3DS Thoughts

I recently played a Nintendo 3DS at Best Buy a few weeks ago and wasn't that impressed. The game, Pilotwings Resort was too low-res (at least compared to the iPhone). I don't like the idea of Nintendo's increasingly barbaric "piracy protection", it's even worst than Apple's "walled garden". But the 3DS has buttons, which Apple's devices don't. The SD card slot is good, but no USB. And the 3D is really gimmicky. There's a joystick nub, which was cool, but felt a bit too unnatural. The remake of Ocarina of Time sounds good (they may just put in the original Ura Zelda stuff).

What I want to see, though, is a remake of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Given that the 3DS doesn't have a GBA slot, there's lots that could be improved for another remake. The GBA remake added some useful things, but also changed others.

Things that were good changes:
- Max rupees/bombs/arrows became a light shade of yellow.
- You can slash signs with the Master Sword and up.
- Selecting the Bottles were easier.
- You can keep both the Shovel and the Flute. Additionally, the Shovel was changed to be in all four directions, not just two.
- Starting at the last save space (instead of slogging back to the dungeon from the default spots)

Bad changes:
- The Hurricane Spin was nice, but not worth the other things (like the third Woodcutter, Four Swords)
- They kept the N64 voices, making Link very annoying
- They changed the Witch's assistant to look like Maple, which was jarring (she's in the Oracle series, and this isn't part of it)
- They officially named the Blind's Hideout dungeon to Thieves' Town, which made it vague as to tell which was the dungeon, and which was the town.
- I didn't care for the new script.
- The new way the intro was shown, forcing to you to watch it only when you have a new game...was stupid.

So if they re-did the way to get the Hurricane Spin, and trashed the other changes, it would be awesome!


Also, the "Virtual Console" has titles converted into 3D...but only Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. In addition to being needlessly unnecessary (playing Link's Awakening in 3D? Who cares?), it hinders new development, and frankly, there's a dearth of good GBC/GB games anyway. I could imagine them re-releasing Pokémon RBY (since FR/LG don't work with the 3DS) and being compatible with modern games, but that would be especially weird since they killed backwards compatibility in 2003 anyway. And trying to think of a great GB/C game that wasn't a licensed property is a bit difficult.

I mean, with the 3DS, it's so dampened all excitement from the get-go (the high price didn't help) which made it the most depressing console/handheld announcement ever. I almost want Apple to get its act together and release a gamepad for the iPhone/iPad/iPod family (after all, they made a keyboard) to put serious hurt on Nintendo's remaining business, then acquire Nintendo outright. Almost.

Variety Fair 5 & 10

Updated 2/13/11 with product list and website shots
Like I said yesterday, I did go to Houston. But there's one store I did miss going to (and by miss, I mean, never went inside): Variety Fair (and that hardware store that closed, but that's another story).

It was truly a time warp of a place, a place that was really a mid-century five-and-dime. It closed last year after over 40 years of business.

I collected the Yelp! page here for posterity, including the photo.








The website is still up (for now): Welcome to VarietyFair 5 & 10
The website also lists all sorts of neat stuff: you could've gotten anything from a Barack Obama mask to old-fashioned candy.

Toys (return to top)


Paddle Balls
Wind-ups
Balsa Wood Gliders
Paper Doll Books (Shirley Temple, George Bush, Bill Clinton, etc.)
Wooly Willy
Hula Hoops
Playing Cards and Trays
Jigsaw Puzzles
Metal Jack-in-the-Box
Yo-Yos
Sonic Frogs
Kazoos
Rubber Hand Puppets
Plastic Army Men
Slinkies
Kites
Marbles
Tea Sets
Metal Humming Tops
TinkerToys
Lincoln Logs
Magic Slates
Animated Plush Animals



Games (return to top)

Tiddly Winks
Mille Borne
Wahoo
Chicken Foot Dominos
Metal and Plastic Jacks
Travel Bingo
Pick-Up Sticks
Cootie



Candy (return to top)

Necco Wafers
Pez
Teaberry Gum
Double Bubble
Sugar Daddy
Rock Candy
Pixie Sticks
Cinnamon Toothpicks
Beechies Gum
Bazooka Gum
Candy Necklaces
Dots
Howard's Violet Gum
Gilliam's Horhound Candy
B.B. Bats
Sen Sen
Abba Zabba
Mary Jane's
Charms



Novelty Items (return to top)

Piggy Banks
Metal Lunch Boxes
Magic 8 Ball
Gumby and Pokey
Fighting Nun
Drinking Birds
Rubber Chickens
Rabbit's Feet Key Change
Wacky Wobblers
Spray Snow



Housewares (return to top)

