Frede

Took the words right out of my mouth. And that's all I have to say on the matter.

To the extent that Double Fine's documentary episodes can be considered updates, I think it's a good example of a Kickstarter that will probably be remembered for the updates more than for the actual game (which is nothing special so far). ;)

"The game sucked, but man, those updates... those updates. Wow. They were of the likes we'll never see again."
 
"The game is the best I've ever played, but the lack of updates 6 months ago ruined the game for me completely."
 
 
^^ Two things no one will ever say.

Growing up I was always against metal. I didn't really understand what it was. I assumed it to be just loud noise and pointless aggression/animosity with no real respect for the music. Didn't know how wrong I was (I still believe some is, though).
 
I "discovered" metal (or rather, discovered how great it is) via Metroid Metal in the beginning, and then video game covers in general after that (Dwelling of Duels and MAGFest stuff). It turns out "metal" is just what I would have called "guitar music". So I liked it and I didn't even know it. It wasn't evil sounding and dripping with mindless hate, it had layers upon layers and the music was actually intricate and enchanting all at the same time. Metal is just rock music with the intensity amped up to 11 with all the delicious musical complexity you could ever want. Needless to say, I love intensity. Actually, I've come to appreciate a lot of soul and r&b music in the same way.
 
Bands? I still don't really know a whole lot. I used to be a huge music snob years ago when I was a dumb kid and would always go against the flow of what everyone else liked because it must be "dumb". Some of that has still carried over, even though I don't have that opinion anymore, so I don't go out of my way to discover these popular metal groups. Every once in a while someone will recommend me something, though, and I'll actually listen to it and fall in love with it. Need to take more musical suggestions more often. That's something I'm working on. I'm not a musical snob anymore, I promise.
 
Anyway, these are the metal or metal-related bands I've come to love:
 
-Pagan's Mind - Norwegian prog awesomeness, like Dream Theatre only heavier. If you don't mind power metal vocals. I love their actual music, though. Not so much from Heavenly Ecstacy, but they're earlier albums (sans their first, which was a bit of a flop, and they later reimagined themselves) are just amazing, musically. Some of the best and most talented guitar solos I've ever heard. Plus, their albums are all about sci-fi and Stargates!
 
-Dream Theatre
 
-Ayreon - The epic sci-fi prog metal/rock/everything concept works of Arjen Lucassen. Guest vocalists and musicians on every double album. Just great. And he loves to use old "outdated" hardware and equipment. It's just great. His drummer Ed Warby who plays on most of his albums is one of the sickest drummers I've ever heard. I was excited to learn that one of his best albums The Human Equation is getting a live theatre performance. Most of the vocalists (including James LaBrie) from the album are involved as well. I was sad to hear that Devin Townsend and Mikael Åkerfeldt wouldn't be able to make it, though. Still, it will be epic. I need to listen to this guy's other projects as well, like Star One.
 
-Circle of Illusion - These guys aren't strictly metal. In fact it seems like they do a lot of styles like rock, electronic, soul, r&b, and even disco. But it's prog greatness and they do have a lot of metal as well. Fairly new group, I think. Yet another concept album band. Loving concept albums lately.
 
Nine Inch Nails - I haven't listened to nearly enough of this, but what I've heard tells me that Trent Reznor is a musician with true soul. Loved Hurt and some of the other tracks I've heard.

If the game is good, obviously. But, yes. I agree that the release of the game itself will lead to a well-needed focus shift.

A fair point, I just think that once the game comes out everyone will forget their misgivings about the lack of updates.

I don't consider myself a metalhead per se. I tend to be more into proto-metal, like Black Sabbath, which is probably my favourite "heavy metal" band. There are numerous exceptions already mentioned in this thread, though. Tool, Primus, Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Rage Against the Machine. I also really, really like Haken (an English prog metal band) and I like Opeth's most recent albums. But you'll notice that all of those bands have an avant garde or prog rock edge to them. So I'm not really into "pure" metal as such, though I've certainly tried.
 
Well, I also do listen to Metallica on occasion. Their first four albums are still brilliant, I have a soft spot for parts of "Load" and "ReLoad" and aside from its shitty production, "Death Magnetic" was a pretty solid return to form. But the overplayed stuff just about makes me vomit these days. I bought "The Black Album" on vinyl years ago and found myself really disappointed with it. The songs everyone knows and loves are awesome. The rest are shit. It's one of the most wildly inconsistent albums ever to be put on a pedestal. Could have been a pretty stellar EP without all the fluff.

Achievement unlocked!
 

