Wednesday 1 June 2016

Britain Leaving the EU - The Only Realistic Choice

I'll come clean here. I voted for the Conservative party in the last UK general election, and the reason? Because they promised a referendum on the European Union, and to my slight surprise they have actually delivered. However, they have loaded their argument to stay in the EU with endless scare tactics, fear factors to worry the voting public and basically, lies. I have been intent of leaving the EU for many years as it has done nothing for us on the grand scale, and this kind of manipulative behavior demonstrated by the government and the large political parties confirms my fears. Behind the happy face of 27 countries united for the 'good and liberal' cause, it is nothing more than an anti-democratic, closed bureaucracy of un-elected officials scratching each others backs, propping up the failing big business's and blindly ignoring the real problems that European citizens face on a daily basis, and it is dragging us down with it kicking and screaming.

So, I urge you for the sake of Britain's future and the other European countries to Vote Leave on the 23rd of June 2016. This is likely to be the most important vote the British public will ever make. If we make a statement to the EU, then hopefully other countries will follow suit and end this awful parasitic dictatorship that is eating away at European culture, wealth and future.

If you feel you are on the fence on this matter, or been intimidated by the remain campaign's tales of doom and gloom, I have put together a selection of videos here to inform you of the facts and the knowledge of what the EU gets up to, what effects it's having on Britain, and why leaving is the only sensible option if you believe in a free, democratic and fair society. 





Finally, a look at what you change if we left... 

https://www.facebook.com/358469527671375/videos/522486067936386/

I wish you all well, and hopefully look forward to a bright future on the 24th. Vote Leave.

Novabug

Sunday 21 February 2016

CPC Vs GX4000 - Cartridge Game Comparisons

Finally, the debate over the Amstrad GX4000's CPC ported games can be settled!

15 of the official 26 titles released on cartridge for the GX4000 were ports of existing Amstrad CPC games. It is commonly said that these ports are identical to the CPC versions and therefore not worth the higher price tag, and majorly contributed to ultimate failure of the infamous British system.

This video series makes direct side-by-side comparisons as I discuss and examine the differences (if any), of both versions and choose which one is better.

Extensive research and playtesting, as well as 25 years of personal experience have gone into the finding of this video series. If you feel I have overlooked something, or made a mistake please give me feedback. Hopefully however, I have given the final word on this issue.


Batman the Movie - New title screen. Menu re-ordered. Shatter sound effect missing. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Music slow-down more common.

Barbarian 2:The Dungeon of Drax - Title screen missing. Menu re-ordered.

Operation Thunderbolt - Title screen missing. Menu screen re-designed using Plus features. Plus palette colour changes in-game. HUD re-designed.


Klax - New title screen. Screen transitional fading. Backgrounds alter per wave and clacking sound effect in-game (Like CPC128k version). Plus palette colour changes in-game. Sprites smoothed. Slightly slower. More detail on drop meter and runway.

Mystical - Sound effects in-game. (128k CPC version MAY have this also)

Super Pinball Magic - New title screen with Plus features used. Re-designed using Mode 0. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Layouts Altered. HUD re-designed. Added music and added sound effects. Pinball is hardware sprite. Game almost entirely re-coded.


No Exit Different title screen numerous demo effects and Plus features used throughout game. Different menu screen. Secondary title screen with demo effects and Plus features. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Fading effects instead of roll effect. Sprites smoothed Hardware sprites bat, energy bars and icons. Slightly more glitchy. Name entry and high score table different.

Panza Kick Boxing - Different title screen using Plus features. Other title screens absent. Futura logo hardware sprite. Plus Palette colour changes in-game with raster effects. Menu screen re-drawn in mode 0 and re-arranged. Game screen much larger and layout altered. Animation slightly smoother.

Wild Streets - Title screen re-coloured with Plus palette. Sprites all hardware generated. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Music slower and broken up by sound effects. Level interim images  missing. HUD re-coloured and re-drawn.



Crazy Cars 2 - Title screen re-drawn with Plus palette. Additional Titus menu screen. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Between level pictures missing. In game map included. HUD re-coloured.

Fire & Forget 2 - Full screen title scan image. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Intro music slower. In-game music not broken by sound effects. Additional sound effects. Road has center lines. HUD colour changes. Level interim screens re-drawn.

Pro Tennis Tour - Different title screen. Menu text different. Wider screen and play area. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Hardware sprites. More graphic detail and additional sound effects. Spinning ball icon on different scoreboard.


Switchblade - Pre-title screen. Hardware sprite Gremlin logo on title screen. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Hardware sprites used as decoration. Raster interrupt used. 

Tin Tin on the Moon - Addtional title screen.

Dick Tracy - Different title screen. Plus palette colour changes in-game. Hardware scroll. Hardware sprites. Better animation. Re-drawn HUD with colour changes. 

