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NintendoAge Liberates Unreleased NES Game Arcadia VI
Fantastic Arcade 2011 Accepting Indie Game Submissions
Mini GBA Space Invaders, Street Fighter II Arcade Cabinets
Digital Press Veterans Kickstart Videogame History Museum
Analysis: When Morality Doesn't Matter
Column: Homer in Silicon: Teacher's Pet
This Week In Video Game Criticism: Portal 2's Music To The Erotic Engine
COLUMN: 'Game Mag Weaseling': Mag Roundup 6/11/11
Marz: The guys at Game Informer are doing a Super Replay of this game. It's hilarious. read more
pleksi: shares in this blog is really nice, actually, I no longer have to follow the internet world of blogs to take advantage of this style, read more
JJ: You are nuts ;-) But I must admit that you made a great job! read more
Column: Bastards Of 32-Bit
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Pinball on Saturn
September 2, 2006 5:12 AM |
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a tri-weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers several pinball titles for the Sega Saturn, all of which were released between 1995 and 1996.]
Saturn Silverball
Despite its popularity in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, the video pinball genre has suffered a steep decline in recent years. This is likely a direct result of the declining availability of real pinball tables in arcades, which are also slowly dying out. Though pinball is kept on life support thanks to the efforts of sole surviving table manufacturer Stern, few video game publishers seem interested in releasing pinball simulations in this day and age, outside of budget-priced compilations like Pinball Hall of Fame and the rare oddball title like Flipnic.
It's a shame that the genre died when it did, as the 32-bit era saw some of the best video pinball titles of all time. The Sega Saturn in particular was, perhaps, the last console to offer truly great and original takes on the genre. Only a few ever saw U.S. release, but import-savvy pinball fans should stay on the lookout for these Sega Saturn exclusives, some of which are among the genre's finest moments.
Last Gladiators / Necronomicon
Last Gladiators, along with its Japan-only sequel Necronomicon, are arguably the greatest pinball simulations to ever be released on any platform. All tables in both games are very well crafted, with special attention paid to detail and realism. The action plays out from an angled viewpoint, giving a good view of the entire table at once, with dot matrix-styled animations and announcements relegated to temporary windows that are always placed in such a way as to never block the player's view of the playfield. In short, they're both great sims that eliminate many of the technical problems usually associated the genre.
What really sets these titles apart, though, is the fact that they are metal to the max. The games are characterized by their symphonic heavy metal soundtracks (Necronomicon even features two songs written by John Petrucci, of the progressive metal group Dream Theater) and all-too-serious narration that runs in the background during gameplay. The table art fits the theme too, featuring all manner of bearded wizards and long-haired gladiator types.
This may sound cheesy, but in practice, all of these elements work together to make a game that's really exciting to play, in addition to being unintentionally hilarious at times. The guitar-heavy soundtrack, combined with the constant stream of loud sound effects and overwrought voice samples, create the same kind of noisy, kinetic life that a real pinball machine has. As a result, Last Gladiators and Necronomicon manage to successfully recreate the feel of playing an actual pinball table, as opposed to playing a simulation of a table's mechanics -- an achievement that few sims have ever accomplished.
Kyuutenkai: Fantastic Pinball
Developed by Technosoft (the company responsible for porting the fantasy-themed pinball title Devil's Crush to the Sega Genesis as Dragon's Fury), Kyuutenkai: Fantastic Pinball was not exactly designed with accurate simulation in mind. Kyuutenkai plays almost exactly like an entry in Naxat Soft's Crush series, in fact, complete with "living" bumpers, wandering enemies, and bonus rounds that take place outside of the main table.
Kyuutenkai introduces a few new features not found in the Crush games, however. The game allows you to pick between three characters before the plunger is pulled, all of whom have their own attributes that affect how the game is played. The pinball itself can also be powered up, allowing it to hit enemies and obstacles for greater damage. These improvements make for great additions to the Crush formula, and give the game much-needed depth and longevity.
Kyuutenkai has a few quirks related to physics and difficulty (it's damn hard!), but it remains a great throwback to the realism-be-damned video pinball games of days past. The overly anime look may be off-putting initially, but brave your way past all the gigantic eyeballs and squeaky voices and you'll find a worthy successor of Naxat Soft's 16-bit efforts.
The Pinball Ghetto
The Saturn also played host to at least two more pinball titles -- Hyper 3D Pinball and Pro Pinball: The Web -- both of which were released in the United States in 1996. Pro Pinball, while a decent enough simulation, fails to duplicate the aggressive energy of Last Gladiators, and suffers for only featuring one playable table. Sequels to Pro Pinball were later released on the PlayStation, but unfortunately, all of them also feature the same lethargic gameplay that plagues The Web.
On the other hand, Hyper 3D Pinball features multiple tables, but the tradeoff is that they all suck badly. By default, the game is played from a top-down view that nauseatingly shifts the camera around constantly, much in the style of shovelware PlayStation tragedies like KISS Pinball and Austin Powers Pinball. Other camera angles don't fare much better, as the graphics, sound, and physics in all of the tables are embarrassingly lame, making Hyper 3D Pinball in no way redeemable.
But hey, Last Gladiators alone is more than enough to make a Sega Saturn owner forget about these disappointments. Though the genre may be all but dead today, Last Gladiators and Necronomicon continue to reign as the kings of pinball simulation. It's simply unfortunate that there won't be many other challengers to the throne.
[Danny Cowan is a freelance writer hailing from Austin, Texas. He has contributed feature articles to Lost Levels Online and 1up.com, and his writing appears monthly in Hardcore Gamer Magazine.]
Categories: Column: Bastards Of 32-Bit
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Tail of the Sun
August 11, 2006 5:06 PM |
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers Tail of the Sun for the Sony PlayStation, published by Artdink and released in the United States in April 1997.]
Wild, pure, simple crap.
Artdink is no stranger to this site, having been responsible for some of gaming's more interesting efforts during its 13-year reign as publisher of niche titles. For all the innovation and fresh ideas present in Artdink's games, however, there's no denying that many of these titles are acquired tastes at best, and can be actively unlikable at worst.
Tail of the Sun is one of Artdink's hardest games to defend. It's not for everyone, and what little enjoyment you'll glean from it will likely be of the ironic variety. If you can appreciate the comedy inherent in watching a narcoleptic caveman being mauled to death when he falls asleep during a fight with a mammoth, however, Tail of the Sun could be worth your time.
Better living through baked goods.
Back in the prehistoric era, there apparently wasn't much to do other than eat, sleep, and die. Consequently, this is what you'll spend the bulk of your time doing in Tail of the Sun. Controlling one member of a growing tribe of cavemen at a time, you'll venture out into the chunky polygonal landscape in search of nourishing cookies scattered throughout the land, in order to feed your hungry family back home.
Yes, cookies. In one of Tail of the Sun's more bizarre twists, a core element of gameplay involves the collecting and eating of cookies -- all of which were officially licensed from a Japanese bakery and rendered with a loving attention to detail, according to an in-game advertisement. These cookies, when eaten, will enhance the abilities of all of your tribesmen, allowing them to hit harder, run faster, and swim for more than a few seconds without drowning.
Once your tribe becomes strong enough to travel to the far north without dropping dead of exhaustion halfway, so begins your search for mammoth tusks. By hunting down the mammoths of the north and slapping them until they explode, your caveman can gather their tusks and begin to construct a tower, with the goal being to build it high enough to reach the sun.
It's unlikely you'll get to this point, however, as the game's glacial pace is all but an immediate turn-off, and is a problem that's only compounded by your character's habit of falling asleep at any given moment. This will lead to cheap deaths that are somehow hilarious in their tragedy; there's nothing that can be done to prevent your character from drowning after he falls asleep while swimming, so why not laugh about the futility of it all?
Oh look it's a mammotZZZZZZZ
As one of the few living and sane humans who has ever played Tail of the Sun to completion (look, I was a bored teenager who would rent damn near anything during the PlayStation era so long as it was new, all right?), I can say that the ending is totally worth it. The game features multiple endings depending on how well you accomplished your goals; the one I received was a surrealistic description of how my tribe eventually murdered and cannibalized itself into extinction. I guess spending much of the game beating my tribesmen to death out of boredom wasn't such a good idea after all.
While Tail of the Sun may have just barely been entertaining enough to finish back upon its first release, it's difficult to imagine anyone having the patience to do so nowadays. The long load times, lulling atmosphere, and real-time sleep simulation all do their part to make the game as off-putting as possible. Still, it could be fun with the right group of friends. Try seeing what happens when you let your caveman fall asleep at the top of a mountain sometime. It's good stuff!
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Tempo Series
August 4, 2006 11:58 AM |
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers the Tempo series, published by Sega and released across several platforms in the United States and Japan in 1995 and 1998.]
Tempo's in the house tonight.
Tempo led a short, unfortunate life in the video gaming world. Unlike the stars of many mascot-based platformers, Tempo wasn't an unlikable jerk; he was just a little grasshopper who wanted to share his love of hip hop dancing with the world. He never infuriated players with repetitive one-liners, and he never got totally in your face with his x-treme attitude.
Poor Tempo merely had the misfortune to arrive on the scene after Bubsy and his ilk had successfully buried the character-driven platformer deep into the Earth's mantle. The fact that Tempo made his debut on Sega's notoriously undersupported 32X didn't exactly help his cause, either. The Tempo games remain an engaging play today, however, and could end up being pleasant surprises to the many who missed these titles when they were first released.
You know he's gonna move your mind.
Developed by RED Company (better known as the creators of Bonk's Adventure and the Sakura Taisen series), Tempo stands out as one of the best games to ever be released for the 32X. Whereas other 32X titles failed in trying to push the hardware's weak 3D capabilities to its limits, Tempo opted instead to use the 32X's power to infuse the game with fluid animation and vibrant background graphics. The result is a solid, refined platformer with a unique look and style made possible by the added horsepower of the 32X.
Tempo is built around the concept of gameplay as performance art. The game's levels are actually sets built inside a TV studio, and an unseen audience often vocally reacts to the action on-screen. While it's entirely possible to play through the game as if it were any other platformer, skilled play and the use of the more complex moves available to Tempo is pleasing to the audience, and is consequently awarded with more points. There are many different endings possible, all of which reflect how well the player entertained the audience throughout the game.
