Messages

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

kami, while I do understand you feel that you got screwed, I really don't see it that way.  The pics in the auction clearly showed a VERY nice looking system, but was clearly not new.  If you aren't willing to keep it, hell, just throw it on eBay at a true auction and not some BIN price.  We all get burned from time to time, so chin up and move on.    You stated that you aren't exactly poor, well that's great.    So, go get a digital cam man.  They arent that high anymore, hell they are actually kinda cheap now.  Take some nice pics of the system, and post em.  While I am sure the Duo will sell, I am positive you will lose money on it.  So, basically either eat it, or let it go to get some of your money back.   

Unfortunately, if you try to let it go for more than you paid for it, or even close to it, then it won't be in your favor in the forums.  It's how it is.  We basically let things go here for decent prices, and even given away sometimes.  That's the purpose of having your forum pals.     You paid a little more than you should have for that Duo, soo....you options are kinda limited here, aside from just keeping it. 

Look Bernie, you are one of a handful of nice guys here so I'll level with you. Either I sell that Duo with no more that 50 CAD loss to me or I'll keep it for myself.

Saves me trouble of getting a work horse CD system down the line.

Everyone else, according to ebay guidelines filing items under "new other" is fine for opened items with some content missing as long as it is followed by an explanation in the description but split those hairs if you please.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Can someone post a closeup picture of a genuine Turbo Duo adapter?]

eBay sided with the seller because I had asked for the value to be marked down during shipping to avoid customs.

I don't worry about being able to sell it or not I am not exactly poor. Hell if it proves too much trouble I might keep it for the novelty of owning two mint Duos.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

You guys sure like your drama. It is on eBay too by the way, for a whopping 100 CAD more BIN.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

Why didnt you try to post it here and sell it in the threads here?

Because you I know you guys by now. None of you would even consider it for that price.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

The only thing that got scuffed is the controller. I'll prove pictures if the seller wants.

I use the pictures from the previous listing because at full size they are really high quality and show off the shape of the system well. I only have a shitty phone camera at home so anything I took could not do it justice.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

Well, I cant help that I do not care. I paid around 530 for it and I am selling it for 560 shipped meaning I am losing a little money. I am not selling it for less than that in order to win some Turbo karma points from some anonymous posters on a forum.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

I am keeping that one. I was planning on returning this for a refund but eBay made that impossible so it has got to go, with as little loss to me as possible.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

I got nothing from eBay, they sided with the seller because I asked that he mark the value down for shipping to avoid customs. Also I paid more for shipping than what the seller had put on the listing, something in the order of 80.

Lastly 520-530 is not overpaying for a new Turbo Duo, 660 is which is what I just paid for the genuine NIB Turbo Duo that will replace this one.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Can someone post a closeup picture of a genuine Turbo Duo adapter?]

Wrong thread mate.

[General Gaming / Re: Chiptunes are not a genre / me complaining that alot of chiptune people are dens]

There is something about the NES/GB soundtracks though. I am sure I could come up with some explanation as to why if I ruminated on the subject long enough, but at the end of the day it all just comes down to personal preference. Out of all the systems I own when it comes down to it the tunes of those two 8-bit Nintendo systems have always towered above everything else.

It is not nostalgia either because I grew up mostly around SEGA systems which so far has only netted me a lukewarm attachment to the Master System music library and a negative response to the grating aesthetics of the Mega Drive.

As a kid I had access to C64 systems but the games never interested me enough to give them a fair shake. The Amiga on the other hand I'll admit to being host to some pretty amazing tracks, but once again the games didn't interest me enough to give the system much beyond a cursory glance.

What can I say, I seem to only be able to stomach Japanese developed games for some reason.

In conclusion one should never split hairs or expect defining purity when it comes to mainstream cultural phenomenons. Just ignore it and it will go away. The NES is the system that the plebeian masses grew up around and they are now at the age where they are nostalgic for their lost youth and what was part of it.

Ten, twenty more years and they will be too old for such nostalgic pursuits which will pave the way for the nostalgic affinities of the generation after.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: PC Engine Core Grafx, regionfree + RGB mods + 2 games. Prices?]

Cheers mate, I'll have a go at this.

I reckon Legendary Axe 2 is valued at about £9-12, Japanese Cadash maybe £20. A naked Core Grafx £25-30 perhaps. But the RGB modding is a definite plus.

