DT-Side Chat Thread v. The Blu-Ray is out so I changed the friggin' title

[King Postwhore]

My nephews do.  I seriously have the original 2600 (from the late 1970's) at my parents house and it still works!

[BlobVanDam]

Wasn't that thing made of wood? We got ours in the very early '90s, so we were way behind.

[King Postwhore]

My brother and I pulled it out of storage last year and like we were kids again.  Battled it out for hours!  Wives were not happy.   We still had 5 working joysticks as well.

[BlobVanDam]

Did you kick his ass at boxing? I was great at that.

[King Postwhore]

Activision boxing?  Always!

We played Meglamania, Barnstorming and Fishing Derby!

[BlobVanDam]

Yeah, that was the one!

The only of those I recall being built in was the fishing one (and boxing of course). Being all built in, we had no idea what the names of these games were. Some were obvious, like frogger and space invaders, but a lot of them just made no sense.
So we'd just make up names for them. I have all of the games on my computer, and it was fun looking through them and finding out what they're called.

[King Postwhore]

Yeah!  Some were made up games.  Seriously.  My dad bought every damn game when it came out.  Smart move by them though!

[BlobVanDam]

So here's a question. Why are we in the wrong chat thread anyway? Let's move back to the real one!

[King Postwhore]

 

Let us!

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

Prog Sphere ranks DT albums worst to best: https://www.prog-sphere.com/specials/dream-theater-albums-worst-best/

I suppose it's an interesting ranking. Not enough for me to start a new thread about I didn't think, but I'm sure someone could find something to discuss about it, so I thought I'd post it here.

Maybe it'll get this thread back on the topic of DT 

[BlobVanDam]

FII is below WDADU. List is clearly bullshit. Having anything at all below WDADU invalidates it instantly.

Ok, their top 3 isn't bad though.


Overall I actually think they've got them ranked better than the average DTF ranking. /runs

[King Postwhore]

I'd have a few tweaks. SC lower than BC&SL and WDADU like Blob said as the least and TOT is too high but overall very good list.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

FII is below WDADU. List is clearly bullshit. Having anything at all below WDADU invalidates it instantly.

Ok, their top 3 isn't bad though.


Overall I actually think they've got them ranked better than the average DTF ranking. /runs

I think you're right. FII has been steadily moving up my rankings for a while. I used to have it 11th, but it's certainly better than WDADU. I would run with you but I have DT12 and ADTOE ranked above FII so I guess we're both on our own. 

I think it's a pretty good list, but I'd change a good bit.

[BlobVanDam]

FII is below WDADU. List is clearly bullshit. Having anything at all below WDADU invalidates it instantly.

Ok, their top 3 isn't bad though.


Overall I actually think they've got them ranked better than the average DTF ranking. /runs

I think you're right. FII has been steadily moving up my rankings for a while. I used to have it 11th, but it's certainly better than WDADU. I would run with you but I have DT12 and ADTOE ranked above FII so I guess we're both on our own. 

I think it's a pretty good list, but I'd change a good bit.

Once I get past my top 4, it's actually very hard for me to rank them.
My top 4 at this point is pretty much set at SDOIT/SFAM/IAW/FII, but after that a lot of it is fairly even. TOT/8V would be next in either order, then after that the rest, then WDADU doesn't even rank at all. So I guess the "tier" system is more accurate for me.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

FII is below WDADU. List is clearly bullshit. Having anything at all below WDADU invalidates it instantly.

Ok, their top 3 isn't bad though.


Overall I actually think they've got them ranked better than the average DTF ranking. /runs

I think you're right. FII has been steadily moving up my rankings for a while. I used to have it 11th, but it's certainly better than WDADU. I would run with you but I have DT12 and ADTOE ranked above FII so I guess we're both on our own. 

I think it's a pretty good list, but I'd change a good bit.

Once I get past my top 4, it's actually very hard for me to rank them.
My top 4 at this point is pretty much set at SDOIT/SFAM/IAW/FII, but after that a lot of it is fairly even. TOT/8V would be next in either order, then after that the rest, then WDADU doesn't even rank at all. So I guess the "tier" system is more accurate for me.

