Cool stuff you've found on the web

That MS desktop is not new, Apple were showing this tech off over a year ago... and the technologies appear to be exactly the same, so who really was first, or have they both licenced it from someone else?

Post by **Gambit37** » Thu May 31, 2007 8:55 pm

Those toy-mods are superb. Love the C3PO and R2D2 -- thoseare from Ralph McQuarries original concept paintings. I actually think I prefer them over the ones we grew to know and love.

Tom Hatfield · Post by **Tom Hatfield** » Thu May 31, 2007 9:57 pm

Grittier and less cutesy, like the movies should have been in the first place.

Mindstone · Post by **Mindstone** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 4:33 pm

Hey if there are any Table top wargamers lurking around the forum (yes, you know who you are

hiding in a basement painting entire 50 strong regiments of Orc's at 3am in the morning) then you might want to check this fantastic website out.

http://www.thanesgames.com/

Its Warhammer, but far more dynamic and balanced. Ive actually shown this game to non-wargamers and they've all loved it! It's called Armies of Arcana, and it is........the future

ian_scho · Post by **ian_scho** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 10:11 pm

Even though it must be at least 10 years (?) since I last played warhammer tabletop gaming... I find the stuff you reference remarkably cheap....

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 2:05 am

http://www.mojang.com/j4k/dungeon4k/

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 4:09 pm

"You are planning a trip to the UK? You are living in the US or Canada? You're the type of person to get lost everytime you go outside your house? Well, Google Maps will help you to find the best road for you to reach London. Here we go:

-First, go to Google Maps
-Then, click on "Get Directions"
-In the left box, type New York
-In the right box, type London
-Finally, click on the button "Get Directions"

There! They explain you everything you need to do to get to London. Just be sure to have enough muscles for item #21! "

Post by **Zyx** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:38 am

http://www.juxtapoz.com/jux/index.php?o ... &Itemid=50

500 years of female portraits in Western art, from DaVinci to Picasso.
Very interesting on several levels.

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 6:33 pm

another DM related article

http://www.retropoly.de/bilder/jokersca ... rheft.jpeg

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:27 pm

Lol, we need a german summary - I assume 'this game rocks so much people will still have a forum for it 20 years on'

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:49 pm

This is a rough translation of the article which can be seen in Adamo's link.

Dungeon Master

There are games that you should have seen. And then there are those which you just cannot miss. Poetically spoken: On the long road of role-playing games, FTL left a highly visible milestone!

Dungeon Master sort of reinvented the dungeons - a huge deal of later fantasy adventures is based on this classic among classics! With games like Bloodwych, Eye of the Beholder or Xenomorph, this can be seen on first sight, but even colleagues from other genres (like Rings of Medusa 2) can't deny a certain similarity. So let's look back into the year of 1988 when a jolt went through the dungeon walls of this world...

In order to understand the buzz that Dungeon Master created back then, you have to know that the good old block graphic ruled the role-playing games back then. The sound was on a similar level: with all the bleeping, you could never be sure if a monster just died or if it was your speakers! And for the controls, you usually had three quarters of the keyboard used, most of it unlogically. But suddenly, fantasy was not fantasy anymore: beautiful 3D graphics, excellent ambient sound and an interface that is still exemplary today fulfilled long-fostered adventurer dreams! First, only the ST owners were to enjoy, a year later, the new role-playing age also dawned on the Amiga. Only the PC users still wait for their version, even if FTL is supposed to mean "Faster than Light"... ((this shows the article was written somewhat before 1993 or 1994)). On the Amiga, Dungeon Master was one of the first games to require 1 MB memory - one of the few unpleasant innovations of the program, especially since the announced 512 K version hasn't come out until today.

After this banter now on to the story: Lord Grey, a true wizard through and through, overstrained a bit and created some sort of magical maximum credible accident. While experimenting with the "Power Gem", his bad half suddenly made itself independent and terrorized the lands as "Lord Chaos". Add the fact that the Power Gem has vanished, and we all know what the player's task is...

