139 replies to this topic

[momerath]

Yeah, definitely another excellent episode. I actually think the video quality looks quite nice, personally...

Looking forward to more as always!

[PlayerOneStewy]

I mostly want to get the frame rate up.

[Knurek]

I'm not sure how it looks on Mac, but PC version of Kega Fusion does support logging the gameplay into AVI (with full framerare, no interlace, etc, etc).

I've skimmed trought the Mac version of the emulator and it has the string 'Log to Avi' in the executable, so maybe it supports it as well - might give it a try.

On the PC the logged AVIs are using a special codec SteveSnake, Kega's author devised, but they are easily recoded into something more common (XVID, H264) using VirtualDub or just about any other video encoder. Again, I'm not sure how it looks on Mac.

Hope this helps a bit.

[PlayerOneStewy]

I want to say the mac version doesn't support that. But that's not necessarily an issue, since I could easily make the videos on PC and transfer them to the mac for editing. hrm....

[PlayerOneStewy]

I'm having nothing but problems with the third episode. I just recorded a game for about 45 mins only to find it got corrupted somehow.

ugh.

[Kirbutashi]

Genesis is just that messed up

[Compeau]

I'm having nothing but problems with the third episode. I just recorded a game for about 45 mins only to find it got corrupted somehow.

You never make that complaint about the POP, and Phil has been corrupted for years.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Sorry I'm late to the party. I just watched episode 2. Once again fantastic job Greg. I was expecting much gushing for Phantasy Star II, so I'm pleasantly surprised you held back.

I'm just a little crushed you sucked quite badly at Thunder Force II, and then went so far as to say you didn't like the overhead stages. Maybe part of the reason is because I have fond childhood memories associated with it, but Thunder Force II has always been one of my favorite Genesis games. Outside of Asteroids in the arcades, Thunder Force II was the first game I'd ever played where I could fly any direction I wanted to in a shooter. The fly anywhere stages coupled with the horizontal stages reminded me a lot of LifeForce on NES, but even better. I'm sorry you didn't like the overhead stages, I really am.

On the other hand, I do share your apathy for Daisenryaku though. I CAN read Japanese I find every title to be rather boring and slow. I've never played the Megadrive version, but I've played it on Famicom and Super Famicom and yeah, it's got nothing on Famicom Wars, which came out around the same time.

Looking forward to part 3 and your coverage of titles such as Super Monaco GP, Columns and of course, Moonwalker!

[PlayerOneStewy]

I really do suck at Thunder Force II. And I'm sure that's a contributing factor to my opinion of the game. But if the overhead bits were better, I might have been more inclined to get good at the game back when I first played it 20 years ago

[PlayerOneStewy]

OK, I really need some help now. By moving to the PC version of the emulator, I'm able to capture what seem to be perfect gameplay footage. Unfortunately, it's using a codec that's not compatible with OSX (which is where I do the video editing). I'm at a loss as to how to convert this file to something the mac can see and isn't compressing the video to the point that it's blurry or dropping frames.

I've spent enough time on this now that it's put episode 3 behind by at least a week or more.

Any help from anyone would be great

[Knurek]

OK, I really need some help now. By moving to the PC version of the emulator, I'm able to capture what seem to be perfect gameplay footage. Unfortunately, it's using a codec that's not compatible with OSX (which is where I do the video editing). I'm at a loss as to how to convert this file to something the mac can see and isn't compressing the video to the point that it's blurry or dropping frames.

I've spent enough time on this now that it's put episode 3 behind by at least a week or more.

Any help from anyone would be great

Download if you haven't already VirtualDub for Windows (http://www.virtualdub.org/).

Install XviD codec (http://www.xvid.org/)

Register the Kega video codec (it's in the Video Codec subdirectory of Kega install, right-click on the KegaGameVideo.inf file and select Install (or similar, nonEnglish Windows here).

Start VirtualDub, drag and drop the AVI from emulator to VirtualDub's window.

Press Ctrl-P, select Xvid MPEG-4 Codec, press configure button, Select Xvid Home profile, Single pass encoding and high enough bitrate (at least 1500 kbit/s, since you'll be re-encoding it I'd suggest 2500+).

Press F7, choose where to save the recoded AVI.

The created file should be playable on systems without the Kega video codec. If you're feeling adventurous, you can try using x264 instead of Xvid, but generally - Xvid encodes much faster and since you'll re-encode the movie anyway, there's little gain in doing that.

Hope this helps, if you have any other encoding related problems, I'll be happy to help.

[PlayerOneStewy]

Curious if you've got any experience with exporting the video from Adobe Premiere. I can't seem to find settings that give me near the video quality I had when I fed the clips in.

[PlayerOneStewy]

Episode 003 is finally up. YouTube link here. I'll try to get it up on Archive.org soon.

[momerath]

Great episode! I have to agree that Ghouls N Ghosts is just such a great example of a game whose visuals and music set it apart from the rest of the pack. It's just one of those iconic games that I still think holds up really well today.