I assume the games are complete or price should be a tad lower.

Not a terrible deal, mind. Not that exciting either.

[Off-Topic / Re: Question about a laptop AC adaptor]

Depends, some adapters are multi voltage. This especially true of laptop adapters because people often bring them along when traveling.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Can someone post a closeup picture of a genuine Turbo Duo adapter?]

But if it's tested, then it's been used, meaning it's not "new" anymore.

To me new just means the item looks unused, has no wear whatsoever and comes complete. I open the items when I get them anyway, so that process does not matter.

Well, if it was an eBay auction it is certainly grounds for a refund from the seller. How much did the seller charge you? We might want to keep an eye on this fellow to make sure he/she/it doesn't attempt to sell the item again as NIB.

Ebay has been taking their sweet time making a descision regarding the case. It was an auction though, still the item being falsly advertised as being new was the only reason I bid so much on it.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Can someone post a closeup picture of a genuine Turbo Duo adapter?]

It was tested, and I try to buy all my systems new or mint. The included power adapter has a lot of wear and looks repaired, there is no way it was part of this package.

If the seller didn't realize this when he was testing the unit then he must have been an idiot.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Alien Soldier]

If you find a boxed complete copy for cheaps be sure to let me know, I've wanted that game for a few years now.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Alien Soldier]

Different region, same price range.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Can someone post a closeup picture of a genuine Turbo Duo adapter?]

I won an auction for a NIB Turbo Duo which among other things had a pretty used looking, and showing signs of repair, power adapter whose label looks nothing like shot above. I was pretty sure it was for some Japanese Duo model instead of being for the item that I bought, now I know for sure.

Model number is PAD-124

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Can someone post a closeup picture of a genuine Turbo Duo adapter?]

Thanks is you, that settles my suspicions as fact. Keep that picture up, I may need it as proof.

[Off-Topic / Re: New 486 pc]

Does anyone have a good idea as to a space saving solution for a DOS system?

I cringe whenever I look at the ugly beige behemoth in my game room taking up so much space just so I can play a few games from over 20 years ago.

What is the most minimalist, elegant setup possible for running games up to about early to mid 90's, which is where my interest in PC gaming tapers off.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Alien Soldier]

I need to bite the bullet and buy a copy of Alien Soldier one of these days.

Though 150-200 is a tall order if anything a treasure game would be well deserving.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Alien Soldier]

No way, Alien Soldier was in every way made from the Gunstar Heroes mold. Besides Treasure loved the Mega Drive back in those days, they made a bunch of title for the platform.

Did they even ever make a single PCE title?

[General Gaming / Re: Nice set up]

Sunlight.  Not all light.

and, who cares if the plastic is in pristine condition.  Its plastic.  Its rugged.  The insides are what is important.

I care. I am shallow.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

Yeah, people really don't know what new means. If it is tested it's not new!!

I got burned by a guy on Yahoo auctions Japan selling a "new" copy of Symphony of the Night for Saturn. Natually I bid more than I would for an open copy. Got an opened copy that had some light scuffs on the disc. How is that new?! He said he had opened it to check the contents... What BS!!

For older systems I can understand why a seller would want to test it avoid the hassle of something arriving DOA. If you are smart you will use accessories that you have lying around for the test so you just need to take out the system itself.

But when you say its new and stuff are missing then try to pull the "but I didn't list it in the description" rubbish you get under my skin.

Hey, you want to buy a new car? What is that, the "new" car I sold you has no seats or windows? Well of course not, I didn't list them in them in the description, now did I?

[Off-Topic / Re: New 486 pc]

to me the golden age of PC games was the late 80's to early 90's. My Pentium II (or is it III?) setup runs all my favourites from that era without problem.

Lemmings, Dune, Dune 2, Another World, WolfenStein/DooM, etc.

[General Gaming / Re: Nice set up]

That is rather sleek but I hate having more than one or two consoles out at a time. When I am done with a game I usually move to another system and meticulously pack the previous one up and put it away in the old closet until the day its services are once again required.

Especially since I try to buy every old system new and mint I feel when left outside they somehow age faster.

They do for a fact collect dust faster and in case of certain consoles, like the much cursed ugly form of the SNES, the plastic yellows faster if exposed to light.

My current setup has two top of the line CRT's unceremoniously put upon the ground with a pair of chest high tower speakers erected like marble pillars to their sides so I can fully enjoy the sights and sounds of the good old genenations.

