Messages

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: PCE Pixel art tools?]

but it doesn't support PCX !

That's true but I just port it through another editor once I'm done with it. If I save hours on using GG I can spend a minute on converting to PCX.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: PCE Pixel art tools?]

I recommend GraphicsGale. It became freeware last month too. It looks old on the surface but it's frequently updated and they even implemented a feature five days after I reqested it last year.

The main reason I like it is due to how the line tool and right-click works. They both sped up my work by quite a lot compared to other software. It also has convenient features for animation.

https://graphicsgale.com/us/

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Ys Book I & II - Ys III: Wanderers From Ys reviews from VG&CE]

Ys III has one of the most remarkable soundtracks to this day in my opinion, it also beats Book I&II which already set the bar high. It cannot match the introduction though, Ys I manages to deliver a certain mood, feeling and also initial hype through the three parts (background, title screen and kick-off intro) which few games have managed to do (its sequels failed at it too, but Book II does it better than Ys III).
The Ys III soundtrack also sounds way better than any other version of the same game, even the newer ones. The added violins of the PC/PSP version were a nice try, but it doesn't get close to beating the PCE arrangement.

I've shared the ridiculously poor American dub with a couple of friends and they both asked for the title of The Boy's Got Wings. I've also discovered this game in recent years, so no nostalgia involved.

Other aspects of both of these games are good but not astounding. Gameplay is solid, story is basic, graphics are good but unimpressive, except for the intros. These were also made in an era when artwork was amazing in general, but again in Ys' case it was decent but not up there with the best. And yes, I believe that external artwork (box art, manual illustrations etc.) were important parts of the games themselves back then.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: Sony smartwatch 3 trade?]

Seent a PM.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Is this a PC Engine controller or what?]

Yes, it's designed to sit between the keyboard plug and the keyboard of a PC-98.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: New PC Engine Website - www.pc-engine.co.uk]

Great content. This has become a really good resource. Still I have some feedback for a couple of the best sections.

In the accessory compatibility list, it would be good if the user could order the list after each of the accessories by clicking their names. It would make it easier to scan for what you're interested in at the moment.

Perhaps it's a no-brainer to use the arcade card for any of those games enhanced by it, but it would still be nice to have more specific info about what exactly gets enhanced for each of the games.

Items in a few of the other categories would also benefit from additional desriptions.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

Well if you say so! I'm the clueless one. Is the light dependent on the picture traveling properly though? Sounds odd. What could I check next?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

I have tried a HuCard as well. And the regulators are working as they should.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

I'm pretty sure I pressed Run back when I first discovered this just because I thought it could be video related. There was no light, spin or sound anyway.

How would I check the AV jack anyway?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

Ah Ok If you were closer I could help you out.

I appreciate that as well as the help you have offered in the thread until now. Thanks.

So does anyone else still have any clue?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

Where in Europe are you based?

Sweden.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

Did you check the AV and power jack yet? Those are known to get cracked connections and typically need to be re-soldered.

I have checked the power jack as described above. I could check the AV jack too, but as the console doesn't light up and the CD doesn't spin, I assume it's more than an issue with the picture.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

Top left hand corner there are two aluminium heat sinks with the regulators attached.

Thanks! The result was 5.0 for both

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

Check the power switch using continuity on the meter.

Thanks for the quick reply! Bear in mind that I barely have any experience with electronics though.

I don't know where to make contact around the power switch. There is a big metal block in front of it, I don't know if that's what I'm looking for, but if I put both of them on it, I do get the constant beep. Everyhting else seems to be guarded by plastics.

5V supply? Do you mean the 9V power supply?

Still can't locate the actual regulators. Could you perhaps point them out on this (not my photo)?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

Did you check the AV and power jack yet? Those are known to get cracked connections and typically need to be re-soldered.

I neither had time or a multimeter and the correct screwdriver, but I do now.

The adapter ouputs 9.24 volts. I don't think that's too much?

I also pick the same value up on the other side of the power jack so I assume it's working correctly?

The fuse seems to be fine. Constant beep during the continuity test and it also looks fine.

Where are the 5805s located located? I'm not entirely sure what they look like, so those were the only ones I couldn't test.

[Off-Topic / Re: Wanting to learn Japanese?]

I'm studying Japanese at the university. While that's not a must in order to learn Japanese, it's certainly a lot easier with a teacher or a few.

What I'd say you absolutely do need is a proper book. I know it's super convenient and often free to find lessons online, but you should know that there will be a lot of strange and incorrect points and there's not much structure to things.

