Some more various odds and ends for people!
First and foremost:
Let's Play Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force
I'm premiering a new series since I've always wanted to try my hands at a Let's Play, so let's see what people think of it!
In this mission, we wonder why Apple hasn't sued Star Trek over the iMod.
EDITED TO ADD:
Sooo, Episode 2 is going up tonight on That Guy With the Glasses as well, so here's a bonus for people who come back - episode 2! Witness the most arduous and intense mission for Ensign Munroe yet - PUSHING A BUTTON!
Lightbringer Returns!
Lightbringer, that webcomic that I was poorly drawing for two and a half years, will be resuming tomorrow! So now's the perfect opportunity to see my initial poor writing and drawing, my improved writing and slightly-improved art, before we head into two guest pages and new artist Chad Rocco!
Different theme song?
Well, I've gotten more than a few complaints from people saying that they prefer the cleaned up version of the theme song that new theme song composer Vincent E.L. has on his website. Now, I'd like to think I listen to my fans and their opinions, so I'm willing to use the other version if that's what the majority of you want.
As for why I'm using the current version, more or less I like the grainier quality since it sounds more like an old west gunslinger ballad than the other version, but like I said, I can understand why others would prefer the cleaned-up one. So, what do you all think?
I didn't really hear too much of a difference between the versions, though the little differences I did hear were better in the cleaned up version. That said, it doesn't really matter. All the lyrics are the same. Still a great new theme either way. :)
ReplyDeleteCool to see you back in the webcomic saddle. I wish you the best of luck, as always.
Now to watch your new vid. :)
I loved this, although I missed seeing you on screen. Also I loved how you started singing here and there. :D "I'm glad I chose kicking ass for a career" Your comments made me laughed through the whole video, hope for more!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that Lightbringer is coming back. Always wanted to see what happens next.
ReplyDeleteAlso, interesting first ep for your Let's Play thing.
easy? You dissapoint me, Lovhaug
ReplyDeleteI think maybe if Vincent did a new mix of the cleaner version but maybe added a bit of grit to it. So it sounded less jumbled but was mixed to sound a bit older.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not convinced by the song to be honest but I'm hoping it will grow on me.
At the end of the day because you already have a pretty well established show and a loyal fan base you were never going to please everyone.
Man I LOVED Voyager Elite Force.
ReplyDeleteSome of the things I'd do in that game...
They ported the opening in well. I suspect a rights issue caused a change in the theme.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the opening was a simulation. To think that one person could actually take out that many Borg would be scary. It was about as realistic as the movie "Commando."
I think you should go with whatever version of the them you like best. It's your them and your show so you need to be comfortable with it. Besides you can just leave a link to the clearer sounding version for us to listen to.
ReplyDeleteI liked the cleaned up version as well. It was hard to understand the lyrics in the original, although I totally agree that the grainy version gave it an edge. Maybe if there was a happy medium found, everybody would be happy?
ReplyDeleteAs others have said, the difference between them isn't too much of a big idea. So, just trust your gut.
ReplyDelete"box that goes ping?" the borg have a motherbox? i must say its not too kirby-esque, how dissapointing...
ReplyDeleteStar Trek Elite Force, awesome. Old favorite of mine, back when I first got a PS2, one of the first games I ever had for it.
ReplyDeleteYou get the same feel with the cleaned up version of the song with less strain on your ears. It's your website, buddy, use whatever version you'd like!
ReplyDelete"Programming Lead - James Monroe"
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see our fifth president has found some work... ;)
Nice video btw, I look forward to more!
Wujuuuuuuu LightBringer is Back by the way Project overcross and Crossoverlord are getting better each week. Didn't quite like the theme but I still need to hear the cleaned up one.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I wish you didn't have a theme song at all. I swear, theme songs on internet shows are just so routinely horrible, and in all due respect to its maker: yours is no exception.
ReplyDeleteYou've got the Nerd, and you've got Michel Swain's "Blockhead." Those are the only two good theme songs for a web show in existence (that I am aware of.)
