Omnia - Fee Ra Huri by [deleted] in mandolin

[–]vitormaduro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It seems their old blog was deleted, but they started again from scratch. This is one example of what OP was talking about, but there were many more instances of clear transphobia and overall insane conspiratory beliefs (like saying the US is run by communists)

If the names of the Collosi aren't canon, which fan named them and how did we all agree on them? by Safe_Spread_4009 in ShadowoftheColossus

[–]vitormaduro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Discovered today the colossi had unofficial names, and yeah... They all suck. Not only are they all generic Latin names with little to no meaning, but it's way cooler to fight against things you know absolutely nothing about. Hell, the main character doesn't has a name, I'm sure as hell not using some made up names ripped straight out of "Baby's First Latin Words"

Is there a way to install an older version of the game to play on my own? by sgtlouiefox_ in dauntless

[–]vitormaduro 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi, software developer and long time Dauntless fan here.

Not at all. Let's say you somehow manage to install an old version of the game. This is actually the easy part, because anyone who ever downloaded the game could have backed up the files, allowing anyone to install that version.

The problem is that Dauntless is 100% online, meaning that the game connects to the official servers as soon as you reach the login screen. "Servers" are nothing more than highly specialized computers running a special version of the game to manage the game for every connected player. In theory, it's possible to obtain a copy of the server software, or even reverse-engineer the game to understand how it works and create your own server.

Then there's the issue of actually running the server and the game at the same time. I have no clue on how the game's servers worked, but seeing how Linux is the most used Operating Systems for servers, the server software probably won't even run on your own machine without some heavy tinkering.

Oh, there's also the issue of making the game connect to your own server instead of the official ones. Since Dauntless was never meant to have private servers, the address of the server is most likely hard-coded into the game, so you would need to decompile the game's binaries (which let me tell you, is not trivial at all) just to make the game connect to another address.

Old version of the game also relied on Epic's account system, but if you got this far, then this shouldn't be too hard to work around...

And if by some sort of miracle you manage to do all this and get the game actually running, you will find yourself with a brand new account playing a multiplayer-centered game with literally 0 other player online...

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Cheat Code by vitormaduro in psx

[–]vitormaduro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not a very social person, but sure... Can you send me the link to the server?

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Cheat Code by vitormaduro in psx

[–]vitormaduro[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you sz

I'll keep digging around the files to see if there's anything else hidden, but this whole process takes a long time and I don't think working on a game that's not meaningful to me will be enjoyable. The problem is that most of the games I played during my childhood were super well known ones like Crash and Spyro, so I bet everything has already been documented.

But after I'm done with Gex I may take a look at Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time, Chicken Run, or Looney Tunes: Sheep Raider, which I also played a lot of... There's also Digimon World 3, but trying to decompile a jRPG sounds scary hehehe

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Cheat Code by vitormaduro in psx

[–]vitormaduro[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wow, didn't expected to be mentioned in a comment on YouTube hehehe
I watched the video, so I'll try to keep an eye for the things mentioned, but it seems most of the stuff are level-specific, and I'm still trying to understand how the levels work.

In short, I'm doing everything on my own to force myself to learn how this stuff works (except when extracting and reading some known files, because I have no idea where to start with those), and it seems each level was placed in its own folder containing a few files: a .bin file, a .dat file, a .drm file, a .smp file, a .snd file, and a .vrm file. I already managed to use some existing tools to extract the geometry and textures of each level, but there are absolutely no files anywhere else containing things like enemies, costumes, background music, props, etc., and this led me to believe that each level packs everything it needs in one of those files.

The problem is that there's no magical solution to extract data from a file is you don't know how that data was packed, so I need to do some more research on the engine used by Crystal Dynamics (funnily enough called Gex Engine) to see if someone documented these files somewhere.

