5 off 25 at The Entertainer, they've got Trailbreaker, 'The White One' and some Battlemasters alongside Cyberverse.

 

Definitely. A good example is The Wind Waker. It's 17 years old and it still looks great. Compare it to other console games from the same period that focused on realism and the difference is night and day. Uncanny valley and all that.

 

Auto Clones package cannot decide if it wants to stay or leave California. Fingers crossed that last entry arriving at carrier facility is it’s last sight of San Bernardino. Hopefully on a flight to the UK.

 

I think when it comes to realism in games we are able to overlook the flaws somewhat when it's the best current tech can manage but as soon as better, more realistic graphics are possible they lose that pass somewhat. Much like visual FX in movies where CGI in live action movies which was mindblowing for it's time can now look 'cheap' or tacky. And again the stylized thing comes into it because look at films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit or other rotoscoped films which leaned into non photorealistic animation mixed with live action still look great and sharp decades later  

 

Noticed yesterday that I had been charged for my ratchet and lifeline and this afternoon, I’ve just had my shipping notification; due 14th December.

 

Amazon have had the payment hanging with my bank for the last couple of weeks. They still haven’t shipped mine yet. I have the Galactic Odyssey Medics set x2 on order. I’m likely to move the second set on if anyone requires but didn’t get to order. Hope this order doesn’t do the San Bernardino Hokey Cokey.

 

Does anybody know which is the final Earthrise release? I am thinking of building a small altar.

 

My clones arrived so hopefully yours will make it soon enough.

 

Courtesy of @Rockdown - and thanks to @4249david for pointing me in his direction - I got me a FansToys Hydra!!

Haven’t run through the alt-modes yet, I’m still drinking in his sheer loveliness (and wondering how best to tighten his knees).



Now, if only I could get the universe to manifest an affordable Quietus...

Had my shipping notice for Roritchi and ML Retro Doctor Doom - due tomorrow - too, which is nice.

 

Re. 8 and 16 bit graphics. All day long. To the point it drives me crazy when indie games do faux versions that A. look awful, B. are obviously only there to hide the budget constraints.

Part of the reason old skool graphics work so well is your mind filling in the gaps instead of something immediately looking great/awful/dated!

 

The devs that pull it off well is when the game is deliberately emulating the style of gameplay too rather than just for the sake of it. Freedom Planet is a great example of a game that pulls it off well. It's clearly made by fans of the Mega Drive Sonic games but is a great game in it's own right  

Edit: And yeah, filling in the gaps was part of what I was getting at too  

 

Mini Tigertracks review...

He's what Sunstreaker should have been in almost every way.

The yellows pretty much match. He's got all the guns. He doesn't rock on his feet or have more tolerance issues than Alf Garnett.



So what did Hasbro do? Made the windscreen clear AND used stupid white plastic, pretty much ruining the alt mode for this would-be fanboy



The fuckin' state of that.

An amazing, simplistic mold and they still fucked it up with, presumably, cheapness.

He's still totally worth it as a bot, but I can't unsee alt mode, personally.

 

Wow, what a morning.

Set out this morning armed with the (online quantity - 1) info hoping to snag Bee and maybe find my most sought after target, Scorpy.

Gorgeous weather, Christmas tunes on, absolutely loved it.

Managed to snag a copy of Bee for me, one for my boy and a copy for Siege Fan and Brooticus
(Apologies if I missed anybody out but you two replied to my DMs this morning first so you got the extra two copies I found).

Sadly - no Scorpy. Gutted I missed him and I really don't want to pay £200 on eBay  

But but but, there's more.

Here's the kicker !!!!

My Mrs had a phone call at dinnertime. Her Grandma (83 with dementia) is in a care home and she hasn't been allowed any visitors since March. She's allowed to go and see her next week !!

Absolutely over the moon with that, and puts things into perspective  

 

LEGEND.

 

 

Ratchet and Lifeline have just shipped for me, payment is still pending though.

With regards Netflix Bee and Smyths sightings, I checked Cheltenham's store this morning with no luck.

 

Really pleased the family can see the grandmother. I remember when my Nan was in a care home and she also had dementia. Luckily no pandemic preventing family visits back then. Wouldn’t like to go through that not being able to see a loved one.

Missed your post this morning as I would have asked to snag me a bumblebee. Oh well. The wait continues.

 

Spray paint the windshield to cover the white parts showing through. Or keep in bot mode like me!!

 

There’s an aesthetic that I don’t like that crops up a lot now- games emulating 8-16bit graphics where the animation is too smooth. pixels can only move so much in each frame, so when characters move with incredible flexibility it becomes clear that they’re using in-between frames that bend the pixels to make the movement smoother. Really takes you out of the whole “retro game” experience!

 

Thanks bud and sorry about Bee. I've sent you a DM, for what it's worth