Pixelation

General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Panda on October 20, 2008, 11:00:47 am

Title: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on October 20, 2008, 11:00:47 am
Time for a new OT thread.

Seeing that Halloween is so close already, would you like any special (pixel) activities to go along with it?
If so, any suggestions?

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zolthorg on October 20, 2008, 12:17:52 pm
i have never gotten a firstpost in all my years.  :-[

as for activities i'd mention the pumpkin one again because missed it, but i'm sure other people are bored of that concept
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on October 20, 2008, 01:15:59 pm
Second post?

(http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/columnists/jimbaumbach/blog/2007-08-02Spam.jpg)

Dammit I have to get a first sometimes.

And Halloween activities: Maybe a mockup Frenzy that has to do with Halloween?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gizmonicgamer on October 20, 2008, 06:44:03 pm
Uh, what happened to the old one?  ???
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 20, 2008, 06:54:08 pm
PURGED.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on October 20, 2008, 09:22:38 pm
PURGED.

Hahaha, you really enjoy lurking around, biding your time until these kinds of chances arrive, don't you? :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 20, 2008, 09:27:37 pm
Dude I don't lurk here, I AM the here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on October 20, 2008, 09:45:20 pm
In my definition, being "the here" is the utter extreme of lurking.

Also, from now on I will call you "the here", on lazy days when I don't have the energy to call you Telemachus Stavropoulos = 3=

"Helm" is now obsolete! Harhar! Take that, Tellieboy!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 20, 2008, 09:55:04 pm
Tellieboy!

Tell me, would you like to be banned for a year, or should I make it two?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on October 21, 2008, 12:13:39 am
Due to the fact that the only Greek names I've ever seen were in a history book, I always thought "Telemachus Stavropoulous" sounded like the name of an important figure.

I know better now, of course  :D

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Darien on October 21, 2008, 06:42:25 am
Ah, eastern European names are so cool.  For the longest time as a child I wished I had been named after my grandfather, Vytautus.  I still get to have Beinarauskas as my middle name, though, which is all right.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on October 21, 2008, 06:58:15 am
My Grandfather's name is Bonifacio.
His son's name is Elias.
My name is Erik.

Like a slow Americanization of first names. On the subject of names, my mom told me back then that if I had come out a girl, they would have named me Delilah.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on October 21, 2008, 07:18:53 am
Tellieboy!

Tell me, would you like to be banned for a year, or should I make it two?

Go fuck a goat  >:(

(wouldn't I go down in history as the first member who got a ban without strikes - for joking in an off-topic thread? : D Why not? Go ahead!)

*treading on thin ice*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on October 21, 2008, 07:54:30 am
(wouldn't I go down in history as the first member who got a ban without strikes - for joking in an off-topic thread? : D Why not? Go ahead!)

*treading on thin ice*

Actually you wouldn't. Pkmays got banned for a day for joking about Helm a while ago, heh.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on October 21, 2008, 08:40:34 am
(wouldn't I go down in history as the first member who got a ban without strikes - for joking in an off-topic thread? : D Why not? Go ahead!)

*treading on thin ice*

Actually you wouldn't. Pkmays got banned for a day for joking about Helm a while ago, heh.


... s-so I wouldn't even be the first?

 :-X











... ::)











 :yell: YUS!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 21, 2008, 12:41:24 pm
hah I don't even remember that, as you sure, Panda? I don't think I banned him, Ptoing did and I don't think it was about me? I would never ban someone like Jad. His positive attitude is a wonderful example of 'the internet done right'.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on October 21, 2008, 12:58:56 pm
Heh, I guess it was Sven then. Since neither you or myself did it.

But here is the post that triggered it!
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=5005.msg61765#msg61765
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 21, 2008, 01:33:02 pm
ouch. I don't think banning is funny even if it was just for one day. A belated sorry from my part, PkMays!!  :blind:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on October 21, 2008, 04:07:41 pm
I finally got out of the evil trap that MMORPG's does to people. Been playing for 2-3 weeks and I didn't do anything productive, I was pretty much brainwashed.

Well, I miss this place and finally back to train my skills again.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Blick on October 22, 2008, 03:48:50 am
Whatever you do, DON'T BECOME A DISHWASHER.

My hands and arms have had burns on them from day one, I have lost feeling in my fingers, and I'm always the last person to leave the kitchen. Either I'm being lathered up in a slurry of leftovers or I'm constantly draping my arms in boiling water.

It hurts, it doesn't pay well, but it's a job. And I should have taken that assistant aircraft mechanic position when I had the chance months ago.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on October 22, 2008, 09:44:30 am
Yeah!  The new off-topic thread!

Quote from: Blick
My hands and arms have had burns on them from day one, I have lost feeling in my fingers, and I'm always the last person to leave the kitchen. Either I'm being lathered up in a slurry of leftovers or I'm constantly draping my arms in boiling water.

Sounds somehow familiar. :)

STAY AWAY FROM DRILLS, AIR-DRILLS AND ANY KIND OF DRILLS, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO RENOVATIONS.

They're evil.  Sorry for the low-res.

(http://jspade.republika.pl/0437364775.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on October 22, 2008, 05:00:51 pm
Haha, yeh I banned him for one day as a joke, dunno if it even was a full day.
I am not even sure if it was about that post Panda linked. I think it was when I was chatting with PMKays on MSN and he somehow got to that, quite a while ago, was silly, would not do it again.

I agree with Helm about Jad, he is a very nice addition to Pix and I would be sad if I would see him go. GO JAD!   :y:;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on October 24, 2008, 08:49:01 am
Panda gained 366 Exp.
Panda levelled up!
Panda is Level 21 now.

 !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on October 24, 2008, 12:03:59 pm
Panda gained 366 Exp.
Panda levelled up!
Panda is Level 21 now.

 !yus!

Congratulations dude! May you reach many more levels.
What stats got added? :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on October 24, 2008, 12:16:17 pm
Panda gained 366 Exp.
Panda levelled up!
Panda is Level 21 now.

 !yus!

(http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo326/endisaster/conglaturation.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on October 24, 2008, 01:27:51 pm
When family or that special girl gives me a hard time about playing video games, I like to bring up the fact that I am merely proving the justice of our culture.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on October 24, 2008, 01:50:38 pm
Thanks Opacus and Jad  :)

What stats got added? :D

Uhm... lemme see.

Books +4
Comics +6
Games +1
Revoltech +3
LEGO +4
Hoodie + 1
DVD +1
Money + 200

And lots of cake
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on October 24, 2008, 04:24:19 pm
When family or that special girl gives me a hard time about playing video games, I like to bring up the fact that I am merely proving the justice of our culture.

*prooving
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rox on October 24, 2008, 04:46:21 pm
Holy crap.

The company I'm... not-working at. I'm an intern currently. But I might as well be working there since everyone there's really tight. Anyway. A game we've been working on for the iPhone has just been officially released! And I actually made some stuff in it! Last time we looked today, we had a whooping 60 registered users... which is... actually really great, I think, for an iPhone game with no marketing or anything. It didn't even make it to any front pages before those 60 guys found and bought it.

Keep an eye out for Clusterball Arcade! And don't mind the geographical design of the second set of stages, because I made all those.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on October 25, 2008, 02:37:23 pm
Thanks Opacus and Jad  :)

What stats got added? :D

Uhm... lemme see.

Books +4
Comics +6
Games +1
Revoltech +3
LEGO +4
Hoodie + 1
DVD +1
Money + 200

And lots of cake

I thought Adam and I were the only LEGO'ers here.
Show some creations some times :D.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on October 25, 2008, 11:09:24 pm
I doubt many members if any here would turn down a good lego session
and happy birthday noe :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on October 28, 2008, 12:26:07 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwRISkyV_B8

 :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Blick on October 28, 2008, 06:27:24 am
The parody is just as entertaining.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A9fmnAsgdg
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on October 29, 2008, 01:36:52 pm
Why the crap do all the good games come out like the same week? Even if I had money to buy them all I don't have time to play them!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on October 30, 2008, 04:09:57 pm
It was dark, raining and fallen leaves everywhere today on the way home on the bus. Quite pretty actually, the city was all sparkly like. I saw a dumbster on the side of the road with old chairs, beds and such. A poor looking man hopped on there and started scavenging. Social pre-programming said "this man is pathetic" while logic said "this man is awesome". Awesome because he probably consumes only a fraction of what i do. I felt a bit like an ass gripping my new videogame. After many years of trying to shake these combat ready thoughts on what's cool and what's not, they still surface all the time. Always using logic on everything doesn't work very well cause it's simply extremely inefficient and slow compared to your subconscious thinking. It's been proven that one's brain can be retooled quite a bit, so i guess i just need more exercise in consciousness raising.

So i just bought Red alert 3, almost bought Fallout 3 and i don't feel like playing either anymore. I probably will later, just to satisfy my vanity.
In a nutshell, what I'm saying Ben2, is that you can easily reason yourself out of buying all the new games. Wanting to buy more than enough is just a little devil talking in the back of your head. You surely have access to far more entertainment than what would be sufficient to satisfy you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on October 30, 2008, 04:29:43 pm
Yes, but everyone else is playing them and you gotta keep up. I missed out on a lot of PS2 classics (Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, Ico, etc.) and it's going to be harder for me to get into them now that they are last generation (must dust off PS2), especially with all the new games I want to play (Dead Space, Fallout 3, Bioshock, Resistance 2).  It would be nice to freeze time for a while...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on October 30, 2008, 06:03:13 pm
I think it's not bad at all to play games very late. I got Homeworld 2 last weekend for 2€ and i have to say it still has some very amazing things. It's a game made with a relatively small team, little resources and such, but still packs quite an epic punch compared to anything on the market now. Also the simple animatics + voice overs are far more convincing to me than 90% of the cutscenes that I've seen in the past few years.

Oh and i gotta add that Dead Space has been a lot of fun. Incredible sound. Sometimes the noise of an engine room suffocates all the other sound (even here in the house  :-X), or the vacuum of space has no sound at all except for things that are in contact with your suit. I must apologize to my neighbors after i finish the game......
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on October 30, 2008, 07:39:51 pm
It really depends, though. Some games are classic, and you can afford to miss them... but some games, despite awesome reviews and great reception upon realease, die faster as time goes by.

Take, for example, Super Metroid. Still a wicked game, even though it's ancient. I play that sucker usually once a year and still enjoy it (thanks in large part to my never-using-walkthroughs or guides policy) and I don't find anything in the game atrocious. Cave story, same thing. The graphics are simple, work, and haven't necessarily been madly surpassed by anything. The gameplay is still solid, the music still fits... it all just works.

Now, I've gone through my life having played two Final Fantasy games. Those two would be Final Fantasy 6 (SNES) and FFX (Playstation2?). Any time I talk to a FF fanboy, they scream and vouch for FF7, as it's the best RPG in the world etcetera etcetera etcetera. A few months ago, I actually got my hands on a copy of FF7 and gave it a go.

It looks terrible (The enemies... explode? into a mess of broken triangles???), it sounds terrible(The sound made when enemies explode??), and I couldn't get past those two facts long enough to enjoy the story or gameplay. It wasn't the legend I was told it was simply because I was waay late on that train and have seen what can be. It's not that FF7 is or was a crappy game, so no fanboys diving down my throat, please. I just can't stand it because I can't relate to the restrictions of the time.

I also never played Katamari Damacy. If I wait too much longer, I betcha it'll lose its appeal.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on October 30, 2008, 09:31:07 pm
I also never played Katamari Damacy. If I wait too much longer, I betcha it'll lose its appeal.

Nah, probably not. Wait until a rainy day when you've almost forgot about it, then GO.

Katamari Damacy is like pacman but just so much better. The core gameplay is super solid and all the other things such as the graphic style, music, etc. help with adding to that. Since the gameplay is solid and the fluff fits in, it's super-non-gimmicky.

Just plain enjoyable. Nothing mind-blowing; except for the first time I played it when it actually blew my mind because I hadn't thought that games could be so free in their aesthetics; since then so many minds have been blown that those who haven't already played it expects miracles; you're not gonna get any, just play the game (:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on October 30, 2008, 09:40:06 pm
Totally agree with Jad. Also Katamari Damacy is one of the very few games that actually make me happy when I play it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on October 31, 2008, 12:23:20 am
New futurama flick is out, been hearing good things about this one, apparently the best so far

edit-
Yeah, I think I'd say this is the best movie so far, it doesn't focus on Fry much, in fact he pretty much only deals out one liners, though they're all consistently good :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on November 01, 2008, 09:20:07 am
Any other Fallout 3 players?

I'm a bit of a bastard, as I haven't actually played fallout one or two (I plan to!). Nonetheless, it's quite fun despite having obvious connections to Bethesda's Oblivion engine (Which I hated) and the totally emotionless faces of all the characters. Non-linear real-time RPG with FPS aspects, neato.

I've already met a few people I've resolved to kill later :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on November 01, 2008, 10:19:33 am
Yes, but everyone else is playing them and you gotta keep up.

I'm totally feeling the same way right now, there's so many awesome games from last gen that I haven't even touched yet. I think this christmas I might just buy everything I've missed and just spend a week or two catching up.

Willows I agree with your whole post. Actually the first time I played Super Metroid was only about a couple of years ago, it was one of those games everyone raved about but I'd never tried. Ended up being one of my favourite games of all time, and to think how many other legendary games out there that I haven't played yet.

I did try to force myself to play FF7 a while ago but the game just isn't for me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on November 01, 2008, 12:26:49 pm
New futurama flick is out, been hearing good things about this one, apparently the best so far

edit-
Yeah, I think I'd say this is the best movie so far, it doesn't focus on Fry much, in fact he pretty much only deals out one liners, though they're all consistently good :y:

really... i thought the whole fantasy thing sucked ass.

there wasnt really much of a plot either... i think the second has been the funniest so far.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 01, 2008, 02:12:38 pm
Any estimation yet on when the next Secret Santa will begin?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 01, 2008, 02:37:50 pm
Not before you finish your iso collab tile! On Monday I will rain down on that like the wrath of a thousand gods! I want that thing finished and done!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 01, 2008, 03:14:52 pm
I'd say in 2 weeks or so.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on November 01, 2008, 03:27:12 pm
Pixelation SecretSanta is one of my favourite christmas traditions ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 01, 2008, 03:43:42 pm
Not before you finish your iso collab tile! On Monday I will rain down on that like the wrath of a thousand gods! I want that thing finished and done!

Oh gingerbread cupcakes the iso collab
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 01, 2008, 09:30:03 pm
Stop swearing for no reason.  :ouch:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dokozai on November 01, 2008, 10:26:01 pm
Stop swearing for no reason.  :ouch:
PHAWK

Oh, and is the iso collab a yearly thing? Cuz' I'd like to be a part of the next one!
 :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on November 01, 2008, 10:30:17 pm
You could be part of this one as soon as Ptoing starts bustin' heads.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dokozai on November 01, 2008, 10:33:46 pm
You could be part of this one as soon as Ptoing starts bustin' heads.
Schweeeeeeeeet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 02, 2008, 10:13:09 am
Stop swearing for no reason.  :ouch:

Allright. From now on I will use terms as gingerbread and cupcakes as in your edit.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 02, 2008, 11:44:47 am
I didn't edit your post (Ptoing is the edit-happy mod as far as I've been able to tell) but yes, please.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 02, 2008, 12:26:13 pm
I propose an automatic word replacer that randomly picks a curse from the full vocabulary of Captain Haddock

(http://hpnadig.weblogs.us/images/cap_haddock.jpg)

http://www.tintinologist.org/guides/lists/curses.html <---Best curses ever

http://www.cmdr-fire.co.uk/haddock.html hrm, I wish they had a normal-to-haddock translator, like the 13 year old aol kid one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 02, 2008, 05:23:21 pm
I propose an automatic word replacer that randomly picks a curse from the full vocabulary of Captain Haddock

(http://hpnadig.weblogs.us/images/cap_haddock.jpg)

http://www.tintinologist.org/guides/lists/curses.html <---Best curses ever

http://www.cmdr-fire.co.uk/haddock.html hrm, I wish they had a normal-to-haddock translator, like the 13 year old aol kid one.

That would be mathematical.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 02, 2008, 09:55:17 pm
Is pillow-shading ok, if you're shading a pillow???
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dokozai on November 02, 2008, 11:29:17 pm
Is pillow-shading ok, if you're shading a pillow???
No.
The word pillow is now non-existent.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rabidbaboy on November 03, 2008, 01:19:35 am
Henceforth, the word "pillow" shall be replaced by the word "lovely".

As in, that is some lovely shading you have there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on November 04, 2008, 05:37:17 am
Fallout 3  :y: :y: :y: :mean: :y:

First game I've bought in a long time, and it's pretty fantastic. :hehe:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on November 04, 2008, 12:51:34 pm
well legal citizens of the united states, the polls have been open for two hours in some states and starbucks gives a free tall coffee if you tell them you did your civic duties.  go vote now!

ps fallout 3 looks awesome.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on November 04, 2008, 02:20:57 pm
I voted a mere hour ago. I can't wait for today to be over, we'll have a new president and everyone can stop bickering and whining (yeah right...  ::))
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 04, 2008, 03:05:32 pm
I'm going to be in NYC tomorrow visiting the met on a school trip. I'm actually kind of scared there'll be unrest no matter who wins. I live in rural Pennsylvania so I'm always a little scared of cities though.  :P

*imagines KKK or democrats rocking bus*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Xion on November 04, 2008, 11:19:54 pm
Yay I voted for the first time ever. ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on November 05, 2008, 01:36:42 am
upper east side (where the Met is) is safer than anywhere.  and buses are hard to rock :P.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 05, 2008, 03:32:45 am
I was gonna ask if there was a website following the polls, then I remembered TV!
yeah, that video game thing also receives news sometimes!

Looks like Obama is winning  :)

edit-
Obama won! ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Xion on November 05, 2008, 03:51:07 am
fuck yeah!

:) ;D :yay: :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dokozai on November 05, 2008, 04:15:54 am
I'm just glad this place isn't filled with easily angered Reblucans!

 :crazy:
I love that smily.
 :crazy: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 05, 2008, 04:34:27 am
Change is the only constant in the universe. If we have been stuck for so many years it is because we wanted it. That USA choses the candidate of CHANGE is a great sign of need for transformation, but if that is where the people is done with it and now it is seen as his responsability, he's just a pacifier, a placebo.

The need for transformation will be fullfilled if it stays in their hearts and becomes real in their lives, nobody can change their own lives for them, the President can only support it from his position not provide it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 05, 2008, 04:48:03 am
It's kind of sad that the first thing I thought was, "how long until he gets assassinated"... is that bad? I'm extremely happy he won, but I just get the feeling there are a lot of people who aren't happy about it, and willing to go to that extreme.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Xion on November 05, 2008, 05:14:44 am
No. During his entire speech I was just fearing that at any minute part of him would explode in a shower of crimson from the bullet of some bastard.
I'm praying that never happens.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on November 05, 2008, 06:10:24 am
   Man, I hope Obama is bullet free by the end of both terms. I'm just wondering where Palin and McCain decide to take their services afterward. Either way, I'm saving my ultra vote for when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone decide to battle it out for office, after Arny-boy sweet talks us into making an amendment for those not born on American soil to run for presidential candidacy.

  side-note: congrats goes to the first Non-Caucasian U.S. president!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 05, 2008, 06:17:44 am
I think martirs are bigger iconss than presidents.....I hope his opposition sees that and stays still.

Honestly, he's there because he's manageable. Ron Paul was a real plan for radical, fundamental change....obama wins because they can mold him to do what they want.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on November 05, 2008, 02:45:10 pm
I'm just glad this place isn't filled with easily angered Reblucans!

There's Republicans around definitely, we're just not easily angered  ;) Honestly Palin scared me more than Obama ever will.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on November 06, 2008, 10:06:55 am
political discussion aauugghhhhw rrmrf  grhb mary  moo cowm clap a  nap stick   ptoing        is the baddest      man in     the     whole        wide        wo    r  m
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 06, 2008, 10:15:18 am
Whole wide worm?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 06, 2008, 10:33:51 pm
I had hope for Ron Paul until the last second. The last second, I tell you!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 07, 2008, 04:09:05 am
Apparently westboro baptist church will be picketing Obama's grandmother's funeral.

You can bet there will be counter protests trying to drive them away, but I wouldn't be surprised if they get assaulted.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on November 07, 2008, 09:44:12 am
(http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/400/15/15195.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 07, 2008, 04:30:07 pm
uh
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on November 07, 2008, 05:37:44 pm
Apparently westboro baptist church will be picketing Obama's grandmother's funeral.
... What the fuck is wrong with people?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 07, 2008, 06:21:30 pm
You have to ask what's wrong with the Westboro Baptist Church. And the answer to that is "Just about everything"  :ouch:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on November 07, 2008, 06:42:36 pm
Each person is born to a group that is right and everyone else is wrong.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 07, 2008, 06:44:11 pm
That is very much a blanket statement, huzba. The problem is that WBC is a bunch of fundamentalists that bother people they have no right to bother at all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on November 07, 2008, 06:52:47 pm
That's what i find completely absurd about this kind of groups. It's very unlikely that you happened to be born into the "right" group when there's so many different groups with different views. How come no-one in WBC questions themselves when you can challenge their credibility with something so ridiculously simple?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 07, 2008, 06:56:27 pm
Because people are a natura absurdly self-confident. It's a biological, evolutionary mechanism. We are made to think we are right so we test out our theories and either die trying or triumph. Relativism and tolerant equidistance, as much as they're human traits I endorse and probably define me to a large degree, are simply not as useful as headstrong people that carve their own path, regardless of how absurd the foundations.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 08, 2008, 05:27:24 am
So, I voted today.

NZ politics are boring, pretty much the same as Futurama's John Jackson and Jack Johnson.
So I voted for the "Legalize Marijuana Now" party
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dokozai on November 08, 2008, 12:18:07 pm
So, I voted today.

NZ politics are boring, pretty much the same as Futurama's John Jackson and Jack Johnson.
So I voted for the "Legalize Marijuana Now" party
:hehe:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 11, 2008, 04:18:28 pm
 >:(

(http://ptoing.net/zomg.jpg) 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rabidbaboy on November 11, 2008, 04:21:46 pm
You're lucky you look alright with a shaved head.

Apparently, I look like a rocket with my head shaved.  :ouch:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 11, 2008, 04:22:28 pm
Wowaaaaa
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 11, 2008, 05:37:33 pm
Whoa.
What was the reason?  Or just because?

Doesn't look bad though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 11, 2008, 05:57:44 pm
On the Firefox3 Zoom blur.

Guys...hasnt it been a while since this was a problem? I think as a comunity we should try to get this fixed in unison. I just noticed that we all complained a while ago (I didnt) and the only answer was that we should ask that it got fixed....but I have no idea wether we actually did this.

go to

http://hendrix.mozilla.org/

as a subject put

Firefox3 Zoom blur.

give a brief personal explanation of exactly how this new unavoidable blur fucks you up....if all of pixelation does it maybe we can get it fixed?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 11, 2008, 06:44:22 pm
Can't someone create an addon that disables the blurring?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 11, 2008, 07:36:31 pm
it doesnt seem so, whenever we complained about it the very people of support just told us to just go ahead and suggest they change the feature.

Tthe very zoom function that Firefox uses now has an embedded blur, and addons can utilize the function but not modify it.

EDIT:spelling
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Colonel Mustard on November 11, 2008, 09:55:07 pm
You can't disable the blurring with an addon, because there's no alternative method of resizing images in the browser atm. The talk they had when implementing it was something like this: "Why would anyone not want smooth resizing?"
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 11, 2008, 09:57:59 pm
Thing is, so many people have complained, even non-pixelartists. It's screwing up a lot of sites where they resize layout images and such. There were tons of blogs about it, lots of complaints... but they still haven't listened. A little disappointing, because I thought Mozilla were more receptive than that.

Well I sent in the feedback. I hope something comes of this.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 12, 2008, 06:13:18 pm
it's annoying because it would be such an easy thing to fix.

in the page where everyone from pixelation was complaining
http://support.mozilla.com/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?locale=en-US&forumId=1&comments_parentId=29934#threadId71332
 the common answer from the support guys was just instructions to disable the zoom on images. I think probably while not ideal this would be an ok alternative for website layouts, becaue not many people except for pixelartists actually want pixelly zooms

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=664257&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=752735&p=4075495
 here are 2 other related topics...which are apparently still being ignored
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 12, 2008, 06:56:09 pm
protip: don't use firefox, use some other browser, like opera.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on November 12, 2008, 07:31:58 pm
Or you could just go back to Firefox 2..Not sure what the big deal is with Firefox 3 any how...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 12, 2008, 08:34:31 pm
mostly it's that you have to seek for some annoying way to take your configurations from 3 back to 2.....which usually takes a lot of testing and garbage like that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shred on November 12, 2008, 09:15:34 pm
Is there an eraser tool on Gale?  ???

Edit: Ok so I've found out it doesn't, you just use the pencil tool, fair enough. Though is there a shortcut key to switch between your primary and secondary colour? And if so are there any other useful shortcuts?

Sorry if this seems inappropriate posting this here but I thought it would be much better than starting my own topic and couldn't find a more suitable one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on November 12, 2008, 09:47:15 pm
if you right click, you can pick up any color you want.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 12, 2008, 09:48:56 pm
Eraser? It's a pencil icon on the toolbar. Click it and it drops down a little menu, the pencil (Normal), an eraser (Clear), or a fading grid (Opacity). Select "Clear" and paint. Useful when you're working with layers but not much else. Other options include painting with the transparent color or selecting and deleting.

Now it's my turn. Anyone know how to work the opacity brush?

Edit: Aha! figured it out. When the paint mode is Opacity, it is determined by the value of the little grayscale gradient bar right below the palette. I always wondered what that one did. :)

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shred on November 12, 2008, 09:52:44 pm
Now it's my turn.

No no no, it's still my turn! I edited my post before both of you replied you see  :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 12, 2008, 09:56:28 pm
Shred, you make your own shortcuts. go to file, preferences, key....and...have a field day.

I have C mapped to copy a pallete color

and V to paste a color.....

I have up/down for zoom, left/right to flip trough the frames....I love that setup...that and the animation preview is mostly why I still use Ggale instead of Pmotion...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shred on November 12, 2008, 09:58:55 pm
 :y: Ah lovely, thanks Alkaline, Atnas and Conceit.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 13, 2008, 09:22:27 am
Shred, you make your own shortcuts. go to file, preferences, key....and...have a field day.

I have C mapped to copy a pallete color

and V to paste a color.....

I have up/down for zoom, left/right to flip trough the frames....I love that setup...that and the animation preview is mostly why I still use Ggale instead of Pmotion...

Yees, frame flipping makes me all warm and fuzzy inside (:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 13, 2008, 09:57:28 am
I have up/down for zoom, left/right to flip trough the frames....I love that setup...that and the animation preview is mostly why I still use Ggale instead of Pmotion...

You can flip frames and zoom as well in PM (including doing your own shortcuts).
What do you mean with animation preview? Does Ggale have one that you can just have running all the time?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on November 13, 2008, 06:40:09 pm
Yes it does! And you can resize it and zoom in and out, muahahahaha
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 13, 2008, 06:55:36 pm
Well, PM has a preview which you can animate as well and zoom in and resize. You just can't draw when you play back, which I do not see as a massive drawback. Could always ask Jan to implement that tho, I guess.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 13, 2008, 08:15:23 pm
You just can't draw when you play back

I'm just that much of an addict that I cant do without it C_C
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rabidbaboy on November 14, 2008, 12:06:48 pm
Yeah, the animation preview is something you learn to love pretty fast.

Didn't know about the shortcuts though! Thanks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on November 14, 2008, 04:41:35 pm
This has been bothering me for a while.

Every once in a while, I have a reason to try and create "custom brushes" in GraphicsGale. Though I assume it's possible (Using the Reload Pen/Tile button in the palette's dropdown menu) I've never actually been able to get it to function. I was trying to make a tile that's pure black (so it paints with the second colour, not the first) and a widepixel pen (brush) but totally failed at both and either.

P.S. apparently setting paint mode to "Clear" is the eraser in graphicsgale O-o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 14, 2008, 08:13:10 pm
The whole idea of an ereaser has become sort of a thing of the past for me, since Ggale. Sometimes when you erease you want it to use the transparent color of the layer...and sometimes you just want to use a darker color of the material you're drawing on....I find it annoying to have an ereaser that makes that choice for you, I prefer to pick em by myself.

Now, about the PEN thing...why is it not working? I'm always making random brusher for myself with Ggale.
-make a new folder inside the ggale folder called PEN
-make a new 1bpp BMP inside this folder, that is 32x32 pixels of size.
-use black as the transparent color, and white as the color of your brush.
-save the bmp
-go to the palette's dropdown menu, and clik Reload Pen/Tile
-The new brushes will appear after the preset ones in a completely random order...I've never been able to figure out what determines their order.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on November 14, 2008, 09:32:49 pm
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/05/05/pixels-go-mad-the-celebration-of-pixel-art/

An interesting link, figured someone might enjoy it. I especially like the the Rubix cube pixel art and the picture by Chiho Aoshima (despite it not really being pixel art). Also noticed alot of isometric stuff...
It's odd to me but it seems when someone says pixel art people automatically assume it to be the isometric variety. Atleast in my experiences.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skamocore on November 14, 2008, 10:19:44 pm
yes, apparently this (http://88.198.60.17/images/pixel-art/pixel-art-70.jpg) has the "pixel-art-look" simply because it's in isometric perspective... :sry:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on November 14, 2008, 11:46:16 pm
Yeah exactly! Mind you that picture is awesome but I don't get why thats assumed XD
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on November 15, 2008, 01:38:17 am
I've suffer emotional damage because of that link :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 15, 2008, 02:11:43 am
I get a 403 ó_o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on November 15, 2008, 04:41:18 am
Haha maybe it wasn't wise of me to post that, though there is some nice stuff on there. Just lots of meh isometric stuff *shrug*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shred on November 15, 2008, 06:15:52 pm
This: http://flickr.com/photos/thevoicewithin/474490685/ caught my eye, has anyone else seen any other pixel art tattoos? I've seen the odd zelda one but thats about it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 17, 2008, 06:07:33 pm
Secret Santaaaaaaa  :0'
Can't wait to get started, and I can't wait till I see what I get either.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 17, 2008, 07:39:41 pm
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=752735&p=5008845#p5008845 I R angry at mozilla  :yell:

actually, I'm probably angry at myself for getting all tangled up and not having the right priorities in my art and taking so goddamn long to finish my ISO tile...but mozilla can have the hate that it brings.  :crazy: :ouch: :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on November 17, 2008, 08:01:01 pm
Lovin' Turisas right now :O

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFBIr3Vx16w


way later edit:

Made my first post on Conceptart.org today. I doubt I'm the only one that finds that website frigging intimidating, simply by the sheer quantity of RIDICULOUSLY GOOD artists that live there.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=123338

Seriously. What the hell?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 19, 2008, 09:57:14 am
Gentlemen, I bestow the very last build of Twinsen:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/hegswx

We have recently come to the decision to start a new original game rather than restricting ourselves with a fangame.
So please, check out the current build, I'm still very much interested in feedback because things will still be similar in our new game.
Just don't bother mentioning flaws or glitches, we already have them all (no, I'm not being cocky here, we seriously have them all  :P) well documented and will not be working on them anymore.

So yeah, so long twinsen :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on November 19, 2008, 04:44:43 pm
Fun :)! I like it! Lookin' forward to your next game :P.

I do, however, hate those goddamn dragon flies.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 19, 2008, 05:37:47 pm
http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=752735&p=5008845#p5008845 I R angry at mozilla  :yell:
I can't believe how ignorant these people are to the problem... it's like talking to a brick wall, they just don't seem to understand.
(lol @ how they're correcting people and calling it AAing instead of blurring.)

Gentlemen, I bestow the very last build of Twinsen:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/hegswx

We have recently come to the decision to start a new original game rather than restricting ourselves with a fangame.
So please, check out the current build, I'm still very much interested in feedback because things will still be similar in our new game.
Just don't bother mentioning flaws or glitches, we already have them all (no, I'm not being cocky here, we seriously have them all  :P) well documented and will not be working on them anymore.

So yeah, so long twinsen :(
Not running for me... well it does. It just sits there with the little Twinsen logo and I can hear my computer going into overdrive but it does nothing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on November 19, 2008, 05:55:59 pm
Secret Santaaaaaaa  :0'
Can't wait to get started, and I can't wait till I see what I get either.

Seriously, I feel like my skill has improved a ton since my first ever pixelation secret santa, hell, I remember pixeling a very crappy teddy bear for godslayer or someone about 3 years ago. This year, I'm really going to go all out.

On another note, is anyone playing Fallout 3? I have it and have played for a bit, but i'm restricting myself because of my wedding in 2 weeks but I'm dying to play so bad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 19, 2008, 06:27:58 pm
Heh, I hope I'm not rusty for the Secret Santa.
It has been a while since I pixelled something for fun.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on November 19, 2008, 08:58:11 pm
Heh, I hope I'm not rusty for the Secret Santa.
It has been a while since I pixelled something for fun.

Agreed. I haven't pixeled in a while either, for money or for fun...time to dust off that old ms paint and promotion and get to work.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 19, 2008, 09:50:35 pm
Gentlemen, I bestow the very last build of Twinsen:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/hegswx

We have recently come to the decision to start a new original game rather than restricting ourselves with a fangame.
So please, check out the current build, I'm still very much interested in feedback because things will still be similar in our new game.
Just don't bother mentioning flaws or glitches, we already have them all (no, I'm not being cocky here, we seriously have them all  :P) well documented and will not be working on them anymore.

So yeah, so long twinsen :(
Not running for me... well it does. It just sits there with the little Twinsen logo and I can hear my computer going into overdrive but it does nothing.
Bummer, mac, vista by any chance?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 19, 2008, 10:06:05 pm
Secret Santaaaaaaa  :0'
Can't wait to get started, and I can't wait till I see what I get either.

Seriously, I feel like my skill has improved a ton since my first ever pixelation secret santa, hell, I remember pixeling a very crappy teddy bear for godslayer or someone about 3 years ago. This year, I'm really going to go all out.

On another note, is anyone playing Fallout 3? I have it and have played for a bit, but i'm restricting myself because of my wedding in 2 weeks but I'm dying to play so bad.

Yeah...It's fun to be able to give people a better gift each year!

Also, I hope another pixelator comes somewhere soon. I got my butt kicked in the first round last time. Which is not odd because I was up against Snake.(I blame the random poulle generator!)
I wanna kick some butt next time!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on November 20, 2008, 12:29:55 am
On another note, is anyone playing Fallout 3? I have it and have played for a bit, but i'm restricting myself because of my wedding in 2 weeks but I'm dying to play so bad.
Yeah! I beat it the day after it came out- still playing it though, catching up on all the stuff I missed. I really do love it, so much interesting stuff to find just by walking around. I actually just found Dogmeat, too. :hehe:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 20, 2008, 12:54:46 am
Bummer, mac, vista by any chance?
Nope, XP.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 20, 2008, 01:12:29 am
weird, sometimes with GM games the first loadup can take a while, you could try again and leave it sitting for a couple minutes?
I've never had any problems reported with XP '~'
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 20, 2008, 01:45:06 am
That seems to have worked... wow, what a load-up time. And it eats a hell of a lot of CPU.

So I made it to the ledge from the house with the two barrels... but I can't make it to the next ledge. Not much documentation on how to do these platforming tasks(made the ledge off of the house by luck, after many attempts).

Two beefs though: no fullscreen and no controller support?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 20, 2008, 01:48:57 am
full screen is f4, and you can double jump by holding upwards and using the sword, I kinda go over it in the readme :P
And yah, GM games typically hog resources, can't really do anything about it without switching to c++/etc
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 20, 2008, 02:03:08 am
Aha, didn't even notice that readme.

Oh, and the reach of the sword is frustratingly short :( Also, it seems to take a while before hit detection actually sets in(at least while holding forward+slash). I seem to get hurt a lot while waiting for my sword to swing, especially since it likes to throw me into monsters(forward+slash).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on November 20, 2008, 04:36:26 am
I have ONE complaint.

Those annoying friggin' spiky vines don't look dangerous. I ger hurt, and I'm like wut. Practically every time those stupid things show up I land on them and get pwnt.

None of the enemies are hard (actually, none of 'em pose a challenge once you understand your attacks[aka jumpy spinning slash + direction = success]) and jumping around and stuff is fun. Found myself climbing to the top of the last room and free-falling off of it a couple times, just to watch the falling animation again and again.

Love the art and animations.

Love the little effects like the sun moving separately from the rest of the background and the birds flying all over the place.

Love the tiny little clovers for health.

Love the music.

It's friggin' awesome, dude. If you knuckleheads (<3) just buckled down and put some actual meat into it, took it away from being the sandbox it currently is, then it seriously has the potential to be right up there with Cave Story on the indie games front.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 20, 2008, 05:09:14 am
They don't look dangerous?
I'll keep that in mind :)

This was just the first area of the game so all the enemies are pretty basic.
And yeah, part of the reason we're restarting development is because of how little planning we did.
We've already planned out more than we ever did for Twinsen, so I think we'll deliver meat-wise :P

thanks
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on November 20, 2008, 05:21:02 am
same dude, I kept inadvertently jumping on those spikey vines, i never noticed 'em ... :sry:

awesome game though yo.

and yeah, my computer sucks a lot, and the game ran down my virtual memory to the point where that little bubble pops up :O
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skamocore on November 20, 2008, 06:43:56 am
I really have to say I hate how the game constantly punishes you. Like what Willows said about the spiky things. But also things like when you are jumping up to get to the top of one of the levels and then make a mistake, you fall back down to the bottom of the screen. That would be punishment enough, but it just so happens that there is a lake directly under where you are climbing and not only do you get punished by losing your climbing progress you also have to restart the whole level again since you die if you touch water.

Also there was a section where you can choose either to go left or right, neither direction you can see what lies ahead, but both directions mean you have to fall downwards somewhere. If you choose left you plummet into a lake area, where you get trapped with a heap of dragonflies. Then you are just left to die there, since I assume it's impossible to get out of. All of this because you chose to explore one direction instead of another.

And to make it worse you actually *lose* quite a few points for having to restart.

Other than that, the graphics were beautiful and they probably kept me playing the game longer than I would've normally. I love the colours you picked and I liked the random rocks that appear in the foreground occasionally, I think that was a nice touch. Great animation too.

Also, what does the ball do?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 20, 2008, 07:10:28 am
I really have to say I hate how the game constantly punishes you. Like what Willows said about the spiky things. But also things like when you are jumping up to get to the top of one of the levels and then make a mistake, you fall back down to the bottom of the screen. That would be punishment enough, but it just so happens that there is a lake directly under where you are climbing and not only do you get punished by losing your climbing progress you also have to restart the whole level again since you die if you touch water.
Well, I'm pretty much an expert at the game as one would expect, so it's hard to gauge a good level of difficulty.
But I want it to be difficult, it makes the feeling so much more rewarding when you master the controls or discover a secret.

Also there was a section where you can choose either to go left or right, neither direction you can see what lies ahead, but both directions mean you have to fall downwards somewhere. If you choose left you plummet into a lake area, where you get trapped with a heap of dragonflies. Then you are just left to die there, since I assume it's impossible to get out of. All of this because you chose to explore one direction instead of another.
I think in just about all the areas where you can chose to explore, one path will be harder than the other but it will provide rewards such as health units, or point bushes.
I tried to establish a style to the level design that players could recognize and adapt to, I guess it wasn't as readable as I'd have hoped, but regardless- level design will be quite different in the new game.
Also, when facing dragon flies, just do the jumping spin slash attack, pretty much the best move in the game.

And to make it worse you actually *lose* quite a few points for having to restart.
We decided against a live system because that would mean eventually losing all your points at gameover, so we went with fining the player I think 10% of their total points, another part of the game that we won't be carrying into the new game

Other than that, the graphics were beautiful and they probably kept me playing the game longer than I would've normally. I love the colours you picked and I liked the random rocks that appear in the foreground occasionally, I think that was a nice touch. Great animation too.
Thanks, the graphics will remain in the same style :)

Also, what does the ball do?
The ball can be used to knock out the plant enemies, bounce moles into enemies and scare dragonflies away.
The basketball hoop in level5 kinda hints at things to come, but you'll have to wait for the new game to see some of the puzzles/etc we had in mind


thanks for playing :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 21, 2008, 06:15:49 am
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v131/Hagane/222777.png)

 :O

222 and 777
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Raytheon on November 21, 2008, 06:35:36 am
222 i only have 1 :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on November 21, 2008, 08:04:29 am
Five AND a cookie (that I don't know how I got O_o)

Huzzah! Power to the Willows!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 21, 2008, 11:37:49 am
222 i only have 1 :(
(Panda is an Admin, he cheats D:<)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TrevoriuS on November 21, 2008, 12:07:36 pm
They always have to cheat don't they? Now who stole my cookie  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Raytheon on November 21, 2008, 06:39:36 pm
I got 222 now too :)
Total time logged in: 22h 2m
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on November 21, 2008, 07:50:20 pm
On another note, is anyone playing Fallout 3? I have it and have played for a bit, but i'm restricting myself because of my wedding in 2 weeks but I'm dying to play so bad.
Yeah! I beat it the day after it came out- still playing it though, catching up on all the stuff I missed. I really do love it, so much interesting stuff to find just by walking around. I actually just found Dogmeat, too. :hehe:

Serious? Thats dissapointing. I remember spending a long time on fallout 1 just to get to the end. I hate games that you can beat in a few days, super mario galaxy for example was great and all, but beating it in a few days made me feel dissapointed. We'll see, I tend to take my time with games like fallout.

1 question, I ran into an invisible wall when I was playing, does this remain throughout the game?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on November 21, 2008, 08:17:13 pm
I played fallout 4 hours or so and after talking with a friend of mine who has played it more, it seems I'm almost at the end. I like the freedom to develop your character to pretty much anything, but in the end it felt just as pointless as in oblivion, unless you really want to collect items a lot.

At times it had okay story bits and such, but mostly the dialogue is unnatural, characters are robots and the world is surprisingly bland. I didn't feel the horrors of nuclear radiation, there was no despair, no joy, it was all very monotonous at least so far. Some places had good ideas and such, but the presentation just takes the edge off of everything.
For example, you walk in to the first town, there's a guy who offers you a detonator for the nuke. No-one around reacts to this and it's odd how he offers it to some random guy who comes in. The mutant guy at the bar became friendly instantly when you selected the nice line and so forth and that seemed to be the case with most of them mutants. Extremely xenophobic people don't usually become your friends the moment you say something nice to them...... you know, cause the moment they let their guard down the anti mutant guy would take advantage of the situation.
I don't know how much people work at bethesda, but one guy dedicated to making the characters emote would've been enough. Currently they can only sit, stand, or move their mouths, that's it. In fallout 2 they moved around, made expressions and such.

I've found the game to be lots of fun regardless, but for reasons other than the characters or story. I invested all my level up points on unarmed, melee and stealth, so now i can just pwn everything with a knife or a sword. Even the supermutants go down with 2 or 3 slashes, which is kind of odd, since my brother is at the same location in his save and the same enemies take like a 100 shots from the minigun. He's also at a higher level than me, so the enemies probably level up as you do.

@dogmeat
Some places have none, some places are filled with invisible walls. There's a few city locations that have very specific paths that you can't stray from.

I'm on the fence with this game at the moment. Occasionally there would be great immersion, but it's constantly interrupted by things mentioned before and BUGS!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on November 21, 2008, 11:34:06 pm
Hey huZba,

I played the original fallout religiously, I think i've probably beaten it over 10 times. All the things you said were lacking from Fallout 3 are things I thought were present in Fallout 1, whats your take on this?

I really thought Interplay was one of the most innovative game companies of its time, its sad that the gaming market has turned into a mass marketing, focus group driven monster.

The only hard game I've played in the last 10 years was contra4 on the ds.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dokozai on November 22, 2008, 12:35:16 am
http://xxkittxx.deviantart.com/art/RockStar-104235089

PIXELART STEALER!

 :yell:
Angry, that is what I am.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on November 22, 2008, 12:36:32 am
http://xxkittxx.deviantart.com/art/RockStar-104235089

PIXELART STEALER!

 :yell:
Angry, that is what I am.

link doesn't work.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on November 22, 2008, 01:51:26 am
Yeah, a lot of bethesda's robot-people scare the hell out of me. Especially when you begin talking to someone who isn't already facing you and they slooooooowly turn their head to look at you while speaking. Though it isn't as bad as oblivion (one of the reasons I only played oblivion for two hours then dropped it) it's still rather unnerving.

I've actually gone back and started playing fallout 2, just for experience' sake, and I like that fallout 2 gives you little to no inclination as to what skills will help you where. There's no {intelligence} "That looks like a sub-atomic particle cannon!", you've somewhat gotta think for yourself and figure out what skill you should be using where.

Don't understand the point of the {skill} tags in fallout 3 anyways, it just de-mystifies the game by telling you that your character can only do this because of the numerical value of his intelligence stat... as opposed to your character can do this beacuse of any number of mysterious things. Not that realism in games is always something to strive for, but it seemed to mechanize the characters even further, which doesn't seem to serve a positive purpose.

At least the tagged conversation options weren't always good ones.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 22, 2008, 02:16:31 am
http://xxkittxx.deviantart.com/art/RockStar-104235089

PIXELART STEALER!

 :yell:
Angry, that is what I am.

Checked the profile of the dude and the gallery. I do not see the problem. It's all fighter sprite rips but he tells where they are from and does not pretend he made em. Lame but not a thief as such.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rox on November 22, 2008, 11:16:24 am
Fallout 3 is amazing. I've spent close to 40 hours on it so far and basically gotten nowhere in the main quest. The only thing that's disappointing me is the level cap. Seriously, I'm on 16 now, I'll have maxed before I even pick up the main quest again, and I don't like when I'm not able to develop my character any further. I hear there's a mod that slows down the rate at which you level.. I think I'll pick that up before my next playthrough.

Because that's the positive side of such a low cap. You're forced to play it over and over again to try out different things. Not like Oblivion where you eventually end up with practically all your stats maxed.

I feel a lot like I'm playing Oblivion when I'm playing F3. But it's just better in every way. The gameplay mechanics, aside from VATS and shooting, feel a lot like Oblivion, but the gameplay itself feels much more streamlined, the setting is more interesting and better designed, skills are more unique and useful, enemies actually have some variety to them, and the quests and dialogs are infinitely more intricate. There are so many dialog options everywhere, I love it! It's also neat that the main quest is slightly open, also. I've been trying to stay away from it, like I did with Oblivion, especially since the game ends when the main quest is over. I thought I could just keep away from the dude in Megaton and I'd be fine. But many hours later, I stumble upon some tapes that reveal the name of the place my dad went off to. And later, I just stumble upon that location, completely involuntarily. I think I've skipped several parts of the main quest. And it's nice that you can do that! Especially since I can do it the long way with my next character and experience something completely different.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on November 22, 2008, 02:58:17 pm
What do you think, are mobile phone games going out of fashion? I've seen very few mobile game ads recently. Apparently iPhone is gaining popularity as a gaming platform, but what about the other phones?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on November 22, 2008, 04:43:40 pm
   I guess the question is did Mobile phone games ever round up a hardcore fan base? I think the answer is no. I think mobile games are so restricted due to it's technical limitations, that most realize they can play games on another handheld system, that's made purely for games, with less limitations, making for better animation, and graphics. People understand that a tiny cell phone can't hold all that info, so games are mostly casual on it, in my opinion. Not to mention, no one has done much ground breaking in terms of game play and whatnot, nor has a company gained mega status as "the best" game developer with cell phone games(save for better graphics, with better hardware and software on the cellphone). Just another outlet to play the game, that's all. I believe they will remain casual, but not go out of fashion...hope this made any sort of sense.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on November 22, 2008, 05:25:23 pm
My 1 professional pixel job was for a cell phone company and let me tell you, working on cell phone games programatically are sometimes more difficult than working on a ds or psp game due to the vast # of handsets you have to program and test on. Every single platform has small code changes that have to be addressed and tested. Cell phone game development, in general, doesn't make enough money to support itself. Most companies have a main gimic like ringtones that they sell to support the game side of things.

Just my take :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on November 23, 2008, 06:10:26 am
http://www.thelocal.se/7650/ (http://www.thelocal.se/7650/)

This lies somewhere between awful and funny.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on November 23, 2008, 09:02:24 am
http://www.thelocal.se/7650/ (http://www.thelocal.se/7650/)

This lies somewhere between awful and funny.

Well, there's a character for Helm's next comic. ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 23, 2008, 09:18:50 am
No I detest this person too much to attempt to humanize the condition around him. Heavy Metal gave me strength and dignity and he claims it gave him addictions and incapacity. Fuck that guy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 23, 2008, 11:04:13 am
maybe he can be friends of your sadistic jokes guy :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 23, 2008, 11:08:19 am
heh I can't even make any more Bernard Chrome comics, bad taste in mouth.

I'm not cut out to be an internet lol awful person I guess.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on November 23, 2008, 11:28:29 am
Anyone seen a muscle squirrels around  ???
http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m20/sliktrix77/muscle-squirrel.jpg  ;D (Googled it)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 23, 2008, 02:16:21 pm
 :-\ Pretty sure I saw something like that in a jRPG once.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 24, 2008, 09:59:08 am
Finally we are getting some snow.
Pretty cold, but looks nice.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 24, 2008, 10:09:39 am
We had some snow over the weekend, but it does not last.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 24, 2008, 11:26:18 am
It looks like the insides of a snowglobe outside @ w@;,

Quote junkboy: "Whoever decided to give stockholm a shake?"
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on November 24, 2008, 11:46:09 am
Same here.. I had trouble opening the front door of my flat this morning because there was so much snow piled up against it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on November 24, 2008, 02:42:07 pm
http://www.thelocal.se/7650/ (http://www.thelocal.se/7650/)

This lies somewhere between awful and funny.

It's funny but only because my taxes aren't paying for his concert tickets. Sorry to you swedes.  :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 24, 2008, 06:30:43 pm
Your taxes pay for the biggest war-machinery in the world \o/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 24, 2008, 08:13:37 pm
I'm already nearly finished with my Secret Santa .____.
I'm usually a guy that finishes everything last minute but I actually nearly have it done already  :huh:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 24, 2008, 08:48:01 pm
Heh awesome.
I started sketching a couple of things, but not sure what to go with yet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on November 24, 2008, 10:17:21 pm
I've got quite a lot down already, but i'll probably redo it later. I'm excited, i like having reasons to make stuff.  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on November 24, 2008, 11:55:19 pm
I'm pretty pumped about  my partner. Question though, the person making my present isn't the person I'm making a present for, right? So if I was making a present for Lar, he may be making a present for Pep or someone thats not me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Akira on November 24, 2008, 11:59:02 pm
indeed.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skamocore on November 25, 2008, 12:52:53 am
@Opacus: D: same...it's still very WIPish, but I don't think I'm that far from finishing  :B
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 25, 2008, 07:15:42 am
I'm pretty pumped about  my partner. Question though, the person making my present isn't the person I'm making a present for, right? So if I was making a present for Lar, he may be making a present for Pep or someone thats not me.

No closed partners (as in A pixelling for B, and B pixelling for A), everyone is chained instead (A pixels for B, B pixels for C, C pixels for D etc etc... and Z pixel for A)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mirre on November 25, 2008, 10:18:57 am
I'm pretty pumped about my partner too! ;)

Though, the person who got me just PM'ed me to tell me they got me... a bit stumped about that. :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 25, 2008, 11:56:58 am
I'm pretty pumped about my partner too! ;)

Though, the person who got me just PM'ed me to tell me they got me... a bit stumped about that. :(

Wow, that's super lame D:

Totally defeats the whole purpose ):
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 25, 2008, 03:32:11 pm
That really sucks...
It won't go unpunished  :-\

*Goes on rage mode*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on November 26, 2008, 01:35:51 pm
Your taxes pay for the biggest war-machinery in the world \o/

That's not true, our hard-earned tax dollars don't even cover a FRACTION of the cost!

(yeah, bit of a kamikaze comeback there...)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 27, 2008, 05:01:58 am
Your taxes pay for the biggest war-machinery in the world \o/

That's not true, our hard-earned tax dollars don't even cover a FRACTION of the cost!

(yeah, bit of a kamikaze comeback there...)

Hahaha XD
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on November 29, 2008, 06:48:29 pm
Gettin married in 7 hours, a years worth of planning finally becoming a production, wish me luck :)  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on November 29, 2008, 08:12:16 pm
You're gonna need it.  ;D :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 29, 2008, 11:30:42 pm
Haha, that depends, but yup, good luck and have a great time : D!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 29, 2008, 11:38:04 pm
Gettin married in 7 hours, a years worth of planning finally becoming a production, wish me luck :)  :lol:
Ah that's awesome. Good luck and have fun!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 29, 2008, 11:56:02 pm
Good luck! ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gizmonicgamer on November 30, 2008, 04:58:23 am
Quote
http://www.thelocal.se/7650/
Augh, that disgusts me. He is a disgrace to metal music in all of its form.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 30, 2008, 09:18:20 am
Gettin married in 7 hours, a years worth of planning finally becoming a production, wish me luck :)  :lol:
good luck and congratulations :)
be sure to remember the date :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on November 30, 2008, 02:35:06 pm
Gettin married in 7 hours, a years worth of planning finally becoming a production, wish me luck :)  :lol:

Congratulations!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on December 02, 2008, 07:19:09 am
Hum.. I'm changing work place. Previously I worked in the same company with Huzba, but in a mindbogglingly traitorous manner I switched to an enemy company. I'll be doing Habbo graphs from now on. Oh no! ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on December 02, 2008, 07:26:32 am
Eegads! Well, good luck making graphics for the enemy, traitor. Maybe you can make a difference in their terrible terrarium of terror.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on December 02, 2008, 07:46:50 am
I've already set up an altar for damning his soul to eternal hell.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on December 02, 2008, 02:24:41 pm
Looks like Hell will be an awful lot like James Cameron's prophesied future.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on December 02, 2008, 06:51:30 pm
Eegads! Well, good luck making graphics for the enemy, traitor. Maybe you can make a difference in their terrible terrarium of terror.

I don't think I have much power over that. I'll have to do my best within the guide lines. Still, the 2007 revamped version looks better than the old one.

Looks like Hell will be an awful lot like James Cameron's prophesied future.

I'm not scared though.. I have this lil' fella on my side (spot the reference):

(http://ungroup.net/jjntemp/digikuvia/primal_pixels.gif)

I'm a powerful demonic force!
I'm the harbinger of your doom!
And the forces of darkness will applaud me
as I STRIDE through the gates of hell carrying your head on a pike!

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on December 02, 2008, 07:36:35 pm
Stride?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on December 02, 2008, 07:38:17 pm
What a cute little harbinger of doom...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on December 02, 2008, 07:39:48 pm
Stride?

(http://ungroup.net/jjntemp/digikuvia/primal_pixels.gif)

Alright then, I'll ROLL! ROLL through the Gates of Hell! MWAHAHAHA!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on December 02, 2008, 11:15:20 pm
(http://ungroup.net/jjntemp/digikuvia/primal_pixels.gif)
Alright then, I'll ROLL! ROLL through the Gates of Hell! MWAHAHAHA!

Reminds me a lot of Murray from Monkey Island :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXPd2F3lDK0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXPd2F3lDK0)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on December 03, 2008, 06:52:45 am
Reminds me a lot of Murray from Monkey Island :D

That's correct, Murray was the best thing in MI3.  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 05, 2008, 08:57:41 pm
Anyone here have mirrors edge?

I think I'll have to get a 360 because it looks too awesome to pass up
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on December 07, 2008, 07:10:10 pm
Anyone here have mirrors edge?

I think I'll have to get a 360 because it looks too awesome to pass up

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/457-Mirrors-Edge
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on December 07, 2008, 09:38:41 pm
Anyone here have mirrors edge?

I think I'll have to get a 360 because it looks too awesome to pass up

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/457-Mirrors-Edge


Blumunkee = Pkmays?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 08, 2008, 05:23:32 am
ugh yahtzee... I really hope no one takes him seriously.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on December 08, 2008, 05:32:57 am
Hahaha, why?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 08, 2008, 05:40:54 am
I enjoy his videos, but I absolutely do not value his opinion.
Much like the angry video game nerd, he can pick perfectly fine games and exaggerate minor flaws while ignoring everything positive.

I find his No More Heroes 'review' to be the most respectable, because he accepts the flaws in the game, but points out that there is a lot of unique and original ideas that make it all worth it.
However, I mainly think the only reason he judged that game fairly was because there was no major fanbase behind it that he could score off.

Long story short, he's just another cynical video game troller, albeit with a sense of humor
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on December 08, 2008, 07:06:08 am
Anyone here have mirrors edge?

I think I'll have to get a 360 because it looks too awesome to pass up

I just played it through on 360 and it was great! I know it divides opinions but personally I thought that the gameplay and the atmosphere were really good and I didn't get frustrated in the few parts of the game where you had to do trial and error a few times. They were only minor inconvenients in otherwise excellent game. I think it's on my one of the year's best games list :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on December 08, 2008, 08:08:33 am
This is what: If you can give a good review of No More Heroes, you are never again entitled to ciricize gameplay and pacing flaws in any other game. Ever! ):<


MAN, no more heroes made me FURIOUS with its goddamn 'overworld' segments. Seriously, the motorcycle physics made me want to kill people.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 08, 2008, 09:45:47 am
it's hard to separate the hype from the experience though, isn't it? I mean, would the people that love Mirror's Edge besides the flaws mentioned love it as much if they haven't been subconsciously bombarded with hype about it for 6 months? Would Takam be saying that he'll buy a whole new console just to play a flawed game on it? Something being reasonably fun to play shouldn't be the only rule governing ones' purchases, should it? If it adds up to an original experience, if it leaves something positive in you and last but not least if you can afford it, these things should count also, right? We don't have to consume every videogame that comes out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on December 08, 2008, 02:52:09 pm
I was excited about Mirror's Edge originally because of the art direction, from the first preview before the hype set in... so yes in some ways I was doomed to like it. But I think the reason it divides people so much is that it's very much a hard-core game, it has nothing that even hints at casual design. Just like the games of yore, pretty much everything can kill you, and it's not always "fair" in that you don't get big bright red flashing warnings every time you're about to do something stupid. You will be consistently thrown into areas where the only clue is where you have to get to (usually 5 stories up a sheer wall). The same fricken enemy will kill you a dozen times and then laugh in your face. In fact there are numerous places where you will get stuck and extremely frustrated and throw your controller and howl obscenities. And then you beat those areas and you spend the next five minutes mocking your TV because you outwitted it. There is a story somewhere in there but it's completely superfluous and the developers knew it because it really only exists to disguise the loading screens.

In fact for all of these reasons it's the closest anyone has come to the old 8- and 16-bit platformers. If you liked those old games you will love this one. If you're accustomed to having any kind of hand-holding or extra non-essential fluff you will play it for five minutes and give up. I think this is the reason it's dividing people so much and personally I think it's great. Usually you only get this kind of controversy in an indie title.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 08, 2008, 03:24:10 pm
Quote
There is a story somewhere in there but it's completely superfluous and the developers knew it because it really only exists to disguise the loading screens.

This however, really makes me want to throw up, considering how heavy-handed the intro is and who it was written by and like what it was hyped. Do you appreciate your videogames talking down on you even if their gameplay is good? GO play Nikujin or other ikiki games for modern-day 8-bit type platform games with modern touches and do not cut any slack to Mirror's Edge for what it does wrong just because it kills you a lot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 08, 2008, 04:22:30 pm
What can I say, 360 and PS3 games are usually much lower on my radar, but if the jumping physics in Little Big Planet weren't so terrible I'd probably be considering a PS3 too.

It's just that everything about Mirrors Edge appeals to me, I love the elegant and complex movement, I love the music, I love the art style, and I love speed running.
I'm sure mirrors edge has it's flaws, but plenty of games I've enjoyed have flaws.
No More Heroes is another controversial game full of flaws, the flaws only added to the surreal atmosphere if you ask me, and to be perfectly honest I would find the game less interesting without them.

Plus my brother's selling his 360 to me for cheap.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on December 08, 2008, 06:24:52 pm
I'm with TakaM on this one... it's not a flawless game but it is an important game, and what's more it's a fun game. I don't like to judge things based on hype because the creators have no control over how their project is advertised. If I only played perfect games I'd have stopped playing them after Link to the Past.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on December 08, 2008, 07:48:57 pm
I haven't played much yet, but so far i really like Mirror's Edge. I like games where the level is very prominently presenting itself as your adversary. To me the presentation of the story is just right. A simple backdrop to your action that doesn't stuff itself down your throat or get in the way of the game, yet brings some purpose to what you're doing. Like in Megaman X there's a backstory, not much, but enough to make the world seem more tangible. The design of the levels, the music and small tidbits of story all pulling the same rope goes a long way, as opposed to how many recent games have badly separated all it's elements which only makes them feel alien to each other. I'n Mirror's Edge i often get the urge to do things the freerunning way instead of just climbing stairs as you would normally... it's amazingly fun. It's not really a game that you should play in very long sessions, more like a few tackles at a level after work to wind off type of thing.
The fun i get from the game is similar to playing a speedrun in megaman or pulling off a perfect lap in a racing game.

I haven't been following the hype much, but seeing how it's an EA published game I'm sure there's an overabundance of SELLING involved.

To me Nikujin and ME are very similar and you're going to have to cut them both some slack for the reasons Ben mentioned if you're used to a lot of hand holding.
The only problem here i can think of is how ME is marketed and I'm sure it causes confusion.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 08, 2008, 09:32:17 pm
If I enjoy a game, I enjoy a game. I don't try to force myself to enjoy it because of hype or such. Twilight Princess was considered seriously overhyped, but I still had an enjoyable time with it. I'm not going to pretend the game was fun just because of hype -- that's pretty dumb to let hype skew my real opinion of a game.

Also, it's funny you mention the physics of Little Big Planet, TakaM. I haven't played the game personally, but what I've seen of the game suggests the jumping is very, very 'floating'... not my kind of thing. But like I said, I haven't played it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Luzeke on December 09, 2008, 08:55:36 am
I've had Little Big Planet for about three weeks now (bought the lbp+ps3 bundle  :D ) and I can say this, it is a good game. Very good actually. I don't have internet access at home yet so I can't say anything about the online experience, but I have played it with three other friends localy and I find it hard to imagine not finding anything about that experience that you wouldn't like. Sure there are some issues with the game, but these are mainly minor issues and not worth getting riled up for (if you ask me, which you didn't).
The depth changing issue is annoying when it occurs, but I've found it occurs very rarely when playing well designed levels, like most of the ones that come on the disc.

The camera can do some annoying choices when playing multiplayer, but mostly that's because someone is dragging behind.

Now the 'floaty' controls... I actually don't have any gripe with it. It just something to get accustomed to. I love platformers and know just as well as anyone else who does that faulty controls kills a game.
I played through Overlord and Tomb Raider Legend with a control delay of up to a second (freaking vista). And that's way worse than 'floaty' controls, but I still had an enjoyable time playing.

 :)

EDIT// Also, don't go into edit mode with three friends unless you've decided what to do... that is to say if you don't want total chaos...  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 09, 2008, 03:11:44 pm
Gentlemen, I bestow the very last build of Twinsen:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/hegswx

We have recently come to the decision to start a new original game rather than restricting ourselves with a fangame.
So please, check out the current build, I'm still very much interested in feedback because things will still be similar in our new game.
Just don't bother mentioning flaws or glitches, we already have them all (no, I'm not being cocky here, we seriously have them all  :P) well documented and will not be working on them anymore.

So yeah, so long twinsen :(
I didn't know Twinsen was based on an already existing(though what looks to be terrible...) game.
Are you a fan of the series and is this a fan-game?

(http://www.games.lt/w/gbox/3947.jpg)
(http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/7/573157_12406_front.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 09, 2008, 03:16:50 pm
LBA 1 at least is not a terrible game at all, it's in fact quite nice, if quirky. At least if memory serves.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 09, 2008, 06:41:10 pm
Yah, I'm a big fan and Twinsen was a fangame, which is partly why we've canceled it :P

The Little Big Adventure games may look terrible by todays standards, but they're still great games
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 09, 2008, 07:14:55 pm
Yah, I'm a big fan and Twinsen was a fangame, which is partly why we've canceled it :P

The Little Big Adventure games may look terrible by todays standards, but they're still great games
I guess I'll have to try them out. I've never actually heard of the game until I stumbled across it in a list on gamefaqs.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on December 09, 2008, 07:37:50 pm
There are some Twinsen speed runs on SDA; looks entertaining.

http://speeddemosarchive.com/LittleBigAdventure.html
http://speeddemosarchive.com/LittleBigAdventure2.html

Blumunkee = Pkmays?

Yar. Forgot my password, and I decided I like my old username better. Incidentally, I also decided to go back to using my first name Preston, after some 10 odd years of using my hipper middle name Kyle.

http://www.jeuxvideo.fr/king-fighters-xii-combo-images-actu-243060.html

Hooray for 2D. There seems to be too much banding going on in most of the sprites, but the animations are relatively smooth looking.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on December 09, 2008, 08:59:45 pm
Cool, I already wondered where you went!
Welcome back :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on December 09, 2008, 09:12:45 pm
Preston, Kyle?

P K mays? : D I see a connection here!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 10, 2008, 04:25:56 am
Welcome back, blumunkee. Please don't run away all the time, I need you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: flaber on December 11, 2008, 12:02:31 am
question:
There was a special effect someone outlined here once upon a time on how to do.
Giving an image, scan lines? Where you take your finished imaged and break it down into horizontal bars, with 2 images. You slightly offset the colors or so for the horizontal bars on each image, and when compiled it looked, holographic i think?
Cant quite remember who did it, or what they called it.
anyone have any recollection of this?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Akira on December 11, 2008, 05:11:49 am
st0ven had it in his tutorials. it was called interlacing. and a mirror of it can be found here (http://www.geocities.com/skulkraken2002/) under Samurai > Raven's tuts > interlacing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: flaber on December 11, 2008, 09:00:15 am
perfect.
thats exactly what i was looking for.
thanks
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on December 12, 2008, 10:45:36 am
Does anyone here have Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia?
Now am I the only one who thinks that the walkcycle of the maincharacter is total garbage? (google won't spit it out, sorry)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on December 12, 2008, 05:58:05 pm
It's floaty but I think it's decent. Floaty seems the standard of Castlevania walk cycles anyways. It's a lot better than some of the previous games, aria of sorrow was the worst I think, It looked like Soma was doing the hustle.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 12, 2008, 07:30:41 pm
Castlevania games always tend to have very slow walk cycles that don't tend to match their actual movement across the ground.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on December 12, 2008, 09:01:31 pm
I guess the reasoning would be that they wanted the walk cycle to be somewhat smooth and effortless, but they also wanted the character to move quite fast, so we have a strange end result. I think the first GBA castlevania had the guy running and it looked very comical, as if he was running for his life.

It might need some fundamental retooling to change it. Like changes in the world scale, movement speed, game speed, interaction frequency and so forth.
So if they changed just the walking animation to pants-on-fire-running to match the speed, it would look even weirder, cause the movement speed is quite fast.

I haven't done much character animations so that might be a good subject to study and see if there's a way to improve it. The whole thing might even be up to just them going with what the artists have accustomed to or bad habits.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on December 13, 2008, 12:52:22 am
That animation looks like a perfectly fitting walk with a few frames slapped on the extremes (to make it smoother I guess) which makes it look off.
To me, it looks like simply deleting those frames would already result in something more fitting.
Which is what makes this even more irritating, they destroyed a perfectly fine walking cycle.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on December 13, 2008, 06:37:50 pm
I could only find crappy youtube footage but it does sync up with the actual movement very poorly. There's any number of reasons for why this could have occured - maybe the artist never saw it in-game, maybe he was told to add frames to make it smoother by a producer who doesn't understand what makes a good animation. Or maybe the artist just copied the status quo - Symphony of the Night had a similar run cycle if I recall, and just as slide-tastic.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rox on December 13, 2008, 10:40:32 pm
So. Savage 2 (http://savage2.s2games.com/main.php) went and became free to download and play. Still some things that you can't have unless you pay, but they're measly little things like 2 extra inventory slots. All units and all maps on all servers are now available for anyone to play for free. If you haven't heard of it, it's a weird team based online action game with RPG and RTS influences. RPG because you can level up and gain gold with which to buy items in-game, but that stuff resets inbetween rounds. And RTS because, sort of like Battlefield but even more intricate, each team has a commander that can fly his magical camera across the map and place orders and build structures, unlocking a tech tree that allows the other players to choose new classes to play as.

So, I downloaded it again. I did play the beta a bit, started to learn what it's about, then my computer died, way back whenever. So far, I'm mostly confused. The learning curve is more of a learning wall. But I've still had a few of those genuine fun moments you only get in fairly large multiplayer games. And unlike most team based action games, the teams play really really differently, which is awesome. Humans are weak but versatile and have good long range attacks. Beasts are insanely powerful but a bit clumsy and sometimes too specific for their own good. It's pretty fun. Check it out if you want some free, hard to learn, multiplayer action.

Yay I'm a walking commercial...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on December 18, 2008, 06:32:16 pm
Hey all, back from the wedding/honeymoon stuff.

Just thought I'd stop in, say hi, and see whats new.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 19, 2008, 03:02:06 am
welcome back dogmeat :)


I bought Metroid Prime 3 for my brother (xmas) for close to $100 (how much games cost here) and this week they have it on sale for $30 >:(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 21, 2008, 01:33:21 pm
I am back as well. I check forums. Evildoers will be purged.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on December 21, 2008, 03:23:34 pm
I am back as well. I check forums. Evildoers will be purged.

Dude, I'd like to hear your take on the riots in Greece. The general public sympathises with the rioters, am I right?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 21, 2008, 03:43:59 pm
It's just my luck that as soon as I turn 16, the driving age in Pennsylvania is bumped up to 17.   :-\
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 21, 2008, 04:47:50 pm
I am back as well. I check forums. Evildoers will be purged.

Dude, I'd like to hear your take on the riots in Greece. The general public sympathises with the rioters, am I right?

Not easy to say. The general public is concerned about what it all means. Public unrest protests against authority of course but the resultant rage seems mismatched to a singular event. It seems steam has been building over a lot of things and now that people remembered what they can do to show their distaste besides peaceful demonstration, they're giving it all they've got. Don't be surprised if the Greek government topples over this and some radical departure from 'safe politics' occurs. The only good we can expect from the current situation. It seems violence fans the flames, the anger will not diffuse. We will see where this leads and what it means. People interested in global politics are paying attention because this might as well might serve as a reference point for similar riots & fallouts in other countries in the immediate future. I hesitate to close with some sort of one-liner like 'Capitalism cannot eat its tail indefinitely', but I we will just wait and see I guess.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on December 21, 2008, 06:31:12 pm
This thing started almost immediately after me reading your blog rant about the editors adding porn implements to the mag you used to draw to some years back. Apparently even porn wasn't enough of circuses and bread then.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 21, 2008, 06:47:10 pm
Yeah I can't really say if this violence will end in some focus, my brief life hasn't offered much to be optimistic about (as far as I remember, things have been getting worse - I mean, geopolitically, not in my personal life) so my hopeful parts inside me seem rusty. I find it very odd that I wish for something positive out of people setting banks and cars on fire and clashing with the police but... at least something is happening now? I hope I don't have to eat all my words later. And what I really fear against is that this will end in the usual apathy because if it does it'll be even worse due to the damaging of private property.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on December 22, 2008, 03:29:17 pm
The "Generic 16 color palette (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4306.100)" - What a shame that this thread never had a conclusion, it just kinda faded. It was a great community initiative.

Feels like it should be finished and not forgotten. Lot of time spent here playing around with challenges and such, why not focus more energy into things like this that lend to the development of pixeling itself?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 24, 2008, 02:07:48 pm
Merry xmas guys, hope you and yours have a great time :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on December 25, 2008, 05:09:09 am
WE've had eight minutes of christmas in new york city, and here's a happy one to all :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mirre on December 25, 2008, 10:00:04 am
Meryy Christmas everyone! Hope you have a great one. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on December 25, 2008, 05:23:18 pm
Merry Christmas everyone  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on December 25, 2008, 11:52:54 pm
God Jul!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on December 26, 2008, 01:47:54 am
Merry Christmas :) I got some unexpected stuff this year, but is' all great. :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on December 26, 2008, 03:17:36 am
I hope everyone had a good day.  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dex on December 27, 2008, 05:51:09 am
Merry late Christmas everyone!

Here's hoping you got what you wanted. :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on December 29, 2008, 04:16:26 pm
Happy solstice  ;D   :P

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423756 for anyone that cares about the whole firefox anti-aliased zooming issue, please vote here!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 31, 2008, 09:42:57 pm
happy new years indeed.

New Paul Robertson video :y: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4OWeBFYrHk&fmt=18)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rosse on January 01, 2009, 07:26:22 am
Happy new year followers of the way of the pixel, may those find new inspiration and bravery in the new year whose strength is to small to find it every new day.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doomcreator0 on January 01, 2009, 07:51:37 am
Any resolutions from the lot of you?  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dr D on January 01, 2009, 09:16:32 am
Happy new years, everyone! Some of my resolutions are: reach a personal goal level of pixel-art and art, in general that I am satisfied with, by the end of the year. Get outside more... Work-out more. =P

All of these until I'm satisfied with myself, by the end of the year of course.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on January 01, 2009, 03:01:33 pm
My resolution is to force myself to draw every day, even when I'm in that awful creativity slump.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 01, 2009, 03:24:01 pm
Any resolutions from the lot of you?  ;D

Yes. Nothing is real, everything is permitted.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Blick on January 01, 2009, 11:42:20 pm
No resolutions this year. Already quit smoking two months ago, woot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 02, 2009, 02:33:47 am
a bee stung my foot



2009 sucks
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on January 03, 2009, 02:41:04 am
happy new years indeed.

New Paul Robertson video :y: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4OWeBFYrHk&fmt=18)

is he sponsored or is that his entry into some kind of contest?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 05, 2009, 02:52:14 pm
My resolution was, is, and always will be

320x240
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on January 07, 2009, 12:08:50 pm
Why on earth is there no topic listed under 'Show unread posts since last visit.' every time I newly log on here?
That kinda also happened years ago and it's still not fixed?
It has been some weeks since I've been here so there has to be new posts and stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on January 07, 2009, 07:04:01 pm
Why on earth is there no topic listed under 'Show unread posts since last visit.' every time I newly log on here?
That kinda also happened years ago and it's still not fixed?
It has been some weeks since I've been here so there has to be new posts and stuff.

I just tried it and it seems to have worked for me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on January 07, 2009, 08:22:36 pm
The forum says that it's 03:44 but all the clocks in my house say it's 3:22  D:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on January 07, 2009, 10:14:43 pm
yeah something about the clock atm is sorta fail
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 07, 2009, 10:27:14 pm
The server clock was off when I last put the offset in, seems it is ok now. The clock is GMT on purpose tho.

For those who don't know, you can set your custom offset in your profile under look and layout preferences.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on January 07, 2009, 10:33:54 pm
At first I thought it was my settings, but then I remembered that the offsets only came in hours, not minutes, so I figured it couldn't possibly be that.  :-\

thanks ptoing!

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 08, 2009, 10:14:45 pm
Would any of you guys be interested in a sorta restrictive frame count animation challenge?

We haven't had an activity for a while, and it'd be interesting to see if a competent 3 frame walk cycle is possible
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dogmeat on January 08, 2009, 10:55:10 pm
Hey all,

I learned on the net that some have ported AmigaOS 4 to macbooks. Unfortunately, I can't find any info about purchasing amigaos anywhere, has anyone done this before? AmigaOS on a macbook? If so, let me know if you can help out with any info. I have a macbook that I'm just dying to use for pixeling.

Thanks!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on January 09, 2009, 08:42:36 am
Would any of you guys be interested in a sorta restrictive frame count animation challenge?

I'd totally be in for this!

I have a macbook that I'm just dying to use for pixeling.

You can pixel using a mac ??? I usually use Pixen.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 12, 2009, 03:14:37 am
If no one has seen:
http://pixeljoint.com/2009/01/11/2722/FF3_image_filter_switch.htm

Apparently there is going to be a patch in FF3 that disables image blur.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 13, 2009, 03:01:35 pm
???

 :huh:

 :o

 :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 13, 2009, 03:09:09 pm

 :D  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D

I like the visual illusion in this, it seems the get progressively lower, but they're all on the same pixel row.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 13, 2009, 04:39:02 pm
indeed.

 :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh: :huh:

and them fuckers go up!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on January 13, 2009, 05:26:20 pm
Wow, two administrators spamming smileys.  :lol:
Never noticed that before. cool.

 :angel:  :angel:  :angel:  :angel:  :angel:  :angel:  :angel:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on January 13, 2009, 10:46:36 pm
truth is that they actually make the REST OF THE FORUM tilt.

Dangit snake. You'll make the forum fall over ): with your balance-upsetting smilies
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 14, 2009, 11:41:44 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8JrsnpWUSw
 :hehe:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on January 14, 2009, 01:01:22 pm
(http://www.bloganything.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/the_moon_vs_an_elephant_jpg-small.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 14, 2009, 02:19:30 pm
truth is that they actually make the REST OF THE FORUM tilt.

Dangit snake. You'll make the forum fall over ): with your balance-upsetting smilies

We must stop this madness before the smilies plunge off the edge of the forum into the nebulous abyss below!


                    ???  :(  :'(
----------------------------------
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                                          |    |
                                          |  :o
                                         /   
                                        |           
                                        |

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on January 14, 2009, 03:08:32 pm
Evil smiley is causing this!
                        >:D
_________________
                              |
                              |
                             /
                            /
                           |           |
                          /           D:                                    :crazy:
                         |                                                      |
                         |                                                    ___       BOING!
                                                                      __-_--- - ---_-__
                         |                                              /|\          /|\       :angel:          AHA! Good smiley to the rescue, who provided a trampoline just in the nick of time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on January 17, 2009, 03:21:38 pm
Hey,

have you ever thought LEGO is a male thing?

http://www.joemonster.org/article.php?sid=10629 (http://www.joemonster.org/article.php?sid=10629)

Actually, the guy who did them is kinda nuts. SEE! (http://www.joemonster.org/art/10635/Jean_Yves_LeMoigne_fotograf_niepowazny)

I'm really into it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on January 17, 2009, 08:49:15 pm
Those legos are cool.

Someone emailed me this (http://www.mominis.com/) site, in case anyone else is interested. I don't know if I'll finish a game or not, but the editor they've made looks fairly simple and easy to use. If you've got a weekend and a unique idea, it could be pretty fun, plus the prizes and exposure for winning aren't very shabby either.  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 17, 2009, 09:08:43 pm
It looks almost like mosaic'ed porn. The legos, that is.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 18, 2009, 03:39:40 am
I highly doubt those are real legos. It could be filtered posermodels or photos or whatever.

And now something TOTALLY unrelated.

Just managed to 1 credit the first loop of Dodonpachi \o/
(http://www.ptoing.net/ddpwoo.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on January 18, 2009, 06:24:36 am
That's quite impressive Ptoing. Going for the second loop? ::) Also: joystick, gamepad, or keyboard?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 18, 2009, 07:20:43 am
I have seen the second loop with using savestates and it is not pretty. I can manage to play it up to level 3 or something like that if I have 2 or so lives left. That would get my score to something like 70+ mil tho. Getting to loop 2 wont be that hard with a bit more practise. Seeing as I only need 50mil points to get there, which is doable if I do not bomb up until the 4th boss, and very doable if I manage to not bomb at the 4th boss either. In theory I can kill all the first 5 bosses without bombing, meaning I have done it a few times on each boss. The 6th one is a total asshole tho and I have to bombspam him on some of his patterns. I am not a great DDP player by any measure :D

And gamepad, Sega Saturn one to be precise.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 18, 2009, 11:23:16 am
Congrats, man! That's amazing!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on January 20, 2009, 07:13:45 am
http://www.devorahsperber.com/

I came across this working on an assignment for my sculpture class. Cool stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on January 21, 2009, 02:36:13 am
so i just realized I have 'picture book syndrome' when it comes to reading forums.  Whenever I visit one on a subject on anything non-art related, I get frusted that they dont explain their ideas visually, and breeze over areas with important information simply because i'm not seeing a picture.  Like today I was searching for 3d vector mathematics help for programming, and I had to draw down what they were saying visually before I realized the importance of it.  Damn pixelation's visual critiquing awesomeness.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on January 23, 2009, 07:53:36 am
i want to make a 2d console rpg where the goal is, after realizing he is in a game, helping the main character transcend his reality.   :hehe:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on January 23, 2009, 08:58:19 pm
I like the idea, Rydin. In what way would you transcend his reality?

Kinda reminds me of Kidd Radd. I think I'll go read it again.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on January 24, 2009, 05:27:19 am
does he have free will or is he controlled by the player?  is his consciousness framed by the logic of our world and our perception of reality (as it must if he is properly our creation), or does it exist autonomously within an unknown set of parameters related to but unique from our own?  is his transcendence of his "reality" as you've put it driven by a search for identity or understanding, or is it just to make magic like Neo?  to what extent does he properly exist, and in what realities, and what makes his existence, electrical impulses stored within a greater network (at least to our eyes), greater, different, lesser, than our own?  do we have the ability to destroy him if he is without physical form, yet bound within a construct of our design which has a physical form?  is it possible to destroy or interact with consciousness which exists only in our perception of it?  to what extent and in which manners does the power over a consciousness change or otherwise define our own?  what is the difference between a consciousness perceived within a construct and a consciousness perceived within our "real" society, aside from the basic formal presentation?

these are the sort of questions you'll get bombarded with when you throw out "transcend reality" and I think any of them could be equally as fun, insightful, profound, trite, or disengaging as the next, so I'm just throwing out a platform for you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 24, 2009, 05:26:11 pm
...and in the end the game character manages to convince the player that he's in fact the one whose actual real existence is in question, whose computer screen is a window to an actual, existing, ideal Platonic universe.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 24, 2009, 07:36:49 pm
Bleh, anyone seem to notice an influx of 'job' advertising via PM? At first it was flattering but now, and I mean no offense, it's getting kind of annoying. Isn't that what we have the job forums for?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on January 25, 2009, 07:13:56 am
they come and go, particularly if you post fresh work.  I get spikes every few months, usually after holidays - the best thing to do if you're not interested is to politely decline.  Most often you will have enough going on in your life that if you even begin to explain you and your potential employers will realize how legitimate your reasons for not taking extra work are, but without the awkward "hey that's the dick who never PMed me back" thing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 25, 2009, 07:28:21 am
Ya I try to. Though I tend to see I got a new PM, read it and say I'll get back to it later(for some reason, I never feel like replying to a PM when I first read it), but sometimes I forget.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 25, 2009, 11:07:39 pm
(http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7853/sciencevsreligiongg6.jpg) :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on January 25, 2009, 11:41:23 pm
hey look! a large group of people we don't generally understand, or even want to!  let's grossly overgeneralize them for a couple of lawls and pat ourselves on the back for pretending we're smarter for it!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on January 26, 2009, 12:26:49 am
That's pretty much how all humour works, though. Everybody makes fun of everybody. Probably doesn't need the "my name is religion" "my name is science" for the joke, though, it's a bit much.

The idea that irreligious people don't want to understand religious people sounds like overgeneralization to me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on January 26, 2009, 03:32:22 am
whoever wrote the comic or sympathizes with it clearly doesn't, and those are the only people I attempted to characterize - there's nothing broad about that and it certainly doesn't include the whole of irreligious people.  I can assume that most irreligious people are not, in fact, total twats, in the same way that most religious people don't believe in dragons, or anything close to it.  What frustrates me is that rather than simply poking fun at one or two extremes, it decided to include both entire groups, and helps to perpetuate the attitude that the two are mutually exclusive.  My general sense of things is that many (the majority) of scientists practice some form of faith and that many (an equal or even greater majority) of religious people put full faith in science as well.

if I posted a joke in which a black dude said "fuck you" because I stole his chicken and grits, the entire forum would rightly call me a jackass, because it's not "cool" to harmlessly tease black people about food tastes, but it's apparently ok to characterize anyone and everyone who believes in any "Religion" as completely retarded.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on January 26, 2009, 04:23:03 am
Possibly we've made the same error, then. Your response hit a bit close to home, for me. But I doubt that whoever-that-guy-is-who-made-that is making fun of you, actually. It's crude, but it picks at these beliefs, specifically:

-Reverence for old ideas over new ones (as "I've been here longer than you...").
-Unwilingness to see the things you believe in actually tested.

Aaand thes are positions that are reasonably common, and at odds with scientific principles, and probably worth being a dick about.
 
But then, the fact is he's got a character called RELIGION who is completely unlikable and believes vehemently in dragons, and that's totally crass and and it's pretty clear why that would bug you. But I don't think this is truly an attempt to characterise all religious people as that guy. But yeah, my general take from this thing is "whoever made that is kind of a dick but he's got a point", not "haha religion is for jerks."
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 26, 2009, 06:26:14 am
Oh no, what have I done. Religious discussion D:

Anyway, it IS overdrawn, tho I would rather say that the dragons are more of a metaphor for things you have no proof for. Plus there is actually more crazy shit than dragons going down in the bible. I pretty much agree with tocky here I have to say.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on January 26, 2009, 07:01:25 am
You're getting angry about someone with some half thought trough scribble because it characterizes two groups of people as being strictly one way or the other, and react by doing exactly the same...only you do it with very carefully premeditated thought.