Different strokes for sure, but I can definitely tell what you mean by "too Macbook-y". I also agree with most of your observations here, actually. I still recommend that you give "Hesitation Marks" a proper listen. The Reznor/Ross/Moulder sound is a part of it, but it's also got a more organic quality to it. Partly because Pino Palladino lends his bass chops to a lot of songs on it. Try "Various Methods of Escape" if you're looking for one good song off it. It sounds like an extension of "The Fragile".
 
I've read in an interview of Reznor that he was also aiming for "The Slip" to be very organic-sounding; every instrument on that album was output through speakers and mic'ed to try to give it a raw live sound. But in retrospect, the man himself thinks it sounds "weird". I like the album, but I'm inclined to agree that it's not their best. The way it was released speaks in favour of it, much like the ARG speaks in favour of "Year Zero" to me.
 
Also, you do know that The Downward Spiral was made with a then-state-of-the-art Mac, right?  :P I'm not sure how much of it was recorded digitally, but the story goes that everything went through that computer.
 

Yeah, Adrian Belew was briefly a member of the live band in 2013, but was ultimately let go because, according to himself, "it didn't work". I'm not sure if it happened acrimoniously, but 2013 was not the year of that guy. Imagine being booted from Nine Inch Nails and King Crimson within the span of one year! I think some guy crashed his car as well.
 
Speaking of Zappa, there's a funny little scene in "Closure" where the band is listening to, and singing along with, "Broken Hearts Are For Assholes" in the dressing room.

But if it had been "I want to f*** your dead body like Mark Crowe", I bet it would've flown, right?

Meh, at least you could‘ve given me a pity-like for linking to that awesome concert, you stingy fuck! :P
 
Maybe just once, I‘ll not argue your opinion. Me not getting into the Atticus Ross-era stuff is mostly due to personal preference. The new albums just sound too MacBook-y to me. But I was a massive fan from 2005 to 2008 and went to quite a few of the Year Zero-themed concerts. I still have those merch tees that I never wore, but at least they‘re taking me back to that fun time in my life. The Year Zero alternate reality game was awesome, as was Reznor leaking a bunch of his older stuff on the Bay. Year Zero remains a great piece of Bush-era angst and IMHO constitutes Reznor‘s most successful attempt at rejuvenating NIN. This was followed up with him falling out with his label and releasing Ghosts. I still really dug NIN during this experimental phase. Then came The Slip. I don‘t want to dog on this one, as it was released as a freebie. But it felt like a massive step backwards - the lyrics felt like someone trying to write NIN stuff, but not quite getting it right, while the music delved further down into MacBook territory (this musical style was perfectly suited for Year Zero, but I wouldn‘t want "The Downward Spiral" to sound like this). And I have to admit that I didn‘t pay too much attention to anything that came afterwards. The remaster of PHM was a massive letdown, I listened to the 30 second samples of Hesitation Marks on amazon and figured this wasn‘t for me.
 
But in this particular case, I‘d still say that diff‘rent strokes applies.
 
PS: To make the connection to the Zappa thread: Didn‘t Reznor (try to) team up with Adrian Belew on one of the more recent tours? I seem to remember that they had planned that Belew joins their live line-up, but he couldn‘t for some reason...

Considering you're Fronzel and I'm Frede, this'll come as no surprise: I disagree.
 
Nine Inch Nails have been pretty awesome post-"Year Zero". "The Slip" as an album was so-so, but the tour following it was absolutely awesome. And I sincerely think "Hesitation Marks" is the finest Nine Inch Nails album since "The Fragile". I love "Year Zero", but the Alternate Reality Game that accompanied it was a major part of the experience for me. I don't think the album would've had the same impact, had it not been for the websites sent back through time. In fact, I was on the Exhibit 24 website back when that was still online. I even have some fan-made dog tags lying around with my online nick and number on 'em, stating that I am "At large". It was a truly fascinating time to be a NIN fan.
 
The 2013-2014 tours were also awesome. 'Nuff said; any tour that has Pino Palladino as part of the line-up is bound to be good. The dude replaced John Entwistle in The Who, so he knows his shit. I like how NIN post the "Wave Goodbye" tour has focused on musicianship rather than pure aggression. The "Self-Destruct" tour cycle will always be fantastic, and it'll never, ever be topped. But I'm happy Reznor has continued to rejuvenate the NIN live experience. It'd be pretty embarassing watching a balding, married dude pushing 60 breaking his keyboard while whispering his way through "Happiness In Slavery".
 
Ultimately, I love the NIN of 1994 and I love the NIN of today. But they're different entities. I wish I was old enough to have experienced the classic constellation in concert, but that obviously wasn't meant to be. But, having attended gigs on the 2009 and 2014 European tours, I can safely say that Trent Reznor is still a musical force to be reckoned with.

