CAGbag: Get your questions answered on CAGcast

Any chance in you guys particularly wombat going back and playing Fallout 76? The game has improved immensely since release.
 
This is for Cheapy. You obviously have interest in Cruella. Last week, you said if the reviews are bad, you won’t bother watching it. Have you watched something because you still wanted to see it, but knowing it got panned?
 
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Hey, it just occurs to me, no one ever brought up seeing the film version of Console Wars.  It was, and maybe still is, on CBS All Access.  Thoughts?

 
This story is a bit long, but I just wanted to hear your thoughts on this and find out if any of you have had any weird issues with next-gen game installs.

The ridiculous install process of the disc version of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (MK11U) on Xbox Series X... Let me start by saying I have a series X with an external SSD that’s set to the default install location, since most of the games I have installed are not Series X enhanced and don’t need to be installed on the internal SSD.
Normally when you put in a disc game, everything installs automatically for the most part... but that’s not the case with MK11U for some reason. When you put in the MK11U disc, a “manage bundle” screen is opened - the install process doesn’t start automatically. The MK11U bundle has 33 items, and there is a button to install everything, but clicking that triggers the problems.
When you install a game that’s Series X enhanced, Smart Delivery kicks in and tells you there’s an upgrade available to the next-gen version - this applies to the main game file and all DLC files as well (assuming the game dev actually upgrades all the content). Well, when you try to do this for 33 items at once and it has to prompt you for every item, it basically creates a popup prompt backlog and things end up not installing at all. To make it even worse, if you don’t have the internal drive set as the default install location and you try to install a Series X enhanced game, there’s an additional popup that tells you you need to install to the internal drive to play the game. For some reason, when I clicked the option to go ahead and install to the internal drive, it just crapped out and didn’t do anything. So I had to end up going through each of the items and install them one by one to my external drive then move them all to the internal drive.
So everything in the bundle is installed now, and I launch the game. I want to jump into the story mode first, but for some reason it’s not working. Well, turns out installing all 33 of the bundle items doesn’t actually include the story mode content. So now I had to go back to the my games and apps list and go to manage game for MK11U (different screen from the manage bundle screen) and the story mode content could be installed from there. There are options for HD or 4K story cinematics, so I decided to go with the 4K option.
Back to the game and I can finally play story mode. The game looks great, loading times are super fast, and things are working well... except the cinematics. For some reason, there are major lip sync issues and the audio and video are way out of sync in all of the cinematics.
This was definitely the most ridiculous install process I’ve ever experienced with an Xbox game. After doing all this I realized I probably should have just changed the default install location before I started installing all of the items. I feel like what they should have done since they put out a disc version for the “ultimate” edition is condensed all 33 of the bundle items into one new file.
 
Shipwreck, please give an update on the CatGenie toilet! We have 3 cats and my wife hates the litter dust. Please give opinions on cat usage/acceptance, ease of use, and where you placed the unit in your home!
 
This story is a bit long, but I just wanted to hear your thoughts on this and find out if any of you have had any weird issues with next-gen game installs.

The ridiculous install process of the disc version of Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (MK11U) on Xbox Series X... Let me start by saying I have a series X with an external SSD that’s set to the default install location, since most of the games I have installed are not Series X enhanced and don’t need to be installed on the internal SSD.
Normally when you put in a disc game, everything installs automatically for the most part... but that’s not the case with MK11U for some reason. When you put in the MK11U disc, a “manage bundle” screen is opened - the install process doesn’t start automatically. The MK11U bundle has 33 items, and there is a button to install everything, but clicking that triggers the problems.
When you install a game that’s Series X enhanced, Smart Delivery kicks in and tells you there’s an upgrade available to the next-gen version - this applies to the main game file and all DLC files as well (assuming the game dev actually upgrades all the content). Well, when you try to do this for 33 items at once and it has to prompt you for every item, it basically creates a popup prompt backlog and things end up not installing at all. To make it even worse, if you don’t have the internal drive set as the default install location and you try to install a Series X enhanced game, there’s an additional popup that tells you you need to install to the internal drive to play the game. For some reason, when I clicked the option to go ahead and install to the internal drive, it just crapped out and didn’t do anything. So I had to end up going through each of the items and install them one by one to my external drive then move them all to the internal drive.
So everything in the bundle is installed now, and I launch the game. I want to jump into the story mode first, but for some reason it’s not working. Well, turns out installing all 33 of the bundle items doesn’t actually include the story mode content. So now I had to go back to the my games and apps list and go to manage game for MK11U (different screen from the manage bundle screen) and the story mode content could be installed from there. There are options for HD or 4K story cinematics, so I decided to go with the 4K option.
Back to the game and I can finally play story mode. The game looks great, loading times are super fast, and things are working well... except the cinematics. For some reason, there are major lip sync issues and the audio and video are way out of sync in all of the cinematics.
This was definitely the most ridiculous install process I’ve ever experienced with an Xbox game. After doing all this I realized I probably should have just changed the default install location before I started installing all of the items. I feel like what they should have done since they put out a disc version for the “ultimate” edition is condensed all 33 of the bundle items into one new file.
I'll donate $10 to charity if Cheapy reads this entire post on the next CAGcast.

