Giant Bombcast 07-23-2013

I don't get why everyone is upset at the Dota talk. There was like 10 minutes of Dota talk in a 3 hours and 40 minute podcast that had Transformers, G.I. Joes, restaurants, science and physics talk, and so much more.

They barely talked about games at all, and I loved it.

The DS Monster Rancher was pretty okay. It'd generate monsters based on doodling and voice/sound input. Its Japanese-only predecessor could also generate monsters based on inserted GBA cartridges but that function was super goddamned clunky. Both DS games used the same models and textures for locations. The people weren't the same and some monsters were added but it was such a low effort upgrade. Localizing Monster Farm 2 DS alone was the right decision just to avoid complaints about two nearly identical products.

Supposedly there's a microtransaction-infested Monster Rancher for Android but I've never looked into it. I ain't payin' for no action points just to train an animate wooden duck to be a slightly more efficient killer.

Great episode, I could've listened to old man gamer talk for another 3 hours. My earliest gaming memory was getting a NES in '93 and the T2 game with it, being obessed with the movie as I was. It was the PS1 and the trinity of FF7, RE2 and MGS that really got me passionate about game though.

Long live the uncut 'casts!

Wow, when they mentioned The Voyage of the Mimi I thought I was back in school... I feel old. What was that show about anyway? Shows I didn't pay attention...

@vinny I have a GTX 570 card as well and I was able to run Metro 2033 in 1080 resolution with High settings with almost no issues. I can run pretty much any game just fine with the GTX 570 card and I don't even overclock it, so it might be your CPU, you might want to try overclocking the CPU speed for better game play stability. Also bookmark this site for random PC game issues, it's become my go to site - http://pcgamingwiki.com.

It was pretty much Mr. Wizard: The Schooner years.

I understand that the podcast is still kind of the therapycast right now. Ryan was so much associated with the site and games, it's just tough moving on from that, even if you think you've moved on, it's still impacting things. When Jeff has run the podcast in the past, it tends to be a little less "structured" anyway (even back to the GS podcasts).

We're also in that post-E3 summer lull before the wave of titles shows up in the fall, and it's doubly bad this year with the new consoles coming. If they're talking new games, it's just going to be PC indie stuff or tablet stuff until November.

Lot of things merging into one large "let's not talk about games right now." I'm still enjoying it. Thanks to everyone who is keeping the dream alive.

The bit at the beginning with cobra commodities trading is easily the funniest thing I've heard in six months.

I was playing on a Genesis starting at 5, and the older i've gotten the more i've found out that my peers weren't getting into games for another 5+ years

@fluttercry: I know right? They never talk about something like Counter-Strike, a game that actually requires skill and brain, not just brain. (now watch the Dota fanboys lose their shit)

Fucking streetpass part was hilarious.

I also had Crossbows and Catapults, Vinny. I used little green army men, instead of MUSCLEs, but it was great regardless. The trick was to double wrap the rubber bands so the weapons would shoot stronger.

@brackynews: So true. And under these, and really any circumstances as it IS their cast, the guys should be able to talk about whatever they want and play whatever theme they want without people complaining. I wouldn't be sorry if they retired the other theme - - kind of like retiring Ryan's jersey number if he had one. If you really don't want to hear about DOTA just skip ahead. You know there will be more great stuff to listen to. And the best stuff is when they meander in their conversations anyway. The stuff about the rabbit was sooo funny. I get a smile on my face just thinking about it.

SQUARE ONE!!!! that was the **** back in the day!! I also loved "Mathnet" and the Cyborg Baseball Player episodes was my favorite case.

@whatisdelicious: Every day, Vinny just invents a new voice for Ness and Paula, and tries not to giggle when referencing Poo.

Also that rabbit is my new best friend. I'm terrified he'll go away if I actually buy the games. That adorable little tablet-swipe motion... how stoked he is when I'm almost ready to buy things... denied again little bunny. Denied.

I'm 20 years old, and my first console was the NES. I'm probably in the minority of people my age, but I'm glad that I was constantly a generation behind until the PS2. I got to experience the great history of games.

Ugh, I have the same problem as Jeff. I can't just play a game these days. I need to have a video or TV or podcast running as well.

The last month or so of episodes have been some of my favorites, all for various reasons. But I likes what I hears.

Word.

I will give Brad respect for dropping a reference to Weird Al's "Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota" though.

The 3DS Rabbit story was fantastic.

Lol, yeah, I'm still resisting telling youtube my real name, it's weird how super pushy it is about that lately.

