Jenn takes a first look at the Nintendo Wii and some of the various tech demos available on the floor. More from E3 to come including an in-depth look at some first party games and titles Jenn is looking forward to this holiday season. (6:14)
As is always the case after any E3 it’s really nice to have a few days to let your hearing and voice recover! It took me a while to sort through and pick out the best/most usable footage from my Nintendo appointment to bring you this short introductory episode. Ian tried his best but it’s tough to go from a handycam to an XL2 without a few bumps and a sore shoulder. He was a real trooper!
As you read this I am probably at the airport or on a plane to Los Angeles for E3. OpenAlpha will be there on the floor but that’s not what I want to talk about just yet. Way back in 2004 was my first attempt at a video show on the net that was plagued by technical difficulties that I hadn’t seen before or since BUT I managed to dig up the sole surviving clip from that expedition and, boy, is it something to see. Aside from being kind of hilarious (the crowd developed a bit of a pulse as the show went on) it’s actually appropriate for Pre-E306 discussion due to the so-called “booth babe banning”. Feel free to google for more links on this old story, it’s everywhere. The following 14 minute clip was from Namco’s stage show in 2004 showing off Death By Degrees and SRS Racing. Some would argue that the games were not the true focus of that show but I did edit out the short gameplay trailers they played before the stage attraction. Also cut out is the mad dash to the stage for t-shirts before and after. I’m not sure what this year’s floor exhibits will bring but I will do my best to bring them to you… preferably with less-lousy camera work.
the following could possibly be deemed NSFW if girls dancing and fighting in skimpy outfits would get you in trouble. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
What I want to know from OA viewers is what you all think of that show compared to what the new rules propose. Do Booth Babes bother you? Do they make you want to go to E3 more? Is it just another trade conference tradition? Are the new rules censorship? Who’s going to be the first to flaunt the rules and pay the fine? ;)
Jenn takes a look at the Logitech PlayGear Pocket, offers up some money saving PSP tips, and goes into the fun she’s been having with the PSP Lua player and PSP Golf with extra map packs. Also, she’s a guest on April’s Hak.5 so be sure to check it out! (8:45)
During the shoot I lost a light so it’s pretty apparent what I shot before and after… next time I’ll pick up a spare bulb.
Logitech PlayGear Amp – not worth the money unless you really like the look and portability of it. Just use computer speakers or get a mini-to-mini connector.
PSP Lua Player – handy dandy little widgets for the PSP as well as a framework for aspiring PSP and game developers. LUA, of course.
PSP Golf – tons of fun despite the apparent simplicity of the game. Go get it and see for yourself.
Don’t forget to check out the 9th episode of Hak.5!
What kind of Tablet PC do I have? Compaq TC1000. So stop asking ;)
World of Warcraft Beginner’s Guide (February 3, 2006)
Jenn walks through the basics of World of Warcraft, from getting started, to common tasks, adding UI Mods, and de-mystifying ‘Aggro’ with finger puppets. She also reviews the WoW Atlas, declares the winner of Hello Kitty’s Cube Frenzy, AND announces a new live WoW show with Darren from Hak. 5 (23:55)
Don’t forget to check back to Episode 2 for the Handy Dandy (and greatly abridged) MMO Glossary.
Other great WoW Resources:
WorldofWarcraft.com – the official Blizzard site has links that explain all the in-game mechanics and contain the forums that are burstin with great insight and the latest hot-button topics.
Thottbott.com – the Google of WoW. Information on Thottbot is provided by users that upload their Cosmos (a UI Mod package) data. While the database isn’t always correct, the comments and maps often make up for any inconsistencies.
Allakhazam.com – another huge WoW Database with quest info, forums, and all that other good stuff.
MapWoW.com – while not as useful as other WoW maps (seriously, just peg WoW Atlas or Maps into your search engine of choice and peruse the many other options) it does use the nifty Google Maps API and I think it has great growth potential.
Curse Gaming – the ultimate WoW UI Addon resource.
Ometh Homepage – home of the Ometh Nmod. If the site is running slow, you can also pick up the installer from Softpedia.
Jenn answers a selection of viewer mail! DS vs. PSP? 360 vs PSP?? And what’s up with Digital Fishing??? She also warns the contest winner that they’ve got a few days to claim their prize before the next OpenAlpha release. (9:28)
Jenn takes a break from sleeping off mono and playing games to record this brief holiday episode. She’s got a (slightly) evil gift giving tip and announces the first ever OpenAlpha contest! (4:41)
Jenn’s first solo release (meaning she taught herself Premiere Pro, lighting, the whole deal) covers the basics of the PSP and some launch titles. The episode ends rather abruptly, but that is normal and not a bad download.(8:11).
Jenn’s going to San Francisco! This is a quick interim episode dedicated to the ways she’ll kill time on the plane with her Nintendo DS and PSP with the ScummVM and 1.50 firmware. Think of it as a teaser until full production can resume when she gets back. (5:44)
From the PlayStation Portable’s Home menu: Settings > System Settings > System Information.
