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It's ten Euros not ten Dollars. The exchange rate works out to ~$13 or so. =Smidge=

DW: Needs a .=Smidge=

I'd recommend "Kamichu!" if you haven't seen it already. It's a complete subversion of the "Magical Girl" genre, has a unique art style and has a nice easy-going pace. For everyone else, give The Tatami Galaxy a try - assuming you can keep up with it. LOTS of dialog and even though it's not particularly action-oriented it's very fast paced with lots of jokes and easter eggs you'll miss on the first time through. =Smidge=

@Asuma - There shouldn't be any dead links 'cause the entire site is dynamically generated from a database. The only dead links would be either in the news section or maybe the affiliates. There ARE tools behind the scenes to update the content. They're rather crude but they work. It includes an upload script that automatically puts the file(s) in the correct locations and updates the DB... the only thing that doesn't update automatically is the "Recent Additions" sidebar. (Which is unfortunate, since that's the most visible...) =Smidge=

A lot of content was not re-added because it was shit. There were several reviewers who helped sort through the content and decide what went back in. Incomplete sets, duplicates, half-assed custom sprites with only one or two frames... all nixed. Quality not quantity, etc... Now... Reskinning the site is by FAR the easiest route, but structural changes to the HTML would still make things difficult. You simply can not use a WYSIWYG editor to make a new site and expect it to work. =Smidge=

No... no it wasn't... As for redesign; the entire site is AJAX powered, and it really should stay that way since it makes the server load almost nonexistent. I just don't have the time or energy to redo the whole thing again but I won't prevent others from trying their hand at it... Here's a challenge for you: The entire site runs on just 37KB of graphics, 56KB of Javascript and about 35KB of PHP - minus actual content, of course. Try to beat that. =Smidge=

Spammer yes, bot no. Taken care of. =Smidge=

I heard they are quicktime events where you need to press the D-pad the correct way to avoid spilling. =Smidge= /not really...

I wholeheartedly approve of this activity and if I find time I make halfheartedly participate myself. This should've been a SAGE event. =Smidge=

Yeah... no. There's virtually no low-level optimization to be done in Java, or any runtime-compiled language (like anything .NET for example). You are not going to be putting ASM code into a Java app. Now learning how the Java runtime virtual machine works... that might be useful. But otherwise modern languages are so managed and opaque there really is no point in learning anything deeper because you're powerless to do affect any of it. Technically speaking, even learning x86 assembly is somewhat futile since no modern CPUs run x86 bytecode anymore... it all gets translated to native microcode before execution. Ristar: I don't think it's possible to remake that game "tastefully." =Smidge=

Learning the "low-level" stuff is not really necessary anymore, since operating systems have mostly hindered a programmer's ability to get "close to the metal" as the saying goes. This is not to say it isn't useful to know what's happening at a low level, only that it's not strictly necessary. I say feel free to start with a higher level language. C++ is fine as it's still used and supported, but old enough to have a very large base of books, libraries, sample code and technique advice. Only thing I can stress is to learn the difference between coding and programming. Learn to program, not to code. =Smidge=

It's stupid because this is the shit they do instead of making a decent game. =Smidge=

If the thread is really old, like... over a year? Start a new thread and link back to the old one. =Smidge=

There's still a good-sized community around it. You can get onto the Japanese PC servers for free (legitimately free) though there are limitations. The only English servers still online are for the XBox 360, and IMHO it's only a matter of time until those get shut down like the PC/PS2 servers did back in March. There are, to my knowledge, three groups working on private servers for PC users to fill the gap left by the official server closings; Newzero is the group I'm part of, Essen has a second group which split from ours early on due to ideological differences (and he stole a lot of our work in the process...) and I've heard of a third group in Spain but I don't know much about them. Unless there's a major breakthrough you probably won't see a proper private server for PSU for another year... but there are plenty of people waiting for that day. =Smidge=

Someone actually reported this thread as spam. It is, of course, but it's in GD so who cares? Not exactly a busy place anyway. =Smidge=

I think I've seen this before... =Smidge=

They edit the vocals out. =Smidge=

Oddly enough I got REALLY bored last weekend and set up an RO server in my closet (where my old web server used to be, though different hardware now). Although I have no plans to make it public and it's really just for fucking around with. =Smidge=

Thinking about it for awhile now, and it's a tough choice. If I had to pick a single, favorite zone it would have to be Stardust Speedway, (Sonic CD). It was HUGE (1, 2) - even if you ignore the time travel nonsense - but densely packed for the most part with multiple paths and difficult to reach ("semi-secret") areas so there was plenty to explore. It was also fast with a lot of loops and speed boosts. =Smidge=

Well if we're talking about what functions rain could have in a level, maybe we can start with what rain actually does? Including what others have mentioned: 1) Makes things wet and slippery 2) Fills cavities with water 3) Reduces visibility 4) Damages certain item/materials that shouldn't get wet Like if we run with the "fill" mechanic, maybe dynamic Labyrinth Zone style rising water and slides would become active if rain were sufficiently heavy for sufficient lengths of time. Mud puddles that act similar to the oil pits in Marble Garden Zone. Objects that are only interactive when it's raining or dry, such as a stone stuck in the dirt that becomes pushable when it's all muddy, or platforms that only collapse when it's raining. Maybe walls you can only break through when it rains, or other paths get blocked by floodwaters. Are we talking about rain as a fixed/scheduled level element, or a semi-random occurrence throughout the game? Adding dynamic weather patterns to the game that are persistent throughout would certainly be novel... in the Sonic series at least. Maybe weather patterns are determined by an algorithm that detects time and date of the player's machine. Some days it'll be raining, others not. Replay value! It would be the responsibility of the level designer to either make sure the Tanuki suit is unavailable at a point where it would negate an important challenge, or to make having the Tanuki suit at that point at least as challenging as it would be to get through without it. A game-breaking object/mechanic is only a problem if you can actually use it in a situation that would break the game. =Smidge=

What if, instead of doing damage, the water bombs just push you around? Knock you off platforms, cliffs, onto/into spikes and enemies, etc. Generally be a nuisance rather than a direct threat. Throw in a temporary stun (Maybe only 30% chance?) for added frustration. Taking gsoft's idea and running with it: a robot that freezes the water to shoot icicles or ice balls that DO hurt. Or steam jets for temporary protection like some spiked enemies. =Smidge=

I had to disable everything on the faux main page 'cause emuzone is currently distributing javascript exploits to everyone who visits. Don't visit anything on emuzone if you value your computer. :/ =Smidge=

You missed it: "Single ratio gearbox." The nice thing about electric motors is they have very flat torque curves and high top RPM, so you really don't need a transmission. Fun fact since I remembered it: The headlights stick up out of the hood (see pic). This is to improve aerodynamics: The shape of the headlight guides the airstream around the side mirrors to reduce drag and wind noise. =Smidge=

Nissan completed their national tour for their new LEAF electric vehicle. I was there! It was pretty neat... if you give a shit about this kinda thing check out these links: http://slashdot.org/journal.pl?op=display&uid=605297&id=245812 http://www.smidgeindustriesltd.com/leaf/ =Smidge=

Something is definitely wrong with the power circuits. You probably know that when you turn the monitor (and most modern appliances) off, you're not <i>really</i> turning them off. There is always some power monitoring circuits active... like the circuits that monitors the power button. My bet is if that's on the fritz, then it could be registering phantom "power button presses" and basically freaking out. It's a power supply problem, basically. =Smidge=