Xbox |OT| Power Your Dreams

The Invincible $16.50
Harold Halibut $17.50
Wanted: Dead: $6
Lil' Gator Game: $10
Shadow Tactics + new Expansion (Deluxe edition on both): $27
 
MS is never going to get rid of the sponsored tiles on Xbox's main screen. The current dash is beyond awful with how little space is reserved for your last played games vs. how much space there is for the ads and the store tile. And how there's only a tiny icon at the top to take you to your actual library.
 
MS is never going to get rid of the sponsored tiles on Xbox's main screen. The current dash is beyond awful with how little space is reserved for your last played games vs. how much space there is for the ads and the store tile. And how there's only a tiny icon at the top to take you to your actual library.

Do you remember the one they planned to introduce a couple of years ago?

This


It got a ton of negative reactions and they scrapped it.

Sad thing is I noticed at the time a couple of individuals who work on this stuff liking tweets bemoaning the negative feedback.

Xbox has had a ton of great ideas and feedback for over five years for these kind of things. No excuse it's as bland as it is. They are lucky people still give a shit about it.
 
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Question: if I was buying a Series S, would I have a possibility to play remotely without connecting the console to the TV ? Like on my Mac, or an iPad
 
Question: if I was buying a Series S, would I have a possibility to play remotely without connecting the console to the TV ? Like on my Mac, or an iPad
It just has an HDMI out and a power cord. Not 100% sure what you mean I guess. Never had a Mac. Some games you own and most Gamepass games can be streamed through a browser.
 
It just has an HDMI out and a power cord. Not 100% sure what you mean I guess. Never had a Mac. Some games you own and most Gamepass games can be streamed through a browser.
Such as remote play, like the PS Portal does, or Chiaki on the Steam Deck (or Steam Link, but I don't really like Steam Link, it's super clunky)
 
Such as remote play, like the PS Portal does, or Chiaki on the Steam Deck (or Steam Link, but I don't really like Steam Link, it's super clunky)
I don't think they really have a function for running the system and doing local streaming like that. Mostly just the cloud compatible games, and those don't need to run off your system.
 
Such as remote play, like the PS Portal does, or Chiaki on the Steam Deck (or Steam Link, but I don't really like Steam Link, it's super clunky)

Yeah you just gotta enable it in the Xbox settings. I've never tried it since I've never been a big fan of streaming/portable play so I'm not sure if every game works but I think it does.

Fun fact and kind of unrelated, but you can also go the other way around using Xbox as a client for streaming from PC using Moonlight.
 
Antwix Antwix thanks !

Punished Miku Punished Miku

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In some positive news, Xbox has made accessing dev mode free, used to be $20 before for a lifetime license.

Folks can follow some very easy to follow online tutorials to set up Retroarch and other emulators to turn an Xbox into an incredibly powerful emulation machine.

 
I recently got a nice TV. It replaced my entry level TV from 2020. My new TV is a Samsung QLED. As with all Samsung TV's, it does not have Dolby Vision. I'd describe it as a mid-upper end TV.

My only means of playing physical media is with my Xbox Series X. I find it a hassle to use the Xbox with blu-ray disks because:
  • The auto-resume usually doesn't work. I understand however that can be a problem with the disc, not the player.
  • Rewinding and fast-forwarding is a pain.
  • I got a remote-control style controller for the Xbox but still find it a hassle to use the Xbox to play discs.
For those with physical media, have you stuck to the Xbox as your media player? Or gone to a dedicated blu ray player?

I have my eye on the Sony 700K, a budget-friendly and fairly new 4K blu-ray player.

The picture quality of discs played from my Xbox look nice on my new TV, but I suppose could be better. It is mostly the hassle of using a game console to play blu-rays that motivates me to get a dedicated player.
 
I recently got a nice TV. It replaced my entry level TV from 2020. My new TV is a Samsung QLED. As with all Samsung TV's, it does not have Dolby Vision. I'd describe it as a mid-upper end TV.

My only means of playing physical media is with my Xbox Series X. I find it a hassle to use the Xbox with blu-ray disks because:
  • The auto-resume usually doesn't work. I understand however that can be a problem with the disc, not the player.
  • Rewinding and fast-forwarding is a pain.
  • I got a remote-control style controller for the Xbox but still find it a hassle to use the Xbox to play discs.
For those with physical media, have you stuck to the Xbox as your media player? Or gone to a dedicated blu ray player?

I have my eye on the Sony 700K, a budget-friendly and fairly new 4K blu-ray player.

The picture quality of discs played from my Xbox look nice on my new TV, but I suppose could be better. It is mostly the hassle of using a game console to play blu-rays that motivates me to get a dedicated player.



I've never actually used the Series X as a media player, can't help you there firsthand but from what I've read online, the PS5 is generally considered a more reliable blu ray player, the SX's blu ray playback lacks some features comparatively.
 
Toaplan Arcade Collections 1 and 2 released on Xbox (and other consoles).
But finally, shmup releases arent skipping Xbox.

34.99 per Volume is kinda expensive, but shmup fans are used to paying top dollar.

I got the first Toaplan collection so far, and compared Batsugun to the S-Tribute Batsugun Xbox release from a year or 2 back.
The older S-tribute version is of course a port of the Saturn version and it had some significant input lag on Xbox.
The Toaplan Collection's Batsugun has far less input lag (next to none that I could tell). Plus its a port of the arcade game so the screen ratio is truest to its original design. The screen ratio is totally wrong in the S-Tribute version.

