Amp's blog

Stay Tuned...

It seems that I finally have some free time for once. Time to jump back into the game, even if it is for six weeks or so. Expect new content soon.

Amp Blasts: Apathetic Crew Members

Note: The following writing is Amp's views and opinions.

Well, this is something that I didn't want to write about, but after some realizations I think it would be bad for me not to address this. I've kind of noticed that despite retiring a year ago, I've actually done more work than many members of the SX Crew have. This is something that has me legitimately dismayed given that individuals becoming a part of the crew know that maintaining a spot requires that they regularly contribute content. What really bothered me though is the lack of tutorials on the site lately as it is one of the best opportunities to contribute something unique.

Amp Blasts: Lazy College Students

Note: Like always, the following is an opinion piece and are Amp's views.

I have made it a point to not really talk about what I have been doing since I left SX, but I figure that I may as well talk about it finally. Since January 2010, I have been going back to school. I will state that my opinion on this is that I should do as well as possible since it isn't exactly cheap to get a college education these days. Unfortunately, I have found plenty of people who do not share this point of view.

(The following is TL;DR territory most likely and is just a rant, so feel free to jump back in when I say that it is done at the bottom of this post.)

Amp Blasts: Online Installers

I remember back in the day when all installation programs were offline by nature and easy to transport. It was simple to backup, simple to use, and it didn't require a internet connection. Unfortunately, half of the programs I have used feel that it is an easier method. The basic reality is though that this method of installation is completely ass backwards.

Amp Blasts: Sublime

Note: The following are solely the opinions and views of Amp.

Ok, I've had a chip on my shoulder for the last fifteen years about this and after this week it's time I talk about it. Recently, I saw some people wanting signatures for clean power when right on cue, "What I Got" starts playing which prompted me to not sign. Now, many people call Sublime punk and credit them for reviving mainstream interest in punk. The reality is that Sublime is NOT punk, not original, and one of the most overrated bands of all time.

GPU Acceleration Abuse

Ok, I've talked before about how GPU acceleration is starting to get heavily abused. Well, I've just about had enough of this cause some of the programs (cough, Skype 5) force GPU acceleration and do not allow for it to be turned off. Seriously, on a mobile platform with any decent Nvidia or ATI chipset this will make the laptop overheat with no justified reason. This bullshit needs to be stopped and developers need to either optimize it, or at least give people the option of turning this broken bullshit off.

Amp Blasts: Cave

Ok, this is one of the hardest entries that I will have to do cause the honest reality is that Cave makes AWESOME shmups. However, I must call into question their recent missteps. As an American fan I feel puzzled by the decisions the company has made about US releases. What makes this worse is that the erratic decisions continue to this day.

First, in 2009 a huge news development took place when Mushihime-sama Futari, one of the most infamous Cave shmups in terms of difficulty, was made region free for the Xbox 360. Now, unlike most games released domestically for the 360, this is extremely rare due to Microsoft of Japan requiring all content be cleared in all regions according to Cave's official blog. Also, they would talk about possible future domestic and worldwide releases. This would get our hopes up, but shortly after these would be dashed.

Amp Blasts: Pentavision and PM Studios

Ok, today I have a hell of an axe to grind. It's no secret that I am a fan of rhythm gaming. Most recently, the DJMAX series of games was one of the reasons I chose to buy a PSP and not a Nintendo DS. However, the games themselves are having some major issues lately.

Serial Experiments Lain Blu-Ray BOX | RESTORE Initial Impressions

Ok, this is something that I have been VERY interested in seeing. For those not in the know, Serial Experiments Lain is a series that is beloved by both myself and RaT. However, the DVD release reflected that it was released in 1999, which was still considered the infancy of the DVD format. As a result while the release was better than most anime releases on DVD at the time, it still had image artifacts that were sadly common in DVD's early years. After Geneon closed it's US division in 2007, I believed that getting a better home release of the series would not be possible. In the meantime, the series has now received a Blu-Ray release in Japan under the title RESTORE. The biggest concern was that this would suffer the same fate of other Blu-Ray releases of older anime, which was merely standard definition masters that were merely upscaled.

Humble Indie Bundle #2 available until Tuesday Morning

It's not often I make a post like this, but this is a cause that I feel should be supported. The second Humble Indie Bundle has been available for a bit now and features five independent games that are actually good for what they are. In addition, the price on these games can be named on them so they can be bought for as little as one cent or in the case of the creator of Minecraft, $2,000. (I do think this atleast deserves a few bucks though.) The money can be split among the game developers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Child's Play (which I strongly support as a charity), or leave a tip to those who set up this promotion to help recoup their costs. This is a very worthwhile cause so if possible try to spare a few bucks for these guys at http://www.humblebundle.com for some good games.

Syndicate content