If you are serious about learning Japanese, buying a book should be no hurdle. I'd recommend Genki. And also the workbook and answer key for it, especially if you're going to study on your own.

Try to learn some basic radicals (kanji components) before you move on from the first few kanji. It will help a lot later on, as many kanji look similar to each other. That's probably the only thing Genki doesn't cover properly though. I believe the web would be a sufficient source for this, but there are of course books out there as well.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Duo-R not turning on]

Start simply:  check the voltage on the ac adapter with a multi-meter. 

Hm... I'll see if there's one in the shared workshop of this apartment building tomorrow then. I don't know if there is one and I don't own any myself.

Is the 7805 a regulator? I don't really know anything like I mentioned. I do very much appreciate your help though!

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Duo-R not turning on]

Hello there!
One day, my Duo-R woulsn't turn on anymore. I've tried the original adapter and a step-down converter (I'm in Europe, so I was using a third party cable), but that's the only check I could perform due to lack of knowledge about these kinds of things.

I was going to send it to a company here and have them fix it and do an RGB mod while I was at it, but as they just nearly doubled the price for the latter, I no longer think it's worth it. So I'm kind of wondering if it's a simple fix I could do on my own (or at least find out if it's repairable before I waste money on shipping).

So basically my question is where I should start with troubleshooting my console?
I suppose there's some kind of fuse in there which could be the problem, but I don't know how to tell.

I might just as well ask if there's any up to date step-by-step video for the RGB mod as well? It's probably too complicated though as I have next to no experience (I learned to solder and make a toy car roll forward back in school but that's it). But hopefully the fix should be simple enough.

[Buy/Sell/Trade / Re: RAFFLE TIME! LARGE TG16/PCE COLLECTION!!!!]

This is a rather crazy one. I'm in! If it's for real.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

I'm not sure I've come to the right place anymore.

You seem like a good guy Siskan.   Don't take it to heart.  Sure you've come to the right place.  But you have to realize this place is more of a back ally than a main street at times.  This forum isn't like to many others.  It is not always nice here.  That's not to say it isn't full of some of the nicest damn people you'd ever want to meet, It means we are all VERY crazy.  All in our own way.

FOr instance Ark's like that crazy frat brother that is always right and telling you where to stick it.  But you gotta realize he means well most the time or is just joking.  Like the Frat Bro, he's also the first one next to you at the gym, saying "come on dude you got this".  NecroPhile on the other hand, is that wise guy in the corner just waiting for something to start so he can point out the stupidity or call ya out on something.  Anyway you look at it NecroPhile and the majority of us like the drama around here for sure. Keeps things fun and interesting, but we rarely mean it mean spirited.  Kinda like a locker room round here, we joke, we call people out on stuff, we even partake in flan,  And in all it keeps this place different from the other forums.
 
This most likely isn't a place to have a serious discussion on being nice, it'll just get shot down too easy as you taking things to seriously.  I understand what you're getting at, but I'm just pointing out that the best thing to do is to just end the conversation if you feel someone is acting inappropriate like you did before. 

But overall to my point, most of the folks here are great.  And I guess that's why I'm responding to your post Siskan, I love this offbeat little corner of vidya game-in. Yeah a few are a little more boisterous than others, but hey that's the great thing about the PCE, it brings many different people together to enjoy it.  I've learned a ton from NecroPhile, Ark, and the boisterous posters, I laugh with Tats and Estebans crazy and silly posts, and guys like BlueBMW, Chop5, Turboken, theSteve and so many more are so darn generous and helpful it'll all but kill ya. 

Thanks for taking you time. Well, I'm not really so fragile that I'm taking all this to heart and feeling all bad and so on, but I'm not entirely comfortable around it either. And I'm surely not here for drama just as well as I'm not the kind of guy who thinks it's funny when people are being rude (unless it's fiction).

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

and yes, I'm not 100% suggesting you drop one paint program to use another.

Well it sure seemed so judging by your later posts.

I should have been more clear about one thing though. I never really had any kind of conversion utility in mind. What I really meant was saving what I've used in a software supporting pcx, such as the ones you mentioned.

lol, what.

Welcome to PCEFX.  I'm Arkhan.  This is how I talk.

You probably don't care, but it sure would be nicer for most people (including yourself) if you had a friendlier attitude.

I personally dropped out of this software conversation because I wasn't interested in arguing with you. Then someone stepped in and to defend my cause and got some ugly feedback from you. So even if I'd rather not be involved, this still largely involves me. So think twice and show some consideration.

