Finally, here's my video of the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo 2019! See what me and my brother are up to... and will someone's shoes get ruined again?

I uploaded the folder that I have but also noticed that all the files had slightly different sizes.  I don't recall at the moment if they gained a few bytes or lost a few bytes.  Perhaps some kind of header/footer was added or truncated upon a forum update or something?  But then they weren't working anyway...

Uploading my copy of the forums folder didn't help at all, did it?

Hmmm, it's news to me too.  I don't know if I've really used attachments myself so that's why I didn't notice.

I can try to restore the attachments from a backup if it's as simple as copying any missing files back to the "attachments" folder.  If it's more technical than that I'll have to ask bustin98 when he has a chance to look into it.

VGMaps.com is mentioned in Canadian Geographic:
https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/inside-intricate-world-video-game-cartography

The article is a month old but I only saw the tweet about it today.  I've known this was happening for a few months now.  Always neat to see my name in a publication.

Ultima VII: The Black Gate

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to Zerker's Ultima VII: The Black Gate (PC) maps.

200 years after previously bringing peace to Britannia in Ultima VI, the Avatar returns to this troubled world, where a Scientology-like organization, the Fellowship, seek to open the Black Gate to allow the Guardian to enter.  The Guardian believes he should rule Britannia, and be master of all, even the Avatar!  Playing as the Avatar, you will reunite with your travelling companions and scour the world to stop the Guardian's influence and find a way to stop Batlin, founder of the Fellowship, from completing the Black Gate at the Isle of the Avatar.  But at what cost?

Ultima VII: The Black Gate is the favourite Ultima game of Richard Garriott (Ultima creator and the real-life counterpart to Lord British) and also one of the first real open-world computer games.  And what a world it is!  It's so huge - Britannia is a whopping 24576 x 24576 pixels!  And there is a high level of interactivity with the many, many objects found within.  This was certainly an achievement in 1992, and it's still well-loved to this day.

PC game mapper and Ultima fan Zerker has mapped all of Britannia's overworld.  As if this 89-megabyte monster wasn't enough, he's also mapped a version showing the interior areas!  Both nearly 604-megapixel maps may choke up your browser - but if you can view them, it's the largest, most detailed version of 2D Britannia in this whole classic CRPG series.

So to recognize the effort put into mapping one of the largest worlds in classic gaming, Zerker's Ultima VII: The Black Gate (PC) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for July 2019.

Ah, you're referring to the DS version?  Is it worth (re)playing for those who've played the original Super NES version?

I always tell people that Final Fantasy VI Advance is for sure better than regular ol' Final Fantasy VI (III), so on that note, I should also look into this other handheld rerelease of a 16-bit Square masterpiece!

Not sure how remade maps having the exact same name is a coincidence... when two or more people call you by your name, is that a coincidence?  I mean, the name of the area is the name of the area, what else would it be called?    I rename all files to be consistent when appearing on VGMaps.com.

Unfortunately I have a gap in my VGMaps.com backups between 2012 and 2017, so I can't see exactly what happened, as all the current Wonderland maps were submitted in 2017, and if these did replace other ones then the originals must have been contributed sometime after my 2012 backup, and I do not think I would have them anymore.

My guess is that RoberTime submitted maps and I determined that they were better and worth replacing the original ones.

I don't replace maps often.  When I do, it's not usually an easy decision.  But if new map submissions are better, and I am confident that the new submitter did not merely add to the originally existing map, then the old maps have to go, no sense in redundancy.  I don't recall replacing maps if new ones are only slightly better, it's always had to be significant.

If the original maps were yours, I apologize.  If you feel that your maps have value that I have overlooked, let me know.

[oldschoolgamer.com/magazine]

Hi everyone,

I've been talking with Ryan Burger of Old School Gamer Magazine.  They are a publication in both digital and printed form.  As you can guess by their name, Old School Gamer has articles and features of interest to those who like video games, especially retro games.  I imagine this would include many of you.  And you should check it out at oldschoolgamer.com/magazine - it is a quality production.

And now you might be part of it, too.  It was discussed that it would be neat if some of the maps submitted to VGMaps.com were to also appear in Old School Gamer Magazine.  Imagine your maps in print, for many to see!  It would be a cool feature, and perhaps even a regular one, and would give you and VGMaps.com some exposure, and that's always nice!

Now, I think it is well understood that people submit maps to VGMaps.com to be featured on VGMaps.com.  I mean, that's pretty much a given.  But anything beyond that without asking would be presumptuous.  Though I don't think I've seen any mappers object in the past when people have asked to use their maps seen here on VGMaps.com for something else, especially in printed form, we've always sought permission and I do want to continue to make sure you are fine with a map of yours being featured in something such as Old School Gamer Magazine.  Of course, you will be credited if your works appear there.

So, if you have any particularly interesting maps, then it is possible that you may be contacted either by myself or Ryan, to secure the rights to use your maps in Old School Gamer Magazine, and any related promotional materials.  Old School Gamer has this deal with arcade-museum.com, thecoverproject.net and The Strong Museum in Rochester, NY.  I hope you will be willing to share your maps with Old School Gamer Magazine for other retro gamers to enjoy!

Any thoughts, concerns, suggestions?  Feel free to let us know.

Samurai Shodown

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to gRE3N744's Samurai Shodown (Super NES) maps.

It's the year 1788.  The martyr Amakusa is brought back to life 150 years after his original death, and now a demon, threatens to unleash chaos!  An assortment of warriors from around the world come to feudal Japan to stop Amakusa, and as in any fighting game, each comes with their own goals and story, and of course unique moves and abilities - but in this case, weapons too!

The original Samurai Shodown was for Neo-Geo hardware, but of the numerous ports, the Super NES one is one of the better ones, retaining all of the characters and stages.  While maps are not really known to be useful for the fighting game genre, they are still interesting in that they showcase a variety of unique areas, oftentimes associated with particular characters which may add some personality and style.  In this case in particular, we have animated maps!

gRE3N744 has mapped every area as an animated GIF, except for Kochi and Texas which are static, however, having added a second version of every map with the featured fighter at that location, ready for battle, every map has motion!  I've raved about animated maps before - like TerraEsperZ's map of "The Revolution" stage in Battletoads for the NES back in September 2011 - but I think it's particularly cool to have an entire game mapped out like a short looped video of the time and place, than just a singular snapshot.  The crashing waves of Gairyu Isle, the flaming sky at Yamagata, the rushing waters of Ixipalotal - you don't just see them, you watch them.  If only there are more maps like this!  (We've always wanted 3D maps on VGMaps.com, and while this isn't three-dimensional in the typical sense with the third being depth, we could bring in the fourth dimension, time, in place of it.)

So to recognize the effort put into mapping - and animating - the arenas of this fighting game classic, gRE3N744's Samurai Shodown (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for June 2019.

My first 4K video is of the POW!: Parade Of Wonders and opening ceremony of the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo 2019!

Popful Mail (J)

For this month's "Maps Of The Month" featurette, I wish to draw your attention to George s's Popful Mail (J) (Super NES) maps.

Mail is a bounty hunter down on her luck, repeatedly unable to capture the technomancer, Nuts Cracker, who gets away yet again. But she soon learns of a new bounty, a magician-turned-criminal, Muttonhead, worth two million gold. Mail eventually teams up with Muttonhead's apprentice, Tatt, and a creature named Gaw, in her adventure which will turn out to be more grand than anything she has ever imagined (even if the stakes are totally expected from any Japanese fantasy adventure game)!

There have been many versions of Popful Mail, with different ports handled or published by NEC, Sega, SIMS and Working Designs, but the Super Famicom version was remade by Nihon Falcom, the creators of the original PC-88 version. While Falcom is known for their Japanese RPGs, Popful Mail is a 2D platformer with some RPG elements. But for any platformer, RPG-like or not, the areas here can be quite sprawling and twisty. Good luck trying to navigate the Gades Ruins or Castle without some help from George s!

So to recognize the effort put into mapping this Japanese gem, George s's Popful Mail (J) (Super NES) maps will be known as VGMaps.com's Maps Of The Month for May 2019.

[Sonic Unleashed]

I'm surprised you haven't mentioned Sonic Unleashed (2008) and Sonic And The Black Knight (2009).

I didn't play either of these, but I remember reading that people thought that having Sonic be a "werehog" (seems like an inaccurate term if you ask me, but whatever) in the first case and wielding a sword in a fantasy setting in the other, felt like Sonic Team was trying too hard to mix things up.

Updated the first post with another Ghostbusters/Mario mashup, this time with the 2016 Ghostbusters film with the female main cast.

I found a bunch more errors (including different apostrophes and hyphens and ellipses), so I did a lot of cleanup this morning.  Hopefully I've taken care of all the "�"s now.

The Triforce symbol?  Copyright reasons?  What?

Is Nintendo going to sue The American Academy of Actuaries?  There are other uses of the three-triangle logo as well.