The tier system works for me as well. I was re-ranking them today because I lost the flash drive with all my Programming 1 and 2 programs, album, song rankings, along with essays and stuff from the previous school year.    Oh well, I know it's around here somehwere. Anyways, I was having a tough time ordering them, but once I grouped the albums into 4 and aranged each group it was really easy.

I don't have any sort of actual scoring system to rank albums by though.

[BlobVanDam]

It gets pretty trivial by that stage anyway. Aside from forum discussion, does ranking things really matter?
If I like it, I listen to it. That's all that matters to me.

So you do programming?

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

It gets pretty trivial by that stage anyway. Aside from forum discussion, does ranking things really matter?
If I like it, I listen to it. That's all that matters to me.

So you do programming?

Yeah, I agree. I have a thing with listing things though. I have huge text documents that list out all the albums I want to buy, listen to, and have.
When I get bored I organize stuff.

Anyways, yeah. I've learned some Java. I plan to go into software development/engineering. I really enjoy programming and computer science stuff, plus I build PCs and such. I got into GUIs at the end of Programming 2, but it was a high school course. Programming 2 shoved into one semester was definitely the most difficult class I had last school year.

I know you do animations for DT and such (which are wonderful BTW). The Dark Nintendo Night is pretty entertaining 

[BlobVanDam]

Thanks. That was only a quick video too. I'm trying to make some new videos at the moment to put up.

I've dabbled in programming through the years, but I'm not great at it. But basic coding is always useful. I've been working on making a game for years now using Unity, which supports C++ and a javascript style syntax. I use the javascript one because it's simpler and more familiar to me based on other coding I've done in the past.

I also have an idea for a little Windows program I want to make for myself, but I haven't learned any languages that deal with the Windows API and the GUI stuff.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

It gets pretty trivial by that stage anyway. Aside from forum discussion, does ranking things really matter?
If I like it, I listen to it. That's all that matters to me.

So you do programming?

Yeah, I agree. I have a thing with listing things though. I have huge text documents that list out all the albums I want to buy, listen to, and have.
When I get bored I organize stuff.

Anyways, yeah. I've learned some Java. I plan to go into software development/engineering. I really enjoy programming and computer science stuff, plus I build PCs and such. I got into GUIs at the end of Programming 2, but it was a high school course. Programming 2 shoved into one semester was definitely the most difficult class I had last school year.

I know you do animations for DT and such (which are wonderful BTW). The Dark Nintendo Night is pretty entertaining 

...I'm not alone after all

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

I'd love to see some 

What sort of game did you have in mind? I think that would be a fun project eventually, I need to get around to learning some new languages, maybe Python and C++.

Is the Windows program something you can reveal publicly or not?  Also, GUI stuff is a pain in the ass. Those took me the longest time to complete of any programs.

EDIT: Show Ninja, is that about enjoying TDNN, or programming? I can't tell

[BlobVanDam]

I'd love to see some 

What sort of game did you have in mind? I think that would be a fun project eventually, I need to get around to learning some new languages, maybe Python and C++.

Is the Windows program something you can reveal publicly or not?  Also, GUI stuff is a pain in the ass. Those took me the longest time to complete of any programs.

Learn C++ so you can help me make my game. It's just a 2D platformer.

The Windows program I had in mind will probably sound strange, as it's just for myself, not some great secret idea or anything. I just had an idea for a small little program that mostly sits in the taskbar but has a small GUI box (and can stay on top), that basically keeps track of what programs I'm spending my time in to help me manage my time. I have it mostly planned out with a few other little tools, just to help with my productivity.
Maybe there's something like that already out there, but I have a specific idea in mind. Maybe I should look anyway.

Shadow was referring to the part he bolded about lists of albums and such.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

EDIT: Show Ninja, is that about enjoying TDNN, or programming? I can't tell

The bolded bit, with regard to obsessive cataloguing of desired purchases.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

Oh, I didn't even see that it was bolded. I'm slouched down in my computer chair with my legs on my bed, so the viewing angle is a bit off. I have all that stuff in Google Drive where I can view stuff from my phone. I also have spotify playlists of the whole discography of any band I plan to eventually check out...

