"MiSTer Community Plays" Events

[PistolsAtDawn]

Definitely up for this. Console, computer and arcade. Probably need a thread for suggestions, then a new topic when that suggestion is selected.

How would you feel about a MiSTer core getting chosen at random and then we go from there?

There would perhaps be less friction if the core were chosen for us with a random number generator, and then once it's narrowed down to that system we can more easily decide what to play than trying to chose from the literal thousands of playable games across all systems.

[Hetzen]

Definitely up for this. Console, computer and arcade. Probably need a thread for suggestions, then a new topic when that suggestion is selected.

How would you feel about a MiSTer core getting chosen at random and then we go from there?

There would perhaps be less friction if the core were chosen for us with a random number generator, and then once it's narrowed down to that system we can more easily decide what to play than trying to chose from the literal thousands of playable games across all systems.

Sure it could be random. But I'd figure that that would need just as much admin as 'you' choosing what's core/game of the week. I think the suggestions thread would give some indication on weighting towards what people would want to play. Maybe there's a 'pull the lever' for a wild card game?

[Hetzen]

Loads of different themes could be thrown in. Best schmup on the SNES vote one week. Best 8 bit racing the next.

So the suggestions thread could be the theme. The admin sets up the weekly vote. Then a thread is created for that winner.?!

[Hetzen]

I think a suggestions thread would allow people to sell a certain game. Something we'd never experienced from not having the system.

For example I had a mate explain over text how to play Star Raiders on the Atari 800. He still remembered the key commands as I posted screen grabs of it working on the MiSTer and whether I'd got the right version running. He got me to play a game I'd have easily skipped investing time in.

[PistolsAtDawn]

Loads of different themes could be thrown in. Best schmup on the SNES vote one week. Best 8 bit racing the next.

So the suggestions thread could be the theme. The admin sets up the weekly vote. Then a thread is created for that winner.?!

I love this. That's an angle I hadn't thought of, which is exactly why I wanted an open discussion about this. Thank you!

I think a suggestions thread would allow people to sell a certain game. Something we'd never experienced from not having the system.

For example I had a mate explain over text how to play Star Raiders on the Atari 800. He still remembered the key commands as I posted screen grabs of it working on the MiSTer and whether I'd got the right version running. He got me to play a game I'd have easily skipped investing time in.

Yeah, exactly. You understand the appeal here. Passionate people will give me the encouragement to try a thing/game/whatever that I would not have tried on my own because of barriers like that. I've been a professional system admin in the past, so it's not the technical barriers that would stop me from setting up a core, just that I can't always find the will to do the work first.

[Hetzen]

Great. Lets do it.

[Hetzen]

It'll also be a great repository on how to get things running/review/how to play/best score, etc,.

[Chilli_Vibes]

Perhaps, we need to ask Xbytez for that sub forum ?
Then, have a test run, to see how it pans out. Start with an easy-to-use system, then an easy accessible game, and go from there.
Personally, I don't think we should put long games in the hat, games such as sim city, or civilisation, or indeed most strategy, or long rpg games such as the Zelda series. Stick to games that can be picked up and played, without the need for a huge manual, or learning curve.

[Hetzen]

Perhaps, we need to ask Xbytez for that sub forum ?
Then, have a test run, to see how it pans out. Start with an easy-to-use system, then an easy accessible game, and go from there.
Personally, I don't think we should put long games in the hat, games such as sim city, or civilisation, or indeed most strategy, or long rpg games such as the Zelda series. Stick to games that can be picked up and played, without the need for a huge manual, or learning curve.

I think you're right. Best to start off with pick up and play games and see how it goes.
But if there is a long play game thread in one week, doesn't mean it needs to end at the end of the week. The point I think is to highlight a game, get people to experience it. And if the interest continues, there's a place still to post. Even if someone drops into the thread weeks later.

[Kitrinx]

I think it would be kind of confusing to have two different games of the month, one existing on twitter, discord, and the world at large and the other here. Maybe we can just post what was voted upon on twitter, and there can be some crosstalk here.

I know you don't like twitter, I don't like it either, but it's very hard to communicate if you won't use any modern tools. Forums are really cool and I enjoy having them, but as someone mentioned above, in 2022 it's a very niche way to communicate broadly.