Tempo was followed up in 1998 by a Japan-only sequel for the Sega Saturn. Super Tempo ditches the TV show setup of the original title, and introduces several new gameplay mechanics that make for a radically different experience as compared to its predecessor. Super Tempo is also characterized by its reliance on bizarre humor and obscure references to Japanese folklore, much in the vein of fellow Saturn platformer Keio Yuugekitai Katsugekihen. Unfortunately, this title would mark the end of the Tempo series, as no further sequels were ever released or will likely ever surface.
The groove is outta sight.
The debut of the 32X version of Tempo was accompanied by the almost simultaneous release of Tempo Jr. for Sega's Game Gear in 1995. Though it's interesting that such an obscure series would see a unique portable entry, Tempo Jr. is best forgotten because...well, it's pretty bad. Sega did their best to try and cram as much of Tempo's trademark fluid animation into the Game Gear title as possible, but the end result is a sub-average platformer with none of the gameplay innovations found in the original 32X release.
If anything, the mere existence of Tempo Jr. signifies that Sega likely wanted Tempo to be a major franchise, with new releases and sequels spanning all of the company's available platforms. The failure of the 32X as a console pretty much insured that this dream would never become a reality, however. Tempo may have had heart and charm, but neither was enough to overcome the combined evil forces of Bubsy and Sega add-on hardware.
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Skullmonkeys
July 28, 2006 1:48 PM |
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers Skullmonkeys for the Sony PlayStation, published by Electronic Arts and released in the United States in January 1998.]
Of clay monkeys and platforms.
Any game can possess a solid and original gameplay concept, but can fail due to a lack of care given by its developers. Take The Zombie vs. Ambulance, for instance -- a title which, despite its awesome premise, is rendered boring due to its generic presentation and instantly repetitive gameplay. The lesson to be learned by developers here is that in the absence of creativity or unique ideas, even a game about a zombie-killing ambulance can be unplayable.
Other games, on the other hand, may base themselves around a hackneyed concept, but contain fresh ideas that are executed so well that the end result is something truly remarkable. These games are made with a passion that extends beyond contractual obligation. They possess unnecessary amounts of charm, and exude a kind of polish that can only come from a team of people who genuinely want to make a great video game. Such is the case with Skullmonkeys.
Less clicky more hoppy.
As sequel to the point-and-click PC adventure title The Neverhood, Skullmonkeys defied expectations by being -- of all things -- a sidescrolling platformer. The game offers little variation on the platforming formula, and many of the genre's cliches are in full effect throughout. It's still a fun and very playable game regardless, but much of its gameplay will seem very familiar to fans of platforming titles.
It's the imaginative design that defined The Neverhood that makes Skullmonkeys into the noteworthy title it is, however. The characters are likeable, and a unique claymation style gives the game a look that separates it from other lowly PlayStation platformers like Punky Skunk and Johnny Bazookatone.
Most incredible of all, Skullmonkeys is often a very funny game, and intentionally so. This is most obviously apparent in the varied character animations and silly FMV sequences, but Skullmonkeys' soundtrack (composed by Terry Scott Taylor) is also exceptional in this aspect. The background music that plays during bonus rooms is perhaps what best exemplifies the game's bizarre sense of humor -- the track is a soothing acoustic lullaby, accompanied by the singing of a man who identifies himself as "your little invisible musical friend for life." To elaborate further would only be a disservice to the greatness of this song.
Mad props to Ton Ton.
The humor becomes even more ridiculous at times, so much so that many of the game's stranger moments feel like inside jokes shared among the staff. One of the bosses, in fact, is nothing more than the gigantic digitized head of one of the Skullmonkeys' artists, propped up on a pair of legs. The game's available weaponry is pretty odd, too, ranging from exploding birds to a screen-clearing smart bomb called the "Universe Enema."
These playful touches show that Skullmonkeys was a labor of love, and effectively transform an otherwise nondescript platform hopper into a memorable experience full of charm and personality. The game may be relatively difficult to find today, but it's well worth tracking down.
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Sin and Punishment
July 21, 2006 11:45 AM |
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers Tsumi to Batsu: Chikyu no Keishousha (Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Earth) for the Nintendo 64, published by Nintendo and released in Japan in November 2000.]
Glass Soldier
It's really difficult to evaluate a Treasure-developed game based on its merits alone, without Treasure's fans getting in the way of things. The company has produced several titles of varying quality over the years, but Treasure loyalists will insist that every single one of them is gaming gold. They'll argue that Stretch Panic is worthy of being featured on a magazine cover, for instance, and some would even go so far as to say that Advance Guardian Heroes has redeeming qualities.
Conversely, Treasure detractors will tell you that all of the company's titles are overrated, and that none of them are worth playing. Yes, this includes Radiant Silvergun. It always includes Radiant Silvergun.
Both parties do an equally good job of making one question whether it's okay to enjoy Treasure's games. Does liking Sin and Punishment make me a mindless Treasure fanboy drone? Man, I sure hope it doesn't.
And now, a 5000-word tribute to Buster's Bad Dream.
The majority of Sin and Punishment plays like an updated version of Cabal or Nam-1975. Your character is able to shoot, jump, dash, and move left and right along a limited 2D plane while the game automatically guides you between destinations. Shooting comes in two flavors: lock-on bullets that are the key to defeating enemies who move around a lot, and a gun that requires manual aiming, but also fires more powerful shots.
Sin and Punishment sticks to the standard rail-based shooter formula most of the time, but some of the more interesting moments come when the game breaks away from what is to be expected from the genre. In its final moments, Sin and Punishment abandons its run-and-gun gameplay for a level that plays like a side-scrolling platformer, and the multiple bosses in every level offer their own surprises in terms of strategy requirements.
Rakugaki Showtime more like BEST GAME EVER
Its gameplay may be fast and fun, but Sin and Punishment has not gone without its share of criticism. Much has been made of its lack of difficulty and short length, sometimes in reviews that complain about the game being easy when it's played on the easy difficulty setting. In reality, the title is actually a fair bit longer than the average shooter; most playthroughs will take about an hour or so. As with most shooters, the appeal in Sin and Punishment comes not in grinding through the game by dying repeatedly and abusing the generous checkpoint system, but in finessing through the waves of enemies and using as few continues as possible.
Sin and Punishment was at one time considered for release in the United States, but the waning popularity of the Nintendo 64 in 2000 ensured that the title never left Japan. Rumors have suggested that Sin and Punishment will be a part of the Nintendo Wii's download service, however, so the game could very well find new life with the next generation of consoles. Treasure fans, your frothing demand should increase with haste.
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Roll Away
July 14, 2006 8:32 AM |
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers Roll Away for the Sony PlayStation, published by Psygnosis and released in the United States in November 1998.]
Looking up information on obscure titles can be a chore sometimes. When entered into a search engine, a name like Roll Away, for example, will yield tons of pages promising "1000'S OF CHEAT CODES!!", few of which apply to the game in question. This is only slightly less helpful than the search results that tout themselves as being "the ultimate Roll Away resource," but offer only a single paragraph review of the game, at most.
In this case, it's not until you search for the game's European title, "Kula World", that you begin to get some useful results. Though the game flopped in the United States, it became somewhat of an underground hit in Europe, where the title was lauded for its 3D take on the single-screen puzzle genre of yesteryear.
Call it "quirky" and I'll punch you.
Roll Away was developed by a Sweden-based design team of roughly a half-dozen people, and the game's premise was the result of an idea one of the graphics designers had during a dream. In the game, players must guide a gravity-defying beach ball through a rotating, 3D labyrinth in order to collect items needed to exit each level.
The game closely follows the example set by classic "find the key/find the exit" puzzlers like Solomon's Key and The Adventures of Lolo, and the constant shifts in perspective give Roll Away its own unique brand of challenge.
The beach ball will cling to any solid surface, so much of the game will be spent rolling along walls and ceilings. Trying not to become disoriented is where most of the challenge comes from, though there are a number of obstacles in each level that can get in the way or deflate your beach ball, forcing you to start over. Roll Away becomes difficult quickly, and later levels require both twitch reflexes and the complete mastery of your beach ball's limited abilities.
The Internet has good things on it, too.
As addictive and fun as the game may be, however, it's no mystery as to why Roll Away never achieved the popularity it deserved. The title received little in the way of magazine coverage, and advertising was practically nonexistent.
Even the back of Roll Away's jewel case seems clueless at how to make the experience sound appealing; the gameplay summary includes the phrase "the world's coolest beach ball," and "Pick up coins, gems and fruit," is actually listed as a bullet point.
Following the release of Roll Away, developer Game Design Sweden AB soon changed its name to PlayCom, and has made a name for itself in its achievements in Shockwave-based gaming. Roll Away itself, in fact, has been successfully cloned in the fan-made Shockwave game Frenzirynth.
Though consoles rarely see the release of puzzlers like Roll Away in today's market, the genre has found new life on the Internet and mobile platforms. Perhaps these are the new gaming frontiers to watch, for those who remain fans of the "fruit-collecting beach ball" brand of puzzle game.
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Cosmic Race
July 7, 2006 8:55 AM |
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers Cosmic Race for the Sony PlayStation, published by Neorex and released in Japan in January 1995.]
All hail Gazuga!
Bad games are an inevitability for every console, but only a few stand out as being among the worst of all time. Bad games are fleeting; their life span is determined by however long the possibility for a cheap laugh exists. For a game to be considered as one of the worst of all time, however, it has to have impact. The worst games have legends attached to them, are universally loathed, and eventually become ingrained in gaming culture.
Cosmic Race is a title that is legendary for its many failures, all of which were highlighted in a review printed in a 1996 issue of Game Players. The game's infamous review was one characterized by disbelief, and Game Players' editors maintained that there could never be a game worse than Cosmic Race. The magazine even made Cosmic Race a semi-permanent part of its ratings system: 100% was "perfect"; 0% was "Cosmic Race."
Obviously, I was overjoyed when I was finally able to track down a copy.
To The Box with you.
Playing Cosmic Race for the first time is a bewildering experience, as its gameplay seemingly strives to be as counterintuitive as possible. Start a race and as soon as you hear the word "Go", your ship will immediately sink under the track and become stuck in the ground. Your time will then likely run out before you can escape, ending the game well before you'll be able to figure out what went wrong.
