DoctorEncore

I'm not sure if there are any other examples of a cartridge code being revised to -1 with just a change from TM to R (although I do have some faint memory of this). It would usually signify some type of software change. You should snap some pics of the PCB and compare to the NESCart Database at https://nescartdb.com/profile/view/243/rad-racer.

2 hours ago, Link said:

It is? Where?

Hey now, I never said it was perfect! You can just find a lot more consolidated information here than on NA where it was scattered in hundreds of threads. There are some really awesome collecting guides here, you just have to navigate to them or search for them. See this for a start:

53 minutes ago, darkchylde28 said:

I think that a decent idea to keep track of stuff like this would be to create a separate page, perhaps under the "Databases" tab from the main site menu bar, then just park links there for all of the primary/major knowledge threads.  Pinning stuff can be great, but someone pointed out a long time ago that if you pin too much stuff, you clutter up the top of the forum listing and crowd out new content.  Unless something is immediately relevant (such as holiday contest posts) or "hot" for multiple days, I wouldn't think it necessary to keep it permanently or semi-permanently pinned versus just making a link to it in a separate index of such topics.  Depending on how such an index page was laid out, descriptions of each topic could be added to help clarify what each one addressed specifically, which could further aid folks looking for a specific tidbit of information or facet of a topic prior to needing to make a "Hey, does anybody remember/know X-Y-Z" post.  Just a thought.

My biggest issue with the database approach is that you lose that conversational aspect where known information and expert opinions collide. Those conversation add so much value to the investigative work that you need for this stuff. Without context for the lists, collecting just isn't as fun or fruitful. It also gives people an opportunity to challenge an idea and get incorrect information changed.

58 minutes ago, Gloves said:

If there are ideas you or anyone else has for doing an even better job organizing, pinning, whatever, any of the really knowledge-heavy threads to be more upfront resources, let me/us know and we can work on structure. I think one of our main benefits here is that we HAVE the power to organize and reorganize and sometimes do custom stuff to elevate everyone's hard work. 

Honestly, I'd love to see a collecting-focused variant of the site with the forums divided by console. Standardize and pin collecting guides at the top of each console page (Games List, Variant Guide, CIB Guide, etc). Maybe even add some wiki-like function, if possible, but retain the forum setup we all know and love. I'm not a UI or web designer, but having those pinned, standardized guides at the top of each forum seems like it would provide a consistent user experience for each console. It would require us to go back and apply console labels to old threads to migrate them over which seems like it could be a lot of work on your end, though.

Of course I'm coming at this from a collector's perspective rather than a player's perspective because that's where my focus lies with retro games. But I think it would be really cool to say "I am going to start collecting Game Boy games" and immediately have all this awesome information from seasoned collectors in conversation form at your fingertips. As it currently stands, just tracking down accurate games lists for older consoles is a huge pain in the ass.

1 hour ago, ConfusedCollector said:

My update:

Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) - Completed the main story at a little over 100 hours at the beginning of Jan - thanks to an Xmas vacation that let me put a little more time in than usual.  This game didn't grab me like the original from a story perspective but the gameplay was so good I found myself sinking 6-8 hr sessions into this thing.  So it's definitely a good one.  Will finish the collectibles when the DLC comes out.  For this list though - I consider it done.

Stray (PS5) - Short and fun, completed this in early Jan as well.

Devil in Me (Series X) - Another short one.  The wife and I play these together.  I think it got mixed reviews but we found this one much scarier then the other games in the series.  Mostly because there isn't a supernatural element, it's just a serial killer stalking you.  Good stuff.

I'm working my way through Callisto Protocol and Metro 2033 Redux.  I'm loving Callisto Protocol - totally worth a buy if you're on the fence - just get it on sale.  Metro is definitely dated at this point - I had to put it down.  But I definitely want to knock it off the list and play exodus afterwards.

 

 

 

I played the original Metro games a couple years ago and I felt the same. They are okay, but nothing about them is super interesting. Also, for all the talk of how you need to be really thoughtful with your supplies, I didn't find ammo conservation to play as big of a role as I thought it would on normal difficulty. I'm sure Ranger is a different story, but I had no desire to replay after finishing. I thought they were worth experiencing just to see the world, but only rated them as like 7/10 games.

1 hour ago, Link said:

I'd use a dremel.

Yeah, if you're going about it seriously and really want to be careful, drilling out a few weak spots makes the most sense. I just didn't feel like using finesse, so the hammer solution was good enough for me. A more expensive game than Fantasy Zone would definitely get a little more time and effort if I ever have to do it again.

28 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

I’d honestly just like to buy Dain a couple beers and just kind of listen to the story of NA. All the bullshit aside the documentation and the cataloging that people did the for that site is truly amazing. To everyone that is a member here and even those who aren’t, thank you. It’s fun to Bs and throw conspiracy theories around and poke fun but I feel like people new to the scene may get the wrong impression. It truly was an amazing place full of just the most useful and random information. The people there and here just knew so much stuff and it’s still interesting to this day to learn new things. I hope VGS continues to strive towards that in their own creative way. 
 

Ok I’m done with that positive shit, f*ck you Jeff. 

I was not an active member on NA until literally the final few months before the site went down, but it was an absolute treasure trove of information for NES collecting. I used it for years anonymously to guide my collecting and it's existence is responsible for a lot of what I know. That being said, almost 100% of that information is now better organized and freely shared here instead of tucked away in hundreds of obscure threads. So I am very thankful for NA and those who kept it up long enough for me to really dig into this hobby, but I think VGS has allowed a more mature userbase to give all that knowledge a better home. In fact, that reminds me that we still have a few NES threads that we've beem building for years that really need sharing soon. 2023 is the year!

Yeah, there used to be a mod for the fat DS that would install video out. Not sure if it's still around, but I haven't looked into it in a while. If I find something I'll let you know.

Update: This looks like the best option right now and hooks up to a DS Lite.

https://rhotronix.com/

19 minutes ago, oops said:

The best method for opening VGA is with your teeth. Have seen it in person

That sounds expensive on multiple levels.

2 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Yeah, taking turns picking could help.  If people are reasonable.  Knowing you have a pick coming up could help people buy in.

But again, availability is a problem.  If Oldboy is one of the movies that people want to actually watch, but it's not available on any streaming service...

 

I'll brainstorm it some more

Outside of limiting it to the most popular streaming services as I suggested above, you could also use an RSVP system. If you don't get at least 5 RSVPs, you must pick a new movie and delay a week. If the same thing happens the following week, you lose your turn. Just spitballing here.

Personally, I still get DVDs/Blu-Rays shipped to me from Netflix so I can watch new releases and obscure movies for cheap. That means I can participate almost every single time no matter what the movie is, as long as I have like 2 weeks notice.

42 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

I'd dream of making this a movie debate / movie club where we also all watch the week's movie, but I couldn't figure out how to make it feasible.

I started a real life movie club when I was in residency and it was awesome. Spurred some good conversation and drunken fun. We rotated through the participants for movie picks and that person would supply the movie for the event. I think it could be done online as long as you limit the choices to popular streaming services (Netlix, Amazon, HBO) and have it be a live event with Discord chat or something like that. Supplemental conversation would be in the forum thread.

12 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

That is what I fear.

Look at @SailorScoutMandy's book club.  We had a month each time, and we'd get 1-2 people doing it.  Only made it a year before she had to can it.

I would argue that doing it with movies is actually easier. It's easier to legally obtain movies than books and the time commitment is significantly less.

***

As for the actual topic, I've never seen Oldboy, but I'd like to watch it. Maybe when I'm retired or my kids are grown.