Sound is a bit wonky (its the base arcade versions) but there are tons of options to tweak including minute low pass and high pass filter settings. I have no clue how to mess with that stuff yet. Video settings are cool as well allowing for TATE and sharper pixels and/or scanlines. Also, it might take some work to lock down the exact rapid fire rate you should be using per game. Its very MAME-ish in its emulation and settings.

Twin Cobra allows for this awesome widescreen mode to omit the horizontal screen scroll the original arcade had and lets you see the full play area.

Overall,
Wild booting up OutZone on my Xbox in 2025 when many are claiming Xbox is dead.
 
Couple of more X360 BC games purchased.

Surprisingly, Red Faction Armageddon ran with an unlocked frame rate so it's a solid 60 now.

Sadly Lost Planet is 720p/30.

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Saw Red Faction on sale earlier. May cop.

Was playing Ridge Racer 6 and now I'm playing Ace Combat 6. Love having these deep cuts in 2025. Brings me back to my mid 20s.
S-Tribute
IIRC the S-Tribute version is much less brutal in the first run. The difficulty ramps up with each loop so it's better for new/rusty players trying to ease into it.
 
IIRC the S-Tribute version is much less brutal in the first run. The difficulty ramps up with each loop so it's better for new/rusty players trying to ease into it.
Hmmm... er, I was talking about the Saturn Tribute Xbox version ("S-Tribute") released in 2023 by City Connection in comparison to the Batsugun arcade port of this Toaplan collection. The City Connection version is just a port of the Saturn version of the game - and on Xbox it has a ton of input lag. This new Toaplan collection port thankfully doesnt have that input lag.

Im thinking youre talking about the Batsugun Special Version which is on both ports - and yep its an easier version of the game because of the smaller hit box and you get to take a hit before death.
 
Hmmm... er, I was talking about the Saturn Tribute Xbox version ("S-Tribute") released in 2023 by City Connection in comparison to the Batsugun arcade port of this Toaplan collection. The City Connection version is just a port of the Saturn version of the game - and on Xbox it has a ton of input lag. This new Toaplan collection port thankfully doesnt have that input lag.

Im thinking youre talking about the Batsugun Special Version which is on both ports - and yep it's an easier version of the game because of the smaller hit box and you get to take a hit before death.
The special version is included in the toaplan collection minus the input lag?
 
The special version is included in the toaplan collection minus the input lag?
Yessir.
Almost all the games have multiple versions which is really cool.
But yeah - Batsugun Special Version is in there.
No input lag I can sense - and especially in comparison to the 2023 City Connection port.

Some of the earliest games are rough of course (Flying Shark, Tiger Heli, Fire Shark) - but thats just how they played. I went and tested those on MAME to check and yep - thats just how they play.
Its worth it for real deal arcade Batsugun alone to me. Twin Cobra and OutZone are big bonuses.
 
Yessir.
Almost all the games have multiple versions which is really cool.
But yeah - Batsugun Special Version is in there.
No input lag I can sense - and especially in comparison to the 2023 City Connection port.

Some of the earliest games are rough of course (Flying Shark, Tiger Heli, Fire Shark) - but thats just how they played. I went and tested those on MAME to check and yep - thats just how they play.
Its worth it for real deal arcade Batsugun alone to me. Twin Cobra and OutZone are big bonuses.
Awesome. I thought the collection was straight up arcade ports.
 
A sale with some good games going on right now.

Bioshock the collection (all 3 games and Minnerva's Den DLC) for just $9.99
Deus Ex Human Revolution for just $2.99 and Makind Divided for $4, it's FPS boosted

a bunch more.


Toaplan Arcade Collections 1 and 2 released on Xbox (and other consoles).
But finally, shmup releases arent skipping Xbox.


Don't forget the classics like Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga, they're X360 but backwards compatible on current consoles.
 
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Don't forget the classics like Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga, they're X360 but backwards compatible on current consoles.
No doubt. RS might be my favorite game of all time. I own the Saturn original Ive had the 360 port since the 360 version's launch.
I feel like people forget those ever were on Xbox.
>
For shmups that skipped releasing on Xbox, Im thinking:
all those M2 Shottrigger releases that suddenly skipped Xbox (after a handful actually first released on the console).
Lots of Cave ports that skipped Xbox 1 + Series.
Then things like Rolling Gunner, Psyvariar, those RayStorm and Darius Collections.

I would buy'em up if they released. Dozens of us, heh.
 
Kill the Brickman
$4.99
Published by Vampire Survivors peeps, Play Anywhere title.
Oh shit! I saw the trailer on the Xbox YouTube page this morning. Cool. The VS guys publishing is a stamp of approval that I trust. Similar to Coffee Stain Publishing.

Was browsing the store and saw a couple new Arcade Archives. Releases continue to be sporadic but cool to see nonetheless.


 
Oh shit! I saw the trailer on the Xbox YouTube page this morning. Cool. The VS guys publishing is a stamp of approval that I trust. Similar to Coffee Stain Publishing.
I'm totally down for an indie publisher specializing in $5 games. Played a few min and its a fun little time killer. Not what I expected. Breakout with a revolver and a bunch of strange bullet effects. So far pretty happy with it.
 
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