 
Hey guys, huge fan of the CAGCAST, but never written in. I’ve been listening every week now since 2008. Thanks for all that you do. My question is regarding the new consoles. My One X is running slower and slower and my intentions are to get a Series X especially to take advantage of those quick load times. I work full time and it seems any of the “drops” happen during the day while I’m working. I follow all of the relevant Twitter accounts with notifications. I read up on drops. I sit in lobbies and click refresh. So far got nothing. What is your recommendation? Any tips? Is it time to go PC, PC, PC?
 
So I'm a longtime listener and huge fan, even as my gaming tastes have diverged from all of yours. (Though as a VR-enthusiastic, I can't say how amusing I'm finding your Oculus adventures and really wish Ship would give it a try.)

I've never written in before, but Wombat's SNL bombshell really resonated with me. I also have made a habit of watching SNL -- for better or worse -- every week for just about 20 years, and like Wombat, I didn't think it was a big deal. But if the show is going to start having SNL reviews, I'm going to need Wombat to do a better job.

You all spent 30 minutes talking about SNL and Elon Musk, and no one mentioned the skit where Elon Musk played Wario! This is a gaming podcast and no mention of the gaming skit! What gives? Was the humor too lowbrow for Wombat? Was he offended by Princess Peach's Italian accident? 

 
I've got one for Wombat's shopping Tales from retail "what would you do?" segment

Today I went to RC Willey which is a furniture and electronics store that's pretty popular in the west. In the past I've scored some good deals on clearance video games such as a $10 copy of Cyberpunk on Xbox about a month back. These deals are featured and advertised with signs around the video game section and are usually In Store Only. This weekend they were running another sale and I picked up some good deals such as Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 for $10 on PS5, Fire Emblem 3 Houses for $15 on Switch, Immortal Fenyx Rising for $15 on Xbox, and Crash Nitro/Crash N Sane Trilogy combo pack on PS4 for $15.

One game that caught my eye on the sign was Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order on Xbox for $5. I didn't see any copies in the dump bin with the other clearance games. About 10 miles up the road and an hour later at another RC Willey store in the next town over, I was searching around their dump bin to see if they had anything different that the first store didn't have. After a few minutes of digging I found at the very bottom of the bin, one lone copy of Star Wars Jedi Fallen order on Xbox in it's plastic retail theft proof case and marked for $5 under the plastic.

The store clerk had been watching me dig the through the pile and I approached him with the game in my hand and told him I was ready to check out. He said ok and took the game and began to ring it out on the nearby terminal. After typing in the sku I heard him mutter something about an online purchase. Another minute of typing and searching the terminal goes by and he finally opens his mouth and says "I'm sorry I can't sell this to you". "What do you mean?" I replied. "I can't sell it to you because it's an online order" he replied. "What does that have to do with me buying this game?" I asked again. He said "Someone ordered it online and it's the last one so I can't sell it to you". "Look it's right here on the counter and it's ready to sell, why can't you sell it? If it was ordered online, should you have pulled it from the sales floor and put it in back with the other online orders?" I asked again. He replied "Our computers are old and they don't trigger us to go pull anything from the sales floor". He then typed some more on the keyboard and said "There's two in the next town over at our other store if you'd like to pick one up there".