Blob: That sounds cool. I don't think the program would be all that useful to me personally, but I'd love to see how I allocate my time.

I probably will learn C++, I think it's the more frequently used language of the two I mentioned.

[BlobVanDam]

Blob: That sounds cool. I don't think the program would be all that useful to me personally, but I'd love to see how I allocate my time.

I have problems focusing on doing a task without wandering off and wasting time on the internet and losing track of time (probably ADHD), and I just wanted to try out some ideas. Lately I've just kept a stopwatch app next to me and timed each thing I do, and it's helped. There's always so much I want to do, but I have trouble sticking to a task. It's not so much that I'm lazy, I'm just really easily distracted for long periods of time.

What kind of stuff do you want to program? I've only really been interested in making games.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

I'd most love to be game developer in Seattle (where I plan to move), which where the headquarters of Valve and Bungie (the biggest names there) are. Realistically, there's a Google building, which I think would be a fun working environment. There's also an NVidia building in Redmond, WA where I'd like to work as a product designer, or marketer. I'd enjoy plenty of things. Cerner here in KC has a cool internship program. They develop medical technology, like programs to sync medical records so they can be accessed quickly, and apps that update hospital staff on patient status. I don't have any particular projects I want to work on, but I have an idea of places I'd like to work.

What exactly do you? I have a general idea, sort of.

Also, I think Mike Mangini was a programmer for the Patriot Missle software team, which is cool.

[BlobVanDam]

You have a lot more options there than we do here in Oz. Here it's mostly web and app stuff. Even jobs that involve 3D stuff are all just web jobs that require a ton of web stuff first I have no desire to learn. I'll never manage to get a real job. I just get the occasional bit of 3D video work.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

Well you're damn good at it. I'd love to be able to edit video and animate, but it seems like a daunting thing to go about learning. I think Seattle would be great too because I love dark, cold, and rainy weather.

Not relavent to the current discussion, but relavent to the thread: I am really excited for the next DT album. Not sure why I've been thinking about it so much, but I can't help wondering what it will be like. I've been watching a lot of the in-studio videos recently, and it has me pumped. Unfortunately, I know I'll have to wait a while 
At least there's the Boston show coming out. Has there been any news on the release date yet?

[BlobVanDam]

Well you're damn good at it. I'd love to be able to edit video and animate, but it seems like a daunting thing to go about learning. I think Seattle would be great too because I love dark, cold, and rainy weather.

I love the dark, cold rainy weather too. Gloom ftw! I'm strictly an indoors guy. We don't get a lot of rain here though. Or cold for that matter. It's currently the middle of Winter, so this is as good as it gets for us.

I've been doing basically nothing but CG graphics for a decade and I'd still like to be way better than I am. I don't think it's too daunting to get into with today's software and tutorials, but there's always more to learn. I don't think I've ever made a video where I didn't learn something new that was useful.

No word on the Boston DVD/BD yet. It's probably "soon".

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

We get rain here occasionally in the summer. Just enough to make it so humid you can't breathe... I'm sure it's pretty mild compared to summer heat there, though.

"soon" as in "next July" 

[BlobVanDam]

I hate humidity. We had a really humid summer, but not a whole lot of rain. It would be stinking hot during the day, then get humid at night when it was cooling down, so it always felt uncomfortable.

"Soon" as in "whenever".

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

Have you seen DT on this tour? I'm sure it was a must see considering they were celebrating the anniversary of your favorite album 

[BlobVanDam]

DT haven't been here since 2009. Even Awake aside, I'm not that interested in the current setlist. The only saving grace for me is SFAM+TOT.

[genome]

Just posting to say that 6:29 in this video just made me LOL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orYZShMJO80

[GentlemanofDread]

I really love all the Behind the Scenes stuff on the DVDs. Wish they did more of them.

[Sir Walrus Cauliflower]

I really love all the Behind the Scenes stuff on the DVDs. Wish they did more of them.

I completely agree. I think MP did most of the filming for those, though. I'd especially love some MM drum cams of him in the studio