Archive for July, 2012

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PS3 Re-Everything Log: Day #4

Posted in Blog, Borderlands, Games, Street Fighter on July 31, 2012 by slateman

As I got up this morning, several downloads were done. I queued up several more and patched some. This morning’s updates:

4 Elements HD – 169Mb
Burn Zombie Burn – 165Mb
Costume Quest – 386Mb
Journey – 589Mb
Marvel Pinball – 272Mb
NBA Jam Demo – 859Mb
PixelJunk SideScroller – 83Mb
Resident Evil 4 – 3.4Gb
Rochard – 1.3Gb
The Simpsons – 21Mb
Tomb Raider and the Guardian of Light – 2.3Gb
Trine – 355Mb
Trine 2 – 1.1Gb

Patches
Braid – 240Mb
Cuboid – 20-something Mb
Plants Vs. Zombies – 12Mb
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare – 20Mb
Resident Evil 5 – 168Mb
SF3:OE – 18Mb
Tetris – 70Mb

Little Big Planet Patch Sizes
57 / 189 / 22 / 23 / 53 / 113 / 58 / 17 / 19 / 23 / 25 / 82 / 6

Little Big Planet 2 Patch Sizes
7 / 13 / 13 / 12 / 93 / 568 / 19 / 19 / 23 / 173 / 68 / 45 / 51 / 51 / 50

Wait…WHAT? Yep. 13 separate updates for my beloved LBP and 15 for LBP2. They total (umm…carry the 4)…Well, only 687Mb for the first and 1.2Gb for the second. This is absurd. Another 2Gb between two games right there. Oh, plus installations for each. Those total 3Gb of HDD space.

Then you have installations of Skate 2 and Skate 3 from yesterday. Today had a nice 6Gb installation of RE5 and RDR: UN (2.4Gb).

And let us not forget, the General Knoxx DLC, all 1.7Gb of it, was corrupt. Re-downloaded the re-download!!!

My PS3 froze during Tetris. That always makes me nervous.

Now, I went forward and grabbed the Dyad demo and was nabbing one more when I gave up. I won’t count those though. They’re not part of the re-install. I’ll round it off to about 15Gb of data transfer today alone (not including 1.3Gb for Dyad. I’m going to pause for a few minutes and actually PLAY something before turning in. Tomorrow won’t be as active as today.

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PS3 Updates: Still Going!

Posted in Blog, Borderlands, Games, Street Fighter on July 30, 2012 by slateman

I’ll have to say that this is going more quickly than I had anticipated. Now, first off, it’s still summer vacation and I don’t have to work. Second, I got this all started on a Saturday night, so I benefited from a low-traffic summer Sunday and Monday morning. However, I did patch about half of my retail games and caught up on PSN games and DLC rather well. As I mentioned yesterday, the downloads just get bigger though as time goes on. I downloaded Infamous which was a 7Gb file. Newer games, PS+ games, etc all increase. But, my speed is fantastic! I just got the Borderlands: Zombie Island DLC (just under a gig) in half an hour, and that was with my router crapping out for a part of it. Claptrap Revolution is next, 1.36Gb and I’m starting at 9:15. Let’s see how this one goes!

@10am, the download was finished and both DLCs installed. This isn’t that bad!

@1pm, I queued up some more. Starting to get big. Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is 1.6Gb. Street Fighter III is 620Mb. BloodRayne: Betrayal is just under a gig and the two Super Street Fighter IV updates total 1.9Gb. That’s almost 5Gb right there. My network has slowed down it seems, but while I plan on just letting this run, I expect it to take some time. Overnight and early morning seem the best times to update this stuff.

@1:38: Might & Magic done. 1.6Gb in <40 minutes? Cannot complain!!!
@1:53: SFIII done. 620Mb in 15 minutes
@1:55: Plants Vs. Zombies done. 90Mb in 2 minutes

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New PS3: Reformat / Re-Download / Re-Install.

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Borderlands, Games, Skyrim, Street Fighter with tags , on July 29, 2012 by slateman

As I’ve now managed to kill two original fat PS3s in a little over 15 months, I’m stuck with the arduous and painfully-long process of redoing everything. Last night, I tossed firmware 4.21 on a flash drive and formatted my awesome 320Gb drive full of everything I loved. All my games, patches and many of my save games are lost forever. Oh yeah…again!

So, last night, around 11pm, I started doing it all. I queued up my old downloads, things I grabbed back in 2008 or so. Overnight, my PS+ auto updater finished those and synched my trophies. I later grabbed whatever save games I had backed up online. This morning, I started grabbing bigger games. Söldner-X and its sequel tallied about 2Gb. Things are going to get big soon.

The next step, (well, I’m still in my 2009 downloads, mostly) will be to plug in each game disc and start it up, downloading patches along the way. The game that killed my system (it was a coincidence), Arkham Asylum, is a Game of the Year edition, so fortunately everything was there. However, about 275Mb went to Brütal Legend, a game I will likely never get around to. I’m going to need to grab the three Borderlands DLCs I purchased and I fear Skyrim will be large as well. How big was Arcade Edition for Super Street Fighter IV again?

Ultimately, all games are dwarfed by Burnout Paradise and Heavy Rain. The former has a series of seven updates. I know this because I did this reformat/re-download/re-install nonsense just last June. As I write this, I’m just finishing up the first of those seven updates. You know, the 385Mb one. That is followed by a 154Mb update. Then, just five more after that.

I can’t recall the precise size (turns out it’s 1.15Gb) but huge is the Heavy Rain update that included the much-sought-after Move controls (/sarcasm). I always wanted to go back to that game. The problem with these updates is that I can’t let them go overnight. I have to sit there and let them run. I’ve got a good connection, but a gig is still a gig of waiting. And better yet is when you download a big PSN title, install it, boot the sucker up just to find out a patch larger than the original install is waiting for you.