I dont think that people should be forbidden from telling halfassed jokes, such as this one...I really doubt this was made and posted here to make the point that religious people is stupid, it's just a barely noteworthy statement that someone barely related to and felt like posting. You know, a joke.

You're not gonna educate anyone who actually thinks religion is stupid, and you're gonna turn off anyone who actually gets that this is not a wholly thought out joke, just a random scribble in paint...that probably was posted here without much thought either.

Allow people to say something you see as stupid, and then just say what you really think about it...if it's really so stupid you should be able to convince anyone who's actually permeable to what you got to say, not turn them off by pretending to stop people from being who they are.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on January 26, 2009, 07:17:07 am
Conceit, that whole post just now was worthless and dirisive.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on January 26, 2009, 08:07:54 am
OKAY point taken, post edited with now 5%  less 'derisiveness'

I just really dont like it when someone goes for the control angle, where the whole arguement is about what he should be 'allowed' to be said, that's bullshit. if you think it's stupid call it out and be done with it.

I dont go into the whole how much of a boo-boo the comic is because I think that would be really really pointless.

I dont think anyone is truly interested in the matter of superstition in religion and science, since this discussion is all about one side vs the other, characterstic of the typical internet masturbatory action of using other people as cues for spouting your own monologues and then end the discussion with "I didnt even intend to change my oppinion anyway"
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 26, 2009, 08:12:27 am
The comic reminds me a bit of the metaphor Carl Sagan used in Demon Haunted World - Science as a Candle in the Dark:


"A fire-breathing dragon lives in my garage"

Suppose (I'm following a group therapy approach by the psychologist Richard Franklin) I seriously make such an assertion to you.  Surely you'd want to check it out, see for yourself.  There have been innumerable stories of dragons over the centuries, but no real evidence. What an opportunity!

"Show me," you say. 

I lead you to my garage.  You look inside and see a ladder, empty paint cans, an old tricycle -- but no dragon.

"Where's the dragon?" you ask.

"Oh, she's right here," I reply, waving vaguely.  "I neglected to mention that she's an invisible dragon."

You propose spreading flour on the floor of the garage to capture the dragon's footprints.

"Good idea," I say, "but this dragon floats in the air."

Then you'll use an infrared sensor to detect the invisible fire.

"Good idea, but the invisible fire is also heatless."

You'll spray-paint the dragon and make her visible.

"Good idea, but she's an incorporeal dragon and the paint won't stick." 

And so on.  I counter every physical test you propose with a special explanation of why it won't work.

Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all?

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on January 26, 2009, 09:18:41 am
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1373/tragormo9.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 26, 2009, 09:52:27 am
http://www.konjak.org/index.htm

Well done konjak, a ton of fun to play :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 26, 2009, 10:18:17 am
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if I posted a joke in which a black dude said "fuck you" because I stole his chicken and grits, the entire forum would rightly call me a jackass, because it's not "cool" to harmlessly tease black people about food tastes, but it's apparently ok to characterize anyone and everyone who believes in any "Religion" as completely retarded.

A very big difference between the two is that someone is made black from the go but nobody is made Christian or Hindu or anything else (though religious fanatics would have you believe otherwise) and if they find that those beliefs are outmoded or anything else, they can drop them right then and there. You can't drop your skin color and all it entails. See, there is no 'racism' about ideas. Ideas are strong. They can take anything you throw at them. Their feelings don't get hurt. Don't get your feelings hurt in their place out of some sense of misplaced loyalty to an idea.

This isn't to say the comic is good or even very poignant for me and yeah I'm more interested myself in understanding religious people than painting a caricature of them most of the time (I know my black goat of the underworld posts I make sometimes might suggest otherwise, but I'm mainly just kidding). But, unlike by black people, I have been in my life mistreated and repressed by religious people and they've carried along world-wide atrocities in the names of their gods, so it's not 'sacred ground' for me. Crude, even completely tasteless jokes are fair play when children have died for your god. It's not the same as a completely coincidental skin color.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on January 26, 2009, 02:14:18 pm
I see that a common belief here is that religion = dragons and that convictions are not a defining characteristic, nor something to be offended for when it is attacked, let alone something to defend.  The second is a point I am willing to drop, but the first is entirely false.

I also see that anyone who takes the minority position here will have his words twisted.  Reread my posts : nobody but the author of the strip and people who completely agree with it is included.  And no, anybody who talks about dragons or getting swallowed by whales or such things as defining a faith - whether they believe in these things or not - do not properly represent or understand "religion" (as a whole) so to assert such a viewpoint is to be misguided.  Further, I never said anything about who should be allowed to post what.  I am anti-censorship and pro-discourse; i merely find the views presented in the comic and supported by some members of the community to be flawed.

Helm's post I will address separately, and not the arguments, which I found grounded, but the concept of religious murder : People who murder men and children in the name of god are filthy, filthy people who should not be identified with all other religious people because they violate the will of god in doing so, and twist it - I neither defend nor associate with such.  The Sixth Commandment as well as a myriad of other passages strictly forbid it*.  The USSR and China though were "atheist" states; my only point - let's not try and take a tally, and let's not say all religious people are crusaders and terrorists in the same way that I haven't suggested that all atheists are soviets.  On either "side" as well you'll find philanthropists, educators, civil protectors, and other people whose work has a certain expectation of good will (as well as those properly possessed of it).  And again, most of these people on one side are also the people on the other side because there are no sides to begin with between science and faith unless someone says there are.
However, you are right.  Religion is a choice and must be a choice else it is self-defeating.  A more appropriate comparison would be a comic which characterizes all police officers as wife-beaters.

*we can discuss the first book of Samuel, Angels in the House of Lot, and other less-than-comfortable passages from the bible in another place, if you desire.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 26, 2009, 02:54:26 pm
To say that the comic is a flimsy allegory is giving it a lot of credit. The message is "Haha religious people are stupid because atheists know EVERYTHING ABOUT THE UNIVERSE EVER!"
This isn't even a halfway decent contribution to any discussion of atheism versus theism. It's more like the fat little kid who jumps in the middle of that conversation and just starts kicking everyone in the balls. It's the sort of thing that could only be concocted in an age of internet trolls.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 26, 2009, 03:04:44 pm
I see that a common belief here is that religion = dragons and that convictions are not a defining characteristic, nor something to be offended for when it is attacked, let alone something to defend.  The second is a point I am willing to drop, but the first is entirely false.

Please keep in mind that when discussing matters such as these words such as "entirely false" stand to incite more a drastic reaction than thoughtful reply. Nobody can say for sure what is right and what is false in the issues of morality and ultimately religious ontology and what have you. So for someone that is saying his words get twisted around please try to keep a tighter reign on your words. That is, if you are interested in a civil discussion and not in just carving a circle around you and stating the interior to be your ground. I for one, give you your ground willingly, don't call it right and what other people say false. There are on the point, very many people that self-identify with their deity on the level of the magical invisible dragon so who are you to sweep them under the rug because you happen to disagree in your more spiritualist (? I am assuming here) version of faith.

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I also see that anyone who takes the minority position here will have his words twisted.

On that note please stop persecuting yourself, you're not being more misunderstood than anybody else but actually telling people they should work harder to understand you is a surefire way to get them to react even more. If you are really misunderstood why don't you try "I'm sorry, perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough and I'll restate" instead of "read my posts again"? It puts the burden of being clear on you - where it rightly belongs imo. You're not writing a book where the reader can do nothing but re-read if he doesn't understand something, you're just discussing.

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Reread my posts : nobody but the author of the strip and people who completely agree with it is included.  And no, anybody who talks about dragons or getting swallowed by whales or such things as defining a faith - whether they believe in these things or not - do not properly represent or understand "religion" (as a whole) so to assert such a viewpoint is to be misguided.

There are many ways to look at religion.


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Helm's post I will address separately, and not the arguments, which I found grounded, but the concept of religious murder : People who murder men and children in the name of god are filthy, filthy people


Actually shouldn't we be more compelled from a christian point of view - such as yours - to understand and ultimately forgive these people for their actions? Isn't that the central idea of your faith? No human being is my enemy no matter what he was ever done (and I'm not even Christian) and I try to not call people filthy or wrong, although sometimes poking fun at them is sanity-saving.

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who should not be identified with all other religious people because they violate the will of god in doing so, and twist it - I neither defend nor associate with such.

Perhaps you should spend more time associating with them and not judging them before you defend your Christian faith so fervently on the internet.

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let's not try and take a tally, and let's not say all religious people are crusaders and terrorists in the same way that I haven't suggested that all atheists are soviets.

Please consider this argument:

1. Not all theists are murderers.
2. Not all atheists are murderers.
3. The motives of theists for murder might be spiritual or not.
4. The motives for atheists for murder are always not.

Therefore the spirituality of the theists might not account for all their murdering but it certainly accounts directly for some of it, and that some is plenty. Millions in fact.

I posit that a human being that has had to question divinity to the point where they no longer espouse any sect or established faith is less likely to murder for such abstract ideas. This is a relatively unfounded position and as such I'm willing to argue it, but let's not 'not keep a tally' please.

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However, you are right.  Religion is a choice and must be a choice else it is self-defeating.  A more appropriate comparison would be a comic which characterizes all police officers as wife-beaters.

Yes that comic would be a ridiculous one. Probably funny though!

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*we can discuss the first book of Samuel, Angels in the House of Lot, and other less-than-comfortable passages from the bible in another place, if you desire.

I'd rather not. My problem with God is not with how misunderstood his words are. It is an epistemological and ontological one. The universe I experience doesn't seem to allow for uncontrolled, eternal, super-powerful entities that create themselves and are not subject to thermodynamic laws so it's been many many years since I played the "let's pretend there is a God, then the book is wrong where it says....". The notion of a God, as it has been explained to me by those that seem to believe in him, is completely absurd. Their desires to believe in him are not and I sympathize because the world is really scary.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 26, 2009, 03:06:06 pm
I see that a common belief here is that religion = dragons and that convictions are not a defining characteristic.

Political stances and tastes in art are also a defining characteristic of a person and for some reason it's allowed to criticize those, but not religion. Anything man made should be allowed to be criticized. Often in discussing religion there's no polite way of saying that have you been considering that you may have wasted your life believing in nonsense, but I don't think that should stop anyone discussing religion. If someone finds it offensive, so what?

I'm an agnostic myself because if I said I were an atheist it'd be reasonable to ask me to prove that God DOESN'T exist, which is impossible, so for practical reasons I just consider the existence of God to be very unlikely, simply because the universe seems to be operating perfectly well AS IF there was no God.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 26, 2009, 03:21:27 pm
I'd rather not. My problem with God is not with how misunderstood his words are. It is an epistemological and ontological one. The universe I experience doesn't seem to allow for uncontrolled, eternal, super-powerful entities that create themselves and are not subject to thermodynamic laws so it's been many many years since I played the "let's pretend there is a God, then the book is wrong where it says....". The notion of a God, as it has been explained to me by those that seem to believe in him, is completely absurd. Their desires to believe in him are not and I sympathize because the world is really scary.

Helm correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to be saying you'd find the concept of God more believable if he were subject to the laws of the system he programmed. If God exists and he created the physical universe (which I am a strong proponent for) then he would have to operate within a far bigger system than the physical universe. Otherwise everything would be God, or nothing would be God. So God could exist outside the universe and still effect it just as a computer programmer exists outside of an operating system.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 26, 2009, 03:28:57 pm
So God could exist outside the universe and still effect it just as a computer programmer exists outside of an operating system.

That's another claim that can't be proved or disproved. However, if that were so, how would you know if he was God and not just a very highly evolved alien species? And who created the Creator?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on January 26, 2009, 03:40:12 pm
I don't see why there should be a requirement for a creator. If an infinitely unlikely event can watch upon itself, then it will.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 26, 2009, 03:41:03 pm
So God could exist outside the universe and still effect it just as a computer programmer exists outside of an operating system.

That's another claim that can't be proved or disproved. However, if that were so, how would you know if he was God and not just a very highly evolved alien species? And who created the Creator?

This is where we get into claims of God revealing Himself which gets messy because that's where the real controversy is. If God exists we can only define him by experiencing his existence, and experiences can't necessarily be scientifically proven or disproven, but if you have had such an experience it is impossible for someone else to scientifically prove to you that you didn't.

As for who created the creator, we all have to accept that at some point the law of cause and effect was broken, whether you believe in God or not. What created the matter that created the big bang? And what created whatever made that matter? And so on and so on. Or, if you can accept that cause and effect can be traced infinitely backwards with no beginning, then surely God could be traced infinitely backwards as well, especially if the laws of cause and effect don't apply to him.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on January 26, 2009, 04:06:12 pm
Time is only required for our existence and the reason for it going forward is yet to be found (something to do with differences in the density of space and all kinds of things i don't understand), but we evolved into a forward moving time so that's why we experience it moving forward. In a sort of ouroboros sort of time axis everything exists in every possible form and we are a grain in that endless sea of possibilities. We sort of have no choice but to be.

A play on that thought would be like so: let's imagine that our universe is a pulsating one, it'll collapse on itself eventually, and that time does not end. That means our universe will "execute" itself in every way possible forever.

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This is where we get into claims of God revealing Himself which gets messy because that's where the real controversy is. If God exists we can only define him by experiencing his existence, and experiences can't necessarily be scientifically proven or disproven, but if you have had such an experience it is impossible to scientifically prove you didn't.
We are physical beings without a doubt, if something can have an effect on us, it can be measured. The experience of god can be internal and caused by none other than yourself. With enough time i can make myself believe that all cars are in fact transformers because that is a thought stampped into my mind in early childhood.
Also our happiness and fulfillment and such are very chemical reactions, our brains blessing us with some dopamine injections. It seems cold but I'm open to even displeasing information, not just things that feel profitable or good to me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 26, 2009, 04:22:46 pm
Time is only required for our existence and the reason for it going forward is yet to be found (something to do with differences in the density of space and all kinds of things i don't understand), but we evolved into a forward moving time so that's why we experience it moving forward. In a sort of ouroboros sort of time axis everything exists in every possible form and we are a grain in that endless sea of possibilities. We sort of have no choice but to be.

A play on that thought would be like so: let's imagine that our universe is a pulsating one, it'll collapse on itself eventually, and that time does not end. That means our universe will "execute" itself in every way possible forever.

Then you agree that "who created the creator" is a red herring.

We are physical beings without a doubt, if something can have an effect on us, it can be measured.

If you say your grandpa asked you to buy a loaf of bread seconds before he died, can I scientifically prove otherwise? Even if I could would you believe me over your own experience?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 26, 2009, 04:32:59 pm
On a side note I must say Ben raised excellent points and arguing with him is a pleasure. That's how it should go. I enjoy this whole God-science -argument and never feel a need to get offended... except when someone else uses the "offensiveness card" in order to stop the conversation.

If God exists we can only define him by experiencing his existence, and experiences can't necessarily be scientifically proven or disproven, but if you have had such an experience it is impossible for someone else to scientifically prove to you that you didn't.

Personal belief through personal revelation is fine by me. I have no issue with that as long as it remains personal and doesn't manisfest itself in the form of an organized religion or trying to justify ones actions by it. But if someone says this is so or this is how it must be done because God said so, all I can say is "Evidence please". Let's first establish the actual existence of a phenomena before we start discussing its merits.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 26, 2009, 04:36:08 pm
We are physical beings without a doubt, if something can have an effect on us, it can be measured.

Without a doubt? You sure? For all we know we could be a digital simulation. Think about how many simulations are running on our planet atm, run by men. It is concievable that we are the same on a grander scale. Just saying.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on January 26, 2009, 04:57:30 pm
Physical as described by the system we live in and where we collectively agree on it. So by physical i mean something that exists in the possible simulation and adheres to it's rules.
That's the words of my math teacher from high school when i asked something about why some equation is the way it is. Because of convention, because we agree that 1 = 1 and not something else.

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If you say your grandpa asked you to buy a loaf of bread seconds before he died, can I scientifically prove otherwise? Even if I could would you believe me over your own experience?
It's measurable when it happens, after that I'd have to go with my memory, or if you have some research data that would suggest that my grandpa didn't say anything to me, I'd mark the memory as compromised with the possibility of being untrue, providing you're a trustworthy person. To avoid extremes, I rather go with likely and less likely.

I have no reason to be skeptical for something like that really. Also if you swore you had a religious experience, I'd believe it must have been real for you, but look for the cause from something other than a god, since a lot of the time odd experiences have more reasonable causes. Also a skilled person can cause religious experiences in gullible people.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on January 26, 2009, 05:02:49 pm
If a person is not filthy, how can he be forgiven?  There's a difference between an acknowledgement of evil, or an alignment in support of evil, and the forsaking of it.  When I damn for their actions, you may critique the decision : that has not happened.

our only real experience is through observation and thought, which can equally substantiate the idea that physical reality is the only thing just as easily as the idea that physical reality does not exist.  We know only that our minds "are," physical or not, and from there it's conjecture based on experience (which may or may not be self generated etc).  Truth may exist clearly and physically, or it may exist only in our desire for it to.

in my perception of reality (lol), I believe in God.  People who believe in God are Religious.  I do not murder.  I do not believe in dragons or miracles.  Therefor, if someone says that religious people murder and believe in dragons and I do not, they are mistaken, the issue of dragons does not define religion as a whole and to say so is false.  From where i stand (and it may be subjective) that looks like math.

The issue at hand for me was never the idea that select Religious people worship dragons and say no to science, but the idea that we all do, and that it is central to a belief in God for all who feel themselves to be have such.
And I won't pretend that jokes about religion and science can't be funny : an hour ago my literary studies professor digressed to a poster of "darwin versus god" claiming the big showdown between a televangelist and a gorilla was to happen sunday sunday sunday at the staples center.  He thought it would be better with gabriel versus the monkey because gabriel has a sword and can fly.  I found the whole thing hilarious, mostly because it involved monkeys and a parody of WWF, because it didn't tell me that my faith necessarily involved a belief in televangelists or that gabriel would use his sword on a monkey.  A joke about Noah leaving behind the dinosaurs and unicorns is also funny, because it doesn't come out and say that I and all religious people believe firmly that Noah lived with dinosaurs.  In fact, if the players had been "I am science" and "I am a Biblical Literalist who believes in stories to which there definitive, contradictory evidence," I might have laughed.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 26, 2009, 05:17:57 pm
 We know only that our minds "are," physical or not, and from there it's conjecture based on experience (which may or may not be self generated etc).  Truth may exist clearly and physically, or it may exist only in our desire for it to.

Would you say that an answer to the question "Does God exist?" is either "yes" or "no" or would you say it's subjective?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 26, 2009, 05:53:42 pm
Helm correct me if I'm wrong but you seem to be saying you'd find the concept of God more believable if he were subject to the laws of the system he programmed.

The only comprehensive definition of a 'God' I've been offered so far (and I've asked a lot) is the one where he is infinite, created himself, is all-powerful, omnipotent, ever-present, benevolent creator watches over humanity, so forth. If you strip him of these abilities he's just a 'strong dude that made shit happen' with which I don't fundamentally have any thermodynamic differences, but he's not a divine entity, he doesn't offer answers to the primal questions (how it all starts, why it did, where do we go when we die etc). By making a 'God' entity more plausible you're just stripping it of its Godliness and therefore you're just inventing 'strong dudes' around in the universe. It's not as a big problem as inventing 'all-powerful dude #1' but it's still doesn't seem to be needed as it answers no questions. Your god that is the programmer to this operating system, who made him? Shouldn't we worship him instead if he exists? And if he does exist, is *he* all-powerful? Just an infinite regress towards... what?

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If God exists and he created the physical universe (which I am a strong proponent for) then he would have to operate within a far bigger system than the physical universe.

Just saying... looking at how the universe operates, there doesn't seem to be any call for an external system in which it rests, of which the rules are alien and unfathomable. I mean, you can make this claim but it just over complicates things. Overcomplication isn't a demerit in itself, but we have to ask, for what? Quantum Mechanics are overcomplicating an Aristotelian physical understanding of the universe but there's a reason for them. What's the reason for shattering all physical laws to create a God, though? So you have a divine shoulder to cry on? I mean at some point we have to look at the motivation behind giving birth to these all-powerful deities... your father and your mother told you of this 'God' and it helps you in some ways in your life. If you were to examine how he helps you and also what assumptions you're bringing into the physical universe by invoking an all-powerful figure... you might end up more unsettled than you started with as an agnostic! I mean sure okay God loves me and I'll go to heaven when I die... but it also means if God exists that the universe is a simulation (?) of a much bigger, unfathomable laboratory (?) where a being calls all the shots whose motivation is a psychotic desire for powerless little humans to love him (?) This shit creeps me out even more than the nothingness after death.

Examine the motivation behind your desire for a God to exist, is what I am saying.

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As for who created the creator, we all have to accept that at some point the law of cause and effect was broken, whether you believe in God or not. What created the matter that created the big bang? And what created whatever made that matter? And so on and so on.

Perhaps it's more settling emotionally to accept that you don't know right now, how these things started and that not knowing is fine also. You don't have to invent a thermodynamically obese superbeing to fill in the blanks. Not knowing is fine, letting go is fine. Words are just words, experiences are not words etc etc

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If a person is not filthy, how can he be forgiven?  There's a difference between an acknowledgment of evil, or an alignment in support of evil, and the forsaking of it.  When I damn for their actions, you may critique the decision : that has not happened.

What a choice of words though! Filthy? That just sounds sanctimonious to me. I thought forgiveness meant perhaps a bit of humbleness towards the mysteries of another human being, a bit of silence and acceptance perhaps. Not 'I DUB THEE FILTHY SO I MAY YET CLEANSE YOU'. It just rubs me so wrong. Nobody's filthy, we're just all trying to exist and fulfill our base desires.

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in my perception of reality (lol), I believe in God.  People who believe in God are Religious.  I do not murder.  I do not believe in dragons or miracles.  Therefor, if someone says that religious people murder and believe in dragons and I do not, they are mistaken, the issue of dragons does not define religion as a whole and to say so is false.  From where i stand (and it may be subjective) that looks like math.

I will put aside completely how you say you believe in God but yet not in miracles, although there's a question begged there. I'm not interested in the answer, so I'll go to the source of what you're saying: Yes it is your personal math and in your personal math book it adds up but it is not a real conversation because you're not risking anything, you're just expounding on your personal definitions of good and evil and that's really not what I'm looking for when I discuss morality. I'm looking for expression but also understanding, taking some risks putting things out there one is not certain about so they may be inspected and not just judged. In short, whereas I'm sure you spending time with yourself is a good thing in your phase (creating a personal lexicon and whatnot), it is really not what I want out of a moral or ontological conversation at my phase. So your falsehoods and truisms are overshared. I don't mean this in a bad way, I don't want to insult you. We started out discussing your reaction to a comic that was about religion at large and nonbelievers at large, not about the religion in your person where every other religion in any other person that doesn't cohere with your vision is false.

I mean to say perhaps: you should study the philosophical field of Epistemology to some degree, it will help you see the burdens inherent in theories of knowledge and perhaps nudge you on a different path to what the point of a conversation might be and what promises one makes when one enters one and how best to fulfill them without just going on repeating how 'in my world, that is true and that is false'. I say this because I went through the exact same thing.

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The issue at hand for me was never the idea that select Religious people worship dragons and say no to science, but the idea that we all do, and that it is central to a belief in God for all who feel themselves to be have such.

I'm sorry to say I can't understand these statements. 'but the idea that we all do' what? Worship dragons and say no to science? 'for all who feel themselves to be have such' what?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 26, 2009, 06:23:40 pm
Just saying... looking at how the universe operates, there doesn't seem to be any call for an external system in which it rests, of which the rules are alien and unfathomable.

There are certain questions that science is afraid of, such as the question of why physics even exist. Most atheists seem overly comfortable accepting that our universe is bound to unbreakable laws without ever questioning where those laws came from and what enforces them. Who decided 1+1= 2? I think this is an important question because science is built on it. If the universe is not rational then we can't hope to rationally dissect it. But if the universe IS rational, that raises all sorts of questions.

I mean, you can make this claim but it just over complicates things. Overcomplication isn't a demerit in itself, but we have to ask, for what? Quantum Mechanics are overcomplicating an Aristotelian physical understanding of the universe but there's a reason for them. What's the reason for shattering all physical laws to create a God, though? So you have a divine shoulder to cry on? I mean at some point we have to look at the motivation behind giving birth to these all-powerful deities... your father and your mother told you of this 'God' and it helps you in some ways in your life. If you were to examine how he helps you and also what assumptions you're bringing into the physical universe by invoking an all-powerful figure... you might end up more unsettled than you started with as an agnostic! I mean sure okay God loves me and I'll go to heaven when I die... but it also means if God exists that the universe is a simulation (?) of a much bigger, unfathomable laboratory (?) where a being calls all the shots whose motivation is a psychotic desire for powerless little humans to love him (?) This shit creeps me out even more than the nothingness after death.

Examine the motivation behind your desire for a God to exist, is what I am saying.

On the contrary you seem to have an emotional bias *against* the possibility of God's existence. I mean if I die and it turns out God wasn't real, then what? I tried my hardest to live selflessly and to treat other humans with love and dignity as though they were created in His image and and never got rewarded for it. Not a huge injustice from a cosmic perspective. And it's not like I'll be around to regret it. But it seems you feel you have much more to lose if God IS real.

To further dissect this I'd have to go more into my personal theology, which I'm okay with but I suspect it's not what most people came to this forum to hear.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 26, 2009, 07:27:08 pm
I do not take 1+1=2 as a binding proposition. I don't take any statement as a binding proposition. I take a few as applicable and useful. Not 'true' because nothing is 'true'. Again, I urge towards a study of Epistemology, it's not a word I'm making up, it's a philosophical field that deals exactly with the theory of knowledge, what is testable, what is binding, what is in effect, what skepticism is in essence.

I furthermore do not think that understanding the world on paper is the same as experiencing the things you're trying to understand. The implication is that the world is complex and holistic and we do not stand to *experience* it all, and people trying to appeal to our intellect by giving us applicable models of it can only get so far in that way. You can sit there and explain to me how a bat (the animal) works how it's skeleton keeps it light how the sonar works etc etc and I can sit here and try to take all that information in but that doesn't mean I understand the bat, the experience of the bat itself is inherently unknowable for me as a human. It is similar in matter of theory of science and knowledge. Information is not the same as knowledge. Information helps build a testable hypothesis of the effects of properties that are fundamentally unexperiencable for the human being. On the existential level we should be looking with awe at a simple house cat and how futile it is to try to feel what it must feel, and yet we have the gall to summon bloated Gods out of the aether and decree them creators and benevolent fathers that watch upon us. More humility! There's more to find by pondering a wall than thinking about Jesus Christ as the lord and savior.

But if we are going to use a model for reality (and we must if we want anything else than to live in a cave), it being testable and applicable is the point of it. Not being 'true' on the metaphysical level. An all-powerful ever-present God doesn't enter into tests or applications in any respect, therefore its usage is bound to be problematic. Science is not to put ones blind faith into a testable model. It is to be very curious about it and constantly tweak it to better apply to the discernible effect. These are very basic things.

I do not have any emotional bias against a god existing and I feel that huge chunk of text of mine you quoted, you didn't properly address its implication. If God exists, it's more unsettling than if he doesn't. He creates more questions than he answers. I strongly urge you to address this issue instead of turning it around.

If I die and god exists I've also tried my hardest to be a good man and to satisfy myself through life, to have no shame for my existence and I will sit in front of him and tell him I never believed in him (and still do not, but rather consider him a fading hallucination of the dying brain) and I am unrepentant. UNREPENTANT! My life was my own, my death also. If he is a just God and he understands completely his creation he will know that I did exactly what he made me do. I have nothing to lose in that respect.

And ultimately, most importantly, it is not a matter of haggling, it really shouldn't be. I do not define my ontology based on the gambling odds of there being a hellfire and eternal damnation in which I might be designated later on. So be it! There's still no real reason to go from examining this universe to inferring there is a God around in it besides people screaming about him being around. So if I have to suffer eternal damnation for not being stupid enough to trust other beings that are essentially as clueless as I am on matters of abstract metaphysics, then so be it! Punish me, just and everpresent lord, punish me by letting me be what you need me to be!

Again the most important thing I'm talking about is this: examine the motivation of 'faith' on the human animal. The uncertainty of the universe is mind-boggling. We invented anthropomorphic faces for the natural powers around us to understand them, to symbolise them and contain them, to not go insane by thinking what this thunder is that falls randomly out of the sky and splits the old tree in half. The sentient animal needs faith because otherwise they'd go insane trying to run a fault simulation in their mind in which there are no dangers around them. As long as inexplicable things happen, the animal thinks it's in danger! It must make its surroundings safe and it must make the internal world safe by establishing symbols, words and stories that are causal and make sense. Where did we come from? Goddidit. Where are we going? God knows. What should we do? God tells. Try to take a few steps outside the box in which you're trying to rationalize the existence of the most huge overspill of thermodynamic energy in the universe and think of WHY you are doing it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 26, 2009, 07:56:58 pm
If I die and god exists I've also tried my hardest to be a good man and to satisfy myself through life, to have no shame for my existence and I will sit in front of him and tell him I never believed in him (and still do not, but rather consider him a fading hallucination of the dying brain) and I am unrepentant. UNREPENTANT! My life was my own, my death also. If he is a just God and he understands completely his creation he will know that I did exactly what he made me do. I have nothing to lose in that respect.

Well put. That reminds me of what Marcus Aurelius said:

"Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones."
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on January 26, 2009, 08:58:22 pm
If a god created everything, then he/she also created sin, sinful people, demons and everything that opposes him/her. Doesn't make any sense at all.
Religious people cling to their weird beliefs even though they have nothing to back up their theory that there is a higher might. When people prove them wrong, they refuse to understand.
The holy writings (bible, quran etc) have been edited over the years and the religions are nothing like they originally were.
Religious people break their rules at least as much as regular people, through crusades/jihads, holocausts, missionaries etc. It doesn't say anywhere in the holy writings that you are allowed to kill people just because of their religion.

The bible says that homosexuality is wrong, it says that interracial relationships is wrong.
Christianity is about denying truth, they see Lucifer as the enemy when he is the bringer of light and wisdom. When the snake gave wisdom to the couple in the garden of eden god banished them.

Religious leaders don't want people to think on their own and want everybody to be the same.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 26, 2009, 09:05:01 pm
If a god created everything, then he/she also created sin, sinful people, demons and everything that opposes him/her. Doesn't make any sense at all.
Religious people cling to their weird beliefs even though they have nothing to back up their theory that there is a higher might. When people prove them wrong, they refuse to understand.
The holy writings (bible, quran etc) have been edited over the years and the religions are nothing like they originally were.
Religious people break their rules at least as much as regular people, through crusades/jihads, holocausts, missionaries etc. It doesn't say anywhere in the holy writings that you are allowed to kill people just because of their religion.

The bible says that homosexuality is wrong, it says that interracial relationships is wrong.
Christianity is about denying truth, they see Lucifer as the enemy when he is the bringer of light and wisdom. When the snake gave wisdom to the couple in the garden of eden god banished them.

Religious leaders don't want people to think on their own and want everybody to be the same.

Should we just take your word for all of that, then?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 26, 2009, 09:07:46 pm
Ben2theEdge, why not address my concerns instead of easier targets?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 26, 2009, 09:10:17 pm
I will when I'm not at work, Helm. There's a lot there and I want to take my time with it. Don't worry I'm not avoiding it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on January 26, 2009, 09:45:29 pm
JJ Naas raises the most interesting point in the debate to me in terms of looking at your judgement day.

I, as a person, am always looking to answer these basic questions of faith and spirituality, as most people do I guess. Here's what I have come up with:

1. I am only certain of the existance of my own mind
2. I perceive a world, which stimulates my mind
3. Stimulating that mind is the only thing I can do as a being
4. If I refuse to be part of this perceived world, because I can not prove its existance, I become futile, thus I have live in it and accept its rules

These are the only principles I can believe in, as they are the only things that come forth out of my elementary existance. As I'm forced to stimulate this mind, I am forced to deal with this world. Having a strong sense of morality (one of the things that probably stimulates my mind the most), I try to live a just live, though I am failing right now. When one day I am forced to look unto my life, either through self-reflection or by meeting my creator, I hope to stand proud and say "I did all I could". I am quite sure that it will be enough to any benevolent god, though it might not seem enough to my own unforgiving mind.

I'll post more later once I get some more stuff in my head sorted out. Sometimes it's hard to explain thought processes in text.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on January 27, 2009, 12:44:26 am
Helm : just reread what I write perhaps.  I would respond to what you told me, but i just have no idea who you are talking to.  It's clear that you've been hurt by someone, or a group of people, or otherwise have a huge and important argument with them, but I personally am not sure who these people are and I'm frankly confused.  I never said i intend to cleanse someone and I certainly am not preaching here, nor do i pretend to live any sort of higher or more virtuous life.  If there are people you know who have condemned, who have passed judgment, who attempt to evangelize and to cleanse you, I apologize for how you feel about that but i want you to know that this is not me.  As for filthy, I apologize if that rubs you the wrong way - it's a very common word where I come from and i meant none of the things you've assigned to it.

I never said that other views of Religion is wrong, and I have stayed far away from defining my personal views of religion - I personally continue to feel that my definition of Religion is as objective as it can be :

n.

   1.
         1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
         2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
   2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
   3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
   4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

Religion is defined first as a belief in a creator and governor of the universe.  This is the absolute core of it.  Everything else is secondary to that, with the exception of definition number four which I would consider a colloquialism.  Religion is not defined here by turning water into wine or david slaying a dragon (that actually is how it used to go, it got stricken for being TOO out there).  Different Religions may be further categorized by their specific beliefs and practices, but what makes a religion a religion is not those, but belief, as it says, in a creator and governor of the universe.

Beyond that, there's nothing I can say here.


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I'm sorry to say I can't understand these statements. 'but the idea that we all do' what? Worship dragons and say no to science? 'for all who feel themselves to be have such' what?

sorry, that's a problem that stems from attempting to type while eating lamb and reading Tolstoy.  To your first question, yes, you got it, to the second - take off "to be" (so to have such - to have a faith in god).

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(creating a personal lexicon and whatnot)

I have not done this, so I don't know how to respond.  I also have not brought a particular definition of good and evil other than to say that murder is evil.  That's technically subjective, but do you really want to be the one to fight it?

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We started out discussing your reaction to a comic that was about religion at large and nonbelievers at large, not about the religion in your person where every other religion in any other person that doesn't cohere with your vision is false.

Religion at large includes all religions, including and I am speaking for many people I know here.  And I never said that other religions are false, only that God is what defines a religion, not whether it believes in dragons.

You have a way of always misinterpreting everything I say in extremely negative ways, and I just don't know how to avoid this.  I don't actually like explaining myself a dozen times hat I felt was clear the first.  If you weren't responding to what I said, and in particular getting it completely wrong when you respond, I would be pretty quiet.  But I see that you find yourself to be at a higher phase and that I talk too much, so in the future I will not take your questions and definitions as an invitation to discourse.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 27, 2009, 01:58:27 am
I do not take 1+1=2 as a binding proposition. I don't take any statement as a binding proposition. I take a few as applicable and useful. Not 'true' because nothing is 'true'. Again, I urge towards a study of Epistemology, it's not a word I'm making up, it's a philosophical field that deals exactly with the theory of knowledge, what is testable, what is binding, what is in effect, what skepticism is in essence.

I'm familiar with epistemology... I don't claim to be an expert in it, and honestly I really loath the subject. It turns into long and painful rabbit trails that end in silliness. You may claim not to take 1+1=2 as a binding proposition, but you can only say that to support a philosophical argument. In the real world you depend on this proposition every day just to process the world around you, as do we all. When we stop talking and look at practical reality we find that truth exists. If you tried living your life liberated from the notion that 1+1=2, you would not survive.

I furthermore do not think that understanding the world on paper is the same as experiencing the things you're trying to understand. The implication is that the world is complex and holistic and we do not stand to *experience* it all, and people trying to appeal to our intellect by giving us applicable models of it can only get so far in that way. You can sit there and explain to me how a bat (the animal) works how it's skeleton keeps it light how the sonar works etc etc and I can sit here and try to take all that information in but that doesn't mean I understand the bat, the experience of the bat itself is inherently unknowable for me as a human. It is similar in matter of theory of science and knowledge. Information is not the same as knowledge. Information helps build a testable hypothesis of the effects of properties that are fundamentally unexperiencable for the human being. On the existential level we should be looking with awe at a simple house cat and how futile it is to try to feel what it must feel, and yet we have the gall to summon bloated Gods out of the aether and decree them creators and benevolent fathers that watch upon us. More humility! There's more to find by pondering a wall than thinking about Jesus Christ as the lord and savior.

I'm having a really hard time following you through this paragraph. Are you saying that since we can't transplant ourselves into other creatures' experiences, we don't have the authority to claim the existence of God? Not a challenge here, but a request for clarification.

But if we are going to use a model for reality (and we must if we want anything else than to live in a cave), it being testable and applicable is the point of it. Not being 'true' on the metaphysical level. An all-powerful ever-present God doesn't enter into tests or applications in any respect, therefore its usage is bound to be problematic. Science is not to put ones blind faith into a testable model. It is to be very curious about it and constantly tweak it to better apply to the discernible effect. These are very basic things.

Science and faith have very different roles. Not opposing. Complimentary. And separate. Failure to understand this is resulting in all sorts of confusion and chaos in our current society. Faith is not about the mechanics of the physical universe. That is clearly science's function. Faith concerns itself with the mechanics of one's existential experience, one's identity, ethics, morals, etc. The two have very minor implications toward one another and should at all times compliment each other, not be pitted against each other as though they were opposed. It'd be like choosing between my left and right foot. The purpose of pursuing God is not to understand how the mechanics of the physical universe operate. Those who believe in God such as myself believe that science is His provision for understanding His universe. My Holy Book is NOT a science book and attempts to use it as such are as appalling as using The Origin of Species to determine right from wrong.

I do not have any emotional bias against a god existing and I feel that huge chunk of text of mine you quoted, you didn't properly address its implication. If God exists, it's more unsettling than if he doesn't. He creates more questions than he answers. I strongly urge you to address this issue instead of turning it around.

Whether God's existence is unsettling depends largely on who you believe God to be, and who you believe yourself to be in relation to Him. Initially I found God's existence to be woefully unsettling. Now I find it quite precisely opposite. It does create a lot of questions, but so does anything else worth discovering. What I'm saying is it's not unnatural to be repulsed by the concept of God but that has little effect on his existence.

If I die and god exists I've also tried my hardest to be a good man and to satisfy myself through life, to have no shame for my existence and I will sit in front of him and tell him I never believed in him (and still do not, but rather consider him a fading hallucination of the dying brain) and I am unrepentant. UNREPENTANT! My life was my own, my death also. If he is a just God and he understands completely his creation he will know that I did exactly what he made me do. I have nothing to lose in that respect.

So if you saw God face to face you would consider him a hallucination? Are you sure you're unbiased regarding the possibility of his existence?

And ultimately, most importantly, it is not a matter of haggling, it really shouldn't be. I do not define my ontology based on the gambling odds of there being a hellfire and eternal damnation in which I might be designated later on. So be it! There's still no real reason to go from examining this universe to inferring there is a God around in it besides people screaming about him being around. So if I have to suffer eternal damnation for not being stupid enough to trust other beings that are essentially as clueless as I am on matters of abstract metaphysics, then so be it! Punish me, just and everpresent lord, punish me by letting me be what you need me to be!

Again... this is getting into personal beliefs which would be a bad turn for this discussion to talk. Although I'd be happy to dialogue about that privately. I will say that Christian concepts of afterlife, eternal judgment, etc. are some of the most complicated aspects of my faith and the grossly condescending and inaccurate cliff-notes versions that are commonly passed around are, for lack of a better word, vulgar and embarrassing.

Again the most important thing I'm talking about is this: examine the motivation of 'faith' on the human animal. The uncertainty of the universe is mind-boggling. We invented anthropomorphic faces for the natural powers around us to understand them, to symbolise them and contain them, to not go insane by thinking what this thunder is that falls randomly out of the sky and splits the old tree in half. The sentient animal needs faith because otherwise they'd go insane trying to run a fault simulation in their mind in which there are no dangers around them. As long as inexplicable things happen, the animal thinks it's in danger! It must make its surroundings safe and it must make the internal world safe by establishing symbols, words and stories that are causal and make sense. Where did we come from? Goddidit. Where are we going? God knows. What should we do? God tells.

There are points where supernatural attributes have been credited to natural occurrences, yes. Just as emotions were once thought of as stemming from the heart. Our understanding of the universe changes with time. But again, the fact that God's hands don't manipulate the sun through the sky has nothing to do with whether or not He could exist. The questions you ask, "Where did we come from?" - "Where are we going" - "What should we do?" - those of us who profess faith in God do not have such simple, trite answers to those questions as what you listed on our behalf. God is the launching pad for the long difficult journey of discovering the answers, not a cop out to avoid them.

Try to take a few steps outside the box in which you're trying to rationalize the existence of the most huge overspill of thermodynamic energy in the universe and think of WHY you are doing it.

Been there and done that. Self examination and faith are two things that tend to co-habitate. If you're searching for an ulterior motive for my advocating God's existence, you won't find one. My belief in God isn't so that He will like me... that's silly because if I didn't believe in Him it wouldn't matter whether He likes me or not. My belief in God isn't because it makes me feel better about life; in fact many times my beliefs has caused me to look at life quite harshly. My belief in God is not an act of will but a culmination of every experience and all the knowledge that I have obtained up until this point.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Akira on January 27, 2009, 03:59:22 am
For me the most alarming thing about this comic was that Science obviously has no backpack. So just where did he get his flashlight?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 27, 2009, 04:09:55 am
religion has the answer
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on January 27, 2009, 04:10:46 am
For me the most alarming thing about this comic was that Science obviously has no backpack. So just where did he get his flashlight?

Ahah! So by understanding that we can assume they are actually inside his backpack!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on January 27, 2009, 04:29:18 am
Maybe he has an invisible backpack that created itself and can't be proven to exist. The backpack said "let there be flashlight" and so there was.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 27, 2009, 11:43:16 am
Maybe he doesn't really want to know where the flashlight came from because he doesn't like the moral implications. When the batteries run out it will just be dark again and he's totally okay with that.  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on January 27, 2009, 12:00:49 pm
A flashlight with batteries? Pfft.
Science would be carrying one of these:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/875c/

And of course kept in a gadget belt!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 27, 2009, 12:20:56 pm
Helm : just reread what I write perhaps.

Sure, I'll do that.

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my definition of Religion is as objective as it can be :

You use 'objective' in a very strange manner. I guess it must be your personal lexicon. I will re-read what you write to learn your language some other time, perhaps.

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You have a way of always misinterpreting everything I say in extremely negative ways, and I just don't know how to avoid this.

I'm sorry you feel that way. As to how to avoid this, you'd have to realize what a conversation is first. I'll keep re-reading until you do.

Quote from: Ben2theEdge
I don't claim to be an expert in it, and honestly I really loath the subject.

Well it's not very pleasant to realize that everything is inherently subjective and that there is no truth, is it?

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You may claim not to take 1+1=2 as a binding proposition, but you can only say that to support a philosophical argument. In the real world you depend on this proposition every day just to process the world around you, as do we all. When we stop talking and look at practical reality we find that truth exists. If you tried living your life liberated from the notion that 1+1=2, you would not survive.

No, see here's what it is: Of course I will take 1+1=2 as an applicable model since I am sitting here in front of my computer which is made of this binary logic model. But inside of me I know to approach any 'handy' thing that rests on 'handy' truths with a boulder of salt because these things have been shown again and again to be mutable, to be evolving. There is no 'truth' because there is no objectivity of any kind, everything you experience is only what you experience, there is no way to be certain that it's exactly as other people experience it. This is not an academic matter for me, it has really helped me live better to approach reality with this existential humbleness. I think it's a very big neurosis of the modern human that he believes that because he made motor cars and computers and rockets, he now holds in his hands some ever-dependable axiomatic truths. It leads to all sorts of problems for him, this hybris. It's the other side of the God hybris, in a way.

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I'm having a really hard time following you through this paragraph. Are you saying that since we can't transplant ourselves into other creatures' experiences, we don't have the authority to claim the existence of God? Not a challenge here, but a request for clarification.

I am saying that since we can't transplant ourselves ANYWHERE but inside of where we are, we can only draw flimsy, empathic parallels between oneself and the outside world and that therefore words are not the way in which something like a 'God' can be approached.

And if he can only be approached through personal experience, then he is not something that should be talked about as if his traits are a matter of public consciousness.

Furthermore, a scientific model, which is useful for interpreting reality in comfortable ways doesn't seem to allow for the overspill of an endless God. The scientific model is not proof that God doesn't exist  as the model itself is highly debatable. It is just proof that if you enjoy working within this scientific model to interpret reality, whatever this 'God' being is, does not factor in. You can't have your pie and eat it too.

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Science and faith have very different roles. Not opposing. Complimentary. And separate.

When it comes to the human psyche I posit that there are no 'COMPLEMENTARY BUT SEPARAAAATE' effects. I'm sure the part of your brain that deals with a faith in a higher being also deals with an enduring reliability that gravity will be in effect tomorrow. These things make you feel safe, and the search for safety in the animal is holistic, whether it is self-aware or not.

I dislike this often-said quote where science and faith are separate but equal. It seems to me that the people that say this have not looked into what epistemological weights science carries very carefully and are just saying 'MY kind of science, the docile and handy one, not that other one where God doesn't factor in'. I'm not saying you cannot pick and choose, your language is your own and do whatever you want with it, no shame etc etc. Just be honest about it. If the second law of thermodynamics exists in your model of reality, then there is no God. If your god is outside the universe, then he is useless and creates an infinite who-created-the-creator-regress.

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So if you saw God face to face you would consider him a hallucination? Are you sure you're unbiased regarding the possibility of his existence?

Yes I am not biased because you see, the probability of a God existing is so small in a thermodynamic universe where if I were to sit face to face with him I'd have to consider all the other (and I mean ALL) more probable scenarios for what I am experiencing before I reach for the 'there is no conservation of energy after all!!' card. Do you understand this scenario I am presenting? I can restate it in such a way: I may take some drugs and see God in all his glory. Then I may come off of the drugs. Should I consider it more probable that I was hallucinating or that the second law of thermodynamics doesn't exist after all?

Also I must say I'd be very disappointed in my subconsciousness if it presented me with a God on the moment of death. I'd have strongly rathered it would present me with visions of carnal excess and happyness, so I may slip into nothingness without these burdens that a highly religious society has impressed on me at a young age. Shame on them for shaping minds in such a way that one may not enjoy their own deaths :P

Quote
Again... this is getting into personal beliefs which would be a bad turn for this discussion to talk. Although I'd be happy to dialogue about that privately. I will say that Christian concepts of afterlife, eternal judgment, etc. are some of the most complicated aspects of my faith and the grossly condescending and inaccurate cliff-notes versions that are commonly passed around are, for lack of a better word, vulgar and embarrassing.

I don't know how your personalized vision of the afterlife or hell looks like, but as long as unrepentant sinners feel some degree of uncomfort for all eternity in it, let me tell you that it's probably embarassing and vulgar for me too. But feel free to expound on some different sort of hell you have in mind.

Quote
There are points where supernatural attributes have been credited to natural occurrences, yes. Just as emotions were once thought of as stemming from the heart. Our understanding of the universe changes with time. But again, the fact that God's hands don't manipulate the sun through the sky has nothing to do with whether or not He could exist.

But as more and more is 'explained' (I stress the '' s because as I said I don't think science 'explains' anything, but it does provide a handy model) through science, then what use is your God anymore? Even if he exists, who should care? The use of a God is from my point of view clearly a psychological one, and I won't say it's BAD that people need the metaphysical shoulder to cry on, I certainly cry on different shoulders too from time to time. I just don't think these shoulders should be justified and agreed upon universally as to be existing before you can do your crying. Cry on your great great grandfather's ghastly shoulder, that's far less thermodynamically insulting. He won't mind. He will comfort you also. But a freakin' GOD? Creator of the universe? HE'S the one whom you summon? Isn't that the worst hybris in the world?

I've felt more comfort (not to mention awe) by looking at my little cat cleaning its fur than I've ever felt pondering religion, for one, so it's hard for me to understand where you're coming from, but if you can provide for me some other motivation for summoning the biggest thermodynamic fault you could ever in existence besides emotional support, I'd love to hear it. Cuz

Quote
The questions you ask, "Where did we come from?" - "Where are we going" - "What should we do?" - those of us who profess faith in God do not have such simple, trite answers to those questions as what you listed on our behalf. God is the launching pad for the long difficult journey of discovering the answers, not a cop out to avoid them.

You're stalling here and also

Quote
Been there and done that. Self examination and faith are two things that tend to co-habitate. If you're searching for an ulterior motive for my advocating God's existence, you won't find one. My belief in God isn't so that He will like me... that's silly because if I didn't believe in Him it wouldn't matter whether He likes me or not. My belief in God isn't because it makes me feel better about life; in fact many times my beliefs has caused me to look at life quite harshly. My belief in God is not an act of will but a culmination of every experience and all the knowledge that I have obtained up until this point.

here. You're telling me I'm wrong in my assumptions (fair enough) but you're not presenting the truth about why you need your thermodynamically challenged God. Those bits of personal information you're hesitating to present to me are what I'm ultimately interested in. I don't want to challenge your faith in the least, really. I want to understand you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SolidIdea on January 27, 2009, 01:11:02 pm
Quote
I want to understand you.

You don't. Maybe I've misread you for the whole discussion, but you are not one to strive for understandment in this subject.
For one to understand a noesis must be capable of empathy on the matter, but as of now, it seems you question yourself before such could happen.
You don't need to accept and take as truth to know or at least judge something as it is on the realm of the possibility.
Although that too does not say or imply that everything must be true or real, just that everything is for the sake of being.

And if by any means I mistook you for any, please correct me so, english is not my first language so interpretations are somewhat of a trap to me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 27, 2009, 01:36:11 pm
I do not think understanding someone implies that I may do so fully and completely and dependably (or even reliably). If you'd rather I use a different word (one that is far more creepy!) I want to 'feel' the other side even a little bit. I want to feel it's naked bod-- uh, I want to achieve some empathy that isn't based on cheap cliches (whose sole use is that they're easy to empathize with) and for this to happen I want to ask the risky questions (why do you need a God?) and get an answer without any shame.

Your observation is an astute one however. I try to avoid this double standard you spot, and the way that I do this is by being humble about the limitations of my understanding and by being honest about what ends it serves. I'm not attempting science on Ben2theEdge.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on January 27, 2009, 02:04:22 pm
Helm I can't at the moment respond to everything you wrote, but the foundation of your understanding people like me is flawed.
You begin by assuming that I invented God out of some kind of need I had. I didn't invent God at all. You have to prove I did because many of your beliefs are founded on that assumption. But as long as you do that, I won't make any sense to you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on January 27, 2009, 02:27:55 pm
Color me interested in your reply to Helm's post.

Assuming you didn't receive your religious beliefs through family or location, what kind of experiences or situations made you realize the existence of a god?
And then, if you indeed realized that there is a deity over us, what made you choose a religion over the others, or at all?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SolidIdea on January 27, 2009, 02:52:14 pm
Helm I can't at the moment respond to everything you wrote, but the foundation of your understanding people like me is flawed.
You begin by assuming that I invented God out of some kind of need I had. I didn't invent God at all. You have to prove I did because many of your beliefs are founded on that assumption. But as long as you do that, I won't make any sense to you.

That's kinda where I was trying to get at. But...
You did not invent God, that's true. There was something inside you (and all of us for the matter), maybe since you gave your first steps, that would answer your questions, and question your answers. A "self" not tangible even by the ultimate grasps of conscience which makes even stranger to us that it's called a self.
This imbroglio can evolve into many things such as faith, the relation of your self with the self of others, which may be very true the God inside of all.
I guess what Helm is trying to, is to get an answer (the need he believes you had) that determines the turning point or realization of the presence/existence of a God.
That's a valid and fair questioning even though something like that is hard to pinpoint since most of the time is a road of events (life, difficulties faced in, problems, joys, questions answered or not). That's why I said he isn't trying to understand, it takes a lot more than the 2 to substitute x in 1 + 1 = x.

EDIT:
Just so it doesn't see like I went over Helm's reply:
The risky questions as exemplified are as complicated as it gets. It's like question "how did we get here?" and hoping for an answer that suits.
A scientist can go as far as the creation of the cosmo, but before that there wasn't?
I see you are genuinely interested in seeing a reasoning behind his faith, but first you should be aware that this goes far beyond if god is thermodinamically (sp?) possible or not.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 27, 2009, 04:05:30 pm
Ben take your time, if you ever have it, to paint me a picture. I sincerily can't see how an idea of a God as strictly defined as that of the christian faith can occur to you naturally, I can only see it being socially impressed on you (which is what the 'invention' I'm talking about is). If I'm wrong I'd really like to see the alter apars more clearly.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on January 27, 2009, 05:42:55 pm
   In this case, I always feel that discussing the battle between  Science and Religion is masturbatory. Everybody knows that the opposing sides go no where with it, and it's an endless battle. Conversing over it, I guess, just seems like something to do when you're bored, and never truly serves an endpoint, other than "we'll never agree with each other, but lets just keep on debating till we die." Just more questions, doubt in the other side, and in the worst case scenario(but a small percentage), anger and hostility. Granted, anger and hostility comes from religious FANATICS majority of the time, but it's never right to assume all religious people would do the same.
   To me, the basis of Science and Religion is really a challenge between knowledge and faith: ie, "I have faith that you will do this", will always combat " I KNOW that you will do this." Knowing something will happen, always seems to have a neutral connotation to it. Bad things can come of it, and so can good things come of it, but the point is, it was known to happen anyway. The brain is wired this way, we can't help it. It's kind of the same reasoning as something hitting you in the gut: if the hit is known prior, the brain will try to prepare itself chemically and mentally, before hand. If it isn't known, and the hit comes out of no where, the brain doesn't have time to prepare, and pain sensors sometime go into overload. Where as faith comes into play, it's a matter of wanting to believe that something will happen. That something is expected without so much factual evidence. Could be possible that what ever it is, it's happened before, you've seen it with your own eyes, but you EXPECT it to happen again, rather than KNOW. And this is the problem.
   Now I know religion, in terms of definition, is NOT the same thing as faith, more so partners in crime with each other. However, don't these debates seem to always end up against a brick wall at this point, when knowledge is challenged against faith? Both parties are equally intelligent enough to at least know that the 2 word's definitions are not one in the same, yet one or the other keeps asking why? Seriously an endless circle jerk of people who aren't seeing the greater picture here...and I mean the fanatics of BOTH sides, not just one.
   For the time being, however, it's much easier to pick on religion, as it's outdated, and has far less firmware upgrades than that of Science. Science isn't totally perfect, however. It just has a better way of answering it's previous flaws and wrong answers by calling it's current statements "theories." It's kind of like saying "this is the answer for now, until proven wrong later on. If someone challenges us, we'll just tell them it was a theory, and that it wasn't concrete to begin with, and prone to change with future updates."...Science has built itself fairly well on this concept and it works fine, to be quite honest. We've gotten modern medicine, technology, and healthier because of it. But again, it's not perfect either. After all, we once thought the world was flat, and look what happened there(I know, I know, it's an easy target...but I had to ...).
   I guess to put it simply, I will agree with others in that Religion is flawed in many ways. It's also very hard to defend against a "science" man's perspective. But if there really is a true God out there, I'm sure our simple scientific theories will still NEVER fully understand it's entity and well being, or how it came into effect, probably because this God-like entity has been around for so long, that it's at a much higher intelligible level than we are. Also, I'm sure it moved on many billion years ago to other side projects, rather than dealing with a couple of living beings who debate over trite things such as this. I'm sure there are other living beings, possibly more advanced than us, that also have this same conversation, and also get no where with it. So I guess if it ever came down to it, and I were to meet this God, any question I would first ask him would probably have an answer something close to " Uhmmm, which Universe are you from again?"

*heh, such an abrupt sentence to end a long series of masturbatory paragraphs, that derive too far from the main subject. Oh the irony...*

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on January 27, 2009, 05:58:50 pm
http://www.konjak.org/index.htm

Well done konjak, a ton of fun to play :)
QFT! very very good. I would eat up in an instant anything like that he released....too bad this kind of one man-treasure type thing never gets noticed on a wide scale in the web. Maybe he should make one where the hero is science and the bad guy is religion. That way he'd get all the fucking attention in the world.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on January 27, 2009, 08:31:51 pm
I sincerily can't see how an idea of a God as strictly defined as that of the christian faith can occur to you naturally, I can only see it being socially impressed on you (which is what the 'invention' I'm talking about is).

Yes, and all feral children are literate and know modus ponens?  Some thing being socially impressed on you doesn't make it wrong does it?

I agree that most religion is unnecessarily intricate, though. 

If there is a biblical god, his creation of humanity shows that he knows a little bit about genetics; his living in the heavens shows that he knows something about space travel; his punishment of humanity and "thou shalt have no other gods" deal shows that he is power hungry and full of himself; nothing really too frightening or worship-worthy to me.  He's a dick--don't get me wrong, his vast knowledge of science is admirable--but I suppose there are dicks littered all about the universe. 

Modern science knows that everything is vibrating energy in one way or another. Lots of religions refer to this spiritually.  Maybe some other dude made all this vibrating energy, but its being multidimensional and mysterious and everything makes it very hard to even begin to comprehend. Something so incomprehensible is worth my attention.

There's two cents for y'all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SolidIdea on January 27, 2009, 09:21:55 pm
Not trying to deviate from the subject but...
Does anyone know any good books about watercolor and it's techniques?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on January 27, 2009, 10:08:21 pm
All this fuzz about a little comic. It's the same with every forum I've ever been on, as soon as someone makes a religion joke people go batshit.

SO WHAT IF SOMEONE INSULTS YOUR IMAGINARY FRIEND?
Stop taking shit and decide for yourself whether or not to believe.

If people want to believe in an almighty being that creates it's own enemies and contradicts itself, the fine.
But don't get mad at us realists for believing in the suff that actually makes sense and that has proof it's correct.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SolidIdea on January 27, 2009, 10:45:03 pm
All this fuzz about a little comic. It's the same with every forum I've ever been on, as soon as someone makes a religion joke people go batshit.

SO WHAT IF SOMEONE INSULTS YOUR IMAGINARY FRIEND?
Stop taking shit and decide for yourself whether or not to believe.

If people want to believe in an almighty being that creates it's own enemies and contradicts itself, the fine.
But don't get mad at us realists for believing in the suff that actually makes sense and that has proof it's correct.

I hate being rude but, shut up.
You clearly didn't read through the discussion and you are being the main offender here. Worst than going batshit over something, is going batshit over nothing which is clearly your case right here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on January 27, 2009, 11:41:16 pm
All this fuzz about a little comic. It's the same with every forum I've ever been on, as soon as someone makes a religion joke people go batshit.

SO WHAT IF SOMEONE INSULTS YOUR IMAGINARY FRIEND?
Stop taking shit and decide for yourself whether or not to believe.

If people want to believe in an almighty being that creates it's own enemies and contradicts itself, the fine.
But don't get mad at us realists for believing in the suff that actually makes sense and that has proof it's correct.

I hate being rude but, shut up.
You clearly didn't read through the discussion and you are being the main offender here. Worst than going batshit over something, is going batshit over nothing which is clearly your case right here.

I'm completely calm. And yes I did read the discussion.
Worse than goin batshit over something, is jumping conclusions, which is exactly what you're doing here. Ignorance at it's worst.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 28, 2009, 12:06:30 am
Please no name calling and please also, don't tell people to shut up. The conversation's been civil up to now and I see no reason for this ugliness.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on January 28, 2009, 12:46:29 am
Perhaps it's time to give this discussion its own topic? This is the off-topic thread after all.
Very interesting to read btw guys.

Science is all about trying to find answers, as far as i understand or hope. If you don't know something for sure (or as sure as to be the logical choice), why go with an option such as a god to understand the reason for your existance or those unanswered questions - something which is only backable by belief?

Also i personally find it very sad when someone fears what would happen after death so much that they would believe in, worship or follow the moral rules of something just incase.
One thing that really shook me off from religion was afterlife. The whole idea of a bad afterlife and a good aftelife really frustrate me. You cannot control where or when in the world you were born, or as a result who teaches you as you grow up or the experiences you eventually come across that shape your personality and life. If you are a bad person, it's not necissarily your fault, in the same way that every child is born innocent. And the vision of a infinite good afterlife, or heaven, i find extremely worrying. It would make that life worthless, having endless time and goodness and equality. There would be no point in it.
Also if you are reincarnated, surely there would be no sense of you in that new reincarnation - how can you possibly know, or act upon the fact you are a reincarnation. Even if at the end you can look upon your experiences, why not just look at the experiences of any group of animals or people? What is the difference? What is the point?

I constantly spell religion, religeon! Goddammit lol.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 28, 2009, 01:04:18 am
How about no? Religion is off topic when it comes to pixelling, so there wont be an extra thread for this or any other thing not somehow related to pixelling.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on January 28, 2009, 01:39:10 am
How about no? Religion is off topic when it comes to pixelling, so there wont be an extra thread for this or any other thing not somehow related to pixelling.

Ah yeah sorry, forgot this was [Pixel Art] General Discussion.  :-[
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on January 28, 2009, 01:43:50 am
Cool. tons of things to read, not enough time to read 'em all and make any kind of cohesive response.

I do, however, disagree on the "Religion, It's something you choose!" statement made much earlier.

I was born(?) and raised a christian, taught christian fundamentals and ideals and told that there only is christianity, and all other options are some voodoo nonsense... grossly exaggerated of course, but the idea is there. Christianity is the "only way" and anything else I learned about in school came with a "This isn't true" disclaimer.

Christianity wasn't a choice for me 'till I was 18, and even now I run on a bastardized, personalized version of christianity because nothing else has ever presented itself as a reasonable alternative to believing in an omnipresent deity. I theoretically have a choice in the matter, but the most choice I have is to get the tattoo I have removed and get another one elsewhere; there will always be traces of the original.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 28, 2009, 01:49:28 am
That sounds like an extreme case scenario there tho. Of course the amount of indoctrination at an early age will have an effect on your believes, though I know people who were raised quite religious and they think religion is bogus, and mean it. Just because for you youe upbringing left a deeper religious indent in your superego does not mean this is the same for everyone.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on January 28, 2009, 02:50:38 am
The vast majority of people (+90%) living in a country I was born and raised in declare themselves as Christian Catholics.  I do not.

Quote from: Gautama Buddha
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 28, 2009, 03:09:23 am
Cool. tons of things to read, not enough time to read 'em all and make any kind of cohesive response.

I do, however, disagree on the "Religion, It's something you choose!" statement made much earlier.

I was born(?) and raised a christian, taught christian fundamentals and ideals and told that there only is christianity, and all other options are some voodoo nonsense... grossly exaggerated of course, but the idea is there. Christianity is the "only way" and anything else I learned about in school came with a "This isn't true" disclaimer.

Christianity wasn't a choice for me 'till I was 18, and even now I run on a bastardized, personalized version of christianity because nothing else has ever presented itself as a reasonable alternative to believing in an omnipresent deity. I theoretically have a choice in the matter, but the most choice I have is to get the tattoo I have removed and get another one elsewhere; there will always be traces of the original.
How do you disagree on the "decision" statement?

I was also born and raised a christian, going to church every sunday etc, always felt terrible for even thinking about considering other possibilities, but it took catholic highschool to make me realize how much I hated that mind control.
To be perfectly blunt, I find less and less to respect about religion as I grow, there are still values worth admiring, but I believe they aren't exclusive to religion in the first place.

I'm still comforted by the idea of a God, but I view that as a personal shortcoming.
No offense to anyone implied, I'm not a very philosophical person and I don't have much more to say about the matter.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on January 28, 2009, 04:09:33 am
   In this case, I always feel that discussing the battle between  Science and Religion is masturbatory. Everybody knows that the opposing sides go no where with it, and it's an endless battle. Conversing over it, I guess, just seems like something to do when you're bored, and never truly serves an endpoint, other than "we'll never agree with each other, but lets just keep on debating till we die." Just more questions, doubt in the other side, and in the worst case scenario(but a small percentage), anger and hostility. Granted, anger and hostility comes from religious FANATICS majority of the time, but it's never right to assume all religious people would do the same.
   To me, the basis of Science and Religion is really a challenge between knowledge and faith: ie, "I have faith that you will do this", will always combat " I KNOW that you will do this." Knowing something will happen, always seems to have a neutral connotation to it. Bad things can come of it, and so can good things come of it, but the point is, it was known to happen anyway. The brain is wired this way, we can't help it. It's kind of the same reasoning as something hitting you in the gut: if the hit is known prior, the brain will try to prepare itself chemically and mentally, before hand. If it isn't known, and the hit comes out of no where, the brain doesn't have time to prepare, and pain sensors sometime go into overload. Where as faith comes into play, it's a matter of wanting to believe that something will happen. That something is expected without so much factual evidence. Could be possible that what ever it is, it's happened before, you've seen it with your own eyes, but you EXPECT it to happen again, rather than KNOW. And this is the problem.
   Now I know religion, in terms of definition, is NOT the same thing as faith, more so partners in crime with each other. However, don't these debates seem to always end up against a brick wall at this point, when knowledge is challenged against faith? Both parties are equally intelligent enough to at least know that the 2 word's definitions are not one in the same, yet one or the other keeps asking why? Seriously an endless circle jerk of people who aren't seeing the greater picture here...and I mean the fanatics of BOTH sides, not just one.
   For the time being, however, it's much easier to pick on religion, as it's outdated, and has far less firmware upgrades than that of Science. Science isn't totally perfect, however. It just has a better way of answering it's previous flaws and wrong answers by calling it's current statements "theories." It's kind of like saying "this is the answer for now, until proven wrong later on. If someone challenges us, we'll just tell them it was a theory, and that it wasn't concrete to begin with, and prone to change with future updates."...Science has built itself fairly well on this concept and it works fine, to be quite honest. We've gotten modern medicine, technology, and healthier because of it. But again, it's not perfect either. After all, we once thought the world was flat, and look what happened there(I know, I know, it's an easy target...but I had to ...).
   I guess to put it simply, I will agree with others in that Religion is flawed in many ways. It's also very hard to defend against a "science" man's perspective. But if there really is a true God out there, I'm sure our simple scientific theories will still NEVER fully understand it's entity and well being, or how it came into effect, probably because this God-like entity has been around for so long, that it's at a much higher intelligible level than we are. Also, I'm sure it moved on many billion years ago to other side projects, rather than dealing with a couple of living beings who debate over trite things such as this. I'm sure there are other living beings, possibly more advanced than us, that also have this same conversation, and also get no where with it. So I guess if it ever came down to it, and I were to meet this God, any question I would first ask him would probably have an answer something close to " Uhmmm, which Universe are you from again?"

*heh, such an abrupt sentence to end a long series of masturbatory paragraphs, that derive too far from the main subject. Oh the irony...*



You say that the Science and Religion Battle is pointless and will go on forever without conclusion, if I'm understanding you right (Tell me if I'm not).

I don't prescribe to any specific, predefined religion, per se, but through my own experience (of 13 years, not much but enough for me, now) I've come about with my own beliefs about life.
(I really like
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. )
I agree with you, Bob, but I don't think it's pointless.  Whenever I'm able to have a civilized discussion with someone over it, both of us know it will be to know end and neither of us is trying to convince the other.  That makes for a deeply satisfying discussion, and since I've made my own beliefs about life it helps me to really critically think about what I believe, and sooth out the kinks in logic, and both of us think it's good, deep, fun, and useful.

I am honestly sorry I don't have more to contribute, there are a lot of posts, and also I believe that whatever anyone thinks or believes, is true to them, and if it's true to them and they're satisfied then great.  So long as they're not trying to convince anyone to go with them, and even if they do I'm not going to try and change it, but it goes against my own beliefs.  Anyway, reading what I could of this is good, and even though it's a touchy subject I'm glad it's gotten this far without too many unpleasantries.

Toodles!
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on January 28, 2009, 05:38:29 am
You say that the Science and Religion Battle is pointless and will go on forever without conclusion, if I'm understanding you right (Tell me if I'm not).

I agree with you, Bob, but I don't think it's pointless.  Whenever I'm able to have a civilized discussion with someone over it, both of us know it will be to know end and neither of us is trying to convince the other.  That makes for a deeply satisfying discussion, and since I've made my own beliefs about life it helps me to really critically think about what I believe, and sooth out the kinks in logic, and both of us think it's good, deep, fun, and useful.

Errm...exactly where did I say it was "pointless"? Your reply pretty much echoes my first paragraph; ie, just speaking about it for the sake of a conversation:

   In this case, I always feel that discussing the battle between  Science and Religion is masturbatory. Everybody knows that the opposing sides go no where with it, and it's an endless battle. Conversing over it, I guess, just seems like something to do when you're bored, and never truly serves an endpoint, other than "we'll never agree with each other, but lets just keep on debating till we die." Just more questions, doubt in the other side, and in the worst case scenario(but a small percentage), anger and hostility. Granted, anger and hostility comes from religious FANATICS majority of the time, but it's never right to assume all religious people would do the same.

   In any case, it seems most of us are heavily set in our ways right now, so I don't expect opinions to change. I'm just wondering what state the world will be in, when our generation begins to take over companies, economy, and countries. Will we still be in the same place we are today, arguing over deities we've never seen, conversing over theories that will never come to light in our age, combating opinions over things that human eyes will most likely NEVER see until our species has completely died out? Hard to say right now, though, as I'm speaking in terms of a U.S. citizen, where as other children of the world in lesser developed countries are brought up so strictly in their ways(education, religion) that I can't speak for the majority, in that our generation is any better than the previous. But I can HOPE. And I have FAITH that we can come to the conclusion to politely disagree, and go about our business smiling, even though it may never happen. And Having hope and faith is a concrete enough idea for me to put 100% into, which is good enough for me, without the security blanket of another human's supposed theory.

But seriously, after all this heated debate, I think it's time that we all just put our differences aside, and have some good ole' fashion angry sex... :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on January 28, 2009, 05:58:00 am
*zip*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SolidIdea on January 28, 2009, 07:09:41 am
Always use protection :)

I stumbled with this pretty news that left me dumbfounded.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/4357829/Immortal-jellyfish-swarming-across-the-world.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/4357829/Immortal-jellyfish-swarming-across-the-world.html)

Who would have thunk that there would be a animal that goes against the system live / breed / die.
Smarty pants this jellyfish.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 28, 2009, 07:35:42 am
Weren't they saying the same thing about the Red Devil Squid?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on January 28, 2009, 04:31:01 pm
...religious indent in your superego...
If you think about god as a personification of the superego(which is a law and order giving presence), then a lot of religious claims and accusations make a whole lot of sense, kinda.
Like how someone might think that an atheist could not have morals, which seemed completely absurd to me. But if you replace the big-G with the over-I in the accusation, it seems more valid.
Maybe that's also why some feel so strongly about the god person. Some danger exists in a cascading effect if/when god doesn't oppose the ID and leaves the jolly ego out of the loop. It's not exclusive to religion though, anything that resembles an authority can shape your morals, even to extremes like demonstrated by the milgram experiment. Pixelation too has some strong influence on people by having it's authority enforce certain ideas which stick to peoples thinking and continue to spill over to other places.

What i would like to know is if you can have morals if there is nothing that imposes them on you, like your parents, society or whatever. How does the over-I function in a feral child? Makes you get along with the social regulations of the animals around you? What if you raised a human in a sensory deprivation room with only controlled information fed into it?
I just have to dig into more literature on the subject..... too much stagnation these days cause i just work, play videogames and sleep.

BUT on the case of jellyfish! Those wonderful varied creatures. Some have survived unchanged like forever, some can clone themselves, some have multiple neural clusters in a single body with a set of primitive eyes and now we have one that's immortal!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on January 28, 2009, 06:27:56 pm
Quote
What i would like to know is if you can have morals if there is nothing that imposes them on you, like your parents, society or whatever.

I don't believe so. If you look at Genie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(feral_child)), she has no morals or anything like that. If you also look at children of violent parents, the fact that they are often violent too (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/4011.php) when they get older is a good indication that morals only exist as they are passed on through demonstration to a child. There are also almost definitely genetic factors, but to fulfill them you still need socializing. A feral child will be without morals (or even the ability to empathize, which is key to morals), no matter what their genes say.

An interesting case to look at for your question would be a child raised normally, except never punished for doing something we consider morally wrong, and never rewarded for doing something we consider right (and never observing others getting rewarded/punished). Obviously it's not possible to test this, though. My guess is that if you do that, you have someone who could commit horrible acts with no remorse, like a sociopath. Perhaps looking into famous sociopaths childhood would be interesting.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on January 28, 2009, 06:29:10 pm
BUT on the case of jellyfish! Those wonderful varied creatures. Some have survived unchanged like forever, some can clone themselves, some have multiple neural clusters in a single body with a set of primitive eyes and now we have one that's immortal!

The creatures of the ocean are weird, wonderful monsters. Why do people want to search for life in space when they haven't even explored their own planet first? Many of the underwater lifeforms look like aliens from movies. The life on terra firma is very uniform and boring in comparison.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 28, 2009, 06:51:44 pm
I don't believe so. If you look at Genie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(feral_child)), she has no morals or anything like that.

But she was raised under an influence from parents, teaching her distorted and violent morals (raising your voice leads to being punished physically).

Animals have something resembling morals too. Many of them look after their offspring, which is pre-programmed on their DNA, but which then extrapolates from that and leads to building up ones set of morals. Cats or dogs that have been separated from their mom too early are often much more easily freaked out and are much less sociable that kittens or puppies that have had a secure upbringing close to their parents. So the nurturing instinct is programmed in the DNA, and nurturing generally leads to a more balanced behaviour later on (although there's surely more to morals than that as well, but it's a start). But as always there are of course exceptions to the rule.

If you were raised in a vacuum, in a white room, then since there'd be nothing to reflect your preprogrammed behaviour on.. you wouldn't have anything to build the morals on either. It's a process. But then again that sort of situation IS unnatural, so it wouldn't tell much more about the issue of morals beyond that, since after all the default situation is that everyone lives in a holistic world.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on January 28, 2009, 07:03:29 pm
Quote
Cats or dogs that have been separated from their mom too early are often much more easily freaked out and are much less sociable that kittens or puppies that have had a secure upbringing close to their parents. So the nurturing instinct is programmed in the DNA

I don't see how you made that conclusion from that statement. The statement seems to suggest the opposite of your conclusion.

Not that I disagree with the conclusion, I think a lot more then we realize is in our genes. Studies of separated identical twins shows this to be oddly true. However, my point with Genie was the same as you said, there is nothing to build the morals on. The morals only exist when you can empathize, and that comes from being socialized. Then, as part of the socialization, you learn morals. Genie had some amount of influence from her father, but very very little, the littlest of any person almost, so she is probably the best place to look on these subjects.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on January 28, 2009, 07:07:46 pm
Quote
Cats or dogs that have been separated from their mom too early are often much more easily freaked out and are much less sociable that kittens or puppies that have had a secure upbringing close to their parents. So the nurturing instinct is programmed in the DNA

I don't see how you made that conclusion from that statement. The statement seems to suggest the opposite of your conclusion.
As in the bare minimum of the instinct that is required to start the snowball rolling.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 28, 2009, 07:45:29 pm
As in the bare minimum of the instinct that is required to start the snowball rolling.

Indeed. That's where it starts. There's obviously more to the development of morals... a lot that we probably don't even know yet. (This might easily lead to discussing consciousness, free will, memes and what have you but I for one am quite reluctant to go there.)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 28, 2009, 07:50:14 pm
I posit God comes from morality, not morality from God. A set of values that are enforced in a community are useful to balance the desires of that community against the internal frictions, so as many genes as possible survive. We can see that in pack animals too. However humans, as they are self-aware suffer from existential concerns and they need to devise higher reasons than that to justify their morality. Regardless however of whether a man believes their source of goodness to be a God or anything else (and there are many other value systems) the point of their morality is to ensure adjusted behaviour in a whole. Because a pack of humans is more protected and resourceful than a single one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 28, 2009, 08:20:00 pm
A set of values that are enforced in a community are useful to balance the desires of that community against the internal frictions, so as many genes as possible survive.

You're not talking about genes passed on through group selection though are you? A single gene doesn't care about other genes in the same gene pool, it only seeks to survive for its own sake, but in order to do that it needs to have characteristics that allow it to get along with the whole gene pool of say Homo Sapiens.

the point of their morality is to ensure adjusted behaviour in a whole.

..by an individual (randomly mutating) gene ensuring its survival and reproducing by adjusting its behaviour (through natural selection) as a part of the whole.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 28, 2009, 09:11:31 pm
My understanding is that genes might compel their hosts (us fleshy humans) to not only not destroy each other senselessly because of the risk involved (in how you might be the one getting destroyed in the process) but also to help, because in helping a close-knit commune it is very possible you're helping copies of genes you already have in other hosts. Morality, as it developed is pertinent because it works. Through community the human animal has become much more safer than it would be solitary.

To your second statement I have no comment but agreement.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 28, 2009, 09:37:47 pm
...because in helping a close-knit commune it is very possible you're helping copies of genes you already have in other hosts.

I think in the 60's some biologists were proposing that the process of natural selection might try to preserve larger gene pools in that manner but so far there's been no actual evidence of such a thing. Richard Dawkings proposed the single gene -view in his 70's book The Selfish Gene that has as one of its main thesis that you must always look at evolution from the point of view of a single gene, which became the standard view and has stood up to challenges so far.

I'm quoting a summary of the book here taken from another site (http://www.geocities.com/we_evolve/Human_Nature/dawkins.html):

"Natural selection acts on the individual's genes or rather, on the phenotypic effects of an individual's genes - not on the group as a whole. Genes build 'survival machines' or individual organisms. Genes are selfish in that they build survival machines to increase the number of copies of themselves, thus survival machines tend to be inherently selfish. Individuals that form groups do so for the benefit of their selfish genes (e.g. there is safety in numbers; safety for genes). An individual may act altruistically, but does so for its own gene preservation -- not group preservation."

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 28, 2009, 09:46:46 pm
I have read this book and I do not think my statement contradicts Dawkins.

Quote
Individuals that form groups do so for the benefit of their selfish genes (e.g. there is safety in numbers; safety for genes)

This statement was what I was expounding upon.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 28, 2009, 09:54:03 pm
Fair enough. Semantics..
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on January 29, 2009, 01:31:07 am
http://www.passion-paris.com/flash.html#myreel=v799&page=d118

This whole site has some pretty neat videos but I thought some might enjoy the "what to do in the event of an earthquake"
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on February 01, 2009, 01:31:25 pm
too off topic for the thread

When I cross my eyes while focusing on the space between the two animations, they stack, which is really neat. http://ptoing.net/edit/12framerun.gif
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on February 01, 2009, 06:12:15 pm
Woah!thats quite awesome! :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on February 02, 2009, 02:19:06 am
Now that the religious discussion has died down, I'm just gonna go ahead and quote myself
http://www.konjak.org/index.htm

Well done konjak, a ton of fun to play :)
Really is a nice game with some fantastic art in case any of you missed it.


And unrelated, I've been loving this for the last few months
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cA06uWV_-c
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on February 02, 2009, 03:53:04 am
Nice megaman link Taka. Very enjoyable. Have you heard Chris Stewart's megaman remixes? I heard them years back and still like them bunches. Here's a link to his music folder.

http://leaflock.net/web/music/megaman/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on February 03, 2009, 09:39:02 pm
The audio recording made me laugh, it's a bit long though.

http://www.xkcd.com/verizon/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on February 04, 2009, 02:17:21 am

An interesting case to look at for your question would be a child raised normally, except never punished for doing something we consider morally wrong, and never rewarded for doing something we consider right (and never observing others getting rewarded/punished). Obviously it's not possible to test this, though. My guess is that if you do that, you have someone who could commit horrible acts with no remorse, like a sociopath. Perhaps looking into famous sociopaths childhood would be interesting.

There is an Indifferent-Uninvolved model of parenting that fits some of the criterion you're supposing. In this model of parenting, as one could presume, the overarching theme is one where the parent acts in such a way that the child could not be considered an inconvenience. This is primarily accomplished through meeting a child's demand immediately, so as to terminate the child's demand, and by being emotionally unavailable to the child. Because child rearing begins at birth, the effects of such are immediate and consistent through a child's life, and outside sources of reward/punishment do not occur often enough to make a significant impact at earlier ages one could assume that this model of parenting loosely fits your inquisition. The documented results from such models of parenting happen to paint a picture remotely similar to the one you have. A truncated synopsis would imply that children coming from these households tend to be disobedient, impulsive, psychologically defunct (to some degree), and aggressive. This does not necessarily connotate to a sociopath, but it does share some of the same characteristics.

Interestingly enough, there is another model of parenting -which is widely lauded by mainstream child rearing manuals- that also fits the criterion you've proposed. This is called the harmonious model, and it contrasts sharply with what you seemingly believe to be the proper way to instill morals and direction in a child. The supposition that reward and punisment are integral qualifiers to instilling morality is thrown out of the window in this model. They are viewed as dated, archaic, and of relating to a hierarchy that is slowly but surely being debased. In this model, a parent will clearly outline expectations for a child, but will not necessarily enforce those expecations with punishment. Instead, this model focuses on creating a dialect between the parent and the child so that there can be a mutual understanding of why something is right or wrong. It also treats the child as an equal and does not generally profer superiority over a child when handling any given situation. The results of such child rearing are very telling of the misconceptions of reward and punishment in our society; a child raised under this upbringing will become self-confident, socially responsible, able to control emotions, and will generally have high self-esteem. The fact that this sort of parenting is seen as mollycoddling by believers in the strict reward/punishment model, indeed, says something about the actual validity of the reward/punishment model.

While neither of these exactly answer the question you have set forth, I believe that they can both give insight into the questions you have asked.

Quote
I think in the 60's some biologists were proposing that the process of natural selection might try to preserve larger gene pools in that manner but so far there's been no actual evidence of such a thing. Richard Dawkings proposed the single gene -view in his 70's book The Selfish Gene that has as one of its main thesis that you must always look at evolution from the point of view of a single gene, which became the standard view and has stood up to challenges so far.

This is a continuation of the conversation leading up to that quote, although what I am going to say is merely an insight of relevance to what has been said.

There is a certain type of organism (either an algae or a culture, I don't remember) that behaves in two distinct ways. This organism survives by floating on the top of water where it is capable of receiving nutrients and oxygen. It works together as a colony, but some organisms will self-replicate more hastily than others. The result of this, is that the entire organism will eventually grow too dense and sink, therefore drowning the entire colony.

This is a glimpse into how communal organisms may work for themselves as individuals (selfishly), while others work for the whole of the community. It is interesting because it brings to light the inherent dangers that can come from selfish behavior in a community, and it contradicts the statement that individuals form groups for the benefit of their selfish genes. Which, in this case, happens to be one of rapid self-replication.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on February 04, 2009, 02:40:26 am
Hey Doppleganger,

Interesting look at that type of parenting. I can see some parallels to what I was suggesting. On the subject of reward/punishment, I was trying to say that in the experiment, the child would receive no moral guidance, through lack of punishment/reward, or lack of any model at all. I didn't consider other forms of raising a child, so thanks for elaborating. It's interesting.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on February 04, 2009, 03:25:34 am
Interestingly enough, there is another model of parenting -which is widely lauded by mainstream child rearing manuals- that also fits the criterion you've proposed. This is called the harmonious model, and it contrasts sharply with what you seemingly believe to be the proper way to instill morals and direction in a child. The supposition that reward and punisment are integral qualifiers to instilling morality is thrown out of the window in this model. They are viewed as dated, archaic, and of relating to a hierarchy that is slowly but surely being debased. In this model, a parent will clearly outline expectations for a child, but will not necessarily enforce those expecations with punishment. Instead, this model focuses on creating a dialect between the parent and the child so that there can be a mutual understanding of why something is right or wrong. It also treats the child as an equal and does not generally profer superiority over a child when handling any given situation. The results of such child rearing are very telling of the misconceptions of reward and punishment in our society; a child raised under this upbringing will become self-confident, socially responsible, able to control emotions, and will generally have high self-esteem. The fact that this sort of parenting is seen as mollycoddling by believers in the strict reward/punishment model, indeed, says something about the actual validity of the reward/punishment model.
Yes. I think the reward/punishment model is completely unrelated to morality, because, AFAIK, what it instills is mindless, unreasoning fear or mindless, unreasoning confidence -- ie. habits. Whereas morality, as far as I understand it, is contextual - no matter how horrible an action or choice seems to you, there are situations where that choice is the best available and therefore the most moral choice, so strong reasoning skills are crucial. Your habits can help you behave morally but you cannot rely on them.

Quote
Quote
I think in the 60's some biologists were proposing that the process of natural selection might try to preserve larger gene pools in that manner but so far there's been no actual evidence of such a thing. Richard Dawkings proposed the single gene -view in his 70's book The Selfish Gene that has as one of its main thesis that you must always look at evolution from the point of view of a single gene, which became the standard view and has stood up to challenges so far.

This is a continuation of the conversation leading up to that quote, although what I am going to say is merely an insight of relevance to what has been said.