[Malor]

I would want to include computer systems supported on the MiSTer as I know there are some real gems to be played on them. The Amiga is one such system that I have never experienced, so your input and guidance would be great!

I was an Amiga zealot back in the 80s, but in thinking back, there just aren't that many outstanding Amiga titles that weren't ported elsewhere. The original hardware was designed to be an arcade machine (the whole turning-it-into-a-computer thing came as a surprise to the money person or people). Because the hardware was so good at fast action games, that's mostly what got written, and most of those ended up being completely forgettable. There were some games that are worth looking at for awhile, like most of the Cinemaware titles, because they had splendid graphics, but I can't remember any of the Cinemaware games having any legs.

Most RPGs of the era ended up being ported to the Amiga, and it was sometimes the best platform, with the mouse and good graphics, although most of the popular titles got redos for VGA on the PC. That was true of some strategy games, as well... Amiga Pirates was the best version for awhile, until Pirates VGA was shipped. And XCOM 1 was quite good on the Amiga, although it suffers a bit on Minimig from the relatively slow CPU. PCs in that timeframe were getting into the 486-33 range, which gave pretty snappy rotation of the 3D Earth, where it's a bit sluggish on the 68020.

But, for the most part, there's hardly anything on the platform I'd recommend now. Almost every game that was popular enough to stick around awhile ended up with improved versions on the PC.... The OS as a whole was incredible, ten years ahead of its time when a lot happened each year, but for a modern gamer, it's pretty bleh.

[Chilli_Vibes]

I think it would be kind of confusing to have two different games of the month, one existing on twitter, discord, and the world at large and the other here. Maybe we can just post what was voted upon on twitter, and there can be some crosstalk here.

I know you don't like twitter, I don't like it either, but it's very hard to communicate if you won't use any modern tools. Forums are really cool and I enjoy having them, but as someone mentioned above, in 2022 it's a very niche way to communicate broadly.

Then keep it here, but in its own sub forum.
Twitter is all about the now, post now, gone tomorrow. If someone posts a game on Twitter, today, then by next week it will be lost among all the new posts. Same on Discord. Post here, and threads last for months, and are easy to find, they're not lost among Twitter chat.
I never intend to join Twitter, Discord, Facebook, or indeed any company that requires such personal info.

[PistolsAtDawn]

I think it would be kind of confusing to have two different games of the month, one existing on twitter, discord, and the world at large and the other here. Maybe we can just post what was voted upon on twitter, and there can be some crosstalk here.

I know you don't like twitter, I don't like it either, but it's very hard to communicate if you won't use any modern tools. Forums are really cool and I enjoy having them, but as someone mentioned above, in 2022 it's a very niche way to communicate broadly.

Unfortunately I cannot hear you as you didn't use a modern tool. Shame.

Jokes aside, I think you're overstating a potential as a problem, and unfortunately your solution is to take away the agency of the users here. They get no input on what they're playing if we go that way. I'm also not trying to make this a 1000-person-strong effort. Smaller works fine for me. Quality over quantity IMHO.

I'm a Linux-only computer user and have been for the last 14+ years since Microsoft decided I had to phone them to ask for permission to use my computer after installing a new graphics card - no, really. Saying something is popular has never been a persuasive argument to me. Maintaining freedom, choice and rights have been. Windows XP got removed from my PC that day and I will only use Windows when I have no other choice (dammit Fusion 360!).

I appreciate your work and contributions to our community (truly), but this isn't intended to take away from anyone else's efforts. This just adds another option. And since it's so archaic, perhaps the form it will take here will be different enough to warrant its existence. Long form discussions aren't great on Discord or Twitter, but I think the forums have the potential for some truly excellent experiences, and why not use it since it's already being paid for anyhow?

[PistolsAtDawn]

So I think we should move forward. There seems to be enough interest to get going at least.

Here's my proposal (keeping in mind everything is malleable):

• We select either a core or a specific criteria/theme at random

• Once selected, we then nominate games with that nomination only needing to be seconded by another user to add it to the list

• From that list, we again select a game at random

• This is where the fun begins!