I came to this site to share my enthusiasm with other people and educating myself, not to end up being the subject of some bad tempered argument. Though seeing as NecroPhile's post seems to indicate it's strange to want a nice environment, I'm not sure I've come to the right place anymore.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

I mean, Siskan's workflow can go something like this:

Paint in graphics gale
Open in PaintShopPro or Grafx2
Save as PCX
Make sure palettes look like they are indexed right
Hand file to Lochlan
Insert into game
Success.

Exactly. So there's no need to actually use these to create the pixel art in the first place. So I don't see why it's so important for you to have me change my ways. Sure, the initial pointers were appreciated but after that I got the impression that you tried to talk me over rather than explaining something I didn't know.

Also, I can see why you want to get your point through and all, but I see no point in making it such a big deal. Spenoza may or may not have read your words the way you intended, but he kept a good tone while I'm afraid you didn't. Better learn a new way of argumentation that supports a peaceful discussion climate. ; )

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

I'm not sure I would call PaintShopPro for example, inferior to Graphics Gale, and it really does help if you plan PCE palettes out ahead of time, especially when you're talking about multicolor backgrounds.

For the task in question, many of these are. I've tried basically everything I could find and one thing I've learned is that universal editors come with a lot of obstacles. In many cases I'd rather use an old version of MS Paint over these. Some editors which are very old benefit from their limitations, but the fact still is that they were designed for other techniques and that becomes evident in the end. Also, they don't support modern file types, which is what I want most of the time.

Also, as I've pointed out above, the way the line tool behaves in GraphicsGale really speeds up the process for me. So if the conversions take a few seconds, that's nothing compared to hours saved. I continuously try new software I come across though, but so far I've always missed some major features.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

I've been curious about the program, just don't want to deal with the learning curve as I already use photoshop. I'll have to look into it more one of these days. What I liked the best about it were the spline/curve tools and all the dedicated pixel art stuff.

Do you have "portfolio" with more of your work?

I've used Photoshop for many things other than pixel art for years and I have to say GraphicsGale is much easier to use. It's simple as it has many features tailored for pixel art, but not another million features Photoshop has that you won't use for pixel art. Since a couple of years back it's also easy to rearrange the user interface so that it feels logical to yourself.

One thing I like which my old version of PS does not have (not sure about newer ones) is the fact that GG
makes a difference between layers and frames. Which means you can have several layers within each frame. But most of all, it's the way the line tool works. Pixel art is all about planning each pixel, but if you do it the right way you can place several pixels at once with the line tool, as well as just one. So no need to switch tools. Also PS enforces automated anti-aliasing with most tools, which is a big no no.

I haven't done a very good job at making my work available online for many years now. I don't have any portfolio, but I have a deviantART account with mixed media. The majority is stuff from 2006-2009 but there are maybe ten pieces sporadically submitted during the last few years.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

No need to use anything inferior when you could just convert to pcx though.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

Thank you. I'm using GraphicsGale.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

Thanks!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Adol sells his collection to museum in New York]

I always see hugely overpriced listings from sellers in Europe. Does anyone actually pay over $200 for Kazekiri, just to save a few dollars on shipping the game at half the price from outside Europe?

Maybe they get hit with sizable import duty fees if it comes from the US or Japan but not from the EU?

I personally never buy anything at Ebay due to ridiculous prices in general. If I can't find what I need on Swedish auction sites (typically 50-75% of Ebay prices), I buy directly from Japan. But yes, there are no duty fees at all within the European Union and I suspect that's the main reason Europeans may think it's worth it.

[Localizations, Games, Apps, Docs / Re: Looking for an artist to collaborate on a shooter]

I might be able to assist. Some stuff by me:

(24*) (24) (9)
The original pocket watch design belongs to Daisuke Moriyama. The singer depicts Joey Tempest. Others are my original characters.
*Color count.

Currently working on this piece (the lake was previously a sky, so it needs some adjustments to mend the messed up perspective):


If you're interested, I'd like some more info myself before promising anything.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Big OBEY in little Sweden]

PeppCon, eh? I haven't been to Uppsala since the last UppCon and that's no more : < And some of my friends are looking for another convention to visit but we haven't had much luck with local events so far.

Peppcon was supposed to take over now that UppCon is no more. It wasn't as big though, but it's probably going to grow just like UppCon did over the years.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: Big OBEY in little Sweden]

The PC that was shown and running R-type sadly had a borked D-pad

Are you sure? I don't own the game, but I think there may be some precoded gameplay showing after a while when left on the title screen or something like that. I was in any case also there and found that I couldn't control the game, but pressing the run button a few times solved it.