Sorry to be such a jerk in all this, but to heck with it, it's my opinion. I love your videos overall anyway, so if %90 of the viewers still want a theme song, I can just skip it every time. =D
I agree with you, Lewis. The original has a nice, gritty feel, and it did evoke the atmosphere of an old spaghetti western. I'd keep it, but ultimately it's your call.
ReplyDeleteI love the Let's Play for Elite Force. And I agree with you on the weakening of the Borg- just wasn't the same once they turned Voyager into the Seven of Nine Chest Spectacular Show. But they still had some great moments.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with other posters, the cleaned up version sounds better in my opinion.
Keep up the phenomenal work!
Please keep the current one.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why is that it sounds more grittier and fits with the whole "gunslinger" vibe.
Thank you for reading this.(At least I hope you did!)
Great LP.
ReplyDeleteI especially liked the ‘You’re in my way sir’ and ‘Bees. My God.’ references. That was really spot on…
And the Purple Ray of Death!
About the theme song.
Lewis, it's your show, Do it how you like it.
We'll get used to it and love any version...
Song needs a download link for both versions.
ReplyDeleteI had the song stuck in my head all day and want it on my mp3 player!
Best song I heard in like a year.
How much do you want to bet Team 1 bit the dust in the three seconds it took to beam you guys down there?
ReplyDeleteMy vote is definitely for the current version, screw that polished one)
ReplyDeleteThe Let's Play was great. :D Keep 'em coming!
ReplyDeleteI think that the cleaned up version would be better. Also what are you using to record this LP, Frapps?
ReplyDeleteI borrowed Elite Force from a friend, and got to the point where you are when I just dropped it. No real reason, I just did. My dad beat the whole game. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
ReplyDeleteBiessman. My God.
My God, that cracked me up! I'm still laughing!
ReplyDelete"I'm going to write 'Beissman sucks!'" almost made me pee my pants!
BTW, "Bees. My God." isn't getting old anytime soon.
Use the newer one. Some of us like to hear the lyrics of your theme song. Can't really do that on the one you used... It's too distorted...
ReplyDeleteI always love a good LP. Keep workin' on 'em.
ReplyDeleteletsplayarchive.com has some pretty good ones. The LP of "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" is a real mindfuck.
Also saw this, and knew you'd love it:
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j114/Monkeytruck88/124483558229.png
That picture is win in so many ways. XD
ReplyDeleteObservations:
ReplyDeleteSo Janeway narrated a Holodeck program?
To be fair, having the second in command as the lad character isn't that strange. That way, he doesn't have to give the mission briefing. Ot his senior officer could be killed half way through the story. (Hay, the senior officer is black. Hy, both of them are.)
24th century cop-out: So ,it was all just a holodeck program al along. . .
(No dear, this is the holodeck program. You're still in the Cardassian cell.)
To be fair, the seeds for the ruining of the Borg actually happened in First Contact, good as that movie was. It introduced the Borg as zombie paradigm, including the assimilation nanobot injectors. (Were they just introduced to the collective in the last few years? I they were actually old, why didn't Hugh the Borg just jab Geordie during their first conversation?) Although I liked her in the movie itself, I think the biggest problem was the introduction of the Borg Queen. I accept that having a singly body who could be asked to has some advantages, but despite her protestations to Data, she was a leader. And that alone made the Borg less interesting. I felt that after FC, they needed to explain away/add seem interesting complexity that could add richness to the Borg backstory Say that the queen truly had been the "One Who Is Many" and merely an expression of the whole collective in 1 body, but the individuality introduced to High changed the balance. Then maybe the different Borg programs subroutines could fight each other, create a Borg civil war inside the program itself. Hard to portray, but portray, but potentially interesting. Instead, we get less interesting Borg.
BTW, if the Borg were so intent of assimilating pre-Fioct Contact Earth (ass opposite to pre-FC Quo'Nos, Betazed, Bolious, Bajor, or a non B-planet like Pacifica. Not to put down my own planet, but what's so exceptionally great about Earth?) wouldn't they just try again? Maybe their future time travel all fell under the J.J. Abrams rules of alternate timeline creation. (2 O'Brians: "I hate temporal mechanics.")