Since we seem to have a surprising amount of fans here - and by that, I mean more than myself - I thought a Frank Zappa thread would be interesting. Perhaps more so to the uninitiated (I'm particularly looking at Troels here).
 
Right now, I'm loving the hell out of circa 1973/1974 Zappa. He was always a multi-faceted human and musician, starting his career ostensibly playing hippie music (ironically, he was a conservative even back then) with satiric undertones and continuing to explore different genres until he untimely departed this plane as, perhaps, the most unique electronic/classical composer the world has ever seen. But there was one era of Zappa that just plain brought the funk, and that was 1973-1974. The bands he had around that time, consisting of a very eclectic combination of black and white musicians were all absolutely fantastic and may well represent Zappa at his most accessible.
 
Centered around drummer Chester Thompson (of Weather Report and Genesis fame), keyboardist George Duke, monster percussionist Ruth Underwood, saxophonist/vocalist Napoleon Murphy Brock and brothers Tom and Bruce Fowler on bass and trombone, respectively, the iterations of Zappa's band at that time were able to take the most complex pieces of music (Zappa was heavily into Stravinsky and Edgar Varèse) and make them swing like you wouldn't believe. The Zappa studio albums from around that time don't even begin to bring justice to the awesomeness that was this band of - as Miles Davis tended to call musicians he found exceptionally talented - motherfuckers.
 
Cases in point:
 

 
This band was so tight that this take on "Inca Roads" appears, in a remixed and overdubbed state on the studio album "One Size Fits All". With the guitar solo from a 1974 gig in Helsinki dubbed in for good measure.
 

 
The solo in this particular version of "Montana" is sick. This one doesn't feature Thompson on drums, but Ralph Humphrey, the drummer here, and Tom Fowler lay down one hell of a groove for Zappa to jam over.
 

 
I hadn't watched this one before posting it, so right now, I'm cracking up at vintage Disney characters playing Zappa.
 
People seem to usually recommend stuff like "Sheik Yerbouti" or "We're Only In It For the Money" to aspiring Zappaphiles. While being a huge fan of both albums, anyone interested in getting acquinted with Zappa should seriously check out his live work from around this time. He would come pretty close, but he would never quite reach the same levels of greatness again.
 
So now that I have wrapped up the rant I promised in another thread, feel free to discuss the genius that was Frank Zappa  :)

And it... doesn't seem to have helped one bit. You must admit that they have a money problem, even if the game is not in danger! Fewer updates, more spreadsheets! Someone with an MBA (good enough tool?) even said so.
 
I think I'll just steer clear of that comment page until the game is released. Better for everyone that way.

So true Frede, Thanks for passing that along, it was a most welcome ping.  :)

"Fewer", updates, dear fellow. Not "less".

Well, I understand the point where the problem was that Chris's updates were mainly "still working on the game, we've fixed some bugs!", which is not terribly exciting but certainly a necessary part of the game development process.
 
I'm not going to comment much on anything that isn't otherwise public/widespread knowledge. (No specific order here, just mentioning things that seem relevant/timely)
Unity 4.6 just came out, something which I'm excited about because it gives us a lot more freedom/control with the GUI, and makes it simpler to design rich interfaces. Scott's mother has Alzheimer's and it has been bad recently - which means he has been offline a lot as he takes care of her. Sad situation there. GFA is not out of money, we have just had to tighten our belts. This slows us down because we can't retain as many programmers/artists/etc, and some of us work day jobs to make ends meet. Honestly, Chris has stepped up a lot with helping with the programming which is great because that leaves me to focus more on systems/overall game stuff than setting up rooms. Behind the scenes, though, I've seen a lot of things, especially recently, that particularly excite me and which I think directly address some issues fans have made about the SpaceVenture they saw so far. I think that when SpaceVenture does come out, it will be well-received. As a backer, I do wish that the Guys did more with the SVRewards site but I can understand some of the reasoning.

I haven't checked the Kickstarter updates in ages, nor have I heard anything directly from the Guys about the game. But I did recently hear something that indicated that the game is more than well underway, but I can't elaborate. I'm not supposed to know anything. But going by what I do know, we (still) have little to worry about in regards to the March 2015 deadline.
 
But if speculation is, once again, running rampant about the Guys running out of money and what have you, it only goes to show that asking for less updates wasn't a very good idea. When people asked for less updates, they arguably also asked them to spend more time on the game and be less transparent about what's going on. Frankly, "less updates, please" is a stupid thing to ask of a Kickstarter project, no matter how fluffy Pope's updates may or may not have been. Because sometimes, all you want an update to tell you is that the creators are still on the radar. We did at least get that on a bi-weekly basis before...