What my setup lacks in elegance it more than makes up for in raw fidelity.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

According to Wikipedia the Turbo Duo went on sale in '92, so I think the seller's memory is a bit fuzzy. It was over 20 years ago.

Either he's a liar or it's more than a 'bit'.  If it really was purchased new at retail, it came with the band and a huey.

I thought the same thing.  Even if he opened it to check everything out, it should have both those things.

At least the two games are there and everything looks new. Here is the responce I got from the german seller who apparantly was selling the Duo on behalf of someone else when I told him that the item he shipped me cannot be called new:

"Hello ! What you say is absolutely false. The console is really new !! I am a privat seller and I wrote in this Auction, that I don`t take the all back. I don`t trust you ! You write only shit and you lie !! The console don`t have any scratches and the console is functioning. I have tested. You have buy it ! I am not industry seller. all what you write is shit !!! "

What is it about consoles that makes sellers think it is okay to open them up, remove content and still call the item new. It is not the first time I bought a new system where the pack-in games were removed without the seller clearly stating that fact.

This time I am not going to take it, especially since this cost so much and there are so many things missing or replaced with used items.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

According to Wikipedia the Turbo Duo went on sale in '92, so I think the seller's memory is a bit fuzzy. It was over 20 years ago.

[Off-Topic / Re: New 486 pc]

I was going to do this but then my employing company started throwing out old computer hardware by the truckloads and I managed to save a Pentium II PC, and spare parts from another identical unit and took them home.

I also put a Pentium 100 on my desk, it is next to me now, but I don't need it.

Only thing I could wish for is to find a way to pack vintage PC hardware in a tiny, tiny enclosure so that they are not so intrusive and bulky.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

I was one of the people bidding more than 500 for that one. That "NEW" Turbo Duo that I bought two weeks back turned out not to be so new after all. The power adapter was a used adapter showing signs of repair from some Japanese model, the packin games were missing and there was no manual either. The controller had scratches too. About the only thing minty in that box was the system itself so I was in the process of forcing the buyer to take it back and refund me so I could get that other "New" listing instead.

I think I might as well hang onto the one I got now.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Turbo Gouging on Ebay ( r.i.p. - gouging much )]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=221022520108&nma=true&rt=nc&si=DWmz1xUYCH%252BrDEj8UBodjPxF2cs%253D&sspagename=STRK%3AMEDWX%3AIT&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_894wt_922

I never thought this would go over 550-600...

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Briefcase system cd-rom woe]

So far as I've read in the various threads here the laser has to be placed a certain location for the disc to spin up. Try and find that bit of info, slide the laser in place and try again.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Can someone post a closeup picture of a genuine Turbo Duo adapter?]

As the title say I want to have a good look at a genuine NA Turbo Duo power adapter, especially the info label.

[General Gaming / Re: custom boxs for SNES and other games.]

This is the guy on eBay.

Google searches do no net any websites doing the same thing though. You remember how their prices were? This guy demands a pretty high premium. In most cases it would be a better deal if you just bought a genuine boxed copy and sold your loose.

[General Gaming / Re: What should my next Master System game be?]

All I got out of this is "Hello, I have no imagination".

You're like that kid that plays D&D for the dice rolling combat portions, and complains when anything else is happening.

'WHO CARES ABOUT THIS STUPID NPC LETS JUST KILL SHIT IVE GOT AN AXE LETS GO"


What's wrong with the gameplay?  You're adventuring around, piecing together a great story.  Would you rather it cut to a Marioesque style game every time you walk out of a town? lol

I am not that kid that plays D&D, period. I am that kid that plays video games because of that medium's rules and mechanics based nature. I certainly take no interest in video games for the sake of alien, unwelcome and tumorous concepts like narrative being ham fistedly forced into them by people who would rather write novels or direct movies but are too untalented to ever succeed in those fields. The very same people who then proceed to view this medium as ripe for sullying in a misguided attempt to realize their unfulfilled ambitions by proxy.

It certainly doesn't help that a bunch of kids and man-children who don't know any better actually praise these subpar efforts and hold them in high esteem, usually while being high on a powerful cocktail of nostalgia and ignorance.

Of course this only prompts esteemed critics of the mediums being ever so poorly imitated to then proceed to misunderstand what this medium is actually really about at the core thus claiming that games can never attain the lofty status of being regarded as an equal peer to the much more noble blue blooded mediums of film and literature, no sir.