Kitchen Gadgets
Tea Infusers
Vegetable Peelers
Cake and Pastry Decorating Set
Cookie Cutters - Metal and Plastic
Garlic Press
Aluminum Stove Top Percolators
Drip Coffee Makers
Decorated Tin Boxes
Blue Willow Dishes and Accessories
Plate Hangers and Stands
Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Bluing
Janie - Spot Remover
Fabric Dye
Wash Boards
Simmer Rings
Oven Mits and Towels
Vegetable Slicers
Glass Butter Dish
Egg Poachers
Double Boiler
Covered Glass Cakeplate
Juice Reamers



Hardware (return to top)

Household Tools
Hammers
Pliers
Screw Drivers
Picture Hangers
Curtain Rods
Clothespins
Sock Locks
Luggage Straps and Tags
Decorative Edged Shelf Paper
Decals
Oil Lamps
Corks
Extension Cords
Ironing Board Cover Fasteners
Chili Pepper Lights
Clothespin Bag



Sewing Notions (return to top)

Threads and Needles
Crafts
Monkey Socks
Crochet Thread
Jingle Bells
Craft Sticks
Yarn
Sequins and Beads
Glitter
Aunt Martha's Transfers
Beading Loom
Bra Back Extenders



Hairgoods and Cosmetics (return to top)

Lady Esther Face Powder
Hairnets
Hairpins
Blue Waltz Perfume
Coin Purses
Wallet Inserts
Cosmetic Bottles
Mirrors
Lint Brushes
Travel Pillows
Money Belts(Body Safes)
Pill Boxes
Powder Puffs
Plastice Side Combs
Bathing Caps



Costumes and Accessories (return to top)

Political Masks
Animal Ears and Noses
Vampire Accessories
Hats (Any Hat You Can Imagine)
Children's Cowboy Hats
Cowboy Accessories
White Cotton Gloves

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

I finally got my Wii remote + Classic Controller working with Snes9x. All thanks goes to my brother, but it was a process. First we had to download an updated version of DarwiinRemote: turns out I had downloaded an obsolete version last summer.

Resources (links) used:
http://lifehacker.com/#!5042254/operate-your-computer-with-wii-controllers
http://sourceforge.net/projects/darwiin-remote/forums/forum/641465/topic/3763573 <--this one dealt with patching it for Snes9x
http://macapper.com/2007/04/27/how-to-control-your-mac-with-a-wii-remote/

Unfortunately, the solution dealt with Xcode, Macports, and some frameworks moving (all downloaded separately, but luckily I had Xcode and Macports already installed.

To Houston and Back

I rode to Houston to pick up my aunt at the Houston Intercontinental Airport.

Observations:
- The Miller sign at Highway 6 is now gone. It never lit up for years, anyway!
- Lawrence Marshall-Hempstead is really starting to look run down now. It closed over two years ago...
- A lot of skunks on the road. Dead, of course.
- Did you know that Cy-Fair dates back to the 1940s? You can tell from the outside!
- The Target near Spring Cypress is renovating, even though it opened in 2005. However, the IKEA also renovated last year (it opened 2005)
- Passing near the Hardy Toll Road, saw what I thought was the shortest train ever. Five or six cars, that was it.
- Greenspoint was interesting, saw the declining Greenspoint Mall for the first time (outside only): empty anchors, the Macy's (almost greenish, you could see the Foley's labelscar), and the new theater with tacky facade. Also 70s-looking office towers. Still, it was interesting, as Greenspoint was a 1970s edge city, before it fell to crime.
- After passing 45, the Tollway is at its oldest point, and unfortunately, it shows.
- The airport was easy to get into, but had a very long road, with various turnoffs to different terminals. Also some tacky 80s-looking crowns at the entrance.
- We missed the exit back to the freeway (it was poorly marked). After going south of the loop, John F. Kennedy was poorly-maintained.
- Going back via 45, I noted that the McDonald's outside Splashtown had changed its sign! It used to be (until very recently, apparently), been the 80s/90s script:



- The Woodlands has a strange strip mall. Once I considered it quite a refreshing change from the drab strip malls, it was an odd mix of Greco-Roman-Gothic-Islamic architecture. Very strange.
- Two cows off of 105--one of them a bull, of course--were caught in the act.

Emulation woes

It used to be that I was trying to make my emulators full-screen without blurring. Here was my findings from fall, that I never posted, though I intended to:


Snes9x
Emulates: Super NES
Tested: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo, 1992)
FS: Via Preferences command
Notes: Initially blurry, I found out that the setting to change was defaulted on "Smooth", not "Blocky". Hooray! It solved it. Nice and crisp...if blocky!
Status: Solved!

ScummVM
Emulates: Doesn't emulate, but rather recreates the SCUMM engine.
Tested: Sam & Max Hit the Road (LucasArts, 1995)
FS: Alt (Option)-Enter
Notes: The Mac version of the game were the ones tested on SCUMM (hence the later date). It originally was not full-screen, rather, it had a black border. Even altering the graphics style (to be smoothed slightly) was not helpful.

DOSBox
Emulates: MS-DOS shell (no MS-DOS required)
Tested: Zork I (Infocom, 1980)
FS: Command-F (Boxer)
Notes: Used Boxer. DOSBox will produce a black border but still blurry/anti-aliased.