Burnout’s third patch was only 35Mb; its fourth a meaty 250.

I should’ve just gotten a slim last spring when my original launch model died. And I shouldn’t complain too much, as I have a functional PS3 here, a nice 320Gb drive, a good connection and a Sunday where traffic is always faster than weekdays. Note to self…Back your shit up next time. This is your fault.

Burnout Patch Updates:
Patch #5 – 133Mb
Patch #6 – 176Mb
Patch #7 – 413Mb
Burnout Paradise Total Patch Size = 1.26Gb

Oh, and before I sign off here, I really wonder/fear how this will all work in 10 years. I can still play any PS1 or PS2 game I own, any NES or SNES game. Not being able to play your stuff or missing out b/c of patches is just going to be strange. Will there even be a PSN? I LOVE me my PS3 as you should know…but how things are going really bothers me. Knowing my copy of Final Fight on the PSN won’t let me play it at all w/out being connected is insane. And don’t get me going on digital distribution. I don’t like it and that’s not gonna change.

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DDP:DFK FAQ Posted

Posted in Blog, DoDon Pachi, Games, Guides with tags on July 14, 2012 by slateman

My first new FAQ in over 2 years, I really wanted to get this to a completed state before I got interrupted and lost my passion. So, while it’s still missing some things (i.e. I have to buy Black Label!) I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done. I look forward to finishing this, but for now, check out 1.0 of my DoDonPachi: Daifukkatsu FAQ! :D

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I LOVE DFK! Novice HS (2-5!), FAQ

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, DoDon Pachi, Games, Guides, High Scores/Accomplishments with tags on July 13, 2012 by slateman

Yes, the ONLY benefit of the PS3 dying was my newfound passion for DDP! Only Street Fighter rivals my love for DDP (like what I did there? And, for the record, SF wins). In any event, I played Novice Mode on DFK tonight and got to 2-5! Of course, I’ve never come close to anything like this before…like…not even in the same district. Novice mode, I get it…but I don’t care. It was friggin’ fun! So, here’s my new high score. That’s almost 20 billion and it was so awesome.

OK, over the past few days, my ‘passion’ has been a bit of an obsession. That’s good! All of my gaming FAQs have been born of this passion, as have all of my sites. Of course, I haven’t the time to dedicate to them like I used to, but this is DDP after all. Next up will be SDOJ in another 3-4 years. In any event, as I pack up to go to camp for a few, I figured I’d post the incomplete DDP:DFK FAQ I’ve been writing. It’s a hefty document, really, and while there’s a lot still left to do, in reviewing it, I’ve done a hell of a lot! Remember, it’s not done and there are a lot of holes. But I want it online in some capacity before going away and abandoning my beloved DDP! It’s been a good few days! It may not be healthy, but I love it when this happens. It’s been two years since my last FAQ and I did four in the course of three months then. OK…more soon!!!

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DDP:DFK – First CC Ever!

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, DoDon Pachi, Games, High Scores/Accomplishments on July 11, 2012 by slateman

I have been playing shooters for many years but I am just not that great. However, this morning, I managed to 1cc my first shmup, DoDonPachi: Daifukkatsu!!!  OK, it was on novice mode, but don’t ruin my excitement! I was actually just testing out bee locations/values for an upcoming FAQ and it kinda just…happened. So, yeah, it’s not a real 1cc but I don’t particularly care. I was pretty psyched.

Will be heading out of town soon for a few weeks. I’ll be working on the guide when I can, so I hope to have it by the beginning of the month.  I guess this is the only really good part of my PS3 dying. :)

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Phish @ SPAC….How I Miss This Stuff

Posted in Best / Worst, Blog, Music, Reflection with tags on July 9, 2012 by slateman

The last time I saw Phish was in June of 2004 in Saratoga. The band was breaking up, my life was falling apart and it was all a very interesting time. However, those last two shows were just amazing and sadly, they represent the ending of one portion of my life.

So, as Phish returns there eight summers later, I listen to the set with utter joy, and reminisce with a bittersweet feeling to my last two Phish shows. Opening with Reba that first night, a twenty-minute Walls Of The Cave and an insane A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing and Piper to start the second set (50 minutes between those two!). I love listening to this show, including the Bowie that ended the first set.

The second night started off OK and ended with some crazy jams. The second set consisted of four songs, just the type of show I love to see!

I have such fond memories of Phish shows and long to see them again. It’s not happening right now, but I’ve grabbed the first two SPAC shows already and listened to most of the first. From what I’ve heard, Mike is still on fire and the band sounds healthy and alive. It’s not nearly the same…but it’ll have to do. I’ll eventually burn all three shows, and may grab the Jones Beach shows as well as I’ve heard some good things. Man…I miss this stuff…….

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The Hobbit Poster (100th Post)

Posted in Blog, Books, Movies, Tolkien with tags , on July 8, 2012 by slateman

The Hobbit (Pt 1)

Drooolll…

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4×4 Best Of 5 Average

Posted in Blog, Cubing with tags on July 6, 2012 by slateman

I figured I’d keep going with this 4×4 thing. I didn’t break my record…but all five runs were pretty good!

2:54.51
2:54.74
2:47.16
2:53.95
2:58.49

That’s an average of 2:53.77. Not so bad!

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PS3 Out For Repair

Posted in Blog, Games on July 6, 2012 by slateman

I can’t believe the unit died and so quickly. I’m convinced it’s a GPU problem and so I’m crossing my fingers a reball/reflow solution will prove successful. The unit was shipped out today to Florida and I can only hope it returns functional. I realize it’s just a videogame system. However, it’s my favorite and the stupid thing makes me happy. Is that so wrong? So…now to wait. And wait. And hope.

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