What would you do here Wombat? Ask to see the manager? Make a big stink over it? Leave?

I then said "forget it and left in disgust". He called after me "I'm sorry there's nothing I can do". I didn't even bother to reply and angrily walked out. I wasn't that upset over not getting the game, I can easily download it and play any time as it's on Gamepass currently. But it was the principle of the fact that I had a game in my hand and he was not going to sell it to me in hopes that some person would actually come pick it up. What were they going to do when that person supposedly showed up? Not find it and then ask them to dig through the dump bin to find their own "in store pick up"? In the parking lot I checked if they showed the game on their website. They did have it but it was $20. I highly doubt anyone is looking to do an in-store pick up of this game for $20 and I think the employee was just going to buy it for himself at the $5 price after I left.

 
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Just got an Oculus Quest 2 - do you guys recommend any of the accessories? I was looking at the better strap to also extend the battery and maybe a case to contain it. Edit - Better question, any chance you guys have a list of games and accessories (if any) you recommend?

Also, think this would mostly be for Cheapy but have you tried Holofit with your Concept2? Not sure if there are other games that connect to the PM5 but it syncs with it while you row which is pretty cool. Downsides are that the graphics are kind of crappy and it requires a subscription. I tried it with my Model D and so far it works pretty well for what it is. Not sure if I'd subscribe though.
 
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Cnet ran an article titled "37 best games for the Switch" and the very concept made me laugh. How many games does it take to justify a system? I think only 2-3, using the Switch as an example, I'd say Zelda BOTW, Mario kart 8, and Mario Odyssey.
 
Question for shipwreck, closing on a new house with a theater room setup in the basement. Looking for recommendations for a projector (previous owner took theirs). Seeing lots of options including 4k but not sure what brand you would recommend. Would like to also use it for gaming (series x) so input lag is a concern too. Any advice would be great!
 
I don't have a question, but wanted to give you fellas a heads up that there is reportedly a great pinball arcade that has just opened up at the Bay Shore mall called High Score Pinball Arcade. You pay $20 for an hour, or $35 all day to play all the machines. Might be fun to check out!

https://www.highscorepinball.com/
 
Can we get an update on wombat's diet? Do you listen to any podcasts for inspiration for healthy choices? I've been listening to Ethan Suplee's lately and like it a lot.
 
First a little lesson in how to pronounce this letter:  Capital letter Å - lower case å

The letter sounds pretty much exactly like the word «awe» 

In Norwegian we pronounce the letter «A» like from Arabic word «salaam» 

I hope you understand that this lesson is for sure made for fun

Another question from Hell Norway at the end, but som intro to put ting in context to what i am thinking of.

Has anyone of you guys ever played DiRT Rally, DiRT Rally 2.0, DiRT4 or Project CARS 2? 

If so. Have you raced at the Racing Track in Hell Norway: Lånkebanen in any of those games? 

It happens so that I am living just 2,4 Kilometeres from the track, and if it hadn’t been for a small forest of some trees, I would actually see my house from the track in the game. 

I remember that our Almighty Lord of the laugh: Wombat said one time, that he was able to orientate in Tom Clancys: The Division, just from the fact that he lives in NewYork. 

Lånkebanen has been a place I have been going to to watch RallyCross and other Car meetings for all my life., And the weird feeling to race on that track in a racing game is hard to describe. The environments and all seen from the track is pretty damn close to how it is here IRL. 

My Question is as follows:  «Are there more games Almighty Wombat, Burping Cheapy or our beloved Sensible Engineer ShipWreck have played that have recreated real places you know in a way so you either could orient and navigate yourself around, or awoken a sensation of «this is becoming almost worryingly realistic!» 

Best Regards OilBeefHooked

Hell, Norway

 
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Is Long Island the poor, have-sex-with-your-cousin, shit hole part of New York that Only Murders In the Building keeps knocking it down as?  I had always thought of it as synonymous with the Hamptons or Montauk, being an obscenely high cost of living spot for fairly wealthy residents.  Though I am admittedly not from the east coast.  Maybe I’m just not getting the joke.

 
Hey guys, long time listener here. Thanks for all the great shows over the years.

I have just brought a quest 2 off your good reviews. My question is what are the best games to get for it to start with (apart from Table Tennis!)
 
Cheapy,

Last week I was sitting around the house listening to the new episode when you mentioned a new show on Netflix called Swap Shop. It sounded interesting to me, so I paused the podcast right when you said that and turned on the show. I watched the first three episodes back-to-back and found them to be entertaining schlock.

The next day I continued the podcast assuming to hear how much you enjoyed it and immediately after the point I paused the episode, you start going in to how much you and Mrs. Cheapy hated the show, how fake it felt, and that you guys only made it about 20 minutes in before quitting. I’ve been listening for 8 years and have never written in before, but I just found this kind of funny and wanted to share.

Keep up the great work guys!

 
Hi Boys, been listening for a long time now and I don't comment much, but I had an idea for the annual best of the year awards show. How about the best deal you've gotten over the past year? Might be harder than you'd think... Keep up the great show!

 
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Anyone watching Saturday Morning All Star Hits (or SMASH) on Netflix? Kind of in the vein of I Think You Should Leave, and also has a lot of SNL pedigree to it.
I binged the whole season last night. It's slow to start, but by the end I found it got better. Some of the cartoons were quite amusing, really like the Pro Bros best. Would love to know what you guys think if you watch it.
 
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Cheapy, you mentioned a few episodes ago that you liked the Saatva brand mattress. Which type did you get? The innerspring or regular memory foam? What do you like about it?

Thanks from a long time listener!
 
I was just reminded about Star Citizen. Can you talk about this blast from the past on the next show? It’s crazy that Chris Roberts took in over 300 million dollars, some people prepaid thousands for spaceships, and 15 years later after two hardware generations there’s no sign it’s ever coming out. But they’re still selling it.
https://youtu.be/4cn4y5NIsFA
 
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Cheapy, I know you've mentioned your love of Robocop. Tell us what you like about the movie and series! I just got the Arrow Video 4k release with all the bonus features, what do you think of it?

If you like that Arrow release, I'd recommend their ReAnimator and Basket Case releases too.
 
Not sure if this is of any interest to you guys, but here is a list of games I’ve bought over the last 12 months, almost exclusively because of Ships recommendations on CAGforeplay, but also the CAGcast.

Elebits (Wii), Loco Roco (PSP), SSX Blur (Wii), Puzzle Quest: CofW (NDS), Elite Beat Agents (NDS), Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (NDS), Picross and Picross 3D (NDS), Rockstar Table Tennis (360), Anno 1701: DoD (NDS), Dark Sector (PS3), Blast Works: BTD (Wii), Ninja Town (NDS), Mushroom Men (Wii) and Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi (NDS), El Shaddai (360), Red Faction Gurerrilla (360), Psi-Ops (PS2), Viva Piñata (360) and Viva Piñata Pocket Paradise (NDS), Naughty Bear (360), Boom Blox (Wii), Chromehounds (360)

I buy a lot of games.. this is just kind of a small sample… But these are all games I definitely wouldn’t have picked up without hearing your guy’s recommendations, just thought you might like to know people still listen to opinions you had over a decade ago.
 
Can you think of a triple-A game franchise that died faster than Mass Effect? After the fiasco regarding Mass Effect 3's ending and the mediocre Andromeda spinoff, no one really seems to care about the series anymore. Thanks!
 
Started playing Apex Legends to better connect with a brother-in-law, and after 2 nights of playing, I'm still having trouble making headway into the game. I can't tell if its my age (almost 40) or something else, but I'm still waiting for that moment where the game 'clicks' and I understand the mechanics enough to be decent at the game. I know Cheapy and Wombat play Apex and Fortnight. What made you push through to the point where you were competent and then good at the game? Any resources you recommend for increasing my skills overnight?

 
Do you guys have any sort of feelings on Fandom acquiring Metacritic, Giant Bomb, Gamespot, GameFAQs, Comic Vine, etc.? 

I first heard about the Cagcast on a forum on GameFAQs at least over ten years ago, which lead me to listening, which brought me to Cag. For some reason it’s still one of the few game related sites I lurk on today. 

 
I've heard Cheapy talk about RoboCop for years but only just watched it after the recent discussion of violence in shows back then versus now. I agree with Cheapy - it's not in the same league. Yes the Murphy death scene was pretty grotesque, but there always seemed to be reason for the violence (e.g. in this case to make the resurrection of Murphy more meaningful; the over the top killing in board room and subsequent "somebody call an ambulance" was darkly funny)
 
My question is, have there been any shows that you had to stop watching due to the violence that turned out to be really good? I stopped watching Better Call Saul due to some early violence, but got back into it and see that I would have missed out on a really great show had I stayed away. I wonder how many other great shows I'm missing because of the unwatchable violence. (I also gave up on the Boys after a few seasons.) Thanks
 
Ship, I drove through Cincinnati today, and I gotta know, for when I drive back though, what’s the correct place to stop for a true Cincinnati chili dog? Skyline or Gold Star? I still don’t think I can do chili on spaghetti… but I can definitely stop for a good chili dog. Also Cincinnati traffic sucks. Not as bad as Atlanta, but still pretty shitty.
 
Best comparison is Pepsi vs Coke. Same product, but different enough. I'm not able to put into words Coke and Pepsi differences any better than Goldstar and Skyline.
 
I've recently found the show "Stairway to Stardom" on YouTube.  Did you NY guys watch the show back in the day?  It's pretty much my favorite show now.

 
There's not JRPGs and WRPGs, there's just RPGs, just games.  The "JRPG" didn't even originate the genre.  Wizardry predates the traditional turn based JRPG, Ultima is a turn based tactical style with an overworld and pool of MP, also predating the JRPG.  Dragon Quest is just a combination of Ultima and the Wizardry turn based combat, infact, Final Fantasy was inspired by Wizardry based on an interview with Sakaguchi.  Play the Ultima games on the NES, they were remade with a visually Dragon Quest world map and the Ultima combat attempting to capitalize on the hype and popularity of the Japanese developed RPGs.

It's not like a western developer couldn't have continued to develop games in that style.  When indie games started to be developed, most indie developers would develop games that appealed to them, genres that they liked.  Don't you think that this is true for any other western developer in the 1980s and 90s?   

From Software is one of the most popular Japanese developers now days, but their games originated as "WRPGs" if you're to go by this narrow minded outlook of what a game is or isn't.  Additionally, the Wizardry franchise is now owned by a Japanese company and the first person dungeon crawler is predominately Japanese.

 
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Hey guys love the show, long time listener. Did you guys watch Last of Us on HBO max? I just watched the season finale and it was a weird experience because the show is excellent but it has locations and even whole scenes and dialogue from the game which gives you this very weird sense of de ja vu. My wife never played the game and never saw me play it but she loved it.
 
Hey Dudes,

With the rise of subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, has this hurt traffic for CAG?  I only ask because I can't even remember the last time I purchased a new game.  I used to look for deals all the time.  Also, will CAG ever get a site refresh?  Twitter and Facebook login no longer works and the interface seems sort of old school at this point (not a criticism, just an observation.).

Best,

Scott

 
Hey guys,

Thanks for doing the show. I've been listening since 2007, and I still enjoy every episode. Truly appreciate your time.

From the beginning of the CAGcast to now, what were each host's most pleasant gaming suprises? One or two games that you had NO expectations of goodness for that just bowled you over with their quality?

All the best, and thanks again!

 
Question for you guys. I have a 13 year old son, who has just starting venturing into horror movies and generally more mature programming. We are pretty careful of the things we've let him watch thus far, but we've let him see a few rated R movies, such as The Thing and Child's Play. At what age were you most comfortable with your kids seeing nudity in films? Obviously maturity fluctuates between all kids, and just from listening I know Cheapy and Wombat have let their children watch some mature films, but at what age would Shipwreck feel comfortable letting his kids watch something with titties? My son is in middle school, I have no doubt he has seen a pair of boobs before, but I'm not sure I am ready to sit and watch a movie like that with him, even though he may be. Is that just me being a prude? 

 
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