So what happened? Well, like some kind of idiot, you probably expected the accelerate function to be mapped to the X button. That's just what they wanted you to think! According to Cosmic Race, the best place for the accelerator is obviously the R1 shoulder button. Duh. This only becomes apparent after a few more experimental plays, however, after which the next big challenge is figuring out how to turn your ship. If you think that merely pressing left and right on the directional pad will navigate you through turns, you're not ready for Cosmic Race.
Not quite as good as Rocket Dogs.
Once the controls are understood (under no circumstances can they ever be "mastered"), it becomes easier to concentrate on Cosmic Race's many other flaws. As Game Players noted in its review, much of the game's graphics seem to have been cribbed directly from clipart found in early PlayStation devkits.
This lends the game a kind of patchwork quality -- Cosmic Race's graphics are the visual equivalent of a song constructed using only Casio keyboard demo loops. The non-stolen artwork doesn't fare much better, as much of it leans toward the scary side of anthropomorphism. The gameplay really isn't so bad, however...that is, if you can look past the fact that collision detection is essentially random.
In the end, though, Cosmic Race left me a little disappointed. It's bad, sure, but there are far worse games out there. The inexplicably awesome soundtrack alone keeps it out of 0% range, and the simple race-to-the-finish gameplay is compelling precisely because the game's programmers botched it so badly. It's more fair to call Cosmic Race the stupidest game of all time, rather than one of the worst. As for whether it's worth tracking down just to see this stupidity in action, that's another matter entirely.
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Death Tank Zwei
June 30, 2006 7:06 AM |
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers Death Tank Zwei, a hidden game found within Duke Nukem 3D for the Sega Saturn, published by Sega and released in the United States in 1997.]
Minigame as star attraction.
There are rarities, there are obscurities, and then there's Death Tank Zwei. Death Tank Zwei can't be bought, nor can it be downloaded. Its mere existence is not known to many, and earning the right to play it involves following a precise set of instructions, none of which are at all obvious or even hinted at. As elusive as it may be, however, Death Tank Zwei is easily the Saturn's best multiplayer game, outclassing even Guardian Heroes and the legendary 10-player Saturn Bomberman.
To play Death Tank Zwei, you'll first need to own copies of the Sega Saturn ports of Duke Nukem 3D and Quake. Boot up Quake, then create a save file in your Saturn's internal memory. Then start up Duke 3D and Death Tank Zwei should be accessible on the main menu.
Alternately, Death Tank Zwei can be unlocked by playing through Duke Nukem 3D and destroying every single toilet in the entire game.
Yeah, you're probably going to want to go with the save file method.
Nuts to your dated FPSes!
It's definitely worth the trouble, though, as Death Tank Zwei is one of the most fun multiplayer games available on any platform. Think Scorched Earth with up to seven players and you've got the basic gist of it. Unlike Worms and other Scorched Earth-alikes, however, Death Tank Zwei is not turn-based, and allows for every player to move and shoot at all times. The gameplay is more fast-paced and frenzied as a result, which makes an excellent pick-up-and-play party game.
All action takes place on a single screen, where up to seven player-controlled tanks are initially dropped onto a randomly-generated battleground. This terrain will change as the battle unfolds, as player shots will quickly blow away large chunks of the field. Players have access to a number of weapons, each of which have their own tactical uses and strengths, and all of which can be purchased with points earned by destroying opponents in previous rounds.
Death Tank! Death Tank! Death Tank!
This all may sound taxing at first, but Death Tank Zwei is beautifully simple in concept. The game is built on a foundation of quick multiplayer action -- there's no storyline, or even a single-player mode. The object is simply to humiliate up to six of your friends with your superior aiming skills. Or, failing that, your ability to stockpile weapons. Nothing beats hoarding an arsenal for several turns in anticipation for that one round where you'll suddenly use a combination of airstrikes, nukes, and Death's Heads to destroy your opponents before they even realize that the game has started.
Death Tank Zwei may at first glance appear to be nothing more than a throwaway minigame, but it contains all sorts of little touches that show that it was a labor of love. The occasional intrusion of rule variations like Blitz Rounds keep gameplay sessions fresh for extended periods of time, and the game even goes so far as to keep track of win/loss statistics for dozens of player profiles via the Saturn's internal battery. Hell, the title screen features its own thrash-metal theme song! With vocals! You can almost feel how bored the game's programmers must have been during the development of Duke Nukem 3D.
Really, if you're at all into multiplayer games, there are none I'd recommend higher than Death Tank Zwei. It was a hit at my last party, and I can see myself playing it for hours at a time with the right crowd. Just make sure you have plenty of jumpjet fuel on hand for when you call in the airstrikes.
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Tail Concerto
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers Tail Concerto for the Sony PlayStation, published by Atlus and released in the United States in August of 1999.]
Less bumpy, more fuzzy.
I wanted to like Steambot Chronicles a lot more than I did. It sounded like something I'd enjoy, being a fan of multigenre blends and all, but it suffered for having too much dialogue and not enough action, and ended up becoming boring quickly. It didn't help that the game looks and plays a lot worse than I ever thought it could, either.
Tail Concerto is like a prototypical Steambot Chronicles. Both games promise a lighthearted adventure coupled with steam-powered robots, but only Tail Concerto delivers on this promise in the context of an entertaining game. It's weird that I'd enjoy one game and not the other, though. Maybe it's my anti-mech bias kicking in again. Or maybe if the creators of Steambot Chronicles had fixed up the controls and changed the human cast into kitties and puppies, I would've liked it a lot more. One of those things, I guess.
Outgrowing RPGs kind of sucks.
Tail Concerto is one of those action games that had hyped its "RPG elements" to such an extent that it made me a little wary at first. Personally, I always think of "RPG elements" as being the boring parts of a game. Whenever an action or adventure title suddenly decides to shift into RPG mode, this almost always means that a lot of talking, exploration, or leveling up are in store. Depending on how well these elements are implemented, a game can either benefit from the added depth or become terminally dull in the process.
Tail Concerto succeeds in making its RPG elements as painless as possible. The dialogue is brief and the voice acting is good, but most importantly, the exploration elements are actually fun. Much of Tail Concerto is made enjoyable by your character's ability to enter houses and break stuff during exploration segments. The game encourages this, in fact -- many items can only be found by walking into peoples' houses and destroying their furniture. There's never any punishment for this, and it effectively allows for Tail Concerto to be both an action game and an RPG simultaneously, with neither genre ever becoming overwhelming enough for the experience to become repetitive.
Because shooting bubbles at things just works.
Despite its RPG-like qualities, however, Tail Concerto is very much a 3D platformer. You play as a mech-piloting puppy who shoots bubbles at kitties. The world's cat population is causing trouble with the dogs, see, and it's your job as an officer of the law to capture them. There's fetch quests and a few segments involving the dreaded mine cart, but everything in Tail Concerto is handled with a charm that makes even the most mundane of video game conventions seem fresh and enjoyable.
Fans of the Mega Man Legends series (and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, in particular) would do well to check out Tail Concerto, as the games share a similar lighthearted vibe and graphics style. Even if you prefer your video game storylines to be serious and brooding, though, you could still find yourself falling in love with Tail Concerto's levity and optimism.
COLUMN: 'Bastards of 32-Bit' - Warhawk
['Bastards of 32-Bit' is a weekly column by Danny Cowan that focuses on overlooked, underrated, and inexplicable titles from the era of the PlayStation, Saturn, and Nintendo 64. This week's column covers Warhawk for the Sony PlayStation, published by Sony Computer Entertainment America and released in the United States in November of 1995.]
Plane blows up other planes, makes good.
Returning to the PlayStation's first-generation titles can be a risky venture. They're good for whenever you find yourself on a nostalgia kick, but more often than not you usually end up wondering how you ever tolerated all that weird polygonal tearing and warping. Even worse, it's hard looking at titles like these and coming to grips with the fact that, at some point in your life, $50 for Battle Arena Toshinden seemed like a really good deal.
Some titles have aged better than others, though, and Warhawk's gameplay holds up better than much of the PlayStation's first-generation library. The likes of Street Fighter: The Movie and King's Field don't exactly provide much competition, but even when judged on its own merits, Warhawk is still a lot of fun to play today.
When sprite-based explosions were good enough.
Warhawk wears its age like a badge of honor. Start the game and you'll find yourself watching an FMV sequence. A live-action FMV sequence. The actors are bad, the sets are sparse, and the storyline is pretty dumb. Still, it's fun to watch the tough-as-nails commander (with a heart of gold) chew out the Warhawk's young, cocky hotshot of a pilot and his levelheaded and steadfast copilot after every stage. It's like the Sega CD never left us!
Gameplay doesn't require much in the way of description. You control an armored aircraft that can somehow go from accelerate to reverse in a matter of seconds. Using this ship, you're charged with the task of stamping out terrorism, which is occasionally accomplished by flying into volcanoes to collect canisters of red goo.
Thankfully, your ship doesn't actually control like the bulky chunk of metal it appears to be. Control is where the game excels -- whereas many flight-based games get bogged down in realism, the ship in Warhawk can stop on a dime, hover, and spin in place while in mid-air. Your ship's unusual freedom of movement is what allows for much the game to take place within enclosed environments, which often deteriorate into Death Star trench-style obstacle courses. Warhawk may be an aerial combat game at heart, but the emphasis on flight precision is what keeps the experience fresh more than ten years after the game's initial release.
Needs more motion-sensing controller.
One of Warhawk's more interesting features is that it contains more than thirty different endings, not all of which require playing the game to completion. Dying on any of the game's levels produces a unique ending text for each. It's even possible to get a "good" ending this way...that is, if your idea of a good ending is the evil terrorist leader choking to death at the dinner table while laughing at your plane's flaming wreckage.
To get the best ending requires some ingenuity on the player's part, however. During the last mission, the game informs you that the only way to kill the final boss is to ram your plane into it, sacrificing your characters' lives in the process. Or so you'd think! If you've read the instruction manual, you'll know that the Warhawk has a cockpit ejection function, which you can use to your advantage in order to see the best ending.
The thought put into these numerous endings demonstrates that Warhawk wasn't just a throwaway first-gen title. Warhawk was developed with the sort of care and detail that makes it worth revisiting today, and hopefully, the upcoming PlayStation 3 sequel will follow suit.


