I don't know how you're running SMB, but I'd say the solution to the first two are two do the following:

1) Run the game in windowed mode.
2) Run the game using -lowdetail or -ultralowdetail
3) Verify the game cache
4) Force Vsync

Concerning that last one... you know, it really isn't that hard once you know what to do. Just stick really close to the saws, run between them and jump when you have to. The only tricky part comes further down, and you can solve that by jumping and landing between the moving saws (if I recall correctly). Just keep at it and you'll make it. Good luck! =)

The game was coded in C++ (and yes, that means that Tommy actually had to create his own "engine" of sorts for the game). All graphics were made in Flash. (I remember these facts from previous Tweets.)

If you ask me, C# (and the whole XNA package) is an easier way to start. You don't have to think too much about memory optimization (which you HAVE to consider in C++). Also, if you use the Visual Studio IDE with C# you get the immensely helpful IntelliSense (which is way more helpful in C# than C++). All that's just personal taste, though... you can make a great game using Paint and AGS.

Danny will no doubt reply to this too, but I'll just throw in my 5 cents in the meantime. :)

What you start out with will depend on what you want to do. Are you into creating loop-based music, primarily 4/4 rhythms and patterns? Well, I'd say FL Studio is great for that (and so is Reason, although I personally prefer to slave it through Cubase). If you want more control, and you're comfortable with that way of working, a tracker could be what you're after (although I'd say the learning threshold can be rather steep). If you like inputting notes directly into a score, you could go with notation software (such as Finale), or go all out and get a sequencer.

Which sequencer to use? Well, I'm a Cubase 5 guy, although I've worked with Sonar PE, Cakewalk, Studio 4 (yes, I am that old!) and REAPER (which is much more suited to SFX editing, in my opinion).

In short, get hold of demos and try stuff until you find things that work for you. Good luck! :)

I'd say reinstall DirectX. It sounds like an audio engine fail, and that could be due to a corrupt .dll file (I've had that happen to me on a game project once).

It's just for fun mate ;)

I know. :) Still, point taken. I've been a real SMB fanboy (ahaha) for a while now and I started taking personal offense when people were giving Team Meat a hard time.

Hahahaha! :D

Nice one. Yeah, I've been white knighting quite a lot, I admit it. I'll stop now, since it's obviously bugging you. Also, there is no real need, since the update's out now.

The whole "easy" part is obviously part of the joke.

Fun fact, for those who care: Today, I got the following achievements:

1) Glitch World 3 done
2) Glitch World 5 done
3) Retro Rampage
4) Accidental Arsonist
5) The Real End

When I unlocked the last one I exited just to check my overall progress with the SMB Stat Viewer, and then the update started downloading. :D (Now I just have to get Golden God - I'm not too far off, though!)

Wait.

The editor really is out? This isn't a joke? Do I call out of work or not?

The editor is NOT out, but the level portal is. But it contains too many bugs to be fun.

Man, someone is good at whining.

I'd say you should go with the first official announcement they make, since you had no knowledge of the release being split into parts when you started the contest.

You bet "15 april" in this contest, naturally it should be with the official announcement

Give me some time to think about it. In return, a hint about the game:

The genre? Same that SMB

Honestly? I had forgotten which date I'd voted for. I thought I said April 5th. :P Seriously, I'm not trying to cheat or anything. Sorry if it sounded like that.

'Kay. Thank you! =)

Hey, Edmund! I have a question. Now, I've intentonally held back on all questions for Team Meat about the editor because I was so fed up with everyone pestering you for info (and I've done my best to get people off your backs, seeing as you've been so damn busy and releasing this update was such a pain - I'm a game music composer, so I've been involved in some indie projects and I know how hard it can be), but I'd really like to know one thing.

See, I'm an achievement whore. I can't help it; it's in my blood. I love to play games, but if there are achievements then that gives me an extra incentive. I've been following your Twitter feed and other channels closely, so I know that there will be new achievements added for the portal. My question is this: If I start playing the new levels when the update comes, will I have to play them again later for the new achievements to register? Not that I mind, but I'd like to know because I may just postpone playing all the new awesome levels until the achievements are added if they will monitor my progress "from scratch", so to speak.

(This might be a very stupid question, seeing as progress is recorded in the save file and that could just save what I've done until the achievements are added, so feel free to ignore it if you don't think it's worth your time.)

I'd say you should go with the first official announcement they make, since you had no knowledge of the release being split into parts when you started the contest.

They just posted a metric crapton of info on their Twitter, and yes, they did mention that they were extremely close to release.

Extreme Spelling Fail!

I doubt Danny is lurking around here very often, so I'll try my best to answer.

To my knowledge (from what I've heard on his Twitter), he uses a combination of Reason and Cubase 5. Now, that doesn't say that much about how the music sounds, but I think he's working with Symphobia, EWQL Gold/Platinum and the occasional 8 bit VST (I have some of them myself, they're free). I don't know if he uses StormDrum 2 or not (some of the drums are really heavy, but they could be part of the EWQL library for all I know). I think he creates pads and synths in Reason (which is really excellent for doing that) and I think he uses Reason as a drum machine, too.

I dunno if that answered your question, since it's hard to know precisely which synths he's using, but that's my five cents. :)

EDIT: Oh, and naturally he's recording himself or someone else playing the guitar. I have no idea what preamp he's using or if he's doing it through a pod.