To repeat, I like 1st Contact, but you really just have to just accept that the Borg act in mysterious ways in that movie. (An, yeah, I understand tat the Borg were originally to be insectoid and I guess with a queen, but as they were 1st introduced, the ended p more interesting without a leader. Seriously, i keep imagining a Futurama parody where a Borg Queen like character shows up wearing an "I am Not a Leader" T-Shirt in a cube where loudspeakers keep announcing that everyone is an equal part of the collective.)
What do the Borg need buttons for? Don't they just collectively think commands to their ships? What was Tuvok thinking? Also, at least a few of those buttons appeared to make the Superman shield appear on a console? Did the holodeck Borg assimilate Kryptonians?
Re: An Asian guy named Chang. To be fair, according to wikipedia, Chang is the 87th most common family name in China today. Not the top (Kim *is* the top family name in Korea), but considering Chinas' population, plus the patrilineal descendants of Chinese people in other countries, there would be a lot of them. (And the top 100 surnames are shared by 85% of China's population.) Would you object as strongly to an English fellow named Smith? (Both Picard's and Kirk's first Enterprise had a crew member named Smith, according to Memory Alpha.) In any culture, some names are more common. In fact, the Chinese government is concerned that there are so many people in the country with the same name, causing confusion, that they are trying to encourage people to combine both parents family names into one so that there's more variety.
Note that among the names of the game's makers were "Monroe" (already mentioned) and "Chang" (middle name).
Suggested dialogue change:
ReplyDeleteMonroe: Sir, if I may. . . how was I supposed to know the panel would explode?
Tuvok: Because this is Star Trek.
Seriously what panels don't explode in that universe?
Why not be calm about the ship shaking itself apart? Between most episodes, Q or someone else apparently shows up and magically restored al the damage and lost shuttle pods to Voyager, anyway.
Ah, personal transporter buffers. The infinite bags of holding. . . of the future! Of the non-canoical future, since I dolt think the technology existed in any of the episodes or movies. Of well, at least this is one game the explains why large objects occasionally just appear in your hands.
Seems they couldn't get Majel Barret Roddenbery. I think the computer is played by is DS9's Cardiassian computer voice actress.
Dilithium matrix decoupled? But they seemed so happy together.
The transporter chief has a 70's mustache.
These first two episodes were decent, I'd definitely watch more. The audio levels were a little iffy, the games sound effects were a bit too high and the voice acting too low. But it's not a big deal.
ReplyDeleteJust curious, do you watch/read SomethingAwful LPs Linkara?
Not really, no. The Silent Hill ones I found were hilarious, though, so I enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I don't exactly have a happy relationship with the forums of those at SomethingAwful.
Lewis Lovhaug said...
ReplyDelete"Not really, no. The Silent Hill ones I found were hilarious, though, so I enjoyed them.
That being said, I don't exactly have a happy relationship with the forums of those at SomethingAwful."
Yeah, I've heard some pretty nasty things about SomethingAwful, especially about their strict LP rules. Then again, the Youtube-based LP community I found doesn't have that much of a reputation, either (just look up UltraJMan, and you'll see what I mean).
Really good LP thus far, Linkara. You've actually inspired me to get back into LPing, myself. Considering your already-vast experience with using recording technology through AtFW and your brother's Dumpster Tech internet show, maybe you can give some of us average Joes some tips on how to get started?
As for the theme song...I've got to agree with David and say that a theme song really doesn't fit the show. No offense, but I just can't see "Western outlaw theme tune" when I watch your reviews.
The technical term is "Gunslinger." ^_~
ReplyDeleteAs for LP advice, I used a freeware software called Camstudio. The trick is finding the right video codecs to save under. What you see in my LP is a result of a day's worth of testing to see the best balance between video quality and smoothness of motion. sadly the smoothness of motion doesn't come across as well as it does when I actually play, but it's acceptable for me.
