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All 16 items on Vale.Rocks categorised with the tag 'gaming'. Content relating to video games, and rarely other types of games.

I feel sometimes we collectively fail to appreciate how underpowered computers of the past were. Especially when it comes to game consoles.

Component Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Nintendo Wii
CPU 3.2 GHz PowerPC (3 symmetrical cores) 3.2 GHz Cell (1 main core + 7 sub-processors) 729 MHz PowerPC (Single core)
GPU 500 MHz ATI Custom (Xenos) 550 MHz (Reality Synthesiser) 243 MHz ATI (Hollywood)
RAM 512MB GDDR3 (Unified. Shared by CPU/GPU) 512 MB Total (256MB System / 256MB Video) 88 MB Total (24MB Internal / 64MB External)
Specs of 7th generation home consoles.

This level of performance was in pursuit of a lower price point, and games only managed to be as impressive as they were because they could target fixed hardware. Optimisations could be made for specific resolutions, processors, GPUs, and provided system-specific APIs, which isn’t possible with the wide array of configurations seen in general-purpose computers, even if many personal computers had rivalling hardware.

The Regulated Reality of China's Gaming Industry

An infinite sandbox with high walls.

China's extremely developed and ginormous gaming industry and how it has been shaped by regulations and restrictions to become a growing international powerhouse. Covering restrictions, alternate Chinese versions, censorship, internet cafés, e-sports and a great deal more.

https://vale.rocks/posts/china-gaming

Bloons Tower Defence 6 Round Notes

Round Threat
24 First Camo
28 First Lead
40 First MOAB
59 First Camo Leads
60 First BFB
63 Many Ceramics
76 Many Regrow Ceramics
78 BFB and many Rainbows, Ceramics, Camo Ceramics, and Purples
80 First ZOMG
90 First DDTs and many Camo Regrow Fortified Leads
95 Many DDTs, Fortified MOABs, Camo Regrow Purples, and Camo Regrow Fortified Leads
98 Many ZOMGs and Fortified BFBs
99 Many MOABs and Camo Fortified DDTs
100 BAD

Great reference: https://topper64.co.uk/nk/btd6/rounds/regular

ActivityPub Bluesky

Minecraft Mining Notes

1.14+ can do crawl mining. Otherwise, standard strip mining.

Pre-1.17 Ore Distribution:

Ore Biome Most Found Common Up To Rare On Layers None At/Above
Coal Any 5-52 124 125-127 128
Iron Any 5-54 61 62-63 64
Gold (Any) Any 5-29 29 31-33 34
Gold (Badlands) Badlands 5-29 76 77-79 80
Redstone Any 5-12 12 13-15 16
Lapis Lazuli Any 13-17 23 31-33 34
Diamond Any 5-12 12 13-15 16
Emerald Mountains 5-29 29 30-32 33
Pre 1.17 ore distribution. Credit: Minecraft Wiki

Pre beta 1.6, ores generate less in north/east quadrants compared to south/west. In beta 1.8, the Y-level range of each ore was lowered by 4.

Post-1.18 Ore Distribution:

Ore Biome Total Range Peak Layer No Spawn At
Coal Any 0 to 320 45 -64 to -1
Copper Any (Dripstone caves for larger veins) -16 to 112 43 -64 to -17; 113+
Iron Any -64 to 72 & 80 to 320 14 73 to 79
Gold (Normal) Any -64 to 32 -18 33+
Gold (Badlands) Badlands -64 to 256 32 to 256 257+
Redstone Any -64 to 16 -59 16+
Lapis Lazuli Any -64 to 64 -2 65+
Diamond Any -64 to 16 -59 16+
Emerald Mountains/Hills -16 to 320 85 -64 to -17
Post 1.18 ore distribution. Credit: Minecraft Wiki

If a diamond vein is exposed to air there is a 50% chance it won’t generate.

Nether Ore Distribution:

Ore Most Found Commonly Up To Rare on Layers None At/Above
Quartz 114 120 123–125 128
Gold 114 95 96–116 117
Ancient Debris 15–16 23 22–119 120
Nether ore distribution. Credit: Minecraft Wiki

The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

A eulogy for the console soul.

Coverage of the steady erosion of the identity and character of game console interfaces, and a celebration of the excellent original Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, PS Vita, GameCube, and Wii interfaces and what made them great.

https://vale.rocks/posts/game-console-interfaces

Experiencing Zen in the Ratz Instagib Meat Grinder

Bypassing concious thought.

A love letter to Ratz Instagib, a breakneck, fast-jazz, neon-laser, and instant-death first-person shooter played entirely on instinct. Discussion of the feeling of playing, the community, the style, the complex simplicity, and the intoxicating flow state one falls into while playing.

https://vale.rocks/posts/ratz-instagib

ActivityPub Bluesky

I was watching a video with almost 2 million views of a man playing a video game I enjoy. To my surprise and horror, I appeared on screen.

He laughs about my kill to death ratio and kills me several times. At one point after killing me, he just laughs for a solid thirty seconds.

Brutal.

ActivityPub Bluesky

With the increasing popularity of folding phones I hope we’ll see a mod that plays Mario’s ‘Goodbye’ sound byte from Super Mario 64 DS when closing the lid.

ActivityPub

I’ve been playing Mario Kart Wii half the day. I got rather violently Mario Karted by the bots on Koopa Cape a minute ago. From 1st to 12th in the blink of an eye. Oh well.

I’m playing with no bloom or background blurring in HD on my rather large TV with an Xbox controller. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the excellent Dolphin emulator. A huge thanks to all who have contributed to emulation.

ActivityPub Bluesky

I just remembered the time I had to wipe a PlayStation 2 with tens of game saves dating back to 2000 and one of the save icons was on it’s knees begging me not to delete them.

I still feel like a monster.

Halo: My Thoughts

My thoughts on one of the biggest names in gaming.

Explore my journey through the Halo series, from the iconic Combat Evolved to the latest release, Infinite. Discover my thoughts, experiences, and insights into each game's virtues.

https://vale.rocks/posts/halo-my-thoughts