There is a certain type of organism (either an algae or a culture, I don't remember) that behaves in two distinct ways. This organism survives by floating on the top of water where it is capable of receiving nutrients and oxygen. It works together as a colony, but some organisms will self-replicate more hastily than others. The result of this, is that the entire organism will eventually grow too dense and sink, therefore drowning the entire colony.

This is a glimpse into how communal organisms may work for themselves as individuals (selfishly), while others work for the whole of the community. It is interesting because it brings to light the inherent dangers that can come from selfish behavior in a community, and it contradicts the statement that individuals form groups for the benefit of their selfish genes.
Careful! I'm pretty sure it doesn't contradict that statement.
Communal organisms are not individuals (whether taken as a whole or parts), by definition, so their behaviour cannot reasonably inform our knowledge of individual organisms.
However, of course that's dependent on how you mean 'communal': eg. I would classify humans as individuals who like to participate communally, whereas you may actually class them as communal organisms. In this case, there would be nothing incorrect about your statement, I would just find it confusing because of the difference in our terminology.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on February 04, 2009, 07:01:18 am
Quote
Yes. I think the reward/punishment model is completely unrelated to morality, because, AFAIK, what it instills is mindless, unreasoning fear or mindless, unreasoning confidence -- ie. habits. Whereas morality, as far as I understand it, is contextual - no matter how horrible an action or choice seems to you, there are situations where that choice is the best available and therefore the most moral choice, so strong reasoning skills are crucial. Your habits can help you behave morally but you cannot rely on them.

Exactly. It is for those exact reasons why somebody can repeatedly commit the same offense but in a different context without truly realizing why it is unacceptable. It is why a child must be disciplined from birth to adulthood (they never truly learn to reason right from wrong), and also why a criminal tends to repeatedly commit similar crimes. Of course, those are not the sole reasons, but I believe they hold common ground in most cases. Another reason is that with reward and punishment, one is forced to weigh the pros and cons of any action, which has been instilled in them as their main source of reason. When one is presented with an "immoral" situation where the reward outweighs the punishment, the likelihood of punishment detracting the individual from committing that "immoral" act is not that great. The fact that punishment to some could be neutral or even a reward to others further muddles the prospect of reward and punishment. In almost all societies the judicial system is meant to be set up in such a way that the punishment fits the crime, so that reward vs punishment reasoning becomes "balanced" and whatever decision a person makes becomes a reflection of their character and nothing more. However, this can not always be the case, and indeed it is not.

In America, the lower class tends to fit the mold of anything but privileged white male ideals. Part of this is because they do not desire to fit this mold, but the greater part is because they are prevented from fitting this mold in the first place. These ideals are are sacred ground, and are not meant to be tread upon by just anybody. The evidence of this can be seen through every movement the United States has had (women's rights, immigrant's rights, colored people's rights, and currently going on now is the rights of gays and lesbians). Eventually the rights of atheists will come into play, but the only point to make with that now is that these privileged white male ideals stem from the ideals of christianity-- which are still firmly rooted in the upper echelons of power in our society. The central point to be made here is that when one is persecuted, they are forced into less than desirable situations, and being in these situations throws the judicial "balance" off-kilter. This is why crime is more prevalent in lower class neighborhoods, why the crimes seem to relate to means of survival (robbery, drug dealing), and why the focus in a lower class community tends not to be one of meeting privileged white male ideals, but of survival. Our legal system believes it is fairly balanced, and that any crime committed is due to bad character and not any other reason, and the sentences related to inner-city crime tend to be harsher than those of white-collar crime because of it. This is because those from the inner-city are judged as having bad character by default. Not meeting the expectations of priviliged white male ideals is looked down upon by our society, and this is greatly reflected in how we punish those who do not meet them.

I kind of deviated from the initial point I was making, but I think that's okay. It's important to note, however, that a lot of what I wrote seems to be stated as fact, but a lot of it is simply conjecture stated in an affirmative way.

Quote
Careful! I'm pretty sure it doesn't contradict that statement.
Communal organisms are not individuals (whether taken as a whole or parts), by definition, so their behaviour cannot reasonably inform our knowledge of individual organisms.
However, of course that's dependent on how you mean 'communal': eg. I would classify humans as individuals who like to participate communally, whereas you may actually class them as communal organisms. In this case, there would be nothing incorrect about your statement, I would just find it confusing because of the difference in our terminology.

You're right in saying that it doesn't really contradict that statement. However, when a community of the afore-mentioned organisms is dominated by those who carry the selfish gene of expedited self-replication, that community will inevitably kill itself. I guess the problem in my argument is that the community can still be seen as a single entity (and is indeed classified as one), so instances of selfish organisms can be seen as a blight to the organism moreso than a selfish organism looking to capitalize on the benefits of communal living. I still don't doubt the significance such an organism holds when dealing with selfish genes and their implications toward our current biological thinking. If I could remember where exactly it was that I read that article, perhaps I could draw more pertinent information for the point I was actually trying to make. But alas, I have a heaping pile of Scientific American and Discover magazines in addition to the vast vast internet, and so I wouldn't even know where to begin to look.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on February 04, 2009, 07:13:15 am
The selfish gene that regulates self replication rates would not just maximize itself, it would reach the equilibrium that allowed the most algae to exist, and still not drown. That is the gene maximizing itself, not just going as hard and fast as it can.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on February 04, 2009, 07:16:25 am
So FF3 update and no bilinear switch off. That makes me sad :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 04, 2009, 12:32:55 pm
Doppleganger some interesting thoughts on justice and the class system. Thanks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on February 04, 2009, 09:32:40 pm
Scott Pilgrim Volume 5 is out today! I did the art for the back cover so everyone should buy a copy!  :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 05, 2009, 02:33:20 am
Yup, mail just arrived, Gosh! Comics in the UK has the special bookplate w/ signature edition in stock : D

Just sent my order! Yayayayay more pilgrim <3
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on February 05, 2009, 02:54:09 am
Oh man, Scott Pilgrim! So that's the name! I remember going through the comics my brother-in-law ordered four years ago (in secret), finding, and reading the first volume. Of course, I was eleven or twelve at the time so I don't remember all that much about it, but I was really pulled in by the art style and the general subject matter. It even spurred me to hastily make some comics of my own. Sadly, I never remembered the name and couldn't ask my brother in law later because I wasn't supposed to be reading it. (he said it was too mature for me)

I'm so buying these ASAP.  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on February 05, 2009, 10:58:28 am
I've not even read the fourth yet. I have to order them both from Amazon. Last I bought Faith Hicks' The War at Ellesmere. (http://www.faitherinhicks.com/ellsmere/) I'm a long time fan of her works. She's Canadian too, like O'Malley. They do some nice stuff over there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 05, 2009, 11:50:51 am
Haha, WTF, her style and O'Malley's really go together there O: Some stylistic choices that really match!

I mean, what is this? Is the same thing happening in canada that's happened in japan? Artists influencing each other and creating a regional 'style' kinda? Canadaism!

Haha, hope not. That drawing 'style' is awesome though. Made me wanna read it instantly O:!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on February 05, 2009, 02:37:07 pm
I love how Faith Hicks gives all her characters giant noses. And yet they're so pretty.
*in love*   :'(  :'(  :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on February 06, 2009, 04:49:45 am
My girl friend pre-ordered #5 but they didn't get it in on time so I should get to check it out next Wednesday. I look forward to seeing your stuff on the back Ben2theEdge. Is it related to the streetfighting game you were making of it?

It's kind of strange, there actually is quite a bit of artists in Canada who have a similar style O'Malley.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on February 06, 2009, 02:15:52 pm
It's actually unrelated to the fan-game I was working on. The stuff I did for this is more NES-era Capcom-ish than anything. Basically we made back cover look like the back of a NES box; the "screenshots" even have that weird roundish cropping, heheh. I'll post it all on Pixelation eventually so everyone can tear it to pieces  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 06, 2009, 02:18:58 pm
Cool. Congrats to you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on February 06, 2009, 05:01:38 pm
That sounds fucking awesome, Ben2theEdge. Can't wait to check it out!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Terley on February 09, 2009, 04:38:37 pm
Im officially at war with my housemates, they decided it'd be fun to start playin pranks on me the last couple of months, waking me up with guitars, turning everything in my room upside down, re-aranging my room, locking me out my room in the morning, setting the fire alarm off in the early hours of the morning etc. More irritating than anything >:(

Decided it's war, the whole of yesterday I tied their bedroom doors together and left em in there for a total of 12 hours.  :lol:

(http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9995/lockedinly4.jpg)

Love it if you guys could give me some tips, im thinking of putting paroxide in their shampoo so over time their hair goes blonde mysteriously.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on February 09, 2009, 05:39:36 pm
Take out the bottom draw and put some meat in the back, or a fish or something to rot, then replace the drawer and by the time they find where the smell is coming from it will be pretty disgusting to clean up.

gravy cubes in the shower head

lots of viagra in there coffee

steal/hide all of there trousers

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 09, 2009, 05:50:13 pm
lots of viagra in there coffee

Please don't say such things trivially. 'Lots' of viagra can very well give you an erection that eventually clots and makes your penis fall to gangrene and will have to be cut off. Imagine having this happen to you and not knowing why.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on February 09, 2009, 05:54:23 pm
oh come on dude, lighten up!

They were just a couple of ideas for fun.


Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 09, 2009, 06:09:07 pm
dick gangrene is never fun.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on February 09, 2009, 06:11:13 pm
If you have a sink with a spray attachment (like this) (http://www.rd.com/images/tfhimport/2003/20030701_You_Can_Fix_It_page003img002.jpg), take some black electrical tape and tape the trigger down, then aim the sprayer to face outwards towards anyone standing at the sink. Next person to turn the tap on will get a surprise!  >:D
I've done this one before and it works beautifully.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on February 09, 2009, 06:21:12 pm
dick gangrene is never fun.

something your not telling us?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on February 09, 2009, 06:53:17 pm
dick gangrene is never fun.
something your not telling us?
Umm, I think it's just that dick gangrene is sincerely never fun, and you can tell just by the name, and dick-cutting-off process. If you can laugh about causing your housemates to lose their genitals, then I think there's something a little wrong with you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 09, 2009, 07:08:57 pm
It just struck me that your humorous suggestion could lead to real trouble as that's what happens when you give someone lots of viagra. I'm just giving you some information to save you potential awfulness and yet you try to milk it for some sort of ill-placed joke about my own penis.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Terley on February 09, 2009, 07:17:13 pm
Just to be clear, Im not indending to give anyone viagra.    ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zenobia on February 09, 2009, 08:54:31 pm
This apparently wasn't the time to start following this topic again...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on February 09, 2009, 09:16:43 pm
This apparently wasn't the time to start following this topic again...

Was there ever a time?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on February 09, 2009, 10:04:58 pm
Pull clear saran wrap over the toilette opening during the night.  Giggle in the morning.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on February 10, 2009, 06:37:00 pm
Put soap or lotion on their toilet seat. Really uncofortable to slide around when taking a shit.
Get some of those firecracker-on-a-string things that explode when you pull it, and stick it to every door/cupboard/wardrobe in their room(s).
Freeze some shaving cream cans, then at night cut them in half and sneak it into their place. It expands like hell and the floor will be covered in it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on February 11, 2009, 05:02:59 pm
You like my new AVA ?  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on February 11, 2009, 09:29:12 pm
Put soap or lotion on their toilet seat. Really uncofortable to slide around when taking a shit.
Get some of those firecracker-on-a-string things that explode when you pull it, and stick it to every door/cupboard/wardrobe in their room(s).
Freeze some shaving cream cans, then at night cut them in half and sneak it into their place. It expands like hell and the floor will be covered in it.

Mythbusters tried that last one about shaving cream except ehy used it in a car. Results were... underwhelming unfortunately. They made up for it though by using buckets of some sort of highly flammable, super expanding chemical. Results were... much better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg2OBWE0uYM&feature=related
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on February 12, 2009, 07:16:38 pm
Put soap or lotion on their toilet seat. Really uncofortable to slide around when taking a shit.
Get some of those firecracker-on-a-string things that explode when you pull it, and stick it to every door/cupboard/wardrobe in their room(s).
Freeze some shaving cream cans, then at night cut them in half and sneak it into their place. It expands like hell and the floor will be covered in it.

Mythbusters tried that last one about shaving cream except ehy used it in a car. Results were... underwhelming unfortunately. They made up for it though by using buckets of some sort of highly flammable, super expanding chemical. Results were... much better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg2OBWE0uYM&feature=related

Saw that one on TV. But i have seen home videos where it actually worked. Not sure if there is any on youtube though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on February 13, 2009, 12:29:19 am
Well, there goes the fourth and final Futurama movie.
This one was all about Fry's destiny the niblonians hinted at in previous episodes, overall another good movie.

I'm glad there was a cliffhanger ending, because there was talk they would be wrapping the entire series up and not leaving any room for continuation.
I still doubt the show will get another chance, but there may be another dvd movie or two down the line...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on February 13, 2009, 09:04:40 am
Well... David X. Cohen said Fox was happy with the performance of the dvds.
Not that it means anything, but I guess the chances of geting something after the movies are bigger than before.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on February 14, 2009, 11:44:16 pm
Happy birthday AdamAtomic! ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on February 16, 2009, 02:08:21 am
Happy birthday Adam!

And uh banding really needs to be adressed more, found this (http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii201/temporicide/MPOnline.gif) on a mobile game site.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 16, 2009, 03:59:24 am
I'm going to write an open-ended tutorial about banding soon. Just trying to think of what ways to approach it so it makes sense.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on February 16, 2009, 06:07:06 am
I only really wrapped my head around the idea of banding recently, but it seems to me now that there's a pretty standard fix for it:
stolen from Jad:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/tocky/jad-Banding.gif)
stolen from Eyecraft:
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/tocky/eyecraft-brick-shading.png)
does this have a name? am I allowed to call it 'bricklaying'?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 16, 2009, 08:07:53 am
Let's not give a name for too many things or we'll start inventing 'techniques' again = __=;;

It'll be like 'I used 16 colors and bricklaying for most of the ramps' and half of the comments in the thread will go 'what is bricklaying?' ... I'm afraid.

Just telling people to not stack equally big shading bands on top of each other'd be a good start I reckon? But that's not all banding is about, the banding effect can appear in much more subtle situations.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on February 16, 2009, 08:16:56 am
Is it also banding where you have the same colour used in close quarters for two different reasons (like aa and shading) and they bleed into each other, sort of messing up the shape?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on February 16, 2009, 03:20:30 pm
does this have a name? am I allowed to call it 'bricklaying'?
It's "anti-aliasing"  :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on February 16, 2009, 03:29:06 pm
does this have a name? am I allowed to call it 'bricklaying'?
It's "anti-aliasing"  :'(

 :y: :y: :y:

*PROPER* anti-alaising should prevent banding. Improper anti-alaising can actually *cause* some of those weird subtle banding effects Jad mentioned. You probably can't really talk about one without mentioning the other, they are each other's arch nemesis.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on February 16, 2009, 03:34:21 pm
Selective brick laying.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 16, 2009, 04:44:00 pm
Selective brick laying.

I will never say 'anti-alias' again : D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on February 16, 2009, 05:54:07 pm
I always thought banding was shading that followed the shape of the outline rather than being shaded with the shape of the object in mind.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on February 16, 2009, 08:20:29 pm
Also, as much as I like Helm, I am not sure banding is a good name to use for it (although it kinda makes sense) since it is already used to another thing in digital imaging.

Colour Banding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour_banding)

Many people in graphics just call this banding and not colour banding which would be correct, so shit like this could get confusing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on February 16, 2009, 09:16:45 pm
We could just call it shitty AA?

I think the problem with constantly referring back to AA is that most people don't know what aliasing is, really. Hell, I don't. I think I more or less have the hang of AA, but considering that it's the main technique specific to pixel art, I think there's a real lack of information there. Has anyone ever seen an AA tutorial for beginning pixel artists?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on February 16, 2009, 10:38:00 pm
Has anyone ever seen an AA tutorial for beginning pixel artists?

This is what i grew up on: http://spriteart.com/tutorials/01_AA.html
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skamocore on February 17, 2009, 12:38:38 am
Selective brick laying.

My next piece will definitely feature some sel-bri :o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on February 17, 2009, 12:43:54 am
Man, I would've had an easier time of it if I had actually bothered to read the spriteart tutorials as some point.

Quote
sel-bri

this is the best thing that could possibly happen.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on February 17, 2009, 01:35:12 am
Sel-bri-lay? Sounds like some kind of special cream.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on February 17, 2009, 01:48:45 am
Anyone follow that cat abuser Kenny Glenn thing?

Some punk uploaded a video of himself smacking his cat around, slamming him into the wall and throwing him under the shower on youtube.
Catches the attention of anonymous, they do their detective work and shenanigans.
Authorities take the kid (and his cameraman friend) into custody and the cat is taken away from them within the day.

Sad thing was the cat just goes limp and takes it, obviously not a one time affair.




In other news, C64 games are (probably) coming to the Wii's virtual console :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Alonso on February 17, 2009, 08:29:03 am
Sorry for being off-topic. I recently discovered GraphicsGale had the custom brush feature (alas). For anyone in doubt or frustration, I quote directly from the help file:

Reload Pen/Tile
Reloads pens and tiles user made.
Pens and tiles must be BMP file, and must be placed in the folder named "pen" in the following folder.
WindowsXP: C:\Documents and Settings\(Windows user name)\Application Data\Humanbalance\GraphicsGale
WindowsVista: Desktop->(Windows user name)->AppData->Roaming->Humanbalance->GraphicsGale
Windows98: C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Humanbalance\GraphicsGale
Besides, the BMP must be a monochrome(1bit), the size of a pen must be 32x32, and the size of a tile must be 16x16.
In a pen, white area will put a color in the canvas. In a tile, white area will be replaced with the first color, and black area will be replaced with the second color.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on February 17, 2009, 02:23:49 pm
That's pretty handy Alonso! I've been wondering how to do that.

In other news, Street Fighter: Pagan* Edition comes out today!

*Non-2D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on February 17, 2009, 06:16:12 pm
It(SF4) completely sold out in Japan on it's opening day, so that's gotta' tell you something about the love still given for this franchise, despite some of the previous critical concerns of it's graphic direction, on this website. I'll be sure to pick up this game when I get the chance, and partake in some online beatings.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on February 17, 2009, 06:40:09 pm
I'm not gonna lie, I'm super-psyched about it! Didn't like the initially released screens so much but the end result is awesomesauce.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on February 17, 2009, 08:15:31 pm
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/tocky/02ox9.jpg)
http://www.cpczone.net/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&p=18624 (http://www.cpczone.net/boards/viewtopic.php?f=5&p=18624)
full set of these (fan-made?) cpc overscan screens, mostly from 80s action movie posters.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 18, 2009, 05:50:33 pm
Banding meaning a different thing in other sections of digital technical talk isn't a problem, or at least is asmuch as dithering meaning a different thing (it does) or even pixelation meaning a different thing (it does). We can't search for words that nobody else has ever used ever. I do not have any personal stake in the name of 'banding' at all, and it was I think Peppermint Pig who first noticed the effect and named it 'vertical breaking' but I do not use that term because it also happens horizontally, and calling it horizontal/vertical breaking is too much for me, and 'breaking' is too little, too vague.

Re: why not call banding shitty AA: because there's shitty AA that bands, and there's shitty AA that doesn't band. There's also good AA that bands, and good AA that doesn't band. I need to write a tutorial on how to approach banding, I think.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on February 18, 2009, 09:21:38 pm
re: shitty AA

You didn't actually have to respond to this, because it is an inherently bad idea. Saying that stuff is "shitty" doesn't really tell you why you shouldn't do it, and besides telling people that their stuff is shitty will piss them off, and they won't listen to you anymore. Please don't take my more horrible ideas seriously, I only mentioned it as a straw man against constantly referring back to AA, and possibly because I was pissed because of the sel-bri thing. I think a lot of people still don't get AA really, I think is my point. Lots of people have a good intuitive understanding of how it should work, but I haven't seen a lot of science or good explanations about aliasing in general or AA in particular.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 18, 2009, 10:19:40 pm
Well besides 'shitty' we could tell people their AA needs work, but the effect is separate and I would say requires specific consideration. Banding is not a 'secret technique'. It is an inherent effect of pixel art, a fault that is often repeated and should be looked into much more carefully than it is. People seem to instinctively learn to avoid unfavourable bands, but instinct is one thing and proper codification is another. Soon.

Ptoing has SCIENCE! on aa. He should show you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on February 18, 2009, 10:30:08 pm
I am still working on that D:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Terley on February 19, 2009, 08:39:41 pm
My brother's bin rushed to hospital with appendicitis  :( keepin him over night and he's avin surgery tomorrow.

Well worried, seems pretty bad  :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 19, 2009, 08:54:31 pm
I hope everything goes as good as it can go, man  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Colonel Mustard on February 19, 2009, 09:55:51 pm
My brother's bin rushed to hospital with appendicitis  :( keepin him over night and he's avin surgery tomorrow.

Well worried, seems pretty bad  :'(

If it's caught early on it should be fairly safe, I don't believe the procedure it self is that dangerous, pretty routine, but the actual rupturing of the appendix could be (if it goes that far). I had appendicitis as a 7 year old. The appendix ruptured, healed, ruptured, healed, etc over the course of four-five months. This was back in '94 and left a pretty big scar that's still visible.

Hoping everything goes well!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on February 19, 2009, 10:37:52 pm
My brother's bin rushed to hospital with appendicitis  :( keepin him over night and he's avin surgery tomorrow.

Well worried, seems pretty bad  :'(

Ouch.   :sry:

All the best.  Wish him luck for me.
Older or younger brother, if you don't mind talking about it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Terley on February 19, 2009, 11:26:58 pm
Twin brother, he's like my best mate. he's 19 too.

thx guys.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on February 20, 2009, 12:08:27 am
Hey Terley I'm sure he will be just fine.. appendectomy is probably the most common surgical procedure done. If they are operating tomorrow it means it hasn't burst, so he'll be fine.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 20, 2009, 05:05:29 pm
Is there a place where one can go and grab common formats of C64 and especially Amiga music?

MP3's would be great. All I can find are odd formats I don't know what to do with. My goal is to listen to music from the Amiga and earlier C64 versions on my computer.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on February 20, 2009, 05:26:55 pm
those "odd formats" can probably be listened to by adding some plugin to your favorite player, if you search on the web for that weird format+plugin you can probably find something that lets you play it as easily as an MP3.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on February 20, 2009, 08:35:48 pm
All the best to your bro!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jim16 on February 20, 2009, 08:44:06 pm
Hope all go's well there mate. Having a twin myself I know how it can be.
Twins rule!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on February 21, 2009, 12:36:29 am
Sooo.... Has anyone found a pixelling program for iPhone/Touch yet?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JonathanOfDrain on February 21, 2009, 11:57:44 pm
Sooo.... Has anyone found a pixelling program for iPhone/Touch yet?
No idea about pixel programs but there's colours/colors for them. I don't think Pixel Art, an art form that's really about refining stuff, should be done on inferior technology. No offense to the iProducts but I feel like pixel art shouldn't be done on them. A mobile version of something is almost always inferior. You should do sketches with that color program and then pixel them up on a computer.


@Terley:
Does he need a pixel-art get well soon card?
I guess if need be they could just use you for parts. Like a car... because people are like cars.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on February 22, 2009, 05:48:19 am
"8-Bit" Music Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbfCZx1tRUs

Lol  ;D.......................... :-\ ........................??!??!??!!!????!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!11||||€¬!!(&%T!!!·"%$&/%&/¿?=¬€~#@ !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on February 23, 2009, 12:23:25 am
Does anyone have the link banner for Pixelation?

http://adam.lastchancemedia.com/gfx/link_pix.gif is broken.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on February 23, 2009, 12:38:23 am
Woo, found Detroit Rock City for $9 !yus!
Gene Simmons' commentary is pretty interesting
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Terley on February 23, 2009, 05:22:23 pm
my bro's had surgery over the weekend n bin discharged this afternoon, he shd be ok  :P  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on February 23, 2009, 06:52:51 pm
ok dats grt and you cn stp talkng liek dis nao  :y: ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on February 23, 2009, 09:44:54 pm
I always wonder why people take such offense to someone typing in shorthand. I really don't mind it, maybe it's because I do it myself, or maybe because I don't mind it, I do it myself.

Though Terley doesn't have a history of this style of writing so I assume he is tired, and he has just cause to be. I'm glad your bro is ok. c:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on February 23, 2009, 10:37:02 pm
Leroy, that's not very nice.
I'm sure Terley was busy running off to go tend to his twin or something, not having much time to type, and his reward is someone criticizing him for doing so.

Glad he's going to be O.K., Terley!  Tell him we all say congrats.  How's your family coping?  When I was hospitalized we were all a mess.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on February 24, 2009, 01:37:20 pm
Wow I'm sorry, I didn't mean my little joke as an personal attack against him.  :huh:



PS. Geez.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on February 24, 2009, 03:17:27 pm
That sounded more like sarcasm then an apology, although I wasn't asking for either, I just wanted to point out you being insensitive.  Maybe some nice words, that's all.  Rather than criticizing and moving on.

Thank you for your apology.  Maybe I took what you said wrong.  Sorry if I did.  :-X
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Terley on February 24, 2009, 10:11:27 pm
Dude i'll fuckin type however I want, wouldn't of guessed i'd be pulled up for vocabulary here. Especially after coming here for support, however you meant it to come across it's still quite an arsy thing to say.

thx
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on February 25, 2009, 05:10:01 am
Can anybody point me in the direction of some EGA games which use a custom 16 colour palette rather than the standard EGA palette?

The only game I can ever recall seeing with one is the first Warlords game, and even then I'm not certain that it isn't just a 16 colour VGA palette.

Also any ideas why custom EGA palettes are so rare? Not well supported in hardware? Harder to code for? Fewer available features? Or is it just that VGA came along before anyone learned to fully exploit EGA?

If I can summon up sufficient motivation I want to try exploring the quality difference a custom EGA palette can provide over standard, so any examples you can point me toward could come in useful.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on February 25, 2009, 02:45:42 pm
Duke Nukem 2 and Fire & Ice are two 16-color DOS games that I can think of off the top of my head... I think they were 16-color VGA though, not EGA. (And Duke Nukem 2 is a textbook example of how to make a 16-color palette that's almost as useless as EGA  :crazy:)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 25, 2009, 10:35:18 pm
Does anyone here play Quadradius (http://quadradius.com/quadradius/index.html)? Hopefully you've never experienced a misfortunate encounter with the one known as OrBLIVION. See that you never do.

If you haven't tried it yet, I urge you to do so. If you do, what's your moniker?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on February 26, 2009, 12:02:55 am
This is the anti-game. It is a collection of game-like elements, but somehow manages to botch them all. It doesn't just leave fun out of the recipe, it leaves it unsold on the store shelf. The game seems to hinge on powerups (with long-winded, obfuscated rules) that appear at random times in random places. To top it off, its appearance is insipid and unimaginative.

Basically, it's like the fat girl at the party who looks like she fell out of the ugly tree, hitting every branch on the way down. After landing on her face, someone shoots makeup onto her with a shotgun. Inner beauty be damned; she advertises her grating personality in a screeching falsetto, warding off those who might accidentally come closer than ten feet of her gaping maw. God have mercy on anyone who interrupts her from feasting on birthday cake and jungle juice.

Pass. Run, don't walk.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on February 26, 2009, 12:49:14 am
Duke Nukem 2 and Fire & Ice are two 16-color DOS games that I can think of off the top of my head... I think they were 16-color VGA though, not EGA. (And Duke Nukem 2 is a textbook example of how to make a 16-color palette that's almost as useless as EGA  :crazy:)
(IIRC, Fire & Ice used 32 colors, as it was an Amiga port)
The sad thing about DN2 was that VGA actually doesn't have a 320x200x16 mode (only the EGA compatibility does), so basically, they totally ignored the added potential of 256 colors.
EGA isn't as bad as that, though. Remember that at that point, the idea of games on PCs was still not taken very seriously, so realism in games really wasn't even worth considering. The ultra-saturated palette of EGA actually lends itself quite well to comic/cartoon-style art, and you can see a lot of that kind of art in the best games of the time. Amstrad CPC mode 0 games, with the somewhat larger 16-of-27 color palette, can demonstrate the effectiveness of this kind of palette.

Quote from: surt
Can anybody point me in the direction of some EGA games which use a custom 16 colour palette rather than the standard EGA palette?

The only game I can ever recall seeing with one is the first Warlords game, and even then I'm not certain that it isn't just a 16 colour VGA palette.
Is that game high resolution (640x350, 640x400)? Custom EGA palette for 320x200x16 == not supported in hardware at all. 640x350 == high res EGA, 16 colors from a 64-color (4*4*4) colorcube. 640x400 == high res VGA.

I think that 16-of-64 colors was only available on EGA cards with 256k memory, which were a minority. (ditto for 640x350).
However, Wikipedia contradicts me on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_Graphics_Adapter
It's possible it was only a limitation of QBasic that prevented me from customizing the palette in 320x200 mode,
anyway I've never seen anything that customized the palette in 320x200 mode.

Quote
Also any ideas why custom EGA palettes are so rare? Not well supported in hardware? Harder to code for? Fewer available features? Or is it just that VGA came along before anyone learned to fully exploit EGA?
640x350 is harder to code for. Most highres EGA games are not action games, cause of the lack of special tricks we can do to get better scrolling/faster screen updates.
With standard 320x200x16, similar tricks to VGA ModeX were available for smooth scrolling, fast blitting, etc.


Quote
If I can summon up sufficient motivation I want to try exploring the quality difference a custom EGA palette can provide over standard, so any examples you can point me toward could come in useful.
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=3225.msg40939#msg40939
is really the only EGA64 resource I know of. We have no EGA64 pics posted here, nor any in PixelJoint, AFAIK, and Google doesn't help much.

I did find out something interesting though -- PGC/PGA adaptors were Amiga-like, in that they allowed 256 onscreen colors from a 4096-color master palette. Kind of like a mix of OCS and AGA.
http://www.seasip.info/VintagePC/pgc.html
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on February 26, 2009, 01:28:35 am
Is that game high resolution (640x350, 640x400)? Custom EGA palette for 320x200x16 == not supported in hardware at all. 640x350 == high res EGA, 16 colors from a 64-color (4*4*4) colorcube. 640x400 == high res VGA.
Warlords is 640x200.

640x350 is harder to code for. Most highres EGA games are not action games, cause of the lack of special tricks we can do to get better scrolling/faster screen updates.
With standard 320x200x16, similar tricks to VGA ModeX were available for smooth scrolling, fast blitting, etc.
Thought as much.

This page (http://members.chello.at/theodor.lauppert/games/ega.htm) says that the custom palette were only available at 640x350 so I guess that would make Warlords VGA after all.

Thanks for the info.

And talking of Duke Nukem, this is just shameful (http://www.nemmelheim.de/turrican/news/duke/).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on February 26, 2009, 09:08:39 am
hm There was a dead body dumped close to our house. :(

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20090226-191070/3-salvage-victims-found-in-Las-Pias
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on February 26, 2009, 07:33:13 pm
So I'm working on a project for the DS, and I'm wondering... is there any restrictions I should bother with? I don't imagine color is much of an issue, and I'm pretty sure tiles are either 8x8 or 16x16.

What about tile capacity? I'm just throwing together a mock-up and I'm not really to concerned with making things tile, so I might have a lot of huge chunks of tiles to use rather than any 'smart' tiling. Is that going to be a problem?

Anything else I should know? We plan to have a large amount of sprites on the screen at once, can it handle that?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on February 26, 2009, 08:00:33 pm
And talking of Duke Nukem, this is just shameful (http://www.nemmelheim.de/turrican/news/duke/).

OMG! I had the shareware version of Duke Nuk'em 2 and absolutely loved it. VGs often parrot other games styles, but this is quite blatant copying. I wonder if any of the turrican people worked on DN2. At the very leaast, they did a pretty good job of inserting the stolen graphics into their game. They don't looks out of place like most ripped graphcis do.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 26, 2009, 08:08:23 pm
Indeed, shameful! Using some graphics as placeholders in some freeware game is one thing, but Apogee made money out of DN2 and that's just not right to swipe that hard.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on February 26, 2009, 08:24:09 pm
So I'm working on a project for the DS, and I'm wondering... is there any restrictions I should bother with? I don't imagine color is much of an issue, and I'm pretty sure tiles are either 8x8 or 16x16.

What about tile capacity? I'm just throwing together a mock-up and I'm not really to concerned with making things tile, so I might have a lot of huge chunks of tiles to use rather than any 'smart' tiling. Is that going to be a problem?

Anything else I should know? We plan to have a large amount of sprites on the screen at once, can it handle that?

The DS has a 2D engine which actually is less powerful than the GBA one relatively speaking (they are the same but GBA has smaller screen so you can buffer the scrolling easier in memory). But then the DS has a 3D engine. Now lets look at some stats.

In the 2D engine i think you get 256 sprites at any one time and you can only rotate and scale 32 at the same time I think (also big sprites which you want to rotate need to be flagged doublesize and I think that makes them cost 2 sprites.

In the 3D engine you can have 2k polygons (quads count as one if they are planar) per frame at 60fps. So now you can just map all your background and sprites onto flat 3D polygons and you also get scaling and rotation FOR FREE! 2D engine has a max of 4 background tile layers. In 3D you can go as deep as you want I think and if you have transparent stuff I think the Zsorting goes something like 9 polygons in depth (not too sure about this stuff)

Fact is that you should use the 3D engine to do 2D stuff, that it is 3D will not be visible at all. The stuff can be mapped so that it is flat on and it will looks just like 2D. There still is a 16 colour per texture restriction (you can have 256 colour texture too tho) but this should not be an issue, you just make the background sheets of textures you can cobble together, I think just using 256 colour ones would be fine anyway. But this kinda stuff has to be checked when actually coding. How much ram is free and whatnot.

But yeh, tell your coder to go 3D. I think you can even combine the 3D and 2D stuff, so you could use a 2D layer for the hud or the far background.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on February 26, 2009, 10:26:23 pm
nice info
Thanks a ton for the useful info. So if we go 3D limitations is not really much of a concern? Tile-wise I don't think we'll have much problem, but we want to have as many sprites possible on the screen at once(like 50+ zombies on the screen at once, possibly more).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dex on February 27, 2009, 09:51:01 pm
Does anyone here play Quadradius (http://quadradius.com/quadradius/index.html)? Hopefully you've never experienced a misfortunate encounter with the one known as OrBLIVION. See that you never do.

If you haven't tried it yet, I urge you to do so. If you do, what's your moniker?

I played as a guest or whatever at a time. My friend owned me, though :o

@Terley, glad everything's okay with him man

@ptoing, that info is quite useful, thanks. What don't you know? :D


Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on February 27, 2009, 10:55:28 pm
http://blumunkee.com/

Assholes stole my domain name! >:(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on February 28, 2009, 02:17:19 am
When I was deciding a domain name I chose not to pick an alias because I felt it was somehow egotistical. like ITSMETHISISMINE.com

But I never get that impression when I see someone else doing it, it always just comes across as... professional? Funny how things change with perspective.

But yes, that's unfortunate, it makes a great domain name. ;_;
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SirBilly on February 28, 2009, 05:51:08 pm
Rawr, first post! Expect to see me around :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on March 01, 2009, 05:10:22 am
reading the forums whilst drunk at 5am is not reccomeneded
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: deziresoft on March 01, 2009, 06:24:14 am
Going off the current subject, but I'm posting anyway.

So far I've been playing guitar for about 4 maybe 5 months now.  I've been practicing day in and day out, I've learned a lot, and right now practicing Afterlife's solo. :D

Mainly the solo "outro" the one before the rev starts laughing uncontrollably.   The tab is like some 13 15 13 15 bullshit, it's not the right tab, so I gotta learn by ear, it's going quite good.  Once I finish the song completely, expect a video on YouTube :D [I'll post the link in this topic]
|
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 01, 2009, 09:46:44 am
(http://i39.tinypic.com/25piww1.jpg)
does Jolie's pose look as messed up to anyone else as it does to me?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 01, 2009, 12:38:49 pm
Yeah photoshoppery occured but more importantly, that movie was in the bottom 10 worst movies I've ever seen.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on March 01, 2009, 12:43:34 pm
Looking at this cover, I already know I will never catch this one.  Even if it involves Angelina!! :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 01, 2009, 12:54:12 pm
I honestly didn't mind the movie, but by that I mean I liked the ridiculous fight scenes.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 01, 2009, 01:43:40 pm
The ridiculous fight scenes were not so much the problem as the... story. Story? That thing, anyway.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 01, 2009, 05:30:26 pm
I just love the lyrics to The Sound of Animals Fighting's songs. Actually this is a spoken part.
Code: [Select]
I don't understand French, but if I could,
I would write beautiful songs about horrible things.
Because it is said to be the language of love and romance,
and if love didn't exist, there wouldn't be any horrible things.
You must care to cry, love something in order to hate something.
You must have a heart in order for it to be broken.
Many people walk in a dream.
They feel entitled to happiness and feel anger when it is not waiting for them.
I know that the world owes me nothing, yet has given me a great deal.
It is our own perception we get to bend and mold to our liking,
once that is accomplished, the reality we once knew begins to change.
My neighbor may be dark and gloomy,
but I find it a perfect day to go outside.
I can knock on his door,
but that doesn't mean he will answer.
And I will have to walk away, sad, from his little house
where he sleeps and smokes and drinks all day,
just to escape what he does not yet know.
We find ourselves in little boxes watching little boxes.
We see an edited version of human life,
targeted on alienating us as individuals,
to distract us from the seedy underbelly of politics and business.
We are products of a Machiavellian society.
Look at the pretty girl dancing,
her hair is so shiny. I want my hair to be shiny.
Look at the man with chizzled features,
use the razor he is using.
It will give you the kind of charm that woman crave.
Women will want you.
Men will adore you.
You will be happy.
You will be empty, because it is not about the product,
but the feeling they try to convey.
And it is not for your benefit,
but for the benefit of the holders of the company.
We must burn our little boxes.
We must create dialogue.
We must realize the importance of every moment.
We must turn our boredom to gratitude.
Use your hands, your thoughts, your hunger.
These things are yours and yours alone.
codebox to not stretch for those not interested~
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 02, 2009, 03:21:51 pm
Some fun listening while you're at work http://radio.seti.org/episodes
In the end of a recent episode they talk about someone who lives in a constant déjà vu http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Skeptical_Sunday_Que_Sera_No_Sera_
Seems like there hasn't been much research on déjà vu yet, even though it's a pretty common experience.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SirBilly on March 02, 2009, 03:22:40 pm
These forum smileys are awesome, who made them?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 02, 2009, 03:37:09 pm
Snake, back in 2007: http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4105.msg51781#msg51781 :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SirBilly on March 02, 2009, 03:59:55 pm
Kool!  :y: ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 02, 2009, 11:32:39 pm
Haha what's up with the jad-atar fad : D

It's strangely interesting. Although I feel I need to get an update in avatar sooner or later.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 03, 2009, 12:24:34 am
The subpixeling, uncommon thick outline, pleasant colors, and the overall jiggly wiggly niceness must make it popular :3

Edit:

One year since my registration: (http://www.lolipopsicle.com/linky/111111.png) !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on March 03, 2009, 01:33:03 am
Haha what's up with the jad-atar fad : D

because jad is the awesome  :)

sorry I changed mine D :
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 03, 2009, 08:17:38 am
Dude, I love it. Portrait fadatars is the best. It also gives us a face for eachother which I like. I mean I have a weird look somewhere between skinny and pudgy with these emo glasses and stuff

and I trick people into thinking I'm some kind of orange jelly that's so cute sometimes refer to me as him (her?), hahaha

It's not the truth but ya know. It'd be nice - is what I was going to say but I actually enjoy me not being a blob, heh
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 03, 2009, 02:02:06 pm
I always did wonder how Alkaline and Jad were able to pixel or even use a computer at all since they're just little jellies.  :huh:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 03, 2009, 02:58:47 pm
Nice, Alkaline. Kind of reminds me a little of Kira from Death Note.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SirBilly on March 03, 2009, 10:06:42 pm
I'd like to pixel my face, but I'm not sure I'll make one that actually looks like me.
 I need an avatar at all anyway, without being recognized as a wiggly jelly blob, perhaps a brick or something. :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on March 05, 2009, 01:07:10 am
Hey, I just found some interesting research. They found that color differences between men and women's faces are a major way we tell them apart. Men's faces tend to be more red, and women's tend to be more green. I think this could be useful information for making faces, especially if you want to make your character more masculine or feminine. Here is an article:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2008/12/color
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Arachne on March 06, 2009, 01:19:27 am
Introducing the latest additions to our family:

Lucy
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/lucy.jpg) :-*

Lucifer
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/lucifer.jpg) >:D

Bonus cat picture
(http://www.retinaleclipse.com/hay.jpg)
"Waiter!"

 :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Stwelin on March 07, 2009, 02:08:39 am
Is anyone keen on a freeware program with a similar feature to Cosmigo Pro Motion that allows for tile editing? (editing one tile edits all similar tiles in the image)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 07, 2009, 02:30:08 am
Just buy Pro Motion.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Stwelin on March 07, 2009, 02:31:54 am
Because of course I have $80 lying around that isn't paying for my education or anything.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 07, 2009, 02:49:49 am
Glad to see you picked out a cool domain name blumunkee.  :>
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 07, 2009, 11:40:52 pm
Stewelin, the increase in productivity would more that offset a petty 80 dollars.

Atnas, thanks.

I saw Watchmen last night. It was tits.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 07, 2009, 11:54:36 pm
I saw Watchmen Friday night. It was awesome. I wore this shirt and attracted lots of angry glares. :lol:

(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f230/ben2theedge/NOSQUID.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 08, 2009, 01:08:16 pm
What does that t-shirt signify? Also have you read Watchmen the comic?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 08, 2009, 01:20:25 pm
I read the comic but only after I saw the trailer for the movie.

I'm not sure if it's still considered a "spoiler" or not. The shirt is supposed to be ironic; everyone has been making such a fuss about that one thing they changed about the book and I thought it'd be hilarious if some moron is actually ridiculously obessively overjoyed about it being taken out, so much so that had to buy a shirt to share the good news with the rest of the world.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 08, 2009, 01:45:51 pm
I see. Thanks for the info. It's really amazing for me that you liked the movie.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 08, 2009, 05:33:17 pm
Me specifically? Or me as someone who has read the comic?

When I read the book I found Rorsache to be incredibly compelling. He's just a really well-realized, character. I also liked Nite Owl 2 and Manhattan. The film version has flaws and if you want you can really tear it apart but I felt like those three characters were very well realized, especially Rorsache. If they tried to make the film again I don't think they could capture that lightning in a bottle a second time. That's what made it enjoyable to me, I was able to overlook some bad makeup and a few lackluster performances (Silk Spectre 2). The only character that completely missed the mark was Ozymandias, they basically made him into a more gay David Bowie. But he's really the only one that was a complete misfire.

I've heard a lot of people upset about how Snyder pumped up the action sequences and used slow motion and stuff but the huge massive action setpiece which is the Prison Escape, is only one minute long, in a movie that runs almost three hours, so it's not like he turned it into a popcorn flick.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 08, 2009, 05:42:50 pm
Played D&D for the first time yesterday. The DM is really creative so the quests are great, he puts a lot of effort into them. We're all role playing consistently too. I'm a Paladin, and there are I think three out of the six adventurers who are chaotic, so it makes things interesting.  :P

We started off making characters for version 4 but after two hours of that we kind of got a little overwhelmed and went back to 3.5.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 09, 2009, 02:39:56 am
I'm looking forward to Watchmen, and having never read a respectable comic in my life I doubt I'll be disappointed, so far the consensus seems to be that the graphic novel is superior.. which is how it usually goes for any to-film adaptation.

Also, The Warehouse (NZ equivalent of Walmart) has been having a big sale on DVDs, I found Dazed & Confused for under $10 :)
I also picked up a bunch of other movies, Back to the Future trilogy, Rebel Without a Cause, Corvette Summer, and more :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TrevoriuS on March 09, 2009, 09:22:09 am
Watchmen was awsome, only one section was left out that wasn't important to the actual story (tales of the dead).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on March 09, 2009, 08:23:16 pm
I loved Watchmen aswell. Saw it yesterday. Need to see it again soon though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on March 10, 2009, 12:39:39 pm
The soundtrack misses a times... Sound of Silence for a funeral... come on... And where is that kid who is reading the comic at the newsstand?  Still, the hype-to-delivery ratio is much more appealing than that of The Dark Night.  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on March 10, 2009, 07:43:05 pm
I thought the soundtrack worked pretty well overall, especially the opening sequence with Bob Dylan. Also, I thought including Nena was AWESOME
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on March 11, 2009, 08:44:33 am
I think I gotta check that Watchmen stuff myself, never dared to do it before. ;)

Guess it's better to start with the comic?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 11, 2009, 09:04:42 am
Well I haven't seen the movie, but I don't really feel any desire to. I read the comic quite a while ago and loved it, and feel completely satisfied with it. Having understood that the movie is essentially taking that and delivering select pieces of it, I've concluded it doesn't overly appeal to me.

Not to say that I wouldn't watch it if it was put in front of me, though. Maybe.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 11, 2009, 10:13:31 am
The movie was very bad, as expected. I am amazed by people that have read the comic and seen the movie and liked it. It seems to me anyone that did must have not understood the comic deeply.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on March 11, 2009, 12:25:23 pm
Helm, do you feel there was any way they could have made the Watchmen film so that you enjoyed it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 11, 2009, 12:48:34 pm
Certainly. If they used the original as a conceptual springboard and were BRAVE with it, adapted it to today's political situation, dealt with furthering the speculation, not just mirroring it. Someone with vision that understood what the core elements of the work were and not just looked at its surface and adapted it for the screen. Kinda how Tarkofsky handled Roadside Picnick in STALKER.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 11, 2009, 01:19:01 pm
The world-destroying super weapon is a core idea of superhero stories so it needs to be dissected, but nowadays no one is afraid of them anymore and we have no such equivalent in the current geopolitical realm. I feel my sphincter clench at the thought of replacing it with a more hip crisis like "terrorism" or "global warming". Ugh. It's a bit of a lose/lose situation if you're adapting. I was haunted much more by his other point - that vigilantes and manufactured public heroes are basically fascists in their purest form, and I felt like that was the central theme that the film ran with as well.

Perhaps there are deeper themes that are lost on me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 11, 2009, 03:10:56 pm
There are. I think you should re-read Watchmen very patiently. I've read it a dozen times and I still unearth more.

Quote
but nowadays no one is afraid of them anymore

There is no world-destroying superweapon in Watchmen the comic. At all. In fact the exact opposite.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 11, 2009, 04:12:14 pm
I'm going to see watchmen next saturday and i haven't read the comic. I think I'll read it before the movie and the rest of the party reads the comic after and we'll see what comes of it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 11, 2009, 04:24:42 pm
There is no world-destroying superweapon in Watchmen the comic. At all. In fact the exact opposite.

No but the concept is pretty central to the story. You've got Nixon with his finger on a world-destroying button, the Russians with their finger on a world-destroying button, and another character that I won't spoil for non-readers with his finger on a button that will cause people to believe there is ANOTHER party who also has their finger on a world-destroying button that is far worse than all the other buttons combined.

Nobody's scared of people with their fingers on world-destroying buttons anymore, and that seems to be a pretty key part of the plot. S'all I'm sayin'.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 11, 2009, 04:36:32 pm
I disagree that nobody is scared of these fingers on these buttons and it strikes me as a strangely arrogant thing for you to assume of others. I for one am very much afraid of fingers on nuclear buttons and I think if a film about nuclear annihilation has troubles conveying that urgency it must be a very bad film. If I just consider what a nuclear bomb does for 10 second here I feel quite bad. It's really strange for me that you say an atom bomb does nothing for you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 11, 2009, 04:40:34 pm
The world-destroying super weapon is a core idea of superhero stories so it needs to be dissected, but nowadays no one is afraid of them anymore and we have no such equivalent in the current geopolitical realm. I feel my sphincter clench at the thought of replacing it with a more hip crisis like "terrorism" or "global warming".
Hehehe. Well that's likely a typical Hollywood interpretation of the current geopolitical realm, but I think there's a wealth of things that would lend themselves to Watchmen marvelously. For instance, the economic strain of the world, fuelled by the decline in oil supply increases political tensions, leading to an escalation in military posturing and resource seizing, ultimately leading up the greatest escalation of all: all out nuclear armageddon.

I think it depends on the context in which you think about `people with their fingers on world-destroying buttons'. I would argue that it's impossible to think of such a thing as not frightening in every possible context, in some contexts, sure, but in the context I outlined above I think it's potentially very scary. The key is defining the reality of the threat. The `looming' if you will. I think that is something Watchmen is immensely successful at portraying.

Think I'll have to go read it again...  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on March 12, 2009, 02:34:54 am
That's interesting Helm, thanks for the answer!
I am planning on buying the comic some time soon. I watched the movie, and enjoyed it for what it was, on entertainment value. I understand it feels horrible when some idea has been overlooked that you held deeply with a story and the general public are seeing, judging and understanding something based on a poor representation of its ideas, so i really wanna judge for myself.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 12, 2009, 07:37:39 am
I'd be really interested in your final opinion once you've spent time with the comic too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 12, 2009, 11:22:07 am
Just out of curiosity helm, where does the Watchmen comic rank for you?
top 10?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 12, 2009, 11:39:22 am
I can't tell you exact rankings, it's too difficult, but it's up there in the top 5, fighting with the collected works of Andrea Pazienza, the adaptation of Moorcock's 'Stormbringer' by Craig P. Russell, Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro, Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware... Samurai Executioner/Lone Wolf and Cub by Koike & Kojima... umph.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 12, 2009, 05:36:07 pm
I love me some Battle Angel, but I'm kinda disappointed in Last Order's direction. The original 9 volumes where great in their A-typical Shonen-ness, strong narrative and characterization, Nova, and of course, Jashugan. Last Order is much more typical Shonen FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT POWERUP WIN OHNO THIS GUY IS EVEN STRONGER FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT POWERUP WIN...It makes every thing and everyone much less consequential.

But what really bums me is the art direction. Kishiro's style has flattened out and thinned up, seemingly in the name of cleanliness and accuracy. It's still good, but it lost the aesthetic that originally drew me to it.

And I hear James Cameron has plans to butcher it into a series of films.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 12, 2009, 06:02:55 pm
I share some of your sentiments about Last Order. It really struck me when the volumes of LO became more numerous than what I always felt was 'the core series'. I thought 'wow, it's bigger now. And what has happened in it?' Well.. not much. A tournament of power-ups and some vampires. There's human stories everywhere of course because Kishiro is master, but this isn't his masterwork, I agree.

Yeah there's too much POWER UP!! and the art style changed... I actually dislike Alita as a character because of how Kishiro draws her now... constantly aloof or angsty, nor very, VERY cold... but at the same time I intend to read the thing to its end because I trust there is a point to it.

Let's not talk about James Cameron. I do not want.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 12, 2009, 06:22:08 pm
Yeah i went "oh there's more?!" And plenty more there was. The universe was expanded tenfold which is almost always awesome when you have a character in a cage and then let them out to something completely strange and new to them. The fights are quite long now, but still awesome. There's also some random thoughtful moments like the guy in the beginning of LO who went through mental regression first and quite literally after. Nova still hurts my brain with how he isn't really concerned about himself surviving as long as his waves of karma do.

About volumes 8 and 9 i feel they're not that necessary, at least yet. Haven't read volume 10. The way each character felt like a force moving and twisting the story instead of an obvious storyteller pulling strings was still present though.
Drawing style splits me a bit since I'm awed by how perfect everything is, though i liked how it was before too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 13, 2009, 01:35:00 pm
Hold the crap up a second... when did James Cameron's name go on the geek black-list? :huh: Uncle Jimbo gave us frickin' Aliens, man!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: monteboyd on March 13, 2009, 01:46:01 pm
Hold the crap up a second... when did James Cameron's name go on the geek black-list?

Probably around about when that thing about that sinking ship came out.  :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 13, 2009, 02:04:50 pm
Aliens is a very mediocre film, not half the film Alien was... it arrived at a very unfortunate time even to be a solid 'space shooter' sort of thing because they didn't have the CGI strength to show the beasts run around and kill people. So it's a long, boring, blue and grey film based on the premise of seeing some space marines shoot at one direction and then cross-cutting to alien dummies exploding in green ooze... it's not very good.

I like the Terminator films by Cameron, some, but that's pretty much it. I am not aware of a geek black-list, I just said I'd rather not see him handle the GUNNM material because he has been known to say "comics are like little movies". And... they are not. Absolutely not. I do not trust a man that so greatly misinterprets a medium to convey a story from it on film.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on March 14, 2009, 10:00:39 am
I really liked Aliens as much as I liked Alien. It's been a while since I saw either though. Anything that came after the first 2 I didn't like.
Not only because they were terrible films (Well, Alien3 was kinda doable but nowhere near the first 2) but also because alien kind of loses it's punch after the first 2.
In the first you barelly ever see him, and when you see him it's usually just parts of him. This is what makes that thing so scary.
In the second film it became more of an action movie, since they knew alien had already done it's part as a horror creature. They still had the queen in Aliens though, which was something different.
In the third they go back to the 'one alien you rarely see' idea. Which doesn't work. We all know what it looks like.
Not even talking about 4, and AvP 1 and 2. Which are all terrible.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on March 14, 2009, 01:00:16 pm
Yeah, I couldn't agree more!

ALIEN was a horror movie, ALIENS an action movie, ALIEN 3 something of a psychological thriller and ALIEN 4 -- an unsuccessful spin-off of all three (but it has Winona Ryder, oh, come on!? :)).

The same thing with the TERMINATOR -- "THE" was more of a horror movie (I remember I was dying of fear when I first saw that scene he picks out his eye), the second one was a pure action flick.

Eventually, I came around to ALIEN 3 -- and it upped from an "average" to "not bad at all" in my books -- it's just a "bit" different.  It lacks that genuine horror veil of ALIEN and the fast-paced action footages and cliches of ALIENS, but it still works fine as a "psychological" kinda movie.  Or at least it worked a few years ago when I saw it the last time. :)

The bad thing is, it would retain its meaning with just whatever alien creature in it, not necessarily the Alien.

I place ALIENS in the same category as PREDATOR or RAMBO -- the movies of my childhood.  It's difficult to stay objective when you watch them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 14, 2009, 03:09:43 pm
Just thought I'd announce this...
I'm currently getting an A+ in an almost A-P Spanish class!  My second trimester grades just got in so I'm all happy now.   :crazy:
Don't know if you guys care, but this would be the only place I feel comfortable in my own skin.  So yeah.

Now time to cram before Monday when Spanish class starts again.   :P
Later
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 14, 2009, 04:05:32 pm
Good going shrike. Keep studying and you'll thank yourself a million times later on. I still feel awful for totally ignoring swedish classes..... and now there's been a million chances to use swedish, but i can't.

But anyway. Just saw watchmen. Really enjoyed it. Probably the best superhero movie I've seen. Haven't read the comic yet even though i was supposed to. I found it too thick and heavy to go through in one night.
Action was great and bonus points for lots of balls, ass and breasts on screen.
But then i feel like it was a terrible shame that the movie was just like all the other recent new movies in how it steamrolled linearly through a single layered storyline, not calling for the viewer to participate or making them want to see the movie again to find new things. Similarly it was way too nice on the viewer. The scenes were never too light or too heavy. It didn't screw with the viewer in any way. There was no finesse in character heavy parts that would make you love or hate them. Some characters i would've loved to hate actually. Then some parts felt like they were remaking a scene but didn't emphasize things that needed it. Namely when nite owl was nude in the basement. It could've been a powerful scene but now it was just "ok". I'm no director but there has to be better ways to make impact and emphasis than slow-mo and blood splatter in your face.
Overall it did go way past your usual popcorn flick though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on March 14, 2009, 08:41:15 pm
Quote from: Shrike
I'm currently getting an A+ in an almost A-P Spanish class!  My second trimester grades just got in so I'm all happy now.

How the fuck did you do that? I had spanish many years, in the beginning I had perfect grades, but after a while I didn't understand shit. Spanish is a damn tricky language, at least the grammar.

Quote from: huZba
I still feel awful for totally ignoring swedish classes..... and now there's been a million chances to use swedish, but i can't.

Is Swedish that important in Finland? I thought it was only spoken in some parts of the west coast.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 14, 2009, 09:52:56 pm
Thanks, huZba and Emtch!   ::)
And Emtch, It's easier to learn when you're younger supposedly.  I have an awesome textbook as well.  Vistas.  The class goes very fast tho..  I only have four classes to learn one chapter!  It's engaging though.

*does Spanish hw*

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 15, 2009, 12:18:17 am
Is Swedish that important in Finland? I thought it was only spoken in some parts of the west coast.
Well not really, but it was obligatory in school, so learning would've had more benefits than idling. I have a swedish co-worker too.
Also 5 years of german classes, but i can barely put together a sentence. I understand it okay though thanks to 90% of free satellite tv channels being german 10 years ago :P
English, Swedish + one other language (you could pick from german, french or spanish i think) were obligatory then, don't know how it's now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on March 15, 2009, 12:40:09 am
If I recall correctly. . .

"Jag tyckar om ol og kvinnor." :)

This is pretty much the biggest part of what I still remember after a Swedish language course I took some long time ago.

You must have the *thing* for acquiring new language knowledge.  I'm getting through my 11th year of learning English and still have problems with it.

Not to mention German and Spanish, but these I know at a less-than-elementary level. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on March 15, 2009, 08:27:19 am
I haven't seen Watchmen the movie yet but I bought the book few days ago and now I'm half way through. Gotta say that despite the fact that it's at times pretty heavy reading and really confusing because it jumps back and forth in time and places, I've still managed to stay along and boy, what a comic it is! I can't wait to finish it!

FYI huZba & co, if you still don't have the Watchmen comic, buy the finnish version of the book. It's better quality print than the english version here in finland and the translation is exceptionally good. I usually buy stuff in english, because the language is much richer but in this case I think you'd really benefit from buying the finnish version.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on March 15, 2009, 12:39:04 pm
buy the finnish version of the book. It's better quality print than the english version here in finland and the translation is exceptionally good.

I bought the special edition hardcover from Amazon and was taken back by the quality of the print, so i'm not sure how much better the finnish version could be.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on March 15, 2009, 12:52:35 pm
Well at least where I bought the book (Akateeminen), the english version was softcover and the paper and print quality weren't nearly as good as the finnish version which was hardcover. Also since the story is so multi-layered and deep, I think it would be easier to really get into it if you read it with your native language, even if your english is fluent. It still makes a difference to read it with your native language. And since the translation is very, very good which isn't always the case, I can't but to recommend it to my fellow finnish people. Of course I don't mean that the finnish version is superior to every version that is out there but I must recommend the finnish version because comic hobbyists here in finland might overlook it without examing it just because it's translated and often translations are bad or medicore at best. But that isn't the case here (I've read now 4/5 of the book).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on March 15, 2009, 01:39:33 pm
Oh of course yes, i agree about reading in your native language. The print quality is probably more related to the hardcover though.  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on March 16, 2009, 05:23:32 pm
If I recall correctly. . .

"Jag tyckar om ol og kvinnor." :)

This is pretty much the biggest part of what I still remember after a Swedish language course I took some long time ago.

You must have the *thing* for acquiring new language knowledge.  I'm getting through my 11th year of learning English and still have problems with it.

Not to mention German and Spanish, but these I know at a less-than-elementary level. :)

Actually it's "Jag tycker om öl och kvinnor"  :)

What do you mean when you say having the thing, do you mean being entusiastic or have a natural talent for it?

I think it depends mostly on having good teachers.
I really wanted to learn spanish in the beginning and I got perfect results on the tests. Then I had a worthless teacher who was really terrible at spanish, then it went downhill.
It seems most Spanish teachers in Sweden are like that, because when I chose Spanish in High School none of the other students knew any spanish either from 4 years of spanish lessons.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 16, 2009, 05:59:02 pm
I would say both, but having a good textbook is priceless. I have a great teacher who does voluntary work in Mexico, and my textbook is Vistas.  I also seem to have a natural talent for it.  My friend knows English, (natively) a lot of French and Latin, and hopes to learn more Spanish next semester.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on March 16, 2009, 07:19:30 pm
Quote from: Emtch
Actually it's "Jag tycker om öl och kvinnor"  :)

You see, I don't even remember this one correctly.  Mycket braa!  Tack, tack! ;)

Quote from: Emtch
What do you mean when you say having the thing, do you mean being entusiastic or have a natural talent for it?

I mean having an inborn talent for it.  Besides, in the most part, the age has the biggest impact, viz. the younger you are when you start, the biggest the chance you will be able to develop a given language to a native speaker level.

Polish class, anyone? :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 17, 2009, 12:03:03 am
I think that is true as well, the current best in my Spanish class is a 10-or-so-year-old.  I'm second, 13, and from there it pretty goes by age.  Sort of.

I've been sick since Sunday...  :ouch: 
Just a question, I'm sort of curious...
Who else here is homeschooled?  It wouldn't surprise me if I was the only one, just wondering.
I love homeschool.

Later
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on March 17, 2009, 12:24:56 am
Where do you live Shrike? In America, I was under the impression that homeschool was mostly an excuse for parents to teach their kids some twisted religious crap, and dissuade them from a scientific understanding of things.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 17, 2009, 12:39:13 am
*sigh*
Yes, generally in America it's for religious reasons.  I do live in America, and there are certainly some crazy-ass moms who teach kids seriously messed-up things.  But public school proved a little too conformant to my parents when my brother tried it until, I wanna say 3rd grade?

Anyway, we went through a lot of things after public school and ended up with homeschooling.  No-one in my family is religious in any way, and being homeschooled allows one to learn in a way that is modified by the student's learning habits and also allows you to focus on what you think you're going to end up in.

If you remain unconvinced, my friend Chelsea won several Irish harp worldwide competitions for her age (18) and now is absent at Harvard.  I myself am pursuing Art and will be participating in a Model United Nations this year, and have been in a few art shows.

I like it, it's quite easy-going and usually proves for an unusually intelligent person.  It certainly is not for everyone though.  Lot's of people do it even though the teachers (parents) were never meant to teach children, or adults for that matter.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on March 17, 2009, 12:48:27 am
I'm sure it is a good alternative to public school for intelligent kids with intelligent parents. In fact I'm sure it is better for many kids, I just feel that it is abused by some parents. Glad you are not part of that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 17, 2009, 04:12:14 am
I was homeschooled and the stereotypes are definitely out there but most of us are pretty normal. I didn't grow up on a farm or get taught that scientists are evil or go through high school friendless. Heck it was fun, I'd finish at like noon and then draw or write until my friends got out of school. I was able to develop my art a lot more because of it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 17, 2009, 05:42:24 am
My cousins were homeschooled and were weird as hell, but that's partly because of them being jahova's witnesses.
Never really talked to them much, then one day they left the country because "they had had enough of us persecuting them"

Australia can keep em  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Darien on March 17, 2009, 07:32:17 am
I'd send my kids to school just for the social aspect, but if someone is going to homeschool their kids they better make efforts to make sure their kids get out there and interact.

most of the homeschooled kids I know are weird and clueless when it comes to social interaction
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 17, 2009, 08:10:39 am
A lot of parents are whackadoo, not just the wacky religious ones. There's a lot of people i wouldn't trust with parenting, let alone homeschooling. Getting exposed to many different people and different moral standings is healthy no matter how smart your parents are.
-
Oh and in school you'll also get to be with people you don't like.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 17, 2009, 02:53:22 pm
I was homeschooled and the stereotypes are definitely out there but most of us are pretty normal. I didn't grow up on a farm or get taught that scientists are evil or go through high school friendless. Heck it was fun, I'd finish at like noon and then draw or write until my friends got out of school. I was able to develop my art a lot more because of it.

Exactly.
I hate it when people make the social arguement, it's not always a problem.  I have a lot of friends, around my age and not so much, and all of us are close, and not all of my friends are homeschooled.  In fact, I would almost say homeschooling done properly results in a more socially-able child, but it really depends on the parent.

Quote from: Darien
most of the homeschooled kids I know are weird and clueless when it comes to social interaction.
I don't think I'd say most, but some certainly are incapable.  And how are you sure being in school provides a better social expreience?  I get most of my learning from classes with a lot of kids.  I'm in a shakespeare class the I'm performing in, and there are 20something kids in the class.  I take a lot of intellectual classes as well, which make the best IMHO out of a class experience.

Quote from: huZba
Getting exposed to many different people and different moral standings is healthy no matter how smart your parents are.
Right.  For sure, I totally agree.  And I do get exposed a lot.  I got lucky, my parents aren't religious and chose to let me decide if I want to be or not.  I think religion is something that makes one sheltered.  One of my homeschooled friends is religious, and he is extremely sheltered, he barely knows what the internet is, and his parents are probably deciding what profession he's going into.  I get exposed lots;  especially this year, because of the MUN conference, which should be interesting.
Two days a week I go to a homeschool in a... school.  But all the kids there are homeschooled.  I take a Spanish class in one, a Dance class in the other, as well as a Music history class and the MUN class.  In these I meet a lot of different approaches and people, some religious, some not, and all of the classes allow kids of all ages to mingle and they do.

One thing that bugs me about public school is that you can't really mingle with people not exactly your age.  I think that's one of the most inportant forms of exposure.

But, as I've said, it depends.  I know amazing people can come out of both Homeschooling and Public schooling, and it depends heavily on the child and teacher.  (I don't know much about private schools, and I don't think they do much for one either, but please enlighten me if anyone can.  I really don't know.)

EDIT:
Quote from: huZba
Oh and in school you'll also get to be with people you don't like.
I meet PLENTY of people who I don't like, some more than others.  But either way I usually have to cooperate with them, which is an important lesson.
Later
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on March 17, 2009, 04:31:27 pm
I remember reading a while back taht a large proportion of home-schooled children go on College and University than their public school counterparts. I think I'll go look for that study again. It makes sense to me, cause I don't see the irresponsible or idiotic types being all that attracted to homeschooling. Too much work, much easier to ship the kids off to public school and let the baby sitters there take care of the kiddies.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 17, 2009, 04:54:09 pm
If i ever had kids I would totally homeschool them for elementary school stuff, tho in Germany homeschooling is illegal :o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 17, 2009, 05:22:34 pm
I remember reading a while back taht a large proportion of home-schooled children go on College and University than their public school counterparts. I think I'll go look for that study again. It makes sense to me, cause I don't see the irresponsible or idiotic types being all that attracted to homeschooling. Too much work, much easier to ship the kids off to public school and let the baby sitters there take care of the kiddies.

I would say at least 90% of the homeschoolers I knew growing up ended up going through college (and not private religious colleges either) and got at least their bachelor's degree. Actually college was kinda disappointing for me; after years of being self-disciplined in studying on my own I felt like my college studies were all super dumbed down to patronize all the slackers.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 17, 2009, 07:00:16 pm
Higher education exists to teach people that don't have the fervent drive to teach themselves, generally. I don't say this to condemn anyone, I am kinda also one of these people. But do keep in mind I have learned more from Pixelation than by going to a fancy ass private school to study comics cartoon and animation.

I do allow for the possibility of brilliant, deeply charismatic teachers that might convey more than one is able to learn on their own in some of these institutions, but these are few and far between.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 17, 2009, 07:37:36 pm
My brother's home schooled because he has autism. Brilliant, brilliant guy, nothing less than hundreds on his schoolwork now, but he has horrible social skills because of Asperger's Syndrome and sending him to a place like public school where he wouldn't be able to concentrate or satisfy his OCD would be plain dumb.

I think I would like home school, personally. But my mother and I have never gotten along well enough for that to be an option. Another thing is that if I were to be home schooled it would need to be a Catholic home school program. Even though I classify as agnostic I'm still put through the motions of a practicing Catholic, and school is just something I would like not to be touched by the religion.

I'm torn about art school. It's kind of up in the air for me. I'll decide when I get there. I'll probably take a year after I graduate High School and see where I end up. If I like where I wind up then I don't think I'll be heading to school. See, I've taught myself far more than public education has in pretty much all subjects, and I'm not particular to more school, art related or not. The only problem with it is that a degree in art is required, and I would really hate to not satisfy a criteria for a job I want simply because I did not go to school where much time and money would have been likely wasted.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on March 17, 2009, 08:11:17 pm
Quote
Higher education exists to teach people that don't have the fervent drive to teach themselves, generally

I think this is untrue for many science majors, mostly because of the equipment involved in doing serious research. For instance, without becoming part of acadamia, there is no way you can use a scanning electron microscope, or do x-ray crystallography. It's just not possible without the training and the money.

Also, it is not only a teachers charisma and intelligence that makes the class worthwhile. It is also the breadth and depth of material they will hold you accountable for, usually beyond what the book says. All of my chemistry classes have not been a march, chapter by chapter, through the book. The teachers have explained the sometimes complex material in an understandable way, and supplemented that with lab experiments that teach us to use equipment, and allow us to arrive at empirical conclusions about what we are learning.

I've never been to art school, so maybe that is the case there I can't say, but don't dismiss all education.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 17, 2009, 08:45:19 pm
Yeh indeed. I think you are generalising a bit here, Helm. For anything science that involves machines of some kind you wont be able to get very far on your own. A friend of mine studied semi-conductor stuff and they have the crystals the semiconductors are made from and those things cost shitloads, so one would have to be quite fortunate to pursue in that field without going to a university.

With something like art it is less problematic depending on what you wanna do. If you wanna do more involved printing type things stuff can get quite expensive as well (presses and such).

Things which are soley brainbased such as literature, languages and such, of course if you dedicate enough time and such into it you can learn just as much and good as someone going to a university.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 17, 2009, 09:37:07 pm
Quote
Higher education exists to teach people that don't have the fervent drive to teach themselves, generally

Yes. I am generalizing. I wasn't even thinking about majoring in anything. I am thinking and referring to basic college courses that produce hopeless half-trained people that can't do things that enthusiastic amateurs in the same field consider the easiest things.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 17, 2009, 10:15:13 pm
Yes, there I agree on all bases. I have met people who studied graphic design for a few semesters and know way way less about photoshop than me. Or people who studied coding and can't hold a candle to people who do it as a hobby.

I think the main reason for this is that if you do something for a hobby you do it because you love it, so you will soak up information about it much more uninhibited.
If you just study something to, well study something that might make a buck at some point, the motivation is a different, less close to the heart one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 18, 2009, 02:01:58 am
Absolutely true.

Trying to get a degree in art was just meh. There are things to be learned but you'll have to wait tortuously for the rest of the class to catch up with you before you can be taught anything new. Or worse, I've had professors who saw that I was driven and decided that meant I didn't need any help. And yes, there were people in my classes who needed help with things much more basic than what I was trying to do. But then, what was I paying for? Asspats, basically. And if you're willing to pay for that, there's cheaper places to get it. (In all fairness, I had a few professors who saw that I was there for a reason and decided to be extra hard on me, and I SAVORED it)

School makes sense if you're an engineer or the like - you want to have that certification that speaks for you. But an artist's certification is his or her portfolio. It talks way louder than a degree. I suppose if one's heart is dead-set on an art degree you should at least find a school where everyone else is way better than you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 18, 2009, 03:55:44 am
Just reread parts of this thread again.

I like the Terminator films by Cameron, some, but that's pretty much it.

Abyss maybe? I really like that film and would say it's by far the best thing Cameron wrote and/or directed.
Strange Days I quite liked when I saw it as well, which he wrote, tho not directed.
And True Lies is quite good fun as well (tho that is a remake of the french film La Totale which I yet have to see).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Darien on March 18, 2009, 04:02:32 am
Quote from: Darien
most of the homeschooled kids I know are weird and clueless when it comes to social interaction.
I don't think I'd say most, but some certainly are incapable.  And how are you sure being in school provides a better social expreience?  I get most of my learning from classes with a lot of kids.  I'm in a shakespeare class the I'm performing in, and there are 20something kids in the class.  I take a lot of intellectual classes as well, which make the best IMHO out of a class experience.

Like I said, if parents choose to homeschool they ought to make sure their kids are getting a good amount of social interaction, and it sounds like your and many other's parents do.  I said most homeschooled people I know, I don't claim that was an accurate representation but just something parents ought to look out for (I would also say you should be concerned about your kids social interaction at a public school).  I said I would send my kids to public school because for me it is important to be exposed to many people of different backgrounds, not just religious but social classes as well--though of course that also depends greatly on the school.


As for the school for arts question, I am getting a degree in Creative Writing and I'm not fully content with my decision.  It has certainly helped me in several ways, and has perhaps exposed me to certain things I wouldn't have found on my own, but ultimately it's not very necessary.  One thing going to school for the arts does do, though, is give you an excuse to do nothing but work on your art for four or so years.  Once you get a full time job, etc, then it's really a test whether you will have the energy to stick with it--after fours years it of focusing on it it seems like it will be easier than if I jumped into right after high school.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 18, 2009, 04:36:35 am
Darien:
I totally agree, I just have a bad habit of taking people's questions and using them as an excuse to ramble.  :lol:  Sorry.  I agree with everything you said.

I have two stepbrothers that were public schooled, and they are brilliant, smart and successful people.  But the argument of Homeschooling vs. Public schooling comes up a lot, especially about the social thing. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on March 18, 2009, 07:36:34 am
ALERT: MS Paint has a 10x zoom. Click the bottom border of the zoom selection box to access it. Your world has been blown!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TrevoriuS on March 18, 2009, 07:50:49 am
Alert: Pro Motion exists? :O
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 18, 2009, 11:58:26 am
Oh yeah, Abyss. In Greece it was translated as "Aliens in the Depths" haha. Well, it's not bad. Has not dated well. Read the Old Journals (http://jordanmechner.com/old-journals/) of Jordan Mechner for many reasons, he is bright, articulate, a very likable fellow and he made one of the best games ever. He mentions that Abyss was actually pitched to the studios like 'Aliens, only underwater' which made me laugh and laugh.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 18, 2009, 04:36:29 pm
Heh, that's quite funny. Tho I have to say I think it aged quite well. The effects with the water and all that work great and the design of stuff is nice as well.

Also indeed, IMDB lists Alita as slanted for 2011 D:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 18, 2009, 06:00:09 pm
I just bought a new Sega, Genesis.

I was like
 :o

..
 ;D
 :D
 :y: :lol:
 :crazy: (this one for several hours)
LOST VIKINGS is SO amazing!
Tell me someone else here has played it from back in the day.
We should examine some Genesis games for a mockup frenzy or something.  Sonic was awesome
Ecco had ok art too.

Anyway
Later
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 18, 2009, 07:23:06 pm
Lost Vikings is good stuff yeh. I finished it back in the days on the SNES.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: willfaulds on March 18, 2009, 07:44:29 pm
I don't know if it'll tickle anyone fancy but here's what I got up to over the weekend http://www.kongregate.com/games/PixelBeard/money-in-the-horses-mouth (http://www.kongregate.com/games/PixelBeard/money-in-the-horses-mouth)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on March 19, 2009, 01:56:16 am
I just bought a new Sega, Genesis.
You can still buy new ones?  :huh:

LOST VIKINGS is SO amazing!
Tell me someone else here has played it from back in the day.
We should examine some Genesis games for a mockup frenzy or something.
Lost Vikings did get a CC and accompanying challenge back in the day.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 19, 2009, 02:52:48 am
Well, ok. I got a nearly-never-touched version from Ebay.  Awesome condition.  Came with, like, 5 controllers.  30 bucks (USD).  We have all kinds of games already from my 20-year-old brothers tho.

Oh, must have been on the blue Pixelation?  I wish I had been apart of that.
I would have been a baby tho  :P

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 19, 2009, 10:06:17 am
Still have lost vikings for snes. The snes is in use now and then, especially when my younger sister comes to visit with her baby. It's so easy compared to all of the new consoles(baby proof too, so that makes it practically indistructible). Pop the game in, play, that's it. Me and my bro wanted to play some co-op resident evil 5 and it took a goddamn hour to get the game started with the install and updates.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The Mozack on March 19, 2009, 10:52:48 am
You guys are seriously lucky to have better exposure to the 16-bit library. From where I come from, only the SNES is prominent, and even my memory of it was rather dull. There used to be shops in the mid-1990s that rented out these machines to be played in their premises, and they used multiple floppy disks, as opposed to the typical cartridges, that took forever to load (which later led me to believe they were all bootlegged copies). Worst thing about it is that most of the kids who played there went for nothing but football video games. Hell, I even remember how the intro of that stinking SNES game sounded like: "INTERNATIONAL...SUPERSTAR SOCCER! *CHEER*" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Superstar_Soccer). Even as I type, kids here will still be playing the same rubbish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winning_Eleven), this time on the PS2 or PS3. Good god, I loath football so much.

At least I managed to watch some dude play Super Mario World from start to end. And lots of Top Gear 2.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on March 19, 2009, 11:31:07 am
Ahhh... memories... Sensible Soccer on amiga, Pro Evolution Soccer, Fifa, I love those games. We still play almost every time Fifa 08/09 with my friends when they come over. Not that I would be a soccer fanatic, not even close, but they're good games and fun to play in a group.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 19, 2009, 12:13:02 pm
Nintendo world cup is by far the best soccer game  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The Mozack on March 19, 2009, 12:15:54 pm
I can understand someone else's joy of playing football video games, but to watch the same thing as a spectator day in and day out makes one sick over time; maybe it's just me.

I do remember being offered to play a round of International Superstar Soccer with another player. I lost 0-11 and never played a single football game since.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on March 19, 2009, 12:31:21 pm
Bad loser, eh? :P I used to be very competetive when playing games but lately I've learned to enjoy from the playing itself, the results don't matter. Isn't it nice that the other player is so good that he beats the crap out of you? Good for him! It's not you loss, so to speak :) Why don't you ask the better player to teach you some tricks or take it as a challenge and try to better yourself in that game.

I don't think life is always so black and white but trying to think like that has helped me to lose a lot of that agression than comes from losing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The Mozack on March 19, 2009, 01:25:26 pm
Meh. He was some random person of my age who happens to be a bit generous. I wouldn't had dared to ask then.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zenobia on March 19, 2009, 04:43:41 pm
Hey, question: I am trying to contact a member but I get the message that his inbox is full. His profile states no e-mail adress or website, and googling his username didn't help much either. Any idea how I can contact this person?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 20, 2009, 12:15:15 am
Unless it's private all you can do (I think) is post a topic, or post his name here.  Or ask around and see if anyone knows his email/IM identity.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zenobia on March 21, 2009, 01:17:23 pm
Oh well, it's not my problem I suppose. I'll just wait until he figures it out himself.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on March 21, 2009, 06:09:45 pm
OOooooo, mysterious.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 23, 2009, 01:34:35 pm
I guess I'm a little late to the game but I just started watching Battlestar Galactica. I'm into the second season now and I'm completely addicted.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zenobia on March 23, 2009, 01:51:26 pm
*headdesk* this is driving me insane. I'm getting messages saying "why aren't you replying" but... how the hell do I make it clear that I can't! *tries to mentally wave and jump up and down*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 23, 2009, 03:19:23 pm
I increased the amount of possible pms per inbox for most usergroups (guessing the one you are trying to contact is no one who has over 1000 posts)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zenobia on March 24, 2009, 04:35:01 pm
I increased the amount of possible pms per inbox for most usergroups (guessing the one you are trying to contact is no one who has over 1000 posts)
No, the typical one post member of course.

Was able to send a message now. Thanks!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 26, 2009, 01:00:13 am
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=9087e814023eb2c18bcb

Poppycock.

[edit]

also

http://objectiveministries.org/zounds/gaming.html
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on March 26, 2009, 01:33:33 am
Anyone have good references of platformers that involve scaling the side of mountains?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 26, 2009, 01:58:22 am
First one I can think of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DntXqlidHCU
Man I hated that game.



In other news, Nintendo FINALLY fixed the storage problem on the Wii, they've unlocked the SD card and I just transferred all my Virtual Console games to it, Metal Slug alone took up a ton of the Wii's pathetic internal memory, now it's just a blip on my SD cards' radar.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on March 26, 2009, 02:56:10 am
Does Sexy Hiking count?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 26, 2009, 02:59:06 am
Sexy Hiking is undeniably genius.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Squiggly_P on March 26, 2009, 03:10:27 am
SNES: Cliffhanger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTRRBe-GKEo
The bit you're interested in is about 5 minutes into the video, but then...  I actually laughed my ass off at this "angry videogame nerd" wannabe the whole 7.5 minutes.

I'm sure there are videos without some retard 'reviewing' it, tho :P

(note, if anyone here happens to be that retard, then I apologize for calling you a retard not really)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on March 26, 2009, 04:23:00 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnJU4fiiE2w (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnJU4fiiE2w)
This game metaphorically represents the corporate ladder in 1980's American, you know, minus the sleeping to get ahead and cocaine.

I actually have one of these cassette players for 2600.  A guy could theoretically program a game with the right Venetian Snares song and a tape recorder.  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 26, 2009, 08:16:32 am
There's a JPG among us
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on March 26, 2009, 08:38:48 am
BUUUUUURN THE WIIITCH!!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on March 26, 2009, 04:40:44 pm
Anyone have good references of platformers that involve scaling the side of mountains?

A link to a  game here.
http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/38828.htm
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: baccaman21 on March 27, 2009, 04:57:59 pm
WAhooo! Burn zombie Burn went Live on PSN yesterday... Check it out... my first 'real' game released since I went travelling 3 years ago...


Unavailable in Germany atm I'm afraid (sorry Sven) due to silly rules about 18 cert games and digital distributed titles... (which we've only just found out)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on March 27, 2009, 05:47:31 pm
Congrats!
I'll be sure to pick it up!  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on March 31, 2009, 12:48:02 am
I was looking through the firefox bug report on the blur today and I think something screwy is going on. They're talking like it will only be an option for authors to control whether images have a filter applied and another bug report for user control will have to be filed. The title's been changed to "Switch for authors to turn on/off bilinear filtering when enlarging images"

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423756#c55

I just posted a small comment. It seems like things got out of control when some guy started asking for special case scenarios determined by the precise level of zoom used and other case-b-ycase scenarios that were way more complicated than what we had been asking for, namely an option in about:config.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on March 31, 2009, 06:43:45 am
It's a little depressing, but the essential problem isn't that the filtering is on by default, it's that you can't turn it off at all. According to the last thing said on that page, they intend to fix it so that users can state a preference... if i'm reading this right. So it's not really what we want, but it'll do the job. The fact is that most firefox users aren't pixel artists, and don't care, and this'll fix it so that the people who do care can get on. I don't mean to say that we should stop complaining, of course. But it's not a bad idea to let this bug go through the way it's going through.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on March 31, 2009, 09:45:17 pm
I think you're right, tocky. epic lack of CSS skills for the fail. I hope they can finish soon.

EDIT: Almost forgot. The Dishwasher comes out tomorrow
http://skasoftware.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/april-1st-is-dishwasher-day/

If I had an xbox I'd be picking this up tomorrow. I find James Silva a pretty inspiring developer. His games are crude in some respects due to his solo approach, but they almsot always hold a spark that I find appealing. Stuff like this makes me glad Microsoft joined the console battles.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 31, 2009, 10:10:28 pm
WAhooo! Burn zombie Burn went Live on PSN yesterday... Check it out... my first 'real' game released since I went travelling 3 years ago...


Unavailable in Germany atm I'm afraid (sorry Sven) due to silly rules about 18 cert games and digital distributed titles... (which we've only just found out)

Congrats :) I don't have a PS3 anyway, so no big deal. For germany just make the blood green or something.

Something else:

I will be gone for one month as of tomorrow (coming back on the 2nd of May). Going on a backpacking trip to the Philippines with a friend \o/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: baccaman21 on April 01, 2009, 01:01:46 pm
WAhooo! Burn zombie Burn went Live on PSN yesterday... Check it out... my first 'real' game released since I went travelling 3 years ago...


Unavailable in Germany atm I'm afraid (sorry Sven) due to silly rules about 18 cert games and digital distributed titles... (which we've only just found out)

Congrats :) I don't have a PS3 anyway, so no big deal. For germany just make the blood green or something.

Something else:

I will be gone for one month as of tomorrow (coming back on the 2nd of May). Going on a backpacking trip to the Philippines with a friend \o/


we did the green blood trick... ;)  it seems that german law or lore has it that digital distributed games (i.e. downloaded) cannot be 18+ cert - (that's what I wanted translated the other day btw) - so we have no choice...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on April 04, 2009, 02:22:35 am
So, I am now flat broke and unemployed. :ouch:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on April 04, 2009, 02:58:56 am
Agh, shucks...  From what?  Could you pick up some spare pixeling jobs?

(Are you in... college?)
Sorry man, that sucks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on April 05, 2009, 07:37:16 am
http://forum.deviantart.com/devart/general/1173064/ (http://forum.deviantart.com/devart/general/1173064/)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HMC on April 05, 2009, 03:06:41 pm
^Haha, I remember reading that about a year ago. It's amazing how well that all fits together.

Speaking of DeviantArt, however, someone stole one of Ptoing's pieces today and received a Daily Deviataion for it: http://moosehat.deviantart.com/art/Sweaty-Dudes-118169158  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 05, 2009, 03:43:16 pm
Speaking of DeviantArt, however, someone stole one of Ptoing's pieces today and received a Daily Deviataion for it: http://moosehat.deviantart.com/art/Sweaty-Dudes-118169158  :(

Joined today and got a DD immediately for a stolen piece? Someone's got some explaining to do, and not just the thief.  :n:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: willfaulds on April 05, 2009, 03:46:47 pm
^Haha, I remember reading that about a year ago. It's amazing how well that all fits together.