More GX4000 Videos

Unboxing & Playtest - https://youtu.be/q8quohU5awY
25th Anniversary with Larry Bundy Jr - https://youtu.be/iWB6NRkjTmE


For even more retro gaming goodness, subscribe to my channel.

Bug'   Out!


Sunday 31 January 2016

Brother, That's a Right Fine Mess We've Gotten Into!

Sometimes even the most experienced, established and most popular YouTube channels make a bit of a fuck up, and usually the larger the channel, the bigger a fuck up it is. Firstly, I'll state I'm not usually one to name-drop popular bloggers or YouTubers, but in this case I have some key thoughts I wish to share. So, I won't be slagging off The Fine Brothers without explanation like a gutter keyboard-hiding troll you can be sure. I also haven't published a blog in a while and so felt this was a good opportunity to voice some feelings.

Recently The Fine Bros posted a video outlining a new initiative for their channel, more specifically their famous 'React' series of videos. You may have seen these across the web at some stage, entitled 'Teens React', 'Elders React' ect.. ect. They have a selection of people, sometimes celebrities, being filmed experiencing a product for the first time, weather it be a game, movie or music, which is usually out of their comfort zone. Some can be amusing, but personally I'm not a fan. However, over 14 million people are. Well, they were should I say. 

This all stems from their announcement of a scheme called 'React World', which when stripped down to basics is an extension of their 'React' video style, so that other YouTubers can make their own videos under license in the same style with the help of The Fine Bros, for a cut of the ad revenue and possibly other income generated from a user made 'React' video. They state they will be providing advice, support and copyrighted graphics. The latter is a subject for debate however, because it states in their FAQ about this initiative that branding graphics and visuals MAY not be available. This is a key factor, as brand awareness would be vital aspect in this scheme. What isn't stated is if they will directly promote other creators videos via YouTube or other means. Can channels that are in Multi Channel Networks (MCNs) be involved? Because that would require some sort of agreement between the Fine Bros and the MCN involved. As this would potentially take income away from MCN's, I can't see why they would agree to a contract given the information we know. It's all rather vague and needs to be much more transparent.The original video can be found on the link below. 

React Around the World Video

Because the brothers use terms like 'our react format', this has been taken, rightly or wrongly, as a claim of ownership to a genre, a premise, a method of filming a 'React' video. This is of course ludicrous. It's like saying because I do Gameplay videos, I can claim ownership of that type of video. But of course, you can't, no-one can. Sony recently found this out.  An update video following the original post tries to make amends and explain away  few things, the brothers showing their dismay at the negative reception, but it still comes across as a ploy to exploit their massive fanbase. Now, I'm not going to declare judgment on this as I believe their intentions are fair enough and maybe even good for the so-called community, which in itself is a vastly ambiguous term. I also don't judge them for wanting to make more money; if you have that chance to make a living doing something you love, why the hell not? However, me and thousands more do have a problem with the perceived direction of this 'React World' scheme. It's like a franchise, but without the incentive, as such many look at this as sheer exploitation and insulting to the viewerships intelligence, all for making an extra buck (collectively, quite a lot in this case) via the efforts and work of others. 

So, with this confusion, perception and anger of the masses, The Fine Bros now find themselves in a sticky situation. As of writing this, they have lost almost 80,000 subscribers in 3 days, and the numbers continue to fall. This I imagine would equate to a lot of revenue, but not only that, the reputation of their channel is now damaged inexplicably. They ain't going to disappear, that would be silly to suggest, but they will have a re-building task on their hands once the tide of revolt subsides. I'm not a big channel myself, so can't fully understand the implications, but I can understand how droves and droves of people can, to pun a term, react. A cascade effect happens on the internet, the viral flow, and grows over a steady period before it halts, and this could cost the Fine Brothers substantially. Why they never took a straw poll of their subscriber base is beyond me, it seems that a big shift of focus and potential growth like this would merit that at the very least. They needed to gauge what reaction it would have received, and make sure they explained themselves fully without ambiguity. I don't think whatever way it's explained would have gone down to well however, because it appears to have a core factor of self reward. Even if in reality it doesn't.

It amazes me that a channel with this much experience and grandeur would make a mistake like this, completely misjudging the youtube viewers intelligence, their fanbase and the amount of unwanted attention from well-thought of YouTubers, and the obvious trolls this would attract. The subsequent backlash due to organic word of mouth was inevitable. It just proves that even the biggest players on the internet can fall foul of their own goals without REALLY thinking about it.

YouTuber of the Year!

Now, for a little me-time now. Earlier in the year I was crowned Tuber of the Month, so I'm in the running for Tuber of the Year. If I win, I get to host the show for 2016. At the time of posting this, only 7 days remain, so please help me out and visit the video link below and vote for me via the comments section, writing something like 'I vote Novabug'. I would be very thankful if you could do this.

Youtuber of the Year 2015


Anyway, bye for now everyone, hope you enjoyed this little cross-examination of Tuber practices.


Bug.. 'Out!