The deuce you say mister critic, of course games wont ever be able do that, that is and never was their purpose, the comparison alone is farcical. This medium has a set of completely different goals and success criteria than those other narrative based mediums and these goals are all related to the origin of the medium's name, "game", something that you play.

But then let us take a shallow gander at the so called game mechanics behind a large subset of the RPG genre. Rip open the thin veneer and therein lies exposed the ugly hunchbacked form of the problem itself. There at the core is a tabletop game inside and at the core of almost every video game RPG.

When you exercise your sole interactive privilege within the combat system of Phantasy Star and games of its ilk by picking that "Fight" option over and over again, what you are actually doing is participating in a virtual abstraction of a tabletop dice roll.

You choose a menu command to roll a dice and see how much damage you did. That is just about as engaging as pushing the play button on a slot machine to see how much money you won.

It is this chicken brained, straight faced translation of mechanics made purposefully simple so as to be a playable tabletop activity for a group of humans using pen and paper over to the powerful computer with its infinite more possibilities that is at the rotten heart of this genre. That very same rotten heart which would give me infinite pleasure to rip out and shit upon.

RPG's were off to a lobotomized brain dead start and lo, thirty odd years later I struggle to count on one hand the number of computer RPG's that actually take the philosophical concept of the tabletop experience, the concept of adventuring, the sole element that actually made it fun, and try to implement this divorced of its simple tabletop derived implementation in order to instead take full advantage of the starkly different competencies of the video game medium as opposed to the limitations of the tabletop medium.

RPG's like Demon's and Dark Souls are true video game takes on the concept of fantasy adventuring in this medium.

Unfortunately such titles count for sub 1% of the genre. The rest is a miasma of nostalgic tabletop derived wank material that I do not deem fit for wiping my ass with let alone play.

What would you get if you hacked the program of most menu based RPGs to realize the following rule:

When an encounter is about to be triggered, run a sequence of quick simulations of the current party fighting these enemies by just picking the "Fight" option for a few rounds. If one average the fight can easily be won by doing this then skip the fight and instead add the experience that would have been won to the party. What you would get is many an hour of walking around without anything happening. Is this really good game design? No, it is a farce, a farce that should have ended over 30 years ago.

They can keep their ham fisted narrative too. In my decades long attempt to dissect this decadent medium I've played dozens of its offerings and not even under pain of torture could I recall a single morsel of the many cliched trite plots being forced down my throat by way of dense, unnecessary and utterly clumsy forced exposition.

Upon completion all memory of it is all gone like the intolerable stench of passed flatulence. Which is funny because I can recall in detail the plots of any favored novel that I've read, even years after having completed them.

So why do I keep coming back to genre? Because of its potential, the potential for passively established atmosphere, large worlds to explore at whim and deep, deep, deep rewarding mechanics that will take tens, hundreds of hours to master fully and offers fun, fun, fun.

After decades of all that potential being wasted on moving forward on tabletop grid like maze of corridors underground and pressing X to roll dices there finally was two people in the game design world that got it and realized the potential.

Yasumi Matsuno and Hidetaka Miyazaki, I wish I could carve your likeness upon a mountain side and worship you, you gods of gaming.

[General Gaming / Re: custom boxs for SNES and other games.]

What kind of boxes are we talking about here? Those plastic replacements or the cardboard boxes made to look like genuine SNES boxes?

I know there is a ebay seller based in UK whose cardboard reproduction boxes I have seen for sale several times. Mostly for rare or unreleased games. Not sure if they did anything to Terranigma or not.

They are quite expensive though, somewhere in the area of 40, and from the shots it is impossible to gauge the quality.

[Off-Topic / Re: Thoughts on eBay feedback]

I only leave feedback when I receive the package. I actually use that feedback icon to keep an eye on which of my purchased items are still on their way to me whenever I buy a lot of things.

[General Gaming / Re: What should my next Master System game be?]

First person dungeons, smoothly animated.

Space ships.

Chicks.

Cats in your party.

Dragons.

Whats probrem.

Same problem as with almost every other tabletop template RPG really, trite, uninspired awfully designed, none engaging gameplay.

Press X to win for 30-150 hours. At least the original Final Fantasy broke up all those pressings of X with the occasional "pay a little attention now" boss battle every few hours or so. As someone who appreciates good game design playing an RPG is like going to work, only there is no paycheck to prevent suicide at the end.

