Nintendo Leaks, The Witcher Prequel Series & Smallpox

It has happened. The DJ kept within the time limit.

This week the Professor took a sabbatical and its Dev-i-boy’s last episode before he takes his own sabbatical.

We saw some big big leaks from Nintendo which might have some massive reveals such as a Luigi in Mario 64. Could this help or hurt Nintendo, who knows but one is for a certain we might some leaks from other companies in the near future.

Toss a coin to your Witcher, O Valley of Plenty, O Valley of Plenty, and this time we are gonna see plenty of backstory in the new Witcher series, The Witcher : Blood Origin. We might have more insight about the Witchers...

Speaking of insight, there is now a new theory that what killed the Vikings was not the penguins but smallpox…

This week, DJ embraced his inner child by playing M.A.S.S Builder and Dev-i-Boy played good cop bad cop in The Red Stare.

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Half-Life projects, Comic-Con program guide, Playstation Factory & Esports Mental Toughness

First, Dev-i-boy found a list of Valve games that never came out. These games were created in the dark times before Half Life: Alyx was announced, and include some interesting looks at what Half Life 3 could have been.

You can't go to Comic-Con this year, but you can watch it online. There's a great program with tons of shows including comics, television and gaming news. It's also probably the most accessible Comic-Con ever, since you don't need to leave your house and the shows are free.

First the robots came for the car factory jobs, and I said nothing. Then they came for the Playstation 4 assembly jobs, and I said "Cool, that's some nice tech". Sony has almost fully automated their assembly line and only use four people on the ends of a single assembly line that makes one console every 30 seconds. It's awesome.

Esports are stressful, and high skill players show the same signs of stress as their analogue counterparts. This doesn't surprise the Nerds at all, but it's an interesting study.

This week, Professor played a chaotic real time dice rolling game, DJ kept the peace in Agents of Mayhem and Dev-i-boy got distracted by job applications. Wish him luck.

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Error, Atari VCS, My Friend Pedro & Dead neurons

Flash is dead. Long live Flash. Kongregate has decided to shut their doors to new releases. This is truly the end of an error. Let's move on to something more secure now. After decades of trying to get around the web filter at school to play weird indie games, kids will have to find something else to do.

The Atari VCS is due to come out soon, and it's a horribly overpriced set top box. The hardware sounds hackable, but if you're buying it to play VCS games you're wasting your money. Seriously, you can get original Ataris much cheaper.

My Friend Pedro is coming back to haunt the nightmares of evil gangsters everywhere in a TV series from the creator of John Wick. This series will only be worth watching if they manage to pull off the wild stunts and action of the game, but they've got a pedigree.

The first video footage of a dying neuron shows the way your brain breaks down. The footage clearly shows a hit being carried out by the Glial Cell gang, famous for killing any brain cell that gets in their way. Check it out, this could lead to some cool medicine.

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Pokemon Snap, Apple Lootboxes, Super Collider & Cyberpunk 2077 featuring Stephen from Sigmate Studios & Comics2movies

This week, Deviboy returns from his exile, and Stephen from Comics2Movies and XCT joins us to discuss a new comic.

Devi brings news from the far off land of Nintendo. It's time to get your cameras out for the New Pokemon Snap. Apart from Nintendo's hopeless naming, it's shaping up to be an expanded photography game for the new generation. We all hope they fit in the fun easter eggs and interactions.

Oh no, Loot Boxes! Apple are being taken to court for exploiting children via the App Store. We think we've got a solution to the problem too, so be ready to send us your opinions on the system.

Supercollider? I hardly know her! CERN are designing a 100km collider almost 4 times the size of the Large Hadron Collider. The LHC failed to open a portal to hell and lead to a demon invasion, but maybe the Future Circular Collider will. Somebody get Doomguy on speed dial.

Cyberpunk 2077 is delayed again, but to tide us over until the release a comic series titled Trauma Team. This also gives it the accidental honour of being the first piece of Cyberpunk 2077 to release. Until then, keep working to create a hyper corporate dystopia so we can all live out our Cyberpunk fantasies.

In gaming, Professor went up against space card sharks in Star Realms, Deviboy relived his childhood in Raze 2 and Stephen fell in love with Hearthstone.

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Night Sky Pix Solar Eclipse, SimRefinery & Promised Neverland

Never look at a solar eclipse. Unless you're wearing badass solar eclipse glasses and taking cool photos. Night Sky Pix sent us an article about photographing the upcoming solar eclipse, and it's so in depth we'll need to get it back from the Challenger Deep. So, if you live in the right places, get your camera and your solar filters and get snapping.