By the way, Peppcon in Uppsala had both Saturn and PC Engine.
^{Even the younger generation appreciates retro video games. Saturn (with Action Replay), PC Engine and Super Famicom are played here.}
https://japanspel.blogspot.com/2013/10/peppcon-uppsala-2013.html

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: First impressions!]

These suggestions are very appreciated, thank you!

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: First impressions!]

Ah, thanks for the tip. I won't need to  worry as much about it now then I suppose.

I did however just get a freeze on Final Lap now... Which isn't even on a CD. I was just walking around on the map and The sound cut out and the whole picture jumped down one half of the screen. (Leaving the upper half of the picture on the lower half of the screen, with the upper half black.

The positive news is that I found out I had just missed the faster of the motors on sale somehow. I'll have to revise my views on this game soon.

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / Re: First impressions!]

DID YOU TRY THE LID TRICK?
DO YOU KNOW THE LID TRICK?

Nope, please teach a necomer to the PCE system : )

[NEC Console Resource / Re: Stepping out in the light]

Okay, let's continue here: https://www.pcengine-fx.com/forums/index.php?topic=15630.0

[PCE/TG-16|CD/SGX Discussion / First impressions!]

Getting 39 games at once is a bit overwhelming. I'd like to get into the games rather than just trying all of them out for five minutes, so I decided to limit myself to one HuCard game and one CD game for at least a few days. I went with Langrisser which is one of the games I've been most curious about (being a Fire Emblem fan). I haven't played the Mega Drive version either. As for HuCard, I picked Final Lap: Twin for the sake of contrast.

I love Langrisser so far. It has a nice variation when it comes to the objectives of each chapter scenario and the music is fantastic. The game froze two times in maybe eight hours of playing though, which is quite frustrating, especially in a game like this, where you don't get to save until you've finished a scenario. Is this "normal"?

I'm not as happy with Final Lap though. It reminds me a bit about Pole Position which I haven't played in ages, but it was more fun as far as I can remember. I may be missing something out here though. It seems like all you need to do is learning how to time pressing and releasing left or right in the curves and you're good to go. In  the quest mode however, buying all the parts in the starting town and doing more or less perfect laps still doesn't seem to guarantee winning the random encounter racing duels... I'd rather play F-Zero for a similar but more enjoyable experience.

The console itself... I wanted the regular Duo at first, simply because it looks a lot better. I gotta say my Duo R looks way better in reality than it does on pictures though. I can't logically explain this, as it's usually the other way around. Well, other than freezing and only having one controller port, it's nice. Doesn't make much noise either.


I posted this in another thread at first, so I'll comment on a couple of comments from there:

^ My Duo R never froze on me. But playing CD Rs on it will destroy it.

Try Final Lap Twin's RPG mode / story mode HEAVEN

Why is there no doubt it will come to that? What's the cause?
Also, that's what I played, I just forgot what it was called.

Froze?  Maybe it failed to load.

Or, did it just hang in the middle of like, clicking around?

I forgot when it happened the first time, but the second time was the moment the enemy's turn was supposed to start.

[NEC Console Resource / Re: Stepping out in the light]

First impressions!

Getting 39 games at once is a bit overwhelming. I'd like to get into the games rather than just trying all of them out for five minutes, so I decided to limit myself to one HuCard game and one CD game for at least a few days. I went with Langrisser which is one of the games I've been most curious about (being a Fire Emblem fan). I haven't played the Mega Drive version either. As for HuCard, I picked Final Lap: Twin for the sake of contrast.

I love Langrisser so far. It has a nice variation when it comes to the objectives of each chapter scenario and the music is fantastic. The game froze two times in maybe eight hours of playing though, which is quite frustrating, especially in a game like this, where you don't get to save until you've finished a scenario. Is this "normal"?

I'm not as happy with Final Lap though. It reminds me a bit about Pole Position which I haven't played in ages, but it was more fun as far as I can remember. I may be missing something out here though. It seems like all you need to do is learning how to time pressing and releasing left or right in the curves and you're good to go. In  the quest mode however, buying all the parts in the starting town and doing more or less perfect laps still doesn't seem to guarantee winning the random encounter racing duels... I'd rather play F-Zero for a similar but more enjoyable experience.