Speaking of DeviantArt, however, someone stole one of Ptoing's pieces today and received a Daily Deviataion for it: http://moosehat.deviantart.com/art/Sweaty-Dudes-118169158  :(

 >:( reported

thanks for the info - its good to try and keep these things from happening
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 06, 2009, 04:50:41 am
What's the term used for when a boss's limbs consist of a bunch of sprites chained together?

edit-
Holy crap, new Giana Sisters game and it's for the DS... and I'm enjoying it  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 06, 2009, 04:43:38 pm
edit-
Holy crap, new Giana Sisters game and it's for the DS... and I'm enjoying it  ;D

Lol, sweet! Is it worth buying? The material on the official site (http://www.giana-sisters.com/giana_sisters_en.html) seems promising. The character art is up to date and better. Even nostalgia won't make the original character art look good. Yeah, an 80's babe with pointy boobs but what did that have to do with the game sprites? Absolutely nothing. Good thing the music sounds accurate. Huelsbeck's site (http://www.huelsbeck.com/) doesn't mention anything about him doing the remixes, but they sound good anyway. This totally made my day. ;)

I had the Amiga version but I never finished it, it got so bloody hard after level 27 or so. Apparently the C64 version was easier.

Edit

BTW, Giana Sisters on Nintendo DS! That's quite ironic, if you think about it. ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 07, 2009, 12:38:53 am
The only areas I think it's lacking is in the length of the levels, they're pretty short.

Graphics are also a bit amateurish, although they kinda work.. it's weird.. regardless, they're nicely animated.
I think as long as the 2D platformer is one of your favourite genres, and you're already familiar with the Giana Sisters- it's worth a purchase.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on April 07, 2009, 08:49:35 am
It seems like the levels get longer. I've just started the second world though I did a level in the clouds which was a good amount longer than most of the others. When I first saw the graphics I thought they were blech but once you see them in action they are a lot nicer and I actually quite enjoy them. The animation is fantastic. I feel like I'm playing a very well done DOS game. The only problem I see is it getting monotonous, we'll see. And I agree with .Takam in terms of purchasing. The only question is where? I can't find a place to buy it anywhere!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: fil_razorback on April 08, 2009, 10:07:44 pm
'just dropping a line to say that Miyazaki-san's Ponyo on the cliff by the sea was released today in France and it's great ! Not on par with masterpieces like The Castle in The Sky or Mononoke Hime but still very worth being seen.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on April 09, 2009, 06:47:23 am
Damn you Hollywood (http://kotaku.com/5202716/shadow-of-the-colossus-getting-big-screen-adaptation-all-hope-lost) :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on April 09, 2009, 07:41:26 am
There is no way they can cram that game into a movie and do it any kind of respectable justice. It's going to be an excuse to throw graphics around and judging from how The legend of Chun-Li looks, It won't resemble Shadow of the Colossus in the slightest.

I'm tired of hollywood taking great source material and slapping the same old predictable plot onto them, only leaving enough hints of the original to put into the trailer and catch the naive. They've ruined to many of my child hood favorites by now for me to give anything a chance.

Also they are apparently remaking Neverending Story.  >:(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on April 09, 2009, 08:41:11 am
SOTC plays with many strengths unique to videogames. It would need someone who understands it's foundation and has the ability to re-imagine it to work on the big screen.
Now it's given to people who look at the medium as something less significant. It will suck and i hope the game studio at least got some money out of it to work on their next game.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on April 09, 2009, 05:31:26 pm
:(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on April 09, 2009, 07:15:48 pm
D:

well it might be good
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: fil_razorback on April 09, 2009, 10:42:01 pm
I dont even believe in that "might be" =(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on April 10, 2009, 04:31:02 pm
Haha you know how you need to have different visual priorities for action space and passive space?

Please tell Naruto's author, Kishimoto that, someone.

http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/443/02/

What the vuck srsly.

wtv.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 10, 2009, 04:58:32 pm
I'm pretty sure Naruto doesn't see the success it does as a series because the artist making it very adept in the finer points of the artform.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 10, 2009, 05:17:42 pm
I'm pretty sure Naruto doesn't see the success it does as a series because the artist making it very adept in the finer points of the artform.

It's not the story either (the main plotline) that makes Naruto popular. It's the characters. Never mind the art, screw the plot, Naruto is all about character development. There's one or two for each reader to choose as their favourites. (Mine's Temari.)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on April 10, 2009, 06:05:36 pm
Except there has been none of that the last 100 chapters either, I feel, haha

I read it out of curiosity these days, I already have the storyline thus far in the back of my head and now I wanna know where it's going. It's just that, haha.

Also helm, yeah, but it's kinda sad to see that the author seems to have lost his passion completely. Naruto wasn't this buttfugly when it started out ):
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 10, 2009, 06:32:11 pm
it's kinda sad to see that the author seems to have lost his passion completely. Naruto wasn't this buttfugly when it started out ):

Kishimoto could finish the story and have some time off. He should have enough money by now and I agree he lost his passion years ago. I remember this spread (http://www.onemanga.com/Naruto/44/19-20/) from the early chapters that was pretty impressive, the scan doesn't do it justice.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on April 10, 2009, 06:44:24 pm
I've heard they started using some kind of custom poser models for the layouts. And it shows. So artificial now. Old naruto looked much more ghetto and I liked it much more. Heh.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on April 10, 2009, 06:47:19 pm
I've heard they started using some kind of custom poser models for the layouts. And it shows.

Hahaha, that's funny because I was just thinking how stiff and un-dynamic his landing is in that page.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Squiggly_P on April 10, 2009, 08:17:48 pm
the difference in those two pages is pretty huge.  I don't think that guy looks like he's comfortable doing backgrounds, tho.

On a somewhat related note:  I just happened to google Blade of the Immortal to see if there were some example images I could show (Samura's art is insanely good) and I found out that it got turned into an anime last year o_0. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgqiKenFrPc
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on April 10, 2009, 09:22:56 pm
I watched the first episode a while ago. It was pretty god-awful. Like…even worse that your average Gonzo anime.

They have the Devil-Man manga on that oneanime.com site, which I've always wanted to read. There's something deeply gratifying about seeing cutely draw 70's anime characters ripping each other's tits off and drinking their blood. I need to find some more of Go Nagai's work.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on April 11, 2009, 01:11:38 pm
Happy easter everyone! : D

(that is all)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on April 11, 2009, 04:46:46 pm
I'm trying to learn how to use Game Maker and all I can say is ARGHALEGASEH SDF@#$^@#$()*&@#$  :yell:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on April 11, 2009, 07:39:34 pm
Fed up with MMF? I certainly am anyway.  :'( I wonder if Construct would be a better option.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on April 11, 2009, 09:00:33 pm
Yeah... Game Maker is a lot more flexible and a lot less wonky than MMF is. I think the way it organizes data is superior to MMF as well. Although I'm also finding that it's not as idiot-proof as MMF is.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on April 12, 2009, 01:07:26 am
Happy Easter Eggs, Jad! ;)

Hey, I am wondering. . . were there any cowboy-shooting games back in the past?  You know, some old arcade lawmen/outlaws duels. . . with pixel-art-based graphics and, say, a static third-person view.  Perhaps I should be ashamed now, but except a few Flash-based pieces I just don't know any.  Seems classic.

Anyway, I'm thinking of starting my own project set in this vibe on the side. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on April 12, 2009, 02:05:05 am
Wild Guns:

http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/wild-guns/screenshots/gameShotId,27924/

Fricken' awesome and not bad pixel art either!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JonathanOfDrain on April 12, 2009, 04:43:04 am
Yeah... Game Maker is a lot more flexible and a lot less wonky than MMF is. I think the way it organizes data is superior to MMF as well. Although I'm also finding that it's not as idiot-proof as MMF is.

Comes with the territory I think.
 I teach Game Maker to kids at a computer camp during the summer and I can understand where you frustration comes from. On the plus side you understand the creation of graphics and probably understand the process of game design is more than "mario shoots tanks at the smiley faces".

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on April 12, 2009, 06:43:56 am
I always used to love playing Sunset Riders on the SNES, also Tinstar (SNES) but thats not really 3rd person, its more like a mix of side scrolling and 3rd person. Also he's a cowboy robot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on April 12, 2009, 06:12:45 pm
There is also Lone Ranger on the NES. I think it has some great spriting and graphics for its time. It's a mix of third-person, first-person, and platforming.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 12, 2009, 07:05:24 pm
There were at least these games on Amiga that were 3rd person Western shooters:

(arrows on top of the screen to scroll through the slideshow)

West Phaser (http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/popup_screen_index.php?id=2593&screenname=west_phaser_01.png) I kinda like the graphics on this. I guess the game wasn't that good.

Buffalo Bill Wild West Show (http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/popup_screen_index.php?id=1704&screenname=buffalo_bills_wild_west_show_01.png) Ok graphics but no violence really..

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on April 12, 2009, 07:21:56 pm
Thanks a lot guys!

Yeah, that's exactly what I've been searching for!  I'm going to look closely at each one, and I think I'm giving up the idea of starting a new one -- since, as it seems, there are plenty of them around just in the style I'd like to go with.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 13, 2009, 11:01:10 am
All these are Cabal clones, I hope you realize.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 13, 2009, 01:16:58 pm
Finished Giana Sisters on the DS, nice little game
They gave Hülsbeck a special thanks in the credits, I also noticed that 8-3, the hell themed level gives you 666 seconds on the timer >:D


Also, this bootleg toy is fucking awesome and I am buying one:
(http://i42.tinypic.com/2enq3df.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on April 13, 2009, 09:50:06 pm
I'm trying to learn how to use Game Maker and all I can say is ARGHALEGASEH SDF@#$^@#$()*&@#$  :yell:

XD
It was frustrating at first for me as well..  I can give you some pointers, I learned a lot from the head programmer of Anaglyph Gaming.  If you'd rather laern from tutorials go to http://64digits.com/
They have tutorials, engines, and other resources.  A godsend for me as a wannabe 9-year-old programmer...   :lol:

Happy Easter everybody!
Am I the only one who's not Christian but celebrates their holidays anyways?
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on April 13, 2009, 10:21:08 pm
Hey, I am wondering. . . were there any cowboy-shooting games back in the past?  You know, some old arcade lawmen/outlaws duels. . . with pixel-art-based graphics and, say, a static third-person view.  Perhaps I should be ashamed now, but except a few Flash-based pieces I just don't know any.  Seems classic.

One of my absolute coin-op favs from yesteryear is Blood Bros, sequel to the aforementioned Cabal. I think it's pretty much exactly what you're looking for. Wild Guns was also sort-of an homage to this game.

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=7163

TAD Corp. made a handful of awesome, quirky arcade games (including Toki, a platformer about a spitting ape) before they switched gears and started making beauty products or some weird shit like that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on April 13, 2009, 10:39:33 pm
Quote
Am I the only one who's not Christian but celebrates their holidays anyways?

By celebrate what do you mean? If you mean getting candy for Valentine's day, Easter, and Halloween, and presents for Christmas, then no, that's just buying into a marketing campaign... If you mean going to a celebratory mass for each holiday, then unlikely but you've got a better chance.  ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 13, 2009, 10:53:46 pm
Cabal taught me that if anyone's shooting at me, I should just do a roll. Roll with the bullets. Roll with them. It always works.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on April 13, 2009, 11:50:27 pm
I used to use gamemaker, but I realised over a year back that everytime I wanted to do something(palette swapping, proper collision, dynamic map loading) that I kept having ot throw away the code it provided for often basic things and replace it with my own in an unintuitive way. So, I made the switch to XNA and haven't looked back. I'm currently working on completing a general2d engine, initially in sideview, but once I get most of the features built in, I'm going to extend it towards a typical jrpg top-down view. I'm pretty decent with programming and was already familiar with C++ syntax, so it was a beneficial and relatively painless switch. There's a pretty awesome support community and tons of blogs with lots of helpful articles. The tools provided, like Visual C#'s code editor, are incredible.

Just putting this out there for any gamemakers growing tired with the program. I was initially attracted to GM because of the ease, speed and what I thought looked like flexibilty. I wanted to make some games, but didn't want to spend 5 years on the programming.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on April 14, 2009, 12:35:22 am
Hehe, thanks again!

Hmm. . . Blood Bros feels a bit familiar -- might have seen some kid playing it on a machine some time ago, though I'm pretty sure I haven't ever seen/played Cabal!  Shame!!

I assume I'll burn in hell now? :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 14, 2009, 05:39:17 pm
Cabal taught me that if anyone's shooting at me, I should just do a roll. Roll with the bullets. Roll with them. It always works.

Same lesson as in Lethal Weapon 1 then?

Well, Cabal is in turn Operation Wolf with a 3rd person view added, Op Wolf is a hard cored version of Duck Hunt, Duck Hunt is.. how far can this be tracked?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on April 14, 2009, 05:52:50 pm
You can trace any game's roots back to Duck Hunt. Even Pong.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 14, 2009, 06:19:18 pm
You can trace any game's roots back to Duck Hunt. Even Pong.

No way! Even Spacewar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar!)?!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on April 14, 2009, 07:18:58 pm
Well, Cabal is in turn Operation Wolf with a 3rd person view added, Op Wolf is a hard cored version of Duck Hunt, Duck Hunt is.. how far can this be tracked?

I hate to be a smartass I love it but Cabal was most likely inspired by the rather obscure DECO coin-op "Shoot Out" from -85. The only credit Operation Wolf could get would be inspiration for the military-theme, but then again the whole commando soldier thing was all the rage back in the 80's, so you could blame Stallone and Schwarzenegger for that as well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on April 15, 2009, 05:16:51 am
Well, Cabal is in turn Operation Wolf with a 3rd person view added, Op Wolf is a hard cored version of Duck Hunt, Duck Hunt is.. how far can this be tracked?
Magnavox Odyssey had a shooting gallery game with a light-rifle.
Also there were duck hunting light gun games way back in 1930s
Seeburg Ray-O-Lite (http://www.boingboing.net/2007/01/03/lightgun-game-from-1.html)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 15, 2009, 05:28:23 am
We got two Burmese kittens yesterday.
My dog is crazy jealous, she's been crying and whining all day.
She keeps hiding her toys and stealing theirs, and she's tried to jump on my lap like them a couple times which she is way too big for now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 15, 2009, 10:19:00 am
junkboy I'd say Comical Machine Gun Joe for the Sega Master System / Mark III would be the closest older relative to Cabal proper.

(http://www.smspower.org/misc/comical_machine_gun_joe.gif)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on April 15, 2009, 01:49:26 pm
You can trace any game's roots back to Duck Hunt. Even Pong.

No way! Even Spacewar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar!)?!

It involves shooting airborne objects... a concept clearly lifted straight from Duck Hunt! The fact that this fellow managed to beat Duck Hunt to the store shelves is a mere technicality.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 16, 2009, 02:09:10 pm
how come Monsoon2D (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?action=profile;u=51) is sitting on -3 karma?

I can't remember if he is/was a mod or not and since he's been kinda absent the penalty is a kick in the karma?



Also I saw Watchmen last night, I liked it just fine, sex scene was the only thing I thought the movie could have done without, just seemed weird and unnecessary.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on April 16, 2009, 02:24:10 pm
how come Monsoon2D (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?action=profile;u=51) is sitting on -3 karma?

Now I'm a mod and I haven't got the least idea and the administration forum says nothing about this. What is up here?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 17, 2009, 12:44:02 am
Seriously first time I see this. Seems like a glitch in the system. We need a panda or an atomic adam!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JonathanOfDrain on April 17, 2009, 07:27:32 am
Has anyone else seen the latest "masterpiece" in the X-men movie franchise? It was rubbish.

SPOILER!
Wade Wilson was great until he was Dead Pool. Dead Pool was one of my favorite Marvel characters of all time. They ruined him! He took powers from a bunch of mutants and then put then pooled (it was their pun, not mine) them into Wade Wilson. Also Saber Tooth is Wolverine's brother? The film ruined the whole Weapon X story. So many things upset me about that movie.
/SPOILER!



I also have low expectations for SOTC the movie.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on April 18, 2009, 02:42:10 pm
I used to use gamemaker, but I realised over a year back that everytime I wanted to do something(palette swapping, proper collision, dynamic map loading) that I kept having ot throw away the code it provided for often basic things and replace it with my own in an unintuitive way. So, I made the switch to XNA and haven't looked back. I'm currently working on completing a general2d engine, initially in sideview, but once I get most of the features built in, I'm going to extend it towards a typical jrpg top-down view. I'm pretty decent with programming and was already familiar with C++ syntax, so it was a beneficial and relatively painless switch. There's a pretty awesome support community and tons of blogs with lots of helpful articles. The tools provided, like Visual C#'s code editor, are incredible.

Just putting this out there for any gamemakers growing tired with the program. I was initially attracted to GM because of the ease, speed and what I thought looked like flexibilty. I wanted to make some games, but didn't want to spend 5 years on the programming.

I know nothing of code, though I should...   In order to survive I need to know at least SOME kind of applicable code.

Anyway.
I'm downloading XNA right now, it looks promising.  Neat that you can produce for the Xbox Live!  :D
Looks like I'll need to start my code education tho...

Later
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on April 18, 2009, 06:10:13 pm
Has anyone else seen the latest "masterpiece" in the X-men movie franchise? It was rubbish.

SPOILER!
Wade Wilson was great until he was Dead Pool. Dead Pool was one of my favorite Marvel characters of all time. They ruined him! He took powers from a bunch of mutants and then put then pooled (it was their pun, not mine) them into Wade Wilson. Also Saber Tooth is Wolverine's brother? The film ruined the whole Weapon X story. So many things upset me about that movie.
/SPOILER!



I also have low expectations for SOTC the movie.

It sucked ginormous rhinocerus genitalia. I thought it would be about the stuff from the Origin series, but it's just a bunch of generic superpower-action-movie-shit.

Not many of todays action movies are worth watching, especially not the super-budget hollywood "masterpieces".
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on April 18, 2009, 06:29:04 pm
how come Monsoon2D (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?action=profile;u=51) is sitting on -3 karma?

Now I'm a mod and I haven't got the least idea and the administration forum says nothing about this. What is up here?

Fixed now.
They were the Secret Santa strikes.
I gave those that didn't make a gift, 3 chances (Being, 3 extra weeks. Checked upon every week and if they didn't send in anything, they would get a strike).

The ban expired a month ago, but forgot to remove the strikes :B
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on April 21, 2009, 09:52:07 pm
Got myself a new avatar! :O

http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/42069.htm
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 21, 2009, 10:21:18 pm
(http://www.locustleaves.com/Uav.gif)

check where the head connects to the neck, this seems to be an enduring problem in some of your work that you don't highly investigate before you draw. You have to internalize the lessons you learn from reference and anatomy practise so they carry on to your more free-form work.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on April 22, 2009, 12:45:36 am
Hi there, Helm!

That's right, looks kinda like a reoccuring mistake -- I'm committing it on and on, and it seems I can't easily get rid of that nasty habit.  Thanks for pointing it out again, now I've promised myself to take on some more detailed studies on necks -- and this is prolly what's going to fill up the margin spaces in my notebooks now. :)

The image doesn't show up, though; could you re-check the links?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 22, 2009, 12:58:22 pm
huh! I totally misplaced that file and then deleted it! Well i just nudged the head 5 pixels to the right and 3-4 downwards.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JonathanOfDrain on April 24, 2009, 05:05:07 am
 We all feel like this sometimes. (http://www.tofulator.com/2009/04/02/captioned-youtube-charles-mansons-epic-question/)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on April 26, 2009, 01:16:42 pm
junkboy I'd say Comical Machine Gun Joe for the Sega Master System / Mark III would be the closest older relative to Cabal proper.

(http://www.smspower.org/misc/comical_machine_gun_joe.gif)

Nah, Shoot Out predates it by a year or so, but you totally get points for mentioning a game I've never heard about! Rom sites, here I come..
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 26, 2009, 02:00:44 pm
I'm not trying to impress you. I think the gameplay (once you see it in action) of CMGJ has more in common with Cabal than Shoot Out, but that might just be me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on April 27, 2009, 05:27:31 pm
   Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed a lack of pixel art activity from our normal staple of known active users? I remember I used to pixel all the time, when I was bored, working, or eating. Now, I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels like just don't have the urge to pixel any longer. I'm sure it's just a normal artist's block, or something, but I've noticed a lot of the other users here who normally post their pixel art, are also missing more and more. Not to say that the current people who submit art in the forums now aren't good, they are, it's just that I'm wondering if maybe age is getting to some of us, and we're moving on. Kinda' sad really.
   Kinda' makes you think, how old do you think some of us may be, and still keep in touch like this on the web? I'm one of those people who actually fall in love with communities like this, and the thought of "watching them go, as they leave one by one" is a bit depressing. But I guess people sometimes find something new, are too busy, or move on. That, or become lazy, like myself.  :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Arachne on April 27, 2009, 06:34:35 pm
For me, it's simply the combination of being busy (vacation, work, moving, etc.) and a broken monitor and tablet pen. I'm still pixeling on a daily basis, it just looks like crap (at the moment, anyway! ;D).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on April 27, 2009, 07:49:38 pm
B.O.B.,
I miss you too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 28, 2009, 04:36:01 am
Yeah, I haven't pixelled anything that wasn't for my game in over a year probably.
I do feel like a hack for not being more involved with something I love so much, but I'll get back into it eventually.


And no offense to any of our new members but I just feel a bit burnt out on people registering for help with one piece and never coming back.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Stezy on April 28, 2009, 09:21:44 am
I found this place again! I'm definatly going to try and stay active. Such a cool place here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 28, 2009, 10:33:10 am
I've not had much time to pixel (or do any art) on my free time, but some new challenge would be nice. Something quick and simple that can be expanded depending on your motivation. Full game mockups are a bit too much for me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on April 28, 2009, 11:51:02 am
I've not had much time to pixel (or do any art) on my free time, but some new challenge would be nice. Something quick and simple that can be expanded depending on your motivation. Full game mockups are a bit too much for me.
Have you checked PJ new challenge  ??? it's pretty cool  :) even i might have enough time to make my something for it.

By the way has anyone seen/played this "MyBrute" game ? The art is looking pretty nice and simple  :)
(Challenge me http://batlorder.mybrute.com (http://batlorder.mybrute.com)  >:D)

Also has any "coder" tried Brutus 2d ? what i've seen and tried i'd say it's one of the best free languages you can get  ;D
http://pewtersoftware.com/wordpress/ (http://pewtersoftware.com/wordpress/) you must try it out  :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on April 28, 2009, 04:13:04 pm

And no offense to any of our new members but I just feel a bit burnt out on people registering for help with one piece and never coming back.

I'm not sure whether I still belong in the newbie group or not, but I feel I've earned a title as one of the few newbs who came, then stayed and improved.  Though I don't post art much, I'm getting back into it.

I wasn't around when the greats still posted work; they were/are just these looming presences that hang around until you do something really stupid and post amazing edits and paragraph-long critique.  I love it here, I doubt I'll ever not find time to hang here.  Also, Summer Solstice, when it hits, might be a burst of activity; It will be for my anyways, as I need to earn some money doing graphic design jobs.   ::)


Is it strange that I excel at edits but fail moreso when I try to create an original piece?
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on April 28, 2009, 04:32:42 pm
Is it strange that I excel at edits but fail moreso when I try to create an original piece?

no not at all.  I always find it easier to see improvements in others work than in my own.  I guess that when you are making your own art you are sub-consciously trying not to see the faults, and hence why critique is almost always needed.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on April 28, 2009, 05:51:43 pm
True, it is probably to an extent a matter of self-critique.  But I am ( I think ) quite fine with the techniques; coming up with new ideas may be my problem.  Also, I lack the time to spend it doing something that would be awesome but will only be achieved via Summer Vacation.

Batlorder:
My Brute is awesomely fun.
http://shrike-laniidae.mybrute.com
Don't challenge me tho...  I'm only a level 2.  xD
Anyone wanna be my pupil?

Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 29, 2009, 04:52:31 pm
I'm getting emails from a scammer, I'm gonna play along and progressively get more and more bizarre and perverse.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 29, 2009, 07:47:12 pm
I'm getting emails from a scammer, I'm gonna play along and progressively get more and more bizarre and perverse.

Is it from Dr. Ibrahim Martin from Nigeria again? Has he still not gotten his money through? ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AdamAtomic on April 29, 2009, 09:12:47 pm
It's pixel's birthday today!

http://tinyurl.com/happybirthdaypixel

Wish him happy birthdays
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on April 30, 2009, 01:03:06 pm
It's pixel's birthday today!

http://tinyurl.com/happybirthdaypixel

Wish him happy birthdays
I thougth you were talking about your dog  :P
It's named Pixel rigth?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AdamAtomic on April 30, 2009, 05:08:49 pm
lol no that's Gary's pug!  i dunno when his birthday is
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on April 30, 2009, 05:10:34 pm
Yes I remember now!

Silly me  :-[
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 30, 2009, 09:53:06 pm
Have you checked PJ new challenge  ??? it's pretty cool  :) even i might have enough time to make my something for it.

I don't want to go to PJ, the light blue and bright green hurts my eyes.  :ouch: Also, since comments like "lol I like it keep up the good work" are allowed, I'm having my share of that already on dA so no thanks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on April 30, 2009, 10:40:29 pm
I don't want to go to PJ, the light blue and bright green hurts my eyes.  :ouch: Also, since comments like "lol I like it keep up the good work" are allowed, I'm having my share of that already on dA so no thanks.
You know that you can change the themes?
Go to your profile and press ''edit theme'' there are alot of more ''eye friendly'' themes!
And in PJ's defense it is primary a gallery site were you show of your art.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on May 01, 2009, 08:09:36 am
http://www.farbs.org/Message.html

I want to make sweet love to Farbs!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on May 02, 2009, 12:54:40 am
I was browsing through this guy's website and foudn this attack animation sufficiently disturbing.  I think all it needs to complete it is an option to have an all female team of adventurers
http://www.windship.pe.kr/dot_gallery/


(http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/5070/nepeatk.gif)


Other than that, his stuff is quite good.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Squiggly_P on May 02, 2009, 04:41:38 pm
Found this article interesting:
http://www.digitallounge.gatech.edu/gaming/index.html?id=2824

Some students are apparently altering Stella, the 2600 emulator, to apply filters to make it feel like you're playing on a crappy old TV, the way you could originally play them.
I find it pretty awesome, and hope more emulators start working on options like this, especially emulators for older systems.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on May 06, 2009, 03:13:56 pm
I would really enjoy it if they made these filters they developed available for anyone to use to dsiplay their pixelart
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on May 06, 2009, 10:24:31 pm
huh! I totally misplaced that file and then deleted it! Well i just nudged the head 5 pixels to the right and 3-4 downwards.

Ugh.  Belated "thanks", I was on my way to London and totally forgot about this one.  The neck studies are being done on the side so prolly in the nearest future I'll show off their outcome. ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 07, 2009, 12:47:09 pm
Well, Scrubs has officially ended. (although there is a small chance there may be a crappy spinoff or something)
That was a great finale, around the fifth season it definitely started going downhill, but this last season has been so great that it's kinda sad because I would have enjoyed at least a few more episodes at this level.


So if you ever liked scrubs and gave up during season 5-7, you might want to check out this last season.
They even reveal the Janitors name :o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on May 07, 2009, 10:31:39 pm
Eh...  Nearly broke my foot in Gymnastics last week.  Dislocated my toe, but it popped back in while I was sitting in Gym moaning, apparently.  Now I walk around like I'm drunk and have a quite disagreeable limp.   !yus!

But I had an idea.  It's an amazing/stupid idea.  *posts in OT-Creativity*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on May 09, 2009, 09:54:10 am
Man I saw the new Star Trek yesterday. It was awesome. A bit thin on story, but an action packed thirll ride. A worthy restart of the series.
And probably already my favourite Star Trek movie.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on May 09, 2009, 01:31:26 pm
I've been waiting to see the new trek movie, but I've been confined home for two weeks due to reasons  :yell:
I feel a bit iffy about it though. The trailer showed more phaser fire from the enterprise than all of the TNG episodes combined.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on May 09, 2009, 03:22:51 pm
Ugh I hated TNG, it was way too sterile. I can't wait to see the movie, TOS was my favorite. I've been watching DS9 and supposedly it gets better later on, I'm only on season three. It's pretty good... Though it does feel a bit too much like TNG at the moment.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on May 09, 2009, 06:33:56 pm
Man I saw the new Star Trek yesterday. It was awesome. A bit thin on story, but an action packed thrill ride. A worthy restart of the series.
And probably already my favourite Star Trek movie.

I thought the whole point behind Star Trek was that it was more story driven and less action packed. It looks like it's trying to be a Star Wars movie.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on May 09, 2009, 11:53:51 pm
Star Trek started out fairly action packed. Actually very action packed. With TNG they took the action out in order to make room for more story, but ended up with the same episodic format which doesn't lend well to continuing plot lines - as was the case in the original - but without the action of the original to make it worthwhile.

So the new movie should be very true to the original in this regard.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on May 10, 2009, 09:43:20 am
Man I saw the new Star Trek yesterday. It was awesome. A bit thin on story, but an action packed thrill ride. A worthy restart of the series.
And probably already my favourite Star Trek movie.

I thought the whole point behind Star Trek was that it was more story driven and less action packed. It looks like it's trying to be a Star Wars movie.

Though kind of true, this franchise needed a reboot. And only a movie like this could've done it. Would you really want another Nemesis?
That one was more story driven, but it was terrible.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on May 10, 2009, 04:53:50 pm
Well, Scrubs has officially ended. (although there is a small chance there may be a crappy spinoff or something)
That was a great finale, around the fifth season it definitely started going downhill, but this last season has been so great that it's kinda sad because I would have enjoyed at least a few more episodes at this level.


So if you ever liked scrubs and gave up during season 5-7, you might want to check out this last season.

I absolutely love scrubs! it sucks that it ended :[
Although im pretty sure the Janitor just gave J. D another fake name in that episode, maybe not.
I had to hold back tears during the ending D:
They even reveal the Janitors name :o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 11, 2009, 03:44:51 am
I absolutely love scrubs! it sucks that it ended :[
Although im pretty sure the Janitor just gave J. D another fake name in that episode, maybe not.
I had to hold back tears during the ending D:
Naw, that was officially his name, the other doc calling him a different name seconds later was just proving his point that no one cares what his name is.
Also, Neil Flynn voiced the character of the Janitor on another Bill Lawrence show before (clone high) and that janitor had the same name ;P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on May 11, 2009, 06:44:42 pm
I just came back from seeing the new ST movie. It was.. epic, I suppose.

Though kind of true, this franchise needed a reboot. And only a movie like this could've done it.

I agree that a Star Trek movie like this was probably necessary, and I liked the new Kirk and Spock, Bones was pretty good as well, so if they do more movies with this new crew I'll probably go see them.

But I still like the old movies better. ST1: The Motion Picture (Director's Cut), Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home and First Contact have a unique feel to them and I like watching them again and again, they mature well, whereas this new movie.. while it was a fun ride, I don't feel like watching it again.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on May 11, 2009, 06:59:33 pm
I actually loved it!
My previous top 3 were Wrath of Khan, Undiscovered Country and First Contact, but this one I would rate at least as high as Khan or maybe even a little higher. It's an origin story so there's a lot that couldn't be crammed in but I hope Abrams and crew stick around long enough to make a self-contained trilogy. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be FUN. Fun, fun, fun! More fun than any other Star Trek film (even Voyage Home), and waaaay more fun than the Star Wars prequels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on May 11, 2009, 07:08:17 pm
Yup, saw star trek. Thought it was an allright rollercoaster. Spock did good, Kirk was aight.
BUT
It's star trek only superficially. There's really nothing trek about it. Themes like difficulty of communication, exploration, understanding different life, seeing humanity in different perspectives.
It's an action flick and being star trek only made it worse by strait jacketing it and preventing any awesome bad-assery type of action, which is something this movie was going for, but fell way short.
Also it went through on full throttle which made it very dull and Michael Bay like. The battles weren't very imaginative, there was no mystery, very little suspense thanks to the way things were conveniently and constantly pulled out of thin air, which made it seem like a story told by a hyperactive child.
Music was totally forgettable too, which is a shame cause it was like a two hour music video otherwise. Lens flares everywhere and all.

The beginning made me think of wing commander prophecy for some reason.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on May 11, 2009, 07:46:06 pm
It's star trek only superficially. There's really nothing trek about it. Themes like difficulty of communication, exploration, understanding different life, seeing humanity in different perspectives.

Indeed. As if exploring deep space and going where no one has gone before wasn't exciting, dangerous and mysterious enough, so the screen writers feel a need to come up with the inevitable revengeful villains and their doomsday weapons.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on May 12, 2009, 12:34:29 am
huZba has all the words for star trek that I couldn't find to describe the unfulfilled feeling I walked outta the cinema with...

I'd LOVE a Wing Commander movie. Just stitch together the cutscenes with gameplay and I'll still go watch it. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 12, 2009, 10:53:19 am
Footage of the new Contra Wiiware game (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174178)

The action looks decent, but the level design looks pretty uninspired in some places.
Also, it looks like it's using the wayforward sprites, hopefully those guys have some sorta hand in it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on May 12, 2009, 01:49:36 pm
Indeed. As if exploring deep space and going where no one has gone before wasn't exciting, dangerous and mysterious enough, so the screen writers feel a need to come up with the inevitable revengeful villains and their doomsday weapons.

Well to be fair, only two Star Trek movies have ever been about going to strange new worlds: The Final Frontier, and Insurrection.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on May 12, 2009, 03:08:26 pm
Well to be fair, only two Star Trek movies have ever been about going to strange new worlds: The Final Frontier, and Insurrection.

I'd include the first movie in this category as well. Yes, they saved the world but most of the time they were being puzzled about the entity... and most of the other themes listed by huZba were present as well. It was trippy, and The Director's Cut is awesome. They did what Lucas should've done: they added new/better special effects but only such that they could've done with the technology at the time (If they had had more money).

The Earth on The Voyage Home was sort of a strange new world for them, I think it's one of the best attempts ever in movies to see our present world through different eyes. Done with great humour as well. Although Kirk and Spock had already previously visited the 1930's in The City on the Edge of Forever. My favourite series is TNG, I loved those episodes where they encounter something strange and weird stuff starts happening on Enterprise.

Well, we'll see what the next movie does, now that the ending of this movie promised all of those things I watch ST for. Not that I despise fast paced space action. On the contrary. I just wish ST at least wouldn't go any more in that direction than what this movie did.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 12, 2009, 07:15:15 pm
I watched a big part of the new Star Trek movie as well. Absolute tripe that insults the intelligence of any viewer that cares to actively use it while watching it. Time-travel? Parallel realities? Conviniently placed Old Spocks? Irrationally irrational young spocks that maroon people at moment's notice? Ridiculous video clip pacing where no humanity can breathe? Absolutely no wonderment at the unknown, the distant unfathomable? Bleh. I don't understand all these reboots.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on May 13, 2009, 03:22:09 am
I watched a big part of the new Star Trek movie as well. Absolute tripe that insults the intelligence of any viewer that cares to actively use it while watching it. Time-travel? Parallel realities? Conviniently placed Old Spocks? Irrationally irrational young spocks that maroon people at moment's notice? Ridiculous video clip pacing where no humanity can breathe? Absolutely no wonderment at the unknown, the distant unfathomable? Bleh. I don't understand all these reboots.

   A bit harsh review, wouldn't you say? I saw it as a popcorn flick. Easy going reboot, with a bit of heart. I liked it. I don't expect all movies I view to test my intelligence, despite their source material. I enjoy a bit of brainless action to jog my brain a bit, before thought overload occurs. Only point I agree with Helm is the fact that they treat alt. reality, and time travel as if it it were nothing. These are things man has been trying to obtain for so long, and conquer, yet the movie makes the viewer feel as if the characters within it treat it like it's a simple concept, that can casually be thrown around. Maybe I'm more offended by it, because I have a story that centers around time-travel(a bit, not like the kind you think), and feel the power to do so shouldn't be treated so bluntly. Such a wonderful thing, time is. It's not meant to be controlled, or understood. Moreso, just meant to be lived with....in my humble opinion.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on May 13, 2009, 09:04:13 am
Haha, i was wondering when Helm would throw the "insult to our intelligence" again. I remember responding like Bob before, but for this occasion I'll have to say it's out of hand with so many movies going for a specifically targeted brain-nerve-wank-fest. Consciously avoiding anything that might invade the viewers privacy to keep them nice and passive.

It's not just movies. I feel like everything around us is being turned into comfort zones.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 13, 2009, 11:07:41 am
A bit harsh review, wouldn't you say? I saw it as a popcorn flick.

I will never go into a theater prepared for something worse than a good movie. I understand why others do, but I am not prepared to cheapen myself that way. I don't have to consume everything with a smile. I don't owe it to them to find a proper vantage, a painless point of view through which shit shoveled in my face is magically alright. I will NEVER ADJUST MY EXPECTATIONS. It's either good or it's not.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on May 13, 2009, 01:32:22 pm
I like to have a bit of candy in my film-going diet. The two films I watched before Star Trek were Brick and Synedoche, New York. Coming out of two depressing, heady films, Star Trek was like a delicious desert and it hit the spot perfectly. I agree with you Helm that you shouldn't go into a film expecting anything less than a good film, but it's also not fair to judge a film on criteria that it is clearly not aiming for. I wouldn't criticize a tragedy for being a piss poor comedy, and I wouldn't criticize a popcorn adventure movie for not being an intellectual potboiler.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 13, 2009, 03:34:59 pm
What is this 'pop corn adventure movie' you are talking about? Is it that if you eat pop corn at a theater it means the movie gets carte blanche to be idiotic (I ate popcorn at Synedoche, New York too)? Or is it that if the movie is about an adventure it's allowed to be intellectually bankrupt and have a story full of convenient holes?

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on May 13, 2009, 04:07:25 pm
The kind of experience you'd expect from a rollercoaster. Things go fast, there's some fancy lights, violent bits, fast bits, slow bits, then it stops and your experience is over and wont be carried with you further than that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on May 13, 2009, 04:10:17 pm
Indeed. Movies like Taken for example. Movies like that are good fun action where you do not have to think too much, but they are still fun. Like a day at the beach is fun when you have been backpacking and walking around for weeks. The only problem is that Hollywood is throwing out trash like there is no tomorrow. But that is more the consumers fault than Hollywood. Every market gets what it deserves and so on...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 13, 2009, 04:22:41 pm
No of course not, ptoing. A market doesn't get what it deserves, what are you talking about?

I fail to recognize any cognizant relationship between a day at the beach, which is full of rich experience that carries a lot of emotional weight in it besides just the 'fun' part and a roller-coaster hollywood movie pop corn adventure mindless whatever the shit experience you're talking about.

I think you're regurgitating a cliche without having given it enough critical thought. I think we're trained to do this, we're trained to be so soft on these films and this entertainment because the market profits from our lenience.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on May 13, 2009, 04:51:09 pm
A market gets what it deserves in the way that as long as it keeps consuming what it is given things will not change.
As long as people buy Fifa 20XX EA will make more, as long as people go watch films like The Fast and the Furious there will be more sequels.
Of course then there are people with more of a vision that sometimes produce something which actually makes you think or is great in other ways, but that is not the norm, with nothing. Would it be the norm, things would get boring as well and people would find something else to complain about.

The day on the beach was just a mild comparison.

walking through the jungle in a humid atmosphere = lying on the beach
a movie that makes you think = a movie which is just fast action without much mind

That kinda thing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on May 13, 2009, 06:12:10 pm
I like to go see a mindless action movie riding on special effects by Roland Emmerich or Michael Bay from time to time, just for the sake of the eye candy and momentary distraction, knowing that that's what I'm gonna get, but I'd hate the idea of having to go see a Star Trek movie for that reason alone.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on May 13, 2009, 08:21:09 pm
I kinda saw the new Star Trek as a throwback to the space swashbuckling of the swinging 60's show. Except this time Kirk wasn't handing out judo chops to a guy in a rubber suit, he was being chased by the Cloverfield monster across an ice planet! It was big, noisy, melodramatic and tons of fun.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on May 13, 2009, 09:22:07 pm
Well, even if it is very thin on story, I really enjoyed the action, the bright colours, the nice designs. It was just everything I expected from it.
Though from a Star Trek you do expect a better story, this is what the franchise needed to get a reboot. (And I think Star Trek deserved one)
Would any of us have been happy with another Nemesis? I certainly wouldn't have.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on May 14, 2009, 12:11:38 am
I only watched Star Trek for Sylar/Spock, and I prefer his performance in Heroes >.<

People bagged the Wolverine movie, but here I felt that actually had more of a story - and less crazy science, and we're talking chicks who turn into diamonds and giant frickin' laser beams outta ones eyes - than this one. Not to rile up all the comic lovers about how it changed the origins story or anything... XD Somehow that leap of 'science' made more sense than 'wee RED MATTER cos RED MATTER RLY IS SCIENCE NORLY'

I must've missed all the red matter episodes in Star Trek.

Edit: There were no red matter episodes, turns out. Eesh. All the science things that bugged me and more over here - http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/05/08/ba-review-star-trek/ (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/05/08/ba-review-star-trek/)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on May 14, 2009, 07:00:07 am
http://www.getpersonas.com/
Pixelation needs one of these, I'd wear it everyday, hurm, maybe I'll make it when I decide not to be lazy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on May 14, 2009, 09:17:34 am
Plus the fact that you can actually SEE several black holes. But I guess showing a black screen isn't very romantic.
But a supernova that just suddenly happens. I mean, doesn't it take several years for a star to actually become a supernova? That's just a plothole.
If those Romulans are so dumb they didn't see it coming, I guess they deserved to be wiped out xD.
It kind of reminds me of that scene in an Austin Powers movie. Where a guy waits like 5 minutes to be run over by a steamroller.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on May 14, 2009, 10:39:17 am
No one was bothered by the seemingly infinite transporter range? Kinda makes the enterprise obsolete.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on May 14, 2009, 09:16:38 pm
No one was bothered by the seemingly infinite transporter range? Kinda makes the enterprise obsolete.

 I was too busy being bothered by how the Romulans (my favourite alien race on Trek) neither looked nor acted like Romulans.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 15, 2009, 11:40:46 am
Saw Star Trek today, and it is the first time I've ever been interested in watching anything star trek related.

I was expecting all the faults already mentioned, they didn't really bug me though, I enjoyed the story and how much of the Star Trek universe they managed to establish without treating newbies like me like retards.
Overall, I am very glad I saw it and not wolverine.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 15, 2009, 01:05:18 pm
Overall, I am very glad I saw it and not wolverine.

Amazing false dichotomy there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 15, 2009, 01:13:39 pm
Not sure what you mean, my friends wanted to see wolverine, I managed to convince them into Star Trek.
I didn't really enjoy any of the xmen movies and I've been hearing wolverine is even worse.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on May 15, 2009, 01:38:09 pm
Overall, I am very glad I saw it and not wolverine.

Amazing false dichotomy there.

 ??? :-\  :-X  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 15, 2009, 07:30:51 pm
Ι'm not trying to play the smart ass. False dichotomy is when you force someone to choose between two alternatives as if they're the only available whereas they could conceivably choose neither and go with an 'outside the box' choice, like uh, not going to the movies when only shit is playing.

It's kicking the terrorist in the nuts instead of either choosing saving your only child, or saving your village, you know? It's a triumph of goodness and human spirit. Willpower and pure desire for a better life.

consumerist culture blah blah we've had this conversation before, I'm sorry. Just rubs me wrong.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on May 15, 2009, 07:46:27 pm
...It's a triumph of goodness and human spirit. Willpower and pure desire for a better life.

No offense, please, but pretty deep and epic words for a conversation about rollercoaster ride blow-up movies.  My foot is getting better... As if any of you guys are interested.   :)  Talking about problems is such a waste of breath..  I don't know why I do it.
Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on May 15, 2009, 07:55:30 pm
The consumerism runs pretty deep so it's required for the few to stand up strong instead of going for an even handed approach trying to avoid offending anyone.
Interest in other people is far more important than our wankrides. So uh, nice knowing your foot's better  :P. I dislocated my toe like a year back and it still doesn't work right.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 16, 2009, 01:01:59 am
Well, I work in a video store so it's good to watch movies :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on May 17, 2009, 07:29:42 pm
Here's a happy birthday to Miascugh, Ben2theedge, Terley, and of course Ptoing :). Have a good one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on May 17, 2009, 08:21:44 pm
Thanks :) And happy birthday from you to those other 3 guys as well :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 18, 2009, 08:51:06 am
HAPPY BIRFDAYS :D :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on May 18, 2009, 09:08:13 am
Happy birthday to you guys.

With all this star trek talks... we need to watch some old school stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1eFdUSnaQM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD5lwyk1paQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L04dpkbU3IA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uz-BGbxptY
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on May 18, 2009, 01:02:47 pm
Thanks guys!
It's been a rockin' quarter-century, I'm looking forward to another one!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on May 19, 2009, 02:27:15 am
Oh geeze, all this pixel art has me with my eye basically touching the screen trying to get the 25% of a digital painting exact right down to the pixel. I'm probably going to take all my digi stuff onto pixel level for cleanup after resizing from now on, automatic AA is kind of bugging me when I can't get something exactly the way I intend it because of the stupid blurry shrinking.  :blind:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on May 19, 2009, 10:10:39 am
Huh? Atnas, what are you up to : D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 19, 2009, 02:41:33 pm
Happy birthday guys :)

I'm starting a tool assisted speedrun (TAS) for Sonic Rush on the DS. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhkBph6mxXc)
An emulator has been released that finally makes this possible, and I'm pretty interested in pushing Rush to its' limits.

I've already obsoleted this run by half a second, and I'm still half a second behind the fastest recorded run I've been able to find. I still need to shave off another 2 seconds according to the leader board at soniccenter.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Colonel Mustard on May 19, 2009, 03:35:17 pm
Nice :O What emulator are you using?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 19, 2009, 03:49:01 pm
DeSmuME (http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8008)

It still has a ways to go, plenty of bugs, crashes, and incompatibilities.
Plus I don't think a single game is emulated at 100% yet (I removed slow down frame by frame in the video)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on May 20, 2009, 03:16:45 pm
Oh man this is briliant. My birthday is in a month from now.
And today I receive a huge package from musicstore.
I am the only one home so I had to take it in.
Now I just have to wait a month until I can play on the damn guitar. Which by the way, is an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Ebony.
But it doesn't make a whole lot of sense that it's here a month early.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on May 22, 2009, 08:35:45 pm
I picked up a guitar once or twice. I always felt like it just wasn't meant for me. But recently, I've played some Rock Band. That is fun!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on May 22, 2009, 11:04:26 pm
Huh? Atnas, what are you up to : D

Pixel art for a commercial project and a digital painting for my own indulgence at the same time. I get the principles of each media mixed up with the other sometimes c:

What are YOU up to? ' v '
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on May 24, 2009, 09:33:09 pm
I picked up a guitar once or twice. I always felt like it just wasn't meant for me. But recently, I've played some Rock Band. That is fun!

You should do it alittle longer. In the start it's boring. But after you've done it a while and really start being able to play along with your favourite songs it becomes fun.
It's just like reading a book that needs some time getting into it.

Well my girlfriend just broke up with me. My first pretty serious relationship... And man it feels like being hit in the head with a sledgehammer.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on May 25, 2009, 08:09:30 pm
Huh? Atnas, what are you up to : D

Pixel art for a commercial project and a digital painting for my own indulgence at the same time. I get the principles of each media mixed up with the other sometimes c:

What are YOU up to? ' v '

Well, everyday consists of making pixel art for a commercial project, heh, which is lucky for me! Also everyday when in a bad mood is spent in anguish over making a game I wouldn't like to play myself, but that's life! Hah!

Right now I'm totally trying to create a little shooter mockup because because .. @ n @ I need to do pixel art for personal purposes or my pixel bone with wither and break! I'll just try to get everything I wanna add down (or at least a little more) and I'll post it! Holy moly me posting an art thread in pixelation, now that'd be something!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: davidelrizzo on May 27, 2009, 12:36:43 am
I recently discover this link to one of the craziest Japanese snes games I have ever seen and thought people here would enjoy.
I would defiantly play if it was still around. Where do the Japanese get such ideas from and has anyone ever seen anything quite as bizarre as this before?

http://www.bogleech.com/snes-gourmet.html (http://www.bogleech.com/snes-gourmet.html)

love it!


PS. I am a big fan of this site and enjoy the amazing talent of its members.
Its entertaining even if you aren't a pixel artist, keep up the good work!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 27, 2009, 04:07:21 am
Leaked footage of canceled Wayforward DS game (http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/alien-ds-cancelled-game/318772), looks like a slower paced contra with maybe a little horror to it.
From that footage, I think I would have bought it, sucks that it apparently got canned

edit-
Video has been taklen down, so hopefully that means something good...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dr D on May 27, 2009, 04:37:13 am
http://www.kongregate.com/games/urbansquall/battalion-skirmish

Believe this is a demo for a game in which Doppelganger was the artist. It looks very nice and smooth, can't wait until it's finished.
Although, not fond of the portraits.

Just ran across it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 27, 2009, 05:01:54 am
Leaked footage of canceled Wayforward DS game (http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/alien-ds-cancelled-game/318772), looks like a slower paced contra with maybe a little horror to it.
From that footage, I think I would have bought it, sucks that it apparently got canned

Hope it's not canceled  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on May 27, 2009, 09:06:36 am
I really hope it didn't get cancelled too.
Looks pretty cool.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on May 27, 2009, 01:15:11 pm
I spy Paul Robertson animations! I'm digging those giant modular aliens too... this BETTER come out or I will cry a thousand emo tears.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on May 27, 2009, 02:40:30 pm
I recently discover this link to one of the craziest Japanese snes games I have ever seen and thought people here would enjoy.
I would defiantly play if it was still around. Where do the Japanese get such ideas from and has anyone ever seen anything quite as bizarre as this before?

http://www.bogleech.com/snes-gourmet.html (http://www.bogleech.com/snes-gourmet.html)

love it! . . .


Oh man, I got that beat, easy. Possibly the most disturbing Japanese game ever (http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/sexual-games/10.php). Go up one level, you'll see they also featured your Gourmet Sentai Bara Yarou.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on May 27, 2009, 08:03:42 pm
Anybody here good at math?

(http://www.danfessler.com/dump/isotilemath1.PNG)

the top portion of the image shows how to find the tilex and tiley of a point given the tilesize.  tile = int( pt / tilesize ) + 1
I want to perform this same type of operation on an isometric grid given a constant 2:1 tile ratio, and origin is the top corner of the isometric grid.

I'm assuming I should stretch the isometric grid vertically x2 then rotate it counterclockwise by 45 degrees, then finally perform my original equation - but I am unsure how to do this.  Can anyone help?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Arachne on May 27, 2009, 09:21:34 pm
Maybe this book (http://books.google.com/books?id=sdfWzPrNx2gC&pg=RA1-PA194&lpg=RA1-PA194&dq=game+isometric+coordinate+system+transformation&source=bl&ots=_RzTXHIn56&sig=12pVhSivUmt2vwKUC5C6Bh9Iovk&hl=en&ei=s6UdSsumJoXQ-Aat35HRBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#PRA1-PA195,M1) will be of use?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: willfaulds on May 27, 2009, 09:42:07 pm
Indigo i'm sure that kind of thing is covered in http://www.tonypa.pri.ee/tbw/start.html  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on May 27, 2009, 10:51:19 pm
thanks for the help guys.  Both of those links look insanely awesome.  Bookmarked both of them for future reference :)  I ended up solving the problem before viewing them though.  If anybody is interested, here is how the function ended up...

Code: [Select]
function gettilex(x,y,tilesize#)

   `stretch the iso grid vertically x2 to create
   `perfectly square tiles
   y=y*2

   `find the angle to rotate to
   `(current angle -45 degrees)
   theta#=atan(x/y)-45
   if theta#<0
      theta#=theta#+360
   endif

   `perform rotation. grid should now be straight
   newx = cos(theta#)*x - sin(theta#)*y
   newy = sin(theta#)*x + cos(theta#)*y

   `get tile ordered pair from pixel position
   tilex = int(newx/tilesize#)+1
   tiley = int(newy/tilesize#)+1

   `return tile
endfunction tilex
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on May 27, 2009, 11:35:33 pm
i just spent ages puzzling out this cheap way to do it:

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y13/tocky/cheapiso.png)

you can count the diagonals on the display and then work backwards to pinpoint the cell
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on May 28, 2009, 12:54:26 am
really confused what you're talking about, tocky.  Can you explain?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on May 28, 2009, 01:13:26 am
um, maybe.

in isometric your original x and y coordinates are skewed and don't follow the x and y dimensions of the display. any given x-gridline (on the grid data structure) takes up several different y values on the screen (and vice versa for y-lines and x values). but the diagonals (on the data structure) map to constant x and y positions (on the display). so you can measure the distance in diagonals between any given point and the origin (on the display), and that'll tell you which cell you're addressing.

for each diagonal in one direction, the sum of the x and y adresses (on the data structure) for all cells on that line is constant. in the other direction, the difference between x and y is constant. so if you have both of those values, you've found the cell - but these are the same values you get from counting the x- and y-distance from the origin on the isometric display.

in the example, the cell you're after is one diagonal east and three diagonals south of the origin. so you find the cell in the target area where x-y=1 and x+y = 3, and that's your guy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on May 28, 2009, 04:53:52 am
Some simple matrix transformation strikes me as the most elegant solution (axonometrically general to boot).

Using a 2x2 matrix derived from your world-to-screen x and y vectors:
xxxy
yxyy
Multiply the matrix by your world coords to get screen coords.
Multiply the inverse of the matrix by your screen coords to get world coords.
(http://surtspixels.googlepages.com/iso_vectors.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on May 28, 2009, 06:02:01 pm
that IS a good way to go about it.  I didn't think about that at all.  Although my current solution works - this seems much more versitile.  Gah.  I may rewrite my function now.  Thanks surt
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on May 29, 2009, 09:35:21 am
Some information (only in 日本語) about the creation of the new KOF sprites, along with galleries and stuff. 100% DOT action!
http://kofaniv.snkplaymore.co.jp/info/15th_anniv/2d_dot/index.php

So far my favorite bit about the new game (aside from the sexy banding on the characters) is the somewhat disturbing backgrounds, especially the one with the french pig women.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on May 29, 2009, 10:30:10 am
100% DOT action!

Edited from cartoonshaded 3D models. Fair enough tho, the sprites are huge and lots of frames.

EDIT: Just looked at the example animation. I have to say I have mixed feelings. Because stuff is made from 3D models the consistency is extremely high, but there is not much flair. Even for really fast attacks they do not use any blurring or stretching, which is some cases looks a bit robotic.

Also it is very formulaic and they added buffershades for the main body but when dropshadows which are of course all from the 3D source overlap they did not apply the buffershades, which looks a bit odd too, but probbaly wont be all that noticable in motion.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on May 29, 2009, 11:50:28 am
Yeah, the lack of buffer shades in the "self shadows" is a bit strange, but I'm sure the style will be copied by pixelers of all ages for the foreseeable future. It'd be nice to read a translation of the page, especially since the jump from 2d to 3d to 2d is a bit fuzzy picture wise.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 29, 2009, 01:33:26 pm
BANDING HELL
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on May 29, 2009, 05:43:11 pm
Uhmm let's see...

It takes them 3 days to make the rough sprite.
Then they make a 3d model + animations, based on it so they can trace the frames later on.
And after that, it takes them a week to make a finished frame.

A whole character (with all the frames and stuff) takes them roughly 6 months and a half.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on May 29, 2009, 05:52:23 pm
One week for a frame? the fuck? That sounds hella slow.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on May 29, 2009, 06:24:42 pm
It says it takes the director about a week to trace and make the stuff for 1 character, so I supposed a single frame, especially seeing how a rough character takes them 3 days and a finished full one 6 months+.
Maybe he just traces all the frames needed in one week and has other people finishing them for half a year *shrugs*.
They don't really go too deep in the process explanation.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on May 29, 2009, 08:00:51 pm
the sprites are terrible

Would make much more sense just to use the straight renders if they can't do the pixel art renditions very well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on May 29, 2009, 09:20:17 pm
The rendering logic in these sprites is completely balled out (direct translation of swedish expression ftw)

Loads of buffer shades but no AA, again lots of buffer shades to create smoothness but banding that counteracts it, and as previously stated lots of animation without animation fluff applied (i.e. no bending/squashing/stretching/blurring) and in the end LOADS of flashy glowy alpha-channel rainbow effects that effectively obscures anything that might translate to a feeling of impact from fists and feet hitting man and woman fighter meat.

I'm a bit sorry. It's not horrible but the lost potential just SHIIINES out of these sprites D:

Pig people are fantastic though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Squiggly_P on May 30, 2009, 05:43:10 am
I think the way they've lit them is gonna kill a lot of the effect.  Look at the Egypt stage.  It's dim and red and the ligthing is from the bottom.

Now look at the characters...  They're high contrast and lit by white light from above.

See...  I always thought that most 2D games avoided really emphasizing things like light direction and high contrast lighting for this exact reason...  you'd have to design the characters and stages to conform to some specific rules about lighting and light sources, and it would have to be from directly above, or flipped sprites would be lit from opposite directions...  The only stage that would make sense with their ligthing would be a prison yard stage at night or dusk with searchlights following the characters or something like that.  I don't see them fitting into any other environment really well, especially not something lit so differently as that Egypt stage...

I'd like to think most people won't notice, but that seems like it would stand out a lot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TrevoriuS on May 30, 2009, 09:42:35 am
now their pipeline doesn't seem very efficient
basing it off a 3D model can work, but you really lack control over small detail elements when animating like that
you might as well just sketch out a few figures in the time you make the 3D model  and animate that
and have your animation planned like that much better
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on May 30, 2009, 12:10:01 pm
I.. like the palette?

It's a shame to see Street Fighter and KOF sporting such disappointing graphics.. I think KOF is at least an improvement over SFIIHD though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on May 30, 2009, 04:31:53 pm
The time listed probably takes into account the tweaking and bouncing back and forth between q&a/testing and the development team, something that is especially crucial for a fighting game I'd wager. You can't make all the graphics 100% correct from the start.

And Hey Hey c'mon! Let's be honest, the reason why people are ragging on these graphics is because there's some 3D involvement. They don't look worse than anything in the KOF series so far. I'm honestly surprised they got such a good result out of making it this way.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on May 31, 2009, 02:16:51 am
Junkboy: What you talking bout mans, 3D in the pipeline is totally fine, it's just a little non-delicate animatey technique plus BANDING HELL that bugs me. And most people. I think.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on May 31, 2009, 01:12:38 pm
The rendering logic in these sprites is completely bollocksed

Fixed  :P

I would say that it all seems on-par with previous KOF games and overall the game is still quite pretty, but fun of animation is definitely diminished by locking it onto a 3D aperture. 3D tends to make everything sterile and lifeless because the ability to exaggerate space and proportion in 2D animation is what gives it so much life, and it's an effect that 3D animators have been trying to somehow convert over to their methods for decades now (and failing with a few exceptions). I am willing to guess that this is a pretty inexperienced team... not so much as SFIIHD but not that much better either. That would explain the completely bonkers workflow they're using, the ludcirous amount of time it takes, and the religious devotion to accurate proportions instead of more adventurous, expressive animations (or criminy, even motion blurs and such) But the end result I think will still be 100x superior to SFIIHD. I'll be reserving final judgment until I see the whole game in context, I think.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Souly on June 01, 2009, 03:42:10 am
(http://i43.tinypic.com/2lsts08.png)\

Whatever you do, don't click this image here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 01, 2009, 08:22:54 am
(http://i43.tinypic.com/2lsts08.png)
Whatever you do, don't click this image here.
I'm guessing you had it url tagged?
I believe we have that disabled because of dumbasses copying the hyperlinked code from imagesites so every time we click to enlarge it opens more windows.
You need to use [url=URL][nozoom]IMAGE[/nozoom][/url]  ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Souly on June 01, 2009, 10:12:17 am
^.^; oops
So my post really didn't make any sense... heh

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc9-GXd0Ha4)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 01, 2009, 11:38:20 am
So is this a riff off of Gish or what?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on June 01, 2009, 04:32:34 pm
interesting game, but curse you for using Musicshake.  Use FL Studio and make original things.   >:(
I can make music for you if you want.  For free, call it a favor.  Not that my music is in high demand at the moment.  Just don't use MusicShake.  !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Souly on June 01, 2009, 07:16:06 pm
So is this a riff off of Gish or what?
Not at all, Gish is entirely physics based.
The character, the objectives everything was physics based.
In Gish you collect coins while moving to the next objective.

And I don't remember getting larger in gish.
Do you? I never got that far into yet I just got the game a few days ago.

I think of this game more like Katamari then Gish to be honest, though the whole blob with a face is what Gish is so that part I can't really make any different.
In Gish you control your properties of Gish with A,S,D
A to stick, S to be slippery, D to make yourself heavy

In my game you're always sticky and slippery, and my blob isn't physics based.
It's just quite the illusion that it sort of seems to be.

But I'd go as far as say yes inspired by Gish for sure.

but curse you for using Musicshake.  Use FL Studio and make original things.   >:(
I can make music for you if you want.  For free, call it a favor.  Not that my music is in high demand at the moment.  Just don't use MusicShake.  !yus!
Umm Srike, I didn't use anything to make any kind of music?
I don't know where you are getting this idea.

I used a song from Youtube's collection.
That's where the song for this video came from if you're wondering.
I accidentally un-installed my fruityloops or maybe I would have tried to make my own music.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 03, 2009, 04:48:30 am
Well, nintendo's e3 conference this year wasn't too bad, they showed more than I was expecting, namely:
Super Mario Galaxy 2
New Super Mario Bros Wii (with 4 player co op)
Metroid: Other M (Team Ninja + Nintendo)
Golden Sun DS

And of course a stupid new peripheral that reads your heart rate and a bunch of other shitty games.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 03, 2009, 04:55:09 am
Mario Galaxy 2 looks sooo fun... I can't wait! Give me a reason to turn my Wii on other than Gamecube games, please!
I haven't seen anything from the NSMB yet, but if it's co-op and as great as the original... definitely can't wait for that either. I'm hoping they add some REAL sort of multiplayer for Galaxy 2 as well, and not some cheesy pointer or something.

I'm skeptical about Team Ninja working on Metroid, and the trailer only made me feel more secure in that skepticism... :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on June 03, 2009, 05:00:16 am
http://www.iimusic.net/catalog/2009/06/nectar (http://www.iimusic.net/catalog/2009/06/nectar)
Just pimping this here, I enjoyed making the covers as I enjoy the music, the cyberpunk EP especially.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 03, 2009, 05:15:54 am
Mario Galaxy 2 looks sooo fun... I can't wait! Give me a reason to turn my Wii on other than Gamecube games, please!
I haven't seen anything from the NSMB yet, but if it's co-op and as great as the original... definitely can't wait for that either. I'm hoping they add some REAL sort of multiplayer for Galaxy 2 as well, and not some cheesy pointer or something.

I'm skeptical about Team Ninja working on Metroid, and the trailer only made me feel more secure in that skepticism... :(
It's really hard to tell what's going on in the metroid trailer, at the moment it looked something like that disaster day of crisis game..

Here's a trailer for NSMBWii (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRlDUbRQ4UA), just looks like good old fashion fun.

I liked Galaxy's multiplayer, I don't think a full on co-op would have been necessary and I would have killed for the.. little brother second player option when my brothers were playing SMW on the snes or something.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: LODYblokady on June 03, 2009, 06:12:42 am
I don't like how everything looks gradient-raped.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: xhunterko on June 03, 2009, 06:16:09 am
@Cow: Ah, now that is something to look forward listening too. And to anyone else who doesn't like the .flac file type. Just get one of the many free converters on the net and swap the file. There is no sound loss and the transfer is seamless. I would reccomend using Switch. You should be able to find it on downloads.com. And the best part is, it's (should be anyway, I think) free. At least the version I'm using is.

This is also the first E3 that I'm able to watch the conferences and demos live. I don't know why your worried Takam, the new Metroid looks fine to me. One of my favorite things so far is the SW: The Old Republic MMO. That trailer looked sweet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on June 03, 2009, 07:02:26 am
I love that the new Metroid is going the 3rd person route. Should be interesting to see it done. Hated all the build up and cut scene stuff with the super serious expression people. Stern gazes remind me of my tormented childhood and neglective parent figures.  I don't understand why they are going to have FPS scenes, which I have a sneaking suspicion will work like quicktime events to be performed at critical moments in boss battles. Love all the neat wrestling bits during hte boss fights, except they are probably quicktimish gimmicks. I wish they could incorporate that stuff in a more interactive way. There's no real indication of how linear the game will be, but I'm going to assume very. Looking forward to the new trailer at the next E3.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on June 03, 2009, 07:14:31 am
Did you guys already see this: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-the-secret/50151 (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-the-secret/50151)

It's a HD remix of Secret of Monkey Island for Xbox360 and.... ew....ew....ew.... I feel molested now. :( It could have been really good remix, if they'd done it for example Curse of Monkey Island style but this is just awful.

I almost cried out loud when I saw that. They took my whole childhood and raped it. :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dr D on June 03, 2009, 07:28:56 am
Yeah, I was reading about that earlier today. Sharprm gave the link on PJ.

http://grumpygamer.com/8280380
http://www.lucasarts.com/games/monkeyisland/

I really despise when video game companies try to milk an old franchise for money. Even if the new game might be 'better' in every way, it's usually really not, and it's hard to be optimistic about it, when they're messing with your sweet memories, and changing the game as you knew it.

Being over-anal maybe, but, bottom line, I can truly say I would have preferred they left it alone, or didn't make such drastic changes.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on June 03, 2009, 10:05:36 am
New metroid feels like a slomo punch into the soul for me

Not because it looks awful but because it looks wrong for fandom reasons. Also because graphics look like plastic and that the 'pallette' and design is completely n64ishly flat and one-colored. None of the gritty organicness that I think of when I think of metroid.

They seem to strip away all the WHAT THE HELL-ness from the games and replacing it with otherstuffs. It's cool. It's something else. It's not what i wanted. Boohoo.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on June 03, 2009, 10:19:02 am
Did you guys already see this: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-the-secret/50151 (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-the-secret/50151)

It's a HD remix of Secret of Monkey Island for Xbox360 and.... ew....ew....ew.... I feel molested now. :( It could have been really good remix, if they'd done it for example Curse of Monkey Island style but this is just awful.

I almost cried out loud when I saw that. They took my whole childhood and raped it. :'(


The art is messy and horrible and the animations are crap. No atmosphere, horrible colour usage. has The pixel art is objectively still miles better.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: willfaulds on June 03, 2009, 10:41:28 am
I was very pleased to see you can swap between pixel and modern graphics at any time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdZCNWO7izE (towards the end)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on June 03, 2009, 01:23:16 pm
My summary of E3 so far:

Not excited about God of Metroid May Cry Gaiden's Inferno. >:(

HD Remix of Monkey Island looks like bollocks. The Tell-Tale one will be awesome although the renderer they're using is getting very long in the tooth.

Left 4 Dead 2 looks like someone saw the first game and thought "This is way to atmospheric and stylish! It needs to be more generic!"

The new Team Ico game looks AMAZING!!! Breathtaking, even.

That new game that Bethseda is making sounds awesome.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on June 03, 2009, 01:35:57 pm
I was very pleased to see you can swap between pixel and modern graphics at any time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdZCNWO7izE (towards the end)

But who really wants to play original monkey island with a pad, seriously?

In the remake there are lots of pretty decent character art and backgrounds are mostly quite ok, but I can not excuse the style decision for Guybrush. The hair for crying out loud! And all the animations seen so far are really crappy too.

 :'(

(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2009/06/monkeyisland.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on June 03, 2009, 02:10:33 pm
looks like shit disney to me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on June 03, 2009, 03:22:51 pm
Everything I've seen so far about L4D2 disappoints me. I honestly hope it's a two-month late April Fool's joke. Valve plays pranks, right?

The original L4D has a lot of bugs that need to be ironed out. Since it's release, they've only updated it with one truly new (but small) level. It was released with only 20 levels. I hope they continue to add updates (as they promised pre-release) despite the announcement of a sequel.

I've watched all the gameplay videos I could find for L4D2, and it looks like an elaborate re-skin. They've added new characters, weapons, and special enemy types... but it's still the same game. On top of that, nothing really says "horror" to me... broad daylight, goofy weapons.

I would've liked to see the sequel take the game to a new scale. Make it L8D, with 8 survivors and thousands of zombies. Make the maps an entire location, rather than glorified tunnels from point A to B. Instead of giving you more weapons to fight one zombie at a time, make the weapons more group-effective. Flamethrower, rocket launcher, etc.

These are the kinds of improvements that make a sequel.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on June 03, 2009, 04:14:01 pm
New metroid feels like a slomo punch into the soul for me

Not because it looks awful but because it looks wrong for fandom reasons. Also because graphics look like plastic and that the 'pallette' and design is completely n64ishly flat and one-colored. None of the gritty organicness that I think of when I think of metroid.

They seem to strip away all the WHAT THE HELL-ness from the games and replacing it with otherstuffs. It's cool. It's something else. It's not what i wanted. Boohoo.

I'm definitely feeling more like that.
like, even though the beginning was a flashback, that chick looked like a final fantasy character, not a younger Samus.  I'm too shocked to formulate a valid opinion, though.  I won't judge too hard until I get some more information.  Interesting direction, yes, but although I'm sure it'll be a great game, it won't be a metroid game.  Once again though, I'm not judging till I get more info.  We'll see how it develops.

OMFG
The Wii Vitality sensor?  wtf?  so STUPID.  it's a fucking game system, not a children's doctor-dress-up plastic thing.   !yus!

NSMB2 looks great, though.  I'll be buying that.
Yeh, I just saw UP yesterday.  I laughed, I cried, more than once, definitely a buy.  Who else saw it?  It's too amazing to explain, you just have to see it.  Pixar gets better every time.  I was like, ouch, first five minutes of the movie.  No diolouge is happening, and I'm crying.  Dammit, Pixar, you're too good.

3D gave me more headaches than pleasure.  The short in front of UP, Partly Cloudy, it genius. 

I love pixar.
EDIT:
Quote from: Souly
Umm Srike, I didn't use anything to make any kind of music?
I don't know where you are getting this idea.

I used a song from Youtube's collection.
That's where the song for this video came from if you're wondering.
I accidentally un-installed my fruityloops or maybe I would have tried to make my own music.
Oh.   :D  Either way, the song was made with MusicShake, the world's shittiest music program.

I'd assumed you'd used Musicshake, because it's super-easy and quick but produces super-juvenile music.  Game developers use it to make quick functional music for games.


Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 03, 2009, 04:43:43 pm
The new Team Ico game looks AMAZING!!! Breathtaking, even.
Whoa, link please?

Everything I've seen so far about L4D2 disappoints me. I honestly hope it's a two-month late April Fool's joke. Valve plays pranks, right?

The original L4D has a lot of bugs that need to be ironed out. Since it's release, they've only updated it with one truly new (but small) level. It was released with only 20 levels. I hope they continue to add updates (as they promised pre-release) despite the announcement of a sequel.

I've watched all the gameplay videos I could find for L4D2, and it looks like an elaborate re-skin. They've added new characters, weapons, and special enemy types... but it's still the same game. On top of that, nothing really says "horror" to me... broad daylight, goofy weapons.

I would've liked to see the sequel take the game to a new scale. Make it L8D, with 8 survivors and thousands of zombies. Make the maps an entire location, rather than glorified tunnels from point A to B. Instead of giving you more weapons to fight one zombie at a time, make the weapons more group-effective. Flamethrower, rocket launcher, etc.

These are the kinds of improvements that make a sequel.
I agree. They're pushing out a sequel before they even expanded the first one(like they should have, because nearly everyon who bought it was expecting DLC because the game was so damn small). I just don't think it was time yet for a L4D2, as all of those changes could have easily been put into L4D.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on June 03, 2009, 05:58:57 pm
If they were to change anything structurally about the game I would have liked to see more physical cooperative abilities between characters as well as some more work on the "siege" parts of the game - being able to make barricades, etc. There doesn't seem to be any sort of strategic updates to the game at all, they're just adding extra polish. Hence it seems less like a sequel and more like an expansion pack.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rox on June 03, 2009, 09:22:48 pm
I read that they added the Charger special infected to solve one of the flaws with the first game, people cornercamping and spamming melee throughout crescendos without anything being able to touch them.

Well, thanks for including the fix for that in the game I didn't buy and haven't had a problem with yet because it's not out yet! Hey, how about making those fixes for the game that's already out? There's a lot of cool stuff that can be added to the experience to make it deeper. Yeah, like melee weapons, that's a good one. You can save those for the sequel. But please, if you have a fix for the biggest thing people are complaining about with the game, why not include it in the actual game people are complaining about? Are they seriously trying to force people to buy the sequel by not fixing a balance issue in the first game?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 03, 2009, 09:31:06 pm
I read that they added the Charger special infected to solve one of the flaws with the first game, people cornercamping and spamming melee throughout crescendos without anything being able to touch them.

Well, thanks for including the fix for that in the game I didn't buy and haven't had a problem with yet because it's not out yet! Hey, how about making those fixes for the game that's already out? There's a lot of cool stuff that can be added to the experience to make it deeper. Yeah, like melee weapons, that's a good one. You can save those for the sequel. But please, if you have a fix for the biggest thing people are complaining about with the game, why not include it in the actual game people are complaining about? Are they seriously trying to force people to buy the sequel by not fixing a balance issue in the first game?
Actually they added a cool-down if you spam the melee too much. I believe it's after 3 melee's you have to wait a few seconds before you can melee again.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on June 03, 2009, 09:42:45 pm
Oh also Super Mario Galaxy 2, why did the trailer not have real orchestral music? Too expensive? Very confusing. Feels like one of those disney movie sequels with horrible animation and no plot.

Nintendo feeling like horrible disney makes me worry. (they're probably gonna make a shitton of money if going in that direction, too! : D)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 03, 2009, 09:53:02 pm
I read that they added the Charger special infected to solve one of the flaws with the first game, people cornercamping and spamming melee throughout crescendos without anything being able to touch them.

Well, thanks for including the fix for that in the game I didn't buy and haven't had a problem with yet because it's not out yet! Hey, how about making those fixes for the game that's already out? There's a lot of cool stuff that can be added to the experience to make it deeper. Yeah, like melee weapons, that's a good one. You can save those for the sequel. But please, if you have a fix for the biggest thing people are complaining about with the game, why not include it in the actual game people are complaining about? Are they seriously trying to force people to buy the sequel by not fixing a balance issue in the first game?

I think you're spoiled by Vavle's past good graces. Just because they often support their games extensively doesn't mean they owe you to continue to do so. Finding fixes for problems and implementing them on sequels is pretty much why there are sequels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 03, 2009, 10:00:12 pm
Oh also Super Mario Galaxy 2, why did the trailer not have real orchestral music? Too expensive? Very confusing. Feels like one of those disney movie sequels with horrible animation and no plot.

Nintendo feeling like horrible disney makes me worry. (they're probably gonna make a shitton of money if going in that direction, too! : D)
They're basically calling Galaxy 2 an expansion pack aimed at the hardcore players that wanted more and for it to be harder, sounds good to me.

Back to Metroid, pretty sure the footage resembling gameplay was a proof of concept, the CG stuff is probably final and being used in cutscenes though.
At the moment I'm only really excited that a new Metroid is on the horizon, and it looks to be filling in the gaps with Samus's commander Adam she referenced in fusion.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on June 03, 2009, 10:07:36 pm
BUT ORCHESTRAL MUSIC D:

Okay, well, that's the same thing as the japanese super mario bros 2 then. In some ways. Is cool I guess!

Why did metroid look so plastic though! Goddamnit! Give me gritty and weird! Gah.

I want metroid games to give me a metroidepression. I wanna be disoriented and feel lost and alone. Not many games do that. If the metroid series completely stop doing that as well then. Gah. It's a little sad!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: xhunterko on June 03, 2009, 10:10:29 pm
Heh, buy the way. If you guys like UP, I was just wondering if anyone's seen this yet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXJEDUainX4

Now that, I think, is going to be excellent.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on June 03, 2009, 10:54:56 pm
What a hairdo on Threepwood. YOU'RE... GORGEOUS! Seriously, somebody needs to let LucasArts know about this little thing called the DS. It has this pointer thing, and a screen. And another screen...

I dunno, the in game graphics don't look so bad to me. I liked the water effect, and lighting looks the same as I remember. I think they're doing hte same thing as Street Fighter HD, except with less invented anatomy. I always though the pixel art for the MI games was pretty rough. It wasn't till Day of the Tentacle that I feel they had successfully blended their hand drawn art with the pixels. I think they're going the right route if they want this to appeal to the current gen of gamers. I hope they are putting this on XBLA. Can't put a full price tag on this, which is a bad move on the retail shelf. Hmm, they really need to tweak the analog stick speed, though. It's way too slow for the moment.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 03, 2009, 10:57:09 pm
What a hairdo on Threepwood. YOU'RE... GORGEOUS! Seriously, somebody needs to let LucasArts know about this little thing called the DS. It has this pointer thing, and a screen. And another screen...
Someone asked him ages ago if he planned on a new or old Monkey Island game coming out for DS and he said it wasn't possible on the DS.
They told him it was already possible thanks to homebrew and showed him some of the scummvm games running.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rox on June 04, 2009, 01:58:09 am
Oh, really, they fixed the melee spamming? See, that annoyed me so much I haven't picked the game up in quite a while... Maybe I need to crawl back and apologize to it, then.

Also, Helm, I'm not spoiled. L4D was the first Valve game I've ever bought. I have no expectations about their good graces. The exploit I'm talking about ended up being quite serious and I heard nothing about it for months, until I stopped playing the game. Then, today, I read about a fix for it - in another game. That'd be like Bungie releasing Halo 3 in order to fix the early problems with Halo 2. And believe me, H2 was very broken early on. Some things obviously can't be fixed unless it involves a serious redesign of gameplay elements, and we got those in Halo 3, but things like the cornercamping in L4D should be a very simple fix. They just seemed to never ever get around to it.

But if it's fixed now, then I'm very happy. I'll try it out again as soon as I can.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 04, 2009, 02:03:37 am
how serious was this? I bought L4d at launch and it served me and my online friends well for many tens of hours. I think I got my money's worth, for ONCE buying a PC game... perhaps for the uber-elite that finish any map on the highest difficulty with just the pistols, the exploit was game-breaking.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 04, 2009, 02:12:30 am
Only problem I have is that L4D got generally great reviews, but always with the tag, "a very small game that will hopefully see expansions to lengthen it". And that was very true. The game is so small the whole thing can be completed in a few hours(on your very first playthrough). Luckily the AI system allows you to play through quite a few times with totally different experiences, which was fun... but the SAME small levels got boring fast. If Valve had perhaps released a larger game I wouldn't feel this way, but it almost feels as though they sold half a game, and I was hoping they'd eventually release the other half. They most likely still will(or so they said), but now I feel like they're going to be putting more effort into the sequel.

Quote
how serious was this? I bought L4d at launch and it served me and my online friends well for many tens of hours. I think I got my money's worth, for ONCE buying a PC game... perhaps for the uber-elite that finish any map on the highest difficulty with just the pistols, the exploit was game-breaking.
I think it's mainly a problem for those who play random matches. When you play with friends you're in a much more controlled environment because after all... they're friends. However, random matches yield many bug abusers and such that can really ruin matches. These sort of tactics were very widespread online.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on June 04, 2009, 03:12:50 pm
Normally I'm of the "pay for what's in the box" mentality, but Valve promised to offer bug and content updates for L4D, referencing the support they've given to TF2. I hope they don't consider the one tiny level they recently released to be a fulfillment of that promise, especially considering the extensive updates they've given to TF2. As long as they continue to fix bugs and maybe add a campaign for L4D, I don't care what they do with the sequel. Make it a "horror" game in broad daylight with frying pans and fiddle music for all I care... oh wait.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rox on June 04, 2009, 08:50:15 pm
It was a pretty big problem when playing on Expert with random crowds. I unfortunately didn't have enough friends online at the same time as I was when I wanted to play it. At its worst, a game would consist of me finding a game, everyone agreeing on playing on Expert, going through a level like normal until a crescendo event - the machinegun room in the first campaign and the hospital elevator being particular favorites - where suddenly all the other players would initiate the event with zero preparation then huddle down in a corner and tape their melee buttons down.

A few times I was joined by another sane person who sometimes managed to convince the others to play normally, or sometimes cause them to end up dying, which of course meant we all failed. I'm cool with dying, that's why I wanna play on Expert. Apparently most other players aren't. A particular scenario I remember involved three people hopping into a corner by the elevator in the hospital, and after someone demanded I join in and I refused to, explaining that I want the game to be a challenge, he set me on fire with a molotov.

Short story shorter, it got to the point where a lot of players apparently considered the offenders to be the ones who tried to play the game as intended, instead of relying 100% on the melee button during the parts that are supposed to be the hardest.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on June 04, 2009, 10:01:54 pm
Well honestly, I'd be wont to do the same thing in that situation, deliberately eschewing intelligent strategy based on some misguided ideal of how the game should be played is the kind of thing best saved for anything other than co-op games. A player going off on his own like that is usually a tell of a griefer to some degree.

Also there's this here, if anyone wants to play with me or be my friend <3 (http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197982055955)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: xhunterko on June 04, 2009, 10:14:15 pm
That sounds alot like campers in Halo 3. All I want to do is take a rocket launcher or several stickys to them. I die before anything happens though. When people are of that mindset it doesn't matter what crutch they think they have to use to help them "win" the game. There is no convincing or surprising them. They just think they're good because they "win" all the time. The real winners are those that are successful and conquer the game as it was intended. Everyone else just sucks and found a shortcut. I suck, but at least I try to win the good way. All I try to do is at least score once. Then I can get blown apart and die for the rest of the game. The reason is when I kill you, and I suck, it doesn't matter how many kills you had before hand. It mean's yoru straight back to zero and have to kill me again. Otherwise your gonna let a sucky player beat you. And ya, some of them do play like that. That's why I like playing with "real" players.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 04, 2009, 10:40:27 pm
Yes pretty much all I can say is play L4D with friends only, Rox. It's not that difficult to find 3 buddies online to play if you've been networking even a little over in publics for a while. One tends to create a userlist of sane, friendly people pretty fast.

I am not saying LOL GET FRIENDS LOL to insult you. Just letting you know that whatever game L4D2 turns out to be, it will not be griefer-proof and you'll still be getting killed by people not respecting your time in the game. Co-op games need friends, not randomers.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 04, 2009, 10:52:29 pm
Co-op games need friends, not randomers.

Quoted for emphasis!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: tocky on June 05, 2009, 04:03:30 am
(http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2009/06/monkeyisland.jpg)

he looks like manning krull
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 05, 2009, 04:27:17 am
Normally I'm of the "pay for what's in the box" mentality, but Valve promised to offer bug and content updates for L4D, referencing the support they've given to TF2. I hope they don't consider the one tiny level they recently released to be a fulfillment of that promise, especially considering the extensive updates they've given to TF2. As long as they continue to fix bugs and maybe add a campaign for L4D, I don't care what they do with the sequel. Make it a "horror" game in broad daylight with frying pans and fiddle music for all I care... oh wait.
Sadly, I don't see much reason for them to expand on the original after the sequel is released(or even prior), as it would be counter-productive.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on June 05, 2009, 07:44:00 pm
Co-op games need friends, not randomers.

Quoted for emphasis!

Co-op fps with friends is the crown jewel of computer gaming. Screw everything  else. Even Tetris.

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory was awesome because you HAD to co-op with randomers if you wished to get any points and upgrade yourself. Lonely wolves found themselves being not only lonely but very low level after a couple of maps.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 05, 2009, 07:54:03 pm
HI JJNAAS I FIXED YOUR AVATAR

(http://www.locustleaves.com/noband.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on June 05, 2009, 08:33:43 pm
HI JJNAAS I FIXED YOUR AVATAR

(http://www.locustleaves.com/noband.png)

That's awesome. The least I can do is return the favor:

(http://i573.photobucket.com/albums/ss178/jjnaas/helmkitty.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 05, 2009, 09:00:09 pm
teehee  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 06, 2009, 02:12:44 am
This Pocket Retro Emulator (http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/retro-gaming/bd6f/) looks awesome, one of my friends is getting one and if the buttons have a nice feel I'll be getting one too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 06, 2009, 02:42:54 am
Square design is so meh... it's the main reason I can't play my DS for more than half an hour -- cramps the hell out of my hand. Also, just be wary. You might want try to find an in-depth review that checks out compatibility and such.

Also, pity it doesn't support GB. I'm curious how they handle the many different resolutions, though. Should post your personal experience with it when you try it out, though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 06, 2009, 02:52:08 am
I have no problem with the shape, I've been wanting a GBmicro but this will be much better (hopefully)
And will do.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on June 06, 2009, 03:02:43 am
Hold off on buying that thing. It's actually just a black Dingoo A320, which is a chinese handheld with emulators preloaded. There are huge problems with it right now, but the user community is kinda growing, so it might turn out okay. Not the moment to buy it yet though.