As for the first person dungeon parts, those are actually my vision of hell. No christian visions of imps eternally poking your balls with triforks for me, no sir, to me hell is being stuck in an endless drab labyrinth of uniform square corridors.

Then again my longstanding impression of RPG fans has been that they play those types of games for reasons not relating to gameplay. Only to my mind that is a loony proposition.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: SNES, Mega Drive, NES, DS, Games and Systems]

E-mail sent about Super Mario Bros.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

I hooked it up to my old DOS computer and have been discovering all sorts of great new soundtracks for all my old favorite games...

When it comes to music I find that I am extremely biased towards the way that I heard it back in the day. Whenever I hear DOS games played on superior sound hardware that perhaps technically produce a better sound track I only tend to cringe.

I had to hunt down an old PC just so I could hear those tunes as they are rendered on actual Sound Blaster 16 hardware.

6 is ass.  240p sprites on top of awful prerendered CG high-res backgrounds.  So ugly.

The deuce you say. The short snippets of video I had seen did not communicate that detail of import at all. Pre-rendered graphics or sprites are like a deadly sin to me, looks like I'll be skipping 6 and 7 then.

[General Gaming / Re: What should my next Master System game be?]

Phantasy star 1 is one of my favorite games on any console. Dunno if it holds up without the nostalgia

It doesn't, I played it for the first time last year and it is rubbish in my opinion. Perfectly encapsulates all the reasons why over the years I have come to find the RPG genre so intolerable.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

What is wrong with 6? It looks really good in videos. Too bad there is no good way for me to play it outside of emulation perhaps. I hear the PS2 port puts out 480i. Why?

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Buying stuff from Japan via proxy]

Proxy bidding is best reserved for rare AND very expensive items. That way all the extra fees will be dwarfed by the actual price of the item and indeed what you have saved by buying it directly from the source.

Think something like an boxed LT, you can prolly get that for a much better price going the Yahoo auctions route than by getting it on ebay. You should definitely be weary of cheap or semi cheap items that are heavy and or bulky. The final shipping price is sure to be murder.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Buying stuff from Japan via proxy]

Exactly, I remembered this the hard way just last month. I think once I pay the final shipping price from SMJ depot to my house then I will have paid more for every single item than what a 5 second search on ebay would have netted me.

With ebay all the costs are up front so you hesitate but in SMJ all that catches your eye is the auction price and you think you've found an amazing bargain.

[General Gaming / Re: What should my next Master System game be?]

Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap.

That game is a 8-bit masterpiece and I am not saying that lightly. Without it your Master System collection is not so much incomplete as it is none existent.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Head on over to Neo Geo forums, there are a bunch of sellers selling those.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

I don't have any NEO hardware yet, I am saving that for later, getting the games first.

The new garish blue MVS converter 2011 is supposed to play everything, or pretty much everything without any problems.

The previous model, the MVS Converter II needs an external adapter for certain games if you have anything but a 5V NEO GEO system. Also the MVS II has graphical problems with games that use scaling, like fighters and such. So far as I know it works for the Slug series which is all I need so I'll be getting that one sometimes over the next few months.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

No I didn't know about X being a revised 2, I don't care though, if I am going to pay the price for the system I might as well get the whole set. It is not like there are any other games in the NEO library that interest me.

X has issues with some MVS > AES convertors as do some of the later playmore titles. I think they need extra power so youll have to plug the damn thing into the wall.

I've only heard of Metal Slug 5 having issues with the Super MVS converter II and only with NEO GEO systems that do not come with a 5V power adapter.

[Off-Topic / Re: What do you do apart from play games?]

Once you kiss your future wife you can kiss your past game collection goodbye.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

Nooooooooo! You lie, bad man lie! Make bad man stop...

.
..
... well for the manageable price tag of MVS copies I am willing to find out for myself.

I just secured 2 and X for 115 shipped and they both come with those nice shockboxes. That is a price point were I am willing to experiment and potentially get burned, damn be all.

[Off-Topic / The “What-Did-You-Buy-Today?” Thread]

What? Everyone swears by 3, don't they?

Besides I refuse to believe that games with such heavenly pixel art could ever suck. Or rather I would be too busy being mesmerized to notice. I don't have a 2-player fetish, but I do have a pixel art one.