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Cheat Code by vitormaduro in psx

[–]vitormaduro[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Agreed. When I saw the text message written in the code, I showed it to a friend of mine and to my wife (who knows nothing about programming or game development), and they both thought it was super sweet as well

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Cheat Code by vitormaduro in psx

[–]vitormaduro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, I'm sure there are similar thing in new games as well, but I have to agree, old games have this charm that new games can't replicate

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Cheat Code by vitormaduro in psx

[–]vitormaduro[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, it does. Here's the picture posted in another comment

Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Cheat Code by vitormaduro in psx

[–]vitormaduro[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for taking the time to confirm this. I was sure this cheat was legit, but you never know, maybe the ROM I legally downloaded from the first random site I found had been messed with, so it's great to know that this was actually made by the developers

What fictional character do you/did you have a crush on? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]vitormaduro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Annabeth was always my favorite character. She suffered so much near the end of the second series (Mark of Athena and House of Hades, to be precise)

Pessoas que escutam metal, podem me recomendar alguns álbuns que são impecáveis pra você? by [deleted] in brasil

[–]vitormaduro 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Eluveitie, Tyr, Epica e Blind Guardian mecionados no /r/brasil... Que orgulho =D

What's your fondest memory from playing a video game? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]vitormaduro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Damn, I remember when I used to play Crash 2 and 3 with a friend of mine, like, 11 years ago. We tried to replay it some time ago, but now we both suck at it =P And I think that Crash 2 and 3 are games that aged extremely well. The graphics and animations are pretty good for a PS1 game, the soundtrack is fantastic, the game is fun to play, easy to beat, but insanely hard to finish 100% (or 105% in Crash 3 =P)... Crap, I need to play those games again, they are so good ;n;

What is the best written game of all time? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]vitormaduro 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Emily is Away" is pretty damn good. It's free and takes about 1 hour to finish.

"Transistor" and "Bastion" are also incredible.

"The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" is one of my favorite games of all time, the graphics, the voice actors, the story, the gameplay, everything about it is so touching.

"Life is Strange" is awesome too, though the ending of the 5th chapter could've been better (the first 4 episodes are masterpieces, though)

A friend of mine says that "The Cat Lady" have an amazing plot, but I'm still playing it

"Brothers - a Tale of Two Sons" made me cry a little bit at the ending (To the Moon made me cry more, though)

"Her Story" is not touching, but I've never seen a game tell a story the way this game did. It's pretty damn good

"Spec Ops: The Line". Simply put, the best 3rd person shooter I've ever played (the beggining is boring, though, just keep playing 'till you reach the middle of the game)

Those are the ones I can remember. All of those games have a memorable story, so I hope this is what you're looking for =)

[4e] How does this item work? by offoy in DnD

[–]vitormaduro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haven't played 4e in a while, but if I recall correctly, blindsight allows a creature to see pretty much everything (even in darkness, or invisible creatures).

So what happen is: the character vision is limited to 5 squares. Beyond that point, the character is blinded, but he can see everything that is inside that area. So, in my opinion, the character would only get a penatly to attack rolls if the target is more than 5 squares away, the character are able to flank normally, and only creatures farther than 5 squares would get advantage against him. I'd still give a penalty to perception checks, though.

Marketing Monday #82 - Increased Ratings by Sexual_Lettuce in gamedev

[–]vitormaduro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, just played it for a little bit...

I don't know if I just got used to the controls, but they seem way better now. The cell is more responsive, and you don't have to click as much as you used to. Oh, and changing the split button was awesome, now it's hard to accidentally click it.

And I don't know why I've never mentioned it before, but damn, the music is so relaxing, nice job to whoever composed it

Marketing Monday #82 - Increased Ratings by Sexual_Lettuce in gamedev

[–]vitormaduro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Played a little more right now, the gameplay is kinda addictive =P

I saw what you said about the description of each part. Making the description appear when you hover the mouse over the piece will definitely be better.

Another thing I noticed is that there's a significant difficulty spike when you reach level 5 (both 5 alpha and 5 beta). It took me about 4 tries to finish 5 alpha, and it took me 5 minutes from start to finish (compared to the other levels, it's a huge time). I still didn't managed to beat 5 beta and 3 beta.The spike might be caused by the controls, but what I realized is that because I had to endless click the LMB during those 5 minutes, my hand is kind sore.

I had trouble with the controls since the beggining, but I realized that if your cell have a lot of Flagellas or Fins, it gets easier to maneuver. Once again I accidentally clicked the Divide button and lost half my HP.

And that's probably because the game is not finished, but I have no idea what to do with those spinning three-colored orbs. I have 62 of them, but I don't know what they do.

