Nice to see you Bugs! Happy New Year for you too.

I haven't played much. Spent the last 10 days of 2012 at my family's house for the holidays, got back for a couple days of work, returned to pick my wife and daughters up again on saturday, and I just got back home today. I did pick up a shitload of games on Steam and Amazon and managed to nab Uncharted 3 yesterday at a whopping $18.

Gaming-wise I started assing around with PC version of Skyrim. After spending a few dozen hours with the 360 version I got the steam one as a gift, and tried out a few mods that seemed not to be too taxing for my puny PC. Even those small mods are a night and day difference with the console version, having stuff like a reworked UI, improved armors and better designed weapons, as well as stuff like more varied birds and bugs is something that really does add up a lot. I'll keep on tinkering with mods, it's a game in itself.

Archangel3371 said:

YES! YES! YES! We are going to have hockey! #gameon

Oh it's back? Cool. Hope we get some games down on Aussie TV this season.

Good to see you around Bugsy.

bugsonglass said:

Thanks you guys.  I was in the US for the last two weeks, and prior to that December at work was beyond hectic so I may not have been on here much.  I got back mid-day yesterday.  Chose to stay away from a computer while I was there.  Had a great time.  Hope to post a few photos soon.

Took my DS with me but didn't feel like playing anything even though I had six flights and many hours on planes and airports.  Just wasn't feeling it.  Expect I will try to get back into Uncharted 3 sometime this week.

What have you guys been up to?

Thanks foolz and Leo!! good to see you guys too.  Hope you been well.  

Here's the last photo I took.  It was while I was boarding the plane in Dubai to come home yesterday morning.  I don't think I have seen anything more beautiful.

gamingeek said:

Blog your holiday please. Here it's just been the usual family Christmas stuff. People getting sick too.

I will try to.  At least I will try to post a bunch of pictures.  Expect lots of mountains, snow, highways and big skies.  Not so many cranes (except for the masterpiece I just posted)

Leo I can't see the photo you posted.  Is it something sexual?  Or is it not a crane?

Game Developer On Wii U’s Slow CPU And Untapped Potential Compared To PS3/360

We recently interviewed Fronzenbyte Games, the developers of Trine 2, and this is what they had to say when asked about how difficult it was to port Trine 2 to the Wii U, and how much untapped potential it has compared to the PS3 and Xbox 360.


“None whatsoever,” they said, when asked whether Wii U’s slower clock speed had an effect on porting. “The whole architecture is running very well and we were able to ramp the Trine 2 art to a higher degree than with the other consoles.


“So for porting no issues at all and there is a nice base for future original development too. Maybe some were looking for a larger leap in terms of pure power, but in the end I believe most developers will be quite comfortable with the system.”




They also believe the Wii U has a lot of potential but they mentioned that Nintendo mostly designs a console based on what their first-party games offer, and have their own standards.


“Absolutely, but again in a very different direction that Nintendo has always been known for. They create their own standards and have huge IPs to fall back on. As for untapping the hidden power of new consoles.. I think Nintendo personifies that in all of their first party titles, regardless of the actual CPU or GPU performance.”

I'm just playing Ass Creed 3 until its done. Not quite sure where I'd rank it compared to the other games...there's nothing that really makes it stand out from them in any major way. But its still a solid game.

travo said:

edgecrusher said:

I'm just playing Ass Creed 3 until its done. Not quite sure where I'd rank it compared to the other games...there's nothing that really makes it stand out from them in any major way. But its still a solid game.

Same here.  It's certainly a solid game, but its the story that'll either elevate above the others or hold it down.  It sucks that I'm only available to play this in small chunks at a time.

Same here, enjoying it despite flaws.

Team Ninja boss defends Wii U CPU, insists console is “definitely next generation”

Yosuke Hayashi, head of Team Ninja and director of Ninja Gaiden 3 and upcoming Wii U revision Razor’s Edge, has poured scorn on the claim last year by Metro: Last Light developer 4A that Nintendo’s new console was hamstrung by a “horrible, slow” CPU.


In an interview to be published later this week, Hayashi suggests that 4A CTO Oleg Shishkovstov was using Wii U‘s perceived lack of horsepower as a smokescreen – and that too much attention has been paid to the components inside Wii U’s casing, when the real appeal lies in what those components actually do.


“The Wii U is an infant that’s just been born,” Hayashi tells us. “It’s a little unfair to compare it to mature platforms that people have been working on for over five years. I’m sure people will find ways to bring out even more power as the platform matures.


“To be completely blunt and honest, there’s no way that the Wii U processor is ‘horrible and slow’ compared to other platforms. I think that comment was just 4A trying to find a scapegoat for a simple business decision on their part.”


However, Hayashi does not dispute that Wii U’s spec sheet isn’t much of a leap over current-generation consoles, if it is at all – but argues that the console’s functionality does more than enough for it to be classed as the start of a new generation.


“If you’re basing this simply on processor speed, then it’s not next generation,” he says. “If you’re basing this on Wii U being a new idea that challenges existing platforms, then it definitely is next generation. It is a console videogame platform that is now independent of the TV. Nobody has done that before.


“It’s no mistake to say that we have entered a period where it’s difficult to provide an obvious difference to many players based on processor speed alone. Players want new innovation that includes the environment in which you play and services you use, rather than just raw processor spec.


“Nintendo is at the forefront of that innovation. I’m looking forward to seeing what the other platforms come up with in the future.”


Hayashi has clearly found much to like while working on Wii U – elsewhere in our interview he is full of praise for the GamePad controller – but development of Razor’s Edge has also allowed him to lay some personal demons to rest. Stung by the lukewarm reception afforded Ninja Gaiden 3 last year, Hayashi and Team Ninja have sought to fix much of what so disappointed the series’ core audience – telling us parts of the game design have been changed “drastically”. Look out for the full interview later this week.