Nina wrote:

Dark Soldier wrote:

I'm ashamed to say I have not played Wipeout HD because I am a poor, skinty barsteward. I shall try to rect(lol rectum)ify this soon.

I'll get it for you if you don't get it yourself. This game (plus coffee if you're playing in the mornings, whisky if you're playing late), with a decent soundtrack (just put anything with a proper beat on your ps3) and you'll be settled for hours. Shame about Studio Liverpool, had some great evenings with some of the guys from there.

Can't remember how many people I've bought this for. Usually where there's a PS3, drink and no WipEout. Haven't had a forum smash about for too long. Think I rain checked the last.

I've bought a Georgie Happaugie HD PVR 2 (Gaming Edition HDMI Capture Device Thingâ„¢), so I fired the old girl up for a night of Air Icaras:



PVR's great after a grumbly, non-working start. Unfortunately, it can't grab PS3 over HDMI due to the HDCP. There is a workaround with an HDMI box, but component - even with the necessary scaling - seemed like my best bet for minimising additional lag. The PVR itself isn't a problem: running 720 into my 1080 TV is. (Fury's one of the few above 720.)

The recorded quality's really quite spiffing, but obviously downgraded by YouTube. Click on YT's Quality Cog for HD.

Fury's still prime. I'd only change a few things:

* Open-mic chat
* Tracks that are thematically similar to WipEout's; i.e. based on reality, like Sagarmatha (albeit from 2097)
* A few more jumps and jinks, with greater elevation changes
* A PS4 version with more stuff in the backgrounds (but not busy for the sake of it)

The 3D is actually amazing amazing

daviedigi wrote:

do a zones mode please.....id love to see some high level zones play in good quality.

Quality, yes; high-level play...

I'll try and do something respectable one day, but I'm way out of Zone shape. I haven't touched it properly for years. But yeah - I agree - it would be nice to look at.

@Moto70

The PVR has a flaky driver in my experience, but it's been fine since the initial headache of removing it for rebooted reattempts.

The included software - ArcSoft ShowBiz - is capture-only. It does have editing features, but they're basic in the extreme. I imagine most people use other programs, though. Sony Vegas is popular. I use PowerDirector, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it. I'm just familiar with its foibles, and even the friendliest programs take some learning.

I'm also familiar with ShowBiz from my EzCAP 116. There's not much to learn, and I like its plain interface. M2TS and MP4 are supported.

Versus the Elgato, the PVR 2:

* Works with Windows prior to 7
* Works with lower-spec PCs
* Is £20 cheaper
* And possibly has the edge on colour accuracy and overall sharpness

My laptop isn't underpowered - Duo T5750, 3 GB, 8600M GT - but that is pushing it a bit for the Elgato. The PVR 2's perfectly happy, though, and I don't have Windows 7 or 8 installed.

If you have the machine for it, in the Elgato's favour:

* Said to have better bundled software (the UI in ShowBiz is fine for recording)
* Is USB-powered
* Is pocket-sized
* Has permanent one-hour recording

The last one's obviously a great feature for unforeseen events in MP. FPSes and the like. For me, I'm 99% capping stored replays from fighting games/Uncharted or SP footage, but the one-hour record's ideal for ensuring you never miss anything without overeating drive space.

Although I could always run the PVR that way, stopping, deleting and restarting manually.

There's nothing much wrong with the AVerMedia if you're okay with component, but it's in the same price territory as the Elgato and PVR 2 minus a required drive.

How much was the Fanatec?

Looking at it I reckon the Elgato would be better suited for me...

I just visited Amazon to look at getting myself some form of capture but I need to sort out my PC I think, give it a full format and start from fresh. I ended up buying 4 BluRay's and Band of Brothers Boxset instead! I'm meant to be saving!

fuck yeh!

Aw yeah, Sas.

I came at sub-phantom doing 3D for the first time.

beano wrote:

Aw yeah, Sas.

Seems a lot of people have. I'm going to add my voice to theirs.

Mmmm, Uncharted

And there she is. My reactions have faded a little over the years, but my gaming hot dogs go on.

Sasukekun wrote:

Mmmm, Uncharted

Me too. Preferably Sanctuary at night, the shipyard, Fort in the Rain or Plaza from UC2. danke.

daviedigi wrote:

you tekken tag 2ing these days scape?

Almost, but on the 360. Rock said he hasn't bought a copy yet. Reccos would be for the characters with simple, easily-remembered moves that are effective. Heihachi needs the EWGF in high-level play, but he's still really good without it for casual online outings.