SNES emulation is pretty awful for starters and "pressing Y and B at the same time doesn't work, we call this a feature"

So yeah, some great guy is porting Linux and it promises to be excellent to fix the awful standard emulators and such, but it's still miles away. Right now he's got the kernel loading and if you're a decent linux guy, you can get some games ported on it already, but it's going to take a while to get it working on all the different hardware versions.

I'm rambling. Point is, it's not good... yet.

I'm going to buy one though, once it matures a bit and still exists.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 06, 2009, 03:31:20 am
Aw that's a bummer, I checked out some reviews for the A320, and the buttons sound good though.
It looks like it has the power for the emulators to run at full speed, they were just rush jobs, once the community comes out with a nice snes emu I'll be buying I think
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on June 06, 2009, 03:21:47 pm
This message is to honor those men who gave their lives on June 6, 1944.
Ça message c'est à honor là hommes qui donné à eux vit one Juin 6, 1944.
Dit bericht moet die mensen eren die hun leven op 6 Juni, 1944 gaven.
Ten przekaz jest wobec honor ów mężczyźni który dał ich żyje u Czerwiec 6, 1944.
Tato poselstvi až k ctít those clovek kdo kladívko jejich dobytek dále Červen 6, 1944.
Nyt kuluva asia on jotta kunnioittaa ne ihmiset joka kimmoisuus heidän model after Kesäkuu 6, 1944.
μήνυμα σε τιμή εκείνοι άντρεs ποιόs έδωσα δικό τουs ζωέs επάνω Ιούνιοs 6, 1944.

I apologize, I only speak English, Spanish and Italian, and so can only hope that the translations are correct.  Moderators please make spelling changes if necessary.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on June 06, 2009, 03:49:06 pm
Aw that's a bummer, I checked out some reviews for the A320, and the buttons sound good though.
It looks like it has the power for the emulators to run at full speed, they were just rush jobs, once the community comes out with a nice snes emu I'll be buying I think

Apparently the look, feel and insides of the hardware are perfect, so yeah, here's hoping the userbase gets it fixed up good. I want one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 07, 2009, 01:19:38 am
I flipped a page from my sketchbook today to find what I've been suspecting - that my drawings slant. It looks like someone stretches the top right corner of some drawings up. Here (http://www.lolipopsicle.com/linky/flip.jpg) you can see it on some of the faces, specifically the portrait, armored goblin, and bald dude. It's flipped so I could see it.

It's kind of embarrassing to think that I've been oblivious to what must be obvious to most people.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Akira on June 07, 2009, 02:43:11 am
It isn't terribly obvious to me. If you hadn't pointed it out I probably wouldn't have noticed.

Actually. I just flipped it again and it looked way more skewed. Very weird...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on June 07, 2009, 04:19:42 am
Atnas most artists I know naturally tend to draw with a slant. It's something that always must be fought against but the fact that you are able to recognize it is a good thing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 07, 2009, 04:23:00 am
Aren't most artists oblivious to the flaws in their own pieces, hence why external critique is such a good thing? I don't see what's embarrassing about that :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 07, 2009, 01:30:14 pm
Thanks guys. :3 I'm really glad I realized this, it is a good thing.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on June 07, 2009, 08:03:58 pm
You are not alone!111111 My drawings slant so much it's not even remotely fun! Goddamnit. Sadness. Drawing things like faces from the front is more or less impossible for me, it just seems to be embedded in my pen/cil strokes or something! It's horrible.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on June 07, 2009, 11:38:26 pm
Anyone seen the new trailer for Brutal Legend? It's Tim Schaefer's(DOTT, Full Throttle, Psychonauts, and more) new game and it looks pretty hilarious. I'm not a big fan of Jack Black or Heavy Metal so I wasn't sure what to think of this, but the new trailer won me over. I had a look through a gameplay video, and although it looks a bit underwhelming, I've found I can count on the story/humour/characters of a Tim Schaefer game to carry me through any lackluster gameplay issues. Hopefully it ends up on Steam at some point at a similar price point as Psychonauts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5sa2KLpW84
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Akira on June 09, 2009, 12:00:46 pm
flixel (http://flixel.org/), AdamAtomic's actionscript library has been released, along with a new game Mode (http://www.adamatomic.com/mode/).

My highscore is 6050. It beat me down bad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on June 09, 2009, 04:42:16 pm
I slant alllll the time.  Actually, what I usually do (which is probably bad) is I unconsciously tilt my drawing surface so it straightens out.  Also I have a crooked personality  ;D :D :-X
lol @ jjnaas and helm.  That would be a good activity.  And JJNaas' av was bugging me, I like helms edit.  And I like teh noms.

Shrike
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on June 10, 2009, 03:32:19 am
I tilt more than I slant.  When the page is rotated counter-clockwise (about 5-10 degrees usually), things are generally in OK proportion.  It's a similar problem though and hell when working in a frame...

in my sketchbook things like buildings and characters (anything which needs to hit the ground solid) almost always have a cross added after the initial sketching that shows the drawing's orientation (usually like i said a few degrees behind the page).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 10, 2009, 06:43:23 am
26 new episodes of Futurama are coming. (http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/06/its-official-futurama-returns.html?cnn=yes)

 !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on June 10, 2009, 08:30:57 am
Yay!!!!! We're watching Futurama series third time with my wife at the moment, so this is happy news :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on June 10, 2009, 08:32:56 am
Awesome  ;D
I hope it is as good as it used to be.
The movies were fine, but I guess the format wasn't the best for Futurama.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 10, 2009, 10:08:51 am
Yeah, the movies weren't quite as good as the show, I think it mainly came down to the format, but it seemed like they were testing the market and I have no problem supporting them.

Hopefully this time the show sticks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Colonel Mustard on June 16, 2009, 06:28:05 pm
I figured it's about time I took a real initiative to improve my drawing skills, and I thought I'd ask here if anyone knows any good resources online or offline. My skills right now aren't completely non-existant, but I don't quite know if there's somewhere preferable I should start. I dunno, general advice always help, so if anyone got any ideas, I'm all ears.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on June 17, 2009, 07:34:30 pm
I'm not sure of your age, but to start off try "Fun With a Pencil" by Andrew Loomis. You can't find it in stores, but there's a billion people hosting it and his other books online now. FWAP is Loomis' first book and doesn't go into much detail on correct human anatomy and the stuff comes across as pretty cartoony. The point of the book is to get you thinking of the body as 3d dimensional shapes. My first time through I sort of glanced at a couple pages, drew some stuff and then headed onto the next book because it had all the anatomy stuff I wanted. I only realised recently that I really missed the point and I've since gone back to FWAP. There's probably some good info to be found in the Official Anatomy thread so have a look there if you haven't.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Colonel Mustard on June 17, 2009, 08:22:51 pm
I'm 22, I'll check out the book if I can find it. I've been trying before to study anatomy and drawing it, but I believe I could benefit more from it if I knew more "basic techniques", sorta (Guess I'm a bit afraid of starting in the wrong place). So yeah, starting from the bottom and going up. I lurk alot and read all new threads and replies, so I'm familiar with that thread, it's a good one :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 18, 2009, 12:04:38 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms2klX-puUU

Great animation.  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 18, 2009, 05:50:42 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms2klX-puUU

Great animation.  ;D

Thanks for that!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on June 18, 2009, 08:46:28 pm
Going to be heading out for a while probably. I'm going to miss you guys. Keep pixelling!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on June 18, 2009, 09:35:27 pm
I'm 22, I'll check out the book if I can find it. I've been trying before to study anatomy and drawing it, but I believe I could benefit more from it if I knew more "basic techniques", sorta (Guess I'm a bit afraid of starting in the wrong place). So yeah, starting from the bottom and going up. I lurk alot and read all new threads and replies, so I'm familiar with that thread, it's a good one :)
Cool, I'm the same age. I've had the same desire since last summer to really learn the basics, so I've kinda shelved the pixels and been concentrating on my pencils. The Loomis series is really great for that and I enjoy them a lot. If you aren't already checking it out, conceptart.org has a fantastic atmosphere for artists looking to improve. If you want to PM me your email I'll send you some links to art threads and articles I've found interesting. It's got some book recommendations as well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on June 19, 2009, 07:43:46 am
http://gamu-toys.info/sonota/sw/obama/obama.html

Damnit, where's the :headexplode: smiley?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 19, 2009, 12:42:39 pm
:0#
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on June 19, 2009, 01:07:25 pm
http://gamu-toys.info/sonota/sw/obama/obama.html

Damnit, where's the :headexplode: smiley?

Nevermind that, where's the Dick Cheney figure with the spring-loaded gun that fires real birdshot, and the Guantanimo Bay Action Playset?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on June 19, 2009, 03:24:41 pm
Ahahaha just came across this.

Garfield Minus Garfield (http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/)

(http://15.media.tumblr.com/fSymsOGXOo1lumpvPq2eNVLSo1_500.png)

Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.


I have always found the Garfield comics pretty depressing but couldn't quite pinpoint the source directly at John.  This confirms it.  Garfield is just the fat lasagna fiending apparition that haunts his mind as reality.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on June 19, 2009, 04:17:53 pm
Garfield Minus Garfield is almost as telling as the Nietzsche Family Circus:

http://www.losanjealous.com/nfc/

Enjoy!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Colonel Mustard on June 19, 2009, 11:04:50 pm
I'm 22, I'll check out the book if I can find it. I've been trying before to study anatomy and drawing it, but I believe I could benefit more from it if I knew more "basic techniques", sorta (Guess I'm a bit afraid of starting in the wrong place). So yeah, starting from the bottom and going up. I lurk alot and read all new threads and replies, so I'm familiar with that thread, it's a good one :)
Cool, I'm the same age. I've had the same desire since last summer to really learn the basics, so I've kinda shelved the pixels and been concentrating on my pencils. The Loomis series is really great for that and I enjoy them a lot. If you aren't already checking it out, conceptart.org has a fantastic atmosphere for artists looking to improve. If you want to PM me your email I'll send you some links to art threads and articles I've found interesting. It's got some book recommendations as well.

Long time reader at Conceptart.org, it's an amazing site filled with not only skilled people, but nice people too. If you have time to email me those links that'd be fantastic, I'll send you my email.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 22, 2009, 04:35:56 pm
Neat app for changing your Windows bootscreen (http://www.stardock.com/products/bootskin/downloads.asp)

XP only allows for a 16 colour 640x480 image, so it's a good opportunity to display some pixel art
Pretty simple too, all I did was paste my image over C:\Program Files\Stardock\WinCustomize\BootSkin\skins\TimeWarp\warp.bmp, run the app and select the warp theme.
You can create your own themes but that's the easy/lazy way to do it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 22, 2009, 05:55:26 pm
Sadly, it seems as though Windows will resize that image with bilinear filtering, which will just blur it. At least, that's what my windows logo looks like when my XP boots up.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 22, 2009, 06:22:16 pm
Is your image 640x480?
Mine isn't stretched or anything, and I'd assume if you used a smaller image it would just be given black borders.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on June 22, 2009, 10:13:08 pm
I'm finally 18! Ahh, strong alchoholic beverages, drugs, drivers liscence. Thousands of new ways to potentially kill myself!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on June 23, 2009, 02:32:21 am
Happy birthday, Opacus!  You only get one more landmark age birthday in your life that gives you more 'liberties', then after that they're the stereotypical closer to death ones.  Enjoy!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on June 23, 2009, 06:12:54 am
HI JJNAAS I FIXED YOUR AVATAR

(http://www.locustleaves.com/noband.png)

That's awesome. The least I can do is return the favor:

(http://i573.photobucket.com/albums/ss178/jjnaas/helmkitty.png)

These two made me laugh-snort-cry and should be immortalized somewhere. Also we finally have an Xbox360 of our own with GoW 1&2. Same username as here. Feel free to pwn me, but if my Su is playing too be sure to fall down and pretend she got you or she'll stop playing with me, and whatever you do don't run away - or move around much, she still gets dizzy watching FPS games. >_<

Also HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Opacus - but what landmark birthday comes after 18 with more liberties when he's already got booze & cars? A mid-life crisis one someplace?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on June 23, 2009, 06:25:46 am
Well I suppose it only applies as an American, when they let you accrue your very own alcohol legally at 21.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 23, 2009, 08:34:47 pm
hi my name is clement and I´m a linux

Ubuntu Studio is great. Going to have to get used to the GIMP or use Wine and GG for pixel art, though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on June 24, 2009, 01:32:53 am
One more person in the world capable of buying and enjoying a drink.  One thing i wish i'd done was start with good drinks rather than like...PBR and Smirnoff.  I personally recommend Laphroaig single-malt whisky for price and quality, get like a $30 bottle and share the love with some good friends.  Oh and: Please become an 'adult' responsibly :P.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on June 24, 2009, 01:18:04 pm
You can do a lot worse than PBR and Smirnoff. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on June 24, 2009, 01:51:51 pm
Here here to that!

Natty Ice, Blatz, Hamms, and Steel Reserve make for much worse beers. Skol and Fleischmann's are just 2 of the many appaling vodkas out there.

But, if you don't experience shit beer and liquour, how can you appreciate the good stuff?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on June 24, 2009, 01:53:12 pm
went to an irresponsibly late showing on Transformers 2 last night.
It was cool... I think I liked it... the first one had more charm though. There are some absolutely amazing fights in the new one and the robots got more dialogue/story. Also Shia LeBouf and his ridiculous parents are still great. But the twins (whatever their names are) will annoy the crap out of you, they're not funny and actually pretty racist. Also Megan Fox can not act, to the point where I feel bad for her. For 90% of the film she looks and talks like she's advertising a 1-900 number. Some of her lines made my sphincter clench. On the Sequel-O-Meter I'd say it's closer to Ghostbusters 2 than Empire Strikes Back.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on June 24, 2009, 02:11:24 pm
I saw Megan Fox recently in whatchamacallit, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, and then saw Transformers. It is probably the characters I've seen her as (people keep giving her the bitch to play?) or what, but for me she came off with no personal charisma - raw sex only. I really don't see why people compare her to Jolie - Jolie still comes across as very soft at points, even in her hard flicks.

Hoping the new fight scenes in Transformers 2 will be more readable than the last. I loved it til halfway through, then couldn't work out which robot was which for all the metal bits mashing together. And the ending, with Sam moving backwards away from whosname, his back towards wassname, then suddenly the camera angle changes and he twists around but you don't see him twisting and then he's doing something with his back towards whosname and facing wassname and you're going "Who did what now for why now!?" and walk out of the cinema thinking it was nonsensical self-sacrifice, not murder! @_@
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on June 24, 2009, 02:42:14 pm
The first half of the sequel is much more read-able... there is an AMAZING fight in a new england forest. it devolves back into visual anarchy later on.

Megan Fox seems to sedated to even be that sexy. Most of the time she seems to be on horse tranquilizers.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on June 24, 2009, 05:10:14 pm
In college, the standard vodka was Vladimir, which cost about $9.50 USD for a half-gallon. Then my friends and I found you could save a bit of money by getting Crown Russe for $9.00. Remembering those days makes my liver shudder.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 24, 2009, 07:11:01 pm
Well, I shrewdly avoided contact with college, yes that's right I'm an unlearned hack, but regardless of my missing college alchohol education I'd say my evolution of a-juice is going well. Can't do liquor anymore, currently it's just me and ol' george killian. I think we're a good team.



And I can't post w/o a random spam image, screw descriptions, it's for a game surprise surprise
(http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/4250/miniscrollsplash.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on June 25, 2009, 02:38:49 am
You shrewdly avoided massive piles of debt, STDs, and abominably crappy beer as well. Your loss.

I thought that was a submarine at first and was a little disappointed to realize it's actually a spaceship. But it still looks awesome!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on June 25, 2009, 03:08:10 am
The first half of the sequel is much more read-able... there is an AMAZING fight in a new england forest. it devolves back into visual anarchy later on.

Megan Fox seems to sedated to even be that sexy. Most of the time she seems to be on horse tranquilizers.

We were wondering if it'd be easier to make sense of it if we see it in Imax. Even the reviewers on TV this morning were saying they walked out of the new one with no idea what was going on.

Re Megan, I think that might be the marijuana she keeps advocating.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on June 25, 2009, 10:27:05 am
This is what I've done after waking up:

(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6519/builtinbag.png)

Built inside the bags without opening them :B 
Wheee
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on June 25, 2009, 11:15:55 am
ARRGHH... This is just too much for me  :'( I bought a new monitor today (BenQ T221Wa (22")) When i threw my old monitor away i figured out that my computer had been maybe 10x slower than now dunno what's going on anyone ???
Btw. Got this new monitor for 40$ must say that it's fucking awesome  :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on June 25, 2009, 02:24:30 pm
Built inside the bags without opening them :B 
Wheee

Haha that's an interesting activity, what inspired that?

Also i enjoy a good cider now and again.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 25, 2009, 04:47:09 pm
You shrewdly avoided massive piles of debt, STDs, and abominably crappy beer as well. Your loss.

I thought that was a submarine at first and was a little disappointed to realize it's actually a spaceship. But it still looks awesome!

Hehe. Darn!

(yeah . . . the ship design was done by the other art guy. but the in-game sprite looked cool because it would rotate and twist and stuff)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Feron on June 26, 2009, 12:14:12 am
im all about the scotch.  as far as beers are concered can't go wrong with nice britsh bitter or ale.


Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 26, 2009, 12:26:27 am
This is what I've done after waking up:

(http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6519/builtinbag.png)

Built inside the bags without opening them :B 
Wheee

NRFB! NRFB!!!!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 26, 2009, 12:53:14 am
my adventure with linux was somewhat short lived. gotta have my proprietary software :3
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on June 26, 2009, 06:31:50 am
i liek Quake. esp Q1
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 26, 2009, 07:00:12 am
I liek Q1 too. Actually, trivia, Quake 2 was not supposed to be a sequel to Quake but they did not bother about thinking of a new name and in the end thought it would probably be good to just call it Quake 2, although it is not canonical AT ALL.
I guess neither is Q3A really.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 26, 2009, 08:53:42 am
Quake 1 has that Doomish occult aspect, which is basically the result of texan metalheads making stuff they thought would be 'cool' and a bit offensive, whereas Q2 goes into a sorta sci-fi plot direction which is ridiculous. Q3 is an arena game, inexplicably, and I haven't played Quake Wars nor do I intend to.

The first Quake has an odd charm. The rest never appeled to me. More of a UT guy, for multiplayer fpses of the time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 26, 2009, 09:46:46 am
Don't forget Quake 4 which basically is a direct sequel to Quake 2, same setting with the Stroggs and such.
I have not played Quake Wars, but I heard it is good fun. It is apperantly kinda like Battlefield, only much more arcady with fast running and such.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on June 26, 2009, 10:14:33 am
I like Q1 a lot too. I think it looks best without any smoothing of the low res textures. The dark Gothic architecture mixed with Lovecraftian and Satanic themes works. The pace is fast and the monsters are relentless. The monsters really try to kill you, they don't waste any of their time showing off, going through scripted sequences like "ROOAARRR (Fog horn) I'm gonna start chasing you after I've done a bit of scripted roaring ROARR!!" The multiplayer was insanely fast and 100% skill and reflex based.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 26, 2009, 10:34:37 am
I didn't know Quake 4 even existed. Was it done by Raven? I don't like their games.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 26, 2009, 12:04:25 pm
Well, there goes Michael Jackson. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31552029/ns/entertainment-music/)
I wasn't old enough to see him rise to fame, but I know I only bought his music as a kid.
Always felt sorry for the kids who didn't get to see him before all his problems and controversy when he was the coolest mother fucker alive, at least now he'll be remembered in a much more respectful way.


I think he'll join the ranks of elvis and tupac with death conspiracies and the like btw.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 26, 2009, 03:59:11 pm
I didn't know Quake 4 even existed. Was it done by Raven? I don't like their games.

Yah, Raven indeed.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 26, 2009, 04:06:21 pm
Quake 1 is great, it's one of my favorite PC games. Theres a solid atmosphere and feel to it not present in most modern first person shooters.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on June 26, 2009, 04:33:25 pm
I remember playing Quake at one of my old friend's house when I was young. Along with Chex Quest. Fond memories.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on June 26, 2009, 10:55:39 pm
Michael Jackson, for several years, was quite possibly the coolest human being on earth. Then came the marriage to Elvis' daughter, plastic surgery, and molestation scandals. It all went steadily downhill after that. I still have fond childhood memories of the man

Anyone want to do some online Quake 1/2/3? I've never taken the games seriously, so I'm absolute trash compared to the more dedicated players, but I do have fun playing casually.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on June 27, 2009, 01:39:25 am
My incessant "yeah, but unlike the Wii we have, the xbox..." + co-op comments resulted in the missus deciding we'd get one, and despite her motion sickness during Halo which I thought was improving, we picked up the Gears of War pack...

Dear lord, what is wrong with programmers these days? It sticks you with a over-the-right-hand shoulder view and if you press the RUN button, it sticks your head in the ground - still on the right somewhere - so that every pebble near the guy JOLTS your perspective. Or something. And the constant bouncing as he runs! EGADS! Even the movies know better than to have the invisible-bouncing-camera-man-squad-mate perspective the ENTIRE way through a movie.

Sadly it made all too clear our tv is too small for co-op >.< can't read the text when it says "press this button to live."
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 27, 2009, 01:43:27 am
The Orphan Bill again
http://conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=145485
I feel conceptart is one of those spots of the internet like pixelation which justify that the internet has value. I just noticed our pals at CA seem to be really worried about the orphan bill...and believe it will pass because it benefits corporations and they have the money leverage.

They are putting all of their resources to make a searchable art registry spot for their users...and that makes me think about all our pixelart here, but specially over at pixeljoint.....should WE make some advances so that we are prepared for it too?

I have a hard time believing this because if its true it makes me feel like it reeks of facism o.o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on June 27, 2009, 02:19:52 am
The whole orphan bill completely situation is overblown, especially here in the states. It seems most of the artists who are frothing-at-the-mouth against it are almost entirely ignorant of what the bill actually stipulates, and how it affects current copyright law. deviantArt had an particularly farcical campaign that convinced artists and photographers that orphan works would stomp their puppies and rape their daughters if it came to pass.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 27, 2009, 02:18:57 pm
Better if it's overblown rather than ignored. I don't like it at all, it makes me rather pissed that something I make for myself wouldn't inherently mine from the get-go. And if it is passed, what's next? It has the possibility of opening the way for a bill to be presented referring to unregistered property. Will we have to register all of our material property for it to be ours? Because that's basically what it is, I don't see the reasoning of not going further if this is passed. If you don't have records of anything of your own, it isn't yours. It's going too far on so many levels.

If I'm overblowing it, it doesn't matter, because I don't agree with its most basic stipulation.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on June 28, 2009, 04:48:21 am
Graduated from highschool yesterday, did some irresponsible things last night, back to the internet this night. I'd be up for some Quaking if you need some cannon fodder but last time I checked I was really bad at that game. :( Played through a couple single player episodes recently actually.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on June 29, 2009, 01:45:34 pm
From what I understand of this bill it basically intends to victimize the copyright infringer. Ridiculous. I think the thing that bothers me most about it is that it's clearly pandering to large corporations who want to be able to steal stuff without fear of lawsuits, while preventing their own assets from being likewise stolen. It'd basically be grabbing the bollocks of every independant artist/studio and giving them a good sharp twist. :blind:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ndchristie on June 29, 2009, 02:34:51 pm
From what I understand it's referring mostly still to orphaned works, which demand that the work's creator be difficult to identify (i.e., should you put your name on things, theres' no issue).  We might see a resurgence of the big and obnoxious corner signature, but I would need to see how this applies to things before I torch the capitol.  For instance, is posting an image that you've made under a username that links directly to your personal information an orphaned work? (i.e. how difficult does finding the owner need to be before it's actually considered "difficult"? the text of the bill (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s110-2913) implies that there's actually quite a bit they must do to prove that the work is unidentifiable)

I think the idea that it would allow companies to destroy minor commercial artists is foolish in the sense that a minor commercial artist would be all over their own works and not go posting them without the appropriate information.  The potential problem - that the corporation might be able to step on him and ignore any small suits he files - has always been true and does not change with this.  The fact that the corporation is innocent until proven guilty of the theft is constitutionally sound, although it is impractical and certainly does impact the rights and protections of the original owner.  It also looks like a lot of additional paperwork on the side of the infringer (the owner needing only to provide his name, address, and a few quick points of description), meaning that anything the company takes seriously will be rushed ever-more-quickly to an out-of-court settlement.  Not to mention - how awkward is it for a company to put a label on an advertisement that says "we don't actually own this image and we don't even really know who does." ?  It's like CNN's big unverified story sticker that made everyone laugh and cry at the same time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 30, 2009, 03:48:22 am
I will now heroically contribute to this pertinent conversation. This is the solution we seek (http://www.maniacworld.com/AutoTune-the-Ninja-Terminator.html).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on June 30, 2009, 02:36:29 pm
lol

that's priceless, Mathias!


As far as the Orphan Bill goes, I agree with Atnas in that it infringes on basic liberties. Even if that infringement is rudimentary at best, I still have a hard time wanting to abandon any rights I may have. Why should others be entitled the privilege to use my work under obscure circumstances? I haven't read the bill since its first conception, and don't have the desire to do so again but, what I walked away with that time seems to be the case still.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on July 01, 2009, 02:31:42 am
I will now heroically contribute to this pertinent conversation. This is the solution we seek (http://www.maniacworld.com/AutoTune-the-Ninja-Terminator.html).

That made me sad. Who randomly stabs crabs for tv? Sniffle.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on July 03, 2009, 02:51:51 am
I don't know who here visits newgrounds but they now have a pixel-art section:
http://www.newgrounds.com/art/category/pixel-art
Let's get in there and clean it up!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on July 03, 2009, 02:19:25 pm
Youtube pixelart section in 5, 4, 3...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dr D on July 03, 2009, 07:43:24 pm
I actually like that some of these sites are creating sections for Pixel Art. It's getting us more recognized across the internet, is it not? Thus I'd like to think that Pixel Art is prospering instead of dying.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on July 04, 2009, 06:57:07 am
My brother and one of my best friends and I have this cover band where we do country, rock, and pop covers, and tonight we learned a bunch of new songs for practice. Some Pink Floyd, a Distillers song, "Someday" by the Strokes, just kinda for shits and giggles, and we can pull it off exactly like the recording--it's a not very complex band and it's not a very complex song. But yeah, we were mostly just messing around and having fun. My brother and I  taking our mind of things.
You see, early this morning my grandma on my mom's side died. Everybody in the family has been expecting her to be dead for years already. Cancer. She was a machine though, I swear. But it wasn't a very big surprise. All the family was at my place today--everybody going through old photo albums of her and discussing the good times. It's a big family--7 kids. But yeah, it was getting late, everybody had gone home, but we were still practicing, and my mom came to tell us she was going to bed, and that she had a long day. So we were like, let us play a song for you, we've learned some new ones. She says sure and listens. And we play the Strokes. And we just fucking nail it. Not a single note out of place. It was completely crystal perfect. The most soul and heart I ever put into a performance ever. Ever. And somewhere during the middle of the song I glance up and my mom is teary eyed, and my brother and my friend both saw it too, and they gave it their all. We played as a perfect unit, and I felt every lyric sting from my soul, nearly teary eyed myself. We keep playing, and I look up again and my mom is just sobbing, turned away from us.  She lost her mother. She works hard for 40 hours a week at this factory that's going out of business. And it's a wonder that my parents have been able to stay together for more than twenty years. Every lyrics struck a chord for her.  I don't think anybody in the room will forget this evening, or this song. All said, my grandma had a good life.

If I didn't have a headache right now, I could describe this more accurately. But it was the most magical, celebratory, perfect song for the day.
I want to say though, if you think all pop music is just about money, you're wrong.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on July 04, 2009, 08:07:11 am
Glad you could give her that.

I don't care if it's not appropriate, I'm passing on giant hugs and birdie snuggles (and the snuggles of my birdies are awesome) to your mum.

*looks up the song*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dr D on July 04, 2009, 08:08:32 am
Sorry about your grandma.

My grandma (on my mom's side as well) was diagnosed with lung cancer, just a few days ago, as well. Yeah it's sad. We're going to see her (she lives in a different county - Germany) soon. She doesn't know she has it yet.

I'm glad you were able to have such a nice and memorable day, on that day, though. Sure your grandma would have been proud.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on July 04, 2009, 08:11:58 am
I like that song. The Strokes are really great for a pop band or whatever.

Sorry to hear about your grandmother. :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 04, 2009, 10:53:23 am
My condolences, Rydin.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on July 04, 2009, 09:15:12 pm
That's touching, Rydin.  I...  it sounds like..  a nice end to a day.  Relatively, at least.

(For those of you who are Mario fans, please enjoy a remix I made for a friend: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/252415 )
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on July 05, 2009, 06:28:06 am
Thank you guys.  Sorry to be the downer in the off-topic though!

Happy Fourth of July! *insert fireworks here*  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: saimo on July 05, 2009, 12:46:56 pm
Hello pixellers!

I'm here to present you a finished game of mine which might be interesting to you for a number of reasons.
The first and foremost is that, even if it targets PCs (AmigaOS, AROS, Linux, MacOS and Windows), the game is totally oriented to pixel art: it uses a resolution of 320x240 and allows anybody to create his/her own graphics.
More precisely, the game is based on themes, which allow to redefine the audio/visual aspect in every detail. Making a theme is very easy: it all boils down to creating a directory and putting there the custom data files (f.ex. the tiles bitmap). The full instructions can be found in the freely downloadable developer's manual (http://www.bohthegame.com/downloads/developer's_manual.pdf) in PDF format.

To give you a quick idea, I'll shortly illustrate the 7 themes I made myself:
 * the theme "default" presents a military/sci-fi scenario;
 * the theme "warm" is basically the same as "default", with just minor graphical variations;
 * the theme "C64" is the theme "default" re-drawn using only the C64 colors and with a C64-evoking interface;
 * the theme "castle" changes things radically and takes the action to a medieval/fantasy setting;
 * the theme "vectors" again changes everything, as it is inspired by vectorial graphics;
 * the theme "underground" has a military/cave setting;
 * the theme "pyramid" transports the player to the ancient Egypt times.

(http://www.bohthegame.com/data/screenshot-C64-1T.png) (http://www.bohthegame.com/data/screenshot-castle-1T.png) (http://www.bohthegame.com/data/screenshot-default-1T.png) (http://www.bohthegame.com/data/screenshot-pyramid-2T.png) (http://www.bohthegame.com/data/screenshot-underground-1T.png) (http://www.bohthegame.com/data/screenshot-vectors-1T.png) (http://www.bohthegame.com/data/screenshot-warm-3T.png)

I decided to present the game here because:
 * I'm sure that, unlike most of today's gamers, you won't be scared away by the low resolution;
 * I hope that somebody will have fun with fiddling around with themes (that would be a way to share the passion I put into the game);
 * it would be great if more themes were made by others;
 * I'd love to see what real artists can make out of my game;
 * I'm trying to build a small, creative community around the project;
 * of shameless advertising :P

I also have to state clearly that the game does not come for free, as it's a commercial product (but the demo doesn't put any restriction on themes, so it can be used for development).

If you are interested or just curious, you can see/try the game for yourself at http://www.bohthegame.com, where, besides the developer's manual and the demo, you can find plenty of other information, screenshots, videos and more.

Finally, big thanks to all the moderators for allowing me to make this announcement on Pixelation! :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: eckered on July 06, 2009, 05:17:28 am
my life currently sucks.
my girlfriend of over a year and a half, who i loved dearly, cheated on me with three guys on the fourth of july. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on July 06, 2009, 05:29:08 am
Whoa. If at the same time... that's... well, golly. It sounds so unreal that my initial response was, well, -  I couldn't find any non-offensive way to indicate you might have been welcome too. :/

Condolences on the suckage, but at least you have the clearest signal possible that she wasn't the one for you! :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 06, 2009, 09:19:41 am
Three guys at once? Man, are you sure? Sounds like a joke. Not a good one  :ouch:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on July 06, 2009, 09:37:30 am
my life currently sucks.
my girlfriend of over a year and a half, who i loved dearly, cheated on me with three guys on the fourth of july. 

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 06, 2009, 01:59:29 pm
.__________________________________.

well


(looks fantastic, Saimo!)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: saimo on July 06, 2009, 02:55:22 pm
(looks fantastic, Saimo!)
Thanks, I'm glad you like it :)
Interested in making a theme? :D

(eckered, you have my sympathies... I know it's hard, but seize the chance to strengthen yourself and become a better man ;))
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 06, 2009, 04:07:23 pm
my life currently sucks.
my girlfriend of over a year and a half, who i loved dearly, cheated on me with three guys on the fourth of july. 

Sorry 'bout that. If you take her back, there will be no trust. It would require something very drastic like both of you quitting parties/drinking.


Saimo, I'm going to give your game a try when I get a chance. Might be a few weeks, but when I do I'll try and have some useful feedback for you.


The mystery of the tangrams resolved
(http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/914/tangramsbehavingbadly.png)

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: saimo on July 06, 2009, 04:10:42 pm
Saimo, I'm going to give your game a try when I get a chance. Might be a few weeks, but when I do I'll try and have some useful feedback for you.
Thanks :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: eckered on July 06, 2009, 04:41:55 pm
for those interested, i found out that her excuse wasnt even valid, because she cheated before her excuse even happened, so she just cheated on me because she had nothing better to do :/

i dont really care though, so i made some pixel art >.> 
go crittack, guys!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 07, 2009, 06:49:02 pm
I haven't been bothered to have a TV for a couple of years. Now I'm spending a few days at my parents' place and the TV is on and I find it totally ridiculous! There's all kinds of programs and movies and what have you on it and you have no control at all regarding what it plays and when! It just plays some random stuff on its own on different channels and you just need to be there or at least you need to know when something's on if you want to record it. It's baffling.

So, no thanks. Too last century to my liking.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on July 07, 2009, 07:28:36 pm
Well, you do realize that a TV is just a monitor, right? It's pretty versatile since you can watch DVD's on it, play video games and when all else fails you can do this (http://i30.tinypic.com/65r68x.jpg).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 07, 2009, 08:16:43 pm
Well, you do realize that a TV is just a monitor, right? It's pretty versatile since you can watch DVD's on it, play video games and when all else fails you can do this (http://i30.tinypic.com/65r68x.jpg).

I've got the monitor for watching DVDs and playing on consoles, but I don't have the digital box thingie that delivers TV-channels. Anyway, sports, yeah, I guess it'd be good for that. I like the Olympics but don't really care for the rest. I secretly enjoy if Finland loses to Sweden in ice hockey, at least it shuts up the hockey maniacs. The last time Finland won it was nothing but NONSTOP HOCKEYMANIA for a year. It drove me nuts.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on July 08, 2009, 11:59:08 am
TV does feel very primitive, the commercials are the main reason I very very rarely watch it at all, as far as I'm concerned it's only used to displaying my games and movies.


(http://i25.tinypic.com/1491a8z.jpg)
 :huh:
Why the hell do they do this, he was clearly just folding his arms for the photo, why the fuck do they have to photoshop arms in!?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on July 08, 2009, 01:38:54 pm
It's even got a Lens Flare!

Photoshop win, everyone!

TV totally sucks. The few good shows are better on DVD anyway since you can watch them in chunks or at your leisure and without commercials.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 08, 2009, 02:04:23 pm
I concur, TV totally blows. There are a few good channels here (like arte which do not have commercials), tho.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 08, 2009, 05:06:43 pm
Gamefly commercial(which consists of about 2 minutes of constant screaming) every 5 minutes...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on July 08, 2009, 06:08:01 pm
I've been playing the new Tales of Monkey Island by Telltale games and even when I'm a hardcore MI fan (thus pretty critical about any remakes and new versions of the ip) I must admit that I kinda like it! So far only thing that has bothered me is some of the artistic choises for the characters and I can't understand why all Telltale games are so lowpoly but all in all, it sounds and looks and feels really Monkey Islandish.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rox on July 08, 2009, 09:11:31 pm
Pff, TV. I haven't had any channels on mine since I moved here, a year and a half ago. The only thing I can say I really miss is accidently zapping past Simpsons reruns when I'm bored, and ye olde Discovery Channel. But of course, I'd stumble on both while trying to waste time, so the only thing they really do is help people waste time. I don't know, I'm kinda glad I can't do that anymore.

I'm less happy about my 360 still being broken, meaning I haven't even used said TV for many months...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on July 09, 2009, 07:02:36 am
does anyone know corel painter very well? I'm painting using pure black but on the canvas it's not pure black. it ends up reading about 28,28,28 even though painter says 0,0,0. but when i save as JPG it ends up as pure black. why does it look lighter on canvas?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 09, 2009, 08:05:38 am
Sounds like something wonky is happening with your gamma settings. I don't have a copy of Painter handy, but somewhere in the menus there is a wizard that lets you set up your color preferences.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 09, 2009, 08:45:54 am
Don't know much about that program, but perhaps you loaded some sort of color profile or such in the program?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Akira on July 09, 2009, 10:51:47 am
Are you in CYMK colour space? Or saving to CYMK colour space? I had a similar problem with photoshop.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on July 09, 2009, 07:27:23 pm
It could also be you use some impasto brushes, which add a mask over the image and makes it a little bit brighter.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on July 10, 2009, 11:02:50 am
http://www.google.com/intl/en/landing/prado/

This is quite cool, It's basically super high resolution paintings using the google maps set up.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 11, 2009, 02:17:18 am
I've noticed quite a few images hosted on image shack have been redirected to display this:
(http://www.lolipopsicle.com/linky/Anti-sec.gif)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 11, 2009, 02:53:58 am
Imageshack got compromised by this anti-sec group, apparently due to the imageshack administrators not properly securing their servers.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on July 11, 2009, 11:29:14 am
Err yo I'm a stupid swede and I don't get their jargon.

What are they trying to say? @ __ @
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on July 11, 2009, 11:57:50 am
I had to read through a couple of times, and It's still incredibly unclear but what I get from it is that they against publishing security holes OR against the people exploiting the holes, maybe both. They say that the security companies are publishing the security holes so that people will exploit them, in turn creating a need for their security programs. Although I don't know anything about this anti-sec movement I think this is specific to the hacking of image shack and just one of their agenda. Something like,
"we hacked this and caused you inconvenience because computer security companies are publishing security holes for profit, also BAD PEOPLE [guys exploiting the security holes] STOP BEING BAD"

I'm probably way off though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 11, 2009, 12:59:40 pm
Seems to me that's pretty much it. As I understand it - perhaps I'm a bit cynical here - hacker groups use a facade of ideology in order to not have to write WE HACKED JOO LOL TAKE THAT. Some do though, I'm just saying those that don't, still are fuelled by the desire to be recognised for their skills by the wide public. The most important part of the hacking annoucement is always the part about 'what group' they are, then. The anti-sec group, in this case.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on July 11, 2009, 01:42:15 pm
Basically the guys who wrote this are so far up their own asses and jargon that they can't even get their point across. With that much text. Which is sad! Awright!

"Full-disclosure is the disclosure of exploits publicly - anywhere"

that's the explanation they offer as to what they're fighting against

exploits? Explain this shit to me man, what kind of exploits, in what context? If you're about SENDING A MESSAGE to the GENERAL PUBLIC then EXPLAIN IN TERMS THAT THE GENERAL PUBLIC UNDERSTANDS or you're just full of shit.

Apparently the INDUSTRY does this. To earn MONEY. And .. And .. I'm lost.

Whatever.

They should just've written HACKED j00 f00LS and drawn penises all over the image instead
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 11, 2009, 02:02:36 pm
It's not too incredibly full of jargon... The people they were targeting with this message should understand it. I think this was more of a message to try to get people from performing practices that they are set on destroying. A warning, I guess. Essentially, they're purist hackers who hack and don't tell. Their rules of engagement are blend in, trust no one, destroy everything, disclose nothing, and then get out without leaving a trace. They're against the "Whitehats" who are hackers who use their abilities to help the security industries, the people that publish their hacks. They call themselves "Blackhats", hackers who simply hack without the disclosure of their methods.

Plain english article that explains it pretty well

Quote from: http://www.examiner.com/x-12971-Houston-Legal-Issues-Examiner~y2009m7d11-What-is-AntiSec-What-happend-to-ImageShack-overnight-Is-it-coming-to-town
Here’s the deal: Anti-Sec guys are apparently wholly against the idea of “full disclosure.” What’s that, you ask? According to the rogue group, it’s the security industry practice of making publicly available all security vulnerabilities in order to, as in the example above, enrich itself by selling yet more security software, firewalls, ad nauseum. But, so the gripe by Anti-Sec goes, by making public this security vulnerability information, “genuine” hackers can use it to further their malicious ways, thereby causing all us grief and to, well, buy more security and anti-virus software. It’d be like the United States government publishing top secret security vulnerabilities at nuclear power plants, thereby practically forcing us to buy their nuclear-proof spacesuits. That’s a far-fetched analogy, but you get the gist.
So the Anti-Sec Movement proposes – indeed, they promise -- to hack any and all such alleged perpetrators with its perceived impunity, ostensibly in order to stop the perps from “full disclosure.”

I don't really think there's a big facade of ideology here, I think they honestly just want to purify the hacking "scene", and making information about hacks public isn't pure.

that topic's a bit ehh and I don't really care about it enough to argue an opinion so this post is now about pixel art. : D

The iphone screen is soo large. When doing sprites I have the habit of nudging them unintentionally towards 16x16, but I always fear that having the sprites so small will make it hard to easily tap one, not to mention there will be an INFORMATION OVERLOAD or toosparsebland on the screen. Bumping tile size up to 32x32 could work but it's too big in my opinion for an acceptable amount of movement options in a tactical game. I decided to go with 24x24 because it's big enough to easily tap, but I have 16x16 sprite syndrome or something.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on July 12, 2009, 06:09:45 pm
I finally found the problem! on the very right of the screen above the scrolling bar was a tiny icon that i double clicked. it disabled "color management". thanks for the suggestions though
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on July 14, 2009, 07:54:09 pm
SUPERBROTHERS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etEvL0EsxOY

http://www.superbrothers.ca/film_002dotmatrix.html

good thing to see that someone other than Paul Robertson is doing pixels in video. I like this guys aproach
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 14, 2009, 08:21:57 pm
Thanks Conceit, that was really cool. The composer for the video has some nice music under "composed on a playstation(ps1)" on his site (http://jimguthrie.org/soundz.php).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on July 15, 2009, 12:00:54 pm
I've been playing Dwarf Fortress II the last couple of days. I couldn't stand it the first couple of times. Too slow, didn't understand what was happening, hated the interface, absolutely retarded graphics :p but I kept giving it another chance because all the cool kids like it and I want to be just like them some day. And now It's really starting to grow on me.

I think I'm on my 5th fortress. I'm not sure how it happened, but apparently I upset a local goblin kingdom and they've responded by repeatedly trying to exterminate my dwarven race. I used to have almost 50 dwarven kind. Now I'm stuck with a Sheriff and about 6 lame and comatose brothers and my fortress is utterly foul with gases from the all the corpses lying about. The good news is about six migrants were stupid enough to come to my fortress about a week after the attack, so I think I can pick up the pieces and move on. I've got to figure out a better way to defend my fort entrance, though.

It has a 2x3 set of up/down staircases that I think I'm going to knock out. I originally put them in thinking the wagon traders would be interested in bringing their wagons down those steps, but apparentlly that wasn't going to work so I channeled out a ramp instead. The thing that worries me the most is that my sherriff is really stressed out and depressed and I'm afraid he'll jump into a lake soon like so many others. Although, that would be better than the last guy who went batshit crazy from working all alone in the mines and tried to slit everyone's throats. And naturally he does this right after a massive goblin siege when my people were already pissed off about being drafted the first time.

I never thought randomly generated characters could be very compelling, but I think my heart just broke in two when I found out that my first suicidal dwarf jumped in a lake because his wife miscarried their first child. It just pissed me off when I lost a good miner with the next jumper, though :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 17, 2009, 07:11:00 pm
Has anyone else ever dreamed in pixels? I normally don’t, but the past few nights I’ve had some fairly lucid dreams of pixel art, including visions of a totally kickass shmup.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 17, 2009, 07:15:24 pm
I dreamed about videogames including pixely stuff quite a few times. Not as often as I dreamt in 2D animation looking stuff, tho.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 17, 2009, 07:31:09 pm
On a related note, how would you say

"Exploding dolphin tits"

in German?

This is directly related to the shmup dream I had last night.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on July 17, 2009, 09:05:06 pm
http://punaji.com/
 :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on July 17, 2009, 09:51:21 pm
Has anyone else ever dreamed in pixels? I normally don’t, but the past few nights I’ve had some fairly lucid dreams of pixel art, including visions of a totally kickass shmup.
I have :D
I also met Ptoing in one, Despite being German he talked with a sligth finnish accent lol
Also on Punaji why not just move over to a free forum?
Its the people that matters rigth?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on July 17, 2009, 10:46:50 pm
Its the people that matters rigth?

but it won't be the same  :(

we punajiphiles will just wait for the rebirth then. like jesus.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on July 18, 2009, 02:53:01 am
Has anyone else ever dreamed in pixels? I normally don’t, but the past few nights I’ve had some fairly lucid dreams of pixel art, including visions of a totally kickass shmup.

Oh cool. I once had a dream about a very simple shmup, b&w like you used to get on old mobile phones. I was playing it vigorously in my head, and i remember waking up completely revitalized almost like it was the best sleep i've ever had - like i'd been doing mental exercise. I drew the mechanics of the game down on some paper but it doesn't make any sense to me now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 18, 2009, 08:04:07 am
I was playing it vigorously in my head, and i remember waking up completely revitalized almost like it was the best sleep i've ever had - like i'd been doing mental exercise.

Yar. Each time I've had a pixel dream I feet quite invigorated and inspired afterwards. I need to draw the ideas out before they fade away, but it almost feels like cheating...as if I really didn't create the images and I'm stealing the idea from some one else.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on July 18, 2009, 07:46:29 pm

Yar. Each time I've had a pixel dream I feet quite invigorated and inspired afterwards. I need to draw the ideas out before they fade away, but it almost feels like cheating...as if I really didn't create the images and I'm stealing the idea from some one else.

Careful, your brain may sue you for copyright infringement...you damn pirate.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on July 19, 2009, 10:59:03 am
Futurama news:

This is most likely a publicity stunt (comicon is in a week and the full cast will be there revealing futurama info) but they are "looking for new voice actors", for every character.
Apparently the cast were asking for around $75,000 per episode (Simpsons VA's get $400,000 per episode), due to their budget being so cut they can't afford it.

Honestly, I'm not worrying, this feels llike a publicity stunt and a little jab at their obsessive fans.
If any new voice actors are hired, my money is on them only being used in a cold open and after the intro it's revealed that their voices were caused by some farnsworth technology.


edit-
Comicon has been and gone, turns out it's for real :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 19, 2009, 02:02:51 pm
Quote from: blumunkee
"Exploding dolphin tits"
Explodierende Delfintitten

Quote from: Reo
I also met Ptoing in one, Despite being German he talked with a sligth finnish accent lol
Now I am scared D:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on July 19, 2009, 08:01:50 pm
I found this Japanese dot app called EDGE2 (fetch, Tim Langdell!), which seems pretty sweet. You have some promotionish dirty tools, some graphic galeish stuff, dither patterns, grids for isometric pixeling, animation and stuff like that. Too bad it's all in Japanese, so it's hard to get into. Just a curiosity for most of us, I guess.

http://takabosoft.com/edge2
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on July 20, 2009, 04:29:25 pm
Some cool C64 videos I found from a competition (http://lcp.c64.org/)
this was first place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLP-poYbfos
and this second: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1feN5Y9jMo
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 21, 2009, 09:16:11 am
Some cool C64 videos I found from a competition (http://lcp.c64.org/)
this was first place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLP-poYbfos
and this second: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1feN5Y9jMo


Excellent stuff.

While this C64 TV ad from 1982 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVVtOOZPuGM) is totally funky, I wonder how mind blowing it would've been if they had had time to learn to use C64's capabilities to the same extent as in these later demos.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on July 23, 2009, 12:12:55 am
First Punaji, now Pixeljoint.com is down...the end of the world is fixing to come. Gentlemen, prepare yourselves for the final battle...

   Also, I've been lurkin on the site a bit, and have noticed that the Star Ocean sphere mock up challenge is very lonely. Feel bad for it. Would attempt something for it, but everytime I think of something, it just seems so bland....must be what others are thinking when they think about participating for it as well...oh well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on July 23, 2009, 06:23:33 am
What's going on with pixeljoint? I thought it was just me.

Been playing Psychonauts over the last week or so, the whole concept is just really cool, the milkman and lungfish stages were amazing. Definitely recommend it (only $10 on steam), though you better have a gamapad/ get it for console. I think I'll have to play more of Schafer's games, I've heard so much praise but I never played any before now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zenobia on July 23, 2009, 06:38:38 am
I miss Pixeljoint. I've been on holiday the past two weeks... and when I finally return to the internet...
On the bright side, someone offered to take a look at my Orphica set in Game Maker, before Pixeljoint... went on holiday.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on July 23, 2009, 08:07:05 am
Pixeljoint is indeed down.

All refugees to pixelation!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skamocore on July 23, 2009, 10:30:42 am
PJ seems to be back. Woot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on July 23, 2009, 04:42:01 pm
What's going on with pixeljoint? I thought it was just me.

Been playing Psychonauts over the last week or so, the whole concept is just really cool, the milkman and lungfish stages were amazing. Definitely recommend it (only $10 on steam), though you better have a gamapad/ get it for console. I think I'll have to play more of Schafer's games, I've heard so much praise but I never played any before now.
:y:

Milkmand and lungfish and the Napoleon boardgame  are definitely my favourite stages. So many amazing level designs and variety. Did you only hear about it recently or is something you've known for a while that you decided to take a chance on now that it's $10? And I agree on the gamepad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 23, 2009, 06:49:02 pm
Psychonauts holds a special place in my heart, along with Beyond Good & Evil and Shadow of the Colossus. I've been waiting to see what Double Fine would come out with next. Looks like it's Brutal Legend:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxnho1yTjRo&feature=related

Jack Black annoys me to no end, and choosing voice actors based on star power rather than - you know, actual voice acting ability - annoys me even more. But, here's hoping the game ends up being fun and funny.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on July 23, 2009, 11:05:34 pm
I'm pretty excited for Brutal legend. Tim Schafer said when he designed Eddies character he had not planned him to be Jack Black and someone during development said he reminded them of Jack Black so Tim tried to get Jack as a joke and Jack ended up accepting. The casting for this is a little different than usual when you get stars to play parts for this though. Its not like they got Shia Lebouf and Beyonce or someone who has a HUGE name and little to no talent. Its all 80s metal singers (save Tim Curry who I think would be a better voice than Dio anyways, which why they booted him) which makes sense for a game based off of 80s Heavy Metal so it should be pretty natural for them to act like them selves.
 
 I've only played random levels from psychonauts but from what I played I enjoyed a lot. the napoleon level was fantastic and i really liked how Black Velvetopia looked. You should play Day of the Tentacle, I quite enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on July 24, 2009, 04:57:31 am
We'll be picking up Psychonauts soon too - the missus just spent all the M$ points I had on songs for Lips. XD
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on July 24, 2009, 05:34:57 am
:y:

Milkmand and lungfish and the Napoleon boardgame  are definitely my favourite stages. So many amazing level designs and variety. Did you only hear about it recently or is something you've known for a while that you decided to take a chance on now that it's $10? And I agree on the gamepad.

I've known about it for a while but I thought it was console only.

Just realised beyond good & evil is pc as well, I really should look these things up. I'll have to wait a while to get it though, damn download quotas :yell:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on July 25, 2009, 02:24:40 am
I bought Beyond Good & Evil off Steam around Christmas when I saw it going for special. Didn't like it. It wasn't challenging and the gameplay was fairly bland. I guess this complaint could be levelled against Psychonauts, but PN kept me engaged with the characters and the story. I always wanted to keep playing so I could meet somebody new or advance the interesting subplots. I heard BG&E's characters and story are supposed to be compelling or interesting, but... eh, they just didn't do anything for me. Many months on and I can't even remember anything about it. It's drifted almost completely from my memory. All that comes to mind is a pig, a girl with green hair, and some really bland story about benevolent protectors, wait, oppressors. Actually, I'm starting to remember cringing at all the protesters that start popping up towards the end. It kinda came across as a poly sci student's wet dream.

Anybody ever give Vampire Bloodlines: The Masquerade a try? It's a FPS/RPG based on a boardgame property by WhiteWolf. It was made byTroika Studios, which was founded by some core members of the the RPG team at Interplay. That would be the guys who were making RPGS like Fallout. Vampire is a pretty solid effort, Great story, multiple characters and the dialog and in game opportunities are affected by your stats. If you feel like given it a shot, make sure to look for the fan made patch. Troika's games are kinda infamous for various bugs. I don't think it was entirely their fault, though, they were under a lot of financial pressure pretty much over the course of their existence. I even read an interview with Leonard Boyarsky(one of the founders), describing some pretty brutal crunch time he put in over most of their final two games that took him out of the game industry for a short period. And now he's on the design team for Diablo III :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 25, 2009, 12:05:47 pm
Anybody ever give Vampire Bloodlines: The Masquerade a try? It's a FPS/RPG based on a boardgame property by WhiteWolf. It was made byTroika Studios, which was founded by some core members of the the RPG team at Interplay. That would be the guys who were making RPGS like Fallout. Vampire is a pretty solid effort, Great story, multiple characters and the dialog and in game opportunities are affected by your stats. If you feel like given it a shot, make sure to look for the fan made patch. Troika's games are kinda infamous for various bugs. I don't think it was entirely their fault, though, they were under a lot of financial pressure pretty much over the course of their existence. I even read an interview with Leonard Boyarsky(one of the founders), describing some pretty brutal crunch time he put in over most of their final two games that took him out of the game industry for a short period. And now he's on the design team for Diablo III :D

I've read that the fan patches to Vampire: the Masquerade: Bloodlines make a great game out of the buggy release version, but I've never played it, although I DID play and even complete Vampire: the Masquerade, which was a rather straightforward and simple RPG, but for some reason highly enjoyable.

I've been playing a fan patched Oblivion for a good while now, a big patch to get rid of the scaling monsters, fix bugs, improve AI, and so forth. I've enjoyed it greatly. I'm currently a level 10 female imperial Thief/Mage and I've just bought my first own house. I've stood clear of the main plot, I haven't entered a single Oblivion Gate yet.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on July 25, 2009, 12:41:26 pm
Guess that 8bit sprite at IGN (http://au.gamespy.com/articles/100/1007157p1.html)
You guys should enjoy that, I identified almost all of them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on August 01, 2009, 03:01:15 pm
Quote
Los Angeles, Calif.-The Star has learned exclusively that the voice cast of Futurama has just signed a new contract with Fox after weeks of intense salary negotiations.

As late as last week, the network was threatening to replace the original voices of Matt Groening's cult-hit cartoon, to the point of actually announcing a casting call for voice actors to replace them.

The compromise agreement, with the studio paying more and the actors accepting less, comes after the announcement of a 26-episode pick-up here by Comedy Central. Futurama also airs internationally in syndication, has produced four bestselling straight-to-DVD movies (later cut into episodes) and an upcoming feature film.
Severely reduced pay for all! :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skw on August 02, 2009, 11:05:03 pm
You might have seen it already, but . . .

http://thevillagepetstoreandcharcoalgrill.com/

. . . fantastic stuff!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: MintPastille on August 02, 2009, 11:57:40 pm
Coming from the very book-oriented field of programming, I am wondering if there is any literature worthy of my attention about art. Not specifically pixel art, but rather about drawing in general, as I suspect that the same principles apply pretty much everywhere. I am perfectly well aware of that skill comes with practice, but anything which speeds up my learning is something I'm interested in looking into. Have you ever read any art-related books which you've found to be good?

I realize that this is a very broad question; there are books about anatomy, color theory, perspective and so on. Preferably the book would be about elementary concepts, since I am a beginner.  I try not to be too specific, because I think that you're the ones who'd know what to start with.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on August 03, 2009, 03:03:29 am
drawing on the right side of the brain (http://www.amazon.ca/New-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241)
I have the old version of this book so i can't really say how different the new version is but i'm sure it can't be worse. A lot of very good exercises for drawing. If you do them regularly i'm sure you will improve quickly.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dex on August 03, 2009, 03:40:36 am
Reading MintPastille's post saying 'a book not specifically for pixel-art' leads me to wonder how a book dedicated to the basics and the advanced aspects of pixel art and digital graphics would turn out. Maybe Pixelation should turn that into a community project, since I've seen the limitless pixel knowledge displayed here before ;D

Also, Jakten, I've got the old copy of that book too, I believe. Was a good read, very helpful.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on August 03, 2009, 04:49:52 am
Reading MintPastille's post saying 'a book not specifically for pixel-art' leads me to wonder how a book dedicated to the basics and the advanced aspects of pixel art and digital graphics would turn out.
As far as I know Ptoing has something of the kind (still) planned, I think this might've been mentioned once or twice on the forum here.

Also I have no cool segue but I'm turning 18 in about an hour! Although that doesn't entirely change much because I don't have money for any of my vices and I live in the most Conservative part of Canada so my vote's a throwaway. :y: :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on August 03, 2009, 08:36:16 am
Technical drawing guides aside, reading about the history of art is also very inspirational, interesting and educating. And as the techniques and styles all around the world develop and change on the road from paleolithic cave paintings to modern art, you can also read that as a guide about what in general makes a drawing, painting, statue, building, vase or any other object visually pleasing. I have this book (http://www.amazon.com/World-History-Art-Hugh-Honour/dp/1856694518) and it's always nice to open it from a random spot and marvel at the awesome things on its pages. Recognizing what makes any piece of art look good is essential. With technical knowhow one can paint a realistic apple, but all technical excellence is pointless if the painting as a whole isn't interesting.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: MintPastille on August 03, 2009, 07:23:22 pm
...and I live in the most Conservative part of Canada so my vote's a throwaway.

Canada? Is it anything like Corner Gas?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on August 07, 2009, 05:36:48 pm
Hehe made a Helm bunny :hehe:
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7684/helmd.png (http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7684/helmd.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: #36005A on August 08, 2009, 10:06:47 pm
Hehe made a Helm bunny :hehe:
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7684/helmd.png (http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7684/helmd.png)

Cute and satisfied! Just for future reference, though, the doodles thread (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=3973.0) might be a better choice for posting things of this nature.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on August 17, 2009, 04:08:41 am
Fair warning to all fellow Aussies: stay off the roads. They're mad enough to think 'I' can drive unsupervised already...

*brandishes his new P plate with a deadly two tonne hunk of steel attached*

Thought I'd failed it, but didn't too badly. Screwed up my reverse parking. Big car, driveway instead of curb, too easy to mount unfortunately.

Also some of those instructions are evil: "Merge into the right lane. When the road ends, turn left (we won't tell you to merge left afterwards BWAHAHA if you forgets TWICE we fails you!). First time I was just following instructions, the second time... I figured screw the instructions, something's off. Yay for brain functions!

I'm a bit old to be getting my license, just never needed to before. The concept of people driving around is bloody terrifying - moreso is the fact it doesn't feel as terrifying as it should while you're at it
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Frychiko on August 17, 2009, 04:35:56 am
Heh, speaking of Driver's Licenses, mine expired a couple of years ago.. I feared I would have to go and do another test / practical test, but it was just a matter of getting it re-activated.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on August 18, 2009, 10:36:17 pm
Time for a new (old) avatar :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on August 18, 2009, 11:24:03 pm
NPA!!! BAN!!!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on August 18, 2009, 11:28:57 pm
Takarl? :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: saimo on August 19, 2009, 10:43:00 am
Hi everybody,

I just wanted to inform those who might be interested that the developer's manual to create skins for BOH (which I presented in this earlier post (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=7291.msg97748#msg97748)) has been finished (it took longer than expected :P). It can be downloaded from the DOWNLOADS page (http://www.bohthegame.com/downloads.html) of the website (direct link (http://www.bohthegame.com/data/developer's_manual.pdf)).
Have fun!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on August 19, 2009, 04:25:18 pm
Haha, takam! I made a simple ambigram with my name (Tim) before, and the T/M area turned out really similar to yours. That K situation is a hard one though. I've done some names with Ks and it always turns out a bit iffy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on August 19, 2009, 04:43:39 pm
(http://www.game-designer.org/art/pixelart/edit/290ptz7.jpg.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on August 19, 2009, 05:53:36 pm
(http://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/pixelgroover/ambigram.png)

like that, except it took me longer than 3 minutes the first time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on August 21, 2009, 11:35:12 am
Ambigrams are fun  :hehe:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on August 23, 2009, 11:49:38 pm
I was thinking about Minish Cap, the Legend of Zelda for the GBA recently and how someone here had been impressed because only one guy is credited (http://www.mobygames.com/game/gameboy-advance/legend-of-zelda-the-minish-cap) for doing all the artwork. This was actually a year back or something, but I started thinking about it some more while looking through my manual for A Link to the Past(GBA). I'd completely forgotten that a lot of the Minish cap artwork had already been completed for the Four Swords supplement. So I went on mobygames to check the credits for ALTTP/Four Swords (http://www.mobygames.com/game/gameboy-advance/legend-of-zelda-a-link-to-the-past) and I see that the person mentioned in the Minish Cap credits is credited as a Character Designer and there are four other people listed under Graphic Design which I take is a general category meaning they were probably working on all kinds of art stuff. I did a quick check of the artwork credits for ALTTP(SNES) (http://www.mobygames.com/game/snes/legend-of-zelda-a-link-to-the-past/credits) to make sure the Four Swords credits aren't for ALTTP(They aren't).

Unless I'm wrong about what Graphic Design entails, the only conclusion I can draw is that four other people didn't get a proper mention in the Minish Cap's credits. That's kinda bullshit.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on August 24, 2009, 11:06:35 am
I was thinking about something completely different when I wondered this, but it's actually worth talking about in terms of art.

How much of what I "know" to be real actually exists in a concrete sense, and how much of what I "know" is subjective perception?

Example: The time on the microwave is blurry and unreadable to me from this side of the room, so I ask my room mate for the time. He tells me that it's 5:52. I glance at the microwave again and see that it reads 5:52.

It ought to be a pressing issue, artistically, to discover just how much of what I perceive exists actually and how much my brain fills in, don't you think?  After all, what I believe to be real is the basis of what I communicate with my art, and if what I believe to be real is different from the way things actually are, my message is going to lose a certain amount of validity.

From this, I got to thinking:  I think that a talented artist could present the world to a viewer in a way that agrees with the way that the viewer perceives the world.  Or a more talented still artist could exploit this "relate-ablilty" as another artistic element.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 24, 2009, 11:32:43 am
Nothing exists.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on August 24, 2009, 11:41:19 am
Dude, but so does everything.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on August 24, 2009, 11:55:15 am
I do not know whether or not anything exists.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on August 24, 2009, 03:45:55 pm
Je pense, donc je suis.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on August 24, 2009, 03:46:21 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qsWFFuYZYI

8bit music video made with lego, probably the most impressive one to date.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Twirly on August 26, 2009, 06:58:45 pm
:(
Sometimes my pixel art is okay, sometimes it sucks really hard.
Why ;-;
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on August 26, 2009, 07:35:57 pm
Quote
Sometimes my pixel art is okay, sometimes it sucks really hard.
Why ;-;
You must perform more sacrifices.


Hey, more people should come to #pixelation on irc.sorcery.net! [:

if those people have time
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rox on August 26, 2009, 08:44:33 pm
Unless I'm wrong about what Graphic Design entails, the only conclusion I can draw is that four other people didn't get a proper mention in the Minish Cap's credits. That's kinda bullshit.
Similar thread going on at Polycount today. Pretty interesting, I'd never even thought about it before.
http://boards.polycount.net/showthread.php?t=65229
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on August 27, 2009, 11:44:21 pm
Pixelation seems to be going down a lot recently. Don't tell me it's being targeted again or something D:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on August 28, 2009, 01:46:29 am
My little sister randomly found and shared this on Facebook. I don't know who it's by, but I thought y'all would enjoy it and might know who to credit. Hidden behind link, as it's massively zoomed in.

http://media.fukung.net/images/15564/19db1a95c3458b342d92130f871f1329.png (http://media.fukung.net/images/15564/19db1a95c3458b342d92130f871f1329.png)

I forget if I shared it in this thread, so I'll include this in here too.

http://www.trevorvanmeter.com/flyguy/flyGuy.swf (http://www.trevorvanmeter.com/flyguy/flyGuy.swf)

Anyway, main reason for posting is that I finally finished reading the Animator's Survival Kit and am happily moving on to Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain - and feeling the progress. I would've liked more focus on computer graphics, though - I still don't know where everyone learns what colours to use per limb and so forth when planning out animations.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on August 28, 2009, 01:47:39 am
I think that has been posted before :)
However, you might want to link to it rather that putting it in image tags, as it's pretty huge.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Twirly on August 28, 2009, 06:57:54 pm
Hey, more people should come to #pixelation on irc.sorcery.net! [:

if those people have time
I tried to go there, here are the results:
* Connecting to sorcery (6667)
-
* Unable to resolve server


Edit:
nvm, it works
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on September 02, 2009, 03:28:00 pm
I still don't know where everyone learns what colours to use per limb and so forth when planning out animations.

Do you mean when they plan the animation out before hand? I think they just choose any old colour that is different than the other so they can differentiate the left from right. I'd say its up to you which colours to use so long as it helps you to tell things apart. I know when I plan out an animation its usually just black scribbles so.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on September 03, 2009, 12:58:37 pm
The rough version of the animation should be a shorthand version of the animation that *you* can understand, it's basically writing notes to yourself. You still should observe proper technique in rough form but you are the only person who needs to be able to decypher it for the finished animation. I'm like Jakten in that I just use black scribbles, personally I feel like assigning colors to separate limbs is often a waste of time unless you're doing something very complicated - like a guy flipping and spinning through midair.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on September 08, 2009, 10:53:23 am
Just thought I'd say hi.  Used to be Wolverine some time ago (and still am on Pixel Joint since they can't change names easily apparently) and it looks like I still have a wolverine named account here too which I didn't realise so if the mods want to delete that please do.

Just signed up to comment now and then on some topics.  I'm not really much into pixel art these days as anything other than just the fact I like making games that look 8/16 bit so I don't think I'll have much to contribute but it's nice to see some people on here I used to follow back in the day.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on September 08, 2009, 12:29:33 pm
I remember you. Always enjoyed your works.

My pixel interest has wained dramatically as well. Need to do something about that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 10, 2009, 07:59:37 am
Hi Logan :)

We do not delete used profiles and such (even on request).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on September 10, 2009, 09:09:32 am
uhm Are we being invaded by bots spamming the boards? or the usual trolls with nothing to do :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 10, 2009, 09:59:04 am
We have both email activation and those image thingies on signup enabled, so if it is bots they have gotten smart.
It is possible that this is just really sad people that earn some money with spamming.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on September 10, 2009, 04:21:11 pm
No, sadly enough, bots have just gotten that smart. They have gotten around standard SMF Captchas and email validation.
 
I suggest you ban their email address' domain, that should slow them down. Another option is to set the CAPTCHA to highest level possible.

If you want to get rid of them altogether, add an extra question to the registration form that is required and non-standard.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on September 10, 2009, 09:02:33 pm
By the way, The Protomen put out Act II (http://www.amazon.com/Act-II-Father-Death/dp/B002LW06AO/ref=pd_cp_dmusic_1) just two days ago! I think all the songs can be found on youtube.

While the first act was something like raw and aggressive 8bit-Grunge, this one sounds a lot like 80s synthrock, and very polished at that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Darien on September 10, 2009, 09:28:40 pm
haha, didn't we once have a quiz that had to be finished before someone could register?  i bet that'd stop some bots
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 10, 2009, 09:32:48 pm
Ya, wasn't it based on the rules? Or was that on the temporary forums?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on September 11, 2009, 02:11:09 am
I know I had to finish a quiz based on the rules of this forum at some point.

and atnas, thanks for posting that protomen thing, its phenomenal!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on September 11, 2009, 04:05:54 pm
Hi ptoing.  So my old account just sits there then?  If that's how you do things round here that's fine by me.  Doesn't matter either way, least I get my current name.

By the way was I supposed to post hello in the intros topic I've only just noticed in the Things of Importance and Interest section?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 13, 2009, 07:42:26 pm
Well, we keep the profiles for posterity so to say. If i delete it I think it will say Guest instead of Wolverine on all the posts which is not good. I could try and test this tho.
Also ideally you could have messaged an admin to change the name on your old account to Carnivac. But does not really matter either :)

If you want you can post in the Intro thread, but not strictly needed.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on September 13, 2009, 08:04:21 pm
Okay.

Also ideally you could have messaged an admin to change the name on your old account to Carnivac. But does not really matter either :)

I didn't realise Wolverine was there until after I'd created a new account.  The members list at the bottom of the main page doesn't seem to be available to guests.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on September 14, 2009, 06:59:22 pm
If you guys have any spare time, can you check if you have this font:
(http://i31.tinypic.com/eq36v5.jpg)
I used to have it but it's gone :(

edit-
Rockwell Bold!  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on September 15, 2009, 03:32:34 am
I'm having some trouble and I'm wondering if the mods can help.

Apparently, A Small Orange (www.asmallorange.com) hosting service has blacklisted WayOfThePixel.net

You guys are marked as referral spammers and now I can't showcase my art on this forum. I'm assuming there might be some other people using this company, so it might be in everyone's best interest if we could get rid of this blacklisting. Maybe someone can e-mail the folks at ASO to ask what's going on?

The problem is that none of the images I post are shown on the forums, as my hosting sends back a 403 error message for every request coming from wayofthepixel.net
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 15, 2009, 03:40:51 am
I don't know if it makes any sense of Pixelation to plead they're not referral spammers to your hosting service. Either users, who pay money to them, complain and they change their ruling, or users move to a different hosting service.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on September 15, 2009, 03:58:59 am
I'm obviously complaining, but I'm worried that they won't take a blacklist domain from their list, just because one guy is complaining. We'll see.

If it stays with just this one hosting service, it's no problem I guess (except for me ;)). I'm just worried about blacklist sharing. Some companies tend to upload their blacklist, so other companies can easier identify spam domains. If this would happen, most self-hosted images on this website would go down.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 15, 2009, 04:12:39 pm
what I mean is that it won't help if I complain to your hosting service because I'm not a paying customer.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on September 15, 2009, 04:41:10 pm
Back to the old avatar, because.. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r9IseaRXfg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 17, 2009, 10:22:55 am
The question about the whole spam thing is WHY? Why are we blocked as being referral spammers? Is it because of the recent rush of spambots spamming with links? or what?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on September 17, 2009, 05:22:20 pm
I fixed it with my host. If others have the same problem, contact me, I'll explain it thoroughly.

It's basically a problem that everyone is hotlinking tons of images here, so hosting providers think this site is trying to leech bandwidth from their servers (called referral spam). It's called referral spam, because every time pixelation shows an image from another domain, the browser attaches a referrer URI to the GET request.

The hosting service registered Pixelation as a referral spammer, through mod_security in Apache. Once I declared it a false positive to my hosting service, they rectified the problem.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 17, 2009, 05:37:04 pm
So basically... every forum has a high potential to be considered a spam site? Seems silly.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on September 18, 2009, 05:56:21 am
My Toshiba M200 Portege Tablet PC (aka ancient, refurbished laptop) just died. All within the space of about two minutes.

Started with 'delete' key not working, then spitting out '=' (key next to it), followed by random keys not working. Turned it off to clean the keyboard, back on and the screen won't come on at boot. Just beeps every second.

I'd been happily reading all these old art books off it and learning to draw, too - ideal opportunity while stuck here in rural Victoria with my fiancee for a few weeks. Looks like I'm being forced to focus on sketching skills & away from pixels - but I'm confused as to why the Powers That Be think I need forcing when that's what I'm doing anyway. o_O
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on September 19, 2009, 01:00:14 am
I AM THE SPAMBOT CULPRIT
(http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/2428/featurecreep17.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dex on September 19, 2009, 03:09:16 am
My Toshiba M200 Portege Tablet PC (aka ancient, refurbished laptop) just died. All within the space of about two minutes.

Started with 'delete' key not working, then spitting out '=' (key next to it), followed by random keys not working. Turned it off to clean the keyboard, back on and the screen won't come on at boot. Just beeps every second.

I'd been happily reading all these old art books off it and learning to draw, too - ideal opportunity while stuck here in rural Victoria with my fiancee for a few weeks. Looks like I'm being forced to focus on sketching skills & away from pixels - but I'm confused as to why the Powers That Be think I need forcing when that's what I'm doing anyway. o_O

Ooh, sad to hear this. At least it'll leave you with more opportunities to draw though. Sometimes I wonder how different all our artistic insights would be without the internet. o.O
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on September 19, 2009, 05:20:08 am
I'd be struggling horribly to learn to draw - heck, if there was no internet I probably would've never gotten into drawing to begin with and just stuck with writing. May not've even gotten into writing without the opportunities via the internet... probably would've wound up in music or IT.

Computer, oddly, seems to be functioning again - enough to have turned itself on okay, but still has random keys being 'activated' and can't do anything other than check for any files that need backing up. If I could disconnect the built in keyboard, maybe I could use it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 19, 2009, 06:31:10 am
Computer problems, especially HDD-related problems... God I hate them. I mean, I have so much time and effort stored in what seems to be a totally unreliable thing. I could wake up one day and all my work be gone for no reason(which has happened countless times for me). I hate to sound dramatic, but my computer is way up their on important things for me. Not because I spend so much time on it, but because the time I do spend on it feels just as important to me as it would if it were instead on a canvas painting a picture and such. I wouldn't like it any more if someone spilled something on a picture I spent a week painting. Except my computer doesn't just hold a single picture. It holds nearly all my art, all the coding/scripting I've done, and all the time I've spent installing and downloading things(which takes a long time to redo). I could understand if I sat and screwed around with my computer and messed something up, or got a virus doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing... but I think all my hardware failures have been completely random and out of my control. Turned my computer on one day and my HDD clicked a few times and bam, corrupted HDD and unrecoverable data. Sitting watching TV while it was snowing out and 'POP', power surge and fried power supply. Meh.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on September 19, 2009, 08:43:57 am
I think that tale is enough to make me better about backing up!!

Tempted to take a break from all the art study and learn to code a bit - any suggestions on what language might be best learnt if one was looking to experiment with making Facebook applications? Only know basic HTML and how to manipulate a smattering of Ruby for scripting so far.

One downside to getting into art so much (and away from coding a long time ago) is that I really prefer if I could just code by moving blocks around visually instead of actually remembering syntax etc.

I was thinking PHP for starters, SQL and checking out REBOL.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on September 19, 2009, 03:06:02 pm
Can anyone help me find the name of a game I used to enjoy on my friends PC back in the late 90's or 2000/2001?  It's quite a console type thing being a 2D arcadey platform game.  Felt very japanese compared to other PC games of the time.  I'd know it if I saw an image of it.  The main character I seem to recall wore a fairly generic futuristic blue-ish metal armor suit (but I don't think he wore a helmet) and I think it was low resolution (part of why I liked it).  Despite it being a 'by the numbers' kind of game it was one of the very few games I've ever really liked playing on PC and I'd like to find it again and have it to keep (hoping it works on Windows XP without too much hassle).

I know the description is a bit vague which is why I haven't had much luck googling for it but I'm hoping someone here may have played it and remembers what it was called.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on September 19, 2009, 03:48:02 pm
Argh,

I got pulled over tonight for speeding (I wasn't), I don't have a full license and I had passengers in the car.
The cop was like "Ok, I'll just give you a ticket for the passengers, but not for the speeding." if he did give me the ticket for speeding I would have disputed it, but I can't dispute the passengers.
Oh well, there goes $400.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on September 19, 2009, 05:19:53 pm
It's quite a console type thing being a 2D arcadey platform game.  Felt very japanese compared to other PC games of the time.  I'd know it if I saw an image of it.  The main character I seem to recall wore a fairly generic futuristic blue-ish metal armor suit (but I don't think he wore a helmet) and I think it was low resolution (part of why I liked it).

Abuse?

(http://www.conjuntojk.com.br/diversao/jk_humor_jogos_curiosidades/jogos/abuse_game.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on September 19, 2009, 05:20:55 pm
I never ever step into a car if I know I'm not completely in my right to start with. So I never drink alcohol when driving, never speed a mile if I don't have to, never took any passengers with my training license.

Traffic is already a dangerous hellhole when you're sticking to the rules
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on September 19, 2009, 05:24:15 pm
Abuse?

Thanks but hell no.  I still can't stand any game with mouse aiming.  And the game I recall didn't look like that at all.  It looked more.. japanese.  Pixelly.  Not sure how to describe it.  I'm sure the guy's suit was blue.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on September 20, 2009, 12:19:53 am
Traffic is already a dangerous hellhole when you're sticking to the rules

Agreed. Out here where I am atm on country roads everything's just dandy - with no traffic and miles of straight road with beautiful skies and mountains in the distance, it's as pleasant as could be and one is even tempted, occasionally, to sit at the speed limit. I still imagine and automatic turret popping up out of the bonnet and blasting away whenever someone speeds by, though, especially when it's a cop who isn't chasing anyone, doesn't have his lights on and is doing about 40 over the speed limit.

So much worse in the city (Melbourne) - so much panic everywhere. And drivers ignoring the basics.

The rule here is do not speed up until AFTER you reach the sign, and reach the 'slow down speed' BEFORE you reach the sign, yet I have idiots pushing away behind me to hit 100 the moment the sign hits the horizon. People seem to think the right hand lane gives you the right to ignore the speed limit.

Apparently the P in my Probationary license stands for 'Pissing You Off'.

90s - 2001
Console type, 2d arcade platform
Japanese
fairly generic futuristic blue-ish metal armor suit (but I don't think he wore a helmet)
low resolution
'by the numbers' kind of game

I was so going to say Megaman until I saw the helmet line. :P Remember anything about the enemies or the story or what sort of gameplay was involved?


*goes back to reading about REBOL*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on September 20, 2009, 02:45:18 am
Can anyone help me find the name of a game I used to enjoy on my friends PC back in the late 90's or 2000/2001?  It's quite a console type thing being a 2D arcadey platform game.  Felt very japanese compared to other PC games of the time.  I'd know it if I saw an image of it.  The main character I seem to recall wore a fairly generic futuristic blue-ish metal armor suit (but I don't think he wore a helmet) and I think it was low resolution (part of why I liked it).
Halloween Harry has a blue helmet.
(http://www.andrew-turnbull.net/new/carnage2.png)
A.K.A. Alien Carnage

The first game runs fine under DOSBox, but I've never managed to get the second game running at all. First game is freeware now (http://www.3drealms.com/news/2007/05/alien_carnage_freeware.html).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on September 20, 2009, 07:28:02 am
I was so going to say Megaman until I saw the helmet line. :P Remember anything about the enemies or the story or what sort of gameplay was involved?

It was straight forward left to right, I think hack n slash (I can't remember if there were any guns usable by the player).  And the enemies I think were mostly robots or people in metal suits too.

Halloween Harry has a blue helmet.

I know that game and it wasn't that.  This was more 'serious' and the character proportions more realistic (well in that heroic game character/saturday morning cartoon sorta way I guess).  I'm starting to think it was so obscure I may never find it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 20, 2009, 07:47:59 am
IRON BLOOD perhaps?

http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/iron-blood/screenshots
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on September 20, 2009, 07:53:42 am
Hm, no it wasn't that but that does look like my kind of game.  Thanks for that.  I'm gonna go find that and give it a go.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on September 20, 2009, 07:55:00 am
Tempted to take a break from all the art study and learn to code a bit…

Learn C. All else is peripheral.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on September 20, 2009, 08:15:43 am
Learn C. All else is peripheral.

Eee... I was thinking something less hardcore and painful to learn. Along the lines of no coding confidence, hated java at uni (10 years ago, though), found Ruby in RpgMakerXP vaguely comprehensible and realized could handle something a little better than that, etc. End-user coding type... stuff. What be used in making apps on Facebook or web browser games - not what be used in making alternate universes.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on September 20, 2009, 01:34:18 pm
As an artist I find Ruby very intuitive! show me C++ or Java or PHP and I can't really read it too well, it's not as spatially recognizable.

like

Code: [Select]
class Pixel
attr_accessor :color, :x, :y

def initialize(color, x, y)
@color = color
@x = x
@y = y
end

def draw
@color.draw(@x,@y)
end

end

specific drawing syntax aside, that's a pixel.

If I wanted to make a new pixel I'd just do Pixel.new(color, x, y), and the arguments could be filled in by whatever color is currently selected, and the mouse x and y. (how you handle those is based on what input/graphic libraries you use with ruby) Very straightforward simple but powerful language!

Back when I used RMXP I had no idea how to read or write ruby haa. But it's a very different deal writing it outside of an engine with different sound and graphic libs. Makes me happy whenever I write in it <3

not to mention you can write programs to do your math homework easily hohoho~

I know twitter is done with ruby, so if you really want to get into web apps, rubyonrails is a really great thing.

Theres also flash, AdamAtomic here has his very own flixel lib for creating flash games rather simply with actionscript.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on September 20, 2009, 08:18:59 pm
Hmm, I was going through the pixel art thread, and noticed several thread topics have "[WIP]" next to them; is this now required to be placed on a thread if it's meant to be a wip or something, or is this the mods doing this for constructive purposes? And the threads that don't have Wip assigned to it, are they just meant for gallery type comments, and light critique? Just to clarify, this isn't meant as a complaint, I'm just curious as to if this is something new that pixelation is doing, for future reference. Any one know, or have I missed something?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on September 20, 2009, 09:27:18 pm
It's always seemed to be something people add to their thread in order to augment critique. Saying you aren't finished leaves some things up in the air, and tells critiquers that now is a good time to suggest changes that would fundamentally alter an image. When there is no [wip] tag, either the person didn't feel like writing it in, or they feel like they're done... But we all know what the level of "done" is on pixelation *glances at news box* so it's obviously not that topic starters want to solely showcase the art, I think.

I doubt the mods add them, it's uncharacteristic of the mods here to play mommy, they tend to play daddy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on September 20, 2009, 10:37:30 pm
Rule 6: Content tags/warnings.

If your piece is a work in progress add [WIP] in front of a title.
If it contains an element of nudity, excessive violence or such note that as well. Please use the format of "[element] Thread Title".
E.g. "[Nudity] Yus bird goes streaking!" !yus!

 :B

…Along the lines of no coding confidence, hated java at uni (10 years ago, though), found Ruby in RpgMakerXP vaguely comprehensible and realized could handle something a little better than that…

Okay. If you have a lack of confidence, just pick a language you like and learn how to program. I too witnessed the horror of Java at a university. Luckily I had enough common sense to drop CS before I sank too much money into it.

For web stuff, Ruby, Python, and JavaScript are hip languages that all the kids seem to like. I don't know of any good free Ruby or JavaScript books, but this Python one comes highly recommended:

http://www.greenteapress.com/thinkpython/thinkpython.html

[edit]

Ruby learning:

http://www.c2.com/cgi/wiki?IwannaLearnRuby

Personally, I'm learning JavaScript, despite its sordid history and many design flaws:

http://javascript.crockford.com/javascript.html
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on September 20, 2009, 11:38:50 pm
I was struggling to pick between PHP/Ruby/Python until I had another look at the syntax (http://reinholdweber.com/php/php-vs-python-vs-ruby-oop-style-syntax/) - PHP looks laughable.

I'm torn between Python and Ruby now. As Atnas points out, Ruby definitely looks simpler and a bit more intuitive (like maybe you really could be happy writing in it), but Python looks like it might not be too much harder. I'm torn. Of course I still have no idea how all this will translate to this thing called 'web application frameworks' and how it might wind up with me making a basic facebook app, but hey. I'll just pick one up and start.

It's like... perceived practicality (ruby) vs theoretical superiority & mates who can debug anything for me (python).

I have no idea yet how using Flash would compare (adamatomic + flixel libs = how simply?)

Thank you for the links. *studystudy*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on September 21, 2009, 08:36:53 am
laughable? well, for an inexperienced programmer, perhaps PHP may be a little intimidating, especially since you said you hated java, which has its similarities. but not laughable in terms of web development, PHP is powerful stuff.
python has a similar readability to ruby, but really it comes down to your own preference. just take a look at both and learn one you like better. (I for one like python better  :P)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on September 21, 2009, 10:45:59 am
Oh, I don't mean to sound arrogant or anything when I said laughable - I meant that sort of half-suffocated laugh of shock/disbelief when comparing the ease of reading the syntax. I am a VERY inexperienced programmer here. Please expect many unintended stupid sounding statements.

I certainly don't mean laughable in terms of capability! Far as I can see they're all perfectly capable of what I want to do.

From what I can see it looks like if I want web development I need to know PHP regardless - at least the basics. And it does look like Ruby vs Python aren't miles apart. Apparently if I learn one the rest will come without too much trouble, so hey... it's all good! :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dex on September 21, 2009, 08:43:22 pm
woo, it's my birthday :D \o/

to stay on topic- I've never found that much interest in programming- art and soccer are the only things that really intrigue me! Haha.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on September 21, 2009, 11:58:58 pm
Happy birthday.

