http://www.homestead.com/rhinoxsis/zfmegahappy.html

Silly Japanese people.

From Cube-Europe:

Quote:When Americans pre-order Rogue Squadron III they will receive a bonus disk featuring:

-Playable Rebel Strike demo
-Rebel Strike game trailer
-Gladius Cube playable demo
-Atari's Star Wars Arcade Game (circa 1982) fully playable on Nintendo GameCube

From The Onion:

Quote:HOLLYWOOD, CA—Focus groups at advance screenings for Gigli, a romantic comedy starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez set to open nationwide July 30, have demanded a new ending in which both stars die "in as brutal a manner as possible," sources at Sony Pictures said Tuesday.

"The movie is pretty good, I guess," read one comment card from a test-screening audience in Culver City, CA. "I liked the Al Pacino character, but I had a hard time buying Jennifer Lopez as a lesbian. I also really, really wanted [Affleck and Lopez's characters] Larry and Ricki to die, to get shot or blown up or run over by something. I would prefer to see the blood and the looks on their faces."

On Monday, 3,000 people in markets as varied as Dallas, Chicago, Albany, Atlanta, and Seattle screened Gigli, a gangster-themed romantic comedy written and directed by Martin Brest, in which lowly thug Affleck lets his love for hitwoman Lopez get in the way of a high-risk mob assignment. Of those viewers, 2,965 "strongly agreed" that the ending should be changed to include a graphic scene in which its main characters die.

"Many participants wrote 'shot to death' in the space provided for comments, probably thinking that it fit in with the gangster characters' stated realities," Columbia Pictures director of marketing Peter Zitterman said. "Some comments showed a lot of careful thought, such as 'point blank through head from right side,' 'both at once with single shot from elephant gun,' and 'several hundred times, with multiple camera angles showing their bodies jerking as they're shredded with a heavy hosing of lead, spraying the lens with gobbets of meat and bone and blood, with the sheer number of fist-sized exit wounds obviously precluding any sequel.' And shootings weren't the only ideas suggested, believe me."

According to the exit cards, other popular methods of achieving Lopez and Affleck's on-screen demise included car bombs, multiple stab wounds, acid baths, rabid wolf attacks, lightning strikes, and, in one case, a "hammer party."

"We never expected this kind of reaction," Zitterman said. "We've had odd results from focus groups before, but I don't recall an audience ever agreeing on such a sweeping change. If only we had done this survey in pre-production."

Although the various test audiences differed on the preferred methods of death, they seemed unanimous on one point.

"We were very surprised at how many viewers thought that, no matter what, Affleck and Lopez should not be entwined in a romantic embrace at the time of their deaths," Zitterman said. "Everyone was perfectly clear on that."

Although Brest said he is satisfied with the final cut of Gigli, he briefly considered incorporating some of the test audience's ideas into the film.

"The danger here is succumbing to what people in the business call 'option paralysis'—being caught with so many good ideas that you're not sure which one to use," Brest said. "Getting shot is fine, but what about an automobile fire in which Ben and Jennifer are shown perishing in a slow-motion montage, their newfound love discarded as they try desperately to claw their way past each other's melting bodies, while slowly roasting to death in their own fat? You'd be surprised at how many people came up with that one. Or having them crawl through a field of broken glass while a safely booted and gloved Christopher Walken casually advances on them with a spray bottle of acid and a pair of bolt-cutters? I must say, a part of me loves the idea of them chewing each other to death during a 14-minute dolly shot."

Added Brest: "Believe me, after the singular experience of working with these two for several months, it would be a joy to get back together just to make these changes."

Even if time were not prohibitive, Columbia executives remained skeptical about the validity of the focus-group results.

"I find it hard to believe that audiences would harbor hostility toward such major media figures as J. Lo and Ben," Zitterman said. "With her magazine covers, clothing and perfume lines, and constant radio presence; his roles in Daredevil and Project Greenlight; and their recent joint appearances on Dateline NBC and numerous entertainment shows, how could anyone wish for anything but a resolution that unites these two attractive, highly visible celebrities?"

Insiders confirm that time constraints will prevent the much-requested death-scene additions to Gigli, which already underwent several days of fine-tuning when earlier focus groups noted a lack of romantic chemistry from the real-life couple. In light of the results, however, director Kevin Smith has said he will consider adding a gruesome double homicide to his Affleck-Lopez comedy Jersey Girl, due in theaters next year.

Tommorow's August, that means it's time for a new flavour for the flavour of the month forum
How about a topic I understand so I can actually pretend to be the all powerful mod who doesn't do anything?

Time to vote, people! Which avatar do you think ABF should choose?

Regular #1:






Or



Super Cool # 2!!:

It's ultimately ABF's decision, but the rest of us are going to have to look at it all of the time so let him hear your opinions!

After watching <a href="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view.php?id=59376">Link's Quest for Ass</a> today, I saw how poorly the Mario sprite was edited to look naked. I thought I could do a better job myself and so I gave it a shot. It turned out pretty good, so I just decided to put a beer in his hand and throw him in a stupid short little comic. I do caution the faint of heart to turn away. It may spoil the magic for some of you to see Mario's grotesque naked body. (Actually, it's not THAT bad. I just felt like hyping up my comic a bit).

THis isn't a joke, my recyclebin actually says that

N-t

http://pocket.ign.com/articles/430/43093...?fromint=1

Quote:PSP Specs Revealed
Processing speed, polygon rate and lots more.

July 29, 2003 - At a press briefing held in Japan today, Sony Computer Entertainment at last revealed detailed specs for its PSP (PlayStation Portable) portable system. Although first unveiled at E3, Sony left showgoers in the dark about what form the system would actually take. Today's announcement covers most bases, from planned CPU speed and memory space all the way to networking ability.
As its CPU, PSP will make use of twin MIPS R4000 32 bit processors running at max 333 Megahertz. One of these units is referred to as the Media Engine, and is to be used for sound, movies and I/O management. In addition, the system will include a so-called VFPU floating point vector unit with calculation capability of up to 2.6 Gigaflops. This latter unit is meant for assisting the CPU in 3D calculations.

Memory for the system is divided into two areas. In all, the system is expected to feature 8 Megabytes main memory with bandwidth of 2.6 Gigabytes per second along with two megabytes of sub-memory, also at 2.6 Gigabytes per second, which will be used by the Media Engine.

Outside of the CPU and main memory, the system will of course include a graphics processing unit (GPU). The GPU is made up of a Rendering Engine and a Surface Engine and has access to 2 Megabytes of VRAM with a bandwidth of 5.3 Gigabytes per second. The hardware will include support for traditional polygons as well as curved surface primitives along with such things as clipping, morphing and more, freeing up software from having to deal with these. Sony claims a theoretical polygon performance of 33 million polygons per second.

The system's UMD (Universal Media Disc) optical disk format has also been clarified a bit. A UMD is a 60 millimeter dual layered disk that can store up to 1.8 Gigabytes of data. Transfer rate for the reader unit is 11 Megabits per second, which is twice the transfer rate of a standard DVD system. Sony is also promising the highest level of copy protection for these discs using DiscID and AES encoding technology.

Multimedia support is big for the system. Sony announced MPEG4 support at E3, and now they've gotten a bit clearer, revealing that the PSP will use the AVC decoder, which has a high encoding rate. This will allow the UMD to store up to two hours of DVD quality video. Sound is also taking a high place on the system's feature list. The PSP will feature reconfigurable DSPs which can be rewritten allowing for support for the latest sound technology. Sony announced today compatibility with the ATRAC3 plus format along with AAC and mp3. In addition, the system will support playback of 3D and 7.1 channel sound.

On top of all this is Wireless Lan. The system will include as standard IEEE802.11 wireless LAN. Sony had originally intended to make this an option, but game creators were pretty adamant about its inclusion. Sony revealed no further details about the system's networking features, unfortunately.