For the first round, we can just pull from the list of cores while we keep a separate post topic going for gathering suggestions for themes for future rounds. For themes, I think the same process could work with just a nomination/second. Once selected, those cores/themes get pulled off the list (at least for a while) and we start anew.

I feel that the nomination/second process would work better than trying to take votes and dealing with potential ties (more likely with few voters at first) or having to have multiple voting rounds to narrow it down. It will keep us moving while still allowing for us to source the list from the community. Nominations will also be your chance to really sell the idea of those games or themes to everyone and give us your reasoning why you think we should include them.

Should we put a limit on how many nominations each user gets per round? Say three maybe? None? I don't have strong feelings here. Whatever everyone thinks is best is fine by me. Either way a nomination will still need someone to second it before it can make the lists.

Any other thoughts or input before I ask Xbytez to create the sub-forum?

[charmless]

So I think we should move forward. There seems to be enough interest to get going at least.

Here's my proposal (keeping in mind everything is malleable):

• We select either a core or a specific criteria/theme at random

• Once selected, we then nominate games with that nomination only needing to be seconded by another user to add it to the list

• From that list, we again select a game at random

• This is where the fun begins!

For the first round, we can just pull from the list of cores while we keep a separate post topic going for gathering suggestions for themes for future rounds. For themes, I think the same process could work with just a nomination/second. Once selected, those cores/themes get pulled off the list (at least for a while) and we start anew.

I feel that the nomination/second process would work better than trying to take votes and dealing with potential ties (more likely with few voters at first) or having to have multiple voting rounds to narrow it down. It will keep us moving while still allowing for us to source the list from the community. Nominations will also be your chance to really sell the idea of those games or themes to everyone and give us your reasoning why you think we should include them.

Should we put a limit on how many nominations each user gets per round? Say three maybe? None? I don't have strong feelings here. Whatever everyone thinks is best is fine by me. Either way a nomination will still need someone to second it before it can make the lists.

Any other thoughts or input before I ask Xbytez to create the sub-forum?

Sounds good to me. Maybe start with max 3 nominations per user to begin with and if this thing takes off we could go down to 1 per user.

[Chilli_Vibes]

Yep, agree with both posts above. The 3 game limit would be a good starter, it would allow for a tighter, more thought-through list, and less filler.
I also think that a list of cores with their real names, so we all know we're all on the same core, what BIOSes are/if required, and the exact name of the roms (games) you want to put forward. Perhaps a list of all cores, and their versions, could be a sticky thread in the new sub, and updated as new versions are released.

Lets do this

[PistolsAtDawn]

Okay, after dealing with some adult life issues (illness, leaking roof), I've finally managed to make a spreadsheet of the available cores with a clickable button that will select one of those cores at random. I have not included the 2-player Game Boy / Advance cores as that seems redundant. Otherwise all classic computers, game consoles, arcade cores and other specialty cores are on the list.

As much as I would prefer to use LibreOffice to maintain this, for ease of sharing it and maintaining it as a community, I have implemented this in Google Sheets. Can't let perfect be the enemy of good. I will open a new Google account for this to keep it separated from my own personal stuff and to potentially share with anyone else that would like to help with this. Should be pretty easy!

I will proceed with asking Xbytez to create the forum section for us.

Quick shot of the spreadsheet

TVGRWzP.png (49.82 KiB) Viewed 7423 times

[PistolsAtDawn]

We need a name for the sub forum. Any suggestions? The post topic title here was just a working name while we discussed this. I'm open to something else / better.

[charmless]

We need a name for the sub forum. Any suggestions? The post topic title here was just a working name while we discussed this. I'm open to something else / better.

Since we talked about it beeing a sort of book club for games why not call it "MiSTer Community Game Club". But I'm fine with whatever.

[PistolsAtDawn]

Since we talked about it beeing a sort of book club for games why not call it "MiSTer Community Game Club". But I'm fine with whatever.

That works for me!

Here's a public link to the core list and randomizer "button" (now Pac-Man): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

It's open for commenting (but not editing), so please leave a note if you see something that needs improving with the list or otherwise. The script behind the button only works if I'm signed in, but it does work.

[charmless]

That works for me!

