Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
So does that mean you would be doing Autopia and the train stage several times? I really don't think that's a good idea: this game has been criticized heavily for being boring as is, and repeating some of the more boring stages just to collect stars wouldn't help that at all.
If you want to have a shot at your movie being published on the site, I'd say just stick to the any% and create a well optimized run. I can already tell you now that a 100% following your (somewhat arbitrary) definition will have a very low chance of being published. And I don't mean to sound harsh, I'm just being realistic here.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
AngerFist wrote:
There was/is a reason why we couldn't instantly switch weapons.
I don't think there was any other reason beyond that they just didn't think of it or that they thought it didn't add enough functionality to warrant a clumsy controller scheme. I'm absolutely sure if the original creators of the NES Mega Man games were to remake the games for a newer system they would add quick weapon switching. For MM9 they decided to honor the old games and not add it but thankfully they realized their mistake by the time they were making MM10.
And dishonoring the structure and spirit of the game? You wouldn't call the glitched MM1 and MM2 runs dishonoring the structure and spirit of the games? Yet we still enjoy them immensely. Fan modifications and improvements definitely do not dishonor the games they are made for. Many old games would be almost unplayable on current computers if it wasn't for active fansites that release mods and fixes for them. Try playing Planescape: Torment or Baldur's Gate 2 without any mods and you'll see.
I'm not saying that runs with quick weapon switching should replace the original runs if quick weapon switching became available, but in the case of MM6 for example it would just make the game much more fluent and pleasant to watch and add so much to the entertainment value that it would warrant a run of its own.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Even though this run is clearly very unoptimized, I really enjoyed it thanks to the instant weapon switching. If someone could hack that into the NES games I would be so happy. I think someone here started doing that but never finished.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Kyrsimys on the first page wrote:
I'm expecting to see some Megaman and Castlevania tunes at the top of the list (Megaman 3 intro or Megaman 2 1st Dr Wily stage anyone?).
Called it.
Juef, there seems to be something weird going on with the complete listing of tracks. 115-106 on the complete list are 105-96 on the original list and so on.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Apparently the rating system is still in place. Not that rating songs has any relevance to the results at this point but it's actually a lot of fun. The system is really well made.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Loving the list so far. There are two tracks on the list, however, that I think are there just because they are from popular games: Brinstar from Metroid and the Overworld theme from The Adventure of Link. They would definitely not be in my top 100 or even 200 list. Anyone else with me?
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
This is amazing! Easily deserves a star. And using the J version was the right call. There is no gameplay-related text in this game anyway, and why would anyone care about the story-advancing text in a TAS? I feel genuinely sorry for anyone who watches the TAS before playing the game themselves.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Thanks for sharing, I will also be following this. I'm expecting to see some Megaman and Castlevania tunes at the top of the list (Megaman 3 intro or Megaman 2 1st Dr Wily stage anyone?). Also hoping to see some of these lesser known tracks on the list.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
I'm reviving this thread to urge everyone to play Batman: Arkham City. It is AWESOME. Easily even better than the first game. The fights are harder, the plot more interesting, the enemies more diverse, the play area a LOT bigger and more exciting and there is a lot more stuff to do including collectibles, sidequests and challenge modes. Simply put you all just need to play it.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
IronSlayer wrote:
Kyrsimys wrote:
Stuff about the definition of science fiction
Well, ultimately, you can define sci-fi however you like. However, under the definition you cited by Suvin "and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author's empirical environment., we are left with the conclusion that the genres of alternative history and even plain old historical fiction are really sci-fi!
I believe alternate history is indeed often considered a sub-genre of science fiction. As for historical fiction, I don't really see what would make it science fiction if the story and historical facts are based on reality. The setting isn't imaginative or alternative if such a setting has actually existed. I'm pretty sure that's what Suvin meant, anyway.
A further problem is that it doesn't make much distinction between fantasy and science fiction. I know you mentioned something about fantasy not being possible in reality as the distinguishing trait, but it's not contained in Suvin's definition.
I think the part about cognition is supposed to sort of take that into account. He changed his definition in 1979 to "SF is distinguished by the narrative dominance or hegemony of a fictional "novum" validated by cognitive logic." In this definition the cognitive and logical aspects have been highlighted to distinguish sci-fi from fantasy. But as I said, these definitions have their flaws and according to Swirski no watertight definition has yet been established.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
IronSlayer wrote:
"Brave New World" has a few quasi sci-fi elements but they are mostly irrelevant/tangential to the main point of the work. But "1984" is a science fiction work? Really? Name me a single element of that work that remotely deals with science anything?
Actually, dealing with science isn't what makes a novel science fiction. Darko Suvin, who spent most of the 70s trying to define science fiction came up with this definition in 1972 (before he came up with his famous concept of the novum): "science fiction - a literary genre whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author's empirical environment." Simplifying a bit, he means that anything that takes place in a setting that's different from what we know or new to us, but is still plausible and could exist in a logical universe that obeys the same rules as ours can be regarded as science fiction. It's not a perfect definition and it's a bit outdated (for example Swirski has pointed out that this would make H.G. Wells' The Time Machiine fantasy instead of science fiction because of the proven impossibility of time travel) but I think it's a defintion that most scholars and non-scholars accept. Many other definitions of science fiction also don't make direct references to science.
That being said, at least one scientific invetion in 1984 comes to mind, namely the TVs that everyone had in their homes. It's been over ten years since I've read the book but I seem to remember that the TV was compulsory for everyone, and it acted as a receiver as well as a transmitter that could pick up everything that went on in the house (or room?). It was used by the thought police to monitor everyone around the clock.