Yeah, I'd suggest that you share this elsewhere too if you want more response, because not only can this place be pretty quiet at times (for better and for worse), but we rarely get that many newcomers either. Check out the "Sierra Chest", "Sierra Gamers" and "Space Quest" Facebook groups, if you're into that. If not, the Sierra Help Pages Forums are probably livelier.
 
For good measure, I will add that I think the stuff you're making and showcasing here is extremely cool and among the more successful attempts at moving Space Quest into 3D that I've seen  :)

Yeah, I'd suggest that you share this elsewhere too if you want more response, because not only can this place be pretty quiet at times (for better and for worse), but we rarely get that many newcomers either. Check out the "Sierra Chest", "Sierra Gamers" and "Space Quest" Facebook groups, if you're into that. If not, the Sierra Help Pages Forums are probably livelier.
 
For good measure, I will add that I think the stuff you're making and showcasing here is extremely cool and among the more successful attempts at moving Space Quest into 3D that I've seen  :)

Zappa was indeed the original George Lucas. Letting that man near digital equipment as he was getting ill with cancer should've been a goddamn felony.
 
I could never get into Sheik Yerbouti before I went out and bought the vinyl, which sounds amazing. Now it's one of my favourite albums of his, even though I think much of the humour of You Are What You Is is funnier and more clever.
 
The launch of the Universal 2012 reissues was such a blessing. I remember finding Hot Rats on Spotify and nearly getting a seizure when I heard the drum intro for Peaches En Regalia. I hadn't listened much to the vinyl mix, but I knew what I was hearing. It sucks that Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, Uncle Meat, the remix of Cheepnis, Zappa In New York and The Man from Utopia are all stuck with digitalitis, though.
 
Maybe we should start a Zappa thread before I start gushing over the 1973-1974 band ;)

Zappa was indeed the original George Lucas. Letting that man near digital equipment as he was getting ill with cancer should've been a goddamn felony.
 
I could never get into Sheik Yerbouti before I went out and bought the vinyl, which sounds amazing. Now it's one of my favourite albums of his, even though I think much of the humour of You Are What You Is is funnier and more clever.
 
The launch of the Universal 2012 reissues was such a blessing. I remember finding Hot Rats on Spotify and nearly getting a seizure when I heard the drum intro for Peaches En Regalia. I hadn't listened much to the vinyl mix, but I knew what I was hearing. It sucks that Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, Uncle Meat, the remix of Cheepnis, Zappa In New York and The Man from Utopia are all stuck with digitalitis, though.
 
Maybe we should start a Zappa thread before I start gushing over the 1973-1974 band ;)

They also get to put out the game on a bigger market that way. Does anyone actually want to play vintage P&C on a console? Troels has spoken in the favour of the Wii, but the Wii U is still the most disappointing console, sales-wise, of the current generation. I can't blame them. Why limit what could be a mainstream rebirth of King's Quest just because the die-hards - who, I'm sorry, seem to rarely want any kind of renewal or rethinking - want it?
 
I, for one, am still looking forward to this game. But as I've said many, many times, I'm not really a fan of Roberta's designs. So I'd be pretty disappointed if it was a P&C'er where you have to guess the name of the gnome Llanfair­pwllgwyn­gyllgo­gery­chwyrn­drobwll­llanty­silio­gogo­goch.

There must be something about Space Quest that attracts equally demented minds... at least as far as musical taste is concerned.
Zappa - The original George Lucas! Back in the early 2000s, after „The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life" and „Sheik Yerbouti" got me hooked, I had the utterly retarded idea to collect this guy‘s entire discography. I musta had money to burn at the time and I managed to build quite a sizeable collection. My local public library had a bunch of Zappa CDs, which were older issues than the ones I had. First thing I noticed was that the reissue of „The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life" was missing a track, „We‘re Only In It For The Money“ sounded completely different from the version I got*. Things got even more fun once I got my hand on a few old vinyls - the version of „I‘m So Cute“ on vinyl runs much longer than the CD version, which basically cuts off mid-song.

*Side note: The dreaded 80s CD re-issues of early Zappa albums do have their interesting aspects, such as a few uncensored lyrics.

So, thanks for the link I guess! Can‘t wait to find out in which ways the versions I got are inferior to previous releases! :P

On another side note: Fuck Zappa‘s widow for being an impossible cunt!

I had really been hoping for a classic point'n'click game. I nearly tripped over my Buffalo shoes and knocked over the fondue kit when I saw the trailer. Now I'm listening to Ace of Base to soothe the pain.
 
Yes, that was really what the 90's were like here in Europe. I know, right?

I had really been hoping for a classic point'n'click game. I nearly tripped over my Buffalo shoes and knocked over the fondue kit when I saw the trailer. Now I'm listening to Ace of Base to soothe the pain.
 
Yes, that was really what the 90's were like here in Europe. I know, right?