bombers that drop bombs (duh). These all come out in good sized squadrons that will keep you blasting away in hopes of keeping them from turning you into a bloody stain on the grass. But, the building also attacks, with nifty little cannon balls, fireballs and such. What attacks you, depends on how much health the building has left, and it does get harder as you go along. It's beatable, but it took quite a few tries before a found a "safe spot" that enabled me to get through the beginning parts without too much damage. Granted, I think that safe spot is a glitch and not an intentional place to hide, but it works. Definitely a tough boss. Edit: Caught a few typos.