Comfort Inn has an oceanfront location that is just minutes from area attractions and activities such as the Wright Brothers Memorial, golfing, fishing, water sports, hang gliding and Jockey's Ridge. The hotel offers an oceanfront deck great for relaxing and free high-speed Internet access in all guest rooms and public areas. Pets (30 lbs or under) are welcome with a pet fee of 20.00/night per pet.


text:
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Title: Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Subject: List of awards and nominations received by Jack Nicholson, List of accolades received by The Lord of the Rings film series, Todd Field, List of Pixar awards and nominations (feature films), Terry Gilliam
Collection: American Film Critics Associations, Lists of Films by Award, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
LAFCA
.netlafca
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American
Official website not in Wikidata
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
Lists of films by award
American film critics associations
Foreign Language Film
Supporting Actor
Supporting Actress
(Winners are announced in the year of film release; ceremonies are held in the following calendar year.)
American Film Critic Associations
National Board of Review
National Society of Film Critics
Boston Society of Film Critics
New York Film Critics Circle
New York Film Critics Online
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
Chicago Film Critics Association
Detroit Film Critics Society
Austin Film Critics Association
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association
Florida Film Critics Circle
Houston Film Critics Society
North Texas Film Critics Association
Denver Film Critics Society
San Diego Film Critics Society
San Francisco Film Critics Circle
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association
Angeles Film Critics Association Awards/ Los Angeles Film Critics Association at the Internet Movie Database
^ a b "About LAFCA". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
Best Documentary Feature
Awards categories=
Film theory, Rotten Tomatoes, Science, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Guardian
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Maureen Stapleton, Meryl Streep, Dianne Wiest, Joan Allen, Emma Goldman
List of awards and nominations received by Jack Nicholson
Academy Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Golden Globe Award, Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper
List of accolades received by The Lord of the Rings film series
J. R. R. Tolkien, Hugo Awards, Peter Jackson, American Cinema Editors, Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts
In the Bedroom, Sundance Film Festival, Academy Award, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick
List of Pixar awards and nominations (feature films)
Randy Newman, Andrew Stanton, Academy Awards, John Lasseter, Satellite Awards