Heh! Elite Force——I played the Mac demo, many moons ago. Those first couple of levels appeared to be the same, gameplay and voicework wise...except that they had someone different playing Seven of Nine, for some reason.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting tidbit: if you hang around the bridge a couple of minutes, instead of going to engineering (giving you a chance to snoop around the ready room, among other things) you can hear the bridge crew's dialog go on for a few more lines——including Kim reporting that he's located what appears to be a Constitution class starship's hulk on sensors, but that he can't identify it at current range (!)——interspersed with repeated commands for Munroe to get moving, until Janeway finally orders you taken to the brig (game over).
Incidentally, pulling a weapon on the bridge and trying to frag the captain doesn't work out too well. "Though it provided some amusement...for a few moments." :D
Lewis Lovhaug said...
ReplyDelete"The technical term is "Gunslinger." ^_~
As for LP advice, I used a freeware software called Camstudio. The trick is finding the right video codecs to save under. What you see in my LP is a result of a day's worth of testing to see the best balance between video quality and smoothness of motion. sadly the smoothness of motion doesn't come across as well as it does when I actually play, but it's acceptable for me."
I was going to go with "Bonanza reject", but that seemed too harsh. :/
And I've heard of Camstudio; I find it useful for emulated stuff, but for PC games, I've been told that Fraps is a better option.
Fraps is great for what it is, but Fraps is not free.
ReplyDeleteTrue. I was lucky to get a hacked version from a fellow LPer shortly before I left the Youtube LP community. If you want, I can send it to you for you to try out.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I don't like about Fraps is that the video saved is way too big, and I have to compress it at least twice to get it down to a reasonable size without losing quality. But, it seems to be the only program I can use to record PC-specific games reliably
Ah I have this game on my PS2. I'm looking forward to when you get further into the game and the crazy stuff they throw at you, espically when they give you the portable photon torpedo launcher =]
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you branching into other things.
This Let's Play is an example of how experimenting with other things than what your used to is not always a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you sounded a little bit like a Trekkie in this video. It's not a bad thing, I just noticed it. I'll shut up now.
The video doesn't work? "Sorry, we're unable to play this episode." Other parts seem to work for me...?
ReplyDeleteJust a quick comment since I don't see anyone having made it yet. This LP is awesome, but you skipped the tutorial which actually explained some your issues with the abundance of health and weapon energy, as well as the hazard suit design.
ReplyDeleteIn the tutorial, or at least the version I have (PS2 FTW!), Tuvok explains that the suit is designed like it is to include sensors that scan for compatible sources of power, and highlights them on your eyepiece (the player's screen) in yellow for health/armor and blue for weapons. The ribbing is designed to protect the electronics that transmit that data and scan for the energy. So the borg may not have had a health energy terminal, but the suit recognized that the terminals energy could be USED for health, and highlighted it yellow for you.
OH MAH GAWRSH I LOVED playing the elite force games with my big brother when I was growing up! Used to be my favorite thing to do until he started getting interested in girls. >.>
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't Janeway who stranded them, it was the Caretaker. And they're not stupid. :-T
As for not being mature, you're playing a game. XD You're not supposed to be mature while playing games. All the things that seem pointless, I'm sure they have a function that we don't really need to know about to enjoy the game. And the panel exploding, it was programmed that way in the holodeck so that they wouldn't assume anything and take any chances like that. And the torpedoes, I agree on that one. O_o They should have fired much sooner.
Carpet that cleans itself? I want some. XD
Anyway, I loved watching you play this! So many nerdgasms!
Yet another series I never before watched all the way through from the beginning. As such, I notice for the first time:
ReplyDelete0:45 - Wait, Ensign Munro can be female? Neat. After seeing your portrayal of him in-show, I figured Munro was always a dude and the idea there'd be an Alexandria option at character select didn't occur to me.
8:15 - I think, "That guy sounds familiar." Then over to IMDB and turns out I was right; Biessman is voiced by Tom Wilson, Biff Tannen and Maniac.