Lil Stinkers Blog

Sensible Soccer (Amiga)

Developer:

Sensible Software

Release Date:

1992

Systems:

Amiga, Atari ST, DOS

Hey I've got a terrible idea, how about I play Sensible Soccer?

I haven't written about a sports game on Super Adventures for about five years now because I realised early on that they weren't working out for all kinds of reasons. These reasons include: I'm terrible at them, I usually don't know the rules, they don't give me much to write about, I often end up with a lot of empty green screenshots with tiny people standing around, and I hate them.

But I'm making a special exception for Sensible Soccer, on account of it being perhaps the most beloved Amiga game ever. It seems to have a spot reserved in every top 100 list right up near the top (unless they've chosen its sequel Sensible World of Soccer instead). Plus the spiritual successor, Sociable Soccer, is coming out soon, so it seemed like a good time for it.

Okay, I'll try to get this over with quickly, with as little whining as possible. I'll show a few screenshots of bland looking menus, a few of me losing a match, then we can both get on with our day.

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Huzzah 2019 Game 1

Not quite home yet but there's time for a blog post.

Rob and I RV'd nicely, arriving at our destination about an hour apart after each making an approach march of about 1,000 km. How's that for converging columns?

Rosmark's forces deploy. To keep things simple I set out a few terrain pieces and we deployed symmetrical forces.

Rob had grabbed a free table and there was just time for a test game of Howard Whitehouse's new A Gentleman's War rules.

I proposed 3 objectives: the 2 houses and the hill. Victory going to the one who held 2 at the end.

The Shuffling-Bushwackers deploy. (I may have spelled that wrong...or maybe I've accidently used the Rosmark slang for the enemy....)

After lots of page flipping we were ready and the first card was drawn.

The game was atable! (Sic)

Red for Rosmark! Whats the range on artillery again?"..."FIRE!"
First shot, first blood.

Rob's Light infantry seized the first house and he was going to take the hill easily. I used 2 brigade moves to drive him out and occupy the whole village.

"Ah, this is going to be easy....HEY! Where'd that cannon ball come from? Oh well, 5 of my troopers can easily deal with 6 of his."
First cavalry melee, 5 dice for me: 1 hit, 6 dice for Rob: 3 hits. Doubled and Shaken...Morale test:1.....
"RUN AWAY!"

Meanwhile, on the far flank, my light infantry whittled down his Hussars significantly and he pulled back. "I shall answer him with my Lancers" (Sorry, just rewatched Waterloo last week)
Not a great day for my cavalry but at least my lancers didn't run off the board.

The result of a long(ish) multi unit firefight.

In the centre and left the game settled into an extended firefight where having my supporting artillery closer and my troops more concentrated and rolling better seemed to be balanced by Rob's troops being more than a little bit stubborn.

It couldn't last forever though. As MacDuff's Grenadiers closed in on the annoying gun, the Shoeffen-Busch-Hagen army dropped below 50% of units unrouted and on table. With both houses being well garrisoned by my troops, Rob gave the order to retreat.

The game is up.

The rules are quite easy but in a few areas there is slightly more detail than I am used to and the charts are more detailed. Won't take long to learn and remember the commonly used bits but there was a lot of page flipping and I was surprised later at how many little things we missed or got wrong on the first go. A QRS, especially a periodic specific QRS would have been useful and will be once we make one.

Overall though, the game was quick, fun and exciting. In the end, victory felt satisfying and earned after hard fighting and manouevring rather than being a random event decided by dice.

We broke for supper with 4 Nova Scotian gamers and 4 HAWKs from Maryland seated around the table. The conversation was lively and it was only when Jeff started a round of self-introductions that I suddenly realized that I was the only one there who knew everyone in both groups and considered them all friends, in some cases friends over decades rather than years. Felt good to have that change.

After supper we had to step out smartly for Rob and I to get our game set up and underway, but that's a post for another day.

Three Gaming Interfaces To Pay Attention To

In this post, I want to discuss some gaming interfaces and user experience features in games. I will use my three favorite games for this present post, but the subject is broader and allows a bigger discussion that I intend to return to, next month.