Programming, like art, is appealing in that you are basically the god of your own little domain. Given enough skill and experience, the only limitation to what you create is your imagination.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 22, 2009, 12:47:00 am
I was always interested in programming, but I never have the patience to get into real programming like C++... just so much to learn and figure out. It seems like such a huge jump from scripting languages to programming.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on September 22, 2009, 04:01:46 am
Quote
real programming like C++
AFAICS languages like Python are both 'real' programming languages and scripting languages, since you can solve virtually any computational problem using them;
With any moderately complex problem domain you're trying to model, the development and usage bottleneck tends to be your own limited understanding of the domain rather than the unoptimized nature of your algorithm. IME switching to a 'low-level' language like C++ or C allows you to gain some speed at the cost of spending additional time negotiating the primitiveness of the language.

Consequently a common pattern has developed of developing in a scripting/dynamic language and only translating the points which are both simple and brute-force into a more primitive language (often C); this minimizes the cost of readjusting abstractions (inexpensive in scripting languages, very expensive and error-prone in low-level languages), which as I said, is the thing you are likely to spend most time doing.
The fact that PyTables (http://www.pytables.org), a very-high-performance system for storing and querying huge amounts of structured data, is implemented mostly in Python, illustrates this.

You only need to get into C/C++ if you really truly need exacting performance. Most people don't (especially because performance tuning tends to make your code more fragile and give you disincentives to revise it.)

Be aware though that C++ is very much an overinflated language design -- it's complexity is far beyond the reasonable.
If you want OO+high performance, Vala may be a better bet.

Quote
Programming, like art, is appealing in that you are basically the god of your own little domain. Given enough skill and experience, the only limitation to what you create is your imagination.

YES. That is EXACTLY why I like programming so much.

Quote
Ruby definitely looks simpler and a bit more intuitive (like maybe you really could be happy writing in it), but Python looks like it might not be too much harder.

I can only say: I am really happy writing in Python. Like, really really happy. The phrase 'fits your brain' is associated with it for a good reason. Almost all of the time in a coding session for me is spent problem-solving, rather than negotiating the language.

This set of images might be interesting:

http://flickr.com/photos/nicksieger/281055485/
http://flickr.com/photos/nicksieger/281055530/
http://flickr.com/photos/nicksieger/280662707/
http://flickr.com/photos/nicksieger/280661836/

-- from http://www.mail-archive.com/numpy-discussion@lists.sourceforge.net/msg03837.html

(dependency graphs for the grammars of Python, C, Java, and Ruby. Java is hilariously bad.)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 22, 2009, 05:02:41 am
Quote
real programming like C++
AFAICS languages like Python are both 'real' programming languages and scripting languages, since you can solve virtually any computational problem using them;
With any moderately complex problem domain you're trying to model, the development and usage bottleneck tends to be your own limited understanding of the domain rather than the unoptimized nature of your algorithm. IME switching to a 'low-level' language like C++ or C allows you to gain some speed at the cost of spending additional time negotiating the primitiveness of the language.
I never said they weren't? The comparison of 'real' was to scripting languages that I'm familiar with.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on September 22, 2009, 02:57:30 pm
Looking at the examples provided for PHP, Ruby and Python, I find that the PHP example is humanly readable and makes sense. I could read that out loud to a kid and he'd have some sense of what I'm talking about.

Ruby and Python's OO structures make no sense whatsoever. They both have massive advantages over PHP in most areas, but not readability imo. Besides that the synthax of Python always seemed so out of nowhere to me. It's counter intuitive.

I guess it's to each his or her own? :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on September 23, 2009, 12:20:19 am
Looking at the examples provided for PHP, Ruby and Python, I find that the PHP example is humanly readable and makes sense. I could read that out loud to a kid and he'd have some sense of what I'm talking about.
I think I should point out -- you don't read out German to an English speaker and judge the sensibility of the Germanic language
based on how much that person understands... that would be measuring something else. IMO a much more meaningful metric is how often the language bites experienced users of it. For example, I find C and C++ bite a lot (C++ more due to added complexity), which seems to match people's common experience of it. (Java is something I haven't tried but seems to bite people at a rate comparable to C++). Python bites very little (meaning I can very often write a routine and it will work right first time) -- this is also confirmed by plenty of other people. I haven't tried Ruby, I would guess it bites a little more than Python (based on the flowcharts I linked). Lua is also pretty good for un-biteyness. Dunno about PHP (it looks like a much simplified Java to me)
Smalltalk seems like it might bite the least of the languages I've heard of, so I hope to try it sometime soon.

Quote
Ruby and Python's OO structures make no sense whatsoever. They both have massive advantages over PHP in most areas, but not readability imo. Besides that the synthax of Python always seemed so out of nowhere to me. It's counter intuitive.

I guess it's to each his or her own? :)
Yeah.. personally, Python/Lua's* OO is the only kind that does make sense to me -- although Smalltalk sounds interesting, I've never actually tried it. C++'s OO is some kind of cthuloid abomination (FYI: I learnt C++ before Python)

I agree that __len__ etc in some senses are not very readable -- otoh __len__ marks it as a 'system' method
(cf.  '_foo' which would be a method internal to the class -- probably only called by other methods to do some low level work)

Intuitiveness is just a measure of how well something fits with your particular habits, according to Peter Sikking (interaction architect working on GIMP UI) and a few other famous usability researchers (eg. jef raskin). So it is indeed personal.

* haven't tried ruby, I'll guess it's probably similar enough.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on September 23, 2009, 12:41:31 am
Personally, I think that what you define as "biting" is just something novice programmers go through, not something that applies to trained professionals who know the difference between memory managed by reference types and dereferenced pointer types (example).

It's all about speed of development really. All languages discussed are mature, potent languages with certain disadvantages and advantages. Simplicity and readability have always been a trophy reserved for C style synthax (C, Java, PHP, C#, etc). Feature set and depth of capabilities traditionally belong to Python style languages (Python, Ruby, others).

The result is that you'll see that the more rigid the project and the more people working on it, the faster companies will go for Java, C++ or C#. Python and Ruby are languages most often used by smaller groups of people looking for a rapid deployment of complex (web) behavior. At least, that's how I feel the business works right now.

If you write a complex codebase in Java, and hand it over to another team, they will easily be able to understand and reuse this codebase (provided you stick to analytic object oriented design, which is a given in Java). If a complex codebase in Python is handed over, things will not always go as smoothly, as the complexity of the language features and synthax tend to obfuscate algorithms, decrease readabilty, etc.

In professional software land, language is not really an issue when talking about one man teams. Choose whatever works best for you. When talking about big teams cooperating (a plethora of programmers working on a codebase over a span of years), you'll see language, platforms, API's becoming very important. The language chosen will depend on the workflow of development of a whole company, which is about complex analys, money, time, personalities, available training to staff, etc.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on September 23, 2009, 03:39:40 am
If you write a complex codebase in Java, and hand it over to another team, they will easily be able to understand and reuse this codebase (provided you stick to analytic object oriented design, which is a given in Java). If a complex codebase in Python is handed over, things will not always go as smoothly, as the complexity of the language features and synthax tend to obfuscate algorithms, decrease readabilty, etc.

What?

.....
.....
.....

Wait, what?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on September 23, 2009, 04:54:51 am
Personally, I think that what you define as "biting" is just something novice programmers go through, not something that applies to trained professionals who know the difference between memory managed by reference types and dereferenced pointer types (example).
that terminology was taken from commentary by a professional programmer, who said there were some languages, where you've been using them intensively for years and they *still* give you nasty surprises, and other languages that generally don't. He attributed this to the relative complexity of the offending languages (more precisely, the degree that they fail to be internally consistent and therefore predictable.)

Quote
It's all about speed of development really. All languages discussed are mature, potent languages with certain disadvantages and advantages. Simplicity and readability have always been a trophy reserved for C style synthax (C, Java, PHP, C#, etc). Feature set and depth of capabilities traditionally belong to Python style languages (Python, Ruby, others).
C style simple? Perhaps.
Readable? well, it's better than Forth, Perl, assembly, and maybe Lua; I can't really see why you would compare its readability favorably to Python or Ruby.

Quote
The result is that you'll see that the more rigid the project and the more people working on it, the faster companies will go for Java, C++ or C#. Python and Ruby are languages most often used by smaller groups of people looking for a rapid deployment of complex (web) behavior. At least, that's how I feel the business works right now.
I can believe that.

Quote
If you write a complex codebase in Java, and hand it over to another team, they will easily be able to understand and reuse this codebase (provided you stick to analytic object oriented design, which is a given in Java). If a complex codebase in Python is handed over, things will not always go as smoothly, as the complexity of the language features and synthax tend to obfuscate algorithms, decrease readabilty, etc.
I find it difficult to imagine any knowledgable programmer taking the above claim seriously, although obviously you do.
I think you observed a pattern 'If a complex codebase in Python is handed over, things will not always go as smoothly'
accurately, and then erroneously rationalized it as 'the complexity of the language features and synthax tend to obfuscate algorithms, decrease readabilty, etc.'

Quote
In professional software land, language is not really an issue when talking about one man teams. Choose whatever works best for you. When talking about big teams cooperating (a plethora of programmers working on a codebase over a span of years), you'll see language, platforms, API's becoming very important. The language chosen will depend on the workflow of development of a whole company, which is about complex analys, money, time, personalities, available training to staff, etc.
Well, I agree with that, surely.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Frychiko on September 23, 2009, 06:27:28 am
Personally, I think that what you define as "biting" is just something novice programmers go through, not something that applies to trained professionals who know the difference between memory managed by reference types and dereferenced pointer types (example)

Heh.. "professionally trained" programmers? There are such people that get professionally trained to program? Sounds like university graduates who end up not knowing how to program at all.

As for those issues just biting novices.. only a novice would say something like that. Managing memory was a pain in the ass...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on September 23, 2009, 10:42:42 am
   I'm having a strange problem with Promotion. I wanna' know if someone experienced Promotion users here has ever experienced this; basically, if I try to do a simple 2 frame animation, the 2nd frame ends up being auto cropped/chopped off toward the bottom and right sides AFTER I save it, close it out and reopen it. Doesn't happen if I do 3 frame animations or above. The funny thing is, if I upload that same chopped image, it loads just fine to the web. But if another promotion user saves the file and loads it into his promotion program, than back we go into the chopping issue .
   I've tried re-saving as different file names, saving on to the web, and re-saving it onto my pc, and even reworking it in mspaint, and copying and pasting it...NO difference. I'm totally stumped over this...looked online, and can't find any one who has this problem. I verified my crop settings were normal as well. Any one ever experience this?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 23, 2009, 12:20:57 pm
This is very odd. Which version of PM do you use. Also I suggest saving animations and such as .pmp files as that is native to PM and should not yield any problems.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on September 23, 2009, 04:57:59 pm
   I use Promotion V5.1. I was actually able to save it as a ".bmp" file and the 2 frame animation worked just fine. So it must be something with the .gif file type, it doesn't like with 2 frame animations. In either case, I'm going to see if I can email Promotion author, Jan Zimmermann, over the issue. Hopefully he might have a simple solution to this.

Thanks though, Pee-Toe!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 23, 2009, 05:19:11 pm
PM6 does this as well. I reckon it's about how gif is stored and how PM is reading it. As in that only changed pixels get stored. It's odd it only happens with 2 framed stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on September 23, 2009, 05:29:22 pm
   Yes, I just noticed it now, that it's only cropping off where changes made to the 2nd frame are at( I believe I've seen this happen in Photoshop one time as well, but not to the point where I can keep recreating the problem, like with Promotion). If no changes are made to the 2nd frame, then it nearly chops/crops out the whole piece. Hopefully, Mr. Zimmerman may have some type of explanation or a quick patch update, that MAY fix it. I know it's an issue that can be bypassed, but it's still a slight annoyance.

   Oh well, at least this could be a good "known issues" log for pixelation users using Pro Motion, heh...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on September 26, 2009, 01:07:46 am
OK GUYS WHO WANTS TO KNOW HOW TO GET TRUE PIXEL PERFECT 2:1 ISOMETRIC PROJECTION IN WINGS 3D?

EVERYONE!? I GUESSED SO : D

edit>numerical camera input

X:2, Y:1.63299316185545206547, Z:2.

THIS NUMBER!!! ffff

anyways input that and you've got the camera in an isometric angle. now you can render out isometric bases to pixel upon for great justice.

Goddamnit me and my friend tried so much stuff until he came up with the right equation for finding out the point in space where we needed the camera. HALLELUJAH!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on September 26, 2009, 05:35:57 pm
major areas here got buried...

a whole month's rain fell over six hours, as Tropical Storm Ketsana lashed the archipelago, causing the worst flooding in Manila for 20 years.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dex on September 26, 2009, 10:39:29 pm
Oh wow, hope everyone's alright...

It's been raining non-stop all day here too, but nowhere near as bad as where you are, Froli!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on September 30, 2009, 05:50:34 am
My close and personal cat friend, whom my sister named "Gigi", but whom I refer to as "Gigimaru", has been MIA for close to a month.  :'(:'(:'( I fear he has either found a new home with some undeserving family, or worse, has met a grizzly death. I will, however, keep searching for him around the neighborhood, and will always keep the fire buring.  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on September 30, 2009, 11:29:00 am
I hope you find him, or that he's happy and well. Check wall gaps if there are any around the place too, though that happens more with kittens than big cats AFAIK. Also check the pounds and RSPCA type places - they keep pets for a while - put up fliers, etc. Best of luck.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on October 14, 2009, 03:31:43 am
AW! BLu......I know exactly what that's like, same thing happened to me too =O Dont be like me and  if he comes back make sure he doesnt go away give him a good treat :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on October 17, 2009, 01:47:40 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plhgyp0KNQQ
The song's not anything amazing, but everyone here should enjoy the video.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 20, 2009, 12:58:47 am
http://www.viddler.com/HelmLL/videos/

My Flashback playthrough from last year is back, on a new host after Vimeo bahleted everything LP-related, in the case anyone missed it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on October 20, 2009, 03:01:08 am
Bad link?

http://www.viddler.com/explore/HelmLL/videos/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on October 20, 2009, 04:17:18 am
cool, I DID miss your flashback playthru...and yea the link doesnt work
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 20, 2009, 02:37:37 pm
Fixed link, thanks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on October 21, 2009, 11:24:31 am
Waagh, my knee! The pain - the pain!! It's all weird and non-specific but in one particular place all at the same time. It's almost the kind of pain that makes you laugh. Anyone know that?

House hunting for rentals today - to see ONE open inspection in Melbourne, it took me six hours of public transport. Missus has the car outta town.

I had it all planned out and then the first bus arrived early. Extra early, even - I'd set my mobile ahead to be safe. Throw in the next bus being a bit late, a super busy highway with no crossings dividing me from my target and an inspection window shortened to ten minutes and I was running around in black dress shoes and a brand new suit. Knee suddenly went clicky - like when the missus sat on it and it bent the wrong way. I got there on time, but we're unlikely to get it anyway. Bah!

Missed my original bus back, then sat at the wrong platform at the train station, then the train home had to stop half way, connecting buses didn't show up, then I got sent back to the train for another two stops after which the bus home wouldn't let me in because he was convinced I wanted the OTHER bus that would require yet more walking on a very sore knee. And I helped a friend miss their flight because I didn't correct them on the time difference... d-oh!

I would've loved to have spent all that time pixelling! :(

If any of you are fabulously wealthy landowners looking to rent out in eastern Melbourne, I'd love to know.  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on October 22, 2009, 12:39:53 am
Scribb, you suck at life! j/k You sound almost as scattered as me. One of those days when yer better off staying put, I've had them. I'd help out . . . but I'm on a slightly different continent. Coincidentally, I'm also moving. Waiting to sell, though; not looking yet. Better get that knee checked, what if it's the cartlidge kneecap. I understand damage to that area can be permanent and debilitating.

The Flashback videos are amazing. I got all the way through Out of This World, I recall the end cutscene riding a pterodactyl into the sunset or something like that. Apparently, the main guy behind it is doing a game for the Wii (http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2007/02/01/flashback-creator-working-on-wii-title-with-eric-viennot/). Probably nothing like it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on October 22, 2009, 01:17:50 am
Whoops, I missed what Helm was on about there. It was followed by 'Fade to Black', wasn't it?

This is great, I can just watch the entire game through :D I loved it but didn't have the patience for it back then.

What's the music you were playing, Helm?

Tangent - that youtube video is pretty impressive, too (the one Taka.M linked above).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 22, 2009, 05:10:46 am
what youtube video

The music is Loscil, Biosphere, Maitreya.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zoggles on October 22, 2009, 05:34:44 am
Awesome play-through Helm hehe you make it look *so* much easier than I ever remember it being. Then again.. I don't think I ever realised about the animation invincibility frames back then.

Great commentary too :) an interesting read - though in many places required constant pausing to make sure to read both it and any onscreen dialogue etc. Watching the playthrough again, that last New Washington work mission just seems so bizarre.. I mean woot.. we have a faulty board in the main electric power supply for the city..and going in to replace it will trigger a 90second self detonation sequence..  anyone with a work permit who wants the job can have it.. no extra credentials required.. the power for the city rests in your hands stranger.. good luck and p.s. please don't fail or we'll all be buggered.

I remembered the Death Tower stuff very clearly. That (at the time) seemed to be a pretty sudden 'difficulty' jump but also remember the lovely street scene and getting the taxi. Oddly however, I couldn't remember the last level(s) at all - though the ending I could recall. Whenever I have flashback of Flashback though it is always of the first zone. Beautiful art, excellent control of level design, good use of puzzles, and very nicely allows you to experiment and familiarise yourself with the controls and mechanics.

Anyway.. a nice trip down memory lane that I probably wouldn't have had without your uploads. I will at some point find the time to give the game another play - and will pay attention to the invicibility moments :)

Thanks for sharing that.

-Z-
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 22, 2009, 06:58:38 am
I've very glad you got something out of them, Zoggles :)
Death Tower is an up in difficulty I guess... up to there most fights could be buttonmashed more or less and then you could recharge your health whenever. But I've gotten so good in the game over the years I don't notice it anymore. I do still have some trouble in the alienworld stages even to this day, though.

I think Flashback is very emblematic of what I call 'Amiga design', though not so much in the negatives as usual. What I mean is that the game starts strong and has amazing technical features for its time (like Shadow of the Beast and its rolling plains for example) but it suffers from inconsistent design from there and on. Flashback is still pretty remarkably playable as compared to other Amiga standout games though, and I suspect that is because it was designed to be played on a console. But it's still pretty esoteric in this mechanics and it does meander as it goes on a bit (last 3 stages).

Yeah the timed 'plz fx our reaktorz, kthanx' mission is supremely nonsensical, heh
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on October 22, 2009, 07:13:40 am
Edited post above to clarify - youtube video was linked in .TakaM just before your link, Helm.

I'm loving the commentary you included on the game, Helm. Think you'll do anything else like that?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 02, 2009, 03:56:22 pm
Today some jerk cut me off, I honked my horn at him so he decided to follow me home.
I wasn't having a great day so when I pulled up my driveway and saw he was coming up too, I slammed on the brakes, got out and started walking to his car.

Not sure how I was gonna get it done, but my general goal was to punch him in the face. But he reversed out and left before I got to his car.


And tonight I finally had enough of the noise my Wii has been making and opened it up to see what the problem was.
A tiny bit of metal was hitting the plastic part that holds the disc in place as it spins, applying a tiny bit of force made it spin silently again, so I tried to bend it back to a position that wouldn't interfere.
I barely bent it at all, mere fractions of a degree in fact, but now my Wii can only try and fail to spin a disc.




mmnnmbklelleghhhhh

edit-
I can get the discs to spin now...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on November 04, 2009, 08:57:03 am
Weird road story here too - some terrible driver yesterday had a kid on a bike hanging off his rear bumper and didn't seem to realize it, so I tried to cut him off and get him to slow down. He just honked his horn at me, drowning out the screams of the poor kid being dragged along the road! I ended up following him for ages before he pulled into a driveway and finally got out - oh, waitaminute...

Having only recently gotten into the whole driving thing (documented a few posts back, actually) I'm just starting to get the hang of this whole road rage thing. Mostly it's rage at people calling me when I'm driving - I can't change a radio station without veering off the road, and I went through a red light* yesterday trying to tell my fiancé who'd called to stay INSIDE and wait at work if there are creepy people outside in a random street she doesn't have to wait for me in >_<

But there are so many idiots. EVERYONE in Melbourne speeds. And so many people do not indicate before overtaking or merging. Or people get pissed because you're not doing the speed limit BEFORE you pass the sign. Eesh.

*Light turns green, arrow stays red, I always find them easy to mess up on. About a half dozen cars followed me through when I made the mistake!!

Oh, and my hard drive failed. A newer one. With many of my old birdie photos. The PC it was in had been switched off (on the PSU) for months and never had problems, but somehow it died when I turned it on - to back everything up. XD Apparently freezing it in a sealed bag might get it to work for a few minutes...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 07, 2009, 07:28:14 pm
First kiss~! .   3 .

i missed
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scribblette on November 07, 2009, 11:20:45 pm
loflmao - and grats.

I've never heard of a first kiss going down flawlessly. They've always been mini-disaster stories.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Pawige on November 08, 2009, 01:34:59 am
I finally beat Spelunky! I am pathetic! But it feels so good!  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on November 08, 2009, 05:02:54 pm
I've never heard of a first kiss going down flawlessly. They've always been mini-disaster stories.

I don't know, seems like I defy that rule then. Takes a while to find the right moment, but once it's there, it's easy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 0xDB on November 09, 2009, 05:22:37 pm
lurk=off

The company that I work for as a Software Developer recently moved further into the city and as a result I spend around 2x20 minutes on the subway each day.
So today after work, I bought myself a small sketchbook, thinking I should put that time to good use instead of just sitting around listening to the idle gossip of the other passengers all the time.

Alright, so armed with that new sketchbook and the pencil that I already put into my pocket this morning I went back to the subway, got a little annoyed that I couldn't get a seat in one of the corners of the wagon at first (still got one later and no I don't know why it's important to me to get a seat in a corner (maybe it's because I'm a bit shy and want to hide what I'm doing)), opened the book and stared at the first blank page.

"Now what to draw" I thought and then just started drawing leafs and turned the thing into a small bush with some grass below and suddenly I had already reached my destination.

Lessons learned: 1.) It's unnecessary to worry about other people on the subway taking an interest in what I do and even more pointless to worry about them starting to talk to me, because everybody seems to be pretty busy with themselves or busy trying hard to put on a blank face or busy burying their noses into their books and magazines.
2.) Time flies when you do what you love.
3.) It's difficult to draw clean lines and curves with all the heavy rumbling and shaking from the train.
4.) I need to do this more often to gain more self confidence and so that I really stop feeling watched eventually.

Questions:
Anyone else sketch on their way to/from work?
Do you draw from imagination or do you draw the people on the train/bus?
If you draw the people, do you ask them for permission or do you just try to draw them without them noticing? (e.g. draw the people a bit further away, who are busy doing something(reading, looking out of the windows) and not the ones directly in front of you)

edit: (almost forgot, here's the little thingy (didn't know where to put this as the doodle thread only seemed to be for pixelart doodles)
(http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/6664/20091109.png)

lurk=on
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on November 09, 2009, 06:12:02 pm
Actually my first kiss was pretty darn fantastic. On a hillside with indie-rock blaring at the festival down below on a beautiful day, and we had just eaten sandwiches so she tasted like peanut butter.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on November 09, 2009, 06:59:11 pm
damn, straight out of an indie chick flick. nice.

mine was boring, but nothing went wrong...we were watching a movie. that's about it . positive experiences for the win!  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 09, 2009, 08:34:23 pm
my first goat was very receptive
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 10, 2009, 11:53:30 am
my first goat was very receptive
hahaha, that doesnt sound too different from MY first kiss! I was into being dramatic and punishing myself at the time
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 0xDB on November 10, 2009, 03:50:02 pm
Did more random drawing in the subway today. The one on the right is one of those litterboxes that come out of the walls in the wagons (drawn this morning). The one on the left is a random creature reading (inspired by the guy in front of me, who was reading a book and since I didn't have the courage to observe and sketch him, I drew this creature instead (drawn 20 minutes ago)).
The rumbling and shaking of the wagon really makes it hard to draw clean lines or even shade a given area without accidentally crossing the boundaries of the perceived shape.

Anyway, I'm inspired to do a pixel art piece titled "In The Subway" with a perspective view into the wagon with all sorts of strange creatures engaging in typical subway activities (mostly blank staring or peeking at the few beautyful females) to capture the mood of an early morning subway ride to work. Need to draw more inspiration from the subway for that in the upcoming days though...

(http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5434/20091110.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on November 11, 2009, 12:26:20 am
I like these train sketchings very much Dennis!  A train seems like the perfect environment to practice drawing.  You've got the people, of course, doing all sorts of activities, the different textures of the materials in the train, the reflections on the glass, the outside environment going by (which could be interesting to try to draw in motion).  I usually sketch during/between class or while on the shitter  :blind:.  You mostly get bricks, benches, and people reading books.  In the bathroom, you get ducts and sinks and dirty cloths.  Neither is very diverse when compared to a train. 

Going back and forth from strict reproductions of what I see to free imagination faces and abstract geometry seems to do the trick for me.  The strict reproductions are always more rewarding personally, though.

I never ask permission to draw anybody.  I don't really care if this is rude, but it might be useful to have a talk about the ethics of asking people for permission to draw their likeness.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 11, 2009, 12:29:01 am
Bleh, my tooth is killing me! Well, might not even be my tooth. Just the whole side of my face is pulsing pain, especially at the 'hinge' of my jaw.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zoggles on November 11, 2009, 12:35:12 am
Not that I sketch people, but if I did, I don't think I'd bother 'asking permission' to do so. Why should you? You are simply drawing things in your current view - in the same way as people might catch you in a photograph they are taking. If the person looks agitated from it then sure.. scrap it and move to someone else. Jeez.. there are enough CCTV cameras and stuff around these days - and if anything there is more reason to be uncomfortable by them capturing your full likeness and actions rather than some bumpy train ride sketch by someone passing time on his/her commute to work.

-Z-
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 11, 2009, 12:49:43 am
Bleh, my tooth is killing me! Well, might not even be my tooth. Just the whole side of my face is pulsing pain, especially at the 'hinge' of my jaw.

Dude, see a dentist. In the worst case this can be a tooth infection which spread to the bone of your jaw. I had something similar last year, where I had a hole in my tooth for ages which was not visible from because it was between the molars where the view is blocked. Result was partial jaw infection and the tooth being dead.

If I had not gone to the doc it could have ended really bad. Tho at some point I got a really high fever because of the infection. But yeh, go to a dentist, play it safe.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 11, 2009, 01:56:32 am
Bleh, my tooth is killing me! Well, might not even be my tooth. Just the whole side of my face is pulsing pain, especially at the 'hinge' of my jaw.

Dude, see a dentist. In the worst case this can be a tooth infection which spread to the bone of your jaw. I had something similar last year, where I had a hole in my tooth for ages which was not visible from because it was between the molars where the view is blocked. Result was partial jaw infection and the tooth being dead.

If I had not gone to the doc it could have ended really bad. Tho at some point I got a really high fever because of the infection. But yeh, go to a dentist, play it safe.
Ya I've been to the dentist before and ended up having an infection... though this doesn't feel anything like that toothache. I swear it feels like my jaw is dislocated or something. Definitely going to see a dentist soon if this doesn't clear up, it's unbearable.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 11, 2009, 02:49:13 am
I get chronic migraines, and a lot of the time the experience is as you've described, the pain all along the whole right half of my face, especially my temple, behind my eye, through the hinge, and into my teeth. May be what you're describing, I dunno. Drink water if you don't do that enough...? : D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 11, 2009, 02:57:33 am
Nah, I get migraines and it's nothing like this. I realized though at night even while I'm awake I clamp ridiculously hard... getting a mouth piece tomorrow, heh.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 0xDB on November 11, 2009, 04:56:47 pm
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on commute-sketching Rydin and Zoggles, they helped me today to just go ahead and draw the people without asking. I think I'll post my daily sketches to the OT creativity from now on, as there does not seem to be a sketch thread yet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on November 12, 2009, 02:36:39 pm
Nah, I get migraines and it's nothing like this. I realized though at night even while I'm awake I clamp ridiculously hard... getting a mouth piece tomorrow, heh.

I was about to say, sometimes I clench my jaw very tight at night and wake up with sore pain all through it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on November 12, 2009, 04:45:32 pm
I clench my jaw very tight at night and wake up with sore pain

This happens to me every now and then.  Stuffing some blanket in my mouth, so my jaw relaxes, seems to put a stop to it.  I know that my mom has the same problem, and she wears a mouth guard thing that she got special made at the dentist.  They make a cast of your mouth and make it out of some expensive material.  For me, it's a matter of the cost of a special fitted tooth guard versus the cost of my blanket  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Emtch on November 15, 2009, 08:15:29 pm
Turned 18 today. Got a big wacom touch n pen.
I don't feel old and weak so maybe growing old isn't such a bad thing  :sigh:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 16, 2009, 03:24:44 pm
Wait until you wake up with a sore back, and it never goes away.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: miascugh on November 18, 2009, 01:09:36 pm
Definitely nsfw, nor entirely off-topic ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egcXvqiho4w
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 18, 2009, 04:47:22 pm
that's amazing! and great pixel-art too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on November 18, 2009, 04:58:42 pm
Reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSdoDjcI5VE (take the suggestion of downloading the high quality file. unless you're into dingy youtube grunge...)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on November 18, 2009, 05:25:46 pm
INSANE ARTIST ALERT (http://eriksandberg.net/index.htm)

That Kings of 4 billion% was amazing. So much art and you barely get to see it as it flashes by.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on November 18, 2009, 08:20:09 pm
I liked the pixel art and power-ups in the trucker anim, but I'm undecided on all the pooping. It was a bit jarring -- I'm like oooh, sexy, then uh...what...wait...no pooping.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Darien on November 19, 2009, 05:23:08 am
yeah I feel the same way about the pooping and the massive penis raping, but the pixel art was neat
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 19, 2009, 06:54:42 am
It's great that it makes one uncomfortable!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on November 19, 2009, 02:55:46 pm
I guess it's an ironic contrast -- to present something within the context of game graphics, but break taboos in ways I haven't seen video games do. You know, since all video games are for kids and developers don't want to upset mothers.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 19, 2009, 08:01:31 pm
The first poop was awesome, the rest of the poops felt iffy to me!

I LOVE the parallax of the huge girl in space, that one point just felt. Aaah! Wonderful. Then more poop. The combination and contrast between the most wonderfullest mode7-ish mock-3d colon-from-inside and poops made me feel good shivers followed by disgusted shivers followed by that cycle again.

Anyways it's awesome. I need to start making this kind of stuff too. It's totally what I'd use my pixel art for.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on November 20, 2009, 05:16:57 am
(http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/5526/mbwhite.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 20, 2009, 07:46:56 pm
Mathias.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TkWUxIqoJ4
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on November 20, 2009, 08:13:47 pm
yeah I feel the same way about the pooping and the massive penis raping, but the pixel art was neat

I'm not too sure about the pooping either, but that massive penis rape was absolutely hilarious.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 20, 2009, 09:51:26 pm
Pooping is taboo but raping is awesome?

NO I KNOW BUT ISN'T IT FUN?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on November 20, 2009, 10:10:58 pm
ダンスの女の子!  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 20, 2009, 11:07:37 pm
ダンスの女の子!  :y:

何で英語のコミュニティーで日本語しゃべってんの~。誰もわからないからな。(≧Д≦;)

Translation: Wtf rydin why are you typing in japanese
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on November 21, 2009, 03:05:02 am
Jad.

errhhmm, that was very happy. Thank you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on November 21, 2009, 04:55:53 pm
IT'S COMET BOY! RYUUSEI SHOUNEN! RYUUSEI BOY! COMET SHOUNEN!

Don't you see the awesomeness in the coincidentaliciousness
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on November 21, 2009, 08:51:41 pm
I know most of you guys might not be into fps stuff but holy shit I need this thing like NOW! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YOIiAws2Tw&feature=related)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on November 21, 2009, 09:43:42 pm
I know most of you guys might not be into fps stuff but holy shit I need this thing like NOW! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YOIiAws2Tw&feature=related)

Neat design and concept, though I don't think it will be very successful, what with additional "artificial" weight/force possibly causing more of a chance of cramping and joint issues...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on November 21, 2009, 10:14:38 pm
I know most of you guys might not be into fps stuff but holy shit I need this thing like NOW! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YOIiAws2Tw&feature=related)

I could see some interesting [mis?]use in some of those Japanese sim games. Nipple Twist Simulator EXTREME Edition?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on November 21, 2009, 10:21:15 pm
I know most of you guys might not be into fps stuff but holy shit I need this thing like NOW! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YOIiAws2Tw&feature=related)

I could see some interesting [mis?]use in some of those Japanese sim games. Nipple Twist Simulator EXTREME Edition?
I see you understand why I need one of those things then.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on November 22, 2009, 06:12:02 pm
in case anyones interested I put up some new shots of one of my two main retro pixel game projects I been doing.  This one being level 1 of a game called 'Hero - Celestial Force' which started off as a fan game of the game 'Hero' by my friend Ultimortal (who also created the popular 'Iji') before it sorta grew with more colors (though I am only using colors from a modified NES palette) and slightly larger sprites and 8 way shooting and stuff.  And it was only meant to be a 2 week project I began almost 3 years ago to the day.  Am very slow.
http://amon-devilman.deviantart.com/art/Hero-CF-221109-144395853 (http://amon-devilman.deviantart.com/art/Hero-CF-221109-144395853)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on November 22, 2009, 08:42:57 pm
in case anyones interested I put up some new shots of one of my two main retro pixel game projects I been doing.  This one being level 1 of a game called 'Hero - Celestial Force' which started off as a fan game of the game 'Hero' by my friend Ultimortal (who also created the popular 'Iji') before it sorta grew with more colors (though I am only using colors from a modified NES palette) and slightly larger sprites and 8 way shooting and stuff.  And it was only meant to be a 2 week project I began almost 3 years ago to the day.  Am very slow.
http://amon-devilman.deviantart.com/art/Hero-CF-221109-144395853 (http://amon-devilman.deviantart.com/art/Hero-CF-221109-144395853)

Ah that looks wicked - got proper nostalgia from those screens.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on November 23, 2009, 06:45:48 am
Over the course of the past two months I learned that our company might be bought out by Zynga, flew out to San Francisco for an interview by Zynga, learned that we were indeed being bought out by Zynga, and then subsequently left behind what was my life in Wisconsin in order to start anew in California. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem much has changed. I've got a few friends who moved out here from Wisco a while back, and the team that I've been working with over the past three or four years all moved out here, too. So now, I'm basically doing the exact same thing that I was before, just in a new area, and from an actual office instead of my house.

Two things.

1) If there's anybody in the San Francisco area that likes meeting awesome new people, let me know, as I'm down to make more friends.

2) If there are any flash developers looking for a really great place to work, Zynga is aggressively hiring and offers some amazing benefits to boot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: khorin on November 23, 2009, 07:27:15 am
Doppleganger - Wow, that's a perfect example of positive life changes! It's not often the people you know move with you too. Just last year, I moved away from a rather large to city to a tiny spec on the map. Unfortunately, I haven't made any friends in a town of less than 1k people. Most of them are rednecks.  :crazy: Luckily, I'll be going back to uni this Spring so the making friends part should be easier.

--------

Wow, I haven't been to Pixelation in a long time. I've been lurking every now and then. In the past couple of years I've been doing pixel art sparingly but my need to be creative in many ways has tempted me to do it more often now. Just today, I spent the whole of it practicing. Fun. Anyway, I'm hoping to be more active here and post some stuff for critique soon.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on November 23, 2009, 10:09:22 am
I could see some interesting [mis?]use in some of those Japanese sim games. Nipple Twist Simulator EXTREME Edition?
No one would ever missuse one of these! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfrMalBiXuY)

I've had my eye on those Novint folks for a while now. More interested for 3D modelling than gaming. They are apparently working on a 3DOF grip which would mean a full 6DOF haptic system which doesn't cost thousands of dollars. Nice.

in case anyones interested I put up some new shots of one of my two main retro pixel game projects I been doing.  This one being level 1 of a game called 'Hero - Celestial Force' which started off as a fan game of the game 'Hero' by my friend Ultimortal (who also created the popular 'Iji') before it sorta grew with more colors (though I am only using colors from a modified NES palette) and slightly larger sprites and 8 way shooting and stuff.  And it was only meant to be a 2 week project I began almost 3 years ago to the day.  Am very slow.
http://amon-devilman.deviantart.com/art/Hero-CF-221109-144395853 (http://amon-devilman.deviantart.com/art/Hero-CF-221109-144395853)
Any builds of this beauty floating around anywhere yet?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ultimaodin on November 23, 2009, 12:15:18 pm
Ok, not sure about this but I haven't seen any regulations for posting links to other forums but I have to post this as it's incrediby messed the F up!

http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/18/t1451041-man-marries-video-game-character/

I really think this guy is going to need more than a nipple twist simulator.

I've decided their is such a thing as going to far with pixels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on November 23, 2009, 03:54:30 pm
Any builds of this beauty floating around anywhere yet?

Soonish.  The engines pretty much sorted but there's several crucial things I need to finish before a demo can be released such as a few level objects and notice the lizardy trooper guys aren't paying any real attention to the player character in the top right shot.  They're what I'm working on right now.  They're a bit more complex in behaviour than what I would normally do but I think it's worth the extra work.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on November 24, 2009, 09:29:54 am
I've been playing Braid and I feel a need to express some criticism. The graphs are awesome but I detect a lot of dodge/burn brush usage.. it would've been better with less of that sort of thing. The gameplay is good abd responsive, but playing itself feels more like work than having fun, because the levels and puzzles are built in a way that you can't ever relax and fool around, you need to be giving a 100% performance all the time in order to beat the levels. Some simple monster bashing levels here and there would've made playing it less exhausting.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 24, 2009, 10:38:02 am
At times it's not a fun game to play and at other times it demands that you put it down for a duration, I feel both are warranted emotions given what the game's about.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on November 24, 2009, 01:26:54 pm
At times it's not a fun game to play and at other times it demands that you put it down for a duration, I feel both are warranted emotions given what the game's about.

I suppose so. It feels good to solve a puzzle, but it doesn't get you hooked like puzzle games normally do.

 Anyway, what I'd really like to play is a platformer which obviously has good controls but is also atmopspheric, not too hectic (the pace being mid-tempo or slow) and that's sort of traditional and relaxing, has some puzzles, gem/fruit collecting and monster bashing in it.. no need for fresh or contemporary ideas (like in Braid or Littlebigplanet). Maybe the Giana Sisters DS would be just the game for me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on November 24, 2009, 02:06:33 pm
I haven't played all the way through Braid, the only thing that threw me off with that game is the writing. There's poetry and then there's pretentious essays... and Blow falls on the wrong side of that line.

Speaking of indie games has anyone played Machinarium yet? I'm a good ways into it and it's lovely - good example of both games as art and games as a storytelling medium. I haven't been this charmed by a game since Little Big Planet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 24, 2009, 02:13:12 pm
I got Machinarium and I finished it. Very nice game, charming art and music.

It has a bunch of slight annoyances but nothing too bad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on November 24, 2009, 10:09:08 pm
I played the demo for Machinarium and really liked the atmosphere and design. Might get it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on November 24, 2009, 10:19:09 pm
Oh man, I love Machinarium.  I'm taking it in real slow and savoring each little bit.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on November 25, 2009, 08:51:53 pm
Jad, everyone wants to use my incredibly original name!

Yes, lovely graphics in Machinarium. I wish I had the patience/motivation to play through it so I could all of the cool gfx in it, but like most games - I do not . . .


--And Happy Day, I've finally gotten myself to take a serious stab at digi painting. Watched several process vidoes on youtube, studied up, and am now practicing. My justification for the time needed to understand how it's done is a current project featuring cartoony illustrations of character they had me come up with, so what I'm going for is clay-modeled looking cartoonyness with bold black outlines . . . yeah.

All I'm really using is a hard-edged brush, with lots of opacity stroking, layering on the color slowly/gradually. NO DODGE/BURN used at all, goal is to use none. Wow, Tool Presets is a wonderful thing I've found! (oh, I'm using Photoshop, as usual)


(http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/7560/amateurgarbage.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dex on November 26, 2009, 09:24:38 pm
lookin' good, Mathias!

Happy thanksgiving, everyone! I'm off to have a wonderful meal with my entire family :O
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Toxie on November 27, 2009, 12:02:37 am
Is this where I say "Hello, I am Toxie and I am an alcoholic"?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on November 27, 2009, 04:22:38 am
(thanks, Dex. I'll post up the final version for a good laugh once done)

No, actually. (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=6976.0) But, I think that'll do!       Is this text blurry to you at all?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 27, 2009, 05:46:09 am
In opera it just has a dark background.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Toxie on November 27, 2009, 06:20:38 am
In opera it just has a dark background.

Same with Firefox.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 27, 2009, 06:22:52 am
As far as I know, only IE supports glow and shadow effects.

Heh, I remember when pixelation used to support raw HTML instead of BBcode. Including allowing you to put tables and such in your sig for a while :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on November 27, 2009, 09:20:30 pm
Oh . . . well that's boring.
I vote to remove the quick access glow & shadow tag buttons from the reply writing box then. Looks like half or more of us no longer see the intended effect. Drop shadows and glows are unholy anyway.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: miascugh on November 27, 2009, 09:24:07 pm
Yeah, some changes to the overall forum experience are overdue, but who knows what Santa may have in store for us this year ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on November 28, 2009, 09:08:35 pm
AUUUGH IT TRICKED ME. Firefox's update box opened up right as I clicked on a link and I no longer have Firefox 2 :'( What the fuck. The default font is different from what it was before and a bunch of websites end up loading indefinitely! ANGER >:( Anyone know what the default font for Firefox 2 was?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on November 28, 2009, 11:24:19 pm
AUUUGH IT TRICKED ME. Firefox's update box opened up right as I clicked on a link and I no longer have Firefox 2 :'( What the fuck. The default font is different from what it was before and a bunch of websites end up loading indefinitely! ANGER >:( Anyone know what the default font for Firefox 2 was?
That happend to me too a while back, I ended up reinstalling ff2...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 28, 2009, 11:34:31 pm
What're the chances of the smilies being converted to 24-bit so they could be AAed? Or are there still that many old IE users out there?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: skamocore on November 29, 2009, 01:56:56 am
I hate that Firefox 3 box >( Apparently 'NEVER' means 'ask me everyday from now on until I finally get annoyed enough by the intrusive pop-up that I end up saying yes anyway'.

About Braid:

If you want to bash many monsters you can just rewind. I personally thought the puzzles were well metered (excluding level 2.2) and if a level was too hard then you could usually just walk through it and get onto the next level. Anyway, in terms of graphics, I thought it was almost all spot on, the only things I really didn't like were the sprites of the two characters that appeared towards the end of the game, they looked extremely rushed and generally of lower quality in comparison to the main character. Personally, the usage of burn/dodge doesn't really bother me.

About Machinarium:

I liked the non-verbal 'dialogue', but I wish you were able to skip some of it. The graphics were great, I found myself using the solution button after I had completed the level just to look at the solutions - all of those pages were really nicely designed. Which brings me to my next point, the game would've been far better off without any of the action minigames, including the solution-spider-shmup and especially the mini-game one towards the end; they came off as extremely amateurish and unnecessary. If the final action mini-game occured at the start of the game I wouldn't have even bothered finishing the game. But aside from that Machinarium was great, I really liked the screens that included multiple areas :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 29, 2009, 03:47:59 am
Wow, never heard of this game but I'm loving the spritework:
http://www.spriters-resource.com/psx_ps2/lapucelletactics/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on November 29, 2009, 05:24:08 pm
La Pucelle Tactics' mythology is awesome too. Japanese pop versions of medieval Christian stuff :3

La Pucelle is Joan of Arc's nickname if I recall correctly
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on November 29, 2009, 05:41:40 pm
La Pucelle Tactics' mythology is awesome too. Japanese pop versions of medieval Christian stuff :3

La Pucelle is Joan of Arc's nickname if I recall correctly

Well, "la pucelle" means "a virgin".  ::)

Heh! One of my all time favourite games. Nice blend of ISO-pixel characters with a 3d background. The theme music is catchy as hell. The plot is the usual absurd "the world is full of suffering, therefore I will end all suffering by destroying the world" -emoing on the villain's part, but I can tolerate it because there are some good characters in it and the game itself is brilliant. Sister Prier kicks ass. I never finished it though, the final battle (after going through the hellish no-save labyrinth first) is completely unfair unless you do hours or days of grinding beforehand.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on November 29, 2009, 11:20:56 pm
Quote
the game would've been far better off without any of the action minigames

That damn checkers game took me two hours.  :mean:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on November 30, 2009, 01:10:00 am
Well, "la pucelle" means "a virgin".  ::)

I know, but my knowledge of French (I live in a french-speaking country) is better than my knowledge of poor Joan :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on November 30, 2009, 10:18:56 am
I know, but my knowledge of French (I live in a french-speaking country) is better than my knowledge of poor Joan :)

La Pucelle d'Orléans is the full nickname.

My favourite special move in the game was Sister Prier's "Family Jewels" -kick. Ouch!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mush on December 01, 2009, 05:40:01 am
 ???

http://glog.yoyogames.com/?p=622
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on December 01, 2009, 10:05:45 am
I do not like that new logo. Then again I used game maker for years so I'm quite biased with my opinion.
I could elaborate why I do not like it but I'd rather hear the opinion of someone more neutral so I can't 'influence' their opinion.
This is a good place to ask so how does this look to you?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on December 01, 2009, 11:35:04 am
lol er... why is it crying?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on December 01, 2009, 01:25:24 pm
It's rolling its eyes back!

.. But now that you mention it, doesn't it sorta look like a pair of nostrils with snot running out?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on December 01, 2009, 02:04:15 pm
That logo looks like it was procedurally generated by The Internet.
The graphic designer inside of me died a little bit more by looking at it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: khorin on December 01, 2009, 03:02:59 pm
The graphic designer me died as well, Ben. It's a smiley for goodness sakes! How is that unique?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: CrazyMLC on December 01, 2009, 04:20:04 pm
HAPPPY LOGO!!!  :crazy:
What?

That logo is horrible. That better be a joke.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on December 01, 2009, 04:37:11 pm
I think we should use this as the game maker logo:
(http://driph.com/words/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/awesome.gif)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on December 01, 2009, 07:20:56 pm
Why don't they just go straight to something like this:
(http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/7233/motivator2d799335612a21.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on December 01, 2009, 07:55:04 pm
(http://bighugelabs.com/output/motivator2f9a58dc2a5062b02e445eae46edaa0c0269577b.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rosse on December 01, 2009, 08:41:31 pm
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c62/markusrosse/junk/yus_maker_logo.png)

 !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on December 02, 2009, 01:21:51 am
If only it was April 1st, and tomorrow this whole logo ordeal would be over...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on December 02, 2009, 03:51:56 am
Newvatar! Mayhaps one day I will attempt another context-changing avatar that sucks less.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on December 02, 2009, 04:18:05 am
I made a GM logo for a game I was making once upon a time.
(http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/67/gmlogob.gif)

They started off with a nice enough logo. If they wanted something more modern they could've just added lens flare and called it a day. On the other hand, I think this new logo proved my observation that the GM community was useless and at most 13 years old.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on December 02, 2009, 05:31:16 am
But hey, Albert made a quick 250 off of it. All hale spec work contests! Rape all graphic designers! Abuse the entire design industry! (http://glog.yoyogames.com/?p=622) I couldn't care less about game maker, I don't use it. I love the comments below, though!



The walrus is done. It's incredibly boring, yay me. Gotta improve my brush set now.

(http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/7342/kttreadmilldun.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on December 04, 2009, 06:23:27 am
I was wondering if someone could help me out. I did some searching around the forums and wasn't able to find what I was looking for.

Quite a few months back Helm (I think) Posted a video of a shmup game, there was a part in the game where you pull up the wall of a building and the way they had the background laid out it gave a weird illusion of the ship pulling up.
I was wondering if someone could tell me the name of this game or even better point me toward the video.

I'm interested in using this idea for a game if I can figure out how they did it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 04, 2009, 07:21:48 am
Hmm, I thought it was Dondonpachi, but I didn't see the youtube link in the critique thread so I dunno...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on December 04, 2009, 08:36:47 am
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=7726.msg88977#msg88977

 ???
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on December 04, 2009, 08:59:49 am
YES! That is the thread, Thank you! this actually turned out better than i thought, I didn't realize people were trying to figure out how it was done as well lol.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 04, 2009, 09:12:29 am
(http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c62/markusrosse/junk/yus_maker_logo.png)

 !yus!

haha, hilarious  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: #36005A on December 06, 2009, 09:06:29 pm
Over the course of the past two months I learned that our company might be bought out by Zynga, flew out to San Francisco for an interview by Zynga, learned that we were indeed being bought out by Zynga, and then subsequently left behind what was my life in Wisconsin in order to start anew in California. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem much has changed. I've got a few friends who moved out here from Wisco a while back, and the team that I've been working with over the past three or four years all moved out here, too. So now, I'm basically doing the exact same thing that I was before, just in a new area, and from an actual office instead of my house.

Two things.

1) If there's anybody in the San Francisco area that likes meeting awesome new people, let me know, as I'm down to make more friends.

2) If there are any flash developers looking for a really great place to work, Zynga is aggressively hiring and offers some amazing benefits to boot.
Heh, my cousin works at Zynga. Good luck and congrats!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on December 07, 2009, 06:54:55 pm
Weird. My vision had gotten really blurry and i got my eyes checked. Now i can pixel again with my new glasses, and surprisingly the reason for a big problem of mine was found in the process.
Before i saw everything skewed and warped a little bit so i had a problem with symmetry. Now it's fixed, but warped had become normal to me, so now normal seems so wrong, i can't even hold my balance properly.

Also now i realize why i got so many comments at work about lack of AA or too heavy lines.......
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on December 07, 2009, 08:32:52 pm
Weird. My vision had gotten really blurry and i got my eyes checked. Now i can pixel again with my new glasses, and surprisingly the reason for a big problem of mine was found in the process.
Before i saw everything skewed and warped a little bit so i had a problem with symmetry. Now it's fixed, but warped had become normal to me, so now normal seems so wrong, i can't even hold my balance properly.

Also now i realize why i got so many comments at work about lack of AA or too heavy lines.......
Damn, I'm sorry for you man.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on December 08, 2009, 02:40:11 pm
That's not bad photocopier, that's great. Now he'll see his work like his employer and clients do. I bet his vision is already back to normal and fully acclimated to normalcy again.
I've always been paranoid something will happen to my eyes. My dad and paternal grandfather have glasses, so that may not be the best sign!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on December 10, 2009, 08:02:56 am
(http://glog.yoyogames.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/gm8_logo_glog.jpg)
yoyogames have remade their gamemaker logo again and it is better this time I think. what do you guys think?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on December 10, 2009, 11:38:04 am
Yeah, that one is OK I think. The other one was just hilariously bad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 11, 2009, 10:20:57 pm
Oh wow yeah haha much better. I think I prefer this icon to the red hammer one, even if it is less iconic and a little too busy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dokozai on December 14, 2009, 01:46:38 am
Guys MSpaint just disappeared from my computer. Anywhere I can download it? XP or Vista paint is fine.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 14, 2009, 02:06:59 am
Guys MSpaint just disappeared from my computer. Anywhere I can download it? XP or Vista paint is fine.

Here you are. (http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/setgalefreeus.exe)

>...>
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dokozai on December 14, 2009, 02:10:37 am
Guys MSpaint just disappeared from my computer. Anywhere I can download it? XP or Vista paint is fine.

Here you are. (http://www.humanbalance.net/gale/setgalefreeus.exe)

>...>
If I wanted Graphicsgale, I'd would of asked for graphicsgale! But thanks anyway!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Pawige on December 14, 2009, 02:44:23 am
You do not want it.
So you say.
Try it! Try it!
And you may.
Try it and you may I say.

(You can spend much more time actually making art and much less time fighting with a terrible interface!)  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on December 14, 2009, 02:56:21 am
I could not pixel without right click color select. I just couldnt do it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on December 14, 2009, 09:59:23 am
Am i the only one who thinks e-readers aren't that amazing technology wise?  I thought we were well ahead of B&W screens.  Everyone thinks they're the shiznit though.  odd.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on December 14, 2009, 10:56:04 am
Am i the only one who thinks e-readers aren't that amazing technology wise?  I thought we were well ahead of B&W screens.  Everyone thinks they're the shiznit though.  odd.

Haha, yes you are!  They're incredibly easy on the eyes, because each "pixel" is phyisically flipped over (I think).  So it only ever uses power when it's changing page so they last ages between charges.  Have you seen on in real life?  They look like paper!  I wasn't impressed till I saw one.  I never really read, to my shame, but I'd probably get one if I did.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on December 14, 2009, 01:28:18 pm
I agree with the above. It's amazing technology really. You get literally no eye strain, it's just like paper.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on December 14, 2009, 01:47:56 pm
Indeed, they do not have the problem of looking at a fucking bright screen which burns your eyes while reading.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ben2theEdge on December 14, 2009, 03:14:25 pm
When they make one that simulates the crisp feel of paper between my fingers and the faintly moldy aroma of ancient knowledge, I'll give them a try.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on December 15, 2009, 12:38:03 am
I can't wait till they get them in colour. Should be perfect for my college texts. All I could think about while reading my intro to architecture text was how cool it would be to be reading it on a dual screen e reader with one screen for text and the other for pictures. Clicking a word would bring up a small text box with the definition. Clicking any text would also bring up relevant pictures on the alternate screen to go with the material, all of it in glorious colour now that there's no economic penalty for displaying all colour pics. And not only would there be colour pics, but shitloads of pictures, too, from all kinds of angles.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on December 15, 2009, 02:54:17 am
Over the course of the past two months I learned that our company might be bought out by Zynga, flew out to San Francisco for an interview by Zynga, learned that we were indeed being bought out by Zynga, and then subsequently left behind what was my life in Wisconsin in order to start anew in California. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem much has changed. I've got a few friends who moved out here from Wisco a while back, and the team that I've been working with over the past three or four years all moved out here, too. So now, I'm basically doing the exact same thing that I was before, just in a new area, and from an actual office instead of my house.

Two things.

1) If there's anybody in the San Francisco area that likes meeting awesome new people, let me know, as I'm down to make more friends.

2) If there are any flash developers looking for a really great place to work, Zynga is aggressively hiring and offers some amazing benefits to boot.

This is the first time I read about your company status,  but you need to be aware <knowing is half the battle lol> . Zynga has a notorious reputation from stealing art content , putting questionable malware/spyware on their games <Iesnare>. Terrible customer service and they also love to replicate existing games that in the end they got sued and have to pay millions of dollars. I don't know how they treat their employees.. So good luck to that mate.

and behold Zynga CEO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7YaVVpK1G4
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on December 15, 2009, 03:03:01 am
How to make 55000 by gving away your work (http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/11/23/how-to-make-55000-by-giving-away-your-work/) nuff said!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on December 15, 2009, 05:48:54 am
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5853/featurecreep08.png)

donations please
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on December 15, 2009, 03:30:15 pm
I'll be repainting my room this week since it looking like shit for years now lol. I've been thinking of light blue... Is there any good color scheme that helps a persons mood to stay active and do his work  :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on December 17, 2009, 12:54:41 pm
I know that when it comes to painting classrooms, color theory is applied so the effects of the room's color is optimal for student performance. Search that a little, I don't remember the conclusions.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Pawige on December 17, 2009, 04:56:53 pm
This (http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours) looks pretty useful! I'm sure one of these colors has a few qualities that would help you work.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on December 17, 2009, 11:26:24 pm
Anyone know when the version of firefox with the new rendering engine is supposed to come out? I saw a webpage saying 3.6 comes out this month. That would be pretty awesome if that was the version that finally adds optional filtering support



EDIT: tried downloading hte 3.6 beta. It's very polished, my addons work and the filtering iis disabled after following the instructions somebody posted on pixeljoint. Yay! no filtering!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on December 18, 2009, 05:04:38 am
Pretty awesome Pawige. Thanks :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 19, 2009, 04:32:51 am
megaman needs to happen in the next thirteen days
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on December 23, 2009, 05:12:57 am
Avatar.

I saw Avatar in 3D the other night, I ignored this movie and it's hype up until a few days before I saw it but I'm not sure that would matter.
What you guys have probably already heard is true, while the story isn't original it isn't bad, it's a classic story people have been telling for generations, I don't think there's anything wrong with that and it usually helps solidify a movie as a classic.
The CG is incredible and so is the 3D, they used the 3D pretty tastefully, no pingpong ball bouncing out to the screen, anything that pops out was just ambient stuff like leaves falling that really help immerse you.


Only thing I felt it was missing was a memorable score, nothing stuck out as bad, but I can't even remember a single note of any music in the movie, the Na'vi and their culture had obvious potential for some amazing music, but it's just not there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: khorin on December 23, 2009, 05:40:37 am
Taka - I agree with you about the music. I really enjoyed the movie but felt that the awesomeness was incomplete because of the so-so music. They spent soooo much money on that movie but obviously, not a lot of it went to the music department.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on December 23, 2009, 07:51:36 am
I also watched it. Awesome 3d.. And I agree with the simple story and the music is lacking.

Btw.. I HATE xs.to. Almost all of my crit edit images post are gone :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on December 23, 2009, 09:20:53 am
The so-so movie plot was tolerable for me, taking into account the amount of background story they didn't spell out for you.  It was dripping with Celtic mythological/cultural affinities and political narrative.  Though some of the political narrative was a bit off-putting such as the random bush speech they slapped in.  The 'tree of life' concept is directly druid, and is quite fun to research into.  I also felt it did a great job of presenting two alternate ways of looking at the Gaia belief - one of science, and one from an indigenous religious perspective.  Very very cool stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on December 23, 2009, 10:05:39 am
 I also felt it did a great job of presenting two alternate ways of looking at the Gaia belief - one of science, and one from an indigenous religious perspective.

I thought it was quite refreshing that for once the scientists were the good guys in a scifi movie.

The cg scenery art was good but it wasn't anything that hadn't already been seen in various fantasy illustrations decades ago, Roger Dean (http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/63993640zKyCxM?start=0) being an obvious influence.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 25, 2009, 03:36:36 am
(http://www.locustleaves.com/asus.png)

well, that stopped working. As you see I've chucked a desktop fan in there to keep the graphics card cool for a while but I need a longer term solution. Do you think this is replacable?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on December 25, 2009, 09:51:04 am
Should not be hard to get a new fan for your graphics card. I like your McGyver mod with the desk fan.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kren on December 28, 2009, 12:38:53 am
I am wondering if someone knows how to change  the paint program in windows 7 to windows xp paint program D: I just hate the new one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on December 28, 2009, 01:05:52 am
I am wondering if someone knows how to change  the paint program in windows 7 to windows xp paint program D: I just hate the new one.

I just copied the program file from my old computer. You might be able to download it online.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kren on December 28, 2009, 02:10:40 am
I am wondering if someone knows how to change  the paint program in windows 7 to windows xp paint program D: I just hate the new one.

I just copied the program file from my old computer. You might be able to download it online.
Well, tried that but when I try to save it gives me this error:


"c:\Users\Tommy\Desktop.........\block.png
Paint Cannot save this file.
Save was interrupted, so your file has not been saved."

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on December 28, 2009, 04:05:04 am
I'm probably going to get bashed, but why go through trouble to get Paint on a computer? Use something decent instead?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kren on December 28, 2009, 05:25:20 am
I'm probably going to get bashed, but why go through trouble to get Paint on a computer? Use something decent instead?
I understand :P, I use paint and graphic gale, paint for the sketches and final touches and graphic gale for the animations and color adjustment... still! I prefer paint it is waay too easy to use compared with other programs. Again if someone knows how to fix that error it would be really appreciated :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: CrazyMLC on December 28, 2009, 05:40:00 am
You can get Paint.NET, or search 'MS Paint xp' on google and find download links.
Its easy, all you need is the .exe, then run it like any other program.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 28, 2009, 05:53:53 am
You can get Paint.NET, or search 'MS Paint xp' on google and find download links.
I'd be cautious, that might be a good way to find some viruses. I'd much suggest dropping it from another computer or asking a friend online to send it to you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kren on December 28, 2009, 06:25:36 am
You can get Paint.NET, or search 'MS Paint xp' on google and find download links.
I'd be cautious, that might be a good way to find some viruses. I'd much suggest dropping it from another computer or asking a friend online to send it to you.
k done that. and finally I am able to save :D ty alot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Opacus on January 01, 2010, 01:51:30 am
Happy new year guys.

I got a question about ProMotion 5, not worth making a topic for though.
How do you select something? Seriously. Am I just a morron for not having figured out how to do this, or does ProMotion not have a selection box?
(It seems so illogical that it doesn't have one. Seeing as it's a proffesional program, and even Paint has this basic option)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dex on January 01, 2010, 06:06:37 am
Happy New Year, everyone! Let's hope 2010 brings even better things than 2009! :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on January 01, 2010, 06:33:43 am
HAPPY NEW YEARS YOU GUYS!!!!
Party hardy, safely!

Happy new year guys.

I got a question about ProMotion 5, not worth making a topic for though.
How do you select something? Seriously. Am I just a morron for not having figured out how to do this, or does ProMotion not have a selection box?
(It seems so illogical that it doesn't have one. Seeing as it's a proffesional program, and even Paint has this basic option)

Heh, I remember the first time I got Promotion I had the same basic question, being used to MS Paint's quirks. You're gonna' have to get used to the "animated brush" selection option(the dotted square) and the "freehand brush" selection option(the lasso) to take the place of the selection tool in Promotion. It's a bit jarring at first, but you'll get used to it within about 4-5 pieces. Trust me on this one, I'm a hardcore MS paint user, and Promotion is DEFINITELY friendly to ex-MSpaint users. It'll even get to the point, where Promotion may surpass your expectations of MSPaint. You'll become so used to hot-keys, that you'll be scratching your head when using mspaint, and finding that your left hand is hitting hot keys for no reason(in my experience, that's the one thing my brain keeps forgetting, when transitioning from PM to MSP)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on January 01, 2010, 10:22:13 am
If you want to move something, after making the brush right click to delete what's underneath it. otherwise just use the brush to copy it for you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 02, 2010, 05:33:54 pm
So much for the tenth Doctor. David Tennant was great, and the new series just got better season after season. Timothy Dalton was a good villain in the final episodes, that was a fun thing to see.

I'm very suspicious of this 11th emo-kid Doctor.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on January 02, 2010, 05:58:10 pm
In terms of Doctor Who all I have seen are the Tom Baker and Peter Davison years. Though I'm slowly making my way up to the current one. From what I've seen David Tennent seemed like a great doctor who because he is naturally bizarre. I think the new guy seems alright though, he's just not as quirky.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on January 11, 2010, 08:27:37 pm
Anyone else played  VVVVVV (http://thelettervsixtim.es/) yet?

Just completed the demo. Game is awesome. Music is superb. I'm wondering how much more immersive it would be if graphics were to the standard of everything else. Still <3 it very much tho.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on January 12, 2010, 04:33:09 am
That was a pretty fun demo, the music was amazing I wonder if there is anywhere I can get some mp3s of it. I agree the graphics could have been a bit more interesting. I liked them though for the most part, I liked the naming of every room. I dunno why but I missed when video games did that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 12, 2010, 01:11:03 pm
Woooooo, I fixed my 360!  ;D



Now I'm just left with this horrible feeling that the red ring will come back :D


edit-
I loved VVVVVV's demo, $20 NZD feels a little steep for the full game, but I might cave and buy it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on January 13, 2010, 05:56:27 am
Yours came back from the dead .TakaM? Mine died on 360's 4th year anniversary day. RROD.
How'd you fix it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 13, 2010, 06:10:33 am
replaced the heat pads on the motherboard, they were all melted. :-X
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 13, 2010, 06:42:39 am
(http://www.locustleaves.com/mustachefrown.jpg)

This never stops being funny to do for me
(it's gone now, of course)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Stefano on January 13, 2010, 10:55:52 am
Haha! I do that too (and laugh every time).
Every tried the "Hulk Hogan (http://blogs.herald.com/.a/6a00d83451587d69e20120a4ef1d50970b-320wi)"? How about the "Katamari damacy (http://www.wii60.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/beautiful-katamari-2.jpg)" or the "vigilante (http://images.allmoviephoto.com/2006_V_for_Vendetta/2006_v_for_vendetta_005.jpg)"?

Funny stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on January 13, 2010, 10:58:45 am
That mustache makes you look like there is a girl tied in your basement
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on January 13, 2010, 04:24:45 pm
I've been tempted to buy a 360 but aren't they pretty much guaranteed to get red ring of death after a couple years?

That mustache makes you look like there is a girl tied in your basement
LOL!  :lol:
For Helm or anyone else who has ever had one, do people treat you differently when you grow a 'tache?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on January 13, 2010, 04:32:22 pm
I've been tempted to buy a 360 but aren't they pretty much guaranteed to get red ring of death after a couple years?

don't let that stop you, I've had about five since I got mine (pretty much when it came out) and I've never had to pay anything for it, they've fixed it up and given me a month free xbox live every time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 13, 2010, 04:45:45 pm
I've been tempted to buy a 360 but aren't they pretty much guaranteed to get red ring of death after a couple years?
Just get one. I've never gotten the RRoD and I've had mines for a little over a year. And if you do, they have an extended 3-year warranty for it. Just try to keep it well ventilated and cool(overheating warps the board and causes the RRoD).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on January 13, 2010, 06:22:56 pm
One of the many reason of why I stopped watching pixel art on DeviantArt:
Kiss the Girl (http://spideyzgirl.deviantart.com/art/Kiss-the-Girl-149858773)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on January 14, 2010, 01:25:50 am
One of the many reason of why I stopped watching pixel art on DeviantArt:
Kiss the Girl (http://spideyzgirl.deviantart.com/art/Kiss-the-Girl-149858773)

Why is that even allowed on deviant art? Don't they take stuff like that down?

As for RRod, out of the 4 people I know who have an Xbox every single one of them has had it die atleast 3 times, my one friends Xboxes warranty recently ran out, this is his 5th time he's gotten the red ring and now he has to buy a new Xbox. He'd left it in a well ventilated area and his house was usually quite chilly. Judging from the horror stories I've heard from people with Xboxes I'd save your money. On the other hand, fixing Xboxes is a very good buisiness, my girlfriend worked at a second hand video game store and the business basically survived off of fixing Xboxes. It's amazing how many people are willing to shell out 80 bucks to not wait for 2-3weeks for their console to get fixed. (anywhere from 5-8 people a day)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on January 14, 2010, 07:47:55 am
If that doesn't get taken down, I've lost all hope for DeviantArt. ;(

don't let that stop you, I've had about five since I got mine (pretty much when it came out) and I've never had to pay anything for it, they've fixed it up and given me a month free xbox live every time.

It's cool that they give you a months free xbox live, :y: but 5 times is pretty excessive imo. I like to get max life out of everything, I mean I still play the PS2 and I've had that for about 7 years. Though supposedly in the newer Xboxes the problem has been resolved? And Jakten that's exactly what I don't want to happen, warrenty running out and having to buy a new one, or going back for repairs every month. Hassle hassle. I still really want one though.  :P

Speaking of things breaking, Wii no longer reads discs. Being sent in for repairs. :ouch: Ohh the irony.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on January 14, 2010, 09:52:49 am
My brother bought a new elite xbox about half a year ago (after his first one broke several times and then its warranty ran out) and he's already sent it back once, so I don't think the problem is fixed.

Best to check out the games you want and see if the majority of them are on the PS3, which as far as I know aren't nearly as prone to breakage, and the price is comparable now. Otherwise you're pretty much guaranteed to have to send it back for repair at some point.

Unless you are particularly set on the new gen consoles, go and buy some ps2 games off ebay you've never played, I guarantee there's a bunch of great games you've never even heard of.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on January 14, 2010, 05:28:33 pm
Speaking of things breaking, Wii no longer reads discs. Being sent in for repairs. :ouch: Ohh the irony.

I've been concerned with my Wii doing that. Currently when I turn it on it sounds like a 747 taking off. Some times makes me worry that my discs are going to come out mangled.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 15, 2010, 02:49:50 am
Woooooo, RRoD is back :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on January 15, 2010, 03:18:45 am
I've been concerned with my Wii doing that. Currently when I turn it on it sounds like a 747 taking off. Some times makes me worry that my discs are going to come out mangled.

If you have an external harddrive or usb with more than 8 GB and an SD card it's fairly easy to set up an hd loader on the wii, and the only side effect is the inability to update the firmware. I did this and there were no ill effects, it still worked perfectly online to. And you should be fine legally so long as you only back up games you own. If you're interested either Google it or send me a PM and I'll help you out ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on January 20, 2010, 12:54:53 am
My first decent picture as a DJ. Party's nearly over in that picture, but it was a total riot before.

(http://www.game-designer.org/art/DJay!.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on January 20, 2010, 06:08:47 am
apple tablet will probably announced this jan. 28.
I wonder how good and useful it is going to be :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on January 20, 2010, 03:57:21 pm
GAARG my laptop broke AARGG!!!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 22, 2010, 05:22:51 am
Wow, new Firefox 'Whats New?' page sucks now. Used to be so simple, with a single link to see in detail all the things added and fixed... now it links to video (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/video/?video=whatsnew-3.6) and page for convincing you to download Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/), even though I already have it? So ya... where can I find a list of the fixes/additions without viewing a video? This is making it harder to find out when they've finally added the filtering fix.

edit: nevermind, finally found them here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.6/releasenotes/, and still doesn't look like the filter fix is in this version :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on January 22, 2010, 08:03:23 am
The fix is in it, or at least in the pre-release versions I've been using.

EDIT: Just installed 3.6, definitely fixed, just add the following lines to usercontent.css


img[src$=".gif"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }
img[src$=".png"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on January 22, 2010, 12:01:00 pm
Wow, new Firefox 'Whats New?' page sucks now. Used to be so simple, with a single link to see in detail all the things added and fixed.

When I read your comment, first didn't get it, because I updated... I don't know, I think it was last week, and everything seemed good. Just updated to 1.6, and yes the new page sucks. They showed you this stupid personas thing which i hate. There is nothing showing NEW things in the what's new page. ¬¬'
It looks more of a page to someone who never used firefox and just installed it.

PS: It worked perfectly! Thanks a lot :D

EDIT: If someone is not comfortable with the new tab behaviour (they open next to the active one, not at the end), change in about:config, tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent to false.
I had an Add-On that would do that, but is not yet updated to 3.6.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 22, 2010, 12:52:18 pm
EDIT: If someone is not comfortable with the new tab behaviour (they open next to the active one, not at the end), change in about:config, tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent to false.
I had an Add-On that would do that, but is not yet updated to 3.6.
HAHA. I was JUST looking through about:config for that. The new tab feature is so annoying and them not including an option in the... what, 5 or so checkboxes in options is pretty lazy. Thanks for that.

Just tried that fix out by adding a userContent.css file to my .../profiles/chrome/ directory, and it didn't seem to work :(

edit: Seems it does work, and I got the wrong directory! For those interested and can't find it, you'll want to be looking for something like this:
C:\Documents and Settings\Dusty\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\bfygf2z4.default\chrome
From there you'll be creating a file named userContent.css, if it doesn't already exist(you can either just copy/paste the example file they have, or just create a txt and rename it), and adding in what 32 posted.

This is such a happy day. I will have to retrain my mind to start using the pixelation zoom again!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 22, 2010, 12:59:27 pm
Finally. Updated. Hope ImageZoom add-on gets updated for 3.6 soon too. I can deal with Pixelation zoomer, but I'm too used to middleclick+mousewheel nowadays.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on January 22, 2010, 01:08:27 pm
Assuming you're talking about this (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/139) particular add on, it is.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on January 22, 2010, 01:53:51 pm
Oohh. Aahh. Thanks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SirBilly on January 22, 2010, 08:23:11 pm
Yeah

http://kyucon.com/qblock/#/11844
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on January 22, 2010, 09:59:43 pm
Quote
img[src$=".gif"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }
img[src$=".png"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }

This doesn't work. To see why, look at this image, which is a PNG:

(http://filebox.me/files/tuh0tcbrf_new_project.PNG)

Temporary fix, add these lines:

Code: [Select]
img[src$=".GIF"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }
img[src$=".PNG"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }

I'm sure there's a better way, but I can't be bothered to find out :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on January 23, 2010, 01:11:48 am
Quote
img[src$=".gif"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }
img[src$=".png"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }

This doesn't work. To see why, look at this image, which is a PNG:

(http://filebox.me/files/tuh0tcbrf_new_project.PNG)

Temporary fix, add these lines:

Code: [Select]
img[src$=".GIF"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }
img[src$=".PNG"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }

I'm sure there's a better way, but I can't be bothered to find out :)
I posted about that on pixel joint a short while ago.
http://pixeljoint.com/2009/06/15/2859/Fix_Firefox.htm

I've noticed a couple other instances that have failed. For example, somebody posted a gif with a jpg ending(it was a tinypic). It had filtering applied to it. I've also noticed some strangeness when someone posts a photbucket image with some id number stuff after the .png.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 23, 2010, 03:40:35 am
Well if you want you can just be non-specific about it:
img { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }

It will apply nearest-neighbor to all images that aren't at 100%. I'm probably just going to go with that, to simplify things, but those who may want to have it applied to jpegs and such might not like such a solution.

You can also do this:
img[src$=".gif"], img[src$=".GIF"], img[src$=".png"], img[src$=".PNG"] { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }
To compress things a little.

You might also be able to pull something like this off:
img { image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; }
img[src$=".jpg"], img[src$=".JPG"], img[src$=".jpeg"], img[src$=".JPEG"] { image-rendering: auto; -ms-interpolation-mode: bicubic; }

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 23, 2010, 11:57:35 am
FINALLY, I can't believe this took so damn long, I really hate a lot of the new 'features' they don't give you a simple option to turn off too.

Don't even get me started on replacing the URL bar with this new "Location Bar" >:(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: politopo on January 23, 2010, 01:09:40 pm
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!
ok I will stop
(Yes!)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Arne on January 23, 2010, 03:05:29 pm
Just upgraded to 3.6. Remembered and old post of mine:

I made a test page (http://androidarts.com/crisp/firefox_crisp_scaling.htm) using this page (https://developer.mozilla.org/En/CSS/Image-rendering) as a reference. Note that the top lest corner of the blurred image will be crisp because the image is cropped there. The right side has some air (a white edge) and is thus blurry.

The gif is indeed crisp for me now :)

I wish that I had enough beard to grow a Van Dyke or sideburns up around the upper lip.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on January 23, 2010, 05:22:31 pm
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=9812.0
Here's one of those images with the tag info after the filetype that cause the filter settings to $&#$ up. Turns out it was tinypic again.

So the image filter works out great, except under a couple instances if it's from tinypic. Maybe we should just ban tinypic :P

It's annoying because I'd like to keep the filter working on jpgs and those sorts of files. Does anyone know a way of writing the usercontent file so it doesn't get tripped up by the tag info appearing after the ".png" part
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on January 23, 2010, 05:34:34 pm
It's not just firefox though, as I can't even zoom into it. People just need to learn how to copy the direct link, I guess.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on January 25, 2010, 12:48:43 am
has anybody went trough this with firefox PORTABLE? that's what I use and I'm not sure I have the right "userchrome" I have a "userChrome-example" which I renamed into userchrome and added the instruction to...but nothing seemed to happen.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on January 25, 2010, 04:28:26 am
You want to be using userContent, not userChrome, same folder, just rename it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 27, 2010, 07:29:00 am
Replaced the X clamps and the heat paste in my 360, it's working again, but let's see how long for...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 7321551 on February 02, 2010, 01:04:57 pm
Just bought Pro Motion.

Is there a way to animate tiles? for instance, a sea tile? I've checked the documentation.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on February 02, 2010, 08:08:45 pm
A Pixelart comic

http://www.nofna.com/?T=1-1-15-10

I guess there's not much pixel-level detail going on, so I guess the average dude would call it a Paintbrush comic....but I'd let it pass as pixelart :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 02, 2010, 10:40:15 pm
Is this a comic though? Is there a narrative?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on February 02, 2010, 10:44:01 pm
Is there a narrative?

If this refers to Camus, no. If this refers to the comic, yes.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Starscream on February 04, 2010, 06:27:49 am
Didn't want to post it to get C+C, but I liked how it turned out.
(http://imgur.com/hEvv4.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 04, 2010, 12:33:32 pm
It's nice, but *ghasp, critique!* the number and symbol are too antialiased.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Smash on February 06, 2010, 06:22:50 am
I am wondering if someone knows how to change  the paint program in windows 7 to windows xp paint program D: I just hate the new one.
Same thing here, but I miss my old Windows Vista non-AA'ed brush sizes..  :yell:


Can this be done, and if so, where can I find it on my old pc?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on February 06, 2010, 06:47:24 am
Get graphics gale.
The free version should be able to do everything paint can do and more.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Smash on February 06, 2010, 07:06:34 am
Forgot to say im an epic Ms Paint mindless fanboy.  :y:


In reality, I'd prefer any program having the "hold the left/right mouse button and while at it, instant undo by pressing the opposite one" feature, as well as the dual mouse button painting commands.

Other programs might have the fanciest of features, but if they lack the two I mentioned above, then I simply consider them obsolete. After all, everything I need to pixel is a good ol' brush and a trusty zoom.


But the problem remains unsolved -can I get my Vista back?  :'(

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on February 06, 2010, 07:37:20 am
I think the old saying "beggars can't be choosers" applies here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on February 06, 2010, 03:01:23 pm
Forgot to say im an epic Ms Paint mindless fanboy.  :y:


In reality, I'd prefer any program having the "hold the left/right mouse button and while at it, instant undo by pressing the opposite one" feature, as well as the dual mouse button painting commands.

Other programs might have the fanciest of features, but if they lack the two I mentioned above, then I simply consider them obsolete. After all, everything I need to pixel is a good ol' brush and a trusty zoom.


But the problem remains unsolved -can I get my Vista back?  :'(



You could try downloading it, or ask some friend with Windows Vista or less to copy the exe for you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on February 06, 2010, 03:59:28 pm
http://www.askvg.com/how-to-get-the-good-old-ms-paint-without-ribbons-working-in-windows-7/

First result on Google for "get old mspaint on windows 7."
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on February 06, 2010, 04:02:22 pm
http://www.askvg.com/how-to-get-the-good-old-ms-paint-without-ribbons-working-in-windows-7/

First result on Google for "get old mspaint on windows 7."

I run into the same page :P, that's why I suggested asking someone who has Vista to copy it. Then I realized I could just copy my Windows XP version to him :P and send it via PM.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Smash on February 06, 2010, 07:48:04 pm
Yeah, sure. Google.

I searched for hours before asking, tried replacing exe and mui files, deleted the old mspaint.exe after working out the permissions, and even downloaded mods to see if I could work this out, but nothing brought results.

It just comes up with the "Could not open a document" error message..


Seems like im gonna have to settle with Pro motion then.  :n:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Pawige on February 06, 2010, 08:15:08 pm
You'll get used to it, and in a few weeks, you'll never believe that you used to prefer such a clunky, slow, unfriendly program.  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on February 09, 2010, 01:43:55 pm
Wow I just had an incredible dream. Only just woke up and ran down to my desk to write it down and turned on the pc. Literally my entire vision was a very low resolution 8-bit/1-bit adventure game. It involved a party of characters, each with their own abilities which you could switch between. Some had more health, some could crouch to get into tight spaces. I think at the start it had more resolution and more detail - for example I found a disguise in a lift (just a jacket and trousers) and later a polaroid photo that was important to the story. Later on the background was black - the character was 1 colour and it was pretty much a platformer with pivots and fire. Although you could get items, for example a pink square, which would make you immune to pink fire.  :crazy:

I'm trying to write all the ideas down but it's just becoming less epic as I lose the memory.  :n:

Pixel art has become a subconscious obsession! Just thought i'd share.  :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lizzrd on February 09, 2010, 01:52:29 pm
 :(

Why don't I get to have awesome dreams?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on February 09, 2010, 02:02:26 pm
:(

Why don't I get to have awesome dreams?

Maybe you do, but you just forget them. Do what Larwick did with his dream, write down every little piece you remember of them (when you do remember something), and you'll gradually start to remember more and more. When you are a dream saavi, you'll even have the chance to control them sometimes.

That's what I read :P
And for a couple of weeks I was able to do it, then I stop having a notebook near my bed and stop writing, so... everything fade away. :/
I should start again, one time I had a kind of out of body experience. I could not only see my body laying in bed sleeping, I could touch my arm and lift it. Then some kind of dragon enter the bedroom and ... the end. I hate when that happens.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on February 09, 2010, 02:23:02 pm
:(

Why don't I get to have awesome dreams?
]

Eat cheese before bed, it makes you sleep better and can enhance your dreams. Lol.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-362101/Sweet-dreams-cheese.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-362101/Sweet-dreams-cheese.html)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lizzrd on February 09, 2010, 04:25:42 pm
I will try.

Lol, cheddar makes you dream about celebs.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ArcherofLight on February 11, 2010, 03:19:05 am
Alright. I'm in need of a good rant, so here goes:

   I just started doing WarHammer 40000, and have been extremely happy sitting here painting and building Tau Fire Warriors. The drones were th easiest, and I'm not entirely sure how to do the commander's head. I have two paint styles, I'd show you guys but at the moment I don't have any way of taking pictures.

   I also just found out that I got into the IB program, or International Baccalaureate, which is the most advanced educational program available. Where I am, less that 100 students make it in each year, not counting people who join in tenth grade, and this year the number is exactly 49. Meaning I am VERY lucky. I probably wont be doing much spriting or anything now, because I'll be working really hard. As far as i know, none of my friends will be in it, and I'll be the only student from my middle school in the program, at least for another year.

   I'm also selling cookie dough for a band fundraiser, PM me with your name and address if you want cookies. I'll give you a list of cookie dough types, and when you choose I'll need you to send a check filled out to Northglenn Middle School. After about the 28th or so, maybe as late as half-way through March, I'll mail you cookies made from the cookie dough you chose(we can't mail frozen cookie dough, the 'waiting area' we have to ship through is un-air conditioned and really freaking hot).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 11, 2010, 05:24:58 pm
I realize I sometimes have incredibly exciting dreams but I'm just in a state in my life where I can't appreciate it.

I can dream about being a ninja being shot off by a catapult sneaking around on rooftops in some kind of grand scheme and it still feels mundane because that's just my general mood in teh LIEF at the moment.

Recently, though, I dreamed me and my family were flying through space and holy crap it was awesome and space was pretty radical yo. Very empty and vast. Also very crowded when I think about it but still. Space <3

So yes. Sometimes I have awesome dreams but I can't appreciate them

Sometimes I just have dreams about, I dunno, meeting a fictional person and I'm in a state where I'm immensely touched by it ...

for me how I experience my dreams has a lot to do with ... how my inner workings decide to interpret them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on February 11, 2010, 06:01:25 pm
Sometimes i constantly dose off in the bus, every time waking up from a different dream. It feels like time works very differently when dreaming.... like you can wake up from a dream that has a half an hour of memories, but it's really just taken a few minutes. It's a VERY bizarre feeling when it happens a few times in a row.

Space stuff is always welcome, yup. Recently i dreamed about doing a kamehameha..... which was totally awesome and stuffz.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on February 11, 2010, 06:20:36 pm
I had a dream last night. It stared with parachuting buses, evolved into a prank involving speaking the word "douching" over an air port PA, and ended with someone getting arrested. Oh, and the parachuting scene had kick ass metal music playing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on February 11, 2010, 06:37:49 pm
   I'm not sure if I'm just that forgetful, but sometimes I feel like when I dream it's about a 5 min. black out, and I wake up the next day to continue with the mundane life I live. And if I do dream, I've noticed how the general theme of my dream is constantly changing. I always found this strange, and wondered why the brain does this.
   When I'm in my supposed conscious state, I'm getting full control over my actions, and have somewhat control over things around me; but in dream state, I'm just a part of a larger state of chaos. The story has no plot, and my actions don't have mirrored reality reactions. I wonder why this is? I would think that given enough time, a person's brain would develop to understand rules, and implement them into our brain as a strong function of society and survival. Yet, my brain betrays me in the state of dream realm, breaking every real world rule: Electricity is a fallacy in dreamworld, Being chased by people who want to murder you(with possible good reason to do so), and when they catch you, they serve you food and tell you about their dreams or past lives(like a bad movie with no consistent plot), things come back from the dead, food, drinks, fighting, falling, all point to a feeling or anxiety, rather than physical consequence(at least in my personal experience). And in dreams, I've noticed that there's perfect timing in a "nightmare", where one is on the brink of death and they wake up in a cold sweat. Is a brain within a conscious state of itself, having fun with it's puppet?
   Why would a brain do this, though? What is it's general reason for this? I've heard or read some things that dreams are just the result of day to day actions, and monotony, built into a simple "movie' sequence, possibly designed for the brain to "save" it into it's "hardrive". Sounds a bit reasonable. But that's what it's doing. It's function. I'm just wanting to know why it does this.
   Despite the conscious state of knowing certain things, when in sleep state, the brain tends to revert back to complete fantasy, if not controlled with the likes of Lucid dreaming. When dogs sleep, they certainly  look like they're dreaming, when they begin to run their paws in the air, bark lightly to themselves, or suckling, as if they're remembering when they were pups. So it seems humans aren't the only ones that dream. Looks as if 2 different species can share other "outworldly" states. And if we're a product of evolution, how big a part would dreaming come into play into developing a species further down the evolutionary ladder? How far back does it go, until there are creatures that possibly can't dream? Do bacteria ever sleep, or cells ever sleep? I know of daydreaming, but with a creature that never sleeps, would that mean that if it's capable of dreaming, would it have a harder time discerning reality and fantasy during it's day to day life?

