Site Issues (4/5/09)

We’re having issues right now. We’re looking into it. Take a deep breath, we’ll be back.

We’re back.

Still wondering if we’re back. We are. Why not check us out?

Atari & VIC-20 Gaming with a D-pad, Authentic or Cheating?

While Dave and Eddie work with our webhost to get the site back up, enjoy this entry from my personal blog that I wrote a little while ago. Also remember to stay tuned for more updates pertaining to the site status!

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Atari & VIC-20 Gaming with a D-pad, Authentic or Cheating?

This is a question I’ve asked myself many times over the years. I guess it’s one of those habits I’ve picked up as a result of having so many game systems and peripherals. Instead of using joysticks, I prefer D-pads instead. Does that make me a cheater somehow? I’m not sure but it feels like it sometimes.

To some extent this applies to the Atari 2600 as well. If I had to guess, I probably have a couple dozen or so one and two button sticks ranging from Atari CX40s to various Wico models and nameless constructs of superb or shoddy craftsmanship. Yet when it comes time to hunker down and spend some time playing Raid on Fort Knox or Missile Command or Trashman, I reach for a Sega Genesis or Master System pad instead with just a little bit of guilt. I suppose I shouldn’t feel bad. After all, systems like the VIC-20 thrived on third party controllers and substitutes that all used the same 9-pin configuration. Even the paddle controllers are identical and interchangeable.

It wasn’t a big deal 25 years ago. There were no other alternatives other than keyboard or joystick. Even when the Sega Master System came out, how many people experimented with it’s controllers and stuck them in other machines to see if they worked? Part of the issue comes from the argument that using a Sega controller is taking away from the authenticity of the experience. Like how using an emulator with a PC gamepad is inferior to the real thing. Others, may feel that a digital pad can provide an edge to some players over a gated stick. Well that may actually be true. I know when I play Raid on Fort Knox I can easily gain 500 more points by using a pad rather than a stick. When I play Vicman or Trashman I find that I have tighter control and miss turns less often. Superior technology or greater comfort?

It’s also ironic because I’ve always been a huge fan of arcade sticks both in arcades and at home. When I play fighting games, it’s sticks or bust. In the arcade, I’m completely comfortable with sticks of any configuration. Be it a ball-top, bat, grip handle it doesn’t matter I can use them all. Maybe it’s because these simple home console/computer sticks are too lightweight or too small for my hands. Or maybe I yank them around too much while I play and movement is affected by the constant efforts of my right hand trying to keep it stable on my lap or table.

Perhaps the answer is a custom arcade stick. Something beefy that weighs 10 pounds or more! Like an X-Arcade stick with an adapter. Would that be overcompensating? Would a $150 arcade stick to overcome my discomfort be just as bad as using a D-pad? Could I boast a high score if I used such a device?

I guess that’s one of the reasons I love the Intellivision so much. I’ve never had any problem playing games with it’s directional disc despite popular opinion to the contrary. In retrospect, maybe the Intellivison controller being the foundation of my gaming history in the early 80’s is what led me down this path to begin with. In recent years when I began reaching back for the games and systems of my childhood, I had no problem with the Intellivision or the Sega master as far as getting used to their controllers again. The ColecoVision being somewhere in between a Telly and a 2600, felt somewhat comfortable while a 2600 stick felt awkward and cumbersome. At the same time, the somewhat beefy NES Advantage and Sega Genesis Arcade Sticks are great and easy to use for just about any game I can think of.

In any case, I think I need to look into the matter. Short of bolting a Wico Boss or an Atari CX40 to a coffee table there must be a middle road solution to appease both my sense of wanting authenticity and my comfort level. In the meantime I’ll continue to use one of my plentiful Sega Genesis pads and keep my high scores to myself until I can play these games properly without feeling ashamed of myself.

An Update

Something bad happened. How bad, I’m not sure, but rest assured that your data is not lost. It’s like I was saying the exact same crap 365 days ago. It is not an isloated occurrence to just our server, and our host is working diligently to get things running. I really, really hope to be running by later tonight, but such prospects are dimming. This almost makes me want to cry. Den, I’m sorry.

We’re working to come back.

Still working, hope to be back later tonight.

And now a Completely Random Post to Pass the Time

Why hello there. How’s it going? As you might have noticed, we’re still down. Things are taking a bit longer than planned, and really that’s just fantastic. We’re trying really, really hard… blah blah blah.

Forget about it. We’ll be back eventually. To pass the time, here’s something completely unrelated to the site to kill time as I wait for the site to return.

364 days ago began the uber tumultuous time of going from a shared host to a dedicated host. It was really a fun time, truly, absolutely fun. Almost as fun as talking to one of my friends here in Maryland. I kid, I kid. But, something ominous lurked in the downtime, and it was quickly apparent what had caused our site to be down for almost two months – Zombies.

You see, the zombies have stalked our servers for several years now, beginning first on Lunar Pages where they killed a server admin, causing them to say that Yabb was killing their shared host. What a dirty malicious lie. We know it was the zombies, and we knew that we were no longer welcome there.

Times were good at our next host up until we made the jump to mySQL. That’s when they found us.  We thought, hoped, and prayed that we were free from their reach, but we were wrong. It was innocent enough at first, they killed a server farm tech, which led mySQL to go wonky on us. But, as time passed the zombies got more aggressive, killing more techs until that fateful day. On April 1, 2008, the zombies killed the IX Webhosting Server Admin. Sure, they said that SMF was killing their server, but we knew that was a lie. So, once again, we were on our way to a new host.

Our new host wasn’t without his own unfortunate run-ins, but like any good server admin, our new host knew what to do. Sure, the zombies distracted him and caused him to let our site kill the VPS, but he was able to recover. See, our new host was Canadian, and like every other good Canadian citizen our host held something dear to his heart – a 12 guage shotgun. Things were running great until last night. Turns out he forgot to stop by the gun store on the way home.

So, here we are today, and our site is down. Fear not faithful members! Our host has ammo, and once again he’ll be able to keep the zombies at bay. There’s quite a few of them out there, so have patience, and know that some time really soon RF Generation will be back, zombie free.

Still Moving

We’re still moving. Hopefully we’ll be wrapped up by the end of the night. Until then, relax, we’re not dead.

Server Move going on RIGHT NOW

Yes, some of you probably can’t get to the site right now… we pointed the domain names to the new name servers, and the site move just started. Relax, we’ll be back. In the meantime, why not try out our chat? It’s on quakenet, at #rfgeneration.

Server move in progress!

If the site experiences downtime, check back here for updates!

Happy Holidays from RF Generation!!

From the staff and members of RFGen, we hope you have a happy holiday and a great new year!!