Austin, TX meet up thread

[the_dannobot]

oohhh I just got back from the Predator show, it was awesome! Apparently there is only one known 35mm print left, and it belongs to some super jealous collector who hates to share. That was the first screening in over six years, so if you missed it, you REALLY missed it

Anyway, I'm gonna try to be there wed, but I'll be driving up from east riverside so prolly won't get there til late.

[wip3outguy7]

Yeah man, we'll be going until 8pm or a little later if Game Over will let us. I'm going to start sorting through things tonight and I might throw up a list. I want to bring some single player stuff this time around that people can play around with casually... we'll see how that works. I wanted to bring some specialty controllers but I'm going to have to load this stuff into the car before I head to work, so we'll see what I can run down the car before hitting morning rush hour.

Let me know if you guys have any requests.

[Redline9]

oohhh I just got back from the Predator show, it was awesome! Apparently there is only one known 35mm print left, and it belongs to some super jealous collector who hates to share. That was the first screening in over six years, so if you missed it, you REALLY missed it

Really missed it? Anddddddd, that's where I come in. Let's just say they didn't completely miss it.

Well, this is still no substitute for the real thing, but I have a video that gives you an idea of what it was like. From the audience reactions to the pops, scratches and hisses of the 35mm film to the Predator Handshake, it's all here in compressed, low-resolution glory.

My advice is to go watch this video before 20th Century Fox does, haha.
Predator 35mm Film Screening

Disclaimer: The video is not intended to "show you the movie." Go buy the DVD for that. It's supposed to give you a feel for the atmosphere of the theater and the excitement of the audience.

On that note, I would like to comment on one of the subtler parts of the video: the jungle shootout barrage of gunfire that destroys an entire rainforest. (You know the part.) First of all, the gunfire was really loud. However, what surprised me was, once the minigun ran out of bullets and was spinning freely, how loud this metallic spinning sound came across in the theater. It just seemed much louder than I remembered it on DVD or Blu-Ray. The power of analog sound, I guess, who knows. The audience was hushed just listening to that metallic spinning in reverence. Finally, Mack lets off the trigger and then there's complete silence (both the movie and the audience) which felt really weird after the loud gunfire and the almost piercing whistling/spinning sound of the empty minigun. After a few beats, an audience member broke the silence, but it was a magic, albeit subtle, movie theater moment.

And moving to the more obvious, yes, all your favorite Predator one-liners received cheers and applause.

[wip3outguy7]

Damn, I really did miss out. That's crazy that they were able to find a print... THE print. I wonder if there will ever be a chance to see the original 35mm of Total Recall, probably my favorite Schwarzenegger film. Verhoeven + Schwarzenegger = a whole lot of win.

Don't forget the meet up is tomorrow after 5. You guys should try to drop by after work if you get a chance. I'm bringing lots of Saturn and Dreamcast games. Going to bring the Saturn flight stick and a super scaler game called Night Striker S.

[Redline9]

Gosh, I really wish I could make it today. I just really doubt it. Work is busy this week.

Night Striker looks cool. Super Scalar games are sweet. (Yah, After Burner and Outrun!)

[wip3outguy7]

Flake, Redline9. I don't know what I'm going to do without you guys!

[Flake]

Flake, Redline9. I don't know what I'm going to do without you guys!

You'll have to set-up, be the funny guy, AND film the whole thing on your own.

[wip3outguy7]

The meet was as successful as I would expect on a Wednesday after work. I think Game Over thought we were going to have more people than we did. They had the 2nd giant CRT set up with a few chairs. 3 from the meetup.com video games group showed up. Sharky canceled at the last second and I don't blame him. Rush Hour was exceptionally bad today for some reason. phaedrus was pretty sick and I could tell he was running out of steam at work... I have a feeling his fiance wheeled him to the car on a stretcher when his shift was over. I know Redline9 was trying to make it out, but he has something going on work that doesn't allow much free time.

I could have left the Dremacast at home. It was all about the Saturn today. One of the Game Over staff working was a fellow Saturn nut. He and I talked Saturn for about an hour before people started showing up. Quinton and I played an almost full game of Guardian Heroes story mode and another nearly complete game of Elevator Action Returns. I got to play Scud for the first time... and it was... OK. Quinton powered his way through Night Striker S with the Mission Stick and we had a good laugh at the hilarious Engrish littered ending text.

Dan brought his project (or at least one of his projects) with him and Paul and I took turns. It was a pretty nifty Smash Brothers clone. I like the direction it's headed. The characters were very well animated and the core engine feels pretty solid. I wish I was more versed in game development so I could have something more technical to say. I just know that it felt pretty playable. Dan, I think you should approach it with a DOA meets Smash Brothers mentality. The jiggle physics on my character were distracting and that's a good thing. I wish I would have had a USB arcade stick... curse the 360 D Pad.

I ended up rambling on about Saturn history while packing things up. The Game Over staff, ever accommodating, allowed us to stay longer than 8. Big thanks to everyone for coming out!

For at least the next 4 weeks I will have weekends off. If you guys are up for it, we should put something together for a Saturday or a Sunday soon.

[Redline9]

Thanks for the prompt write-up to keep us in the loop.

[quintorro]

I planned to take some pics and videos, but I forgot my camera at home.