DEAD SPACE (PS3)

In the horror-fiction game Dead Space, the interface is something to pay special attention to. The character's (Isaac Clarke) main statuses are disposed in a very strategic way: the life meter is located on his back in the shape of a spinal light, the weapon ammunition is showed as a small number when you aim the gun and, finally, the game has an interesting resource that is a luminous laser to help you easily locate the way the character must go (and it saves time in the complex scenario maze).

HERO (Atari)

This one is a relic from the beginning of the video-gaming era. HERO is an interesting case of user experience (UX) and interface with very limited constrols. Atari's joystick has only one button and one directional stick; with only two resources, HERO's designers implemented a wide range of possibilities: when you press the red button in the joystick the character uses its laser vision to kill enemies; by pressing down the control stick the character launches a dynamite do open walls and, finally, when you hold the control stick up the character flies using a jetpack. A very rich interface and UX created using minimal resources.

Entwined (PS4)

One of my favorite indie games Entwined is a great case of interface and usability. All the gameplay is based on how you can manage the two control sticks from PlayStation's joystick. During the whole experience, you must control the two mystic entities by only using circular movements; the user experience is focused on coordinating two different positions simultaneously (a challenge to your dexterity). Entwined is an incredibly created game, using only circular movements in two control sticks, a master class of game design.

On the three cases related in the post, we can clearly see the ideas of how games must strategically use concepts from the user experience field. To finish this conversation I want to share some content from the site nForm about this subject:

"The user experience is not one simple action – it is an interconnected cycle of attempting to satisfy hopes, dreams, needs and desires. This takes the shape of individuals comparing their expectations to the outcomes generated by their interaction with a system. Managing expectations then becomes key to successfully providing a satisfying "return on experience" that delights users and generates shared, sustainable value".

#GoGamers

Utopia 9 - A Volatile Vacation Mini Review (NSW)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Utopia 9 - A Volatile Vacation
Developer: Whalegun
Publisher: QubicGames
Genre: Action, Shoot-'Em-Up, Top-Down
Price: $9.99
Also Available On: Steam

Mana Spark publisher QubicGames is back, this time with a twin-stick-shooter offering that showcases its versatility and knack for injecting humor in frenetic gaming. The premise is simple enough: Intent on taking a break from humdrum work, you get hooked by a red-eye television advertisement and arrange a stay at a tourist resort on another planet that promises you a heavenly time. Once there, though, you're instead treated to a continual dose of hell that compels you to file a formal complaint with the travel agency you booked your trip with.

And this is where Utopia 9 - A Volatile Vacation offers up its quirky version of fun in roguelike fashion. Even as you begin with just your trusty suitcase as your melee weapon, you get to build your arsenal over time. Level progression is straightforward, with combat occurring largely in open space. Optional entry into structures can yield useful items, but opens you up to greater risk. Because controls can be forgiving, death should be expected. Fortunately, the game tries to balance the challenges with its nemesis system, which allows you to regain the weapons hoard you accumulated by killing the exact same enemy that previously did you in. Still, the gameplay leans toward the difficult, and not always for the right reasons. The top-down look helps, and the soundtrack keeps the tone light.

THE GOOD

Environment and character designs jibe with uniqueness of premise and presentation
Extremely challenging but fair
Procedurally generated maps add to unpredictability

THE BAD

Little to no story to drive gameplay forward
Controls are unforgiving at best
Death is unavoidable, and doesn't always help with experience

RATING: 7/10

Proper Analog Retro Video Capture With The Datapath E1/E1s

Capturing analog video can be a difficult task. Analog video follows rather imprecise standards and is increasingly being discarded in today's world where 100% digital video solutions like HDMI and DisplayPort rule. Capturing a digital signal is often simply a matter of buying a capture card/box and plugging everything in. But capturing audio signals, at least those signals that do not conform to the "broadcast standards of 525/625i", is not quite so easy. But while there exist inexpensive devices that can handle low quality composite and medium quality s-video sources, what about high-end analog sources like component video, 15KHz RGB and 31KHz VGA signals? Moreover, are any of them compatible with 240p signals put out by retro consoles and home computers? While there are affordable devices that can sort of handle these signals like the Startech USB3HDCAP, the results are often second rate. But what if there was a device that you can acquire for similar cost and provide truly first-rate capture? Interested? Well if you are, read on to discover the power and the caveats of the Datapath VisionRGB E1 and E1s.

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