Is it a generational thing to be more willing to give up your personal information? I have an inborn resistance to putting personal stuff on the internet, but most people don't seem to give a fuck. I'm an old fogey on teh porch of the internet, yelling at kids to stop giving out their personal information.

@happymeowmeow: Look at it this way. In my opinion, and I'm almost as old as Jeff, the kinds of things being dredged up from alt.sports.gerstmann are equivalent to facial tattoos. I could probably count on not getting a job because of it.

I love how during the conversation about multitasking Brad tried to throw in that bit about why you miss obvious things during QuickLooks like it was a universal problem and then Jeff just straight up called him on the ladder incident.

@timeshero: Yea, but there is enough free form conversation that I think there is still plenty of room for the classic intro. Hell, just throw it in mid conversation once everyone realizes Jeff pressed record.

I ordered Kingston RAM with my build.

Ahhhhhh. Feels good to know how little has changed.

I really liked watching Carmen Sandiego on PBS when I was kid. I can't believe Jeff doesn't like that sweet song

As someone whose name is Will Clark, and has no knowledge of baseball players, there was a moment in this podcast when I thought somehow they were talking about me.

That was weird.

I honestly don't understand the complaints. This Bombcast is creeping towards the FOUR HOUR mark. How long did Brad talk about DOTA 2? 5-10 minutes? If that? Heaven forbid. The comments would lead you to believe that half the Bombcast is DOTA 2 related.

Surprised nobody posted image of the sneaky Nintendo rabbit, man that bugger just proves bunnies are evil.

This is a delicate problem, but here's how I see it.

The problem with the Dota talk is that whilst there isn't much of it, it still makes up a decent chunk of the time they spend talking about actual games. The joke being that they are only talking about it at all, because there isn't anything else to talk about!

Only the most heartless and foolish people would expect them to be madly enthusiastic about games right now, just after the tragedy of the last month. But this is a problem that has been going on longer than that. It takes a truly huge release like Bioshock Infinite or The Last of Us to rouse the guys at the moment, and even that it barely lasts a week before they sink back into their 'So... there's nothing out, I haven't really been doing anything' funk.

Like I said above, this is hardly the time to be on their case about this, but the fact remains that the bombcast is not currently a good place to come for keeping your finger on the pulse of the industry. Absolutely understandable, but even as they slowly come to terms, the underlying problem will still be there. Without someone like Patrick who was at least always willing to try new things, seek out more obscure games to try etc, they will be at the mercy of the games schedule - which is extremely lean on big games this year.

If they had been motivated and upbeat and positive about the state of gaming, but had the brakes slammed on by Ryan's death, then that would be one thing. But with Vinny juggling new responsibilities at home, Dave and Patrick moving on/away etc, and Brad and Jeff's general malaise about gaming right now, this has seen them go from slump to mega slump at least in terms of how they view gaming and how interested/involved they are in it.

@modernmoriarty: I listen to the bombcast to be entertained and the best parts are typically when they are not talking about games and are more or less sitting around shooting the shit. If you just want a weekly show where they regurgitate the news there are a ton of podcasts already doing that, and if you want their POV about a specific game there's a QL.

THIS. So much.

Word. That, and when they took about older games.

Yeah I looked all over the place for this.

Look, I get it - you want to hear them talk about whatever. That's your opinion, but obviously not mine. My point is that the less they want to talk about games, the more that implies that gaming is not worth talking about - and to reiterate, it was the case before the current crisis too.

I don't blame them for the state of modern gaming - that would be shooting the messenger. But its a sad state of affairs when not even gaming enthusiasts who are paid to play games, want to play or talk about games. That speaks to me of an industry in decline.

For the record, the guys are engaging and funny - they always have been. But its a games site. Games are why it exists. And if the industry can't inspire more interest in games than they currently have, then we're all in trouble IMO. .

I think I found it. Only image in existence apparently: http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2013/06/new_streetpass_mii_plaza_update_resolves_dlc_crashing_issue/attachment/0/large.jpg

Code 57 lol.

edit: Also, I miss back in the day when your parents or what not would pick up the phone when you were online, and totally fuck the connection up! Dammit, I'm playing Lord of the Red Dragon and now I have to call the BBS back!

Ugh. I'm old.

I can confirm that Hardcore History (by Dan Carlin) is very worthwhile. Check out dancarlin.com or look up his name in apple's podcast store for the Hardcore History show that Brad mentions or his Common Sense show.