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"In an age of acceleration, nothing can be more exhilarating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention. In an age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still."
The Art of Stillness, a very inspirational TedTalk video about the benefits of taking time to be still, and to regain contact with our own selves. Absolutely worth the watch.


The Audiotree Music Festival turned six years old in 2018. For six years we have had the honor of throwing this party in Kalamazoo; seeing it grow and change from parking lots, to District Square, to the Arcadia Creek Festival Site -- its home for the last three years. There, we watched as the largely online community of Audiotree came to life. In many ways, ATMF has felt like a homecoming -- not just for many of our staff members, born and raised in Kalamazoo, but for performers and fans. It has been one (and then two) days out of the year to enjoy music and the community it creates.
That being said, we have decided to direct our efforts elsewhere in 2019. At our home base in Chicago, IL, we are excited to celebrate the 30th and 10th anniversaries of our venues, Schubas Tavern and Lincoln Hall. Throughout the year we will be honoring these venues with once in a lifetime shows. Keep your eyes open for details on those in 2019.
Thank you for the last six years. Thank you to everyone who came, who played, who gave us tacos and beer. We have loved bringing you music every year and watching this community grow. See you in Chicago, or maybe on the internet. We're always here.
Audiotree Music Festival was a two-day all ages event that brought music and community together in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 2012 to 2018.


text:
Q: MSBuild 2019 ignores INCLUDE environment variable I am working with two machines that have Visual Studio 2019.  One has Community edition, the other has Pro edition.
The pro edition of MSBuild is completely ignoring the INCLUDE environment variable, so the project I'm trying to build (ICU) cannot find stddef.h.  The stddef.h file is in the Windows Kits 10 ucrt directory, which is included in the INCLUDE env var.
The community edition doesn't do this.
When I build the project with the /v:diag option I can see most of what's defined in the INCLUDE env var is added to a variable named CAExcludePath.
Here's the INCLUDE env var: INCLUDE=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.24.28314\include;;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.24.28314\atlmfc\include;;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\VC\Auxiliary\VS\include;;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Include\10.0.10240.0\ucrt;;;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\VC\Auxiliary\VS\UnitTest\include;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Include\um;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Include\shared;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Include\winrt;;
And here's the CAExcludePath: CAExcludePath=C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.24.28314\atlmfc\include;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2019\Professional\VC\Tools\MSVC\14.24.28314\include;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\Include\10.0.10240.0\ucrt;;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Include\um;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Include\shared;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\8.1\Include\winrt;;
Why does this happen and how do I prevent it?

A:
MSBuild 2019 ignores INCLUDE environment variable

I think you should not set these paths into Environment Variables. For C++ projects, VS does not recognize the library path in system environment variables by default and this is not the VS job.
Usually, you should set extra library paths in VS IDE. Right-click on your project-->Properties-->Configuration Properties-->VC++ Directories-->Include Directories or Properties-->Configuration Properties-->C/C++-->Additional Include Directories. You can refer to this official document.
However, when l install Windows Kits tool, this path is included in the include path by default and you can use this in your code directly. See this:

So l am afraid you have something wrong when you install the Windows Kits tool. Please follow this document to install the right tool and before you finish it, please install the related extension which is the last step in the installer in Visual Studio 2019 to integrate the tool.
I think when you install the extension, these paths will be included into VS automatically and you can use them directly.

Besides, if you do not want to install this extension, you can add the include path manually by the steps I mentioned above.
If you have done these steps and still faced the same error, I think you should check your Environment and follow these suggestions:
1) close VS Instance, delete .vs, bin, obj folders,reopen your project and then build again
2) do a repair in VS Installer
3) if your VS is not the latest, please update your VS and do not forget to  update Operation System at the same time.
Hope these help.

A: Use the IncludePath environment variable instead.
set IncludePath=%INCLUDE%

IncludePath is not ignored/overwritten when running msbuild, and I was able to successfully compile my project/solution by setting it.
On my machine, setting IncludePath overrides 3 paths which would otherwise be set. The 3 paths have analogs (same header files but for different versions) in my %INCLUDE% paths, so it seems safe (and in fact prudent) to ignore/clobber/leave these out.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Tendulkar Leads Cricket World in Lauding Sanga, Mahela
Thursday, 19 March 2015 - 8:24
Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar led the cricketing world in applauding Sri Lankan veterans Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who bowed out of ODIs yesterday after their team's World Cup quarterfinal loss to South Africa here.
Both Jayawardene and Sangakkara had announced that the World Cup would be their final ODI assignment and much to the dismay of the Lankan fans, it ended on a disappointing note for the much celebrated duo with Sri Lanka losing by nine wickets to the Proteas.
Sangakkara played a whopping 404 ODIs, scoring 14,234 runs at an average of 41.98.
Jayawardene, on the other hand, amassed 12,650 runs from 448 ODIs at an average of 33.37.
Tributes also poured in from other international stars with former South Africa captain Graeme Smith being among those who congratulated the two for their stellar international careers.


To Origo Solutions, health, safety and environment are an integral part of our work. Safety is always our first priority. Origo Solutions focuses on incorporating the highest standards of safety into our client solutions, installations and operational processes. We use tried-and-tested components, the systems we develop are extremely reliable and we provide the required maintenance to ensure that safety is maintained over time.
Systems delivered by Origo Solutions contribute significantly to reducing the risk of both minor and major accidents and to enhancing safety across the board. This contributes to the increased confidence of staff working in areas where our safety systems are in place.
Our safety solutions are designed to provide a healthy and meaningful working environment, give employees the assurance that they are protected against physical and mental harm and ensure that the environment is safeguarded in the best way possible.
Origo Solutions is certified to ISO9001:2008. We are also qualified in Achilles (ID24818) and Sellihca (ID104786).
The HSE&Q System is electronically available to all staff.


text:
Q: How could i find path to file by his name? Sooo guys I have to find path to the file by his name
I've found this func. findExecutable but it's not working
F.e:
fileName <- getLine            ("file.txt")
filePath <- findExecutable fileName
   case filePath of
        Nothing -> error "I can't find this file "
        Just path -> print path

Even when I input "/home/.../file.txt" It's not working
How can I fix it
The type of func is findExecutable :: String -> IO (Maybe FilePath)
I give to this func "String" I'm check the result with const. case of but all time i'm getting error

A: This would happen if file.txt is not, in fact, executable.
The documentation for findExecutable specifically states (bold emphasis mine):

On non-Windows platforms, the behavior is equivalent to findFileWith using the search directories from the PATH environment variable and testing each file for executable permissions.

Try giving it the executable permission:
chmod +x /home/.../file.txt

Then try findExecutable again. Should work.

If you're trying to find the file regardless of it being executable or not, take a look at findFile instead.
Keep in mind, however, that, while for executables there is a rough definition of "find" (meaning "find anywhere on PATH"), this concept is generally not defined for regular files. This means that if you want to "find" a file, you have to specify precisely where you'd like to find it. This is what findFile's first parameter is for.


text:
\section{Comparison of SGD and quasi-Newton's}\label{sec:sgd_qn_comparison}
\begin{table}[h!]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{r|cc}
     $\eta$ &  SGD & QN \\ \hline
     1e-1 &  88 &  92  \\
     5e-2 &  87 &  92  \\
     1e-2 &  82 &  90
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Accuracy (\%)}
\end{table}

\begin{table}[h!]
  \centering
  \begin{tabular}{r|cc}
     $\eta$ &  SGD& QN  \\ \hline
     1e-1 & 0.3574 & 0.3304    \\
     5e-2 & 0.3985 & 0.3346   \\
     1e-2 & 0.5362 & 0.3411
  \end{tabular}
  \caption{Loss}
\end{table}

\section{On the Hessian}

The main disadvantages of most second-order methods are the iteration time complexity, as computing the Hessian is $\mathcal{O}(N^2)$ and then computing its inverse is $\mathcal{O}(N^3)$, and the increased space complexity, $\mathcal{O}(N^2)$, to store the Hessian.
The quasi-Newton's method avoids these pitfalls as it computes an approximation of the inverse Hessian in the same timescale as the gradient, $\mathcal{O}(N)$ and, since our Hessian approximation is formed from outer products, we can calculate a Hessian-vector-product without the quadratic space cost ($H=hh^\mathsf{T}  \rightarrow Hz = (h^\mathsf{T} z) h$).
However, it is still infeasible in its current form because it requires $C$ backward passes and storing $c_k$ means we require $C+1$ times as much space as SGD.

Incidentally, it is slightly odd to talk of a Hessian in a landscape with a discontinuous derivative. With ReLU activations we have a continuous piecewise linear surface which has zero Hessians almost everywhere. But even in one dimension, if we approximate a quadratic by a piecewise linear curve, then, although the second derivative is zero almost everywhere, we can
still diverge using gradient descent if the step size is too big since the function is non-locally curved.

\section{Extent of subspace intersection}\label{sec:correlation}

Although there is general consensus that the class vector directions align with the top eigenvectors of the Hessian, we experimentally check to what degree this is true.since this is a probable reason for the worse performance of the quasi-Newton's method.

