The Local Ditch Gaming Emporium

Site FAQ

  1. Can you help me with Interstate '76 or Battle Zone?
  2. Can you link to my site, even if it really sucks?
  3. Can I have that picture off of your site?
  4. I want to link to you. Please refresh my mind on how to do that.
  5. You have an amazing ability of enjoying some of the worst selling and underrated games ever. Are there are any more?
  6. I saw this site a few years back, and I swear it was located somewhere else. Can that be true?
  7. How long has this site been around?
  8. Where the hell did that crappy name come from?
  9. Why do you bother updating the Sega section if only two people have ever visited it?
  10. Didn't there use to be a cat up here?
  11. Are you really British?  You're spelling must really suck.
  12. You don't own Battle Zone II?  Bastard...

 

  1. Can you help me with Interstate '76 or Battle Zone?

    The first thing you'll want to do is check out the Interstate '76 FAQ or Battle Zone FAQ for a list of the most common problems. If you can't find the answer there, feel free to contact me using the handy link above to the contact page. Don't worry, you don't have give me your e-mail address if you don't want to. The answer will appear in the site Q&A in a couple of weeks.

  2. Can you link to my site, even if it really sucks?

    Yep, and I'll gladly do it. The only thing that I ask is that you link back to me.  Check out question #4.

  3. Can I have that picture off of your site?

    It really depends.  Most likely, the answer will be yes. For the most part, I make almost no original images on this site, with the rare exceptions being the Deus Ex design and the new design here. If it's something I'm using for the layout/design of the site, if you get lucky and catch me when I'm switching layouts, I'll probably let you have it.  I've given pieces of the old Heavy Gear II section and a few others. Just contact me to make sure.

  4. I want to link to you.  Please refresh my mind on how to do that.

    It's quite easy.  If you're building your site in a text editor, like the awesome Notepad, then just type in <a href="http://www.localditch.com">The Local Ditch Gaming Emporium</a>

    For anything else, just make a link to http://www.localditch.com.

    Or, for a limited time (the next three years...), you can link to http://www.localditch.com. Yes, that's right. The Local Ditch has finally become a .com.

    There aren't any special banners, buttons, or anything like that to throw up with the link. If you feel like making one, like this person, feel free to.

  5. You have an amazing ability of enjoying some of the worst selling and underrated games ever.  Are there any more?

    There's an amazingly large number of enjoyable games out there that haven't been marketed, accepted by the masses, or broken into the big time. Unfortunately, I haven't been into the gaming scene nearly as much as I use to, so most of them pass me by nowadays. But here's a few that are on my list to get:

    • Grim Fandango - Take the role of Manny Calavera in an adventure game based on the Mexican Day of the Dead.

    • Messiah - Play as Bob, a cherub that can take control of people. Developed by Shiny and full of their trademark humor.

    • Battle Zone II - Check out the site here.

    • MDK - I guess MDK caught on, I'm not sure though. But one thing is for sure: it's not Murder Death Kill - it's Max, Dr. Hectic, and Kurt.

    • Descent Freespace: The Great War - Known more as just Freespace than part of the the Descent series; think Wing Commander, but better.

  6. I saw this site a few years back, and I swear it was located somewhere else. Can that be true?

    In the past few years, I've done some host swapping. If you didn't get here by going through http://www.localditch.com, then you're using an old link.

    Anyway, from around 1997 to around 1999, the page was hosted by Geocities at http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Arcade/7891. Then I moved over to Tripod.com so that I could use the FrontPage server crap. At some point in 2002, they decided to get back on how much space they had given out, so I moved to Tripod.co.uk, where things hadn't changed.

    So, the site had a good home for about six years at Tripod.co.uk, when in December of '08, their parent company, Lycos Europe, announced that it was shutting down any unprofitable aspects of its business. That included in Tripod, so it seemed like perfect timing to move the site and escape all of the horrible advertising and pop-up banners.

    Enjoy The Local Ditch Gaming Emporium, now at http://www.localditch.com. Plus, it's cool to have the words "fat" and "cow" beside each other in your URL.

  7. How long has this site been around?

    Sometime in 1997, I had the amazing idea of signing up for a site at Geocities. This is back when they were cool. So I'd estimate it's been up for over ten years, under various names.

  8. Where the hell did that crappy name come from?

    Taiwan.

    After realizing that the previous name, Hi-Fidelity Gaming (Station) sucked, I decided to move on to something better, something unique, something that didn't suck. Hence, The Local Ditch Gaming Emporium.

    Yes, that's all sarcasm. Naming a website isn't fun for me, so I picked something (poorly) and stuck with it.

  9. Why do you bother updating the Sega section if only two people have ever visited it?

    I think a better question would be "Why do you bother updating the site?" Really, I'm inspired when I see sites that have good, original content. I strive to do the same, as well as throw together the stuff that's already in the manual. Oh, and The Local Ditch has a nasty habit of outliving the sites that inspire it.

  10. Didn't there use to be a cat up here?

    Yep. Back in the day, I actually had my cat as the mascot of the site. Unfortunately, things didn't go so well for the cat, and in part laziness and part tribute, I left the page up.

    Don't worry, I did eventually remove the page.

  11. Are you really British? You're spelling must really suck.

    Nope. And depending on what side of the Atlantic you're on, my spelling does suck. Now that I'm not at a UK server, this question should hopefully be a little less relevant.

  12. You don't own Battle Zone II? Bastard...

    That's right, both comments.  Basically, I started the BZII section before the game was anywhere near coming out.  I planned on picking up the game when it came out, but after spending too much for I '82 and seeing how much it sucked, I decided to wait until BZII landed in the bargain bins. Being the cheap bastard I am, I never picked it up. At this point, it's a lost cause.

11:15 AM 12/17/2008

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