SimRefinery is the least well known Sim game of all time. That's because Maxis never actually finished it and it's been sitting in a box for decades. But now it's been temporarily released on Archive.org and around 20 000 people have downloaded it. SimRefinery was a training simulation commissioned by Chevron and designed to help introduce refinery workers and company staff learn about the operations of their facilities.

DJ is cautiously excited about Promised Neverland, an Amazon live action remake of the anime with the same name. A knock off version of the Eloi from The Time Machine find out what they're being kept for and try to escape. Don't get your hopes up though, what are the chances someone will actually make a good live action anime adaptation?

This week, Professor tries to drive across America in Overland and DJ takes a time machine to a medieval battle royale.

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Esports, Green Lantern & Lego

Not that it matters, talking is a free action and we'll talk your ears off.

Starting this week, Valve's integrity has been called into question over Esports. Yes mum, Esports are real sports.

The Flash needs to stop messing with the timeline. It's 2011 again, and Green Lantern is getting a TV series, written by one of the comic authors. And there's two lanterns, so the British are coming by sea. Oops. Barry. Stop. Paul Revere doesn't belong here.

But next take the time machine to the far future to find out how long it takes for Lego to break down, based on research done by recruiting beach combers to hand over all the lego they find. Surely this isn't just a scheme to get people to give you lego.

Professor played Noita, the Roguelite version of Powder Toy, and DJ chose to go to Japan in Total War: Shogun II.

Come hear us again next week.

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Robin Hood, Bohemia Interactive, ESRB & Mathematically perfect steak

Welcome back. We've been expecting you.

We have a bit of a longer episode than usual this week because we just had so many interesting people to talk about, including a liar who looks like Hugh Jackman, and one of the most prolific Astronomers to ever live.

But, first up, the Nerds discuss the rumoured Disney Robin Hood remake. In live action. With photorealistic CGI. This sounds terrifying. This is a terrible idea. This will haunt your nightmares forever.

One of Professor's favourite game studios has had a great year, and Professor wants to talk about their future. Bohemia Interactive has some great projects in the works that are well worth checking out, so we've got a summary for you.

Dev-i-Boy has brought us the ESRB's disappointing attempt to resolve the Lootbox debate. He and Professor agree that this is a poor response. Maybe one day there will be a solution, but not today.

Dev-i has also found the algorithm for creating the perfect steak. It involves dozens of factors and complicated equations. But don't pull this paper out next time you go to a barbecue, or everyone will go home before you start cooking.

As usual, we bring you the games of the week. Professor and his girlfriend are finding out why they shouldn't have kids in Think of the Children. DJ and Professor are still playing Generation Zero. Professor is better at surviving the robot apocalypse than he is at raising kids. Dev-i is playing VR chat again. We wish him luck in his quest to become an anime girl.

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Indiana Jones, Youtube, C.O.D Humvee & Lizard Eggs

This week the Nerds invited Dev-i-Boy on again. He'll be joining us for the next while.

First up is a discussion about Indiana Jones 5. Can Indy swing himself back into relevance for a new generation? Not if COVID-19 has anything to say about it. Indiana Jones 5 has been pushed back again due to the pandemic. The Nerds are hoping Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf doesn't make another appearance as Indy's son, but we'd be ok with him appearing as a cannibal tribesman. This of course leads into a discussion on Disney's other properties, including the notorious Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise. This looks like a rough year for Disney.

Dev-i-Boy has heard that Russians are behind everyone's favourite YouTube channel, Five Minute Crafts. In a story reminiscent of bad Cold War fiction, Russian propaganda is slipped into innocuous seeming YouTube videos. Now we just need a team of teenagers to sneak into the secret Russian video studio lab and uncover their plot.

Activision has pulled off a major win in court against the maker of the Humvee. Modern warfare needs modern weapons, and the US courts have ruled in favour of realism over licensing fees.

Finally, DJ and Dev-i-Boy can't handle the knowledge. An Australian lizard joins the tiny group of reptiles that both lay eggs and give live birth. This revelation is too much for them to handle though, so we move on to the games of the week.

Professor and DJ play Generation Zero, a game about Swedish battle mechs and robot dogs that want to kill you. It's buggy, but generally a good experience. Dev-i played LoZ: Wind Waker again but breaks into a new dimension in VR Chat. Of course, he picked an anime girl avatar. Of course.

On to the usual shoutouts and remembrances, and DJ refuses to wrap up the show by performing Waterloo. Maybe next week.

Stay safe, and we'll see you all next week.

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Half-Life, Dragon's Lair & A NEW PLAYER HAS ENTERED THE GAME !!!