We collect the gradient directions for each class in the minibatch, $c_k^{\mathcal{B}^{(t)}}$ while training a simple 60k parameter CNN on CIFAR-10.
At the end of training (50 epochs) we calculate the full eigensystem of the trained model.
We can then plot the correlation and check whether the directions are largely stable.

\begin{figure}[ht]
    \centering
    \subfigure[Rank of the combined matrix for each batch]{%
        \includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{./plots/rank_per_batch.png}
    }\label{fig:rank_per_batch}%
    \subfigure[Cosine matrix]{%
        \includegraphics[width=0.45\textwidth]{./plots/eig_class_corr.png}
    }\label{fig:eig_class_corr}
    \caption{Similarity measures between the class gradients and the top-$C$ eigenvectors}
\end{figure}

The cosine-maximised linear assignment for the top-$C$ eigenvectors to the class gradient directions is $\approx 0.36$.
This is a significant correlation since random 60k-dimensional vectors have an expected cosine of order $10^{-3}$.

We can also look at the rank of the combined matrix
\begin{equation}
    [v_1, \ldots, v_C,\; e_0, \ldots ,e_C],
\end{equation}
where $e_i$ is the top $i^\text{th}$ true eigenvector of the fully trained model.
If the subspace spanned by the top-$C$ eigenvectors is the same as that which is spanned by the class gradients then the rank of this matrix should be $C$.
We see that the rank quickly declines from $2C$, \textit{i.e.} no intersection, to consistently being $C$.
However, there are several batches when the rank increases by one or two implying that these batches have a greater amount of noise.

The rank of the combined matrix is a strong indicator that it is covered, but the noise may introduce spurious results due to the precision error in calculating the rank.

\section{Hyperparameters}
For all the experiments we choose a learning rate of 0.1 (unless otherwise specified), basic momentum of with a decay parameter of 0.9, and a gamma 0.9 for the quasi-Newton's method, and 0 weight decay or regularization.
These values were not optimised.

\section{Introduction}

Optimisation is often not a prime consideration for practitioners training deep neural networks. This is because there are many options where the large majority of choices optimise well but getting the best optimisation needs a seemingly arbitrary choice of (almost always first-order) update method, learning rate, decay schedule, momentum, \textit{etc.}{}

The ideal combination of these options has mainly been brute-force searched for each individual problem: see the research done on speed training \textit{e.g.}{} DAWNBench~\cite{Coleman2017}.
This shows it is difficult to choose the ideal combination when faced with a new problem or a new network architecture.
Moreover, as this ideal choice is often dependant on the curvature of the loss landscape, second-order methods, which are designed to capture the local curvature, should be more powerful and robust than first-order methods.

\subsection{Second-order methods}
Directions of high curvature limit the step size that can be taken in gradient descent.
To see this, consider a quadratic minimum defined by a Hessian, $H$,
\begin{equation}
    f(\theta) = \frac{1}{2} {(\theta-\theta^*)}^\mathsf{T} H\, (\theta-\theta^*).
\end{equation}
We can write the Hessian matrix as its eigen-decomposition
\begin{align}
    H = \sum_i \lambda_i v_i\,v^\mathsf{T}_i
\end{align}
where $\lambda_i$ is a measure of the curvature in the direction $v_i$.
For $\theta^*$ to be a minimum we require $\lambda_i>0$ for all $i$.
If we perform gradient descent, $\theta^{(t+1)} = \theta^{(t)} - \eta\, \bm{\nabla} f(\theta^{(t)}) = \theta^{(t)} - \eta\, H\,(\theta^{(t)}-\theta^*)$, then
\begin{align}
    \theta^{(t+1)} - \theta^*
     & = \left( \mat{I}-\eta\,H \right) \left( \theta^{(t)}-\theta^* \right)
    = {\left( \mat{I}-\eta\,H \right)}^t \left( \theta^{(1)}-\theta^* \right)                \\
     & = \sum_i v_i \, {(1-\eta\,\lambda_i)}^t v_i^\mathsf{T} \left( \theta^{(1)}-\theta^* \right).
\end{align}
Thus gradient descent will diverge exponentially fast unless $\eta\leq 2/\lambda_{\text{\footnotesize max}}$.

Second-order methods are a form of preconditioned gradient methods using second derivatives; these methods work well for ill-conditioned problems as the Hessian ``automatically normalize[s] the ill-conditioned problem by stretching and contracting''\cite{Yao2020} the directions corresponding to its eigenvectors.
However, the difficulty in calculating accurate second-order information holds this class of methods back from improving general deep learning optimisation.
If there are only a small number of directions in weight space with high curvature, then we only need to precondition the gradient in those directions.

\subsection{A second-order method}

\citet{GurAri2018} show that gradient descent is mostly contained in a small subspace, so although the problem is high-dimensional, the optimisation is limited by a low-dimensional high-curvature subspace.
That subspace, spanned by the logit gradients, intersects with the top-$C$ eigenvectors of the Hessian~\cite{Papyan2019, Ghorbani2019}.
If there are a small number of identifiable directions in weight space with high curvature, then we can significantly speed up optimisation by performing Newton's method in this high-curvature subspace and a standard first-order method in the low-curvature dual subspace.

\subsection{Setting}
We consider a classification problem with data, $\mathcal{D} = \left\{ (x^{\mu},y^{\mu})\, \big|\, \mu\in[1,N]\right\}$ where \(y^{\mu}\) is a $C$-dimensional one hot vector, as in \citet{Fort2019}.

We will look at some deep network with parameters, $\theta$, that calculates logits, $z_k^\mu$, which gives class probabilities, $p_k^\mu$, via a softmax.
We will train this network with a cross-entropy loss, $\mathcal{L}^\mu(\theta)$ for an input $(x^{\mu},y^{\mu}) \in \mathcal{D}$.
Then, for any single parameter $\theta_\alpha$ we have its gradient, $g_{\alpha}^{\mathcal{B}}$,\footnote{We derive this as the negative of what \citet{Fort2019} state, however, this disparity only affects the parts of the Hessian that we ignore.} for some minibatch
\begin{equation}
    g_{\alpha}^{\mathcal{B}} = \frac{\partial \mathcal{L}(\theta)}{\partial \theta_\alpha}
    = \frac{1}{|\mathcal{B}|} \sum_{\mu \in \mathcal{B}}
    \sum_{k=1}^C  (p_k^{\mu} - y_k^{\mu})\,
    \frac{\partial z_k^{\mu}}{\partial \theta_\alpha},
\end{equation}
and so the Hessian has components
\begin{align}
    H^{\mathcal{B}}_{\alpha\beta} =
    \frac{\partial^2 \mathcal{L}(\theta)}{\partial \theta_\alpha\partial \theta_\beta}
     & = \frac{1}{|\mathcal{B}|} \sum_{\mu \in \mathcal{B}}
    \sum_{k=1}^C \sum_{\ell=1}^C
    p_k^\mu \left(  \delta_{k\ell} - \,p_\ell^\mu \right)
    \frac{\partial z_k^{\mu}}{\partial \theta_\alpha}
    \frac{\partial z_\ell^{\mu}}{\partial \theta_\beta} \nonumber \\
     & \quad +\frac{1}{|\mathcal{B}|} \sum_{\mu \in \mathcal{B}}
    \sum_{k=1}^C   (p_k^{\mu} - y_k^{\mu})\,
    \frac{\partial^2 z_k^{\mu}}{\partial \theta_\alpha\partial \theta_\beta}
    \label{eq:Hessian}
\end{align}
\citet{Fort2019} claim that the logits are almost a linear function of the weights \textit{i.e.}
\begin{equation}
    \frac{\partial^2 z_k^{\mu}}{\partial \theta_\alpha \partial \theta_\beta} \approx 0
\end{equation}
and so the second term of the Hessian, \cref{eq:Hessian}, can be ignored~\cite{BenaychGeorges2011}.
This term will be exactly 0 for a piecewise linear network \textit{e.g.}{} with ReLUs.

\subsection{Class gradients}
\citet{Fort2019} define the class gradient as
\begin{equation}
    c_k = \frac{1}{| \mathcal{D}_k|}\sum_{\mu\in \mathcal{D}_k} \bm{\nabla} z_k^{\mu}
\end{equation}
where \(\mathcal{D}_k\) is the set of training examples belonging to class \(k\).
The logit gradients can be decomposed as
\begin{equation}
    \bm{\nabla} z_k^{\mu} = y^{\mu}_k\,c_k + \epsilon_k^{\mu}.
    \label{eq:logits}
\end{equation}
Substituting the logit gradient decomposition, \cref{eq:logits}, into the first term of the Hessian, \cref{eq:Hessian}, we get
\begin{equation}
    H \approx
    \sum_{k=1}^C \left( \frac{1}{|\mathcal{B}|}
    \sum_{\mu \in \mathcal{B}} y_k^\mu \,
    p_k^{\mu}(1 - p_k^{\mu})   \right)       c_k\, c_k^\mathsf{T}
    + \frac{1}{|\mathcal{B}|} \sum_{\mu \in \mathcal{B}}
    \sum_{k=1}^C \sum_{\ell=1}^C
    p_k^\mu \left( \delta_{k\ell} - p_\ell^\mu \right)
    \epsilon^\mu_k\, \epsilon^\mu_\ell
    \label{eq:hessian_approx}
\end{equation}
where, following \citet{Fort2019}, we have ignored the second term in the Hessian and the cross term --- as long as a term is sufficiently small the eigensystem of the Hessian remains sufficiently unchanged~\cite{BenaychGeorges2011}.
Thus a low-rank approximation of the Hessian is the first term in \cref{eq:hessian_approx}, now denoted $H^{\text{\small Low Rank}}$.