Kyrsimys wrote:
Virtually no modern science fiction novel resembles "Fahrenheit 451" to any appreciable capacity
Is this another oversimplification?
No, why would it be? If you disagree, tell me some works that you felt have been influenced by Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451"?
I don't disagree per se. What I mean by oversimplification is that Fahrenheit 451 is such a classic that its effect on literature has been much more fundamental than just inspiring similar novels. All modern novels (and comics, movies etc.) dealing with censorship and especially self-censorship, the degeneration of the human race because of media and television and modern society repeating its mistakes owe Fahrenheit 451 a great deal. Books like Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 have become important symbols even in mainstream societal discussion and have even influenced people who haven't read the books. What I'm trying to get at is that the books have shaped the world in which later sci-fi novels were written. That being said I'm sure there are modern books like F451 out there (just based on the sheer number of books published each year) but no, I haven't read any that could directly be likened to F451.
IronSlayer wrote:
Stuff about Dune
I see your point, especially the part about whole planets and factions being involved. I haven't read enough sci-fi to be able to confirm or refute what you're saying, so I'll take your word for it. Thanks for the explanation.
Personally I have never been at all interested in sci-fi that isn't connected to our contemporary society. For me the allure of sci-fi has always been the "this could actually happen" factor and the investigation of consequences of things that aren't even that implausible. That's what makes it science fiction for me, not the setting or the science.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
IronSlayer wrote:
Well, neither "1984" nor "Brave New World" is science fiction, especially the former.
If you seriously think this then you are using some very non-standard definition of science fiction. Both books are clearly science fiction according to almost any widely accepted definition (although science fiction is hard to define). Peter Swirski, who is a prominent figure in sci-fi literature research, has used both of these books as examples of dystopian science fiction in his lectures.
Virtually no modern science fiction novel resembles "Fahrenheit 451" to any appreciable capacity
Is this another oversimplification?
But a massive number of modern sci-fi works I've read have a very clear link to "Dune".
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
I think a more important question is "what do you consider modern science fiction". Between Frankenstein and Dune classics such as War of the Worlds, Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and Asimov's Foundation trilogy had already been published and the whole Golden age of science fiction took place before Dune came out, so I'm not exactly sure what genre IronSlayer is referring to here.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Geez IronSlayer, take a chill pill. Warp was just stating his opinions and offering one viewpoint, you don't need to attack him like a rabid dog.
Personally I think it's hard to deny that some movies/other things are more vehemently opposed because of their fans (Justin Bieber for example). No one is saying that this goes for every movie with a fanbase consisting of annoying screaming teen girls, but this phenomenon certainly exists.
I can definitely agree with Warp about the hype thing. Having watched the newer Terminator movies, for example, I felt that they might have been decent action movies but definitely not worthy of the Terminator name. This sort of left a bad taste in my mouth that wouldn't have been there if the original two movies hadn't been so awesome. I think it's often these sorts of feelings that lead to people labelling a bad sequel as "the worst movie ever", even though it's probably not.
I contend there are plenty of movies which can not be picked apart. I've even seen some films that are "perfect"; they have no intrinsic flaws.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Warp wrote:
Kyrsimys wrote:
I mean let's say I don't get insurance for my car and then I crash it. Since I didn't get insurance, I need to pay for a new car myself, right? So why shouldn't the same logic apply to health insurance?
Because human life is significantly more important than a car. It's the duty of the entire community to take care of each individual. This basic right should not be tied to how much money you own.
Of course it shouldn't be tied to how much money you own, no one has said anything like that. I'm talking about people who by choice decide not to get insurance just because they don't want to pay. I am strongly of the opinion that every human being is responsible for their own actions. People who decide not to chip in for the common good give up their right to that good. Similarly, I don't feel it's my duty to take care of people who commit crimes against the community.
In short, I refuse to accept that it is my duty to take care of people who have not and would not take care of me.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
That's all beside my point. I'm not trying to argue over which system is the better one. All I'm saying is I don't see what's so wrong (or scary as you put it) with Paul's answer (or the reaction of the crowd) in the video clip.
I mean let's say I don't get insurance for my car and then I crash it. Since I didn't get insurance, I need to pay for a new car myself, right? So why shouldn't the same logic apply to health insurance?
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Warp wrote:
Kyrsimys wrote:
So do you think that an adult who knows the risks and voluntarily decides to not get insurance because he doesn't want to pay the fees should then be treated on someone else's dime? That just doesn't make sense to me at all. He could've chosen differently, but he decided to take a risk. He should, therefore, be the one who faces the consequences if that risk doesn't pay off.
Well, that's how it works here (and in the majority of Europe, really). It's probable that you, living also here, have taken advantage of this (especially in your childhood).
I don't think you quite understood my point. The situation I described and the situation in e.g. Finland are not similar in principle. Taxes are not voluntary. Even if you live only on benefits you still pay taxes. You cannot simply choose not to pay taxes. Children, of course, don't pay taxes but that's beside the point. The point is, what if taxes were voluntary? Would a system where paying taxes is optional but everyone is still entitled to the same benefits work? This is basically the kind of system described in the interview. I have a very hard time believing such a system would work anywhere for very long.
So do you think that an adult who knows the risks and voluntarily decides to not get insurance because he doesn't want to pay the fees should then be treated on someone else's dime? That just doesn't make sense to me at all. He could've chosen differently, but he decided to take a risk. He should, therefore, be the one who faces the consequences if that risk doesn't pay off.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
I'm sorry but that looks really clumsy and boring. The character's turning and movement speed alone looks like it would make me crazy within 10 minuets of playing. Also it looks like most of the stuff could easily be done with the Wiimote.
