A Guest Post from Tim Sundberg - In Response to Episode #142
First off, a few clarifications, I assume you were thinking of Rogue Squadron II when you reacted surprised to me saying that NP didn't like it; Rogue Squadron III came out a few years after the Gamecube and was not solely a space fighter (part of the reason why NP was disappointed in it). RSII was a very good game and was a launch title; RSIII lost its focus and was a worse game as a result. I do like that you refute my points, makes me think more about what I have to say so keep it up. Oblivion looks like a great game but I just don't think I have the time for it right now if you guys are any example.
I got a blue DSi and really, what I like the most about it is the DSi Ware you can get for it. The reason I got it was that I dropped my boom box on my DS Lite and screwed up the top screen and I though “why not” and more or less got it for my birthday. It is in general nicer than the DS Lite (bigger screens, more responsive buttons) but not as large of an upgrade as the Lite was from the "Phat" so unless you really want more internet connectivity and downloadable games it really isn't a must buy. It really is comparable to a portable Wii, the system menu is much the same. The two games I downloaded, Art Style: PiCTOBiTS and Art Style: precipice (that's how they're written) are very fun though and are perfect portable diversions; cheap, quick to pick up, and easy to play; PiCTOBiTS has some great remixed NES tracks in it too.
I now want to talk a little bit about Team Fortress 2 (I am near obsessed with it so it's hard not to) I understand that maybe you shouldn't trust just what I have to say about it (I can't not have bias at this point) and would recommend you look to reviews and whatnot but there is one thing I have to have to say, If you are looking at the PC version (the vastly superior one) most reviews you read will be out of date. It makes sense that a game would be reviewed when it came out but we're talking about Valve here and they are trying something different with TF2. The game as it is right now is very different from what was released with the Orange Box back in 2007 and that version is what most of the reviews are based on. So if you are seriously looking into trying it, either wait for a free weekend (probably not for a while but you never know) or look for scuttlebutt on various community websites such as ubercharged.net or various videos on Youtube and such. I can direct you to good resources if you wish to investigate it further.
So yeah, one of the reasons I like TF2 so much is that it is constantly updated with (free!) new content not only by the company itself but by the very active community. Most other companies would lump everything together in a big expansion pack that you would pay for but at least with TF2, they keep actively supporting the game and iteratively improve it via constant feedback form the community. I'm not sure that development from Valve will stop before the next (at least) year or two and all of this is for a game that was released two years ago at essentially $20, for example, they still update Counter-Strike from time to time, and that game was released in 2004.
What I'm saying here isn't totally pointless and does apply to the podcast somewhat because Valve has become very interested in Xbox 360 development; for example, Left 4 Dead on the 360 has gotten much the same attention as the PC version and I think that bodes well for the console's future, whereas in the past if a Valve game went to a console, another company handled the port. On this subject, maybe an idea for a future episode could either be DLC (free or otherwise) or the relationship between PC games and consoles.
My new dog's name is Kennedy and she is a mix but has a healthy dose of Cairn terrier in her and seeing how she's eight moths old, she's really still a puppy. We picked the name because we have a cat name Reagan (female also) and felt a presidential theme would be cool; if you're really curious, I have three cats and two dogs, so there's plenty of animals in my house.
As far as I know no one got kicked out of Disney World but the threat was there, I don't think everyone would have to be sent home, I think the deal was that the parents would have to pay for airfare to come get their kid, ergo putting the kid in deep shit with their parents and everyone else could still enjoy themselves. I think the group that I was a part of gets treated well by Disney because we have a large group come ~400 people and we've been doing the trip every four years for almost twenty.
A little background first: where I live, Sylvania, Ohio, is weird because it has two high schools, which is very odd for a city of our size, the only district that has more than one near us is the City of Toledo, which has roughly 18 times the population. I attend Northview, the other school is Southview and they are, predictably, on the north and south side of town. The two schools are rivals in almost everything and share many of the same facilities (they have the track; we have the football stadium and pool). The two marching bands are quite close however, and we do even do a drill with them for the big Northview Southview football game (a very big event). The Sylvania Northview Wildcat Marching Band (official title) is one the largest (usually around 200 members) and best bands in the region and we go to a lot of public benefit concerts and that sort of thing and generally impress the community. To sum it up, the Sylvania marching bands are big and important and since both schools go as a unit to Disney, in a convoy of six full size travel coaches we're top priority when we get to Disney, we marched very near the front of the parade with I think close to 100,000 people watching us. So no, we got great treatment and no one got kicked out. Incidentally, I had a blast as well.
I'm kind of tired and rambling here but that was what you guys were like on your show so I guess we're even. Again, if you have anything to say to me, feel free to e-mail me, do something on the blog, or talk to me on Steam; e-mail is preferable. I still enjoy the show.
-Timothy Sundberg
