James | PixelRefresh.com@jameswoodcock@mastodon.socialmastodon.social

If you're a fan of @scummvm, then have a look at my fanmade #soundtracks. Using ScummVM, you can play the game with my version of the soundtrack enjoying a new mix.

Soundtracks include:

- Simon the Sorcerer
- Discworld
- Beneath a Steel Sky
- Touche the Adventures of the Fifth Musketeer
- Inherit the Earth
- The 7th Guest

ScummVM Music Enhancement Project - Pixel Refresh...

https://www.pixelrefresh.com/content/scummvm-music-enhancement-project/

Hello everyone! I'm James from #UK, a Senior Project Manager looking after #Magento, #Shopify and #WooCommerce platforms.

I own & run Pixel Refresh, a website specialising in modern & #RetroGaming, #gadgets & #technology since 2006 https://www.pixelrefresh.com/

Also creator of the #ScummVM Music Enhancement Project https://www.pixelrefresh.com/content/scummvm-music-enhancement-project/

Spent many years as a Freelance Journalist covering #gaming and #tech.

Proud to be here with you at Mastodon!

I hope I can fix this excellent Viewsonic G90FB 19" CRT VGA monitor.

At the moment the image is blurry, but when I went to adjust using the front panel controls, none of the buttons work currently.

A new "old" 19" CRT monitor. Needs a good clean but working well. Maximum 1600x1200 resolution.

My wife will enjoy Theme Hospital even more no doubt now!

NEW PODCAST! There were a lot of Doom-likes in the 90s, but Raven Software's Heretic was more different than most.

Although... was it really? Let's find out!

https://www.dosgameclub.com/heretic/

Silly addition to my gaming PC, but a fun one... A cheapish PC stats display that can plug directly into a USB header.

PC is still kinda "retro" as the soundcard is an ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 surround capable from 16 years ago and still sounds amazing. No need for soundcard upgrade here!

How is the DOS PC game 'Discworld' 30 years old!

I wrote about this fantastic, yet very difficult point and click adventure in 2010 and also enhanced the original MIDI music for use within @scummvm

https://www.pixelrefresh.com/discworld-classic-point-and-click-adventure-did-you-get-the-number-of-that-donkey-cart/

Ok... THIS is the last addition to this build then

Surely this new video won't make me seem like a crank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJpZjg8GuA

Classic point and click adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky released in 1994 gave us classic lines including:

"I'll have to SELL you my BALLS!"

You can find out more here in this article by @tonywarriner - https://www.pixelrefresh.com/beneath-a-steel-sky-sets-as-broken-sword-dawns-revolution-book-preview/

I haven't purchased a 4K Blu-ray in ages, but it's something I want to expand.

Physical media may be slowly becoming, dare I say, "retro", but you still can't beat the picture and sound quality it provides!

Beneath a Steel Sky Podcast...

I had a lot of fun as one of the guests on the @dosgameclub Podcast to discuss this dark & serious yet humorous classic point and click adventure as well as my 'fan-made' music I created for use within the game using the @scummvm software.

https://www.dosgameclub.com/beneath-a-steel-sky/

Thanks for having me on!

NEW PODCAST! A while ago we held a poll here on Mastodon asking for a non-Lucas adventure game to play, and the winner was Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution Software, 1994).

So that's what we're looking at in this episode!

Thank you for using LINC and be vigilant.

https://www.dosgameclub.com/beneath-a-steel-sky/

Added additional photos to my article:

The $999 NVIDIA GeForce GTX ‘Titan’ GPU Purchased for £25 with Error Code 43

https://www.pixelrefresh.com/the-999-titan-gpu-purchased-for-25-with-error-code-43/

It's 1996... On your Windows 95 computer, a warning appears when starting a game that says...

"You appear to have Dial-Up Networking enabled.

For best performance, you should exit Road Rash and disable Dial-Up Networking."

Of all the things to be asked to disable for performance

Treated myself to the Yamaha YMF724E-V sound card for my Windows 98 PC and will see if this plays nice with two soundcards.

For a PCI sound card, it has good DOS compatibility, with an actual OPL3 FM and XG MIDI Level 1 compatibility as a fantastic bonus. I have moved the Yamaha SW1000XG to my Windows XP PC as I was getting annoying interference on the Win98 rig. Maybe driver oddness.

Looking forward to experimenting...

There's something rather fun about being able to buy a brand new wireless mouse which is advertised as compatible for Windows XP.

Handily, it works perfectly so enjoying Theme Hospital which is still wonderful.

God of Thunder, the Zelda-esque game, is now ready for public testing!

Prepare yourself to take on the role of Thor, the god of thunder, as he battles his way through the three part game, facing enemies and challenging environmental puzzles, all to finally face down challenging end bosses, culminating in Loki himself.

https://www.scummvm.org/news/20250210/

The ‘Titan’ GPU released in 2013 originally retailing for nearly $1000, which I purchased for £25 in a recent auction. However, it suffered from a crippling “code 43” issue.

This is my journey...

https://www.pixelrefresh.com/the-999-titan-gpu-purchased-for-25-with-error-code-43/

I made a random eBay purchase recently. I bid just £25 for a "code 43" error Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan (released 2013).

With this error, only very basic graphics functions work like the desktop, but quite slowly and gaming out of the question.

If I couldn't get it working then it's a nice collection piece, 1st GPU Nvidia went the ultimate flagship route. The 5090 of its day in theory.

To my surprise after 1 hour tinkering and bios flash, it's working! Needed an older nvflash essentially.

OH NO PSN IS DOWN!!!

Never mind I'll play my Windows XP game Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II.

Safe space, well except for those bloody orcs!