\section{Quasi-Newton's method}
Assuming that the class gradients are orthogonal we have
\begin{equation}
    H^{\text{\small Low Rank}} = \sum_{k=1}^C \lambda_k v_k \, v_k^\mathsf{T},
\end{equation}
where $v_k = c_k/|c_k|$ and
\begin{equation}
    \lambda_k = \frac{1}{|\mathcal{B}|}
    \sum_{\mu \in \mathcal{B}} y_k^\mu \,
    p_k^\mu \,(1-p_k^\mu)  \, |c_k|^2.
\end{equation}
As this is a sum of non-negative elements it is positive definite which is a necessary condition for Newton's method to move downhill. As $H^{\text{\small Low Rank}}$ is singular it has no inverse, however, we can define a generalised inverse
\begin{equation}
    {(H^{\text{\small Low Rank}})}^\dagger = \sum_{k=1}^C \frac{1}{\lambda_k} v_k \, v_k^\mathsf{T}.
\end{equation}
We can use this generalised inverse to perform Newton's method in the high-curvature subspace, $\theta' \leftarrow \theta - {(H^{\text{\small Low Rank}})}^\dagger g^\mathcal{B}$.
To perform stochastic gradient descent in the orthogonal subspace we can use the projection operator
\begin{equation}
    \mathbf{P} = \mat{I} - \sum_{k=1}^C v_k\,v_k^\mathsf{T}
\end{equation}
applied to the gradient $\theta' \leftarrow \theta - \eta \mathbf{P} g^\mathcal{B}$, where $\eta$ is a learning rate.
Then, puttting these two steps together, we get the update equation
\begin{equation}
    \theta' \leftarrow \theta - \eta g^\mathcal{B} - \sum_{k=1}^C \left( \frac{1}{\lambda_k} - \eta \right) (v_k^\mathsf{T} g^\mathcal{B})\, v_k.
    \label{eq:learning_update}
\end{equation}
To lower the stochasticity of the estimation of the eigensystem of $H^{\text{\small Low Rank}}$ we use an exponential moving average and root mean square for the eigenvalues
\begin{align}
    c_k^{(t)}                     & = \frac{1-\gamma}{1-\gamma^t} \sum_{i=1}^t \gamma^{t-i} c_k^{\mathcal{B}^{(i)}},
                                  &
    c_k^{\mathcal{B}^{(t)}}       & = \frac{1}{|\mathcal{B}_k^{(t)}|}
    \sum_{\mu \in \mathcal{B}_k^{{t}}} \bm{\nabla} z_k^{\mu},                                                                                \\
    \lambda_k^{(t)}               & = \sqrt{\frac{1-\gamma}{1-\gamma^t} \sum_{i=1}^t \gamma^{t-i} {(\lambda_k^{\mathcal{B}^{(i)}})}^2},
                                  &
    \lambda_k^{\mathcal{B}^{(t)}} & = \frac{1}{|\mathcal{B}^{(t)}|}
    \sum_{\mu \in \mathcal{B}^{(t)}}  y_k^{\mu} \,
    p_k^{\mu} \,(1-p_k^{\mu})  \, |c_k^{\mathcal{B}^{(t)}}|^2,
\end{align}
where $\mathcal{B}_k^{(t)}$ is the set of examples in the $t^{th}$ minibatch, $\mathcal{B}^{(t)}$, that belong to class $k$.
This gives us a hyperparameter, $\gamma$, which needs to take into account how rapidly the high-curvature subspace changes during learning; \citet{GurAri2018} show that the subspace does not markedly change during training, thus, we can set $\gamma$ close to one.
We initialise $c_k^{(0)}=\bm{0}$ but $\lambda_k^{(0)}=1$ since we use $1/\lambda_k$.

\section{Comparison to SGD}
\begin{wrapfigure}[12]{R}{0.5\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{./plots/sgd_quasi_losses.png}
    \caption{Validation loss for both SGD and quasi-Newton's method}\label{fig:w_wo_hessian_learning}
\end{wrapfigure}

\Cref{fig:w_wo_hessian_learning} shows the typical loss when training a ResNet9 (6.5M parameters) with normal SGD and with the quasi-Newton's method, \cref{eq:learning_update} on CIFAR-10.
We can see that the final performance is similar; however, the quasi-Newton's method is more volatile, slower to improve in general, and does end on average with lower accuracy, see \cref{sec:sgd_qn_comparison}.
One would expect to be able to use a higher learning rate with the quasi-Newton's method as that applies to the low-curvature subspace, however, this is not true, and both methods diverge at $\eta > 10^{-1}$.

\section{Too much noise}
One obvious reason to explore is
If a curve is noisy, then Hessian will capture the noise as local curvature meaning that our estimation will be spurious and oppose learning.

\begin{figure}[ht]
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.75\textwidth]{./plots/all_losses_1.png}
    \caption{Plots for different batch sizes on MNIST. $\eta = 10^{-2}$}\label{fig:batch_comparison}
\end{figure}

While we have taken steps to reduce noise, \textit{e.g.}{} using the exponential moving average, there might still be too much stochasticity in each minibatch given that the minibatch error is an approximation of the training error which itself is an approximation of the generalisation error.
Indeed, \citet{Granziol2020} shows that ``the extremal eigenvalues of the batch Hessian are larger than those of the empirical Hessian'' due to the noise in the minibatch.

To see if inter-batch noise causes the lack of improvement, we have trained a small CNN on MNIST so that full-batch training is feasible.
From \cref{fig:batch_comparison} we can see that, allthough our quasi-Newton's method may start learning faster than SGD, there comes a crossover point where SGD overtakes and continues to have better performance regardless of the batch size\footnote{Since MNIST only has 50,000 training samples the batch size of 65,535 is just full batch.}.
Smaller batches have their crossover point in the first epoch due to the increased number of steps and so are not shown in \cref{fig:batch_comparison} to illustrate this effect.
Thus, we can conclude that the noise incurred due to batch training is not a root of the performance deficit.

\section{Discussion}
\begin{wrapfigure}[12]{R}{0.5\textwidth}
    \centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{./plots/eigenvalues_top30.png}
    \caption{Top 30 true eigenvalues of a small 60k parameter CNN.}\label{fig:top30_eigenvalues}
\end{wrapfigure}

The poor performance of the proposed method is both disappointing and mysterious.  We are currently examining this and it is a work in progress.
We have outlined a few potential explanations for this inconsistency between theory and praxis below.

\subsection{Non-intersection}

If the class vector subspace does not totally cover the top eigenvector subspace, then we are still leaving at least one high-curvature direction not preconditioned. This would also explain the inability to increase the learning rate.

It is interesting to note from \cref{fig:top30_eigenvalues} that, knowing $C$, it seems a reasonable cut-off point for the top-curvature subspace, but if given only the eigenspectrum it would be difficult to guess the number of classes.
This might indicate that $C$ is not the best cut off point for the high-curvature subspace.
It is possible that the class vectors actually have no particular relation to the high-curvature subspace but are simply an arbitrary way of splitting the cumulative gradient into some approximately orthogonal component vectors.
\citet{GurAri2018}, however, argue that it is only the top-$C$ eigenvectors that are preserved over time.
See \Cref{sec:correlation} for more detail on the intersection of these subspaces.

\subsection{Gradient information loss}
It may be that the structure and non-convexity of the landscape is such that rapid gradient descent actually slows down the search.
That is, this method pushes the low-curvature dimensions into a flat region of similar loss, where there is less gradient information, before they can be optimised into a low-loss region, thus slowing down the overall optimisation.