   Yeah, I ask too many questions. I'm sure there are answers for these, but hard for me to understand. To summarize, though, I love dreaming. My life is nothing but order, so I'm glad there is time in my day to let chaos take effect in dream world(my favorite part of the day...:) )
 

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on February 11, 2010, 06:59:29 pm
In terms of evolution, us getting to see glimpses of our dreams MIGHT be just a random leftover because it doesn't have an effect on "real" things.
Maybe the brain is constantly accessing and processing all the information in our heads while we're asleep, and if we happen to wake up while it's happening, it gets partly stuck in our active conscious memory. Maybe it's incoherent at times because there is really no events taking place, but our minds make up the narrative with the information that was available the moment you woke up. Like for a millisecond files: running, monsters, water were accessed, you wake up, bam, you have a memory of running away from flesh eating monsters in a rainforest.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 11, 2010, 09:10:55 pm
Interesting thoughts, gents. I've pondered dreams as well, but you guys hatched some new points. I assume we'll never know the real answers. I did keep a dream journal for a while, too.

If I dream, it's almost always during naps and short bursts of sleep, almost never during sleep at night. I don't think we dream once in deep REM sleep.

I rarely remember my dreams, but when I do they're epic. . .
One from a couple of years ago, pitted me against a horde of demons/monsters. I was forced to take refuge at the top of this giganticly tall and pointy white spire tower. It had no opening, yet I somehow got to the very top (typical non-sensical dream logic for ya). At the very top was this through-way opening where you could enter one side and exit on the opposite, like a tunnel borrowed through it, at the top, where the spire's circumference was very skinny. Anyway, the countless monsters were climbing up on all sides, tryin' to get meh (don't know why). I was a warrior type (bahaha!) and so I defended myself by kicking and bashing them as they attempted to get onto my platform, making them all fall to their deaths as a consequence. I recalled feeling remorse for all the killings. Not sure who prevailed; I woke up. hahah, it was awesome . . . I got another crazy dream I'll tell if the theme continues here . . . let's hear more!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on February 11, 2010, 09:24:05 pm
Actually, I remember reading that just about every normal human being has multiple dreams every night, but it takes specific conditions for the conscious mind to recall them. You have to wake up during or right after the dream, or else it gets sucked back into the sub-conscious. Having a rough night and being unable to sleep or taking short naps gives you a higher chance of coming to at the right time. A small minority of people have some chemical or biological difference that lets them recall most or all of their dreams in vivid detail, like that Ulillillia guy who has an extensive log of his dreams.

One of the major purposes of the dreams seems to be to work out the stuff we either are unaware of or unwilling to face when we are awake. I, for example, realize my weird bus dream was my sub-conscious self telling me I need to find a more fulfilling career.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on February 11, 2010, 09:40:21 pm
I have a theory on what dreams are, if anyones interested.

First a little theory on how brains work, I wont ramble about this too much. I think brains (when I say brains I'm talking pretty much just about the cortex, the part of the brain that does the stuff we think of when we think of brains), are a hierarchy of nodes that recognize common patterns, tell their hierarchically superior node what sequence of patterns they are seeing, and send predictions about the next pattern they will see to the nodes below them. So if you were feeding numbers into a node, it would first of all recognize each of the numbers because it had seen them before, and stored their spatial pattern. Then it would recognize the most common temporal patterns of these numbers, and assign an arbitrary label to them. So if it saw 1, 2, 3, 4 a lot, then it would remember that, and when it was seeing part of that pattern, it would send the arbitrary label up to its mother node, even if it didn't have the complete pattern. Also, if it saw 1, 2, 3, then it would see that the 1234 pattern was likely coming in, and send down a prediction of the number 4 to its children nodes. The children nodes could use that to resolve any confusion. If the predictions get all the way down the hierarchy, with agreement all the way, then you have understanding.

As a more relative and real example, people sometimes lose part of their visual field for whatever reason. A section of neurons will stop sending information into the brain. For a good chunk of people that this happens to, they will eventually start seeing strange and almost random things in that blind spot, with a superphotorealism quality. They look more clear and real then the stuff they are actually seeing. What I think is happening is that without any conflicting input coming in, then neural signals higher up in the hierarchy will activate adjacent unused parts of the hierarchy randomly, and start sending down garbage. Without the conflicting input, then whatever random thing happened to be sent down will be agreed upon by the entire hierarchy, to the primary visual cortex and then will appear real to the person.

Using that phenomenon, and the fact that when in the sleep state where you dream neurotransmitters that connect your sensory and motor to your brain are suppressed, then I think dreams are simply random garbage coming down the hierarchy. With no conflicting input then it feels real because it is activating your brain in the same way as real input does. I also think that sometimes a dream feels very powerful and emotional, even though it may have just been random stuff is because the garbage activation is propagating down all the way to the emotional centers of the brain, and creating a highly emotional and meaningful experience.

B.O.B. asked if bacteria or cells sleep, and the answer is no. Sleep is a function of having a certain type of brain, and really is mostly in vertebrates. Also Mathias, we only dream during REM sleep.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ArcherofLight on February 11, 2010, 11:33:39 pm
Alright, I'll share a dream then too.

Honestly, I passed out on the couch, meaning to take a quick nap. When I woke up, I had a vivid memory of this dream:
It was me and my friend, who I'm not gonna name. We were in a post-apocalyptic world, and it happened to have quite intelligent zombies. We were all geared out with rifles, handguns, and really large, weighty swords(dunno why). I was in a little store, he was waiting outside while I looted what I could carry in four trips. He shouts something about zombies, and I reply with "Yeah. Annoying, aren't they? Fuckers won't leave us alone for five minutes!" and the next thing I hear is several sniper rifle shots, which sounded quite far away. I drop the bottled water I was holding and run outside, to find him laying on the ground, holding his hand, which was all bloody. I shout, "Who's there?" and get a sniper bullet into the wall near my head in return. I throw myself to the ground, pull my rifle and look around. Nothing is there. Deciding to drag my friend inside, I slowly stand up. Thats when I notice a glint in a window on a high-riser. I get my friend inside, and go back out and shoot at th window I saw the glint in. After two full magazines of ammo, a figure falls out of the window. I run over, but nothing was on the ground where it landed, not even a mark. I look around, and see a horde of zombies heading towards the store. I hang the rifle on my back, and pull my blade, running ninja-style towards the zombies. I get there, and with one slash take like twenty down, and keep going till I'm at the store. I get there, help my friend hold a few more off(he was using his handgun, his hand apparently healed fully) and then we make our way across the horde and get inside a large building. We get to the top, and the figure I saw falling from the window is there, laying as if thats where it landed. Zombies climb the outer walls of the building, and we shoot several back down, but there are just tons and tons. I dunno what happened, my dad woke me up.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on February 12, 2010, 02:12:48 am
Hehe this is quite interesting. I once had a passing thought that dreams were like defragmenting a hard drive.  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 12, 2010, 02:48:24 am
Yes, that's all quite interesting, and convincing, NaCl.

. . . Also Mathias, we only dream during REM sleep.

But REM stage is only achieved after at least 2 hours I thought. How do you explain napping dreams, like Huzba's?



. . .When I woke up, I had a vivid memory of this dream:

Geez, straight out of a Zombie movie, thanks for posting.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on February 12, 2010, 03:12:20 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_eye_movement_sleep

Educate yo rack, bitches.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 12, 2010, 05:59:30 am
But it's funner to speculate and argue.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ArcherofLight on February 12, 2010, 10:48:25 pm
And post dreams that we remember.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on February 13, 2010, 07:38:37 pm
http://fool.deviantart.com/journal/30296025/
 :'( Jesus fuckin' Christ, poor Fool.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: MadHatter on February 13, 2010, 09:04:33 pm
I know. I really hope he doesn't quit though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 14, 2010, 08:14:03 am
Oh no, what, no no no
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on February 14, 2010, 04:18:15 pm
Oh man, I'm really sorry for your loss Fool, I hope you make it through this alright. :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on February 14, 2010, 05:38:31 pm
Shit... :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 15, 2010, 12:28:06 am
Agh, browsing the rest of the forums was incredibly tough after this. It just. Argh.

No words, fool. I pray for you, to whoever may listen. <3 D:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on February 15, 2010, 03:51:01 am
Tomorrow! let the pixel community be heard

for fool!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ArcherofLight on February 15, 2010, 04:42:34 am
 :'( Oh dear. I didn't know either of them but, damn. I'm... I'm.... I dunno. Holy crap. Damn, thats... Well, a parent should never have to go through anything like that. Ever.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 15, 2010, 05:12:05 am
Fool, if you're lurking around, just think about the future when the possibility exists that you'll see and be with her again. Whatever you do, don't rule that out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on February 15, 2010, 05:35:10 am
Fuck. My Jaw dropped after reading that post. My thoughts are with you and your Daughter.
<3
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on February 15, 2010, 08:48:41 am
My condolences. Don't know what to say. Wish you the best.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on February 15, 2010, 01:04:12 pm
Goodbye Jess.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Panda on February 15, 2010, 02:06:07 pm
My condolences  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on February 15, 2010, 05:56:18 pm
Saw something about it in my messages on dA, but didn't get to read it until now...
RIP Jess, and my condolences go to you, Fool.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on February 15, 2010, 07:04:13 pm
Oh geez, my condolences to you and your family. Goodbye Jess and be well Fool.  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Fool on February 16, 2010, 06:00:49 pm
Guys... can't even describe how touched i am with you kindness, thank you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: killian22 on February 24, 2010, 08:02:48 pm
Hello,
I'm just wondering what program you guys use for your games.
I have Game Maker v7 Pro
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on February 25, 2010, 12:19:17 am
RPGMaker VX seems fun
Novashell seems powerful
Allegro is hardcore

Game Maker is pretty cool too though. Are you dissatisfied with it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: killian22 on February 25, 2010, 07:55:38 pm
no,  im just looking for the game engine with the most active community. 
 :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on February 26, 2010, 02:42:31 pm
Allegro seems to have a huge community...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on February 26, 2010, 07:06:54 pm
There's also Flixel (http://flixel.org/) and FlashPunk (http://flashpunk.net/).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on February 26, 2010, 09:42:54 pm
Ah yes, Flash. Interpreted languages are not really my thing.

You also have Flex, which can be combined with for example Flixel
There's Python, a popular interpreted language, for which the engine most used is PyGame
I'm sure Ruby also has options if you look for them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on February 26, 2010, 10:22:34 pm
Quote
I'm sure Ruby also has options if you look for them
Gosu! (http://www.libgosu.org/) <3
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on February 28, 2010, 11:12:56 pm
GRAHhhh!! Darn Canadians stole the gold medal, in Hockey! Great game, though. Kinda funny how the American goalie just stood there like a statue a split second after the gamewinning OT shot was made; guy knew he was done for...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Quake on March 01, 2010, 05:03:30 pm
Was a good game. First time i've watched Hockey.. and i'm hooked ;P
I did want USA to win though,.. but ohwell, least they got to OT right!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: vierbit on March 01, 2010, 06:12:46 pm
I decided to buy a new graphic tablet. But before doing that, I want to know if there is a difference
between a no name and a wacom product. Currently have a aiptek A5 size btw.
In the last years I made quit a few attempts to get into digital painting, but it always ends in frustration as I find it very awkward and it doesn´t feel natural at all. Which leads me to two possibilities.
I´m not a person who goes well with tablets or my current setup is a POS.
-
So yeah, if some people here have experience with different kinds of tablets I want to know if an expensive wacom is worth the money.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on March 01, 2010, 06:30:24 pm
I don't have any experience outside of Wacom, but if you make a living off of illustration/ artistic digital work of any sort- saving up and buying a nice cintiq would be the ideal. We have them in the computer labs here at school. They are just a delight to work with. I felt like I was cheating on my lover- traditional painting putting my stylus all over the cintiq screen...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 01, 2010, 09:31:05 pm
I like Bamboo, I like Intuos too. Both Wacom. Used Intuos for work - great feel in them hands, delightful overall, good customization capabilities too, if you're into that - I'm not. I suck at messing with my workflow, hehu O:

But really, what can I say aside from that they both feel swell to work with and pretty accurate too - compared to my previous horrible experiences with the graphire I must say I dig the current Wacom tablets!

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 7321551 on March 01, 2010, 10:35:26 pm
Well, I have a no-name brand. On the rare occasion I try using it, my workflow proceeds like this: draw a line, undo, draw a line, undo, draw a line, undo, etc.

But like you Vierbit I'm not sure if it's the tablet, or if I'm not so good with tablets. To be honest, I've practiced with it very little.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on March 01, 2010, 10:43:53 pm
I've got a Wacom Bamboo Fun, and it's pretty good.  I've tried other brands (Genius, Vistablet, Lenovo, etc.) and none really stand out as better or worse.  Obviously you wouldn't by some 2003 piece of junk off of Craigslist, but you don't really have to go all out and buy a $300 Cintiq unless you're sure you'd need it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 01, 2010, 11:15:43 pm
Main difference between bamboo and intuos, btw, is that the intuos feels smoother in lots of ways, and is more comfortable. More rubber, more smooth surfaces - bamboo is more about the hard plastic.

It makes all the difference. Using an intuos feels like ... drawing - but digitally! using a bamboo feels like .. using an intuos - but with hard plastic! haha. Intuos clearly wins there - whenever I start making some money out of freelancing I WILL buy an intuos - comfort is important stuff!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 02, 2010, 01:39:57 am
But really, what can I say aside from that they both feel swell to work with and pretty accurate too - compared to my previous horrible experiences with the graphire I must say I dig the current Wacom tablets!

I've had a Graphire3 for ages and I don't really have a problem with it at all. I suppose if I tried an Intuos I'd probably never be able to go back, though,  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 02, 2010, 01:48:38 am
Bamboos are quite nice. They have the same resolution as the old Intuos3. The resolution on the new Intuos4 is double that, but I haven't gotten a chance to try one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on March 02, 2010, 02:03:22 am
I have a wacom graphire4 a5. I've had it for a fair while, and it has been brilliant, but the rubber on the pen has decayed so it's not perfect to hold. Also the eraser end of the pen only works like the pen side, I can't get it to work like it used to (even after reinstalling and going to default settings etc). I hear if you drop them too much they mess up, so it could be that. If I were to buy a new one, I would look at the wacom intuos first, although I have no experience using one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mori on March 02, 2010, 06:07:17 am
I had a Graphire3, but only one of the 4x5 models. It lasted me for several years before I became more serious in using them and upgraded to an Intuos3 9x12.  The difference was immediate, and immense.  The lines from the Intuos are significantly cleaner, the tablet itself is much smoother, and the shortcut buttons surprisingly useful. 

I recently purchased a Bamboo Pen tablet so I could have a tablet for mobile usage, and I have to say I'm really impressed, even considering the Intuos.  The texture on the surface is quite enjoyable, and the wider format is more natural, especially if you're using it on or with a laptop.  The pen isn't as comfortable as the Intuos, as it is not as ergonomic and lacks both a rubber grip and eraser, but the quality of the Bamboo itself is also worth mentioning: the lines are smooth and it is decent at handling broad movements. I'd say it's nearly as good as the Intuos (although the Intuos is still better for higher resolution work (I use the Bamboo on a 1920x1200 display, and the Intuos on a 2560x1600, and have almost no problem with moderately broad strokes on either)).

From what I hear, the Intuos4 have the same texture and many upgrades similar to the Bamboo line (increased pressure levels, faster response, higher sensitivity, etc.), so I'd say that if you were at all serious about using it to supplement your drawing, and already were comfortable with a tablet, this would be the category to go for.  Unless, of course, you can afford that incredibly sexy new Cintiq 21UX (or a secondhand last-gen, or the 12WX).

So anyway, hi again. Good to see many of the "oldies" are still around, even after the last 3-5 years.

(Anyone heard from goat recently?)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 02, 2010, 08:21:24 pm
2 years ahaha <3

(http://www.lolipopsicle.com/linky/111111.png)
(http://www.lolipopsicle.com/linky/2222222.png)

On tablets, I tried my friend's new Intuos4 after several years of an Intuos3 and it felt good! Not too different, but enough to make me more comfy with it all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 02, 2010, 09:09:48 pm
(http://www.locustleaves.com/407.png)

messages if you're a moderator ramp up fast
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on March 04, 2010, 08:43:15 pm
I love my 6x8 Intuos3. It does all that I want. I tried a 9x12 Genius tablet and it's total garbage; always screwing up, having errors, pressure sensitivity failing, etc. My intuos3 doesn't do that. I don't even feel a desire to have an intuos4.

Helm expressed his feelings on the cintique once, starting here (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=49.msg101149#msg101149).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: vierbit on March 04, 2010, 09:15:21 pm
Thanks for the opinions. But to be honest I´m more unsure than before  :huh:.
Well, probably better I take the risk and just buy one and see how it is.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 06, 2010, 01:00:55 am
Cats can make you go crazy.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/DyeHard/story?id=2288095&page=1
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on March 06, 2010, 11:53:41 pm
Yeah! I finally finish my scrapbook :D Never had an entire book dedicated to my drawings. Mainly because i used to draw in blocks and ripped off pages or write in them.  :crazy:
Time to start a new one. Put the pixel in stand by for a while.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on March 07, 2010, 02:26:17 am
Cats can make you go crazy.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/DyeHard/story?id=2288095&page=1
I got that from a blog and I LOVED it...haha way to crap on the face of everyone who thinks they know everything
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on March 07, 2010, 06:21:20 pm
I for one welcome our feline overlords.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: sakket on March 07, 2010, 07:48:08 pm
oh man. that could lead to a creepy movie about people wanting to be eaten by cats. just sayin.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on March 07, 2010, 08:49:38 pm
As I mentioned before: Cats are evil...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 07, 2010, 09:37:15 pm
And evil always wins, because good is dumb.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on March 08, 2010, 12:03:03 am
I'm one of those idiots that believes in the fundamental good nature of people.

As an owner of cats though: those bastards are definitely evil!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 08, 2010, 04:12:08 am
How are the cats evil at all? If anything it's the Toxoplasma gondii that's evil.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 08, 2010, 04:14:34 am
I don't know. Are protozoa sentient? It's like bizarro midichlorians.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on March 08, 2010, 05:45:03 pm
The real question is:

Are cat feces accepted as mind-altering substances now?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on March 10, 2010, 12:30:28 am
Anyone else notice the downtime we had for about four hours today?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 10, 2010, 12:38:10 am
Yah i did, it must have been something to do with the server and was not a pixelation specific problem. Umlautgames.net has the same issue with it's database access, same server.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on March 11, 2010, 09:25:12 pm
What the heck, why don't I know about Umlaut?! Thrustburst . . . made by Helm, ptoing, lackey, etc??? Gimme that!!

But when I DL it, my Symantec Virus protection immediately zaps the executable file and I got nothing. Calls it a trojan.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on March 11, 2010, 09:56:42 pm
Just a false positive. It works. disable symantec and try again?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on March 11, 2010, 10:26:43 pm
Good suggestion. Thanks.

Great game. 23.6 depth best so far. Love how it speeds up. Hate how it's one hit to kill and it's start all over again! Brootal.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 11, 2010, 11:09:35 pm
It you persevere it gets really rewarding/tense.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on March 12, 2010, 01:05:37 am
It's really adictive. I got to 23 depth too. Where is the core!? :'(
Didn't realize the energy thing till I read the readme, I forgot some games have useful readmes.

EDIT: 40 depth.  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 12, 2010, 01:41:16 am
Keep going, little starship :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 12, 2010, 03:52:14 am
Holy cupcakes, you guys are still around.  I've abandoned you all.  I'm sorry.  :'( I almost forgot my pixelation!  I need to get back into pixeling...  but I'm 14 now and life has been getting in the way of the glorious pixels.  Maybe I'll actually be better at it now that I'm older.  my traditional art time has dwindled too.

How the hell are y'all doing?
EDIT:
oh god..  I just saw what happened to fool on the last page.  Moment of silence, though I'm a page late.
...shit.  just, ugh.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 12, 2010, 04:25:13 am
Hey Shrike, welcome back.  :)

Always nice to see people returning.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on March 12, 2010, 05:21:07 am
I like your new avatar, EyeCraft!
Actually, I always like your avatars.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on March 12, 2010, 09:24:35 pm
http://www.jeremydower.com/ <3
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on March 13, 2010, 03:40:28 am
Hey, Shrike.

Thanks, Conceit. Bookmarked. Love his paintings.


*EDIT  
Keep going, little starship :)

All I can say is there better be a darn good prize waiting for me at the end of the rainbow. TB has been pissing me off for hours now.  
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 13, 2010, 10:26:49 pm
I like your new avatar, EyeCraft!
Actually, I always like your avatars.

Danke  :). Here I was thinking my last avatar was abominable  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 14, 2010, 12:42:53 am
Who here has heard of a Swiss instrument called a Hang Drum?  They're really damn cool...  I was about to buy one until I learned the 15k USD price tag.  Video, for those not enlightened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLl2eBGZlF0&feature=related

I love it.  But they're so expensive...  Apparently though people make their own with propane tanks, but to me it sounds completely different.  I suppose that'd be the difference between $15,000 and $28...  :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 7321551 on March 14, 2010, 01:53:42 am
I saw a busker playing one on Friday! I thought it was a type of steel pan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_pan) at the time. He earned my $2.  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Shrike on March 14, 2010, 07:36:25 pm
yeah, it's basically like an inverted steel drum with a bottom; you can play it with stick-like things too but seems more fun with your hands.  I wish there was a cheap way to get a high-quality one...

Anyone on spring break yet (for those of you still in school  :n: :mean: )?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 15, 2010, 12:52:21 pm
(http://spelunkyworld.com/images/spelunky-xbla-02.jpg)

Whuuuu <3 <3 <3

http://spelunkyworld.com/xbla.html
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on March 16, 2010, 06:32:16 pm
No more pixel art for Spelunky?  :(
Still looks pretty sexy, tho.  I just need a(n?) X-Box now...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 16, 2010, 11:08:54 pm
Haha, yeah, no MORE pixel art for spelunky, but dude, it's still free for the PC. The pixels are like right there!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on March 17, 2010, 08:04:35 pm
Yeah, but I would've liked to see more of Yu's pixel work.  It would be interesting to see pixels at a high resolution, too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on March 17, 2010, 09:08:02 pm
It's been ages since Derek Yu has visited Pixelation, maybe we should invite him back :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on March 17, 2010, 09:23:43 pm
I guess he's busy busy with stuffs. He had an awesome avatar on here, I think it was like a mini cyberdemon.

Spelunky HD looks great. apart from i keep seeing the caveman as wearing a balaclava.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sly on March 17, 2010, 09:34:53 pm
REALLY EPIC SCREENSHOT HERE

Whuuuu <3 <3 <3

http://spelunkyworld.com/xbla.html

I came. Even though it isn't pixel art it is still orgasmic.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on March 17, 2010, 10:43:33 pm
It's very pretty and hopefully will be appealing to the XBLA market. I think it's a smart move to go with the painterly graphics instead of the pixel art. It'll be much more appealing to the average user, and hopefully give the impression of the current Spelunky being an older, obsolete version. It would be disastrous if potential buyers realized there was a perfectly good free version floating around.

Best of luck to Derek and his crack team of ninja coders.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ter-o on March 18, 2010, 10:18:57 am
http://www.swordandsworcery.com/project/

or has someone posted this already? >_<
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 18, 2010, 12:21:14 pm
Already seen it on other sites, but don't think it was posted here, so all is well. And it looks VERY nice. I been waiting for a game with Craig Adam art.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 18, 2010, 03:56:20 pm
Yeah I love this too! Olympic method!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 18, 2010, 05:05:12 pm
http://www.swordandsworcery.com/project/

or has someone posted this already? >_<
It looks okay, too bad it looks like the most boring thing ever created. An adventure game with no depth or much purpose, might as well watch a movie. Honestly when do you DO SOMETHING? I don't mean to be so blunt but seriously.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 18, 2010, 06:25:04 pm
http://www.swordandsworcery.com/project/

or has someone posted this already? >_<
It looks okay, too bad it looks like the most boring thing ever created. An adventure game with no depth or much purpose, might as well watch a movie. Honestly when do you DO SOMETHING? I don't mean to be so blunt but seriously.

Wow, I just thought it looked like a calm game to lose yourself in and a little nice pixel world to enjoy ' D ';, like the opposite opinion

did you play knytt, liked it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 18, 2010, 06:31:36 pm
Have you played it, bengoshia? Is it out? How do we know it serves no purpose?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 18, 2010, 08:49:10 pm
Well obviously I'm just going off of the gameplay video they showed, I guess they COULD work with what they have but it doesn't really appeal to me. Also Knytt's alright haven't played much of it. Look I'm not saying it has to be full of action or anything it just doesn't seem like theres much direction going on, from what I have gathered. Here's what I've gathered from the demo: Touch things to make them shake/etc., go in a linear direction, hear sounds, no dialogue (which is fine if done correctly), I don't see much drive in this other than the fact that it looks artsy, which graphics should serve the purpose of helping the gameplay, not the other way around.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 18, 2010, 08:53:11 pm
no offense but these are like bulletpoint, canned opinions I've heard a hundred times from the 'GAMEPLAY BEFORE ART' camp. If you'd like to have a real discussion on this let's just wait until the game is out and we have a first-hand experience with it, or choose a different game that is out and with which you have these greviances and we'll talk about it. Gameplay is a very hazy term and I don't see how mood, atmosphere and aesthetics can't be as important as whatever that is and still make for a good interactive experience.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 18, 2010, 09:09:17 pm
All those things come AFTER the core gameplay has been established, story-driven can be good, but if theres little to no gameplay going on, I might as well watch a movie. Of course the two can carry eachother hand in hand, but its called a video GAME for a reason. Helm I suggest you go play some Treasure made games or anything considered good from the Atari/NES camp, shit look at Contra, how much story goes on in that? Sure theres an atmosphere among other things established, but that comes second to gameplay. As far as 'art' games go, I consider the best games to be art, i.e. Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3, Megaman 2, Resident Evil 4, Super Metroid and obviously these have ALL elements but if you take away their gameplay what do they really have? Might as well just be movies. Hell, what the hell is Tetris about? Thats one of the most popular games ever made and is there much story going on there? Also regardless of your feelings on this argument, this game does not look like its a work of art, it just looks like its artsy, this will be no match for a Japan Studio (Team Ico) game, hell this probably won't be even remembered 5-10 years from now. Just to note if I sound harsh I don't mean to, this is all in good fun.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on March 18, 2010, 09:22:19 pm
Don't be silly, all games are art.
Just like all movies, all comics/pictures and all musics are art. There is no quality required, only creativity.

As for gameplay, funny how you name metal gear solid since that series is known for being extremely cutscene-heavy.
Also, to name a popular recent game, what about heavy rain? That game is nothing but story. Is that not a game too?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 18, 2010, 09:33:26 pm
Are you implying that you don't interact in either MGS OR Heavy Rain? Heavy Rain is all about interacting with the story, games today obviously are more story-driven but gameplay has not and isn't gonna budge anytime soon. If its all about creativity, I suggest you check out Action52 or Batman Forever, its all about the creativity not quality right? Come now, if anything the two probably go hand in hand. Now look, this game could be good, I might be wrong, I'm just going off what I saw, so Helm's right, we'll just need to wait til it comes out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 18, 2010, 10:06:57 pm
I've played most of the Treasure games from the 16-bit era. I am aware of various schools of thought on the matter but I think most proponents of the 'GAMES AS GAMEPLAY' point of view are being purposefully narrow-minded to be argumentative and to draw a line in the sand. Metal Gear Solid games have some amazing concepts sometimes but most of the gameplay is seriously broken, yet they're still very impactful experiences. I don't care if they're games or not, call them whatever you want, I care that they're interactive and they lead to thoughts, emotions, considerations.

I think your judgment call that a game that hasn't come out yet is not a work of art but just 'artsy' is groundless. Your hunch says more about you than the game.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 18, 2010, 10:20:32 pm
On the contrary, the gameplay in Metal Gear Solid is masterfully crafted, along with graphics, music, sound, the cutscenes are obviously a big part and keep you attatched but its not JUST that, as stated previously. The best games are the best in all departments, for instance, Uncharted 2 may have not anything new to the table gameplay-wise but what keeps it going is that the gameplay works well and is smooth, story is what obviously keeps the player playing but the gameplay has enough depth to make it fun on its own. Also do I have to keep re-iterating that this is solely based off the demo video I saw on it? I even said it COULD be good and I COULD be wrong, not that this game is automatically bad, it just doesn't look very interesting, besides the artistic direction they took. Are you implying I'm somehow more ignorant just because of this hunch? That I'm less of what you perceive as a gamer in your mind? Games ARE gameplay, believe it or not, thats not ALL it has, but its not a game without interactivity. The main component a game needs though is good, core gameplay and obviously story, graphics, sounds, etc. can help to compliment that, at the end of the day you still need interactivity to make it a video game.

EDIT: After reviewing the game for a second time, I realized I didn't see that second video, this could be ALRIGHT, but as I've said before, it would need to be done correctly, so hopefully thats what they do. It still does not look like my cup of tea and still has that 'artsy' feel to it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on March 18, 2010, 10:40:22 pm
I like the rotation idea. I thnk it's pretty neat how holding hte screen horizontally goes into peaceful mode, just like how horizontal rhythm lines  are supposed to be peaceful and calming. Then you flip the screen vertically for violence, again relating to vertical rhythm lines.

I hope they ditch the boss health meter. Kinda kills the moment for me. The boss's shield pounding/taunt just doesn't work for me, when I can clearly see how vulnerable it is because of the healthbar.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on March 18, 2010, 11:40:51 pm
I hope they ditch the boss health meter. Kinda kills the moment for me. The boss's shield pounding/taunt just doesn't work for me, when I can clearly see how vulnerable it is because of the healthbar.

Besides that, the battle was extremely easy, that power blow was very VERY slow.  I think he just took the hit so he could show us, that he can get hurt.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 19, 2010, 12:19:54 am
Are you implying I'm somehow more ignorant just because of this hunch? That I'm less of what you perceive as a gamer in your mind?

No I am implying that you're reproducing canned points on the 'art games versus gameplay games' argument that's been going on on the internet for a while now most of which (from either side) do not stand up to serious inspection, and for what? Just to have an argument?

Quote
Games ARE gameplay, believe it or not

statements like this 'games are what I say whether you believe it or not' are my problem with this debate. Gameplay is a nebulous term, I'm not sure what it is, I'm not sure what you think it is. Interactive systems predate games, and games are informed by interactive structures quite outside of the concept of 'fun' which is also highly subjective. I played a text adventure a long time ago named 'A Mind Forever Voyaging'. My reflexes were not challenged. There weren't many clever puzzles. I did not have fun. But it was a deeply impactful and sometimes shocking experience and I remember this game 10 years later. I don't remember very many Treasure games as fondly although they were fun to play.

Quote
The main component a game needs though is good, core gameplay and obviously story, graphics, sounds, etc. can help to compliment that, at the end of the day you still need interactivity to make it a video game.

A potent piece of art is more than the sum of its parts. This approach to prioritizing 'content' in game design belongs to AAA studios working for the man.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 19, 2010, 12:56:07 am
My opinion is, if the combat becomes challenging and exciting, the game will be better off than if it didn't. The exploration and interaction seemed solid. The walking across water puzzle probably would have had me stuck for a while. I'm sure they could really expand on that aspect of it, too.

The role of the videos I think is to appeal to a broad audience, which is something they state as part of the games objectives. Given this, I think it's difficult to really make any solid judgements based off watching them. They can't make it look too much like a game that only "gamers" are going to play.

That's just my guess, anyway. But I can see definite room there for a fun game.  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on March 19, 2010, 02:43:20 am
Games aren't art, they're so much more. Until the large companies realize that, we're never getting rid of the current industry.

Game development is catching up to hollywood? It should be the other way round by now. We have a visually strong industry, with loads of writing opportunity, interactivity and far greater social opportunities than watching a movie.

Game development will eventually surpass hollywood in revenue and famousness by a league.

Art is just a part of all that. Not even an important part.


Gameplay is about 10% important nowadays and it should be. It should never be bad though. I rather play a game with no gameplay than one with bad gameplay.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 19, 2010, 07:32:37 am
With games there's a power to communicate something really powerful without the things we normally consider language. Movies are linear, written with verbal language (well most of the time). A game I think is simply something interactive where you can make a difference (as opposed to information storages, like websites, they're not games even though you can browse them)

Gameplay I would consider as the control layer between you and the gameworld. Not just the buttons, but the ways the buttons make things happen. Pretty simple huh?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 19, 2010, 09:12:08 am
I rather play a game with no gameplay than one with bad gameplay.
Not to be argumentative, but I think this statement is logically impossible. In order to be able to actually play a game, it must have some form of gameplay.

I would define gameplay as the set of rules/constraints that govern the interactive experience. You must always have at least some constraints, since a game must be bounded in at least some way, be it the length of time it is played for, the method of input and response, or the complexity of causal relationships between actions and reactions within the game space.

There must also be some kind of goal or point to the game, or its just a kind of aimless daydream. I'm not saying aimless daydreams are bad (since they occupy quite a bit of my time :) ), I'm just saying an aimless daydream is not a game. By definition, a game has some aim.

Ehhh should probably think about it more before I post something like that, but I need to rush off to work.  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on March 19, 2010, 11:36:28 am
Not to be argumentative, but I think this statement is logically impossible. In order to be able to actually play a game, it must have some form of gameplay.

What I mean is that I rather watch 30 minutes of cutscenes followed by 2 minutes of good gameplay, rather than playing something that handles like a brick.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 7321551 on March 19, 2010, 12:24:53 pm
Seems like a bit of a false dichotomy, I'd rather spend 32 minutes with the good gameplay.  ;)
I don't begrudge anyone liking cutscenes, though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on March 19, 2010, 02:03:39 pm
I can kind of see it from both sides on the whole gameplay thing. Like I'm in two states of mind about knytt stories, because on the one hand I'm wondering around the world thinking mmmm this is a lovely little relaxing experience, really enjoying the atmosphere. Then on the other hand I think, "hey wait a sec, where the hell is my "gameplay"?"

Then you have something like Super Metroid that has all the exploration and atmosphere, on top of those core mechanics that some say are essential to a game. But you could say that if knytt had a smilar structure it would be overkill, and actually end up taking away from the whole relaxing atmosphere thing. So it's a tough call, do I prefer the simplicity of Knytt, or the more intense Metroid? I say, it depends what mood I'm in. I can appreciate both.  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alspal on March 19, 2010, 09:31:02 pm
Seriously, you guys need to read this:
http://insomnia.ac/commentary/gameplay/
There is also a forum topic attached to the essay if you need more to read. Get that word out of your vocabulary.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on March 19, 2010, 09:55:03 pm
http://insomnia.ac/commentary/gameplay/
What he says is nothing new. This is the main problem, I quote:
Quote from: Alex Kierkegaard
Besides, it seems that different people have different ideas of what gameplay is supposed to mean; there is nothing like a widely accepted definition
which actually happens with a LOT of words. For example: art, love, etc.

I mean, he's right, maybe gameplay isn't well defined, but there's so much words which aren't, that you can't write about one in particular.
It's useful though the proposed solution, try using other words. But that's what words are for, you use gameplay because you think it's the best word out there to define what you're thinking.
You say this is a piece of art, because you think thats better than: this thing is very creative and makes me feel happy because of the colours and that little thing there.
Which isn't right, because then... what's creative? what do you mean by happy? why the colours? what about the little thing?

I don't know... maybe what i'm writing is obvious :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alspal on March 19, 2010, 10:48:11 pm
-
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on March 19, 2010, 10:50:15 pm
Gameplay sounds good.  The other words do not.  Simple as that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 19, 2010, 11:39:03 pm
No I am implying that you're reproducing canned points on the 'art games versus gameplay games' argument that's been going on on the internet for a while now most of which (from either side) do not stand up to serious inspection, and for what? Just to have an argument?
There is no art games vs gameplay games argument, a game is a game, you just should recognize that the gameplay is the most important part of it, without any interactivity, it does not make it a game, therefore it is the essential component to making it a video game. Not to imply graphics, sounds/music, story are all important, but without gameplay, its just a movie, not to say story cannot DRIVE the game but ultimately without interactivity it isn't a game.

Quote
statements like this 'games are what I say whether you believe it or not' are my problem with this debate. Gameplay is a nebulous term, I'm not sure what it is, I'm not sure what you think it is. Interactive systems predate games, and games are informed by interactive structures quite outside of the concept of 'fun' which is also highly subjective. I played a text adventure a long time ago named 'A Mind Forever Voyaging'. My reflexes were not challenged. There weren't many clever puzzles. I did not have fun. But it was a deeply impactful and sometimes shocking experience and I remember this game 10 years later. I don't remember very many Treasure games as fondly although they were fun to play.
You had interactivity with the story, you could change things or perhaps, attempt to meet the demands of your goal, either way without interactivity you would have just been reading a book. Also, as for you implying 'games are what I say whether you believe it or not', this is my interpretation of what a game is, I shouldn't have to state its my interpretation at all, we're not arguing whether the sky is blue or not, its much more complex and varies from person to person. Thinking about this, you seem to act as if I'm an ignorant individual for my own views, as if I've completely dismissed this game to the side, where I was just saying I was skeptical and didn't look like much going on, obviously I sounded more hostile so I apologize for that.

Quote
A potent piece of art is more than the sum of its parts. This approach to prioritizing 'content' in game design belongs to AAA studios working for the man.
I'm not saying ADD EXTRA GUNS = MAKES IT BETTER, no I mean, good core gameplay elements, which by the way the general gaming community prefers, seems like most of the community feels the best games have not only the best story/graphics/among other things but ultimately, their simplicity in all those things with gameplay coming first, i.e. Megaman 2, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Contra, Pac-Man, Tetris, Super Metroid. But obviously, whatever it may be, the story and gameplay can go hand in hand but its not a game without gameplay (i.e. interactivity, being able to change certain elements within a limited amount of options), as stated many times previously.

As for the whole 'gameplay' thing, obviously it is a vague term but I just do it to save time, like anybody doesn't get what I mean. Its like people who say 'shading', all shadows are is the absence of light, so its impossible to 'shade' anything, just lighting/rendering, but obviously you still GET what the person is saying when he says 'shading', so I don't see the problem.

PS - I seem to be repeating a lot of statements, sorry about this, I'm a bit tired.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Pizza Tom on March 20, 2010, 12:04:58 am
I dunno, as far as the whole "what does gameplay actually mean" discussion, I find I can usually substitute most uses of "gameplay" with "game mechanics" and it makes a lot more sense. Just my two cents. - o -
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 20, 2010, 12:12:29 am
Look my point is is that they're basically leading to the same or similar definition, so it shouldn't really matter.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 20, 2010, 12:24:06 am
I won't argue the point anymore, just a final sideways question.

I'm not saying ADD EXTRA GUNS = MAKES IT BETTER, no I mean, good core gameplay elements, which by the way the general gaming community prefers, seems like most of the community feels the best games have not only the best story/graphics/among other things but ultimately, their simplicity in all those things with gameplay coming first, i.e. Megaman 2, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Contra, Pac-Man, Tetris, Super Metroid.

Which is this community that says this and what does it mean that they say it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 20, 2010, 12:44:39 am
Things that are well received generally tends to mean that they're successful in completing their goals, I'm pretty sure all those games were fairly successful. I can't really point to one specific community, if you read any gaming magazines, or talk to gamers in general, it seems they'll tend to like those games.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 20, 2010, 01:32:14 am
counterpoint: if some piece of art you perused held a significance for you then it is fairly successful. Groupthink unneeded.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 20, 2010, 01:40:23 am
Perhaps, but if I make a car that is poorly made and can only go ten miles per hour I may consider this successful but its definitely not going to be well received by others, who the hell would buy it? I know you're arguing for artistic freedom, which is understandable, people need that but like with everything else, you can make a game better structured and more appealing, not implying experimentation is bad but with that it either works or it doesn't, also not implying that this iPhone game suffers from not being well structured, it seems alright, but the output I'm getting just doesn't seem like my cup of tea.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 20, 2010, 01:48:57 am
the ipod game aside, game design isn't 'it either works or it doesn't'; it is 'it works to what end for what end user'.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 20, 2010, 01:51:39 am
Well of course its not so black and white, but I would still say theres certain things you can do to ensure its more likely to work with whatever end user it may be, just like with the artistic process. But for the most part, I agree with your statement.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 20, 2010, 01:59:05 am
My whole point is that I realize why you have some of the opinions you do and at past points I shared some of them "where's the gameplay in my game?!" is a very honest and base reaction when playing a videogame. And at times I was surrounded by like-mindeds that reinforced my points of view. At some point I left that mode of thinking behind and I questioned several concepts I had 'accepted' for a long while and from that I didn't emerge *knowing more* but rather knowing less, being less certain. Socrates would look to me and say "Isn't the boy in a much better position now, in relation to what he does not know?". Question common wisdom, especially stuff that sounds right the first time you hear it. Videogames are not gameplay+graphics+music+whatever, they're one of many modes of human expression and as such are resistant to such positivist chopping-down-to-basic-systems-to-inspect-one-by-one. I am not saying all analysis is useless, I am saying the analysis that matters starts from describing actual experience with something. Not by trying to force a preconception about how things should be over something cursorily examined. If you play games thinking in what ways they deviate from patterns established by metroid or tetris, you're doing a disservice to both yourself and the game. Play it for what it is and then work from there. There's a lot to like and dislike about any game. That you end up liking some more than others doesn't mean there should be more games like those, necessarily.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 20, 2010, 02:04:31 am
Action52, try it out. I never said deviating away from formulas was a bad thing, its just its been shown that there are certain things that DO work. So with art does it matter if we don't learn perspective, proportions, anatomy, color theory, a general understanding of light, etc.? If we choose not to learn these things, it'll be much harder for our works to be appealing to a wider audience, not only this but the fact that its likely to be not as well structured and may not even give off the point/feeling/etc. the artist intended. I'm just saying a more successful work will be more (likely) thought-out and is to apply things that have been successful in the past, i.e. things like a simple control scheme.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 20, 2010, 03:00:14 am
There are no things that DO work, there are things that work towards some end and for some end users. Those things may or may have not been intended to work like that by the designers and frankly once you're experiencing the thing for yourself those considerations of intention are besides the point.

If you're learning perspective, proportions, etc so your work to appeal to a wider audience you will at some point realize (hopefully) there are deeper reasons of self-actualization that that. In fact if you want to just have a wide appeal with your art fake knowledge in those areas. Copy from other people's art, copy photographs, appropriate other people's art directly. this is what the industry does[/i], most people can't tell the difference or they don't have historic knowledge needed to spot the lifts, there are a lot of liars around that have a very wide audience. All these externalities you talk about are not only why artists make art, they also do it because they have to: some games are like they are because they couldn't be any other way, that was the only thing that would satisfy the inner ambitions of the ones that made them. Don't think about design by committee, don't think about what HAS to work, think about what you're experiencing and what you can get from it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 20, 2010, 03:10:18 am
I like how you say to be more of an open-minded individual, but do it so forcefully, doesn't this defeat the purpose? DON'T think like this, people DO this, NO things work, maybe I'm looking a little into it, just throwing it out there. Why can't there be more depth than just 'what you're feeling'? Also of course there are more reasons than just 'appealing to a wider audience', I wasn't trying to imply thats the ONLY reason you would, I personally think learning the 'fundamentals' among other things just allows you to better enhance whatever you ARE feeling, and I think for games its the same way. Also, you ever notice how most shmups tend to be unique in their own way but have similarities to others in the same genre? Weird how that works? It seems like 'design by committee' and what tends to work is often used but each game is still different and interesting in its own way.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 20, 2010, 03:43:20 am
I'm sorry if I sounded forceful, I don't mean you should do as I say or anything. I'm just saying, if you liked some games, that's great. Do we need more games that are variations on those games though? Can't we do different things more? It's not even like Swords and Sorcery is THAT much of a departure (besides the art style that truly is). The combat is like punch-out and perhaps Immortal as far as I can see.

The idea is to not have preconceptions about art because it doesn't fit criteria, to experience it first and then try to describe what it's doing to us (or not doing).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 20, 2010, 12:10:54 pm
Yeah, I get what you're trying to say, I think this arguments coming a bit to a close, or else we'd just keep debating over the same points so I'll leave it at that if thats alright.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on March 20, 2010, 01:45:17 pm
In other news.... (?)

Does anybody know a good software/image/web/something for calibrating the screen colours/brightness/contrast/gamma?
Sometimes I don't know if I'm the one with the dark monitor or is the other that has too much gamma.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on March 20, 2010, 09:12:12 pm
In other news.... (?)

Does anybody know a good software/image/web/something for calibrating the screen colours/brightness/contrast/gamma?
Sometimes I don't know if I'm the one with the dark monitor or is the other that has too much gamma.

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 21, 2010, 12:40:48 am
http://community.livejournal.com/bleachness/446299.html

 :lol:  :n:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on March 21, 2010, 02:41:44 am
(http://pixeljoint.com/pixelart/50550.htm)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HMC on March 21, 2010, 02:42:54 am
Has anyone played Digital: A Love Story (http://www.scoutshonour.com/digital/) yet? I myself was not even born in 1988, but I think nerds everywhere will be able to appreciate it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Larwick on March 21, 2010, 01:30:10 pm
http://community.livejournal.com/bleachness/446299.html

 :lol:  :n:

He starts ripping from Bleach fanart, and it just becomes mindblowingly rediculous.

"My inspirations reflect the fact that certain fundamental imagery is common to all Manga" - All manga meaning Bleach.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 21, 2010, 02:25:43 pm
also if you find it read his DeviantArt chat with some fan who is telling him politely to do more studying.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 21, 2010, 05:08:52 pm
http://community.livejournal.com/bleachness/446299.html

 :lol:  :n:

He starts ripping from Bleach fanart, and it just becomes mindblowingly rediculous.

"My inspirations reflect the fact that certain fundamental imagery is common to all Manga" - All manga meaning Bleach.

To be able to overlay the images of completely different works and have the lines fit together perfectly is also something common to all Manga. ALL OF IT!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 21, 2010, 05:42:19 pm
to be honest I don't think much of it is tracing, just copying. Is that less bad?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on March 21, 2010, 06:32:35 pm
he might as well trace, it's like copying but quicker. unless we're talking about the copying for personal purposes where you're actually studying the orginal drawing, like a master copy or something.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 21, 2010, 08:14:01 pm
to be honest I don't think much of it is tracing, just copying. Is that less bad?

Yep, if it's tracing then lines would've generally went together .. more perfectly.

But it's just as bad. Actually it's almost worse - there's some inherent honesty about tracing, there's, after all, direct evidence about the plagiarism embedded in the very lines.

Copying by eye, though, can be excused with 'being inspired by' whatever you blatantly copied. It's sneaky and ugly. I dislike it because it takes something obviously bad and tries to write it off as gray-zone. ):
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on March 22, 2010, 11:47:30 am
To be able to overlay the images of completely different works and have the lines fit together perfectly is also something common to all Manga. ALL OF IT!

Well, I think there is some truth to this. That goes for Superhero comics as well, since there are so many generic symbols, silhouettes and gestures that are ingrained in the minds of artists working within these fields. Take the classic Jack Kirby pose of a hero dashing towards the viewer for example. How many times have those same lines been repeated over the years by various artists?

Either way, there was this basketball manga a couple of years back that got caught swiping huge chunks of another basketball manga, namely Slam Dunk, which in turn had ironically enough been swiping NBA photos for years. The way I see it this kid is just keeping up with the good ol' Japanese spirit of churning out comic pages at any cost, and making a buck out of it. Good for him!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 22, 2010, 02:39:01 pm
Swiping is an art as old as comic books themselves. Simmon's examples are particularly hilarious in their total lack of subtlety and foresight.

http://comipress.com/article/2007/07/09/2267
http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/956
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 27, 2010, 09:55:57 pm
http://boingboing.net/features/morerock.html

check this out bengoshia. About superbrothers swords and sorcery game being 'light' or empty.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on March 28, 2010, 01:01:12 am
http://boingboing.net/features/morerock.html

check this out bengoshia. About superbrothers swords and sorcery game being 'light' or empty.

Interesting read. I disagree with the argument, though.

It just seems like their argument is way too extreme. "There's too much heartless analysis going on, so lets remove ALL analysis". It's not the analysis that's the problem, it's the heartlessness. It's not the process that's wrong, it's the people who are performing the process (committees, etc).

Analysis is good. It's very healthy for the construction of a system. A game is interactive, so it must involve some system. I doubt the method they propose is useful for anything but the most trivial of interactivity structures.

In other words, yes, feel, but also think. Don't expunge either for the monopoly of the other.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 28, 2010, 04:11:03 am
http://boingboing.net/features/morerock.html

check this out bengoshia. About superbrothers swords and sorcery game being 'light' or empty.
More like not my cup of tea, don't care for hipster art games that think they're deep and all I do is watch David Lynch films and listen to post-rock music, ironic eh? Hey if you're into that crap go for it brother, but I'm gonna stick to Ico Team, Naughty Dog, Treasure, Platinum Games, Grasshopper, Kojima Productions, etc. Also whats with this article? BAWWW TALKING IN GAMES/CUTSCENES IS SO EVIL IT NEEDS TO ALL BE HOW I WANT IT TO BE OR ELSE ITS DUMB. Thats why Uncharted 2 and MGS3 do it so successfully right? How can it HURT the experience? Sure sometimes it can but if done correctly it does not. Well so much for being open-minded, he sure seems fairly ignorant, acting as if there needs to be one way to do things, using another man's words to twist into his own poorly thought-out opinion.

Besides whats this rant have to do with the actual game? John K rants all day about animation but is a poor animator himself, I dislike most of his opinions too, funny how that works. Look I'll just be blunt, I have absolutely zero interest in the game, honestly nothing really appeals to me, which is saying a lot because apparently this guy likes a lot of games I like, including Another World, which I would say is a fairly "artsy" game, but even then that game looked far more interesting than this guy's stuff, probably because its a more thought-out and better art direction along with more interesting characters, etc. If other people enjoy it thats cool with me but as for me, I see not much point in it, look different doesn't make it better, it just makes it stick out more and not always in a good way either.

NOTE: I get his point and for the most part I agree with it, his train of thought can be used to make a good game, where my problem lies is where he CLOSES OFF a lot of different methods.

NOTE (AGAIN): I guess I got a few of his points but not the whole picture, but I guess he means anything that disrupts the mood of the game = bad, which can equal cutscenes among other things. He's trying to say that if you think too much into the idea, you lose the original meaning, but I still think you can keep talking the talk and get a better experience.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on March 28, 2010, 08:29:54 am
More like not my cup of tea, don't care for hipster art games that think they're deep and all I do is watch David Lynch films and listen to post-rock music, ironic eh?

Sorry, but it feels like you read some opinion on the internet about hipsters, which...somehow you equate to games with art-like quality, and then decided to latch on to it. Why is listening to post-rock...ironic?

BAWWW TALKING IN GAMES/CUTSCENES IS SO EVIL IT NEEDS TO ALL BE HOW I WANT IT TO BE OR ELSE ITS DUMB. Thats why Uncharted 2 and MGS3 do it so successfully right? How can it HURT the experience? Sure sometimes it can but if done correctly it does not. Well so much for being open-minded, he sure seems fairly ignorant, acting as if there needs to be one way to do things, using another man's words to twist into his own poorly thought-out opinion.

No. He is not saying all games forever should drop the traditional cutscene narrative type. He is just putting it out there; why rely on it so heavily when in fact it may obfuscate the overall experience that you might be going for? Some games take this route by default, and by sticking to convention, effectively stifle any sort of creative vision for the game. If anything he's being more open-minded and not ignorant, and he is right in that sense, I think. However, yes, more talk and less rock is still relevant in video games. For example, Mass Effect series.

If other people enjoy it thats cool with me but as for me, I see not much point in it, look different doesn't make it better, it just makes it stick out more and not always in a good way either.

It sounds to me like you dislike what the game aims for mainly because you think they're just trying to be nonconformist. Does taking a non-traditional path automatically associate with all style-filler and no substance? Why does attempting this break a video game in any way? Because games can't pull inspiration from art? I understand that it's not your cup of tea, but you say there's no point to it...that's just silly. It's like "okay here are these explicit well-defined boundaries for video games, art, movies and let's not cross them or mix them in any way" This sort of knee-jerk reaction to "different" ideas seems like a regressive opinion that rejects innovation more often than not.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 28, 2010, 11:14:29 am
I love that article. It's totally the TTGL way to make video games!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Varish on March 28, 2010, 01:22:07 pm
Quote
John K rants all day about animation but is a poor animator himself,
Okay, now you're just a troll.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 28, 2010, 02:54:23 pm
Quote
John K rants all day about animation but is a poor animator himself,
Okay, now you're just a troll.

Seriously, I disagree with John K a healthy amount of time but, what? Are you sure he's a poor animator?

See bengoshia I don't begrudge you having opinions contrary to mine on anything (it happens with everyone I meet) but it's really suspect when you throw stuff like that out, it makes me think you either didn't give it much thought or you're just aiming for a reaction or both.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 28, 2010, 06:49:52 pm
John K is a sub-par animator at best, see Richard Williams, Walt Stanchfield, any oldschool Disney animator really. I guess you got me Helm, the bold, quick statements are me trying to get off the subject, because we're not gonna get anywhere anyway. His opinions are very narrow-minded, he's basically saying only one way to do things is right, as if talking about the idea and trying to expand on it with different elements besides gameplay is a bad thing, which isn't always the case. You know what Mass Effect would be without any "talk"? Gears of War RPG Edition, so looks like it helps the game instead of hurting it. Also this game isn't innovative, this is just a mediocre iphone app that will be forgotten in a year from now, honestly explain to me whats so revolutionary about it. Even if its different, that doesn't make it necessarily good. I'm betting all my opinions will be thrown to the side because of how I've worded them, but whatever, kinda the idea, I just want to be done with this topic, my bad to ever state my feelings on the game in the first place.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on March 28, 2010, 06:56:15 pm
http://boingboing.net/features/morerock.html

check this out bengoshia. About superbrothers swords and sorcery game being 'light' or empty.

I was a bit "meh" before, but upon reading this I see he's all about the things I've been trying to study about videogames, their native language.
I don't see how he's saying everything else is evil? More like check out how beautiful a game can be if explored further than the boundaries of slightly related media.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 28, 2010, 07:41:04 pm
I don't think someone suggesting 1 3 2 in a world full of 1 2 3 is very narrow minded, ben. But hey! if it is, we need more narrow minded people because then we can have a world with 321 and 231 also. Seriously, a single article saying, "why don't we look at game creation a bit differently than how a lot of people are doing" is getting a ridiculous amount of gut-hurt replies, as if it were a new mandate.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 28, 2010, 07:43:18 pm
Look I'm gonna stop discussing this after here, but uh, no he's pretty much pushing his method as the BEST method, as if other methods can't be done well either. I would agree with him if he wasn't so quick to dismiss other methods.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 28, 2010, 08:23:12 pm
I just read that article and I have to say I strongly agree. I played MGS 1 and it is an OK game imo, but something as pure and enchanting as the games he mentions, (ico, rez, zelda 1, another world) it is not, and never really motivated me to try the other MGS games. If the story in MGS was written as a book I certainly would not wanna read it. And as such I think what he says holds a lot of truth.

Also the whole dilution through committee thing is very true and I seen this first hand working at 2 different games companies in-house, as well as making a game with friends (Thrustburst) where there generally was not a lot of talk at all in terms of WE HAVE TO PLAN THIS, we just did stuff after very short discussions and went with the flow, and I think we did well.

Sorry to say this bengo, but to me most of the stuff you said sounds like you were mainly trying to be confrontational.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 28, 2010, 08:46:55 pm
(Urgh, alright LAST one this time.)

Your own opinion does not dictate the world's, the MGS series is one of the most popular gaming franchises and for good reason, besides, you've only played the Gamecube remake of the original if I remember correctly, you've never touched the rest of the series. So maybe its not your cup of tea, just as this game is not my cup of tea, it doesn't make it necessarily BAD, it just doesn't really interest me, I mean I honestly don't think it holds up to a lot either but I'm sure there could be some interesting elements within the game. For now all I've seen though are touch things to make them shake and QTE battles.

Games that have done the whole you know, adding in cutscenes/text/"talk" right:
Any decent RPG
Metal Gear Solid 3
Uncharted 2
Half-life 2
Any decent Survival Horror (Silent Hill, Resident Evil)

Hell even Metroid Prime had tons of information you could read upon in the game, one of the games he stated as 'doing it correctly', even Another World had cutscenes, even if they were short. Whats wrong with not trying to center around gameplay? Isn't that what Helm was originally arguing anyway? As long as its done well, it shouldn't matter the methods used, but thats not saying there aren't better methods to go around things.

Look I'm not trying to be confrontational I'm just voicing my opinion, yes my last few statements were rather crude but thats because I've gotten sick of talking about this. Differing opinions cause confrontation, fact of the matter is, I probably enjoy most of the games all of you enjoy, this game to me though just doesn't look very interesting and the whole article is just a rant by him, its not proving whether the game will be good or not (relative to me, obviously), as I've said, John K rants a lot too but he's not exactly an amazing animator, even if his articles have some truth but obviously even in this thread, a lot of people still enjoy his work. So I guess if you guys think good-looking visuals and touching trees to make them shake is innovative, good for you, I just wasn't very impressed with what I saw, also that fight they had, literally just a very simplistic QTE, why is that innovative? I'm gonna try and stop here, alright?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 28, 2010, 10:19:39 pm
I don't understand why if you are being fed up with a conversation your reflex is to be dismissive and appear simple-minded. If you don't want to talk about something, then... don't. Post about something else, cool off, do some art, whatever. I never meant to get you riled up by returning to the subject, I just thought you might enjoy reading the dude's rant that was/is very relative to what we were talking about.

Keep in mind that the time people spend on the internet talking with you is time they could spend doing other things too. It's a courtesy when someone engages with you on a subject in a civil manner and is interested in what you have to say. If you become irritated by difference of opinion to the point where you just shoot off whatever you have in mind no matter how confrontational or poorly considered it is, you're basically insulting the other person by wasting their time and giving them negative vibes in return for their good faith. And that happens a lot in life, no biggie, just keep in mind that if you do this to me (can't talk about anyone else) once, twice, three times then I will just not bother asking you about your opinion on anything anymore. So if you don't feel like articulating and carrying on a dialogue, then, don't. That this is a public forum shouldn't mean you should feel the need to reply to everything people tell you or else 'you lose' or anything. The person to have the last word doesn't win, he's just the one that has most time to waste sometimes :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on March 28, 2010, 10:49:41 pm
I don't even get the discussion here. Games are not meant to be something or something else.

Some games are artsy, some are talky, some are blowy-uppy, some are break-blocky, etc.

I personally find MGS to be a drab, boring excuse for a game series, but some people like it. I find Another World to be godly in appearance, but sloppy in controls. I love the art in CastleVania: SOTN, but I dread the noisy gameplay. I actually like the N64 version of CV a lot more, though no one else in the universe does.

Just as with music, it's about taste. You can talk about the quality of the elements of the game, but not wether people are supposed to like it or not.

MGS has beautiful custscenes, some people just don't like cutscenes.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on March 28, 2010, 11:35:34 pm
I don't understand why if you are being fed up with a conversation your reflex is to be dismissive and appear simple-minded. If you don't want to talk about something, then... don't. Post about something else, cool off, do some art, whatever. I never meant to get you riled up by returning to the subject, I just thought you might enjoy reading the dude's rant that was/is very relative to what we were talking about.

Keep in mind that the time people spend on the internet talking with you is time they could spend doing other things too. It's a courtesy when someone engages with you on a subject in a civil manner and is interested in what you have to say. If you become irritated by difference of opinion to the point where you just shoot off whatever you have in mind no matter how confrontational or poorly considered it is, you're basically insulting the other person by wasting their time and giving them negative vibes in return for their good faith. And that happens a lot in life, no biggie, just keep in mind that if you do this to me (can't talk about anyone else) once, twice, three times then I will just not bother asking you about your opinion on anything anymore. So if you don't feel like articulating and carrying on a dialogue, then, don't. That this is a public forum shouldn't mean you should feel the need to reply to everything people tell you or else 'you lose' or anything. The person to have the last word doesn't win, he's just the one that has most time to waste sometimes :)
Well man I guess this forum just doesn't get my point of view, I feel like I'm going to have to completely break down WHY the video game is bad. Look I tell you what, I will watch the videos and come back to you later with WHY exactly this game is nothing special. I mean sure others can like it but I'm going to show you why I don't.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 29, 2010, 12:29:11 am
Well you're talking to me, I don't stand for this whole forum.

And you can't tell what a videogame will be like to play from a bunch of videos. If you want to make a case, wait until it's out or something.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on March 29, 2010, 04:22:22 am
(been offline for a whiles but I's back)

This is an interesting and very relevant subject to me, yet I don't feel it really merits much in-depth discussion because it's so subjective (art VS gameplay).

But I'll add my subjective slant to the pile for the sake of the "consensus" occurring here - gameplay is everything.
Art doesn't matter.
A game can typically be re-skinned to look entirely different without affecting the gameplay at all. At it's core, a GAME better play well. Amateurish "programmer art" can be compensated for by brilliant gameplay. But can wretched gameplay be compensated for by brilliant art? - No. Because it's a game. You're not perusing an art gallery. Art isn't enough to constitute a worthwhile gaming experience.
Though I readily admit, I play many games just to see the art. But because my motivation is based on wanting to see the gfx, I'm no longer "playing" the game, as intended anyway - I'm just browsing an art library, like looking at an artist's website gallery. And the "gameplay" is only an obstacle to me seeing more art. Thus is the case with Machinarium - I don't care to solve the puzzles, I just wanted to see the art in it. At that point it's no longer a game for me, it's a "website gallery". Now had Machinarium been created to have gameplay I actually enjoyed (sorry, not a puzzle lover) it would be a perfect game . . . in my opinion. There's that subjective element again.

Swords & Sorcery (or whatever) has a wonderful pixel art style and I want to see every pixel in the game. If the gameplay is uneventful and boring as Bengoshia assumes, will I endure it just to see all the gfx, eh probably not. Or maybe I will, who knows. It might even depend on my mood at the time. We humans are pretty temperamental; we can't be trusted.

So I guess it has much to do with what is be satisfied in the player, when playing the game. Games today are taking many forms. We've all seen those "art games" or "interactive media", etc - i.e.  The Graveyard (http://tale-of-tales.com/TheGraveyard/). What a game is, is rather ambiguous. Defining "game" isn't important, it's what effect is had on the player that matters - and whether or not the effect is what the developers intended. Machinarium's devs didn't intend for me to use their game as a "website gallery" but that's all it is to me.

Then, to each his own. What a game is and what's important depends on the individual. K, so much for not meriting much talk.


**EDIT  -  wait, does this mean I agree with Gil!?!?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 7321551 on March 29, 2010, 05:29:35 am
I'm pretty sympathetic to that line of thinking, Mathias, but I think I'll play devil's advocate a little, to explore this a bit.

Art doesn't matter.
[...]
Amateurish "programmer art" can be compensated for by brilliant gameplay.

What if all of the representational images were replaced by rectangles - the protagonist is a fuschia rectangular hitbox fighting chartreuse rectangular hitboxes on a teal backdrop, accompanied by dead silence (sound has sort-of gotten the shaft in this discusison). Would the gameplay really be sufficient to keep you immersed?

In my case, I've been repelled by several games with incompetent graphics & stopped playing - occasionally even before I had time to fully observe the gameplay, which is unfortunate.

Here's one way to resovle this: excellent gameplay mechanics are necessary but not sufficient. Competent graphics are also necessary but (definitely) not sufficient.
The base requirements are excellent gameplay & merely competant graphics, so it's still weighted toward gameplay, which seems right.

The relationship would be sort-of analogous to composition & arrangement in music - Composition is of primary importance: it's what people will mostly associate with the tune in question - the complicated relationship between melody/harmony & rhythm. Arrangement - the outline of which instruments will play which role & in what manner - is a secondary consideration, & yet a poor arrangement, ie. the decision to replace lead marimba with a melodic farting cow, can ultimately be a game-breaker.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 29, 2010, 05:46:37 am
What if all of the representational images were replaced by rectangles - the protagonist is a fuschia rectangular hitbox fighting chartreuse rectangular hitboxes on a teal backdrop, accompanied by dead silence (sound has sort-of gotten the shaft in this discusison). Would the gameplay really be sufficient to keep you immersed?

Noiz2A by Kenta Cho (ABA Games) is almost completely vector squares (as are many of his other games, it is just especially square). Tho the gameplay still is fun enough if one likes manic shmups. It is all relative. Of course for something like Shadow of Colossus or MGS squares would not work, because there is more to those games than gameplay, and that is characters. Making a player somehow relate it and empathise with a square would take some pretty hardcore magic.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 1ucas on March 29, 2010, 06:29:54 am
To me, graphics are only necessary to the level they are enough to convey the basic abstract meaning to the game mechanics, but for that they must be used properly. It's all about matching multiple contexts together.

For example, a mere triangle in Asteroids was enough for a spaceship, but only because the game responds to the user commands by moving it like a spaceship. If it moved like a car, the triangle would suddenly be considered a car. A square can be a bullet if it behaves like a bullet, but it could also be the free roaming hero, like in Atari's Adventure. Audio comes in handy here giving us a familiar contexts (explosions, bangs, crashes, splashes), but even the audio doesn't need to be very accurate.

But this is just game mechanics, in my opinion, which is rather bare in any meaning or purpose. Gameplay, at least to me, is the reason behind those chosen mechanics. If you just want to create a metaphor for life (like in Passage), a exploration-friendly fantasy world (Sword and Sworcery) or an action-adventure platformer, the mechanics will just be picked to convey that message. All the extra graphics, sounds, music and storylines are just there to deepen that purpose, to give it some extra meaning and maybe some other message. Gameplay is just the motivation for interaction, and "art games" try explore just that.

So what defines a good game to someone depends more of what level of concrete-ness they expect and understand from that certain gameplay, and if any of the features are too abstract or lacking, they'll feel like they're missing something. If you just can't imagine the square being your hero, then you won't feel motivated to be the square.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 29, 2010, 06:43:18 pm
Here's a story from today

My dad is 55 he's a political cartoonist. Back a decade they used to have big mac workstations at work. One of them was loaded with Ambrosia Software games. My dad is not a gamer, he hasn't spent time understanding them. But he liked Apeiron (a centipede clone) on the mac and he held the high-score even. At some point they started deleting the ambrosia games from the macs at work due to lowered productivity :P

So 10 years later my dad finally bought a laptop (windows 7) and he asked me if I could find Apeiron for him. I searched and found that it's mac-only and that I don't think I'll have much of a chance emulating mac on windows 7 64-bit. But I found another game called millenipede which runs on 64-bit systems. Gameplay's basically the same. He played it a little and seemed to feel disappointed and I asked why. He told me 'the graphics, it doesn't *feel* right. The worm (that's what he called Apeiron) had two cute little antennae and he was running over a desert... it's just not the same.

And we're talking about an old powermac game that looked like this:

(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uSPP5e4q3yw/0.jpg)


some food for thought.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on March 29, 2010, 07:28:57 pm
funny enough, my dad was addicted to this game as well while I was growing up.  I remember him playing it every day - the high score list flooded with his name
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on March 29, 2010, 07:46:06 pm
funny enough, my dad was addicted to this game as well while I was growing up.  I remember him playing it every day - the high score list flooded with his name
WOW The exact same with my dad!  :o
He's by no means a gamer at all, but he loved to play this game on our old mac!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on March 29, 2010, 07:51:07 pm
Could be a nice Father's day project for you guys to recreate this game on Windows platform...maybe with a bit of improvement as well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on March 30, 2010, 02:49:27 am
**EDIT  -  wait, does this mean I agree with Gil!?!?

Muhahahaha, join me, and together we will rule the universe  !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 30, 2010, 05:24:58 am
It's still just a centipede clone... besides I don't think he'd be happy unless it was exactly Apeiron. Still... it's an idea. We could whip up the graphics in a couple of days at most but I don't know about the code.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on March 30, 2010, 12:19:41 pm
Maybe you could try installing MacOS X in the laptop if its compatible: OSx86 (http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page), and buy the port to MacOSX Apeiron X.
If not, I think VMware or VirtualBox can run a 32bit system on a 64bit host.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: setz on March 30, 2010, 03:10:31 pm
I know for certain VirtualBox can, I have to use it to run a few windows applications
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 30, 2010, 03:48:29 pm
God that's entirely too much work so my dad can play Apeiron!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on March 30, 2010, 03:50:16 pm
God that's entirely too much work so my dad can play Apeiron!
Yeap. I thought the same when I couldn't find a Windows version for a Tron game I had on Linux.

But maybe he'll prefer a Hackintosh rather than Windows 7.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 30, 2010, 03:59:47 pm
Heh it's too late to train him on a whole different OS now I think. He asks me for help every 30 minutes now, not every 5 minutes. So things are going better :P But thanks for your help and suggestions.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 30, 2010, 04:34:16 pm
Look into this perhaps?

http://oreilly.com/windows/archive/PearPC.html (http://oreilly.com/windows/archive/PearPC.html)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on April 02, 2010, 12:31:18 am
We  just pushed our game live!

I was/am the lead artist on this (ongoing) Zynga (farmville, mafiawars) project, and it has been quite a crazy experience thus far. I've learned a ton about what it means to be a manager/director in these short three months, and no doubt sharpened some art and flash skills along the way. I don't personally believe that these social games are all that fun, but I do think that our team did a good job at making it as enjoyable as possible. I encourage you all to check it out, and share your opinions through review on facebook, or here, or wherever. The only pixelart (unfortunately) is the small game icon, but rest assured I claimed that task immediately! :)

http://apps.facebook.com/treasureisle/ (http://apps.facebook.com/treasureisle/)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/Timpac/digging_pirate.png)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/Timpac/digging_atlantis.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on April 02, 2010, 12:38:07 am
Hey dopple, this looks great - are you on-site?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on April 02, 2010, 12:42:14 am
Thanks! I was really impressed with the amount of talent we were able to get on our team. Never have I worked with such reliable artists.


I am! I got relocated in November, chillin in B-game (burlingame) right now. Prolly moving closer to the city in the coming months. You're in the area, eh? I kind of remember seeing that you were, although I can't recall when.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on April 02, 2010, 12:49:50 am
yup, I'm right next to you in san mateo - also working at a facebook games company (startup).  We should meet up sometime.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on April 02, 2010, 12:54:23 am
definitely!! These next two weeks are probably going to be pretty busy for me, but I'll PM you soon about meeting up. And if somehow your start-up fails, I can pretty much guarantee you a job here. You would definitely be a welcome addition. Of course I'm assuming that you have at least rudimentary flash knowledge. The art skillz is a no question!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on April 02, 2010, 01:00:39 am
Thanks man, I'll keep that in mind.  Feel free to PM/AIM me or whatever.  I had some questions for you about your work process when you have the time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on April 02, 2010, 05:55:16 am
Ooh nice gfx! Very attractive little world. Would love to explore it.

Half-buried statue head is too flat/poorly shaded/lack of volume. Shallow water too difficult to distinguish from deeper water, at a glance (maybe add to transition tiles a little muddy darkened ring where water is soaking into ground - just a "fix" suggestion, rather than only griping, even though sure it's too late to change). Why are sharks so visible looking through water's surface but nothing else is? Just a couple minor nitpicks is all.

This is Flash? How much is vector and how much raster?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on April 02, 2010, 09:41:22 am
Hmm... saaay 50% of the graphics are bitmaps? Is this for performance gain or convenience?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on April 02, 2010, 03:20:02 pm
Hurray, it's not an April fool's joke
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

Now to bug a bunch of my friends who never heard of dwarf fortress to go play it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on April 02, 2010, 07:32:34 pm
What's new in this release?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on April 03, 2010, 03:13:03 pm
not sure. But it's been a year since releases, so hopefully a good number of hte bugs that crop up in later game have been fixed. I'm more than happy with a smoother experience of an already great game.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on April 03, 2010, 03:26:40 pm
I want to get back into DF, but I think I mostly forgot how to play by now.

I always used to put population cap at 20 or so, just to keep it manageable.

We should totally do a pixelation version of the tiles and sprites :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lizzrd on April 03, 2010, 05:22:49 pm
Lol I was thinking the same thing when i saw your previous post... HIGHFIVE!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on April 03, 2010, 05:30:35 pm
If the moderators are interested, I could do a challenge that makes us create sprites and tiles for Dwarf Fortress. The guy developing it lives solely off donations and contributions by other people, so it would be nice if the Pixelation community provided him with a kickass set of graphics to use for his game.

The sheets are fairly small and can be completed in a few hours of fun pixeling.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 03, 2010, 05:36:03 pm
It doesn't need to be a competition. Just make a thread for it, if it picks up steam it'll be endorsed!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on April 03, 2010, 06:44:36 pm
thanks! The images that I posted are actually just mock ups of the game that I did to showcase prospective worlds to some higher ups before we launched. These are done in illustrator and some of my artists work solely in flash, so I had to use saved out images for anything that was done in flash. This is due to the horrible ability of flash to export anything. But, to be fair, there are not too many objects that were ported from flash. The ones that were are: the cannon, the shark, pottery shards, giant green seaweed plant, and seagull.

The rest of the images probably just lack the quality and consistency of the rest of the game because this was meant to be a quick exercise and nothing to hold up the artists for longer than a day. Unfortunately, I think some of this stuff managed to sneak through the pipeline, but we shall see. As for the face, I definitely agree. But, for what it's worth, I think that it will be able to survive in the game relatively unnoticed.

Also I'm all about making some dwarf fortress sprites! I've never played the game, but I've always wanted to, and many a times I've considered remaking the graphics just so that it could be playable and enjoyable to look at.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on April 03, 2010, 07:31:26 pm
I could and shall open a thread, but I'm afraid that threads in general discussion don't tend to "pick up steam" as far as collaboration on art goes. Am I allowed to create an open collaboration art topic like this in the pixel art forum?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lizzrd on April 03, 2010, 07:41:16 pm
Please let him  :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 03, 2010, 07:52:10 pm
I could and shall open a thread, but I'm afraid that threads in general discussion don't tend to "pick up steam" as far as collaboration on art goes. Am I allowed to create an open collaboration art topic like this in the pixel art forum?

Yes, that's where it belongs (as long as it has at least some art in it :) ) So, start a tileset, post what you have an encourage others to crit and post their own.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on April 03, 2010, 07:57:06 pm
 :y: Sounds good.

I already have some DF art ready to show as an example and to work off and stuff. Expect this tommorow, because I'm off to a party right now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on April 03, 2010, 11:45:07 pm
looking forward to it. For the last day I've been doodling a DF sidescroller(nothing serious, just for fun), but could easily switch over to what I assume would be an isometric viewpoint.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dr D on April 04, 2010, 01:12:48 am
The internet is such a small place. I keep running into people from one forum in other completely different forums. I even seen someone I knew from a forum I visit frequently in a WC3 room.  :huh:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on April 04, 2010, 05:10:36 am
Just bought Cave Story on the Wii. Pretty game... not seeing anything at all different from the computer version yet. However, pretty stuff, even if some of it is meh. Pixel deserves the money.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 1up on April 05, 2010, 05:21:13 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tI4CbCniBI

terry crews is /literally/ amazing
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on April 05, 2010, 07:15:17 pm
All I could think of is that's Julius from Everybody hates Chris.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on April 08, 2010, 06:29:51 am
Here's a neat 3D pixel music video I found that I thought was kind of cool.  :o
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcv6dv_pixels-by-patrick-jean_music?start=6
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on April 09, 2010, 02:17:28 am
Oh god, that was awesome.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on April 12, 2010, 08:05:56 am
Here's a neat 3D pixel music video I found that I thought was kind of cool.  :o
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcv6dv_pixels-by-patrick-jean_music?start=6

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sly on April 12, 2010, 09:30:13 pm
HOLY JEBUS THAT WAS AWESOME!

I literally came out of my eyes.  :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on April 14, 2010, 02:46:06 pm
   Just got off a bender of playing God of War games. Recently bought the God of War collection (GoW1 & 2) for the PS3. I really did miss out on these great games when they came out. Wonderful stuff. I thought it would be pure hack and slash, but to my surprise, they're all sorts of these little puzzles. Some easy others SUPER difficult to figure out. Seriously pulling my hair out for some of them, when it was just the smallest little thing needed to solve them. The boss battles in these are pretty fun, too. Probably the real hall mark of the series, to be honest.
   Then I got GoW3, being sold on it's predecessors being solid titles. Wow, glad I got this one. Gorgeous graphics, period. And the boss battles are the best I've seen in a game yet. The Poseidon battle(my favorite god of mythology, kinda' sucked to see him the first to go so quickly...) was immense. The Titan battle was pretty good(think it's with Chronos again). The puzzles in this game, though, were much easier to figure out. Not very many brain teasers. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing for most long time players.
   The only thing I wasn't too fond of, was the story itself....I know it's a silly game-story, to provide an excuse for Kratos to hack and slash the gods of Olympus. But it was a bit too corny for my tastes, for what it was. I think out of all the games, the weakest story was in the latest GoW game. Just a bit of a jumbled mess. Don't want to spoil it for any one who hasn't bought or beaten it yet, but it's just feels a bit...slapped together? I guess I'm a guy who needs a solid story before details get into the mixing bag.
   However, this is one of the few exceptions, where the graphics and battles are enough to push silly story line issues aside, and make a great game...awesome stuff here.

*still waiting for Super Street Fighter IV to come out, so I can get frustrated with getting my arse whooped online*

As a side note, I've been getting into reading comics as of late. I usually get about 3 volumes/comics a month. Been getting so addicted, now I'm getting 6(especially Marvel comics...that's right, I'm getting it for the story line!....The B.o.b.=hypocrite) Gotta' calm this down, probably need to save up for something later on that'll be important...oh, and some of you guys that mentioned it a couple of months to a year back were right: Scott Pilgrim books are definitely awesome...still not sure about the movie though...

/end rant
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on April 20, 2010, 08:08:49 am
I finally fixed my computer! Damn the screen on this thing is huge... how did I function for so long on my crappy old laptop?  :lol:

Haha The B.O.B. Corny stories... gaming's speciality. Unfortunately.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on April 20, 2010, 10:21:55 pm
Hay guys....I havent had to calibrate my monitor in a good while, but I have to calibrate my monitor and I cant seem to find the old calibration option in my control panel, which if I remember right is installed with photoshop...anybody know what's a current day free option to calibrate it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on April 21, 2010, 12:16:56 am
Hay guys....I havent had to calibrate my monitor in a good while, but I have to calibrate my monitor and I cant seem to find the old calibration option in my control panel, which if I remember right is installed with photoshop...anybody know what's a current day free option to calibrate it?
Indeed, Photoshop used to come installed with a calibration in your Control Panel... but it looks like newer versions don't(at least I don't see it with my CS3). If you have a graphics card, most of the time the drivers will come with a custom graphics control panel. Usually they will have a calibration setting.

If this is possibly, it'd probably be much better than a free alternative, as the ones I have found for that will load the profile as a program(thus not taking effect until Windows is fully booted and has to stay open and so on). This annoyed me, personally.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: saimo on April 22, 2010, 04:01:59 pm
Hi,

since many here love the C64 (palette), I thought I'd better inform you that today I released the 2nd preview of HOC INIT EXIT, a toy game for the C64 I fiddle with in my spare time.

(http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/8865/90950.gif)

Check it out on CSDb (http://noname.c64.org/csdb/release/?id=90950) and enjoy!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rosse on April 22, 2010, 05:17:14 pm
I feel a bit bad about posting this in Off-Topic (and not a new thread, heh ;) ), but still:

It seems Henk Nieborg has updated his pixinspace.com (http://www.pixinspace.com) website. Check it out, great stuff!

And on another note, I was just watching Lomax Longplay video. For those who need additional inspiration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70hUi_B0CdY (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeUtBG0slp8 (Part 2)

and maybe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgseYSBMOa8 (Flink)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeBVhq1IEqA (Lionheart)


Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dr D on April 22, 2010, 08:13:13 pm
Man Henk Nieborg makes awesome art, I have to say. It just looks like most of what he does belongs to the same game, though. Not saying he could/should change it, just something I've noticed.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on April 22, 2010, 09:47:37 pm
that's funny, I was looking at that site the other day thinking "I wonder when he's going to update this?" I can kinda see what you mean Dr D about it all being similar. Still though, absolutely beautiful stuff. and surprisingly few colours in the newer work. Unlike Lomax, which was a full on aa fest. Henk will always be number 1 game pixel artist for me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on April 22, 2010, 10:22:58 pm
Henk will always be number 1 game pixel artist for me.

Bold statement. He's one of the golden oldies, but people like the bitmap brothers are pretty darn awesome too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on April 22, 2010, 10:24:31 pm
Heh, I collab'd with Henk on an upcoming project and didn't even know it...

ahh, the wonder of internetz...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on April 23, 2010, 05:49:52 pm
(http://danfessler.com/dump/controls3.png)

Not sure if you guys saw this.  It was actually completed a while ago - "Family Guy: Uncensored" for iphone and mobile.  I thought I'd post it here anyway.  For the most part, the game sucked monkey balls, but the megaman levels were fun to work on :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on April 23, 2010, 11:39:56 pm
Do the A and B buttons trigger flashbacks which makes reference to 80s pop culture? Because I would totally buy a Family Guy game that did nothing but that!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 7321551 on April 28, 2010, 10:06:41 am
Anyone here who's seen Assault on Precinct 13 (1976 version) & played Xenon 2 Megablast?

I was a bit surprised to hear the theme from the game in the film's soundtrack!

Anyway, turns out it was a remix (the game version). Pointless post but I was SHOCKED. You probably had to be there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 07, 2010, 12:14:07 pm
Hey Helm, is the situation in Greece as bad as the papers say it is? I hear it's comming to fire bombs and rioting in the streets.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 07, 2010, 12:47:51 pm
Yes, I guess that's a pretty accurate description of what's going on...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on May 07, 2010, 05:27:16 pm
Wow. Bummer. Belated happy birthday, though :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on May 07, 2010, 07:01:30 pm
It's European Union hypocrisy that enabled Greece's leaders to screw it all up so badly in the first place...

Everyone knew years ago when Greece joined the union that it was not ready. As it turns out, letting them join anyway was a bad move for both Greece and the rest of the union.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 07, 2010, 07:11:15 pm
Gil, all three of your statements could withstand a lot of argumentation. I don't have the mental fortitude for it though, just letting you know that it's both not like that and somewhat like that at the same time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on May 07, 2010, 07:26:34 pm
Gil needs another L in his name, then no one can disagree with him. Or it'll just make him cooler, like me. Which is the same as being infallible. :P

Helm: I detect... FEELINGS about this situation in your posts (which I guess makes sense, since it's where you live and all), so I'm a little surprised you aren't motivated to say more about it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on May 07, 2010, 08:20:35 pm
Grrrr.  Laziness leads to lack of practice.  Lack of practice leads to slow improvement in art/pixel skills.  Lack of skill leads to frustration at inability to create art well and/or quickly.  Frustration leads to.... dunno.  Posting on a message board I guess.  :)

I get the urge to write an app to take a 3d model, render it, and reduce to a pixel style art (using a material map + light map with a custom palette).  I can write the code, even one that handles batches for animations, but I don't think that's what I want.  I like creating art by hand.  It's just impatience wrestling with laziness.  End of rant.  Thanks for the opportunity to vent, I'll post a WIP in the pixel art forum in a few.

(http://i44.tinypic.com/2qtv5uc.jpg)

Going, going .....

Tourist

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on May 08, 2010, 05:16:44 am
Gil, all three of your statements could withstand a lot of argumentation. I don't have the mental fortitude for it though, just letting you know that it's both not like that and somewhat like that at the same time.

Don't worry, it's not something I'm fond of arguing about. I'm a member of the EU, as is every Belgian. You are a member, as is every Greek. I feel it's both our governments (and those of all the Union countries) responsibility, to fix this mess, not just Greece.

Oversimplifications and finger pointing are not in order, a strong economic policy is. I'm a big believer in a pan-European government, so I hope this will all be solved in a dignified way.

As a PS, I am not against Greece as a EU member (far on the contrary), I am just saying that more planning should have gone into it. A rushed entrance into the EU was not in the benefit of either the EU or the people of Greece and I feel it only served as a ego boost for the politicians at the time.

We'll leave it at that as this does not seem like an issue we should argue over. I am sorry if I somehow offended you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 10, 2010, 09:20:59 am
Gil needs another L in his name, then no one can disagree with him. Or it'll just make him cooler, like me. Which is the same as being infallible. :P

Helm: I detect... FEELINGS about this situation in your posts (which I guess makes sense, since it's where you live and all), so I'm a little surprised you aren't motivated to say more about it.

I threw up some words on the current political climate on my blog.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on May 10, 2010, 09:17:17 pm
Thanks for the post Helm. I think buying in to consumerism and becoming docile for it is a common problem in any nation with a high enough standard of living to afford electronics. The only time I remember anyone actually caring about something in the US on a national level was the 2008 elections, which set up unreachable standards for the new Cabinet.

