Ant's Blog: April 2011

Monday, April 25, 2011

Spider Man Is Dead!

If you have not found out by now! Peter Parker the original Spider Man after the "Death Of Spider Man" storyline that takes place in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, and Ultimate Comics: Avenger vs New Ultimates, is dead, and a New Spider Man with a new costume will take his place in Ultimate Spider-Man # 160.

I don't know how how long it will last? But if anyone has read Spider-Man 2099, you had to figure it would happen sooner or later, but then again stories get rewritten.

To all Spider-Man fans! You might want to check out the Marvel News Post, if you have not already, included are a list of the comics that are about Peter Parker death, just click on the link below:

http://marvel.com/news/story/15657/marvel_reveals_new_spider-man?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Pulse290&utm_term=Link2&utm_content=NewSpiderManReveal&utm_campaign=Pulse290Newsletter04192011

You can also download or copy the wallpaper used in this Post by clicking on the link below:
http://www.heroicwallpapers.com/download/199/1080hd

To copy the wallpaper to this link: place mouse pointer over the wallpaper, right click on the wallpaper, select save copy image or save picture as, the left click using your mouse.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Sony Play Station Network Is Back Up! Update

Update May 14, 2011:

I have just read that PSN is now back up! I logged in and I was told that I will receive an email to update my information (probably for a new password). Also on the Play Station.Blog a video from Kazuo Hirai in that Video SCEA offers an Identity Theft Protection Program, and a welcome back package. This obviously is good news, that SCEA isn't going to leave it's customers hanging. I have Provided a link for the Video below, and the post from The Blog. Check out the top two links.

April 21, 2011:

Yesterday April 21, 2011: I was not able to log into Play Station Network. I go to The PSN (Play Station Network) site to Login, I receive this message:

Site Maintenance Notice

The server is currently down for maintenance.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

I go to look on the Play Station Blog and I read that the PSN outage was being investigated, implying that it is not known why the site is down. Also the site might be down for 2 days. Now the site was reported to be down on April 20, 2011, but I was on PSN that day. It probably happened when I got off.

I hope this isn't the beginning of a trend!

Update, April 23, 2011:

PSN is still down. Is Sony being straight forward with us? According to the Play Station Blog, PSN was turned off because of an outside intrusion that affected PSN and Qriocity. Now an investigation is still going on.

I appreciate My PS3, because of the lack of problems it has, compared to a Windows PC. Don't get me wrong, on a Windows PC I enjoy some of the best Graphics, gameplay and sound that I cannot enjoy on a Console, including PS3, but a Windows based PC can sometimes involve troubleshooting. On my PS3, I can play a game, without having to worry, about whether I have installed the right software, is my hardware compatible, or any other of the many reasons that can be involved.

I hope Sony owns up, to providing a quality Entertainment experience.

Update, April 23, 2011:

Sony PSN and Qriocity services are now suspended. This is for security reasons according to the Play Station Blog. I still feel what I posted before still applies, even more now than before.

I repeat: I hope Sony owns up, to providing a quality Entertainment experience.

Update April 26, 2011:

There has been a recent update on The Play Station Blog, with a Q&A about the what has been going on. I noticed that Sony has given the typical, "we are not able to comment at this time," as an answer to many of the questions. One thing that stood out is that the breach, into PSN and Qriocity may have compromised, our name, address, email account, login, password, birth date, credit card number if you have one. Basically enough to get PSN users robbed clean!

What is being done about this, it is not okay!

Update May 2, 2011:

Sony PSN is still down, I tried to log in today, and it pointed to that it still under going maintenance. Also Sony stresses that it was a "maybe" that credit card numbers have been compromised. Maybe is still unsettling, and it is what was posted on the Play Station Blog. Past Play Station Blog posts have edited. You can check out new updates yourself.

Play Station One Games Need To Be Upscaled Better!

I was looking at some screen shots of PS One (Play Station One) games, on IGN, showing what they look like upscaled on PS3 (Play Station 3). This reminded me of my article, that had recommendations for Classic PS One games on PS3. I was told that what I put together was good, so I have decided to post, an updated version of my article.

I believe it is obvious that to everyone reading this that I enjoy both new and old games , I have so far purchased four PS One games through PSN (Play Station Network). I remember hearing that all PS One games can upscale to 1080p or 1080i. I thought before buying these games how they could easily be enhanced on PS3, as classic games have been on PC.

I have bought Castlevania: Symphony of The Night, Tekken 2, Alundra, and the original Silent Hill! When I played these games, I was disappointed! I saw that the games graphics were only allowed to be smoothed out, and were not that much more clearer, sharper, or smoother, than they could have been, and these games might look a little sharper and clearer then they normally would, because of the HDTV that I have used and the one I am now using (now in HDMI video).

Instead of blurring the graphics with an option called smoothing, to smooth out the blocky or pixelated look of their classic game, some of the best options are, that I am aware of to make the graphics look better, are: Scale2x (originally EPX), Scale3x, Scale4x, HQ2x, HQ3x, and HQ4x. Other methods of upscaling, and improving graphics that work just fine are: 2xSaI, Super SaI, and Super Eagle.

Look at these photos as an example. Below are two games Willow (the top three photos), and Metal Slug X (bottom two). Notice when the graphics are zoomed they do get clearer, but they look blocky still. When Scale2x or Scale4x is used, the graphics are smooth, sharp and clear, that is because the graphics are not blurred to make them look smooth, the graphics are just upscaled better:

Original Zoomed Only

Scale4x

Scale2x

Original Zoomed Only

Scale2x

Now is the time to do it! The new Mortal Kombat has Ol' Skool or Retro game play some, and Sonic The Hedge Hog 4, was a top download on PSN. The Sega Genesis Classic Collection Gold Edition on PC, has an option for an Enhanced graphics filter, that can pass for Scale2x or HQ2x. I don't know why Sony doesn't use any advanced graphic filtering to upscale, so it will improve the look of their games. PS3 hardware is qualified.

To see the screenshots of PS One (and PS 2 games) upscaled on PS3 check out this site:

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/793/793775p1.html,

Information is from personal experience and these sources:

http://www.answers.com/topic/pixel-art-scaling-algorithms,

http://scale2x.sourceforge.net/,

http://us.playstation.com/psn/,

"Pulse 1109 Edition-1080p", Downloadable Video, Play Station Network 2010, Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Photos from:

http://scale2x.sourceforge.net/,

http://us.playstation.com/ps3/systems/320gb.html