Diecast – Twenty Sided

While there may be a future podcast, this is the final episode of the Diecast. The mailbag is empty for the last time. Thanks for listening in over the years.

00:00 Why End the Diecast?

The Diecast was Shamus’ podcast, where he talked about stuff that he wanted to talk about. We figured it would be best to make a clean break, and close this out, instead of pivoting and keeping the name. There may be another podcast on this site, the discussion is ongoing, but for the Diecast, this is the end. Thanks for listening in everyone.

04:59 Mailbag: Encounters/intensity

Die Dearcast!

Wait, that sounds horrible in english!

In the last Diecast you mentioned “Encounters” and how you prefer shooters because they have them clearly defined, opposed to racing games which are all encounter, all the time. I have to disagree on the latter, and I will elaborate on it further down. But to get to the meat of the question(s): Are there any games/genres out there you enjoy despite them breaking the convention of alternating high and low intesity? And, if you had to chose, would you rather play a game that is allways high or allways low intensity? And can you come up with examples for both, if they even exist?

And now for the racing games: As a sim racing enthusiast, I find that racing has varying intensity. Ordinarily, you drive at about 95% of your quickest pace, which, is low intensity. High intensity for racing games comes in two ways: 1) fighting for a position, which usually doesn’t happen that often, or 2) navigating part of a track than one finds tricky. Which only happens once per lap per tricky section. And due to the repeating nature of driving multiple laps resulting flow state, I find that in racing sims, the high intensity parts are actually shorter and further between than in shooters.

And as a bonus: Dorfromantik is a prime example of an addictive allways low intensity game.

Kind regards,

Norbert ColeusRattus Lickl

13:10 Mailbag: Thinking like a programmer

Greetings Casters of Die.

I am currently tutoring someone who wants to program (to make games). We encountered the statement that there’s a difference between programming and programming well, and that it has to do with thinking like a programmer. I’ve programmed for most of my life, but I’m not sure how to describe that concept.

What mental habits or skills separate an excellent programmer from the merely adequate?

Also are there any games that you are better at because you know how to program?

Thank you,

Andrew

20:11 Mailbag: Sierra adventure game remakes

Dear Diecast

In the age of remakes and remasters, games often have extras to make them more palatable to modern audiences, like savestates, rewind etc. Sierra adventure games are known for the moon logic and sadistic designers. Imagine if those games were remade, but then with an option to have logical puzzles and no random deaths/softlocks. Then their creativity can shine through and be enjoyed by modern audiences.

What do you think?

With kind regards

Chris

25:41 Mailbag: Video Cable Formats

Dear Diecast,

Where do you guys stand on HDMI versus DisplayPort?

I usually don’t care about format wars, but this is lasting long enough to get under my skin.

I don’t like that new video cards offer one or two of each port and the consumer has no say in the configuration of a card.

I much preferred the days where I just needed and got two VGA or two Dual-DVI ports.

Thanks,

Will

31:12 Mailbag: Favorite Anime

Dear Diecast,

Are there any anime (Japanese animated works) that you like? If so, what are some of your favourites, and why?

All the best,

Andrew

36:05 Mailbag: Unique game

Dear Diecast,

Have you ever played a game that felt fresh and unique, only to later discover they were liberally ‘inspired’ by an earlier game? If so what was the game?

Best wishes

Thomas

38:47 Mailbag: Weapon of Choice

Dear Diecast,

I hope you both are well.

I was wondering, what is your favourite weapon in a video game?

A shotgun that booms like the God of Thunder slamming a revolving door?

An enormous maul hewn from a bone of the Demogorgon?

Some fancy multifunctional laser gadget that slices, dices, and makes waffles?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Vale,

– Tim

45:34 Closing thoughts

Thanks to everyone offering support to the Young family. I wish there was more to say. So long for now.