Stella
Emulates: Atari 2600
Tested: Pitfall! (Activision, 1982)
Notes: Performs nice and blocky in the biggest screen size available, in full screen becomes slightly blurry. Even the options window in full screen is blurry, leading me to the conclusion it's OS X's fault.

Mini vMac
Emulates: Early all-in-one Macs
Tested: System 6.0.1 (Apple Computer, 1988)
FS: Control-F
Notes: Mini vMac uses a very odd proprietary method for setting all options (perhaps that it why it has so many ports). It has full-screen magnified (control-M) and a black border but proper resolution variant.
Status: Solved!

Catakig
Emulates: Apple II series (except Apple IIGS)
Tested: Apple //e ROM (Apple Computer, 1983)
Notes: Preferences section is extremely basic with only two options (color toggle and joystick control).

MacMAME
Emulates: Arcade ROMs
Tested: Paperboy (Atari Games, 1984)

Sweet16
Emulates: Apple IIGS
Tested: GS/OS 6.0.1 (Apple Computer, 1993)

BasiliskII
Emulates: Color 68k-based Macs
Tested: System 7.5.5 (Apple Computer, 1995)
Notes: To make it a good full screen without blurring or anything, you have to set it to the screen's native resolution. System 7.5.5 rendered in 1280 x 800 was a sweet, wonderful thing.
Status: Solved!

sixtyforce
Emulates: Nintendo 64
Tested: StarFox 64 (Nintendo, 1997)

KiGB
Emulates: Game Boy and Game Boy Color
Tested: Super Mario Land (Nintendo, 1989)
Notes: See Nestopia

Nestopia
Emulates: NES
Tested: Mega Man 2 (Capcom, 1989)
Notes: Changing the graphics filter to 4x helped, with only a single gray contrast pixel. Hardly noticable.

Games and ROMs © Capcom, Nintendo, Apple, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Activision Blizzard, LucasArts


Since then, I changed my N64 emulator, which I haven't yet tested in full screen (prognosis looks good, though), and downloaded the newly updated Boxer, which now offers "the sharpest pixels in the West."

The party had hardly begun, though when I tried to plug in a Logitech f310 controller, which to my dismay, didn't work. Some kludgy (and non-free) programs like USB Overdrive do kinda work. Maybe I'll fiddle with it, but it's bad form to "pay someone just to make something go away"--USB Overdrive harasses me every time I start up. Considering the author made the great SimpleText Color Menu back in the 1990s, which adds a boatload of features to good ol' SimpleText, for free, I'm a little mad that he'd add in a really harassing "feature" so that you'd pay. It almost wants me to make me not pay for it and use a serial finder to get rid of it. Seriously.

Now, in Windows, I tried three emulators: Project64 (for Nintendo 64), KiGB (for Game Boy), and Snes9x. I downloaded the Xbox 360 Controllers for Windows to make the Logitech work (it does resemble a 360 controller), but downloading homemade drivers for Mac doesn't work, and the author has gone AWOL. Rats.

Project64 worked alright, but the sound pops.
KiGB in full screen for Windows is not good at all, it tries to stretch to the screen size, and it's really washed out. To make matters worst, I can't transfer the save files from the port of KiGB (the Mac version, which is better), to the Windows version. I tried emailing Richard Bannister, creator of KiGB in regards to this problem.

"The .sav files are compressed on the Mac using gzip.
Decompress them with your favourite tool and you should have more luck."

Well, that being said, I couldn't decompress them, at least the straight .sav files, unless there's another way...

Snes9x, I downloaded elsewhere and didn't find the current official site until today. That being said, I'll try again soon. Hopefully the version I download next time won't demand that I have some new version of DirectX just so it will run sound.

However, when I played Project64 a few days with a controller, three things really bothered me.

1) The sound popped at annoying intervals. Granted, it's not like the old sixtyforce on the OS 9 iMac that had a note every few seconds (with major slowdown, at that), but it was still irritating.
2) The screen stretched, I wasn't given an option for 3:4 (the native resolution)
3) Finally, when assigning buttons, I wasn't given an option for the full 3D joystick, only assigning "Joystick Up" to be "left" or whatever. This made movement stiffer, and especially showed up when you grab the bad guys in Super Mario 64 (even such as the first boss) to throw them, movement went in very jagged up-right-down-left movements instead of the original smooth approach.

The first, second, and maybe the third problem could be solved by going to Mupen64 (like I have on the Mac side).

Perhaps this Spring Break, I'll try to get the Wii remote working with the Classic Controller on Bluetooth, and my brother is coming, so maybe we can try that. Perhaps I can also try to get the joystick working on the Apple IIGS emulator, which says it has joystick control, but I haven't been able to work it. This is especially evident on Three Stooges, which is designed for joystick use. The keyboard use utilizes the keypad, but I don't have the keypad because I use a laptop.