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29 Oct 05
Another quick update: the snarky remarks have been removed from the old Console Gold page. There's now a link to Gaming Trend. A peace has been reached. Once again this proves that M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) is only a good strategy until the bombs start falling. I hope both sides are happy and able to move on successfully. Good job in the end I guess.
Jason
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28 Oct 05
I admit it. I'm behind. I have some news and press releases and screenshots to get up, but I haven't had much time. If you recall a while back, I asked if anyone would like to help with the site. Thanks to the one person who responded. Actually, I don't mind getting a little behind as I can catch up. I'd really like the readers to contribute a new story or two in the forum.
I think I understand why some people don't post stories. They think they need a doctoral thesis length story with screenshots with diamonds and arrows and things. That's not true. Sometimes a great story is only a paragraph long. There are times when you have a truly great gaming moment to share, but you write it up and it sounds hollow. Don't worry. Just post it. Chances are if someone shares your enthusiasm for a game, they'll understand what you're trying to say.
We're not grammar nazis here. Sure someone might offer to clean up story if it's too rough around the edges, but that's about it. We care more about your fire and strategy than your perfect ability to paint a picture with words. If you're Shakespeare, great, but most of us are used to the writing in games, so we're not too critical.
Finally, if you need someone to host screenshots or even add some diamonds and arrows and things, drop me an email. I can probably help you out. This site is here for you. Don't be afraid to take advantage of its features.
Thanks to everyone who remembered that today is David's birthday. He's reached his 1.0 milestone. Happy birthday little guy.
Jason
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27 Oct 05
There appears to be a footnote or two from yesterday's update. If you wish to wade through all the sordid details, you can start here. Rich sends word through Andy to the gaming community. There are responses and strong emotions as you might expect. There's a little more here at the old Console Gold site. Of course, it resolves nothing. I'll just say, "Goodbye Rich. Thanks for the memories."
Best to move on. This week's game is the latest version of one of the strongest series in strategy gaming history. It's Civilization 4 (official site) from Firaxis Games. This latest version of the empire/civilization building game has finally gone 3D. It's still a turn based strategy game where you build up a small tribe into a mighty nation capable of dominating the world, spreading human life to other planets or spreading your culture throughout the world. Civ 4 brings a new civics system that lets you tailor your government exactly how you wish. Combine that with the religion of your society from one of eighteen nations you get many ways of playing the game. Firaxis is also promising faster AI turns and less wasted time on negatives like pollution. Civilization 4 has just been released.
Jason
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26 Oct 05
Congratulations to the Chicago White Sox. They played some amazing baseball and never made a big mistake. They deserved the win and the series. I'm still proud of the the National League Champion Houston Astros. Maybe they'll find their bats in the off season. Kidding. Great season guys. Thanks for the memories.
An era has ended on the internet. Unfortunately, it was a rather cold ending. Once upon a time the internet was still small. Online gaming communities were few and far between. Most of them were drowning in rude, immature posters. Finding a serious community was hard.
One sprang up around a site called Gone Gold. The gaming industry wasn't as polished as it is now (that's still not saying much), and reliable information was hard to come by. Usually you found out a game you had been interested in had been released by walking into a game store and seeing it on the shelf. Rich LaPorte, a medically retired NYPD officer, tried to solve this problem by himself. He started a website dedicated to finding out development status and release dates. It was Gone Gold.
Gone Gold was a great site because it had reliable information, and it had personality. Rich poured a lot of himself into the site including personal stories. These features attracted some good writers and workers. They added to the site (Andy's Gold Guide is still legendary). The forum developed a personality of its own that distinguished it from nearly any other gaming forum on the net. People could seriously talk games there.
Then Rich had some medical problems that kept him from updating the site. He asked his friend Bill Harris to come in and help. Bill started his Night Call columns. They expanded the audience and brought more people into the forum. Bill helped guide the site to where it was self sustaining. Then he left to work on something of his own, Dubious Quality.
After that, the front page wasn't updated much. There were new reviews and plenty of activity in the forum, but no sign of Rich. Then one day last year, unexpectedly, the plug was pulled on the site. A lot of people were hurt by that, but it was Rich's baby to do as he wished. A lot of the community scattered. Many ended up at Console Gold, some at Quarter to Three and some disappeared (or were lost, the first part gone).
A former forum member made a generous hosting offer to the forum administrators and moderators. Thus Octopus Overlords was born (or perhaps woke from its ages old slumber). Originally just a forum, but now they are a full gaming site building their own separate identity (the second part leaves).
Now it appears that Rich has pulled the plug on the Console Gold domain. Unfortunately, again he seems to have acted without any warning. So they too are being reborn completely separate as Gaming Trend (the last segment departs).
The Gone Gold era is officially over now. Hopefully that community spirit still survives however diluted it's become. There are also some interesting offshoots that can be found (see Pope Hat and Bovine Conspiracy). Perhaps in the end, we'll be better off for it, but I can't help but wish that the final endings had been more polite. I still thank Rich for what he did back in the day, but I never would have guessed the ending would be so cold.
Jason
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25 Oct 05
Wow. What a great, heart rending game. In case you didn't stay up, the Astros lost in 14 innings (7-5). They had plenty of opportunities to win, but they couldn't swing the lumber. Down 3-0 in the series, it's looking like it isn't the Astros season of destiny after all. If they did come back, this could be remembered as possibly the best World Series ever, but I can't hold my breath after tonight. As usual, great defense, solid pitching (except the fifth where Oswalt couldn't do anything right), but short on hitting. Now's when they could use Beltran.
Sorry, I don't have much else for you tonight. My brain's turned to mush after all that baseball. If things continue on their current path, you might not have to worry about that after tonight. Still, the fans here deserve at least one Houston win. The extra game couldn't hurt the hurricane damaged economy here either. Happy gaming.
Jason
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24 Oct 05
I keep wondering if Microsoft could go back to the first week of May and get a do over. The latest problem seems to be that all the kiosks in Walmart have been shut down due to interference. This is on top of reported configuration problems. I don't doubt the launch will be a success. There are rumors of artificial shortages already, but those rumors pop up at every launch. They're usually quickly followed by 'defective unit' or 'high failure rate' rumors at launch.
Those rumors are proved false usually about the time the shortages start to ease. Microsoft's problem is that most launches have an excess of good will built up that help the weather those negative rumors. Microsoft seems to have squandered a lot of their good will stockpile on missteps they've taken since the disastrous MTV special. I won't chronicle the litany again because there seems to be no malice behind any of their actions. It just seems to be turning out badly.
That's doubly ironic since it seems they've got a solid piece of hardware, a great development environment and what looks to be a solid launch line up. In short they can walk the walk, but they're tripping over their tongue trying to talk the talk. Given that solid foundation, I don't see any real launch troubles. I am beginning to worry about what their launch ad campaign is going to look like. I'd like to see something simple and understated perhaps using their "ring of light" as the theme.
As always, I try to state my biases. I want solid three party competition that yields tons of unique titles. I'd like to see a strong Xbox 360 launch that forces Sony to fire both barrels. I also hope Nintendo succeeds in their bizarre plan to redefine the market entirely. Let's see if Microsoft can step up now.
Jason
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