Dr B for a laugh; @Roujin

Bruce (as in Irvin, not Law) is quality.

Tiger/Eddy/Christie if you're patient enough to learn their grounded stance - RLX. Or you could mash like most do!

Roger, Lili/Sebastian, Paul, Kuma and Jack all hit hard with single moves.

The following are among the most technical chars, I'd say: Angel; Anna; Baek; Bryan; Hwoarang; Julia; King; Kunimitsu; Lee; Lei; Leo; Ling; Michelle; Mokujin!; Nina; Raven; Steve; Wang; Yoshimitsu; and Zafina. Especially Nina and Lei. Armor King's a lot more straightforward than King, but you do need to be able to do half-circles and triple-forwards on the pad.

Ganryu's fun. He's got a great wardrobe, too.

beano wrote:

Fucking daft; I'm happy with 40odd.

/jealous.

There are tips, but first of all I'll tell you about the world record: it's in the 150 region. Poetry. German lad; retired now. He was one of the greatest leaderboard outliers I've ever known in gaming; no-one was close. The Usain Bolt of Anulpha.

He used the right airbrake on the exit of Turn 1 to right the ship at higher speeds. Ever played Stunt Car Racer, with its turn into the corner and tap out of it? Pretty much that. I can't do it because I use an all-digital pad. (I prefer the sharper response at racing speeds - or up to Subsonic, where I'm much more consistent with it than I am on a DS3.)

But at Zone 80+, the lack of an analogue airbrake to counterbrake out of T1 becomes a slight handicap. I have to manually steer the ship out of its lean - Stunt Car Racer, which gives me a smaller margin for error than feathering the brake. If I apply digital brake I slam into the barrier.

By the time I'd got used to the DS3 again, I fear I'd have lost my digital skills for normal racing. I'm happy with the 100+ I can run!

Anyway, help...

The first thing is having the patience to acquire the necessary composure. The first time I managed 80 was with my heartrate doubled, fingers tight on the pad, and I crashed out within a couple of laps. But you do acclimatise after enough mileage at each given speed. By the time I was running 85s, 80 was no longer a problem; ditto 85s at a peak of 90, and so on.

My heartrate barely rises at all now; I've good days and bad, but the speeds up to 110 are familiar.

Other than counterbraking - which you don't need until Mach 1, the main thing is learning to 'spot' corners, rather than trying to track a vanishing point.* Vanishing points work in cars because - once they're established mid-corner - their grip is often linear enough to be known through the exit. If it's prone to oversteering or understeering etc. (In real life you can feel the grip through your fingers and arse, of course.)

WipEout's quite different in that the ship can steer dramatically off-course following a minor overreaction. It isn't progressive steering. So if you're locked onto the vanishing point and your peripheral vision indicates a nearby wall, you might steer a mite away and fly into the opposing barrier. The solution is to - occasionally, because the vanishing point still applies to many corners - stare at the ground immediately in front of the ship (you need to know the course!) and simply react to the closeness of the two sides. Keep it in the middle! The two coloured lines are your reaction markers.

On Anulpha, you can do this by looking at the ceiling (most Zones) on the approach to the bottleneck. The ceiling architecture follows the exact racing line, so if you can't see over a brow... (Indoor tracks, obviously.)

But spotting is what dancers/figure skaters do during spins to reduce dizziness. Before performing a spin, you find something to focus on, and - with your head stationary - rotate your body to 180 degrees. Then you whip your head around to refocus, as your body completes one rotation. Body > head > body.

At Supersonic, I typically follow the ceiling through the bottleneck, and then aim just wide of the speed pad before the two lefts before the bridge. Avoiding this pad allows for a slower speed and roomier entry into the first left, but you must dab the right brake before running wide. I do this by focusing on the vanishing point until I'm close to the right-hander, and then I let my eyes jump to the right of the two white lines as I tap the brake.

Focusing thus:




Big, bad post, but hopefully somewhat informative. And I'd like to say it again: the WipEout community is the friendliest hardcore-gaming scene I've known. Unlike fighters and shooters, you can't say: 'Yeah, it's impressive on paper, but he was playing against noobs; I could do that.'

*The vanishing point is the point at which the sides of the track visually meet; in case anyone was wondering. We steer in the direction we're looking, so if you focus on a roadside tree mid-slide, you're likely to hit it.

awesome post and will refer back to for both games.