This week the Nerds welcome Dev-i-boy to the group. Dev-i-boy is also known as Brad, a Brisbane game developer, who we interviewed around a year ago. Check that one out too, it's a good one and it'll be in the show notes below.

Professor and Dev-i-boy are gushing over Half Life: Alyx, despite a massive lack of Valve Index availability in Australia. Why, Valve, why?. HL:Alyx also doubles as an online lecture platform, a Cover your Cough training simulator and apparently, a generally good game.

DJ wants to see the Dragons Lair movie. Ryan Reynolds has been cast in a live action remake of a classic animated Laserdisc game from 1983. Don Bluth is on board, so it should be something interesting to watch.

Once again, the Nerds take on the topic of dinosaur chickens. Professor rants about the software design skills of Dennis Nedry and Dev-i-boy thinks there's no point in bringing back dinosaur chickens. But imagine the drumsticks on those chooks.

As usual, we cover the games of the week and remember some famous figures who passed away this week.

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Coding, Loot Boxes & Mrs Doubtfire

Now, you may be wondering why I have called you all here today.

The reason, of course, is this week's episode of Nerds Amalgamated.

This time, the Nerds discuss the hidden genetic code in POLG. Not PUBG, POLG. And these hidden genes aren't blue. Check out the full article, it's a hell of a read.

The Australian Parliament is taking a look at regulating lootboxes. This will get the Libertarians wound up. But will the Australian government actually listen to their committee this time, or will Professor and DJ get to complain about politics again?

DJ thinks Mrs Doubtfire will lose her charm on Broadway. But anyone who can pull off an 18 second sex change has to be fun to watch.

This week's game section involves Professor gushing over Black Mesa and DJ taking a hike in Walking Simulator.

As always, stay hydrated and don't get COVID-19.

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Dr Who, Bubbles & Dreams

Doctor Who has finished another season with the biggest bombshell in nearly 60 years of stories. What does this mean? Why is it happening? And why does it taste like caramel and marzipan? Nobody except the leakers could have known what was going to happen this time, and it's more controversial than politics. Doctor Who has time traveled back to the 80s to pick up some plot ideas from the Dark Times between the cancellation and revival.

Hello Ducky, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again. Because a bathtub slowly filling is behind this week's scientific breakthrough. The Sound of Bubbles is key to understanding the physics behind their growth and collapse. Aren't you glad I didn't choose "Where did you come from, where did you go, where did you come from Bubbleeye Joe?" as the musical reference.

And then it's time for Dreams, the newest evolution in a long history of amateur game development tools. Some developers have already been picked up by a company thanks to their work on a No Man's Sky clone. Professor is excited for the resurgence of amateur game development and hopes Dreams will rise up to be the next generation's rapid prototype and release tool.

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Seaweed, DMCA & Transformers

Professor and DJ are back to talk about billion-year-old seaweed found in China. This seaweed is older than the combined ages of all our listeners, but doesn't complain when you say "OK Boomer". It also has no thoughts on how you should live your life. Not many thoughts on anything, really, it's extinct. Professor summarises the development of life to DJ, but since DJ is a robot, he just doesn't get it.

Activision are trying some legal tactics to close some leaks while ignoring their own incompetence revealing the new Warzone game mode to the world without the efforts of a leaker. Are they just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic: Modern Zombies Ops 8?

This week it's DJ's turn to rant about a missing voice actor. #NOTMYOPTIMUS. A new Transformers series without Michael Bay is in the works from the same people who made the recent Godzilla anime trilogy. Who joins the ranks of the NA wall of wasted cast?

Of course, the Nerds talk about games and have some remembrances for some big names this week, Katherine Johnson and Kazuhisa Hashimoto.

Stay healthy, and we'll be back next week.

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Valve Index, Masters of the Universe & Crew Dragon

The Nerds are back, proving that 107 episodes just isn't too much for the human body to handle.

This week, the Professor has a complaint about that saintly game developer, Valve. What's his problem with Gabe and the multi award winning game studio? They're sold out of VR headsets with only a month to go before the release of Half Life: Alyx.

The Masters of the Universe are coming back as well. The Professor has another complaint, this time about the casting of Skeletor. He thinks it's ridiculous to bring back Skeletor's original voice in a different role and cast a new actor for Skeletor. Even if that actor is the esteemed Mark Hamill. DJ thinks this sacrilege is 100% ok. The star studded cast list has the Nerds highly excited for this revival.

Now that Dragon has been human rated, SpaceX have moved the capsule to the launch pad, and the crew are a pair of former Shuttle pilots. This will be the first manned space mission from the US since the Shuttle program was shut down. America Can Into Space? Soon, hopefully.