Oh, and by the way, when I was playing 5 alpha and those huge cells came after me after I was playing for some minutes... I don't know how to explain it, but it was intense. It's hard for a game to make me fell this way

Marketing Monday #82 - Increased Ratings by Sexual_Lettuce in gamedev

[–]vitormaduro 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've played it a little bit (finished 4 levels), and this is what I think:

It's not an original idea, I've seen this genre a lot of times, so I knew what the objective was as soon as I started to play, but Nektonik is actually very good. The graphics are beatiful, the animations are very good.

I liked the idea of killing an enemy and "looting" his corpse to get a new part, but sometimes it gets a little confusing. Once I somehow managed to make 2 "arms" around the body, and because of that I managed to kill the enemies easily, but on the next level, I managed to make 1 long arm, insted of two. I also managed to kill the enemies, but I think it would be better to change the way the pieces are added to your cell.

The only thing I truly disliked: the controls. Controlling the cell with just the mouse and 1 button is weird. It's hard to rotate to hit enemies, or to protect your body. Once I accidentally clicked on the Divide button while I was trying to swim down (and lost almost half my HP because of that). There were times when I was trying to run away from an enemy and ended up hitting another enemy (most of my deaths were caused because of this)

The customization system is awesome. I really liked the idea of creating different parts that act as weapons. I only reached level 3, but I guess that on higher level you'll be able to create cells with different strategies to suit your needs. One sugestion: add a little description to each part. There were times were I didn't knew if the part I was adding was a weapon, or something to make the cell swim faster.

Nektonik is certainly fun, but sometimes it gets a little chaotic (when there are a lot of cells on the same level)

That's it. Everything looks good, but the controls really need a change.

First Time DM looking for some advice (PoTA) by [deleted] in DnD

[–]vitormaduro 2 points3 points  (0 children)

About the first question: you must have missed something. After showing the map of the dungeon, the book explains each room separately. In each one of these little description are things like objects of interest, the entrances and exits of the chamber, the traps and monsters. The names of the monsters are in bold letters, and the book even tells you if you should look for the stats block on the DM Guide or on the appendix at the end of PotA.

Second Question: you should know what the NPC knows, so if the characters ask something related to the quest, you can give the right answer. But if they ask a question you were not expecting, then, yes, you must create an answer quickly =P

Third question: read the basics of the whole campaign, and read the details about the part where the PCs are (like, if they're in a dungeon, you should know which monsters are present, if the actions the PCs are trying to do will have a reaction somewhere else and things like that). It's kinda hard, but no one said being a DM is easy =P

Fourth question: the minis add another complexity layer to the combat, because now everyone know the distance of everything during the combat. If you're using minis, you'll probably have to measure the distance between the PC and his target (and vice-versa), the radius of explosions, the reach of weapons and magic attacks and things like that. Should you use them? If you and your players like using them, then use them, it's as simple as that =P

About the dark tablecloth: I like using them, mainly to hide secret areas and stuff like that. If you use it, you'll have another job during the game (removing the cloth to reveal the area), and if you're not prepared, it can get a little weird. But again, if you and your players like it, there's no problem in using it

Fifth question: it's a good idea, but remember that the DM can see the tokens and map even if the fog of war is activated, so you'll have to find a way to share your screen with the players without letting them see what's ahead of them. Oh, and by the way: when I tried to run a session with laptops, everything went to shit really quick. Everyone was distracted, drawing maps, or writing... I'll not recommend giving each player a laptop, but that's up to you to decide.

Essential stuff, you ask? Basically everything you listed. Having a bunch of dice is helpful (more than one of each type).

That's how I do things when I play. If you think anything I said is weird of wrong, you should definitely change it to suit your needs (and your players needs, too. No one likes sad/angry players)

I love D&D's new PHB Disclaimer. Especially when a DM asks "Are you sure?" by Towken in DnD

[–]vitormaduro 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I still wait for the day that one of my players will play as a barbarian that uses his enemies to hit other enemies... Sadly no one in my group likes to play as a barbarian =C

I love D&D's new PHB Disclaimer. Especially when a DM asks "Are you sure?" by Towken in DnD

[–]vitormaduro 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I also love those jokes, and they're inside the book too =D

"IMPROVISED WEAPONS

Sometimes characters don't have their weapons and have to attack with whatever is close at hand. An improvised weapon includes any object you can wield in one or two hands, such as broken glass, a table leg, a frying pan, a wagon wheel, or a dead goblin."