Before the quest for the crystal commences, a visit in the Hall of Champions is due, where 24 heroes that are frozen in mirrors and have 4 character classes (Fighter, Wizard, Ninja, Priest) expect us. You choose 4 of them and then march into the dungeon - which consists of 14 levels! The adventure begins relatively harmless (on the first level, you practically only meet cannon fodder), but rises greatly to a Grande Finale that challenges the last of the player's skill and cleverness.

The finely tuned difficulty level is but one of the reasons for the legendary reputation of our dungeon master; without claim of completeness, here are some more: The fighting sequences which take place in real time are fine-tuned to the last detail. You see mummies, worms, dragons etc. crawling along from a distance, you can use any item you want for their destruction (for example, the mobs can be lured under a portcullis!), and the fighting itself is pure fun thanks to the elaborate mouse controls. Add a for that time revolutionary magic system that works like a construction kit, an inventory management that is just as brilliant, countless of secret passages and findings in them, and traps en masse.

Enough praise, now to the weak points of the game: You cannot talk, there are no locations to explore apart from dungeon (always with the same wall-look), and the genre-typical gauges for the characters stats are also missing - there is only a short message when you gained a level of experience. But the possibilities of development are nearly unbounded, it is perfectly possible to turn a wizard into a super-ninja via tough training. And such mega-heroes are needed at the latest in:

Chaos Strikes Back

The expansion disk mainly differs in difficulty from the main program - it is extraordinarily hard! Apart from a good intro, (almost) nothing has changed in terms of graphics, sound, and controls, there are just even more monstrous monsters, even more puzzling puzzles, even more magically spells and even more malicious traps. Even hardened veterans are known to have thrown in the towel, even though two little easements were built in: An "oracle" gives you hints how to proceed, and you may import old veteran characters from the first game, only a mix of old and new is sadly not allowed. The portraits of the heroes can be altered with a little editor.

Because of the close connection to the veteran, the rating box also goes for the new dungeon - with one exception. "For advanced players" should read "for super-experts".

Amiga: The main difference to the ST version is the stereo sound.

ST: Completely in German (as Amiga), but the translation could have been better. Also runs with 512 K. Color monitor required.

C64: Sorry, no chance.

PC: One can still hope...

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:40 pm

Beware of radioactive acid and mutants!!!

A cooling system breakdown at Toxichem Inc`s Acid Factory has caused an explosion releasing tonnes of green acid from the tanks and flooding the whole complex!!!

Harry - our hero - has worked in the factory and knows the complex like the back of his hand but now he`s trapped in the filtering chamber he was working

Truly terryfying game

http://www.miniclip.com/games/acid-factory/en/

beowuuf · Post by **beowuuf** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:45 am

Hey trant, thanks very much for that!

Tom Hatfield · Post by **Tom Hatfield** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 10:35 am

Here's a fun little game someone made in less than a week:

http://www.kloonigames.com/blog/games/crayon/

Post by **linflas** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 9:19 am

excellent and very addictive

hope there will be more levels soon

Trantor · Post by **Trantor** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:26 pm

Don't you just love those Japanese gameshows?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkBkZpK-fYQ

Adamo · Post by **Adamo** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 12:04 pm

destroy the whole Solar System!!!
http://www.kloonigames.com/blog/games/pluto/

Tom Hatfield · Post by **Tom Hatfield** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:30 am

I didn't even notice that one. It's extremely cute. I think the bat moves too slow, though. I did manage to create two new moons during my first game, and I hit the sun a few times.

Post by **cowsmanaut** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:05 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmuxljOvBdU

http://www.glumbert.com/media/japtetris

more Japanese gameshows.. but not nearly as cool as the one Trant posted

The funny thing.. most of the time the "prize" is that they are not injured and made it on TV.. no new car, money, whatever.. I'm sorry to say, I wouldn't risk bodily harm just to be on TV

in cases such as the first link.. I wouldn't even do it for money