Professor and DJ have some trouble pronouncing American Indian and Finnish words in the Remembrances and Shoutouts, and laugh at the Boomers who couldn't believe Bill and Ted actually speak like that.

Stay hydrated and come hang out with us again next week.

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Oscars, Solar Orbiter & Mythic Quest

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, we hope at the least you had a good evening snuggling up with your favourite movie.

Starting off this week, DJ tells us about the results of the latest Celebrity Worship Awards. Who won? Which actor is deserving of our endless praise? Buck and Professor are sceptical, but DJ jumps right in to tell us all about the Oscars.

Buck wants to leave the planet to escape the Oscars, so he’s been looking into the newest Solar Orbiter. This probe will be looking at the Sun’s poles. Maybe the weather is better away from the equator?

Professor has been binge watching Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet, the new television show from Ubisoft, Apple TV, and the team behind It’s Always Sunny. Professor might be geeking out a little about having the burdens and struggles of being a game developer shown on TV.

The Nerds talk about their games of the week, then finally we have the Shout outs, Remembrances, Birthdays and Events of Interest. This week we’re recommending Epigraphy, a poetry podcast Buck hopes to take a shot at. Check back soon to find out if he can poet as well as he can podcast.

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Two Years On - We Are Still Here - Greening, Dune & E.A.

Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, yep it is our 2nd birthday episode. We wish to say thank you to everyone who listens to us. We really appreciate all the support and encouragement we have received. It has been an amazing experience that we have all enjoyed on the Nerds team. Well, here is to another year of Nerdity and fun, we hope you enjoy everything as we continue to look for those items we enjoy learning about and discussing.

            First up this week Buck brings us news that Global Warming is being slowed by a phenomenon known as Global Greening. Apparently all the carbon emissions have provided a positive impact for the trees and plants. Now, this is only a small impact and not enough to celebrate with street parties, but still it is some good news. So with this news coming to light and in the wake of the recent bushfires in Australia it might be a good idea to plant some trees or bushes to help the environment. If nothing else it will give the computers and consoles a break for an hour or two.

            Next up DJ has the first reactions to the new Dune movie, and it is looking promising. Of course Professor and Buck being the fans they are have some reservations, but are excited to see the latest offering when it is released. There is the usual discussion about who might be the best option for director, what were the failures in the previous movies; and what were the successes from them as well. But hopefully one day an offering will be presented that is worthy of Frank Herbert’s legendary work. DJ continues with a discussion on the impact of the Coronavirus on the Chinese film industry. There have been major disruptions in the Chinese economy and a large section of the industry is on hold while China tries to combat this epidemic. We discuss the broad effects of this, but we wish everyone well and hope that this is contained and treated soon.

            Professor has a list of 14 new games that are planned to be released this next fiscal year by EA. We have a look at the offerings and discuss what we think is the most exciting or interesting of these releases. Now it might interest you to know that what we found as the most interesting games to look forward to. We will tell you, to find out listen in and learn what are the games being released that Professor is most interested to see. Also what game Buck thinks should move across to the EA studio catalogue; and what he thinks is an approach to the new Battlefield game if the crew behind Star Citizen were involved.

            As usual we have the Shout outs, Remembrances, Birthdays, and Events of Interest for the week. We invite you to check out MySongsSuck, with our man Alex Smith. Also there is there offering of The Story Chunder, which is sure to delight some and perchance disgust others. As always remember to take care of yourselves, look out for each other, and stay hydrated.

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Gaming Hotels, Money & Nebula

Hello, welcome, and G’day, we are so happy to have you join us again for our latest episode. When we say episode we don’t mean Buck having a rant and all that; just thought we should clarify that up front. Now we have a bumper episode this week with lots of stuff for you to enjoy.

            First up we have Professor bringing us news about Atari’s plan to open a chain of hotels. They have announced that they will be themed and focus on developing E-sports functionality. But we wonder is it going to be presented with the old style timber/brown laminate like we used to see on the old Atari? Guarantee that it won’t be the first option for the honeymoon market, although, any ladies who think that would be cool let us know that we are wrong once again. Following this Professor has the ESA’s environmentally unfriendly stance against the right to repair and modify your machines/consoles. BOO HISS!!! How lame can these idiots be, I mean, don’t they realise that advancements in technology have come about by people looking under the hood and figuring out ways to do things better?

            Next up we have DJ talking about IDW losing money and what they are planning to do about it. Apparently they have announced they are struggling in various markets with the material they are presently distributing. Of course the solution would be to develop new material, breathe new life into the company instead of just pumping out more of the same thing. But, no, they are hoping that their partnership with Netflix will save them. Then DJ brings us news on the critic’s reviews on Birds of Prey for us to laugh at and make fun of. Seriously, does anyone actually take them serious anymore? Buck suggests that if Rotten Tomatoes give a film a bad rating it must be good, and if it is good then stay away. What do you think, does that sound like a good approach to use?

            Then Buck has the latest on the Spitzer Space Telescope, which has just retired. After being on mission since 2003 it has provided heaps of data for scientist, with the first images and data being of the Tarantula Nebula. In homage to its origins the last images and data developed by Spitzer were also of the Tarantula Nebula. Which honestly is a hotbed of activity, with the explosion of a supernova that was first discovered in 1987 (interestingly called 1987a) and still sweeping through space creating some awesome images. Also there is a collection of 40 massive stars at least 50 times the size of our sun all in a tiny area together. If this isn’t enough for you Buck also brings us news of the latest evolution of robot tanks. Before anyone gets all Terminator Judgement Day on us, they are not all armed and those that are still need a person involved to fire on a target. But for those who are looking for an alternative to a trailer that hitches to your car, we might have a solution for you.

            We hope you enjoy this bumper episode this week. As normal we have the usual shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and special events. Let us know what you think, make requests if you have a topic you are interested in having us dig into. Or just drop us a line and we will give you a special shout out. As always, remember to take care of yourselves, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

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Toyota, 1917 & Google Stadia

Well, here we come, waltzing down the street, getting hot and sweaty, with all this humidity. Hey hey we’re the Nerds yeah, and people say we look kind of funny, particularly Buck the big Boomer. Haha, admit it, you started to sing that in to the Monkey’s theme tune didn’t you, if not you just went back and tried it. We this week we bring you another awesome episode to listen to while you rest in the shade and enjoy a breeze on the long weekend.

          First up we are taking flight with Buck, Toyota, and Joby. No, Joby is not a new host, it is an aviation company that Toyota is investing in to increase its presence in the transport arena. Also this is the next step to having vehicles like in the Jetsons. Check out the drawings in the link, a tilt-engine vehicle that looks like a cross between a drone and a helicopter. This is seriously cool. Also while looking around at all the different transport tech news Buck also found some artists renderings of potential vehicles for space travel from Lexus. Wait till you hear what Buck and Professor think one of them looks like. Which is your favorite option?

          Next up DJ has a story about the Producers Guild Awards, in particular 1917. Want to know what movies won which awards, listen in. Also you can hear about the movie 1917, with some of the various story plot points to look out for. For those unfamiliar with it 1917 is a movie set in World War One. It is the story of a soldier and his friend trying to save the lives of 1600 British troops. There are some funny parts, but it is a moving drama based on stories told by the Grand Father of the Director Sam Mendes. DJ has also asked for your predictions for the Oscars and who you think should be nominated and win, so let us know on either: Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

          Next up we have Professor bringing us an update on the saga of Crytek and CIG (Star Citizen). Would you believe that so far CIG have spent over $900,000 on this legal matter? Yep, for the company started on kickstarter and now sells space fleets for $27000 they are really going hard. Want to know what has happened then listen in. As usual we have all the shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and events of interest. Until next week, please remember to take care of yourselves, look out for each other, and stay hydrated.

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Sestrin, Star Citizen & Anime Spin off movie

Welcome to the latest episode from the Nerds. We have been lucky to have some glorious rain this week and have enjoyed it. Now for those who want to get healthy without the exercise we have news that will make you happy. There is research into a new protein that has delivered very interesting results so far. It is still a long way from human trials but so far it is looking promising. If it works it will help boost the health of people everywhere. Now, you are keen to know what this break-through is now aren’t you, well, you know what to do. That’s right folks, listen in and hear all about it.

                Next up we have news about a Violet Evergarden movie that is looking awesome. We know that you will enjoy this fine offering from Kyoto Studios. The movie involves Violet helping someone feeling trapped and missing someone they care about. We haven’t seen it yet so we can’t give you any spoilers, but with what we have managed to get hold of it is looking awesome. We invite you to listen in to learn more about it and hear what the Nerds think.

                Now last up we have Professor, who had trouble with water in his internet. This week he brings us news about Star Citizen, and it is looking interesting. We have the latest news about the law suit that was looming over the engine being used. We have news about a number of things surrounding this game. Which folks; is apparently now available for purchase at the low price of$40, or if you want to own your very own instant fleet that is an option. Yes Buck does his usual rant about the game and is a complete Boomer about it.

                As usual we have the game reviews, shout outs, remembrances, birthdays, and special events of interest. We hope you enjoy this episode and as always remember to stay safe, look out for each other and stay hydrated.

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