\section{Conclusions}
We are currently investigating the different explanations of why this naive method offers no improvement.
Common experience is that, when done right, optimisation strategies that compensate for different curvatures in the loss landscape can lead to a significant speedup.
Deep learning, however, rules out many traditional methods because of the vast dimensionality of the search space.
Despite the failure of our naive implementation, the recognition that there exists a relatively low-dimensional subspace of high curvature which can be identified relatively easily suggests that it may be possible to improve on current methods.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


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If what we were told on here is right, that some board members wanted PH gone at the end of last season, then now is the last opportunity to save this season. Fenty talks about not propping up BP forever, how about not propping up this manager forever? Where we are at present after 3 winnable games 4 points out of 9, is not acceptable and this season has just about gone already.
Nothing against the man personally, but he will not get us promotion as long as he's got a hole in his bottom. Not that he's the only problem.
The decision surely rests on whether promotion is now a lost cause this season. A new manager will need time to bed-in and will not achieve promotion, so the season has to be written off before we find a new manager. I don't think we're in this postion.......yet.
Defeat today and he may have gone, but nicking a point may save him for now.
It's his old pal John-Lewis who's saved him for now, but ironically it's playing him constantly and tinkering with everything else in the team that's ultimately going to cost him his job.
He's had time and doesn't look capable of getting the players motivated. Real downfall was not signing another experienced goal-scoring striker (and so relying on LJL). It's a shame but as a season ticket holder I'm not going on Tuesday night if he's in charge. Last Tuesday's performance was an absolute disgrace - and I've seen a few over 40 odd years.
Fenty , if you dont act then im seriously going to question your sanity or your vision for our club!
6 points from the play-offs, two-thirds of the season left, at least 2 key players to come back from injury - an away draw, and moving up a couple of places - yet it seems some people can't wait to get back on the 'sack the manager' bandwagon (I wonder how many actually saw the performance first hand today, rather than listening to the radio commentary?).


At the prompt, enter the number in Puerto Rico you want to call (not forgetting the 001787 international dialing code). Do not press the call button again.
Make sure that you don't miss out - make cheap calls to friends and family in Puerto Rico for public holidays and celebrations!


Hey people! Today I'd like to show you some fresh psychedelic poster art – right out of my mind! It's a poster I did for my friends from Earth Star. What I really like about this poster is that it had to be done in a very short time and I could make it. There are different sketches and the final artwork within the post.


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text:
Healthy Eating for Women
9 Fit Foods You Need To Try Now
February 20, 2014 Karen Asp
Open purple potato
Purple Potato
Why it's super: Anthocyanins, the flavonoids that give these potatoes their distinctive purplish-blue color, have powerful anti-cancer and heart-protective benefits. They've also been shown to stimulate your immune system and protect against age-related memory loss.
Why you should try it: Purple potatoes provide solid carbohydrates to fuel your workouts, and because of their anthocyanins, stimulate the immune system when it's under stress, including during high-performance activity.
How it tastes: Nutty, earthy, slightly bitter
• Dice potatoes and add them to soups, stews and grain salads.
• Mash or purée for a side dish.
• Bake as you would a white potato.
Why it's super: "Matcha is to green tea what Spinning is to the stationary bike," says Lauren Slayton, MS, RD, author of The Little Book of Thin (Perigee, 2013). This fine powdered tea contains vitamin C, zinc and a host of phytochemicals, which have been linked to the prevention of numerous chronic conditions like cancer and heart disease.
Why you should try it: Matcha gives you a metabolism boost, increases alertness without giving you the jitters and makes a great post-recovery drink.
How it tastes: Earthy, slightly sweet, less bitter than bagged green tea
• Add to smoothies.
• Whisk into hot water or steamed almond
• Throw into pancake or muffin batter.
Why it's super: Mulberries actually contain 3 grams of protein per ounce, which is unusual in a fruit. They're also a good source of potassium and magnesium as well as fiber, weighing in at 4 grams per ounce.
Why you should try it: With its protein and fiber content, mulberries are the perfect snack, satisfying you while helping control blood sugar. "Studies have also shown that mulberries increase fat loss when you're losing weight," Slayton says.
How it tastes: Raisin-like
• Add dried berries to trail mix.
• Use in salads, cereals or baked goods in place of raisins.
• Use as a topping for oatmeal.
Why it���s super: This fermented dairy product contains more than five times the probiotics as yogurt. "Probiotics are important for gastrointestinal functioning and mood, and new research reveals they could also affect weight and sugar cravings," Slayton says. Kefir is a good source of phosphorus and calcium — a bonus for your bones.
Why you should try it: Kefir is perfect for boosting your immune system, which complements that boost you're already giving your body in the gym. It also helps you quell sweet cravings. "Kefir, like plain yogurt, has a slightly sour taste, and adding more sour or bitter foods to your diet is one strategy to counter sweet cravings," Slayton says.
How it tastes: Tangy, tart
• Eat it straight up as you would yogurt.
• Blend it into a smoothie.
• Use it in a parfait.
Why it's super: "This tuber boasts the perfect balance of amino acids, unsaturated fats and minerals, and it's prized for its ability to increase energy levels, endurance and libido," says Manuel Villacorta MS, RD,. author of Peruvian Power Foods (HCI Books, 2013). Maca contains a ton of antioxidants and is a good source of iron and vitamin C. It also supports hormonal balance, bone health and the immune system.
Why you should try it: Because maca is a natural, sugar-free source of energy, it won't add excess calories to your diet or cause the blood sugar fluctuations that you would have with an energy bar or sports drink. It will also increase your strength and energy, and improve your performance in the gym.
How it tastes: Bitter, which is why it's best paired with foods like cacao, bananas or cinnamon to mask the flavor.
• Add to your pre-exercise shake.
• Pour a scoop into baked goods.
• Sprinkle over hot cereal.
Sacha Inchi Seeds and Oil
Why it's super: Also called Inca-peanuts, the seeds of the Inchi plant are an incredible source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as vitamins A, E and iodine. Eating them can restore your lipid balance, encourage the production of HDL cholesterol, and help fight heart disease and diabetes.
Why you should try it: "When you exercise, your body endures stress, which causes inflammation," Villacorta says. The fatty acids in the seeds and oil act as anti-inflammatories. Plus, the seeds are loaded with protein — 9 grams per ounce — and tryptophan, which is a precursor of mood-boosting serotonin.
How it tastes: Nutty, like peanuts
• Eat whole seeds as you would other nuts, raw or dry-roasted.
• Use the oil in place of olive oil in salad dressings.
• Toss the seeds in a salad.
Why it's super: You might have regarded these as a weed in your garden, but this green leafy vegetable is now a known superfood. It's rich in calcium (103 milligrams per cup), iron (1.7 milligrams per cup) and fiber (1.9 grams per cup). It's also high in vitamins A, C and K.
Why you should try it: Because they're a diuretic, dandelion greens are one of the most powerful weapons against bloat, Slayton says. They're also great for heartburn and sour stomach.
How it tastes: Slightly bitter, like arugula
• Eat in salads.
• Use in a green juice.
• Steep dried leaves as a tea.
Pichuberry
Why it's super: This small, orange fruit supplies 39 percent of your daily vitamin D and is a great source of withanolides, which have been linked to the inhibition of cancer cell growth and the prevention of inflammation in the body. It has also been associated with liver fortification, lung health, improved fertility and proper food absorption.
Why you should try it: Its low-glycemic index makes this berry a good low-sugar alternative to other fruits and sweet items. Plus, pichuberries are perfect if you're trying to lose weight because they give you more volume for fewer calories.
How it tastes: Tart but sweet (like a cross between kiwi fruit and cherry tomatoes)
• Pair it with quinoa in a salad.
• Eat it topped with dark chocolate.
• Slice overtop of oatmeal.
Kiwicha
Why it's super: Better-known as amaranth, this food is high in protein and has a more complete profile of amino acids than most other grains. It's also rich in iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and copper, all of which are essential for healthy physical function. Adding kiwicha to your diet may help decrease cholesterol, stimulate your immune system and keep your heart healthy.
Why you should try it: The minerals in kiwicha help facilitate metabolic reactions in the body that relate to muscle movement and the generation of energy, according to Villacorta. Plus, because kiwicha is a seed, it's digested slowly, reducing spikes in blood sugar, which can affect energy.
How it tastes: Nutty, like quinoa
• Boil or steam as you would quinoa or rice.
• Pop it like popcorn and use in place of puffed rice.
• Use as a gluten-free, healthy breading for meats and meat alternatives.
The Importance of a Colorful Diet
5 Root Vegetables for Winter Meal Planning
Andrew Riposta, CHN, IIN, NASM-CPT
The Total-Body Makeover Menu
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD