Messages

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Pcfx Gmaker iso needed]

I apologize if this is a loaded question, but... when you think about it, why exactly would we be enforcing these ISO rules?

The vast majority of the developers for the PC-FX are out of business/don't make games anymore. (Even Hudson Soft, who'd basically be the biggest one of the bunch. And Konami who owns their IPs show absolutely no interest in protecting them.)
Pretty much every exclusive release is the absolute definition of abandonware to the 10th degree.
No sales are being lost to anyone except 2nd-hand collectible resellers.
There's literally no one like Nintendo/Sony/Microsoft who'd have any interest in shutting down the site over "piracy" concerns for a failed Japan-only console that is 20 years old.
The software itself only has the ability to gain from any kind of further exposure.
And the ESA doesn't seem to care at all for niche Japanese titles.

I can possibly understand if you think PC-FX distribution could be mistaken for mainline PC-Engine ROM distribution (for which most of what I said still applies outside of some very specific software releases, but for some it's those releases that make it matter, I guess.) but I'd feel that enforcing this rule on PC-FX disk images doesn't accomplish much: it just stifles discussion without gaining anything of note in return.

Of course, it's not like there's much to gain either, since people interested in downloading the disk images probably already know where to look for anything that isn't a development-tool image. But I'd say it'd at least make for a more easy-going environment where people wouldn't have to worry about whether a subject dealing with disk images is "too taboo".

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: PC-FX Must Have Games]

(EDIT: This somehow got posted in the wrong thread. Considering I didn't even click here, I think it's a glitch. Ignore this post. Was meant to go in the gmaker thread.)

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: More Battle Heat moves]

A long while back I did a move list for this game for the Rising Stuff forum. Unfortunate it's long gone now.

The move list had the specials, but also made note of the useful commands every character had. Especially the jump kick. The jump kick is broken as heck in this game.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Tengai Makyou move list]

I don't necessarily think a move list is as helpful for Tengai Makyo FX as it is for Battle Heat, because it simply doesn't have the complex move motions BH does. You can figure out every move very easily once you actually understand the mechanics. Which I admit kinda IS the hard part, but hey.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Downsizing ISO Methods? (For Pia Carrot fan translation)]

I'm kinda stumped on what exactly the issue is myself, but as far as I can tell this friend is working with 700mb CD-Rs much like what I used... just that for whatever reason overburns aren't agreeing with him.

I figured discussing how to downsize the game might be a good start. The big question is if it's really possible (I don't really know whether the game would have either protection against it, or simply nitpicky sensitivity to changes in code.)

[PC-FX Discussion / Downsizing ISO Methods? (For Pia Carrot fan translation)]

I've been spending the past few days trying to help someone get the Pia Carrot fan translation up and running. Unfortunately, one of the biggest hitches we ended up getting into - even after I uploaded my pre-patched ISO n' all - was the filesize being just a bittt over 700mb.

I managed to do fine doing an overburn on my disc, but it seems this person's applications aren't cooperating with him there. Therefore, I've wanted to bring this up - is there any possible way to downsize the game?

I would assume that since most of the filesize issues would relate to the movie files in the disc or the voice acting, that it'd probably be possible to decrease the quality of, or remove them entirely to lower the filesize. I wouldn't have the kind of expertise in that matter, though.

Any help on this would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Also, feel free to use this thread if you want to discuss the subject of making PC-FX games smaller in filesize in general, as well. It would probably be a good idea to keep this all in check in the case of future fan translations.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: "Brut Press" videos on NicoNicoDouga.]

You've seen this, right?

Yeah, but that little anime teaser isn't really enough - especially since it's an anime teaser, y'know? I'd like to at least have something that looks like it was actually running on PC-FX hardware, even if it's not a playable game.

(Although I take it by the wording of your post that the implication is they never got to actually coding a game engine. Disappointing.)

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: "Brut Press" videos on NicoNicoDouga.]

At about the 26 minute mark of volume 17, they say that they're developing an adapter to allow the PC-FX's CD-ROM drive to be used by the PC-x8 line of computers (also made by NEC and ubiquitous in Japan in the early 90's). This never surfaced, right?

They also say they're developing a board to allow PC-FX games to be played on the computers, too, which they did follow through on (PC-FXGA).

Finally, they vaguely suggest that they're developing add-ons to turn the PC-FX into a multipurpose home electronics hub, including a fax receiver and various components to turn it a "computer terminal".

"There are so many possibilities for the PC-FX, we can't possibly introduce them all!"

Fax receiver? Honestly, what was NEC smoking there? In the current day I can't imagine the PC-FX as anything other than a game/anime hub. Of course, this is probably similar to Sega Mega Anser or the Famicom Modem in some of the more oddball attempts to branch out.

Either way, nice to hear this does indeed cover content that never actually made it to retail. Maybe if I can find other volumes there may be more footage of PC-FX Tengai Makyo III or something like that.

QUESTION: Do you think this PC-FX segment was produced by NEC and then provided to media outlets?

If that is the case then I'd take it we'd see such things on other videos like this. It's actually hard to spot such any similar elements among the scattered video rips going around, though.

I'm almost tempted to dig into Yahoo Japan Auctions for some VHS tapes...

[PC-FX Discussion / "Brut Press" videos on NicoNicoDouga.]

I wanted to call attention to some videos that were recently put up on NicoNicoDouga, since it doesn't seem like there's been anyone else who noticed yet.

http://www.nicovideo.jp/search/%E3%83%96%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%83%97%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B9

These "Brut Press" videos seem to be yet another series of VHS video game news pieces, this time by a game software shop. I noticed with the videos that there was a good amount of attention on PC-FX titles - moreso than with other videos of this kind that I've watched - so I figured it'd be a good idea to let everyone here know of them.

Currently Vol. 17 and 24, from what's currently uploaded, seem to have the most in that regard. Since most of the other volumes aren't up yet, though, this may be worth looking into finding, in case the videos happen to have anything like footage of canceled PC-FX games or somesuch.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: What PC-FX game are you currently playing?]

I personally considering both Zeroigar and Zenki to be overhyped by collectors and not worth their value. Zenki is a graphical showcase, but doesn't really have any substance underneath the flash. Zeroigar doesn't even have any particularly novelty other than being a PC-FX shmup.

I'd probably say Chip-chan Kick is overpriced as well, but I didn't pay the common price for it, so...

In comparison, I feel some of the cheaper-to-obtain titles deserve more attention. Battle Heat is under-appreciated - perhaps because it's mechanics take a bit of effort to figure out - but it's basically one-of-a-kind and an interesting experimental game that makes one wonder about what direction fighting games could've theoretically taken. Team Innocent also needs to be highlighted more for resembling Resident Evil in gameplay style way more than "Sweet Home" does.

I wonder if anyone else here feels that a certain PC-FX game is underrated?

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: What PC-FX game are you currently playing?]

Is nobody else but me playing PC-FX lately?

Unfortunately I've had my time being consumed by other things and no new PC-FX games as of late.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Looking for a few PC-FX games]

PC-FX prices are all over the place on eBay. It's mostly done by collectors who try to make prices disproportionate to demand. Anything over $80 that isn't Zenki, Chip-chan or Zeroigar never actually gets bought or bid on, from what I've seen. (For example, a $90 copy of Tengai Makyo and $80+ copy of Cutey Honey has been up there for years without any takers.)

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Unfortunate Turbo/PCE Beginners Guide]

This is why I so rarely watch youtube videos about retro games (yes there are exceptions) or listen to gaming podcasts. I often come across this level of fact checking and accuracy.

I hope my own YouTube channel is a good counterbalance for all the poorly-fact-checked ones. XP
The thing is that merely avoiding these groups, the poor fact-checking only grows, and eventually false things are accepted as fact by the mainstream.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: give away/trade away: update 1x keith courage left]

I still don't have a TG/PCE... I wonder if I should try to take part in any of the game freebie grabs...? ... I hope I find a PCE Duo somewhere...

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: What PC-FX game are you currently playing?]

I already have Chip-chan Kick! licked. No big surprise there, considering it's a short arcade-style game. Once I got past stage 2's boss, only the boss of stage 4 was much of a roadblock. I was able to beat the bosses of stages 5 and 6 mostly by just relying on fast reflexes, rather than having to learn their patterns in detail. It seems like the developer was inspired by Dracula from the Castlevania series for the final boss, what with how he teleports around the room and flings bats and fireballs out of his cape.

For those of you who have played Chip-chan Kick! more than me, is there anything to be gained from beating the game on Hard mode as opposed to the default settings? Like something extra in the ending or an unlockable? I'll probably replay the game some just for fun before I put it away anyway.

Could you give me some gameplay hints/strategies and/or record a playthrough? I didn't manage to get past stage 2 yet and I've just been trying to play to get the ending. Retro-arcade style games seem to whup me no matter how much I love them.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: What PC-FX game are you currently playing?]

I didn't play Tengai Makyo for very long. I still find myself totally confused by how to play these FMV fighting games. Sooner or later, I'll have to go over the moves lists and figure them out. I know a lot of PC-FX players rave about the FMV in Tengai Makyo, but, honestly, I'm still more impressed by Battle Heat. Granted, part of that probably comes from the fact that Battle Heat has that cheesy, high-energy vocal intro that I love, while Tengai Makyo's instrumental intro music is a bit too low-key for the visuals, I think. Plus I like the art style of Battle Heat a bit more. In the end, they're both really impressive games, though.

I wrote up a guide on how to play the Tengai Makyo game back on Rising Stuff. Unfortunately said guide disappeared along with it. But I still remember very well how to play. One important thing to warn you: Don't approach it like Battle Heat! Battle Heat attempts to simulate sprite-based fighter mechanics, but Tengai Makyo feels a good bit more like other console "FMV Fighters", it's controls are more simplified, and the mechanics are based less on quick actions/reactions and more on strategic timing on performing your most powerful attacks.

Your most powerful attacks are the magic attacks that use the blue charge (Default button mapping is 1, I believe? Right+I, Down+I and Left+I are the ones you'll most likely use for heavy damage. Hold until meter is full and release, more powerful attacks take more charge time), and generally what you'd want to do is try to read what your opponent's move is and respond with a more powerful attack before the animation for it finishes. Also, when you knock down an opponent, taunt - it's actually useful in this game because it restores the balls-meter (.... I still don't have a better name for that) which you'll want stored up to dodge enemy attacks while your character is unable to use the charge moves (exhausted face).

As for the visuals... I think to me, Battle Heat's visuals somehow look "cleaner" and have less compression artifacts than Tengai Makyo's. At times Battle Heat looks more like what the theoretical result of a Wolfteam/Game Arts anime engine would be if they suddenly had the budget to make it as fluid as possible. Although this illusion sometimes breaks when certain animations happen and the color palette changes abruptly for a few frames. In comparison Tengai Makyo looks much more like a string of FMVs combined together.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: New Here!]

BTW, just to empathize how expensive it is for me to try to get a good PC Engine setup, here's one on eBay I gave up prepping to bid on because the base bid price just got higher than the price I paid total for my PC-FX:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=271235163386

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: New Here!]

I have yet to find a decent PC-FX for under 250-300 shipped so far.  My duos were much cheaper. that being said I have seen a few go for as littlle as a hundred.

Yeah, my scenario is basically the polar opposite.

Rising Stuff I'm guessing? I miss 'em, they were good for PC-FX stuff.

Nailed it! In the end I paid around $120, came with the system, all required hookups, two controllers, Battle Heat and Little Cats. (I probably could've paid less but I wanted decent shipping and the goodies, the deal was too good to pass up as it was.)

I would never have paid $250-300 for my PC-FX. Heck, I haven't yet paid that much for what would amount to my entire PC-FX game collection as of now, and that even includes the Pia Carrot/Can Can Bunny FX double pack and the copy of Chip-chan Kick I lucked out on obtaining on a price well below the $100 dollar range by some deranged miracle.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: New Here!]

In contrast, I managed to snag a PC-FX cheap.

HOW?

And where?

Unfortunately, said store is closed now. Sorry.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: New Here!]

WHY??

$

An ideal PC Engine Duo setup is expensive for me (I've not been able to find a setup that doesn't cost me as much as getting a current-gen game system when all final fees are tallied up) and I need what money savings I have for less related and more ambitious game collecting/gambling.

In contrast, I managed to snag a PC-FX cheap.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: New Here!]

Welcome to the wild and wonderful world of NEC gaming. You'll start with playing some fun platformers and shmups and such on the PC Engine, and then before you know it, you're playing hentai dating sims on the PC-FX, haha. Or at least, that's how it went for me.

Oh crap, I'm doing it in the wrong order. I don't even have a PC Engine.

*cough*

In all seriousness, hi!

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: The future of PC-FX fan translation]

This is an excellent idea, and it would certainly make things go more quickly. However, it would feel inappropriate to use someone else's script in this way without their permission. I always feel a little hypocritical taking a moral high road about things to do with fan translation, since it by its nature is somewhat subversive. However, I think that is *why* it's important to act in ways that are right and sensible. I don't fan translate game because I hate copyright (though in some ways I do), nor to break any rules, or laws, or steal anyone's work; I do it because it should be done and no one is doing it. Those people that released these games officially did it the "right" way, by making - or working for - companies that took risks and put money on the line to legitimize these games, and ultimately had to move on to other things. If I could do it "legitimately" I would. I am not going to be one to disrespect those who tried to do so before me.

That was preachy and apologize for that. It's a good suggestion with good intentions which is why I wanted to qualify it with a detailed answer which I hope is clear and reasonable.

EDIT: Just to clarify, my preferred solution in this case would be to translate the scripts from scratch.

I think in the case of "Zork" and "Blue Chicago Blues", they were originally written in English for their respective original versions (PC or 3DO? I'm forgetting, but either way) and got Japanese localizations for PC-FX, no? So in that case I'd think it'd be kinda silly to re-translate the scripts. We may as well just have a Translation Party with them.

There's probably a few other cases where this applies. Unfortunately my memory is lapsing here.

As for anything native Japanese, I personally am more on the "No Honor Among Thieves/Pirates" side of things when it comes to using assets for other hacking projects, as I would hate it if the ROM hacking scene got anal-retentive about tools and resources the way I've seen some other scenes nearly kill themselves and other hobbies by turning towards, but I have no hacking talent for this and my specialities are elsewhere.

As for Der Langrisser, at least the PC-FX version has exclusive content to work with, so it wouldn't be completely the same anyway.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: The future of PC-FX fan translation]

Heh, incidentally enough, I popped back in here after a while of inactivity specifically to see if there's been any new fan translation announcements.

Most of the really good choices have been picked out already, I believe... except maybe Blue Breaker. Perhaps Der Langrisser FX, to give it a good compare/contrast with the Super Famicom version that's already been fan translated?

I'd probably like to see the character endings to "Battle Heat" translated as well, if only because I want to know what the hell the plot of the game is.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Direct PC-FX-to-rival-consoles FMV/cutscene comparison thread.]

If you want to compare videos directly, you should get screenshots from emulators.

From my past experiences with judging something based on how it plays in emulation, I'd think that'd be a bad idea.
Has anyone here read this article, may I ask? Sure, it's about the SNES, and on a theoretical level this shouldn't matter for linear FMV sequences, but I think as long as there's no PC-FX emulator that aims to be what bsnes is to the Super Nintendo, there will be a high likelihood of an emulated setup not matching up with how things really were.
MagicEngineFX, for some inexplicable reason, couldn't run the pre-patched ISO of English Translated Pia Carrot I got running on real hardware, so that tells me enough to know that I'd rather do a real hardware comparison to avoid any issues with emulation not matching up with how the actual product is.
(Besides, Langrisser games are emulation-issue prone.)

Direct-ripping the videos and running them on a codec-compatible media player would probably be the next best thing, but ripping PC-FX videos directly from ISOs is not something I've seen widely done outside the Zeroigar fan translation project, and it's certainly not something I'd know how to do (If it was easier than analog-recording this video even the slightest bit I'd have gone for that in a heartbeat. And then I'd probably add hardsubs to the videos in Pia Carrot as an addendum to the fan translation).

http://pc-fx.moemoe.gr.jp/colume04.html

Are the stills indicative of how it looks in motion?
Either way, wow, Saturn's got quite the edge in this one. Sharper, less grain, and more screen. It's like the polar opposite of LDE vs. DLFX.
Is there perhaps a Super Real Mahjong PV comparison, as well?

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Direct PC-FX-to-rival-consoles FMV/cutscene comparison thread.]

The thing though, is that by using youtube you are forcing both vids to run at the same resolution and frame rate.  And before you even get to youtube, your DVD recorder is converting both vids to 480p (assuming you are using a progressive recorder).  The original videos are not in this format, and are played back differently when run off the respective hardware.  So a youtube comparison is kinda useless imo.

I understand Youtube has some restrictions, which is why I have the actual vob recordings available on-hand to directly download. That being said, it's still possible to see some of these details even on the Youtube upload;
1) The resolution differences between the videos (DLFX shows slightly more screen, to the extent that sometimes you can actually see slight film damage at the very top and such if you look carefully)
2) The Saturn version's larger macroblocks (What's probably harder to see from the Youtube videos is DLFX's grain, which is likely from a mix of the JPEG compression and the film master.)
3) The Saturn version's strange habit of having holes/particles in the effects that cause bright lights.
4) At around 4:03-4:05 in my video, Der Langrisser FX, when Erwin's standing up, those... strange discoloring "blocks". (This one's weird because it doesn't seem to occur anywhere else and it's not a particularly intense moment in the video that'd warrant a spot where the encoder would choke. I think I'm considering asking if anyone else who has a copy can check to see if that's normal....)

Also, I believe ol' analog composite is 480i, not 480p.
Either way, whatever "different playback" either version would supposedly show there would be the version a normal joe would see if he was running the game on actual hardware, as opposed to using emulation or ripping the videos and playing them back in a codec or such, either of which I felt took too much of the actual hardware factors out for me to consider those fair for testing. (I'm someone who uses bsnes on a regular basis and is able to find real-hardware subtleties it can't duplicate, so I can be pretty nitpicky about that.)

With all that in mind I'd like to argue that this is not useless. Sure, it's maybe not the ideal either (A raw capture card and S-video would probably be better, and I'd like to have PS1 Langrisser I+II to complete the "set" so to speak), but I figured I'd rather work with what I got rather than wait possibly aeons and not be able to open up the discussion, and I feel as though the videos are pretty comparable whether on Youtube or as the vob file.

Anyhow, can anyone point out to me off-hand any other games with PC-FX and Saturn counterparts? Especially ones I don't need to fork over an extensively large sum of money for... D:

[PC-FX Discussion / Direct PC-FX-to-rival-consoles FMV/cutscene comparison thread.]

Hey guys. I could've sworn I saw a thread where people were actually having a sort of debate about the PC-FX's FMV video quality in comparison to the other 32-bitters, but it doesn't seem like I can track it down at the time, so I figured I'd make this thread....

To, um, basically pimp out this video.

Here's the description of the video, in case you need more incentive to click;

FMV Comparison: Langrisser Dramatic Edition (Sega Saturn) Vs. Der Langrisser FX (NEC PC-FX)

Ever have one of those discussions that bring you back to the good ol' days of console wars when Sega and NEC were big players?... Nah, you probably haven't. Tsk!

But in all seriousness, a bit back I was in a forum and there was quite a bit of discussion about the PC-FX's ability to render anime cutscenes and FMVs. Of course, it's commonly said that the PC-FX was the best of all in that regard. But the Devil's Advocate in me had a shocking realization; amidst the talk of technical abilities and which FMV scenes look great, no one I've known has actually taken the effort to -directly compare- a PC-FX game to it's other 32-bit counterparts to provide a good, frame-by-frame, blah-blah-blah technobabble, objective analysis!

Enter myself! Of course, I may not be the most apt for this job, as I'm not necessarily specialized in videophilia yet, but I wanted to get the ball rolling for this!

Since technical details can make a Dramatic (DURHUR PUNRIFFIC) difference in regards to how this turns out, I'll make a note of EVERY DETAIL I think is relevant to this video here.
1) The copy of Langrisser: Dramatic Edition is from an authentic Langrisser Tribute set.
2) The copy of Der Langrisser FX is also authentic.
3) Langrisser: Dramatic Edition is being run on a US Saturn with an Action Replay 4M for a showcase of it's appearance on authentic hardware.
4) Der Langrisser FX is also running on authentic hardware. I have gone for running on hardware over emulation due to the obvious fact that neither Saturn or PC-FX emulation is anywhere near complete-hardware-accuracy yet.
5) Unfortunately I could not include Langrisser I+II for Playstation in this due to not being able to obtain a copy for a reasonable price (Or having a Japanese Playstation). Perhaps someone else can chime in on this?
6) Both setups were hooked to a DVD Recorder with Composite inputs. There are a few reasons for this;
A) Because common A/V is the most likely way anyone who was originally gonna play the games would've hooked it up.
B) Having both on the same video input is the most "fair".
C) With composite video's slight blur, there will be less minor, pixel-specific nitpicking. Any real video issues would probably be constants, and be noticed even on composite - we aren't talking about common-digital-era stuff here, after all.
D) I was too lazy to find a Saturn S-Video cable.
7) Obviously, I've recorded at the best DVD recorder settings I can do.
Putting up on Youtube as vobs.

For refereince, 00:00 up through 2:17 is Langrisser Dramatic Edition, 2:40 onwards is Der Langrisser FX footage. (the time spent beforehand is PC-FX bootup)

Feel free to also download the vob file here;
http://kiddocabbusses.tryhappy.net/rstuf/LDEvDLFX,.vob

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Video/audio skipping in Mednafen]

What is frustrating for me is that I already have a Hauppauge HD capture device that is awesome for most things but won't capture from FX at all.

Do you have anything like the VCR or DVD Recorder you can use as a workaround? I tend to have problems interfacing old game consoles to my TV so I tend to do this rather often.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: "Traditional" Fighter on PC-FX]

Looks like the vid has been up for a while, but nonetheless a nice find! I better buy the game now before it reaches zenki or zeroigar ebay prices

I was able to get First Kiss Storyon eBay for around $30. I don't think it's gonna reach Zenki or Zeroigar prices any time soon.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: "Traditional" Fighter on PC-FX]

Since lately there's been a good amount of hacking in regard to PC-FX games, I guess I should ask; may it be possible to make a hack focused around the HuneX Fighters assets? The game engine seems like it was meant for so much more than just 3 characters...

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Game Suggestions Please]

I'd suggest getting Battle Heat and learning how to play it. I need to find someone to try playing competitively against.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Anyone care to comment in-depth on the PC-FX hardware design?]

It's not really possible to know the details about the sound for sure without accessing the video at the source, though.

I got a legit copy of Battle Heat (wish I could say the same for the Tengai Makyo game) and would be more than willing to do a rip for analysis sake. (Although more than likely if I'd have to transfer an ISO image around I'd may as well download one..)

I wouldn't really have the ears for being able to gauge the quality of the music in the games, except I'd think Tengai Makyo's music generally doesn't sound like it was as encoded in as high a quality. (Although this may just be the ol' "OMG LYRICS N' VOCALS" mindset here, but then again, if the audio quality had any really noticable decay comparing the FMV file and the CDDA audio version on the disc, it'd probably be most notable -in- the vocals... ... my lord, am I overthinking this.)

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Anyone care to comment in-depth on the PC-FX hardware design?]

Are you sure the PC-FX doesn't have a 25 FPS rate? I mean, I would've thought that'd have been a normal framerate by that time... hrm...

Anyhow, I always thought Battle Heat's OP looked incredibly visually active, even compared to other PC-FX games;

Since that seems like it pushes the limits of what the PC-FX's FMV playback can do, would you mine telling me what it's specifications are?

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Zeroigar translation, from the intro]

Have you tried other color options? The yellow honestly looked a bit "90's fansub"-esque, if you get what I mean. (Particularly, they look like my old VHS Fansub Nippon Gold Dragon Ball Z tapes.)

Now, on the other hand, perhaps that was the idea...?

I would suppose a dark "military-esque" green or beige would also fit the atmosphere... Either that, or go with colors that match those for in-game text.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Raffle: 3 PC Engine huey's]

I don't even have any PC-Engine anything, so I might as well attempt this...

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Zeroigar translation, from the intro]

Yeah, the bottom one sounds good in theory, but I think it'd be a good idea to have someone test it on a normal hardware setup to make sure there's no unintentional cropping.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Zeroigar translation, from the intro]

I would assume the quality of the CD-R the ISO will be burned to is significantly more important to factoring in what could theoretically tax a PC-FX to death.
That being said, I'd propose you try to keep it as close to what the original was as possible. If you're really concerned, perhaps you could one version that's a 1:1 lossless encode and another one that's a "lite" version where the video could theoretically be reduced to around Youtube-quality.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Esperknight and Filler's PC-FX Translation Projects]

I kinda doubt we'd be able to get enough money to hire actual porn stars to voice act, here.

... guess it wouldn't hurt to try to find their contact info and ask about it, though.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: PC-FX Tome of Obey]

Hmm... I still have a few of the old pictures I used on my webspace.

/BHControls.JPG

Yes, they can be rather ugly. Like I said, it wasn't the most polished article. That's a reference for what the (Default) button layout is.

Some of the things I remember off the top of my head;

1) The "Defend" button is probably the most important button in the whole game, because it's an almost-always-working failsafe if you're in trouble.

/Defend.JPG

If you mash the defend button when you see an enemy attack coming, you will block it. You will be chipped, but as far as I've seen -Battle Heat has no Chip Death-, so you can theoretically block perpetually.
It's also the -only way- to get out of certain specials - if it looks like a grab-throw and it's a special, mash the defend button!
Note that some attacks do need to be defended -low- (Down + Defend). This includes being countered from a stomp and any down + attack commands.
The only attack that, to the best of my knowledge, can not be blocked are Kai and Alamis's counter-specials.

