General Arcade & Retro Chat' Special Championship Edition

Jack burton

Totally missed out on the mega drive 2 mini release

Funny story today. I've been posting gaming setups to TikTok recently, kind of ASMR stuff wity cables etc.

For the first time in my life I chanced my arm at getting something free from a company in exchange for featuring them etc. I've gotten one million+ views on 2 videos and probably 5-6 million views in total. So I thought a well know retro game cable company would be more than willing to send me a few cables in exchange for a link and thanks etc.

Here's how the conversation went

Me:

"Hey guys, just wondering what's it like shipping from UK to Europe now? I'm living in Ireland and want to order a few cables.

I started uploading to TikTok aswell and getting some good views so is it alright to use your cables? Or even tag you if you have a profile on there? Getting 1+ million views on some videos so might get ye a few orders. I've attached a few screenshots and a video to show you what I mean "

Them:

"Hi Ben

All things considered in the current climate things seem to be moving fine through the postal network, amazingly...

Best regards"

So I'd guess that's the start and end of me trying to get something for nothing for online clout

DaveyDave

Dusted off the Mega Drive Mini and was playing Probotector. Don't think I even heard of it, I'm terrible at it. Looked up the price, it's pricey alright!

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119802496#Comment_119802496

It's the european version of Contra: Hard Corp. IMO it's far and away the greatest contra game ever made but also probably the hardest with Shattered Soldier. Definitely one of the highlights of the megadrive library.

If there's an option to play the japanese version, that version lets you take 3 hits per life unlike the western version that kills in one hit.

DaveyDave

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119802636#Comment_119802636

Interesting! I was never a fan of the Contra series but I'll definitely give the Japanese version a go.

Retr0gamer

Anyone tried space harrier 2 on the mini 2? Apparently they bumped the frame rate up to 60 fps and added true scaling effects.

Mr.Saturn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119795533#Comment_119795533

Well, colour me shocked. CeX actually came through.

Thank you all for joining me on this journey. Now it can join its brothers and sisters in my backlog.

Quigs Snr

Two attempts in 2 months have been fruitless for me. And still showing in stock from the shop that cancelled last weeks attempt

Jack burton

New AVGN out. Have to hand it to the guy, like him or not, hes been consistently cranking out work for the bones of 20 years now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5zyhC11hzQ

I think hes receeding hairline adds to the character too now

Retr0gamer

I see a prototype rom of the tiger game.com version of symphony of the night got dumped.

CiDeRmAn

I disagree on the PS version of Doom, that was brilliant including the new soundtrack.

It was a massive title, the only disappointment was that Final Doom which came out a little later wasn't as well encumbered with levels.

Still great though

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821259#Comment_119821259

PS1 version of Doom was fine for the time. The framerate is pretty rotten and controlling with a controller never feels right. Great soundtrack but some of the levels had to be cut or modified and the additional PS1 levels to replace them are fairly crap. Probably the best console version of the game until the 360 version.

Doge

O1s1n might like this one.

Basically the closest thing to Akira in VR:

https://youtu.be/2fhsnfFz3bg

o1s1n

That looks really cool, added bonus of a CRT in the beginning! 😂

Have you given it a go? I really really want to get VR again, fell off my radar for a long time but I'm starting to come around to it again.

What are folks using kit wise these days? Is the Valve Index still the one to go for?

Doge

Haven't given it a go yet but at that price I'll give it a go tonight!

As a quest 2 owner I find the valve index is a bit pricey, totally depends on your budget.

And it's great to use the Quest 2 completely standalone (it's basically android in a VR headset) or wirelessly with a PC. So for showing mates quickly or cutting on the electricity bills standalone is very convenient. Also no sensors required is another huge plus.

The price went up by 100 euro though as they said on release that they were selling at a loss to entice people and grow the platform.

If you can wait a year, the quest 3 will probably be out in October or November all going well.

The only thing I wish was better was the field of view, it's not as wide as I would like.

Heres the trailer for Runner with Akira-esque goodness!

https://youtu.be/LbsrClFKYQs

Retr0gamer

Quest 2 also allows access to Resi 4 VR.

Inviere

I broke this video up into segments, and really enjoyed it. I knew nothing at all about the X-COM games beforehand...very very interesting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBu77h2FSCM

Tom Mann Centuria

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119832698#Comment_119832698

Rebelstar and Laser Squad are still my favourite games on the Spectrum. Rebelstar 2 has such a tight turn limit it's very hard. If you can find the original big box Chaos for the Spectrum it's probably worth a couple of hundred.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119832732#Comment_119832732

It's mad that Laser Squad 2 turned into X-COM through the push of Microprose....

Tom Mann Centuria

My 8-bit (well, just ZX Spectrum) Gollop Shrine.

Inviere

^^ Class. Cap doffed!

Tom Mann Centuria

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119832756#Comment_119832756

Haha, thanks. Need the big box Chaos and the expansion for Lords of Chaos then I'll be happy, and considerably poorer.

DaveyDave

Off topic after mentioning it the other week but I bit the bullet on a NAS. I filled the 2TB in my PC while waiting so I ordered a 12TB drive rather than using the 1.5TB I had laying around. I'll get a second drive for raid in the new year, important stuff is backed up to the PC anyway. Getting everything all at once would have cost a grand!

Really like Plex so far. Handy being able to track what episodes I'm watching and also organise movies into collections or tweak the sorting name for stuff. Surprised at how much metadata it has for obscure skate or mountain bike movies, very little I need to add.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119833256#Comment_119833256

Yeah I moved from Kodi to Emby (very similar to Plex) a few years back, it was a real step up in library management. Resuming playback in different rooms, sharing the library with family members (variable access etc), and so on....don't think I could go back at this stage.

The Last Bandit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119833256#Comment_119833256

Ya Plex is great bought the life time license a few years ago for it, used everyday in my house on a variety of devices. Plexamp is great too if you've a good collection of music ripped.

Colonel Panic

I use Plex because my smart TV has a decent Plex client.

Are you all running things with Docker or Kubernetes or installing everything directly onto a server?

I'm a bit boring on the NAS front, I use a Synology DS220+, but it's beefy enough to let me run the assorted services I need in containers to keep everything self-contained and portable.

DaveyDave

I'm also using a DS220+ but no docker or anything. Straight forward Plex install. I have a 2019 Samsung QLED which supports everything thrown at it, HEVC, HDR etc.

I'm still new to NAS so need to see what all the different things people use are. All I know is you can install something to see what people are searching for so you can add it later but I probably won't be sharing anything for now.

McDermotX

Aye. Nothing to extravagant compared to some setups, running a Plex server via a DS1815+ with about a 52TB usable volume space outside of the protection overhead. Picked up the lifetime license a number of years back and have found it's met all my needs and anyone or any device in the house. Got along fine with Kodi and such in the past, but feel the direct NAS Plex setup has been a very worthwhile project. Handles all my own personal stuff, rips from physical media etc......paired with a Shield primarily, all formats, HDR, DolbyVision etc not an issue, but works well across many other supported devices.

Mr.Saturn

Finally found a boxed revision-model 3DS XL for a semi-okay price (160) after a month of looking, 3DS stuff had hit the collector's bump quicker than I was expecting. Got a copy of Inazuma Eleven 3 for 40 and that's a really good price these days.

Shoutout to the guy trying to get 50 quid for a sealed copy of Yokai Watch — last time I checked, 50 quid should buy you roughly 50 sealed copies of Yokai Watch.

DaveyDave

A selection of Sega stuff from Game Over in Amsterdam, very close to Central station. Nice little shop, fair bit of loose Nintendo cartridges for handheld and console and decent PlayStation selection, small enough Xbox though. Prices were mental though, €42 for the boxed EU Dreamcast controller! Reviews mentioned they were fair prices but even knowing prices are crap these days I'm still surprised, a lot of good games are fairly normal value in the mix of absurd pricing.

They also had a selection of vinyl and CDs, mainly rock, hip hop and hardstyle/hardcore. The latter being a Dutch sub-genre of hard dance that I like, which was a pleasant surprise but nothing of interest. It was our last day and we were trying to kill time and in a tired and hungry state I forgot to buy Ridge Racer 2 on PSP for €10 and DiRT 3 on 360 for €12 :)

Doge

https://youtube.com/shorts/kTX6-WHgt58?feature=share

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