The console itself... I wanted the regular Duo at first, simply because it looks a lot better. I gotta say my Duo R looks way better in reality than it does on pictures though. I can't logically explain this, as it's usually the other way around. Well, other than freezing and only having one controller port, it's nice. Doesn't make much noise either.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Planning the most crazy console mod ever]

Nice site. : )

Well, I can't really do these things myself as I pointed out, but I could definitely get you in touch with the guys who took on my project. I could help you draw a concept though, to help you pitch the idea.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Planning the most crazy console mod ever]

Ah thanks again.

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Re: Planning the most crazy console mod ever]

As you may know, PCE is rather new to me. So I got a questions for you all. I noticed there are different multitap options, for 3, 4 and 5 controllers respectively. Is there some kind of list of games supporting four and five players?

[Console Repair/Mod Center / Planning the most crazy console mod ever]

As I hinted in my introduction thread, I got some crazy modification ideas and I'll share them with you now. I got this idea about a year ago and at that point I planned to use a Super Famicom, but I've now decided to use the PC Engine Duo R I've just bought.

Here's an old concept I drew back then (not up to date):


What you see here is a large plastic Bomberman case. The base he's standing on will hold the PCE and some arcade buttons. The arcade stick itself seems to be missing, but it isn't. It has been disguised as Bomberman's right arm. What else is there? His head is actually a monitor. A small screen will take up the face space. I'll store an image of his face on a HuCard for when I simply want Bomberman to be himself.

Is this madness possible? Yes! I'm sadly not very capable myself, but I've been in touch with both modders and 3D-modelers and I've been given reasonable estimates of what all of this is going to cost. At least I'll be able to take credit for the idea and coordination.

What has happened so far? I've mostly been planning and discussing different options and so on, but we're almost ready to go. I'll keep you updated. Also feel free to come with feedback or questions.

[NEC Console Resource / Re: Stepping out in the light]

Oh thanks a lot for that Necromancer. Still a few interesting games there. : )

[NEC Console Resource / Re: Stepping out in the light]

Thank you all. I'll let you know of my experience once I've tried a few games out.

[General Gaming / Re: PS4 selling out in JP]

I will have Crimson Dragon (OOHHHH YEAH!), Dead Rising 3 (YEAH!), Forza (yeah), and Killer Instinct (yeah?) for my Xbox One at launch.

Actually... I'm not interested in any Xbox One games either. I think PS4 got more potential as far as interesting games go.

I'm not really worried. Wii U and 3DS had a very slow start as well, but things are really changing for those (unlike what people may be saying about the former).

[General Gaming / Re: PS4 selling out in JP]

I'm interested in the console itself, but so far there are no games I'm interested in.

[NEC Console Resource / Re: Stepping out in the light]

Oh I'm sure I won't! : D Until it breaks anyway.

[NEC Console Resource / Re: Stepping out in the light]

Thanks. : )

[NEC Console Resource / Stepping out in the light]

Hello people and all other intelligent beings out there.

I don't have much experience when it comes to NEC consoles (other than a few Virtual Console titles) but I've just decided to do something about it and I bought a PC Engine Duo R the other day. I have many reasons to do so, being:

• 1. I enjoyed the VC titles I played (Ys etc).
• JRPG is my favorite genre. The quantity and overall quality has dopped significantly this generation.
• I'm a Bomberman fan and Hudson Soft fan in general.
• I love retro games. Diversity being one reason.
• I love retro music, not least game and film music.
• I love... retro art. I'm also a hobbyist pixel artist. And when it comes to pure artwork I've never been able to appreciate digital art as much as traditional art. (Cover art is looking great).
• Fun way to improve my Japanese.
• Heck it's another console I don't own.

So as I mentioned, I finally bought one. After staring at the PC Engine software bible  and lurking here for half a year. I just hope it works and all, I bought it through Yahoo Auctions and my japanese isn't that great, so I might have missed somethig. The 39 games included will justify the price alone though (due to low-res pics I'm not sure which games half of them are though, so if someone is nerdy enough to instantly recognize them, feel free to enlighten me, you'd have my gratitude Link. )

I also have one of the craziest console modification ideas ever in mind. I'll tell you more at a later date.

Talking about games in general, I've had my best moments with Nintnedo consoles and PlayStation 2. My favorite series are Fire Emblem and Zelda.

Lastly a bit about myself if anyone is interested. I'm from Sweden and I'm currently studying archaeology (with a background in both art and "japanology" though). I think I'll leave it there but if anyone is curious, just ask. Let me answer the most common question right away: I'm a guy.