Here's a public link to the core list and randomizer "button" (now Pac-Man): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

It's open for commenting (but not editing), so please leave a note if you see something that needs improving with the list or otherwise. The script behind the button only works if I'm signed in, but it does work.

Looks good! I'm guessing that the randomizer button only works if you have editing rights? There are a lot of cores on there that I would need help to understand and set up. But that's part of the fun!

I'm not seeing any Capcom arcade cores. Maybe they are all still in beta? Of course we should not include cores that require a patreon sub.

Great work!

[PistolsAtDawn]

That works for me!

Here's a public link to the core list and randomizer "button" (now Pac-Man): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

It's open for commenting (but not editing), so please leave a note if you see something that needs improving with the list or otherwise. The script behind the button only works if I'm signed in, but it does work.

Looks good! I'm guessing that the randomizer button only works if you have editing rights? There are a lot of cores on there that I would need help to understand and set up. But that's part of the fun!

I'm not seeing any Capcom arcade cores. Maybe they are all still in beta? Of course we should not include cores that require a patreon sub.

Great work!

Yeah, it only works if you're signed in as the account I created for this right now. I'm glad I sourced another set of eyes on that list because you correctly pointed out that there were no Capcom cores, and then in researching that I realized that I hadn't included any of Jotego's public cores. They were not listed on the wiki, and his own documentation took a while to comb through to try to get an accurate list. I'm sure there are still errors because of how manual that process just was. Most should be on the list now though.

[aberu]

Discord's insistence on a phone number is keeping me out. I'd like to hang out there, but I have no interest in improving their surveillance to that degree.

Unfortunately it's a necessary evil because it keeps the automatically generated bots out, and still doesn't work 100% of the time.

Not saying you are wrong to feel that way, but it's part of the still-growing industry of scamming people en masse to fund anything from small businesses that are actually scams to terrorist operations around the world.

[charmless]

Yeah, it only works if you're signed in as the account I created for this right now. I'm glad I sourced another set of eyes on that list because you correctly pointed out that there were no Capcom cores, and then in researching that I realized that I hadn't included any of Jotego's public cores. They were not listed on the wiki, and his own documentation took a while to comb through to try to get an accurate list. I'm sure there are still errors because of how manual that process just was. Most should be on the list now though.

Great job putting the list together. Makes me realize that there are a lot of cores... So no lack of options. Let me know how I can help moving forward.

[PistolsAtDawn]

Yeah, it only works if you're signed in as the account I created for this right now. I'm glad I sourced another set of eyes on that list because you correctly pointed out that there were no Capcom cores, and then in researching that I realized that I hadn't included any of Jotego's public cores. They were not listed on the wiki, and his own documentation took a while to comb through to try to get an accurate list. I'm sure there are still errors because of how manual that process just was. Most should be on the list now though.

Great job putting the list together. Makes me realize that there are a lot of cores... So no lack of options. Let me know how I can help moving forward.

Just waiting on Xbytez to create the sub forum before I start making more post topics about it. I'm sure they're busy.

[Hetzen]

I'm sure this will develop and thanks for getting this started. Just getting people talking about some of this tech will be interesting. Starting a game on a computer isn't as easy as we're used to these days, and in itself will be an interesting journey.

[Hetzen]

So is the idea to randomize a core, then get suggestions to vote on? Of course the arcade cores will be what they are, but consoles and computers will need extra suggestions.

[charmless]

So is the idea to randomize a core, then get suggestions to vote on? Of course the arcade cores will be what they are, but consoles and computers will need extra suggestions.

Pretty much. I guess we still have to establish some ground rules. But maybe have 2 suggestions each per core and then vote on or randomly pick one of the suggestions and start from there.

Cool that we have a sub forum now! Thanks @Xbytez!

[PistolsAtDawn]

Pretty much. I guess we still have to establish some ground rules. But maybe have 2 suggestions each per core and then vote on or randomly pick one of the suggestions and start from there.

Cool that we have a sub forum now! Thanks @Xbytez!

For establishing those rules, please see this thread

I went ahead and randomly selected the first core so we can get moving. If we want to change anything going forward, we can. I just wanted to start.

[PistolsAtDawn]

Lets do this

We need your nominations/seconds!

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