2 hours ago, Gloves said:

Lemme be clear, these are the options for polls:

Just do your computer guy stuff like in the movies and hack it in there. I know movies are accurate about that kind of stuff or it would be totally illegal to show it.

Can you time-limit the change? Usually people notice the mistake almost immediately.

27 minutes ago, OptOut said:

This was something I saw that I just HAD to get tho:

A boxset of HALO tie-in novels, lol! I'm not a big reader, so who knows if I will ever actually read these, but it looks epic on my shelf! 

Fall of Reach is pretty legit and a worthwhile read. The other two suck.

Welcome!

38 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Lots coming up.

In a month I've got Papa Roach, Falling in Reverse, Escape the Fate, Hollywood Undead.  Not a mega fan of any of them, but you take what you can get in little old remote Montana.  The new PR singles are pretty good.

In September we've got Coheed with Deafheaven.  Which is double amazing.

And then also in September I'm going to try and negotiate seeing Gojira + Mastodon + Lorna Shore in Denver @JamesRobot@Murray @Richardhead @Tabonga.  Which is triple amazing.  My buddy bought 3 tickets already so we shall see.

8 minutes ago, doner24 said:

I saw Papa Roach under a small tent at a festival in 2000, soon after Last Resort hit the radio. Was a very fun set. Don’t think I’ve listened to a song of theirs in about 15 years though. 

I would argue that lovehatetragedy is one of the best nu-metal/rock albums of the 2000s. It has a great mix of punk, rock, rap-rock with some really good wordplay. Overall it's a better package than Infest and criminally underrated.

On 1/26/2023 at 6:49 PM, Code Monkey said:

What are the chances I can get the specific variant of these games? Or at least a date code from the box / manual? I'm trying to categorise inserts based on print run.

I started including date codes in my later posts, I believe. Some day I could go through all the ones I posted and update them with that info, but it won't be for a very, very long time.

Today would be final day for eBay to provide the form (Jan 31st) to you, but as doner mentioned, the $600 change was delayed a year.

https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/irs-delays-implementing-the-1099-k-600-reporting-threshold-until-2023-to-the-relief-of-tax-pros

14 minutes ago, MagusSmurf said:

Rayman 1 being the hardest PS1 game (assuming you don't cheat. I don't think the game works especially well without cheating due to some poor developer decisions but hey) that people actually care about sounds about right, at least.

I had no clue this was seen as one of the hardest games. I figured it would be some jank shovelware that literally just doesn't work.

1 hour ago, twiztor said:

is there a site that categorizes video games by their difficulties? i'm thinking something along the lines of HowLongToBeat but with toughness.

looking specifically for PS1 rankings, but does something like this even exist?

The members of this site could probably put together decent lists for the older consoles. Just poll the participants in the "VGS Beats..." threads. Do we have one of those for PS1?

Been working on this collection for a while. Love the art and the story. Really looking forward to watching the Netflix show.

10 hours ago, Gulag Joe said:

I can’t believe how many of you know how to do this! It’s troubling! Graded games are not meant to be broken out of their protective shells! It’s probably against the law too!

Most satisfying sealed opening ever.

8 hours ago, mlbfan10 said:

Dang Super Mario 64 9.0 A+ go off!

Wasn't this selling for like a cool million about a year ago?

10 hours ago, Avgn Gamer said:

Picked this up for 40 some buckeroos (don't worry I got it in a nice case)

$40 for a pristine copy of one of the greatest games of all-time? Sounds like a steal to me.

1112

I actually always found The Pretender to be overrated and overplayed, but this is the first I've heard of Drive and I'd be happy to never hear it again.

One Headlight is literally a perfect pop rock song while Hail to the King is just a good rock song.

Hips Don't Lie is actually a pretty strong pop song, but Outshined is a top tier grunge-era song so I had to go with Chris Cornell.

Prince easily topples this generic modern rock song. In their defense, Falling in Reverse actually have some good tunes, but this isn't one of them.