2) Obviously enough, the quickest way to beat the CPU is to master the jump-kick, but it kills the fun of the game very quickly;

kiddocabbusses,tryhappy,net/rstuf/quickedit.JPG

Press the "jump" button, and then down + the strong attack button. It'll work at any point while the jumping animation is playing. The CPU may try to cancel the jump animation with an attack, but if he tries a non-special he'll put himself at a disadvantage in the game's countering system, and like I said before, blocking always works.
If you're able to actually get into the jump-kick animation, there's nothing the CPU can do - it ALWAYS takes a hit.

You can also use this command to do a "Stomp" on an enemy that is knocked down. If you want to go for the extra damage, though, I suggest you try to position yourself "far", because the enemy can counter it if you're "near" and you'll be forced to defend or take the hit.

If you get knocked down yourself, and your opponent tries to stomp from near, you can counter by mashing the "Strong attack" button.

3) The cheat code commonly identified as "Extra Characters" does the following;
 A ) Allows you play as "The Holy Dark Empire" characters in single-player mode, fighting the Kriph-side characters. It appears they even have individual character endings just like the Kriph characters.
 B ) Allows the second player to play as the Boss characters in 2-player mode.

4) How the game's countering system works (If memory serves me correctly, I'll get back to analyzing this when I can go through the special moves again);
 A ) Moves have certain properties. For example, some can be done practically anytime, while some require having the player in a specific position or being caught in a particular status.
 B ) Obviously the receiving side can usually counter. The general rule is that moves can be countered with an identical type of move. IE. Low blows from near counter low blows from near. Projectiles counter projectiles. As far as I've seen, only "Grab" specials are un-counterable.
 C ) There are some specials where the attacker changes his position, so the defense has to counter with a special that can be executed under the changed condition. This can particularly be confusing if one can succeed in pulling this off in the middle of a special counter-string.
(IE. Kai does his somersault, which moves him from "near" to "far". The opponent has to counter with a "far" special instead of a "near" special.)
 D ) Counters can be countered back based on basically the same rules, but there is less time to execute it successfully. This is no big deal on basic attacks, but specials are hard to get down this way. After 3 counters, a normal attack will be impossible to counter, although defending might still be possible.
 E ) Kai an Alamis have unblockable counter-specials that appear to be randomly activated during a normal quick or strong attack counter string. With this in mind, try to avoid doing those types of attacks against them if they're your opponent.

4) Ah, yeah, since your "position" is important, I'll explain it;
 A ) Basically, you and your opponent can either be "near" or "far". You can tell just by looking at the top of the screen with the character icons what position they're in - "near" will be closer to the center of the screen while "Far" is near the edges". If you're idly standing in battle, that'll also give some visual cues.
 B ) You can use the commands up, up or down, down to try to switch positions, but it may leave you open for an attack.

(Anndd I'll get through more of this later.)

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: PC-FX Tome of Obey]

I had Battle Heat before, with my last FX..  And I couldnt stand it.  lol.  Maybe if I understood what I was supposed to do I would like it better. 

I once had a very detailed guide (though poorly formated and a bit sloppy) on the late Rising Stuff website. It detailed a lot of things better than any prior guide I saw for the game, including major details into how the play mechanics worked, how the specials worked/whatever unique properties they had, and even strategies for how to beat the AI if you -don't- want to abuse jump-kicking.

I wish I saved that... It doesn't appear to have been archived. I may have to do a re-write of it sometime.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: PC-FX Tome of Obey]

Hey, I just got around to checking the site. First review I checked was Battle Heat, because it's a game I analyzed very well....

No cheese exists in this game, that I have seen at least.

I presume you haven't seen me do this.

It works with any character against any CPU opponent - even the final boss.

However since I found the CPU on hard mode pretty difficult otherwise, I'd say the blasted AI had it coming.

Here's a good question; has this game ever been seriously attempted in a competitive-scene sense to see whether the metagame is balanced or broken?

EDIT: Some other comments so far.

Some more details on the "Der Langrisser FX" review would be nice. Consider this from my perspective: I played the SFC Der Langrisser Fan Translation and the Megadrive Langrisser II Fan Translation, and I also own (though haven't played through) the Langrisser Tribute version of Langrisser Dramatic Edition. I feel a good review should compare these down to minute details. Since Der Langrisser has a FX, Saturn and PS version, doing direct, frame-by-frame cutscene comparisons for each one (Most likely in the form of direct rips from the ISOs of identical scenes) would be an excellent way to showcase how each system's video encoding compared to each other. It'd also be a good idea to compare the game dialogs, since I recall hearing rumors that -each version- has various differences in dialog with alterations in the plot accordingly.

I was kinda hoping to have DL FX by now so I could really try this kind of thing myself, but haven't gotten a copy yet.

EDIT 2: Reading more of the reviews.

You should probably cut down on the commentary about people calling the PC-FX a "Dating box" - especially on games that actually have a dating element, like Blue Breaker and Arubera's Maiden. Save it for games that avert even having the vague appearance of a dating sim.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: FX Rolecall! If you have adopted a FX, sign up here!]

Oh, dear. It's been a few years since I got my PC-FX. When would I expect issues to start coming up?

[General Gaming / Re: New Neo-Geo handheld?]

Some silly part of me was actually hoping this would have more NeoGeo Pocket goodness as opposed to NeoGeo arcade.

I'm probably particularly weird for nostalgiaing over the portable so much, but it's just the game library was one of the best a portable system could ever be blessed with, and it's among the few handhelds that fell hard to the Game Boy that I genuinely wish had beat them.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Zeroigar translation, from the intro]

Somehow, I think that just "Zeroigar" would have more elegance to it than the whole "Super God Trooper Zeroigar" shebang. That's just my first thought, though.

I fullheartedly agree. I'll give a fan translation I tried playing recently as an example of how doing completely literal translations of those kind of titles has become a pet peeve for me lately.
http://www.romhacking.net/translations/1645/
I mean, jeez, the title screen was even edited to such an extent that the most proper identification of the game is in the smallest font and crammed in the upper-left. I would've just edited out the Japanese from the original logo and called it a day.

[General Gaming / Re: Retrode]

Perhaps SignOfZeta doesn't eat?

[General Gaming / Re: Retrode]

Hey, didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?
Perhaps you shouldn't be getting breasts from the KFC now, sir!

[General Gaming / Re: Retrode]

If its possible to dump Sateleview games with this thing then someone will have already done it by the time "some day" arrives, wouldn't you think? This is an honest question.

I actually know someone who -has- dumped some Satellaview ROMs with a Retrode along with his own 8M-Pack-specific tools. However, you could probably see that the amount of data that needs to be dumped is -very large- for an undumped list, probably too much so for one man's efforts.

Not to mention, a lot of the -new- dumps lately basically came out of nowhere in terms of a complete lack of prior documentation to their existence.
And that's just the most recent example.

[General Gaming / Re: Retrode]

Can someone explain the point of this product? The controller interface is nice, of course, but every single game ever has already been dumped.

LIES!

And that is why I'm hoping to get a Retrode someday.

[PC-FX Discussion / Re: Zeroigar translation, from the intro]

After the subtitles are put in, how difficult would translating in-game content such as the menus and text dialog be?

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Esperknight and Filler's PC-FX Translation Projects]

I'm no programmer, but with the PC-FX and its games, I think there would likely be enough RAM and other resources available at nearly any given time to run a modest subtitle program. I think there's a system font available and everything. The challenge is getting it to actually work. The good thing is that I suspect that once you get such a thing to work in one game, you could probably apply much of the same code and/or techniques to other games. That's why in the long run, custom subtitle programs will likely be the best way to go.

I made a fan dub for Xanadu II, and that game has fairly few characters, fairly few lines, and is logistically very easy to work with. Nonetheless, it turned out to be a huge undertaking. Twice the characters and twice the lines per character would be monstrous, and beyond that...well, you get the point.

I'd imagine if Pia Carrot was fandubbed. ... ...

Oh, dear.

How would we get a large amount of girls willing to dub sexually-explicit dialog?

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Esperknight and Filler's PC-FX Translation Projects]

I can't believe they published the script for Cutey Honey. I'd be interested in seeing that one translated but I think it would be one of the most challenging. Isn't that the one that is voice acted with no text displayed? It would need to be all fan dubbed, though I suppose if the paper script could be OCRed it would make the translation effort a whole heck of a lot easier. You don't happen to have some Japanese OCR software and a whole lot of time on your hands do you?

IIRC, in-game the player character (Faceless anonymous player-avatar male) talks in text, while everyone else is voice-acted with no accompanying text.

Perhaps one could do a hack in the game to make text for the other characters appear?
That'd work pretty well for some of the other games where characters talk but only one is represented in text, too.