Connecting the PSP to your PC or Mac
A PSP USB cable can be picked up from any electronic goods store for
around $10 or for more if you purchase it as part of a larger accessory
pack. Once the cable is connected to both the PSP and the computer,
navigate from the PSP’s Home menu to Settings > USB Connection. This
is the same way you’d connect the system if you wanted to transfer
movies, photos, and music or just back up your game saves on your hard
disk drive.
PSPBrew.com – for any Homebrew Program Needs
One of the many places to grab these emulators is from PSPBrew.com.
You can create custom self-extracting packages to unzip directly to
your PSP, ensuring that everything gets transferred correctly. Just
head to their Brewpack generator, select the ScummVM, and generate the
.exe to extract to your connected PSP.
The ScummVM and You
ScummVM stands for the ‘Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion
Virtual Machine’ and it offers almost 100% compatibility with classic
LucasArts adventure titles as well as a few from other developers. For
a more detailed explanation of the whole ScummVM project, check out
their official FAQ.
The ScummVM lets you play the adventure games you already know and
love while in widescreen on your PSP. The project’s main page has a
list of compatible games as well as a breakdown of the files
that need to be transferred to the Memory Stick PRO Duo. You will
likely require a larger card than the 32MB unit the PSP comes with. The
required files from a floppy version of Day of the Tentacle, with
limited voice acting in cutscenes, only needs 13 MB while the files for
Full Throttle, which features voice acting all throughout, takes up 477
MB.
Remember which folder you copy the necessary files into since you’ll
need to access it when loading the games into the virtual machine. It’s
easiest to create a single-name folder inside the ScummVM Games folder
for each individual game to avoid conflicts between similarly named
files. This makes loading games into the ScummVM a breeze since you
only have to select Add Game > (ex: fullthrottle or monkeyisland)
> OK to make it easily selectable next time you want to play.
While playing the games, the R trigger accesses the ScummVM menu to
save states and the select key is used as a keyboard. A full keyboard
will be added with a future patch, but the ‘0′ key gets the job done
for now. Don’t forget to keep your instructions manuals since they
contain the keys for the original copy protection that will be needed
at some point during the adventure.
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (August 3rd, 2005)
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games continue to grow in popularity, partially due to the increase in broadband availability and the increased complexity of the worlds available to explore. Jenn takes a look at what’s out now, what’s fun, what’s free, and what’s up with services like IGE. (13:00)
The MMORPGs covered in this episode were just a small subsection of what’s out there right now. Also, when looking for MMO reviews online, it’s always important to note when it was written since the game experience is usually changing. People that play Ultima Online today are exploring a vastly different world from the one that launched. Even with more recent titles, there are often expansion packs released and other tweaks made over time.
Be sure to check the official sites for more info on character classes and game mechanics and take advantage of the free trials, if available.
MMORPG = Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game PvP = Player vs. Player PvE = Player vs. Environment Patch = a blessing and a curse. Some bugs may be fixed or content added, but it probably broke something somewhere else. GMs = people with way cooler armor than you FedEx Quest = messenger quest. Take a usually
worthless (un-sellable) item far away to someone who actually cares
about it, but not enough to properly reimburse you for your trouble ding (followed by “gratz”) = you might promise yourself that you’d never type this into global chat. You’d be lying. Why shouldn’t the whole world know you gained a level? Min/Maxer = a player more concerned with ‘winning’ than having any fun Nerf = usually follows a patch. Something that was
once strong, by accident or design, is now as harmless as a Nerf arrow.
The fact that ranger characters seem to get nerfed frequently is just a funny coincidence
Now that the hype is over, it’s time to see how the latest Star Wars games stand on their own. OpenAlpha.tv takes a look at the Episode III PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS game, as well as Lego Star Wars. As a follow-up segment, Open Alpha delves into the problems with the blue Lego Star Wars PS2 disc and how to overcome it. (10:38).
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (PS2) – 2 out of 5
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (NDS) – 3 out of 5
Lego Star Wars (PS2) – 4 out of 5
Lego Star Wars PC Demo available at Downloads.com.
If you would rather go the FilePlanet route, go right ahead.
Things I Left Out*
*because I am a goof
If you tend to play your PS2 vertically most of the time, you’ll
have to lie it flat to get around Blue Disc Read Errors. Also, another
simple non-technical fix involves running the PS2 Diagnostic before
booting a blue disc. This will align the laser and often avoid those
pesky DREs. If you have any more fixes, quick or otherwise, let me know
and I’ll add them here.
Please be very careful with the following guides. Only you are
responsible for the prolonged life of your system and the guide authors
will likely tell you the same thing in all caps. If you are not
comfortable with this sort of work, please do not attempt. OpenAlpha.tv
is not responsible for any of the following external links. I’ll redo
my own later on since I accidentally deleted my photos.