The PSP will, of course, play games as well. Sony will be tapping into its PlayStation heritage and including the familiar triangle, circle, X, square, start, select, L1 and R1 buttons on the system. These will be digital. In addition, the system will include a single analogue thumb pad.

For a list of specs on the system, see just below this article.

If you find yourself salivating at these specs, you're not alone. Unfortunately, Sony shared nothing but words today. A prototype of the PSP will debut at E3 of next year (May of 2004) with 2004's Tokyo Game Show (September of that year) expected to bring with it the unveiling of the system's game lineup.

A worldwide simultaneous launch for the unit is expected for the fourth quarter of 2004.


[PSP SPECS]

UMD(Universal Media Disc)
60mm
Laser Diode:660nm
Dual Layer :1.8GB
Transfer Rate:11Mbps
Shock Proof
Secure ROM by AES
Unique Disc ID

PSP CPU CORE
MIPS R4000 32bit Core
128bit Bus
1 - 333MHz @ 1.2V
Main Memory :8MB(eDRAM)
Bus Bandwidth :2.6GB/sec
I-Cache, D-Cache
FPU, VFPU (Vector Unit) @ 2.6GFlops
3D-CG Extended Instructions

PSP Media Engine
MIPS R4000 32bit Core
128bit Bus
1 - 333MHz @ 1.2V
Sub Memory:2MB(eDRAM) @ 2.6GB/sec
I-Cache, D-Cache
90nm CMOS

PSP Graphics Core 1
3D Curved Surface + 3D Polygon
Compressed Texture
Hardware Clipping, Morphing, Bone(8)
Hardware Tessellator
Bezier, B-Spline(NURBS)
ex 4x4, 16x16, 64x64 sub-division

PSP Graphics Core 2
'Rendering Engine' + 'Surface Engine'
256bit Bus, 1-166 MHz @ 1.2V
VRAM :2MB(eDRAM)
Bus Bandwidth :5.3GB/sec
Pixel Fill Rate :664 M pixels/sec
max 33 M polygon /sec(T&L)
24bit Full Color:RGBA

PSP Sound Core: VME
Reconfigurable DSPs
128bit Bus
166MHz @1.2V
5 Giga Operations /sec
CODEC
3D Sound, Multi-Channel
Synthesizer, Effecter, etc

AVC Decoder
AVC(H.264) Decoder
Main Profile
Baseline Profile
@Level1,Level2,Level3
2Hours(High Quality) - DVD movie
4Hours(Standard Quality) - CS Digital

I/O
USB 2.0
Memory Stick
Extension Port(reserved)
Stereo Head phone Out

Communication
Wireless LAN (i802.11)
IrDA
USB 2.0

As OB1 suggested I make ... er, six months ago? :D

Here are some (read: a whole lot) of my favorites... trying to group all games by the same companies together. :)

Oookay... new definition.

This is a list of all the games that we, the members of TC, proclaim to either be great, or great in our nostalgic memories. Either one is fine... :D-


Blizzard
1. Starcraft (and Brood Wars)
2. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (and The Frozen Throne)
3. Warcraft II: Battle.Net Edition

Microprose
1. Civilization II (and Conflicts in Civilization&Forgotten Worlds or the Gold Multiplayer Ed. and Forgotten Worlds for music)
2. Alpha Centauri (and its expansion)
3. Sid Meier's Gettysburg (and/or Antietam, Waterloo, Austerlitz)

Activision
1. Netstorm: Islands at War
3. Zork: The Grand Inquisitor
2. Medieval: Total War (by The Creative Assembly)
- Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Microsoft
1. Age of Empires
- Age of Empires 2

LucasArts
2. Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (and Mysteries of the Sith)
1. TIE Fighter (CD-Rom Edition or '95)
9. X-Wing (CD-Rom Edition or '95)
4. X-Wing Alliance
3. Grim Fandango
10. Rogue Squadron
5. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
6. The Curse of Monkey Island
8. The Secret of Monkey Island
7. Sam & Max: Freelance Police
- Full Throttle
- The Dig
- Dark Forces
- Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast
- Star Wars Galaxies
- Star Wars Rebellion
- Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge

Sierra
3. Space Quest V: The Next Mutation
1. Quest for Glory: So You Want To Be A Hero
4. Half-Life
2. Lords of the Realm II (and Siege Pack)
5. Caesar II
- Caesar III
- Space Quest IV - Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers
- Space Quest VI - The Spinal Frontier
- King's Quest IV - The Perils of Rosella
- King's Quest VI - Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
- The Castle of Dr. Brain

Maxis
3. SimCity
2. SimCity 2000
1. Klik & Play
4. SimTower

Gametek
1. Micro Machines 2: Twin Turbo (by Codemasters)

UbiSoft
1. POD
4. Rayman
2. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
3. Conquest: Frontier Wars

Psygnosis
3. Wipeout XL
4. Rollcage
1. Rollcage Stage II
2. Lemmings

FunCom
1. The Longest Journey

Acclaim
1. Extreme-G 2

Accolade
1. Hardball III Collection

Strategy First
2. Disciples
1. Disciples II: The Dark Prophecy

Interplay
7. Giants: Citizen Kabuto
1. Planescape: Torment
2. Baldur's Gate (and Tales of the Sword Coast) (by Bioware)
3. Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (and Throne of Bhaal) (by Bioware)
5. Fallout
4. Fallout II
9. The Lost Vikings (by Blizzard)
6. Descent
8. Conquest of the New World Deluxe
- The Last Express
- Normality
- Sanitarium
- MDK2 (by Bioware)
- Whiplash
- Out of This World
- Blackthorne (by Blizzard)

Epic Megagames/Epic Games
- Traffic Department 2192
- One Must Fall 2097
- Jazz Jackrabbit
- Jazz Jackrabbit 2
- Unreal Tournament
- Jill of the Jungle
- Xargon

Apogee/3DRealms
- Wacky Wheels
- Raptor: Call of the Shadows (Mountain King)
- Duke Nukem 2
- Duke Nukem 3D (and Plutonium Pack)
- Max Payne (Remedy)
- Death Rally (Remedy)
- Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure
- Kingdom of Kroz
- Blake Stone - Aliens of Gold

ID Software/id Software
1. Commander Keen (all seven games)
4. Wolfenstein 3D
2. Doom (and expansions)
3. Quake (and expansions)
- Quake III: Arena (and Team Arena)

Sir-Tech
1. Wizardry 8
2. Jagged Alliance 2 (and expansion)

Looking Glass
3. Thief
1. Thief 2
4. System Shock
2. System Shock 2

CDV
1. Cossacks - European Wars (and both expansions)

EA
1. Shogun: Total War (by The Creative Assembly)
2. Moto Racer 2
- Battlefield 1942
- Relentless: Little Big Adventure
- Twinsen's Odyssey: Little Big Adventure 2
- Privateer (by Origin)
- Freelancer
- Dune 2 (by Westwood)

3DO
1. Heroes of Might and Magic II (and The Price of Loyalty) (by New World Computing)
2. High Heat Baseball 2004

Acornsoft
- Elite

Bungie
- Oni

SCi
- Kingdom o' Magic

Virgin Interactive
- Screamer 2
- Cannon Fodder

Llamasoft
1. Llamatron

U.S Gold
-Flashback

Monolith
- Claw

GT Interactive
- Driver

Fox Interactive (or should it be Sierra, since they published it?)
- Aliens Vs Predator 2

I don't own all of these games (I don't have Doom, Quake, any of the Looking Glass or Sir-Tech games, Fallout II, Half-Life, BG2: ToB, Wipeout XL, Rollcage, Sam and Max, or Alpha Centauri) but I know they are good enough to be in this list.

And most of the non-numbered games, of course.

So... what am I missing... :)