Official Off-Topic Thread

[Conzeit]

cool, I DID miss your flashback playthru...and yea the link doesnt work

[Helm]

Fixed link, thanks.

[Scribblette]

Waagh, my knee! The pain - the pain!! It's all weird and non-specific but in one particular place all at the same time. It's almost the kind of pain that makes you laugh. Anyone know that?

House hunting for rentals today - to see ONE open inspection in Melbourne, it took me six hours of public transport. Missus has the car outta town.

I had it all planned out and then the first bus arrived early. Extra early, even - I'd set my mobile ahead to be safe. Throw in the next bus being a bit late, a super busy highway with no crossings dividing me from my target and an inspection window shortened to ten minutes and I was running around in black dress shoes and a brand new suit. Knee suddenly went clicky - like when the missus sat on it and it bent the wrong way. I got there on time, but we're unlikely to get it anyway. Bah!

Missed my original bus back, then sat at the wrong platform at the train station, then the train home had to stop half way, connecting buses didn't show up, then I got sent back to the train for another two stops after which the bus home wouldn't let me in because he was convinced I wanted the OTHER bus that would require yet more walking on a very sore knee. And I helped a friend miss their flight because I didn't correct them on the time difference... d-oh!

I would've loved to have spent all that time pixelling!

If any of you are fabulously wealthy landowners looking to rent out in eastern Melbourne, I'd love to know.  

[Mathias]

Scribb, you suck at life! j/k You sound almost as scattered as me. One of those days when yer better off staying put, I've had them. I'd help out . . . but I'm on a slightly different continent. Coincidentally, I'm also moving. Waiting to sell, though; not looking yet. Better get that knee checked, what if it's the cartlidge kneecap. I understand damage to that area can be permanent and debilitating.

The Flashback videos are amazing. I got all the way through Out of This World, I recall the end cutscene riding a pterodactyl into the sunset or something like that. Apparently, the main guy behind it is doing a game for the Wii. Probably nothing like it.

[Scribblette]

Whoops, I missed what Helm was on about there. It was followed by 'Fade to Black', wasn't it?

This is great, I can just watch the entire game through I loved it but didn't have the patience for it back then.

What's the music you were playing, Helm?

Tangent - that youtube video is pretty impressive, too (the one Taka.M linked above).

[Helm]

what youtube video

The music is Loscil, Biosphere, Maitreya.

[Zoggles]

Awesome play-through Helm hehe you make it look *so* much easier than I ever remember it being. Then again.. I don't think I ever realised about the animation invincibility frames back then.

Great commentary too an interesting read - though in many places required constant pausing to make sure to read both it and any onscreen dialogue etc. Watching the playthrough again, that last New Washington work mission just seems so bizarre.. I mean woot.. we have a faulty board in the main electric power supply for the city..and going in to replace it will trigger a 90second self detonation sequence..  anyone with a work permit who wants the job can have it.. no extra credentials required.. the power for the city rests in your hands stranger.. good luck and p.s. please don't fail or we'll all be buggered.

I remembered the Death Tower stuff very clearly. That (at the time) seemed to be a pretty sudden 'difficulty' jump but also remember the lovely street scene and getting the taxi. Oddly however, I couldn't remember the last level(s) at all - though the ending I could recall. Whenever I have flashback of Flashback though it is always of the first zone. Beautiful art, excellent control of level design, good use of puzzles, and very nicely allows you to experiment and familiarise yourself with the controls and mechanics.

Anyway.. a nice trip down memory lane that I probably wouldn't have had without your uploads. I will at some point find the time to give the game another play - and will pay attention to the invicibility moments

Thanks for sharing that.

-Z-

[Helm]

I've very glad you got something out of them, Zoggles
Death Tower is an up in difficulty I guess... up to there most fights could be buttonmashed more or less and then you could recharge your health whenever. But I've gotten so good in the game over the years I don't notice it anymore. I do still have some trouble in the alienworld stages even to this day, though.

I think Flashback is very emblematic of what I call 'Amiga design', though not so much in the negatives as usual. What I mean is that the game starts strong and has amazing technical features for its time (like Shadow of the Beast and its rolling plains for example) but it suffers from inconsistent design from there and on. Flashback is still pretty remarkably playable as compared to other Amiga standout games though, and I suspect that is because it was designed to be played on a console. But it's still pretty esoteric in this mechanics and it does meander as it goes on a bit (last 3 stages).

Yeah the timed 'plz fx our reaktorz, kthanx' mission is supremely nonsensical, heh

[Scribblette]

Edited post above to clarify - youtube video was linked in .TakaM just before your link, Helm.

I'm loving the commentary you included on the game, Helm. Think you'll do anything else like that?

[.TakaM]

Today some jerk cut me off, I honked my horn at him so he decided to follow me home.
I wasn't having a great day so when I pulled up my driveway and saw he was coming up too, I slammed on the brakes, got out and started walking to his car.

Not sure how I was gonna get it done, but my general goal was to punch him in the face. But he reversed out and left before I got to his car.


And tonight I finally had enough of the noise my Wii has been making and opened it up to see what the problem was.
A tiny bit of metal was hitting the plastic part that holds the disc in place as it spins, applying a tiny bit of force made it spin silently again, so I tried to bend it back to a position that wouldn't interfere.
I barely bent it at all, mere fractions of a degree in fact, but now my Wii can only try and fail to spin a disc.




mmnnmbklelleghhhhh

edit-
I can get the discs to spin now...