As for Hydlide... I'd say the only interesting thing about it to me is that it's a series that marks an early example of Japanese experimentation with RPG formulas [at least when first game originally came out anyway.] It's hard to get past how dated it all feels on a 16-bit platform though, even for the time.

[Jave]

Great episode.

When the show first started, I found myself thinking "there sure are a lot of awkward silences in there" but as it goes on, this just gives me more chances to enjoy the music. It's all coming together.

[momerath]

I don't mind the sections without voice-over as long as there's interesting gameplay or visuals to take in. And I have to say, I do think it's starting to feel more natural with each new installment.

[PlayerOneStewy]

Thanks! I am trying to let the music play a full volume once in a while. I'm also trying to let full intros play when they exist, though some of them are a bit long (Phantasy Star II, Super Hydlide)

[PlayerOneStewy]

I live in admiration of the razor-sharpness of Dr. Sparkle's Chrontendo videos. I just can't figure out how to get the Generation 16 vids to output like that.

[Kirbutashi]

It's probably easier to process those on a Windows machine if I had to guess. Have you ever tried contacting him and asking?

[PlayerOneStewy]

Yeah I have.

I think my problem was my sequence settings. I did a test this morning and the results were exactly what I wanted. I might have to drop the file size a bit. But overall I think episode 4 will look much better than 3.

[Kirbutashi]

Think you can work in multiple sequences and piece them together in the end?

[atat23]

Just watched the new episode, it was great, the nostalgia was flowing

I remember when I first got my Mega Drive how amazed I was that it came with three games in one cart, Italia 90, Super Hang on and Columns, though Super Hang on got the most play time. I'd completely forgotten about the Original mode as well, tempted to hook my Mega Drive up right now.

[K-S-O]

These videos are pretty educating for someone who never had a Genesis like me. I did get bored during the sports segments but that is more of an issue with me than the videos themselves.

I like how you thank Dormerbot in the ending credits.

[juanster]

I forgot to post this after episode 2, but there was a time when my dad would take me to our local rental store to rent a Genesis game every week. One day, the owner asked my dad if we would be interested in buying some used games. The two games he put on the counter were Last Battle and Phantasy Star II.

I hadn't heard of either of these games before, but I clearly remember the owner recommending Phantasy Star II because of it's story and party system. I was just 9 years old and wanted action, so I decided on Last Battle.

Did I regret that decision back then? Nope! I loved and played the hell out of it. Do I regret it now? Not really, but only because of emulation.

Edited by juanster, 07 March 2012 - 08:50 AM.

[PlayerOneStewy]

Archive.org link for Episode 3 is finally in the OP.

[PlayerOneStewy]

Finally got the last bit of footage recorded for episode 004 this morning. The final two games in this episode have required a lot of time to get right.

[PlayerOneStewy]

Episode 004 is uploading now. There will be a youtube link in the OP which should go live in about an hour. The Archive.org upload won't happen until later tonight.

[momerath]

"The video you have requested is not available."

[Kirbutashi]

Up now. I had never seen Rambo III before...

[Owozifa]

Why are all Americanized Japanese people named "Joe"?

[PlayerOneStewy]

I thought that was kind of funny as well. I guess it was the go-to "American" name.

If you remember, Naomichi Ozaki (the original golfer on the cover of what became Arnold Palmer's Tournament Golf) actually went by "Joe" Ozaki as well.

Anyway, hope you all like the episode. Mystic Defender was the real surprise for me. I'd never played it before and I really ended up enjoying it a lot.

[juanster]

Another great episode. Just one quick thing....get to Comix Zone!

[Ondore]

You're looking at about episode... 250 for that one?

[PlayerOneStewy]

No archive.org version yet. I'm getting some sort of error stating there's a problem with the content.

[Kirbutashi]

Must be all that horrible "music."

[juanster]

You're looking at about episode... 250 for that one?

I know

In the meantime, I'll look forward to Pat Riley Basketball.

[PlayerOneStewy]

Archive.org version of Episode 004 is finally live. Not sure what took so long, exactly.

[borstalshark]

Amazing job on this series, this really brings back a lot of memories. Genesis is the first console that we were allowed to have in the house (not including the C64), for some reason my parents were completely against getting us a NES. Spent so much time with games like Tommy Lasorda Baseball, Quackshot, NHL Hockey, Street Fighter II CE and of course Sonic. I think my parents may have regretted their decision to get it for us, my brother and I were constantly glued to the TV. Now things are coming full circle and my 62 year old dad bought himself a 360 because he wants to play LA Noire and the Mass Effect series. Now he sits his retired ass around all day playing games!


Thanks for the awesome trip down memory lane, can't wait to see the series continue and see some of my old favorites covered.

[Owozifa]

I anticipate the next episode! In the meantime.

[skumchunk]

Awesome series!

My first and only Sega console was the Game Gear, so this has been a bit of a history lesson. I look forward to the next episode.