In other news, Frank Frazetta died today... :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on May 11, 2010, 12:05:03 am
 :(

Does anyone know if he was still making art? It seems like he stopped during the 90s...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on May 11, 2010, 03:15:00 am
you guys DO know about the Humble indie Bundle, right?

http://www.wolfire.com/humble

You get Gish, Lugaru, Aquaria and Penumbra...for as little as a penny and as much as you like.

I didnt pay that much, so I thought I'd do my measely little attempt at promotion here O_O

tata!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on May 11, 2010, 03:52:03 am
Hmm, I have a paypal with like $3 or so on it, guess I'll donate that. I'd donate more but I don't really have the means or the money to. I've never played any of the games, but I've heard of World of Goo.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on May 11, 2010, 04:10:10 am
Aquaria was made by a Pixelation old-timer Dusty, you have to play it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on May 11, 2010, 04:15:40 am
Aquaria was made by a Pixelation old-timer Dusty, you have to play it.
Hmm, was it? Who was it made by?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on May 11, 2010, 05:43:33 am
Aquaria was made by a Pixelation old-timer Dusty, you have to play it.
Hmm, was it? Who was it made by?
Derek Yu.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on May 11, 2010, 03:01:45 pm
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?action=profile;u=1292
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on May 11, 2010, 06:24:26 pm
Heh, I indeed remember him and he definitely has a known name when it comes to Indie :) Wasn't aware he made that game, though!

Curiously, is he the one who was REALLY good with DOOM graphics/guns way back?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jim16 on May 11, 2010, 07:39:07 pm
Derek Yu = The indie scene to me, hehe
With games like Aquaria, Spelunky(A great pixeled game!) and Diabolika for the iphone, and with a great community website that I think he runs with a few guys(Tigsource), Derek is by far my favourite person in the Independent game scene.

I'm a fan I guess.

:/  I've been very lazy recently. Been pushing pixels allot, but I don't seem to post allot of it anywhere. Time will come and I'll be bothered to post for some help.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on May 16, 2010, 08:01:23 pm
Ronnie James Dio has passed away  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on May 16, 2010, 08:46:28 pm
Hmm, I have a paypal with like $3 or so on it, guess I'll donate that. I'd donate more but I don't really have the means or the money to. I've never played any of the games, but I've heard of World of Goo.

Lugaru is hilarious! Try it.




Ronnie James Dio has passed away  :(

A rainbow now truly in the dark. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUXSTY9AW-s)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on May 17, 2010, 01:39:53 am
:(

Does anyone know if he was still making art? It seems like he stopped during the 90s...

He had several strokes in the late 90s and subsequently lost the drawing ability in his right arm. Being the badass ol' Fritz was he taught himself to draw and paint with his left though. If you check out the wonderful 2003 documentary Painting With Fire you can see some of the stuff he did during his last years. I'm sure a lot of his unpublished later work is going to see the light of day now.

Speaking of which, I just saw this cool pixel tribute that AdamAtomic did over at kotaku, among other entries. Nice stuff!  :y:
http://kotaku.com/5539115/video-games-finest-pay-tribute-to-artist-frank-frazetta/gallery/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on May 21, 2010, 09:44:50 pm
Is it still cool to use RPGMaker 2k, or am I behind on the times?  I've been throwing around the idea of putting together an rpg in my free time, but I don't know what I should do code-wise.   Basically I want to focus on story and graphics, and the less work I have to do on everything else, the better.  Suggestions?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dr D on May 22, 2010, 05:28:38 am
RPG Maker VX  is the newest one I think, think you're several versions behind.. that must be pretty outdated. But don't quote me because I've never used it myself.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gil on May 22, 2010, 01:29:30 pm
Yeah, 2k is ages old. VX is the newest and it's pretty damn good.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on May 22, 2010, 03:42:48 pm
I bought RMXP when I was 12, but haven't ever used VX for more than half an hour... But it's pretty similar and both XP and VX have Ruby scripting capabilities. Ruby is pretty easy to learn and you could do a lot of stuff with it, really fast. It's faster than creating everything with cumbersome events. VX has a good framerate and is more efficient than XP iirc, if that matters. I used 2k3 too, which is good if you don't mind that the only translation is "illegal", which has built in side view battles and stuff.

I always wanted to create an rpg for the heck of it in rpg maker because it's simple and fun, but I got carried away with the ruby scripting and now I just code straight ruby, ha.

I always liked 2k3 for reasons I can't explain in short, you should try it out and see how it likes you. : D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 01, 2010, 06:03:26 am
I feel really duped about the Colombian elections last saturday, I had hope for atleast a not openly criminal candidate to be elected, but it got smashed =/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100531/wl_csm/305002

The candidate that sweeped the elections represents the continuation of a president who has been in office for 8 years, using DAS a goverment investigation agency to harrass and menace opposition members, there are written documents that instruct in how to menace a periodist's daugther. The ex-minister now almost sure candidate even made a policy that rewarded military members for amount of guerrilla deaths, which resulted in military dressing farmers as guerrilla then assasinate them....it's beyond disheartening.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0528/Philosopher-Antanas-Mockus-rattles-Colombia-election this was the outlook we had before that =/

I feel like I need to tell SOMEBODY that isnt colombian...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 09, 2010, 12:49:24 am
I've started a new project of sorts over at my blog which needs participants. If you're interested in telling me what to draw (http://asides-bsides.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-summer-you-get-to-tell-me-what-to.html), you can now do it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on June 11, 2010, 07:50:43 am
(http://danfessler.com/dump/lapdesk.jpg)

I made this minidesk so I could work from the comfort of my couch with my tablet.  It actually makes me shockingly productive.  I prototyped it with some scraps laying around the house, then made a quick trip to home depot to make the final version you see here.

...and no, i'm not left handed.  My right hand was just busy taking the picture :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on June 11, 2010, 12:30:22 pm
Doesn't it become uncomfortable in time? What kind of wood did you use? Did you put something underneath, like a cushion?
I've been using this for almost 14 years, they soled it on a drugstore, they only have two, and i continue to ask myself why didn't i ask my mommy (I was 8 at the time) to buy both of them.
(http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/3483/apoyacosas.jpg) (http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/5880/apoyacosasback.jpg)
It's just a covered carton with a pillow filled with expanded polystyrene balls, so it molds to the legs.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on June 11, 2010, 02:08:38 pm
That lapdesk looks back-heavy so it risks teetering off your legs if you stop offsetting it with at least one hand, Indigo (from what we can see of it in your picture, anyway).  Is that not the case, or is it balanced in a different way than what we can see?

I always wanted to make a desk that hinges in the side of my bed, since we just use a big mattress flat on the ground, that I can fold down to go across our laps to work on while we watch movies.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on June 11, 2010, 05:54:47 pm
Jorund:
It doesn't get too uncomfortable.  It was made with particle board - which after doing it I think was a wrong idea.  That stuff is needlessly heavy compared to other woods.

I was actually thinking of doing that exact thing with the bottom of this desk.  It seemed like it'd be a bit too much of a pain than I was willing to go through for one night, but I may still add the pillow bottom later.

Argyle:
It definitely is a bit back heavy.  On a flat surface it still sits stands upright without tipping, but its still a bit close for comfort.  If I extended the bottom shelf to go further back this wouldn't be a problem at all.  Unfortunately I simply didn't have the wood for it.  I was limited to a depth of 1ft.  I may try to fix it later, but its not too big of a problem.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on June 13, 2010, 12:59:38 am
I went to TAP plastics to get the parts to make a newer version from plastic.  I solved the weight and back-heavy issues, and it works great.  the only problem with this version is it slightly bends in the center from the weight of the laptop.  I should have gone with the 1/4 inch instead of 3/16

(http://danfessler.com/dump/lapdesk_plastic1.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on June 13, 2010, 01:11:07 am
That's great for tracing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on June 13, 2010, 01:22:48 am
huh?  I dont see how - and it certainly wasn't the point.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on June 13, 2010, 01:29:35 am
I know it wasn't the point, i should've said "That's also great...".
Isn't it clear plastic? If it is, you could put some lamp in the lower part and the drawing you want to trace in the top with another paper on top.

Nevermind... :P

PS: Its looks great but it still looks a bit uncomfortable. Doesn't the pen touch the top part?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 13, 2010, 02:06:28 am
Nice handywork, Indigo! Already got a v2 eh? It looks very cool. I have no laptop. If I get one, I'll keep your innovation in mind.


Speaking of tracing, Jorund, here's a handy-dandy trace-board I whipped up. Pure plexiglass and hillbilly ingenuity. The ones in the stores cost way too much and they're wimpy. Plus I worked in a hotel maintenance shop at the time and the right combination of available materials and boredom came together just right. Behold the monstrosity:

(http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/2450/tracer.jpg)




On another note, I would just like to express something, as an artist. Most of us here are a creative person of some sort. Most of us have intentions of creating great art and improving in what we do. Amidst disagreement on whether or not your workspace "quality" matters I would have to say that what you have to work with, as far as hardware specifically, truly does matter. I recently upgraded my monitors and wow, it's had a tremendously posotive effect on my workflow.

(http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/8961/grandemons.jpg)
updated my desktop thread post for fun (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=49.msg101227#msg101227)

At the time I got them, I was down to one subpar 1280x1024 native res LCD. What a wonderful difference they make. Everything seems more pleasant, and easier. I have no desire for more screen-space, which is a first. I actually feel compelled to practice my craft more, more motivated. I enjoy my time spent in front of my computer more now.

Just thought I'd pass that along. If you're dealing with a poor workspace, poor display especially, and spend a lot of time at your computer, why not pay a little to make it better? I think a lot suffer along disregarding how good a better setup can be for them. I was surprised. I think you will be, too. I got some pretty pimped out Samsung's. Worth every penny.
It reminds me of my friends with bad mattresses. You spend 1/3 of your life in bed, it's worth the money not to sleep on a back-cruncher.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on June 13, 2010, 07:46:17 am
I prefer to pixel on my old gateway 2000 crystalscan 1024x768.  Would go worse if I could.  It's like a time-traveling sort of thing.  Sometimes I even set my macbook resolution (native 1280x800) to 640x480 when pixelling.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 17, 2010, 03:30:42 am
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4594/center_of_mass_tools_and_.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraFeatureArticles+%28Gamasutra+Feature+Articles%29 an article with a few physic formulas for calculating natural motion in animation....I dont know if I'd ever use these formulas but reading the damn thing cant hurt  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 18, 2010, 02:09:46 am
You guys seen Paul Robertson is behind the graphics for the upcoming Scott Pilgrim game?
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-scott-pilgrim/101459

Looks pretty neat.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on June 18, 2010, 05:57:44 am
looks like a neat rivercity ransom clone. Lol at the toonies at the end. wtfcanada.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on June 18, 2010, 06:51:17 am
I decided to build my hobby RPG in Multimedia Fusion 2.  I was making an engine from scratch so I could use some of the basic features for later stuff down the road.  The engine had scrolling text, grid based movement, an inventory system, buying and selling from vendors, chests, a naming system, sokoban, inns, randomly moving NPCs, equipment--basically everything but the battle system, which if I kept working at the pace I was going, would have been finished by the end of the weekend.  After the battle system, I would have been ready to call the engine done and ready to make games with.  Then this evening my laptop hard drive ceased up. D:  Didn't back anything up.

So now, I am starting from square one.  This time I'm going to do a few things different: Mainly, plan the entire project from start to finish.  I had been making stuff as I went along, and this made my arrays of data very messy and necessarily time consuming to wade through.  Secondly, todo lists.  I discovered in the past week of working on the engine that it's very easy to keep a synergy going when you don't really have to think about what to do next--there's been lots of time wasted staring into space.  And, of course, the biggest lesson learned is: back things up.  EVERYBODY: BACK THINGS UP.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on June 18, 2010, 07:13:27 am
On the other hand, though, making everything messy-as-you-go is great for creativity, now that you're redoing it, you can remake the stuff you want but with much better structure.

Except for it all being completely tragic, it's a good thing, that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on June 20, 2010, 02:18:06 am
Very cool light table mathias!

So I think i'm done with these lapdesk things.  This is the final version - which I may add some grip surface to the top or something, but thats about it.  It works even better than the last.  The plastic is thicker and there's no bending going on.  This one is made from two solid pieces of plastic rather than 4.  the Top shelf is all one piece with bends to form the side walls.  I messed up a bit when gluing them together and left some smudgies.. ah well.

(http://danfessler.com/dump/lapdesk_plastic2.jpg)

EDIT:  I'm wondering.. is this a sort of product that other artists would be interested in, or just me?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on June 20, 2010, 05:05:34 pm
I haven't played much games for almost a year, now I finally got seriously hooked on a game Desktop Dungeons (http://www.nag.co.za/forums/showthread.php?t=13014). Nice graphs by Derek Yu and all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SirBilly on June 20, 2010, 05:51:54 pm
I haven't played much games for almost a year, now I finally got seriously hooked on a game Desktop Dungeons (http://www.nag.co.za/forums/showthread.php?t=13014). Nice graphs by Derek Yu and all.

Where can one see your latest Habbo pixels? Or any.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on June 20, 2010, 06:36:29 pm
Where can one see your latest Habbo pixels? Or any.

I've hardly kept track of those myself but I guess I could go through the folders and paste them all on the same image. I've been working mostly on new clothes lately, I haven't done a furni for a while.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 21, 2010, 03:19:18 am
Very cool light table mathias!
. . .
EDIT:  I'm wondering.. is this a sort of product that other artists would be interested in, or just me?

Thanks, dude!

As for your question: For me - no. I don't have a laptop. Only a PC. When I'm in front of my PC I prefer to be isolated and able to give it my full attention for max concentration. If I ever did get a laptop, I would only use it for computing while traveling and I doubt I'd bring my tablet along, therefore having no need for an in-lap two-tier setup. In other words, it seems your plexiglass setup facilitates multitasking and/or traveling with a tablet, neither of which I do, so I don't feel the need for one. I would like to get a lappy sometime, though . . .
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on June 22, 2010, 03:11:07 pm
So I was doing my usual periodic poke at the problem of automatic, respectful AAing of pixel art,
And recently began to understand how GMIC's 'anisotropic smoothing' function works. (gmic: http://gmic.sourceforge.net/)
Aside from mangling the shaped dithering into flat color, I like the result (especially how the subtle line flows are picked up and enhanced.. Anisotropic means the smoothing is not a simple linear smoothing, but responds to image features.).
(fortunately, autodetecting dithering is a relatively easy image-processing problem, which I already have a basic solution to)

Source image:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/HenkNieborg-Flink7.gif)
After processing:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/HenkNieborg-Flink7-smoothed.png)

I've suspected for a while now that Auto AA of existing pixel art requires some manual adjustment no matter what you do.. basically because the requirements of different picture elements vary in a fairly complex way.
So looking at something like rendering the result on a new layer then erasing bits that seem problematic. (notably most avenues I've tried are pretty cruel to individual isolated pixels)

This particular method works fairly well for normal size pixel art  Huge stuff like GGX sprites don't respond so well, because they have these diagonal lines which move like 15 pixels along one axis before they move one pixel in the other.

Before:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/dizzy.png)
After:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/dizzy-smoothed.png)

FYI, I achieved these result by opening GMIC, selecting Presets->PhotocomiX smoothing, and adjusting the parameters to:
Amplitude 4, sharp 0.3, anisotropic 1, gradsmooth 0,tenssmooth 2,
spatprec .8, angprec 2, valprec 2, nearest neighbour, 3 iterations
Then applying it.

Hmm. I should try it one some of my own works.
Too late at night now, though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 22, 2010, 03:34:03 pm
http://magweasel.com/2009/10/10/kikori-no-yosaku-epoch-1981/


whaaaaat
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 22, 2010, 10:46:33 pm
That looks like an awesome game. Kill a boar and chop part of a tree in a single blow. A game for real men!   :y:>:(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on June 22, 2010, 11:38:01 pm
DIAGONAL PIXELS!!!!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 23, 2010, 03:50:38 am
DIAGONAL PIXELS!!!!

That's what the whaaaaat was about! Talk about pixel slices!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on June 23, 2010, 06:29:34 am
I wonder how it worked?   :-\
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 23, 2010, 07:10:41 am
There are no diagonal pixels. I strongly assume that that game is using a really minimal charset in a mode that is very similar to c64 hires char. 2 colours per tile with a fixed background colour - black in this case. They just look more diagonal because the blur hides the pixels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 23, 2010, 11:21:32 am
Friends! A new and glorious season of Futurama has started!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on June 23, 2010, 09:26:54 pm
...
Would those images with AA still be viewed at a multiple zoom?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on June 23, 2010, 09:52:36 pm
Didn't anyone read the article?
"Despite coming out after the Atari 2600, the Cassette Vision is arguably less powerful, busting out a palette of only 8 colors and a killer resolution of 54×62 pixels. One odd quirk of the hardware is that these pixels could optionally be displayed in the form of right triangles — “half pixels,” as it were — and that’s why you see oddly smooth diagonals in the above video."
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on June 23, 2010, 11:37:38 pm
...
Would those images with AA still be viewed at a multiple zoom?
The output image matches the resolution of the input image, so whatever zoom was originally correct is correct for the output. (though I've also successfully combined this with eg Scale3x by adjusting a few parameters like Amplitude proportionately. GMIC implements Scale2/3x too, so it's easy)
Does that answer your question?

I'm aware it's currently too smooth. I suspect this method needs to be combined with my sprite vectorizer so that a balance between sharp and very smooth can be achieved.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 23, 2010, 11:49:30 pm
Didn't anyone read the article?
"Despite coming out after the Atari 2600, the Cassette Vision is arguably less powerful, busting out a palette of only 8 colors and a killer resolution of 54×62 pixels. One odd quirk of the hardware is that these pixels could optionally be displayed in the form of right triangles — “half pixels,” as it were — and that’s why you see oddly smooth diagonals in the above video."

I don't think that is how it works. The resolution for sure is not 54x62 pixels because on a CRT monitor that would be fucking tiny ass. I am sure it is 54x62 CHARACTERS, and those might be limited to filled and triangle stuff. And I am sure the diagonals are not super clean since again, NTSC can only display so many pixels. It's not like this thing shipped with a special monitor or anything.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 24, 2010, 08:49:36 am
Yeah obv. the sliced pixels are not vectors, but still, I'd like to look at some specs.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 28, 2010, 04:48:19 am
So I was doing my usual periodic poke at the problem of automatic, respectful AAing of pixel art,
And recently began to understand how GMIC's 'anisotropic smoothing' function works. (gmic: http://gmic.sourceforge.net/)
. . .

Very exciting stuff, AI! I'm trying to get a coder friend to compile it for me so I can try it out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on June 28, 2010, 08:41:25 am
So I was doing my usual periodic poke at the problem of automatic, respectful AAing of pixel art,
And recently began to understand how GMIC's 'anisotropic smoothing' function works. (gmic: http://gmic.sourceforge.net/)
. . .

Very exciting stuff, AI! I'm trying to get a coder friend to compile it for me so I can try it out.
Why..? There are precompiled Windows binaries. (http://gmic.sourceforge.net/gimp.shtml). Although you might get better speed by compiling your own, when running a 64bit OS.
Anyway, the GIMP plugin is the way to try it, definitely; running from commandline does not compare in terms of experimenting.

My latest iteration -- I'm fairly happy with this one. Process changed:

* Edit->Copy original image
* GMIC 'smart upscale' (also in the enhance section) with smooth=1, anisotropy = 1, sharpen = 40.
* downscale to original size with linear interpolation (okay, now we have the smoothed version. Time to restore the small detail)
* Edit->Paste, and turn it into a new layer
* Add a layermask to that layer
* Edit->Paste (into the layermask)
* Alt-click to see the layer mask (obviously this is only if you are doing it manually)
* GMIC 'Difference of Gaussians' (in 'Contour') variances 0.10 and 0.20
* Apply Curves with a contrast curve (points at coordinates 84,39) This will mask out the low frequency detail (lines etc), and enhance the high frequency (dithering).
* Export a PNG :)

^^ intentionally designed to be automatable.

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/HenkNieborg-Flink7-su1140-1.png)

Then I adjusted the layer mask a bit so that every pixel of water showed the smoothed result.
Then I smoothed the water in the underlying layer some more (amplitude = 2, iterations= 2, other settings as specified in my previous post).
Pretty happy with how that's working -- only a little touchup of the highlights is needed IMO.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/HenkNieborg-Flink7-su1140wsmooth.png)

Next on my list is to autodetect the usable colors for a pixel with reasonable reliability.
(that is, given a pixel and surrounding 4 pixels, choose an appropriate color ramp based on image color ramps.)
I think I can do this by scanning the image and constructing a weighted graph where the weights are
frequency counts: This pixel color shows up N times next to this pixel color. Then 'cutting' the graph where
frequency is too low, and also cutting where improbably large jumps in hue are made, then iterating over all nodes connected to the source pixel color,
to determine a list of possible destination pixel colors.
Then quantizing auto-AAed images back to the source palette may become generally easy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on June 29, 2010, 11:08:42 pm
Just opened public beta for our facebook game, "Lucky Train"

The game will be updated quite a bit from this point, but feel free to play it up and post feedback to the fanpage.  The art was done by myself, Monsoon2d, and Nvision.

Screenshot:
(http://danfessler.com/work/screenie.png)


Work-process for the trains that you may find interesting:

(http://danfessler.com/work/ThatcherPerkins3D_1.png)
Roughed out a 3d model of the desired train in Wings.

(http://danfessler.com/work/ThatcherPerkins3D_3.png)
Switched it to 100% ambience and painted the polys with solid color.  The multi-colored edge highlighting helps with antialiasing later on.  Also added an inverted-expanded model to act as an outline in the render.

(http://danfessler.com/work/train_tp%28temp%29_anim1.gif)
Rough render at game-scale of model

(http://danfessler.com/work/thatcherperkins1.gif)(http://danfessler.com/work/newthatcher.gif)
Final Render and alternate styles.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on June 30, 2010, 03:26:46 am
Those look fantastic Indigo. I'm not one to play facebook games but I'll definitely check it out just to see the work you guys did because it looks absolutely wonderful! Can you give a link to the fan page or anything? I wasn't able to find it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rawsushi on June 30, 2010, 03:30:59 am
Oh, allow me.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/apps/application.php?id=105557406133988 (http://www.facebook.com/#!/apps/application.php?id=105557406133988)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on June 30, 2010, 05:20:21 am
Coworkers pointed Lucky train to me yesterday and I thought it had some familiar look to it. Nice so far. Runs really smooth too. Cant wait to get the russian jet train  ;D In our game we're having some trouble with isometric depth sorting in flash that results in a really poor framerate  :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on June 30, 2010, 06:46:57 am
Very cool huzba.  What company do you work for again?  we used quad-tree sorting.  where only small potions of the map are resorted depending on the location of objects that are changing/moving.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on June 30, 2010, 08:07:03 am
GOOD ART! Wonderful rendering of things. It manages to keep the EVERYONE-FRIENDLY facebook feel but still look amazingly pixel slick.

Wonderful! Really.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on June 30, 2010, 09:51:15 am
I work at Ironstar and we have a game out on facebook called Disco Empire. I've mainly worked on the beverages, user interface and technical things.
Characters and most of the furniture were outsourced to a guy who was an art director on Trine.
Gameplay has been syphoned from cafe world and the art is done in a strict leash of non-artists, so creativity is out the window  :blind:.

It's a shame that people of great talent, capable of engaging emotional games, have been tamed to work on social-circle-wankery...
Cherrypicking one could gather quite a team i reckon.

Back to trains, digital chocolate people have landed on Lucky Train too, so word goes around quickly.
Oh and thanks for the tip Indigo, mr coder seems to have an idea what you're talking about  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on June 30, 2010, 11:46:27 am
It's a shame that people of great talent, capable of engaging emotional games, have been tamed to work on social-circle-wankery...

Hear, hear.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on June 30, 2010, 12:53:37 pm
It's a shame that people of great talent, capable of engaging emotional games, have been tamed to work on social-circle-wankery...

Hear, hear.

I had almost stopped lamenting the fact and now I'm back feeling sad about it all D:

I'm a living example of this. As is Junkboy. As is Huzba.

Fffuuuu
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on June 30, 2010, 09:17:08 pm
Indigo, I really love those trains, and the buildings look like they were done by you too?

Surprisingly I feel better AFTER surgery on my wisdom teeth. Like, Vicodin is the medication of gods. I thought I would be down and out and have to postpone a job, but I AM THE MOST RARIN'.

someday someone does need to organize all you old timey accomplished pixel artists to form one amazing team. monopoly on pixels bwahaha c:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on June 30, 2010, 09:47:13 pm
It's a shame that people of great talent, capable of engaging emotional games, have been tamed to work on social-circle-wankery...

Hear, hear.

I had almost stopped lamenting the fact and now I'm back feeling sad about it all D:

I'm a living example of this. As is Junkboy. As is Huzba.

Fffuuuu

and me! not that it's something to be excited about..

Lucky train looks and plays great by the way! I'm actually going to check out my station now. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 01, 2010, 07:37:22 am
Same here.

It was more interesting when games were made by nerds, for nerds.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on July 01, 2010, 10:36:20 am
Actually! I am in a quite good position right now, my company is making some (not very good, maybe) platformers and it's all feeling quite nice.

The best thing, though, is how when working on this and seeing how flawed our games are in some aspects

THE FLAME OF GAME DEVELOPING lights up in me with furious heat : D and I'm so goddamn stoked to get home and make some games of my own * 3 *

and actually, this position is quite a privilegied one. So I'm not really complaining about myself! Until, of course, our company bombs and has to start making facebookgamblingsocialbejeweled to survive. But right now making flawed platformers is very inspiring!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on July 01, 2010, 05:58:06 pm
Atnas:
Yeah a bunch of the buildings were done by me, but also Monsoon.  In the screenshot I posted above, I did all the buildings except for the cottage houses which were done by monsoon.  The character sprites and portraits were done by nvision.  I provided the 3d rough-render for the trains and nvision rendered them.  Monsoon did all the greenery.

Jad:
I hear ya.  Despite working on social games, this particular product has been pretty good for me as well.  The content and style is interesting enough to keep me motivated and drawing.  I'm lucky one of the co-founders is a big fan of pixel art ;)  I've bumped up a notch too at this company to lead artist.  So i've been managing the contract work/artists and general direction for the visual feel of the game.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 02, 2010, 12:29:18 am
In regards to Habbo and Sulake I'm glad I have a lot of independence and freedom regarding the pixels I push, the company is doing better than ever, having been 10 years in the business and all etc. so.. great. At least I'm not working in an ad agency.

Here's some stuff I've done during the last year/year and a half. Some of these are animated, but that won't show here.

(http://ungroup.net/jjntemp/digikuvia/kollekted_01.png)



Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 02, 2010, 01:57:43 am
I have a pro motion question for anybody out there. When I loop the animation, in the animation window the frames go ridiculously fast- even though the delay is only 4 frames a second on all frames. if any one could help that would be greatly appreciated ! It's currently bugging the hell out of me and made me lose all motivation to animate since I suck at it anyway - _ -
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: st0ven on July 02, 2010, 05:26:39 am
Ryu: cant remember which it is but make sure that its not a millisecond delay vs fps delay.

also if i remember correctly, you have to play the animation in the preview window to watch the proper time delay between each frame, doing so by just scrubbing through the frames in the editor view will just result in super fast frame cycling.

On a side note, whats with the latest graphics from  you? going for this game thing, huh? i saw some of your recent pieces on pj (i feel like ive seen the bleach one a while ago), you have a tendency to really twist up the cloth in the upper arms, as if someone was wringing out a wet towel. careful of that! If you ever sign on........ you can catch me up on all your latest, yeah? also dont forget to paint here and there on your break (p.s. im setting up my easel this weekend).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 02, 2010, 07:42:37 am
St0ven: well the thing is promotion shows the delay in both millisecond AND fps delay and they change accordingly AND the  preview window is what is going to fast! D:
All those pieces on PJ are actually years old, with some finishing on one or another, I was updating my pixel art portfolio in hopes of getting a pixel job I responded to in the forums. I have been keeping up with painting :] Got a long term piece going on and I just painted something for a pretty girl last night ;]
I'll update you more when I get on aim when you do! you go to sleep too early these days :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 02, 2010, 12:24:48 pm
Indigo: Never would have guessed, you three did a good job at blending styles.

JJ Naas: I always love seeing the stuff you do for habbo because the game is full of plasticy iso art, and you manage to sneak in stuff that goes with better pixel aesthetics.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 03, 2010, 03:03:41 am
quick and dirty doodle for the escargot club
(http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/5052/snailmailsmall.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: saimo on July 05, 2010, 09:23:05 am
Ai, just wanted to say I admire your AA research!
I only hope the results won't be so good to tempt lazy pixellers :crazy: (just kidding, of course)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on July 05, 2010, 03:28:04 pm
Ai, just wanted to say I admire your AA research!
I only hope the results won't be so good to tempt lazy pixellers :crazy: (just kidding, of course)
Did you just apply it on your avatar, or was it already like that ? heh.

Thanks :)
Here's an update.. I've changed my method again and it's much simpler (and WAY more effective :D)

* Use GMIC to apply a Difference of Gaussians on a copy of the source image,
   to detect areas of high frequency detail like eyes (parameters: 0.05, 0.10, threshold 20, enable 'negative'.
* Apply a curve with a point at 93,33 and 192,192 to reduce the amount of smoothing high-detail pixels will get, even more.
* Edit->Copy
* Enter QMask mode (using keyboard shortcut or the button at bottom-left of your window) and Edit->Paste what you just copied.
* Anchor the pasted layer and exit QMask mode. Now, the low-detail pixels are most selected, and high-detail are least selected.
* Apply GMIC Anisotropic smoothing (amplitude 8, sharpness .4, gradsmooth 0, tensor smooth 0.50, iterations 2)
* Done

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/dizzy-t00087-aaed-2.png)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/t00087.png)

Here's the previous attempt, for comparison:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/dizzy-smoothed.png)

And here is one I tried today:
(done with slightly different smoothing parameters -- sharp 0.30, iterations 1, to get stronger lines.)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/sol-00885.png)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/sol-00885-aaed.png)

Some things to note:
* outer lines are preserved, inner lines are AAed. So we don't sel out.
* Face details still end up smoothed somewhat more than I intended, but
I view this as an acceptable tradeoff -- a few touchups of detail vs manually AAing *everything*. complicated shapes such as hands seem to be preserved *quite* well
* you might want some more AA on long lines.. I've concluded the most useful
  approach is either to AA them manually, or select and smooth them separately to the main iteration, using GMIC Anisotropic Smoothing  In that case you mainly care about sharpness (which controls amount of smoothing relative to amount of color difference),  amplitude (which can be quite high for much more smoothing if you set sharpness well.. if not, soggy result), and possibly secondarily gradient smoothness, which effects how smooth borders are interpreted as being, and tensor smoothness, which effects the smoothing of the angles in shapes
* extremely high contrast areas are left alone (which is generally good, unless you actually DIDN'T want your high contrast to stay high)
* Depending on the exact style of the pixel art, sharpness will need adjusting.

I'm quite happy, the major remaining challenge is to auto recolor back to plausible colors found in the original graphic.
(other things: try the process on other graphical styles,  eg. SNK)

The results are good enough (with high amplitude value) to help as a general guide of how you could AA a shape well. Hopefully it would be used only as a 'finishing' filter
in all other cases.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rosse on July 08, 2010, 09:54:34 am
Found an interesting article from the inventor of the "pixel":
Quote
Squares was the logical thing to do,” Kirsch says. “Of course, the logical thing was not the only possibility … but we used squares. It was something very foolish that everyone in the world has been suffering from ever since.

He proposes a different form of "pixels", similar to what some do with C64 characters to create pictures.

(http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2010/06/pixels.jpg)

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/smoothing-square-pixels
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 08, 2010, 01:11:04 pm
Fascinating reading. It's interesting he thinks the pixel was a mistake. All I can say is: thank you for your mistake!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on July 08, 2010, 07:13:42 pm
What else could they have used? I can't imagine using circles because how would you fill in the empty spaces, though rectangles would work its essentially long pixels. Maybe hexagons? I thought about this before and I can't see how you could use anything else without having weird problems, at least on low resolutions (good luck drawing a L on a hexagon grid).

It's weird that he hates the square pixels so much but the program he made is pretty awesome and it's funny because the result reminds me a lot of some of your (Helm) and Ptoings pixel art. The way you drew the recent Nietzsche portrait looks pretty similar to this only more refined. I wish he released the program because I'd like to play with it. It would be interesting to see how it interprets some of the pixels I've done.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 08, 2010, 08:19:34 pm
I guess with clever masking and small enough fields of phosphor or LEDs or whatever you could make groups of 4 triangles arranged in a square like X, that way each square could have 4 different colours if needed and they would be sharp, but it could also be used in a pixel like way.

All in all I do not see the problem with pixels whatsoever, especially now that resolutions are so high that you pretty much do not even see them most of the time at 1x for anything else than pixel art.

I like my pixels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on July 09, 2010, 07:02:25 am
I like my pixels.

Me too! I like you also. I like this forum dedicated to the pixels I like.

mmm circlejerk
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on July 09, 2010, 07:42:03 pm
I goofed with this a bit.  It's difficult to compare using more dots vs trying to encode a shape parameter.  The image posted above has one image with 6x6 blocks of one color vs one image with 6x6 blocks containing 2 colors and a shape.  One simply has more data than the other.

The idea of trading off color data for shape data is interesting.  It's what pixel artists already do to deal with jaggies (AA and clean lines).  Something like this would store that information directly.  Or maybe just process source data with an eye towards removing the jags. 

Here is something trying to go the other way.  It's a sprite from Ultima IV.  The image on the right looks worse, but it also uses less data, so it's hard to compare properly.  With 12 extra bits of info available, there could be a third color in each large block, or quite a few more shapes.

(http://i29.tinypic.com/161ib8i.png)

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on July 09, 2010, 09:04:50 pm
I want to see what a really high resolution image (at least wallpaper size or bigger) would look like with these dynamically shaped pixels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on July 10, 2010, 12:31:59 am
@Rydin: I think it would look something like the face in the image above. 

I worked on the sprite a little bit more, chopping down the color count, generating a second image that was offset from the first, and then combining them (which bumps the color count back up).  The result is not that good.  I think I'm done with this. 

(http://i31.tinypic.com/2edz3gy.png)

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 10, 2010, 01:36:38 am
I hate it
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on July 12, 2010, 02:07:18 am
mmm squarejerk

fixeded


NOW TO A COMPLETELY UNRELATED TOPIC (to do with this site)
alright....I just used IE tab for the first time in months...and I noticed the banners work JUST FINE in there, while in regular firefox 3.6 I'm only seeing the donation button =/. anyone know WTF? I wonder if it's just my firefox that's getting it wrong cause I'm not even blocking anything on this site with AdBlockPlus  or Ghostery or NoScript or ANYTHING
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on July 14, 2010, 03:32:34 pm
Pixeljoint's down for me atm, anyone else or just me?
EDIT: false alarm it's back now :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 14, 2010, 04:04:49 pm
PJ works ok for me...

...

I've recently been playing a demo of an indie-rpg Eschalon Book II (http://basiliskgames.com/eschalon-book-ii). I've never played the first game, but at least this one is pretty good. It's turn based, the graphics are ok, it plays well and intuitively and incorporates many of the things that made the 90's rpgs like Ultima 6-8 and Baldur's Gate good. That genre is these days pretty much dead (Diablo doesn't count) and sort of old-skooly, but for whatever reason those games went out of fashion, it wasn't because the gameplay was bad. So I'm thankful that someone still makes games like those, and Eschalon Book II fills that gap perfectly. The story is a bit lame and the graphics could be better at times, but I'm still seriously considering of buying the full version.

(http://www.gamer-thai.com/images/news/eschalon2.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on July 15, 2010, 02:46:22 am
Oh man. I bought Eschalon Book I ages ago, and played it a tonne. I really love it. Been meaning to get the second one, but I know that it would eat a lot of my time.  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 18, 2010, 07:33:52 pm
Eyecraft: yeah, this would take a lot of time. It took me about 5-6 hours to explore every corner of the demo area which covers about one tenth of the entire map. Very enjoyable game, I'll definitely get the full version at some point. The only problem I have is with the plot. The main plot is a standard "fetch x number of magical items to save the world". You're also managing only one character, which is fine, but it removes in-party subplots like in Baldur's Gate, those soap opera moments between the party members were awesome. There was some of that in Ultima as well. Talking of Ultima, the world of Eschalon is a very standard fantasy world, it doesn't have much depth. In Ultima, be it Britannia, Serpent Isle or even Pagan, the world feels so alive and so full of history and mystery and occasional weirdness.. Garriot's weird-ass philosophies, some really tragic npcs, occasional madness ("take me to my nightmare"), teleport storms, participating in blood rituals. I loved exploring Serpent Isle which was also scattered with old ruins of the ancient civilization, more modern villas and cities built on top of the ruins, The world of Eschalon is a bit too bland. But I'm judging by the demo which is unfair. Still.. they've got an awesome engine and the graphics have a timeless look to them, they'd really benefit having a better writer for the next game.

(I felt like rambling about this.. sorry.) ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on July 19, 2010, 08:16:46 am
Kinda sounds like how I felt when playing Elder Scrolls 4. Lots of quests and such to make use of your time, but I found the world mythology incredibly boring and generic. I ended up deleting it from my harddrive once I realised all I was going to get was a fuzzy,empty feeling by completing a big list of quests for a world that bores me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 19, 2010, 09:12:54 am
Kinda sounds like how I felt when playing Elder Scrolls 4. Lots of quests and such to make use of your time, but I found the world mythology incredibly boring and generic.

I was hooked on Oblivion mostly because it was one of the few rpgs in which playing a rogue character wasn't completely pointless, so I finished the Thief-quests and became the guild master.. and then lost interest. But it was generic as well. A world in another space and time SHOULD offer occasional total weirdness and unfamiliarity, weird landscapes, really odd creatures and strange customs and cultures. There are bigger culture shocks available on this planet than on most of the game fantasy worlds.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jorund on July 19, 2010, 04:17:20 pm
This happens a lot on RPGs lately, many are following the Bethesda style where "action" is important, they strip away any depth in the story cause most people don't care about it, and since this boring RPGs are successful economically this won't change. Even Dragon Age, being devoloped by Bioware, was kind of boring.
I like Mass Effect though, but it's not pure RPG.

*sigh* I missed old Fallouts.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 19, 2010, 05:05:44 pm
Actually Eschalon isn't heavy on story for a completely different reason to the other games you listed. It is old-school in that what's more interesting is the story that plays out in your head instead of the one provided. I'd like it if it was even *more* open-ended and reacted to stuff the player did, really. Dragon Age is *full* of story, and it's boring in my opinion to go through. If I wanted a third-rate fantasy novel, I'd just go out and buy one.

Eschalon isn't a fantasy game primarily in the sense that there's not much fantastical about it. All the tropes of it are common in this sort of gaming now. It's an immersive simulation type of game. You get from it what you put in most of all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on July 19, 2010, 08:02:57 pm
Helm: It may very well be that Eschalon is at heart more like early Ultimas, ADoM, Desktop Dungeons, Nethack or the oh-so-glorious Nahlakh (http://free-game-downloads.mosw.com/abandonware/pc/role_playing_games/games_n_r/nahlakh.html), very "make your own story" -kind, and as such it seems like a great game. But it comes with a quest log/npc interaction system that is similar to the ones in Ultima/Baldur's Gate/Oblivion -like games, so I guess I automatically compare it to those rather than the Nethack -like games.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 19, 2010, 09:32:08 pm
That the game has an option early on to denounce the main quest of trying to find the killer of whomever and instead go on exploring the world for your own purposes should clue you in.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on July 21, 2010, 12:48:07 am
(http://argylebox.com/images/helmyeah.jpg)

This truck was driving in front of me on the way to the office.  Had to bust out the DSi to take a picture. Never knew you owned businesses in Ohio, USA, Helm.

Helm Yeah!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 21, 2010, 12:52:24 am
What do they sell?!?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on July 21, 2010, 02:57:15 am
After some googling around, the consensus is clear (and generic all around!)

Quote
Helm Distributing
Helm Distributing Inc is a private company categorized under Snack Foods and located in Dayton, OH. Our records show it was established in 1967* and incorporated in Ohio*. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $2.5 to 5 million and employs a staff of approximately 20 to 49.

Those are some good number, sir!  You hiring?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 21, 2010, 05:12:44 am
I'd never act as a manager in a company that would have me on its payroll.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 21, 2010, 11:58:14 am
I had no idea the DSi took such good pictures. @___@
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on July 21, 2010, 02:07:08 pm
HELM YEAH

LMAO!!!

I seriously thought you'd done a photoshop job when I first saw it. It was too good to be true. How wrong I was!  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on July 21, 2010, 02:19:34 pm
Only shopping on it was blurring out the phone number so that nobody called trying to get ahold of Black Thing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 26, 2010, 04:13:40 pm
http://www.effectgames.com/effect/article.psp.html/joe/Old_School_Color_Cycling_with_HTML5

This is the most beautiful pixel-related thing I've seen in months.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Pawige on July 26, 2010, 04:22:18 pm
That is seriously the most amazing bunch of examples of color cycling I have seen in my life! So awesome.  :o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on July 26, 2010, 08:33:28 pm
http://www.effectgames.com/effect/article.psp.html/joe/Old_School_Color_Cycling_with_HTML5
This is epic.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: crab2selout.png on July 27, 2010, 11:15:45 am
Does anyone else get bilinear filtering applied to that pallete swap page when they try to zoom in (CTRL +)? I'm on ubuntu, which makes it all the more weirder ...

Do we have to go through all this bilinear filtering annoyance again with html5? :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on July 27, 2010, 12:30:41 pm
Using Opera 10.6 on Windows XP and Mac OS X Snowleopard without any problems zooming using the "Max Zoom" button.  Using CTRL +/CMD + doesn't do anything for me, it still stays at 100%
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on July 30, 2010, 03:59:08 pm
Browsing the web brought me to the fact that used, older model PDAs can be bought for cheap ($30-50).  Typically  320x320 screen resolution and 16 bit color.  Battery life of several (6-8) hours, and they can be plugged in the wall.  Would this be useful as a portable pixelling tool, or an alternative to an expensive tablet?  Anyone try making pixel art with these things?

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sly on July 31, 2010, 02:10:09 pm
Browsing the web brought me to the fact that used, older model PDAs can be bought for cheap ($30-50).  Typically  320x320 screen resolution and 16 bit color.  Battery life of several (6-8) hours, and they can be plugged in the wall.  Would this be useful as a portable pixelling tool, or an alternative to an expensive tablet?  Anyone try making pixel art with these things?

Tourist

I have a Palm IIIc and I did have a pixeling program on it. It was really slow and wasn't too responsive but that's probably because that palm is ancient.

I've been looking for a nice cheap portable pixeling tool.

Let me know if you find anything. =D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on August 01, 2010, 06:02:01 pm
I have a Palm Tungsten 2E that I got as a hand-me down and it isn't TOO old, really.  It has its functions and it is a handy thing to take notes on in the store or at work and I use it for my car MP3 player.  The problem, at least with the model that I have anyway, is that the stylus calibration is completely borked.  No matter how many times I calibrate the touch screen on it, it's highly inaccurate. I did have a drawing program on there called Moe Paint (didn't have an english speaking developer and they suddenly stopped working on it at some point before I had even learned of its existence) that seemed like it would be something fun to pixel on, but with the terrible touch screen problems it was just annoying.  Not to mention that at some point the program stopped working completely.

So you might find something that might be decent for portable pixeling.  But I doubt it will ever be comparable to getting an old used tablet online in terms of the value of use you will get out of it for pixeling.  Because there are so many new tablets out there like the awesome Intuos 4 (I finally sprung for a small version of it for my birthday last year and I looove it), you can find old Intuos 2 models or other similar models for pretty cheap on eBay sometimes. I sold my 6x8 intuos 2 for $40 to a friend when I got my new one. It was plenty perfect for pixel art needs, though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on August 03, 2010, 12:49:24 am
Interesting little flash game a friend showed me, its pretty cool, Halo 2600, at demake of Halo with Atari-esque gameplay/graphics/sounds: http://www.codemystics.com/halo2600/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on August 03, 2010, 04:51:02 am
Thanks for the info on the PDAs. 

Some of the reviews on Amazon report manufacturing problems with the Palm Tungsten series, thanks for confirming that, Argyle.  Based on that, I don't think I want to order a PDA unless I can take it for a test drive first.  The local used computer store didn't have any in stock.  I guess I'll have to pass on this for now.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on August 03, 2010, 08:37:03 pm
A couple things I'm curious about. Apologies if this would be better for a new topic, or another topic.

1. At the moment this board seems against roms of any kind. Would completely from scratch roms (Read not hacked from commercial roms in any away shape or form) be okay? The reason I ask is that sometimes people create NES mockups here and I could probably make a sorta easy way to get them into an NES rom that would work on a real NES. (Heck, I could provide photos from my TV) So one could see what the mockup would look like as a static image on the actual console. I wouldn't put someone's graphics in a rom this way without their permission. I just think it might be neat to have something like that out there. Any interest?

2. So far my only way of posting here has really been pointing out to people information about NES when their images don't meet the restrictions, or wouldn't be too viable for an actual game. I avoid it in topics where they only say it's NES style, or if they point out which limitations they know they've broken since it means they understand.

But I start to wonder, does anyone really care? 'Cause I could totally stop doing it if it's annoying. Question 1's rom would mostly take care of that anyway, since it obviously wouldn't allow things that aren't possible. (Though it would disallow some things that are possible with really tricky programming and wouldn't necessarily help with the viability for a game issue) Dunno, give me your thoughts.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Megamax on August 05, 2010, 02:58:16 am
Im sorry if this is the wrong folder, but i couldnt find a better one to put it in. Does anyone have an answer?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on August 05, 2010, 04:27:43 am
I'm decent with Fusion. Be a little more specific about "fluttering" or post a sample file or image and I'd be happy to help.  :)

Also try searching or posting on the ClickTeam forums: http://www.clickteam.com/epicenter/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sly on August 05, 2010, 11:51:24 am
What? How did you manage to merge that topic with this? D:

Anyways does anyone know of a good tablet for drawing?

I was thinking about getting Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch but I'm not sure if I should just go for a Wacom Intuos instead.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on August 05, 2010, 12:27:17 pm
Seem's like Jad's "FLAME OF GAME DEVELOPING" sparked something in the back of my head last month and evolved into an idea that just now made me quit my current job, after 4 years.  ;D
Something good will come out of this, I'm sure. Otherwise, damn you Jad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on August 05, 2010, 01:39:04 pm
What? How did you manage to merge that topic with this? D:

Anyways does anyone know of a good tablet for drawing?

I was thinking about getting Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch but I'm not sure if I should just go for a Wacom Intuos instead.

The Bamboo Pen & Touch is ok, I owned one for 2 days before returning it for an Intuos 4.  It depends on your level of workflow stubbornness :P.  I'm a guy that lives and dies by keybindings and function customization. While the Bamboo Pen & Touch would have been plenty fine for most pixel art needs, I could not live with it knowing that you cannot change any application specific settings. Each of the buttons on the side you can change their function to whatever you might need them to be (most of them anyway, if I recall), as is the same with the pen, but you can only have the settings be global.

By day I use Adobe's apps for mixed advertising and layout needs for work and by night I mess around in ProMotion and whatnot. That being the case, the button layout and function of my tablet - which I use basically 90% of my time on the computer whether at home or work - are never the same. That's where the Intuos shines (not to mention the awesome other functions like the huge range of pressure and tilt sensitivity the pen boasts and the always-useful precision mode).

But it's really a matter of knowing what you'll use it for and realizing the level of need you have for different aspects.  It's a difference of $100 between the Bamboo and a new Intuos 4 small tablet.  Can waive that problem if you're going for an older Intuos (less fun features, but still has good precision and customization compared to the bamboo, IMO). Also consider if the touch capabilities of the Pen & Touch will even be that valuable to you down the road, or if its novelty will wear off a week later. The multi-touch features are neat, and the 'gestures' seemed fun enough, but I found it more comfortable to just use a mouse.  I use a trackpad at home on the laptop, but I avoid it whenever possible, hehe.

I'd compare models myself though, if I were you, if you're serious about getting the right one for you.  They are an investment worth jumping at for sure, and this is coming from a poor schmuck that hates spending money.

http://www.wacom.com/

I gotta admit - something as trivial as the interchangeable pen tips really make a big difference in the experience you're getting out of it :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on August 05, 2010, 02:19:35 pm
Seem's like Jad's "FLAME OF GAME DEVELOPING" sparked something in the back of my head last month and evolved into an idea that just now made me quit my current job, after 4 years.  ;D
Something good will come out of this, I'm sure. Otherwise, damn you Jad.

WHY ARE YOU PUTTING ALL THIS RESPONSIBILITY ONTO ME

IT'S THE UNDELIVERED SECRET SANTA ISN'T IT!?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sly on August 05, 2010, 02:29:53 pm
Thank you Argyle for that post.   ;D

I think I'll go with the Wacom Bamboo. I'll get the Intuos later down the road once I get the hang of tablets and can produce something decent using it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on August 05, 2010, 02:55:25 pm
Seem's like Jad's "FLAME OF GAME DEVELOPING" sparked something in the back of my head last month and evolved into an idea that just now made me quit my current job, after 4 years.  ;D
Something good will come out of this, I'm sure. Otherwise, damn you Jad.

WHY ARE YOU PUTTING ALL THIS RESPONSIBILITY ONTO ME

IT'S THE UNDELIVERED SECRET SANTA ISN'T IT!?
YES!

Every bad thing that's happened since roots back to the undelivered secret santa gift. It's a little sin that has grown roots and is now feeding on it's surroundings, growing, infecting others with evilness.

No I'm kidding. I'm headed to a new place for work with great awesome super people. Also there's some personal game projects underway that might kickstart something great and so forth.
It's all looking mighty good, so no worries  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on August 05, 2010, 04:46:46 pm
No I'm kidding. I'm headed to a new place for work with great awesome super people. Also there's some personal game projects underway that might kickstart something great and so forth.
It's all looking mighty good, so no worries  ;D

No more SocialVille games? That's certainly an upward career move.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on August 09, 2010, 05:58:17 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q73NsYxadaw
WTF with the awesomeness!!!
(friend of my brother was making it  :D)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on August 10, 2010, 04:38:19 pm
My Mom's taken an interest in my work ever since I've started paying rent. She walked in today while I was working and asked if I could make half squares, like triangles. I said no and then she asked if I could make circles.  I explained the nature of displays to her and showed her a zoomed in photo, then made a line and smoothed it.

"Couldn't they get a computer to do what you're doing?"

i told her i was a computer that could draw.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on August 10, 2010, 08:10:37 pm
Hey Atnas! I checked out your drawings. I think you need give yourself a rule for a month to not draw anything in left profile or from the front. It could develop into a cancerous habit.
You're now showing serious symptoms of extreme right-handedness  :-\

Other than that, I think you're going to be a great awesome artist person in the future  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on August 11, 2010, 06:03:38 am
My Mom's taken an interest in my work ever since I've started paying rent. She walked in today while I was working and asked if I could make half squares, like triangles. I said no and then she asked if I could make circles.  I explained the nature of displays to her and showed her a zoomed in photo, then made a line and smoothed it.
Functionally you can make half-squares IMO.

ala:

 114
 148
 488

I mean.. that is not LITERALLY a square divided in two diagonally.
But for 99% of viewers, it's going to look just like it would as if it were a super-high-res rendering of two triangular polygons.

It's easy to confuse people by being too literal.

Quote
"Couldn't they get a computer to do what you're doing?"

i told her i was a computer that could draw.
:D

Offloading that stuff to a faster computer is mostly better though.. after all, you only run at ~20hz, even if that 20hz is in massive parallel.
The biggest obstacle is that hardly any software manages to handle Gamma correctly; otherwise, it could be dead easy to use eg GIMP's path tool with snapping to nearest pixel enabled, and get high quality, extremely exact AA rendering. ehhh..I should get round to writing a utility for gamma-correct SVG rendering. Plus that region-mapping idea that would make limiting the colors in a reliable and good looking way pretty easy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on August 11, 2010, 06:08:59 am
I should get round to writing Skynet
:o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on August 11, 2010, 08:19:05 am
Cow: I suppose that's an example of how it takes an awfully large amount of rationality before you start doing anything but making new and interesting mistakes. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on August 16, 2010, 10:09:21 pm
A while ago someone here linked me to a forum for 3D advice. I think it may have been Jad but I'm not entirely sure... does anyone know what these forums might be? I have no idea of the name, but I would probably recognize it if I saw the page.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on August 16, 2010, 10:20:05 pm
Was it possibly http://boards.polycount.net/ or http://www.gameartisans.org/ ?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on August 16, 2010, 10:38:13 pm
I think Polycount was it, thanks!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 22, 2010, 04:33:19 am
Pixel art is ruining our lives. Did some colored pencil action in a thank you card for a friend (white splotch is where our names were scrawled) and look it's tiled!

(http://a.imageshack.us/img192/615/03small.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on August 22, 2010, 07:42:34 am
oh Helm, I wonder if you already know about this =O. I'd imagine you do!

http://io9.com/5616498/ultraviolet-light-reveals-how-ancient-greek-statues-really-looked

I LOVE HOW TRIPPY GREEK ART REALLY WAS!....hahahah. I mean I liked the clean imponent look as much as anyone but this makes me imagine they were a much cheerier happier people...I wonder what the TEMPLES looked like with all these bright colors! hahahahah.

Suddenly...Helm's choice for subject in the RGB picture seems far more fitting...and lend him a slight air of Oracle-hood :p =O
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 22, 2010, 12:06:20 pm
Yeah, I've been aware for a couple of years. I don't mind the garish colors like some people do (evidently).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on August 22, 2010, 08:06:37 pm
My first impression was...well it just reminded me a LOT of alex's gray art....or psychedelic art in general, hence why I like it so much. I'm really wondering about how the temples looked...did the colliseum have the same kind of colors too? (that Caesar is roman after all)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 23, 2010, 12:59:26 am
Alex's gray art?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on August 23, 2010, 06:58:21 am
Alex Grey's art (http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=1680&bih=869&tbs=isch:1&q=alex+grey+art&revid=1809350308&sa=X&ei=PBxyTKGgK8GqlAfXopGJDQ&ved=0CCQQ1QIoAQ)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 23, 2010, 04:15:50 pm
(http://shredsomething.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/obama_alex_grey.jpg)

God damn
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on August 23, 2010, 07:23:59 pm
http://io9.com/5616498/ultraviolet-light-reveals-how-ancient-greek-statues-really-looked

(http://www.argylebox.com/images/parthenon.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 23, 2010, 08:00:22 pm
(http://www.locustleaves.com/20100823-cq6-21kb.jpg)

you guys know it's supposed to be a space ship, right?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on August 24, 2010, 07:11:57 pm
(http://jameshance.com/images/paintings/creation.jpg)

This guy's gallery makes me smile so hard.

http://jameshance.com/index.html
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on August 24, 2010, 07:17:04 pm
Those paintings are epic.  I need to buy a print from him.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Squiggly_P on August 24, 2010, 07:26:50 pm
Wow, I'd love to have a few of those hanging on my wall. Bookmarked for possible future impulse shopping binge :P

I have a pro motion question for anybody out there. When I loop the animation, in the animation window the frames go ridiculously fast- even though the delay is only 4 frames a second on all frames. if any one could help that would be greatly appreciated ! It's currently bugging the hell out of me and made me lose all motivation to animate since I suck at it anyway - _ -

I'm having the same problem. There's a "+" and "-" button that's supposed to speed up or slow down the animation as well, and if you use them it will remember that. I got mine down to less than 1 frame per second and it was still playing the animation at about 5000 fps. Something is obviously not right.

Question: Are you using a 64bit OS?

EDIT: I figured out how to fix this problem. I'm running Win7 64bit.
I just right-clicked on the shortcut and selected "Troubleshoot compatibility"
It pulls up a window and looks at it then says it's gonna try running the app in WindowsXP SP2 mode to test.
In the test run the framerate issue was gone.
Save the settings and boom. That app will run in that compatibility mode until you tell it otherwise.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on August 24, 2010, 11:07:02 pm
I'm running Windows 7 64-bit and I've never had any trouble with my animation previews showing properly.  It just took a bit of adjusting getting used to measuring my timing in miliseconds.  1000 as the delay for the frame is 1 second, etc.  When I first started using it I was like "Wow, I can barely tell the difference between a delay of 5 and a delay of 10 ... they're both balls to the wall too fast wtf!"  :P

Here's a ProMotion-specific question I've been hoping somebody might know about while we're on the subject:

I want there to be able to set my AnimPainting settings to allow me to draw by holding alt but not advance to the next frame until I lift the pen/mousebutton, or at least not until a much more substantial amount of time passes. I've been unable to find any documentation about it or even anywhere to change anything other than the settings for animated brushes.  At the moment, it is a neat feature, but the frame page flipping is too fast to have any control over it.  Especially if I'm working with an animation that doesn't have a ton of frames and animpainting loops back to the beginning of the animation when you run out of frames. I would really love to be able to better control it, but I can't find any safe way to use the setting aside from when placing one pixel/brush at a time.

Wanted to see if anyone knew of a way to tweak the settings for this before I resort to bugging the software author about it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 29, 2010, 01:50:09 am
http://www.eworkproxy.com/

hah
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on August 29, 2010, 02:47:41 am
huh?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on August 29, 2010, 05:00:30 pm
I'm actually doing some work for them right now hehe c:

I think the banner is a cute homage!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 30, 2010, 11:18:17 pm
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disney-remixes-old-cartoons-into-blam.html

this cannot exist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 30, 2010, 11:49:29 pm
Thank you helm. You caused me to find this:

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/brewtv/tinyhats.html
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on August 31, 2010, 12:39:18 am
I for one found the BLAM! videos hilariously enjoyable, but I have been watching way too much Tim & Eric, which has probably destroyed most of my higher level reasoning. I'm guessing (hoping) the whole X-treme approach is some sort of meta-joke that will go over kids heads, but most adults will catch.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on August 31, 2010, 08:14:52 am
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disney-remixes-old-cartoons-into-blam.html

this cannot exist

(http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo326/endisaster/rage.png)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to point out that this is a self portrait I drew for this occasion only
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 31, 2010, 09:09:49 am
I for one found the BLAM! videos hilariously enjoyable, but I have been watching way too much Tim & Eric, which has probably destroyed most of my higher level reasoning. I'm guessing (hoping) the whole X-treme approach is some sort of meta-joke that will go over kids heads, but most adults will catch.

It can't be. That's seriously how they think a new generation of kids should be exposed to those cartoons.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on August 31, 2010, 09:19:03 am
Why must I become such a stereotypically grumpy old man at such a young age? :'(

I figured I had at least a couple years of Diddy Kong in me, but I guess not...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on August 31, 2010, 02:54:45 pm
Thank you helm. You caused me to find this:

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/brewtv/tinyhats.html
Thank you Mathias.  You caused me to get that song stuck in my head. !yus!

Also, THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVFj-_SDIHE&feature=player_embedded).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 01, 2010, 08:44:13 pm
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disney-remixes-old-cartoons-into-blam.html

this cannot exist
Who thought this would be a good idea?
Are todays kids really that retarded that you have to show them a clip, rewind and explain the joke in slowmotion to them?
That's just.. sad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 01, 2010, 09:02:39 pm
Hmm, anything for the next Commercial Critique? Games lined up, ETA?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on September 07, 2010, 02:14:14 pm
I need to be spoon-fed my cartoons because I can't be bothered to engage my brain.  Why think when I can drool?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SwapBrain on September 07, 2010, 04:20:39 pm
If this is the wrong place to post this, sorry - please move it.

So, I am a firm believer in lurking more - I have been trying to go through the pixel art forums sequentially from the beginning, I know it is the nature of the beast, the past is past, etc, but there are a huge number of threads that have been rendered effectively useless by broken links and missing images.

I am sure I am not the first to gripe about it, it is just sad.

That is all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 07, 2010, 05:00:53 pm
Are you really reading all of Pixelation from the beginning?

Why not just read the treasure chest and related links in most recent general theme threads? You'll get the gist of it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on September 08, 2010, 01:23:20 am
This being a forum and all, it's only fate that most of the image links will have died, since most of them will have been links from the member's webspace or a photo account.  Links will die as people clear out accounts to make room for new stuff or if they reorganize their folders, as hosting expires, etc. It's hard to keep track of what images were linked where or if there's even a relevant need to keep it there because the thread is probably buried in a graveyard of posts.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SwapBrain on September 08, 2010, 02:54:30 am
True dat. Plus it would be expensive to host all of the 1024x780 bmps where someone posted once and never again. I went through the ramblethread, the featured threads, the challenges, and a heap more, but I am the kind of person who reads the textbook before the first day of class, if you know what I mean.

Anyhow, fwiw there have been tons of gems in there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Demon11777 on September 08, 2010, 04:00:34 am
Hah  :P I did the same thing. Started reading posts from the beginning, got to like page 70 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on September 08, 2010, 04:24:35 am
You guys must be pixel geniuses by now!

And Dusty, I have a sneaking suspicion there may a lil' He[data missing]llab right around the kizzorner.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 08, 2010, 12:33:50 pm
Just read that Satoshi Kon died on the 24th last month. I'm sad now :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on September 09, 2010, 04:24:35 am
what?! why hadn't I heard of this? very sad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HMC on September 09, 2010, 05:27:16 pm
I had never heard of him until last month when me and my friends watched Paprika and then Millennium Actress the day after that. He died a week later.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 10, 2010, 04:40:38 am
I got a game magazine in the mail yesterday as a promotional thing for Bestbuy, and it had a small "review" in it for Canabalt for the iPod/iPad that is kind of sad. Here's the excerpt:
"The graphics are blocky, but that's the intended style."
Can "blocky" even be used to describe pixel art at that resolution? When I think blocky pixel art I think all the way back to the Amiga and maybe even the NES, but the NES is stretching it. Otherwise blocky makes me think of a simplistic design, which Canabalt is not. This guy gives me the impression he's never really played a pixel-art game, but maybe I'm just jumping the gun. The rest of the review is positive, but that just stuck out(as well as, "This poor man's Mirror's Edge" since I don't feel two games having the same vague subject such as Parkour justify comparing them) to me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 10, 2010, 07:45:03 am
Gogo crappy review, I would say.

Also, Amiga art was im many cases not that blocky. Pal Amiga even had a higher resolution than DOS (320x256 in lores mode).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 11, 2010, 01:07:44 am
Well pixels kinda ARE, you know, blocks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 11, 2010, 05:57:04 am
Gogo crappy review, I would say.

Also, Amiga art was im many cases not that blocky. Pal Amiga even had a higher resolution than DOS (320x256 in lores mode).
Sorry, I meant Atari, heh.

And ya, pixels are blocks but that's why I mentioned resolution :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 11, 2010, 01:05:15 pm
Well pixels kinda ARE, you know, blocks.

The degree of perceived blockiness can vary greatly tho.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 12, 2010, 05:55:10 am
Well pixels kinda ARE, you know, blocks.

The degree of perceived blockiness can vary greatly tho.
Sure, if I take my glasses off they turn into blurry kind of circle thingies.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 12, 2010, 06:06:24 am
Are you being sarcastic? You can make pixels look smoother by putting other pixels around them of variable luminescence.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 12, 2010, 06:40:00 am
As soon as you scale it up

http://www.adamatomic.com/canabalt/

you see blocks.

There's no point in judging someone because they call pixel art blocky because, by nature, it gets scaled up on larger screens.
And then there are blocks. Unless there's some terrible bilinear filtering going on but that is besides the point.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 12, 2010, 03:24:09 pm
As soon as you scale it up

http://www.adamatomic.com/canabalt/

you see blocks.

There's no point in judging someone because they call pixel art blocky because, by nature, it gets scaled up on larger screens.
And then there are blocks. Unless there's some terrible bilinear filtering going on but that is besides the point.
Sorry, I see nothing "blocky" about that in that resolution except the title screen. Sure, if you want to be picky and look reaaaaaaally close you can see the pixels, but that's true for everything you see on the average resolution screens.

I just don't agree with the view that every pixel-art game is blocky. That just seems uniformed.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on September 12, 2010, 10:02:49 pm
What are we even talking about? Does anyone really know what the guy meant by "blocky" anyway?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 12, 2010, 10:06:20 pm
Your mother!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on September 13, 2010, 12:31:47 am
*throws rock into attic, hits C64 screen and then knocks over narcotics bottle, runs away before detection occurs*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 13, 2010, 04:07:43 am
You just don't like the word "blocky".
It sounds so.. unrefined, rough, unaesthetic. It's not pretty.
How dare someone insult your precious craft with such an ugly word?

Now swallow your pride and see how that guy in the review didn't even mean it in a negative way.
Also pixels ARE blocks. Low resolutions on hi-res screens can be described as "blocky".
I've stared at them long enough to positively identify them as rectangles.
There is no discussion.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on September 13, 2010, 04:10:40 am
ZOMG Your avatar is blocky, dewd.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 13, 2010, 04:12:25 am
My avatar is not scaled up.
The pixelation logo up there on the other hand is blocky.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 13, 2010, 04:20:09 am
You just don't like the word "blocky".
It sounds so.. unrefined, rough, unaesthetic. It's not pretty.
How dare someone insult your precious craft with such an ugly word?

Now swallow your pride and see how that guy in the review didn't even mean it in a negative way.
Also pixels ARE blocks. Low resolutions on hi-res screens can be described as "blocky".
I've stared at them long enough to positively identify them as rectangles.
There is no discussion.
Everything on the screen consists of pixels. Does that mean a 3D games graphics are blocky? It all comes down to what you see overall, and when I look at Canabalt I don't see the individual pixels as blocks. I see an overall image that is appealing and smooth.

I'm not offended by it, my pride is not hurt--I was just surprised at the seemingly ignorance of the term and how a game reviewer for a magazine could seem out of touch with pixels. Perhaps bringing to realization pixels not getting the love they once used to. I thought it was good feed for topic but you seem to have blown it out of proportion. Did the reviewer mean ill? Maybe, maybe not. However I was not addressing the yay or nay of the review, but, in my opinion, the lack of knowledge of pixels.

Also, "there is no discussion" comes off a bit arrogant.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 13, 2010, 04:29:02 am
Also, "there is no discussion" comes off a bit arrogant.
What exactly is there to discuss?

Everyone here on this site should know that, if you zoom into a picture, you see blocks.
This whole site is about nothing but to teach you how to effectively utilize that.
How to arrange those blocks, how to color them.
This site supposedly embraces the block
for it is what we all work with.
 :) ;D :( :'( ???
Woah, even the emoticons are block-shaped. Why is that?

What, except that you don't like the word, is there to discuss?

I'm not offended by it, my pride is not hurt--I was just surprised at the seemingly ignorance of the term and how a game reviewer for a magazine could seem out of touch with pixels. Perhaps bringing to realization pixels not getting the love they once used to. I thought it was good feed for topic but you seem to have blown it out of proportion. Did the reviewer mean ill? Maybe, maybe not. However I was not addressing the yay or nay of the review, but, in my opinion, the lack of knowledge of pixels.
Eh, imo you're just being picky about semantics here.
Sure, maybe blocky is not the best word to describe a pixelated game, maybe low-res would've been better but that shouldn't be terrible enough to assume ignorance yet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 13, 2010, 04:34:50 am
Also, "there is no discussion" comes off a bit arrogant.
What exactly is there to discuss?

Everyone here on this site should know that, if you zoom into a picture, you see blocks.
This whole site is about nothing but to teach you how to effectively utilize that.
How to arrange those blocks, how to color them.
This site supposedly embraces the block
for it is what we all work with.
 :) ;D :( :'( ???
Woah, even the emoticons are block-shaped. Why is that?

What, except that you don't like the word, is there to discuss?
I just don't believe that because a pixel is a "block" that it means pixel-art is inheretly blocky. All computer graphics consist of pixels, so in that state-of-mind it's all blocky. It just doesn't make sense to me. Yes, pixel-art tends to be lower resolution that most other graphics arts, but it all comes down to resolution... thus you really can't define a factual line(hence where your statement comes off as being arrogant). Hell, other factors can come into play such as dpi, monitor type and so on. When I open up Canabalt on my monitor I only see the pixels if I try to see them. But then again that applies to everything on my monitor from 3D, to text, to other graphics.

Even if he meant the game was pixel-art, using the term "blocky" reinforces what I said before-- that he is out of touch. If he meant pixel/retro, he should have used one of those terms instead. In this day I much consider the term "blocky" as a reference to an intended(or unintended?) style, not to the pixels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 13, 2010, 04:37:41 am
Sure, everything is made up of pixels but this is about low-res games.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 13, 2010, 05:02:09 am
Sure, everything is made up of pixels but this is about low-res games.
And I don't think Canabalt is low-res enough to be called blocky, nor do I think blocky should be a term used to describe low-res or pixel-art, but a style. Call it pixel-art, call it retro, call it old-school... I just don't think blocky is a complimentary term.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 13, 2010, 05:10:07 am
Like I said, you just don't like the word.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 13, 2010, 06:25:40 am
Like I said, you just don't like the word.
That's grossly simplifying the whole discussion to somehow make your point more appealing, but it doesn't really work in this case.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lizzrd on September 13, 2010, 06:33:50 am
9_6, you're seeming very arrogant in this discussion, would be nice for you to just chill n such.

I have nothing else to add.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 13, 2010, 07:11:14 am
That's grossly simplifying the whole discussion to somehow make your point more appealing, but it doesn't really work in this case.
What does that even mean?
I have no idea how you can possibly argue against upscaled pixels becoming blocks, really.

You asked if "blocky" can even be used to describe pixel art. It kinda does describe what pixel art is all about, doesn't it.
Placing blocks. Pushing pixels. Using a low resolution and zooming in.
Zooming in.
Zoom into something and you'll eventually see blocks.
Maybe you look at tone over content when calling me arrogant for saying there's no room to argue against that but where exactly are your arguments against this again?

You have not yet provided anything of substance to give your point a foundation apart from "I don't like this word".
I don't see how your point has any more validity then mine, then again, you use the term "appealing" which probably means you don't look at this objectively anyway.

Calling an upscaled low-res game "blocky" doesn't even have the same negative vibe as calling loud metal music "noisy".
Maybe it's a clumsy formulation but it's not entirely wrong.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 13, 2010, 07:19:00 am
That's grossly simplifying the whole discussion to somehow make your point more appealing, but it doesn't really work in this case.
What does that even mean?
I have no idea how you can possibly argue against upscaled pixels becoming blocks, really.

You asked if "blocky" can even be used to describe pixel art. It kinda does describe what pixel art is all about, doesn't it.
Placing blocks. Pushing pixels. Using a low resolution and zooming in.
Zooming in.
Zoom into something and you'll eventually see blocks.

You have not yet provided anything of substance to give your point a foundation apart from "I don't like this word".
I don't see how your point has any more validity then mine, then again, you use the term "appealing" which probably means you don't look at this objectively anyway.

Calling an upscaled low-res game "blocky" doesn't even have the same negative vibe as calling loud metal music "noisy".
Then you've done nothing but ignore every post I've made since this discussion started. You keep mentioning "upscaled pixels" but I have time and time again never mentioned them, but I have mentioned resolution, but you seem to just dismiss that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 13, 2010, 07:23:09 am
So does canabalt not get stretched to fill the big screen of the I-pad?
Does it use the native resolution?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on September 13, 2010, 11:37:40 am
I don't even realize what the discussion is about here, guys. Blocky or not blocky?

I don't know. I think the reviewer was trying to actually justify the style for potential buyers; don't dismiss the style that is blocky just because it is - it's intended.

That kind of thing - pixels at a native resolution do tesselate in a square grid, but they don't often look blocky. When they are scaled up, the individual pixels start to constitute sharp edges of the squares, and the result could be described as blocky.

Basically I'm with 9_6, but 9_6, you could try to be a little less zealous about proving Dusty wrong, lest this turn into 'you obviously don't understand my point in the first place so I'll start to convince you why you're an idiot instead' party times.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 7321551 on September 13, 2010, 01:16:30 pm
Was there an earlier version of Canabalt without music? Just sound effects?
I seem to remember it feeling more atmospheric, in an isolated sort-of way... & I've always considered lack of music to enhance that feeling. So I'm wondering.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 13, 2010, 03:19:05 pm
There is no discussion.

Try not to post argument after argument and at the same time say stuff like this, it paints you in a bad light. If you're feeling trollish, I suggest you go blow off some steam in some other place.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on September 13, 2010, 08:00:53 pm
I have decided to not call pixel art blocky, but rather, made of legos.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 14, 2010, 08:40:11 am
There is no discussion.

Try not to post argument after argument and at the same time say stuff like this, it paints you in a bad light. If you're feeling trollish, I suggest you go blow off some steam in some other place.

A discussion requires at least 2 parties, both of which have arguments that don't entirely consist of opinion.
The only opposition I have seen up to this point came down to name calling.
Thank you for contributing to that
And also for lecturing me about what paints someone in a bad light.

As for your definition of trolling, it's interesting for sure.
I always thought trolling and using logic and common sense were mutually exclusive.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on September 14, 2010, 11:34:12 am
Not in the definition of trolling that would mean 'trying to twist some debate out of a trivial topic for the sake of debate', which is both logical, and is a legit (some say it's the original) meaning of the word! Not that helm was even saying that you were even trolling, but acting (more like feeling) 'trollish'.

Anyhow, you've been sort of sour since the whole 'blocky or not blocky' thing started, what's up? Somehow you've managed to put yourself in a bad light (whether it's just everyone misunderstanding your, or not), so you could deal with that in some other manner than sarcasm. This is an honest suggestion.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 14, 2010, 12:15:33 pm
Well I didn't want a debate.
I honestly didn't expect that anyone would argue against the concept of pixels being regarded as blocks. Especially not here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 14, 2010, 12:27:02 pm
You did not want a debate? So that is why you kept of debating? That could also be regarded as trollish.

Seriously, this was a pretty silly discussion. Pixels ARE blocks, but whether they are perceived as blocky is something that probably differs from person to person.
It is pretty much subjective I would say.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 14, 2010, 03:35:51 pm
9_6, If I were just a user I'd steer clear from engaging with you on this. I don't enjoy it. However I am a moderator and I have to encourage some types of behavior and discourage some others to maintain a positive mood on Pixelation. So it does fall to me to tell you that you are out of line. You're dictating to people when a conversation must end, you're being condescending. You take clearly subjective issues and you portray them as a matter of pure logic. You place yourself on the side of logic and anyone who disagrees with you, on the other side. That stuff is textbook flame-baiting. All I told you is that if you're having a bad day, you should provoke people elsewhere. There's a lot of forums online built exactly for that.

Pixels are blocks. But pixel art is not necessarily blocky. I think the whole point of pixel art (for some) is how to utilize pixels in such a way as to retain their positive aspects (sharpness, clarity, separation) and downplay their negative aspects (blockiness, grid). The whole concept of manual anti-aliasing comes to be because of this dynamic, for example. Different people have different tolerances for 'blocky' (as well for oily smooth, come to think of it) and you might be especially sensitive to the pixel edges and even consider them the defining characteristic of pixel art (or retro videogaming). That's fine, it's interesting even, I'd love to discuss how pixel art should be from that point of view (less aa, more dithering, less colors, perhaps?) but I'd love to discuss with with someone that isn't provoking to cause a commotion. Other places on the internet like a more confrontational type of discourse, Pixelation doesn't because it's made of digital art guys and girls, many of which are introverts and only come out of their shell when they know that if they voice an opinion, nobody's going to come and tell them "that's illogical. Discussion over".
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 14, 2010, 06:00:45 pm
I'm sorry but did you actually follow the discussion?

I attempted to just come to the consens that pixels are blocks which, apparently, was impossible.
From that point onwards it is easy to extrapolate that blocky can probably be used to describe pixel art.
Or at least, like I said so many times, games with a low resolution that get scaled up and just so happen not to have any anti aliasing applied on them.
Or to be more specific: Canabalt. Cause that's what we're talking about. Right?

I am fully aware that there's absolutely 0 blockyness if your pixel art is anti aliased and not magnified.
That is completely besides the point though since those kinds of graphics weren't described with said word.

If you mean blocky can be used to describe pixel art in general, no. Of course not.
The pixel level control pretty much makes it impossible to describe the limitless possible looks with just one word, doesn't it.
That's like asking if "green" can be used to describe oil paintings.

Also you really misunderstood the "there is no discussion"- part.
Sure does sound arrogant and condescending if pulled out of context like that but doesn't it make a whole lot more sense if put in context into a discussion about whether or not pixels are blocks?
Is whether or not circles are round discuss-able?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on September 15, 2010, 12:58:46 am
So who played Metroid: Other M and also enjoyed the axial sort of level design?  :)
And how bout when theres a curve in the hallway and all you do is continue to hold up and it turns Samus for you?
I wouldnt argue that its how all 3d games should be. And its been implemented in a few games before (sonic being chased by whales feels similar)
But it feels good to experience. Nice piece of design and execution. :y:

Also putting aliens in a headlock and then shooting them in the face is satisfying. But I have yet to see her piledrive any of the enemies. I can only hope.

And yes I'm attempting to change the subject. any takers?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on September 15, 2010, 01:23:23 am
The "glitched red door" I read about a while ago has me worried about trying it. I'm not sure if people have figured out if it was a user missing something or a game problem. I also kinda want to play and beat Super Metroid before I pick it up. Hearing a positive review is always encouraging, though. This reminds me that I really don't play as many games as I used to...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on September 15, 2010, 03:25:10 am
You mean you don't want another page of pointless blather to enjoy? Why!?

. . .

Sure is rainy today.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 15, 2010, 05:04:34 am
Other M seems really dumbed down. Samus dodges by default? I'm sure it can become challenging even with all the provisionary handholding, but it still sounds flimsy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 15, 2010, 05:29:17 am
Didn't play it but I watched this (http://spoonyexperiment.com/2010/09/05/pre-pax-ramblings/).
Maybe that guy is exaggerating, I wouldn't know, but... samus now has to ask permission to use the guns she already has?
That alone is... wow.
The next thing we know is that adam asks why she left the kitchen after she tells him that she killed ridley and saved the universe from all evil there is.

Maybe the gameplay is fun but I'm the kind of gamer who allowed tidus to single-handedly ruin all of final fantasy 10.
Making the maincharacter babble is also part of what ruined the sonic the hedgehog series. Some characters were just meant to stay silent.

Speaking of that, isaac will talk in dead space 2.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 15, 2010, 05:51:55 am
It's the sort of stuff that makes sense from a marketing standpoint to do ("I know [how we can make this sequel appear new], extended emotional cutscenes!/our protagonist takes off his helmet/he has a brotherfathersister") but if anything neither they or the noise they create in the playing public help the game become better, just more bogged down.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on September 15, 2010, 06:50:57 am
I got paid to test Prime trilogy for about 2 months 5 days a week 8 hours a day. This might skew my judgement a bit. As much a I enjoyed it I've found other M to be more entertaining than prime, but in a different manner.

Also I'm able to play the game for free, my girlfriend works at nintendo, so I can understand someone dropping $60 and not getting what they want.

Mostly whether you enjoy something or not is based on expectations so if you thought it would be the most amazing game ever it probly wont.

Ha yah alot of the voice and story is laughable but I somehow have a higher tolerance to that stuff than others. Remember the dialog and voice acting in House of the Dead 2?  :lol:  But it was still a fun game. However I agree it slows the pace of the the game a lot. I liked how Prime started and flowed. And the older metroids (and almost all older games) started even faster and then you just play.

I can understand how people feel. We used to be kids and play a ton of games but as adults we barely have time. So the time we spend on games we want to be perfect. But its at least worth checking out at a friends house.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 15, 2010, 07:37:55 am
Metroid is often revered for the feeling of exploration involved. Well it's still metal doors walling off discrete screens filled with re-spawning enemies and bosses, just in a mixed up order. I think the 'metroidvania' thing is overstated, it's not really exploration and it's not exploration I'm after when I enjoy Super Metroid. It's the feeling of being left alone, of traversing the environment in solitude and getting stuff done at my pace that I like in that game. And besides - allegedly, I've only played 5 minutes of it - Metroid Prime 1, the rest of the the Metroid games since have been chatty and hand-holdy and constantly intrusive, so the Other M thing doesn't really shock me that much. I don't care about Samus, who is Samus, even? When I play Super Metroid, *I* am the person going around on the planet, not some Samus.

So my problem isn't that they misrepresent Samus's personality in the newer game, it's that Samus even has a voice and a face. I don't care about that stuff, the meta-plot inf these games is vapid at best. I just want to go around a well-crafted platform game at my own pace, in my solitude. Super Metroid is like a sensory deprivation tank for me, I think about different shit when I go around it, I don't think about Samus's personality. And if I want people around, I'll invite my friends and we'll swap the controller around and talk about the game.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on September 19, 2010, 04:56:53 am
well said.

I think that feeling of playing a game and accomplishing things yourself without sign posts and characters handing out verbal solutions is less common in big production games these days. Part of it is marketing, reaching a wider audience makes more money, and that wider audience includes people that become frustrated without help or don't want to learn and read a visual language that determines success or utter loss. And thats what the old metroid and plenty of other games did. Hints/advice were clearly and sometimes subtly given, but they were in the form of visual words. Its a satisfying experience. The developers expected you to translate and if you couldn't see it at first, try again. if you can't see/read it, go get someone else and maybe they can.

Of course visual communication is still around in every game, but is not the main focus of the experience. Not to say it doesn't exist and can never be. It's more likely to see that type of gaming coming from indie studios. Our school is flooded with a new game design degree and I've had many of the teachers that they will have. If you turn in something like that they will tell you its stupid and unpolished and un-playble by human beings and smack you with a spoon until you agree. I've had similar experiences with ceo's.

No negativity intended. This is not the dark era of games. There is still plenty to learn, experience, and accomplish.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on September 19, 2010, 01:03:26 pm
Part of it is marketing, reaching a wider audience makes more money, and that wider audience includes people that become frustrated without help or don't want to learn and read a visual language that determines success or utter loss.

Id say its just lazy game design honestly. Especially since this metroid simplifies the game so much, a lengthy tutorial shouldnt be needed. If you design a game properly you should be able to teach your players how to play your game with out them feeling the stress of learning. A tutorial is actually much more of a burden on a player than easing the mechanics on but a tutorial is much less of a burden on the developers and the companies wallet. I watched a playthrough of about 15 minutes of Other M and I think my biggest concern is the loss of atmosphere other than of course the dumbing down of the gameplay. (Also. Why would your commanding officer deny you of your Varia suit when he knows you are going to be slowly dying in a volcano??? Thats just stupid!)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 19, 2010, 04:35:31 pm
Yeah.
Everything also still seems to have that silly obligation to look as pretty as possible nowadays.
Just look at this castlevania (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103590-TGS-10-Castlevania-Lords-of-Shadow-Hands-On) trailer. Seems that, right along with golden axe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6a28Cw0fR8), will turn into a god of war too now.
I thought now that we finally reached photo-realism, the idea of gameplay and unique concepts would make a comeback but instead, everything becomes just more and more generic or so it seems.

Makes sense from a marketing standpoint, don't take risks and appeal to as many audiences as you can.

Edit: woah what happened to the site?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 19, 2010, 04:38:54 pm
Awesome new skin my mia.

I don't think we've reached photorealism yet. Not by a long shot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 19, 2010, 04:45:55 pm
Awesome new skin my mia.

I don't think we've reached photorealism yet. Not by a long shot.
:y:

That shot can't be that long if you ask me.
Soon some new 3d mumbo jumbo will allow for an arbitrary amount of scalable detail and bam, we're almost there.
Like hardware tesselation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkKtY2G3FbU).
From there on, it's just a matter of convincing animations which is a whole different thing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Moribund on September 19, 2010, 06:24:30 pm
I am feeling both sides of the "silent hero" issue. I think it works very well in the context of Zelda, because the plot doesn't really have to do so much with emotion and human interaction, as being a hero and saving the day with great feats. Dead Space, on the other hand, often tries to elicit emotion, with spoilericious dramatic events. The whole "scary game" thing fits in too, as once you isolate the player and the character with this emotional interaction to other characters, you don't have to be scared for you, you have to be scared for the character, which you can't be if you don't really care for the prat.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on September 19, 2010, 07:12:23 pm
Does anyone feel meh at the graphics of Other M? I'll admit I haven't played the game yet but from the screenshots the game looks so... boring compared to the Prime games. Nothing pops out as amazing or breathtaking... or artistic. It all looks so dull. Like I said I haven't played the game, but all my impressions from screenshots are that everything just gives me the feeling of "good enough."
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Keand64 on September 20, 2010, 01:40:24 am
On a completely unrelated note:

This forum seems to have changed, particularly the 'click and zoom' on the images becoming quite blurred.  Pardon if this is an idiotic question, but why was it changed? (I ask only because it's very difficult to view zoomed images of pixel art when the pixels become blurred).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on September 20, 2010, 01:48:19 am
On a completely unrelated note:

This forum seems to have changed, particularly the 'click and zoom' on the images becoming quite blurred.  Pardon if this is an idiotic question, but why was it changed? (I ask only because it's very difficult to view zoomed images of pixel art when the pixels become blurred).
link (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=8144.0)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Keand64 on September 20, 2010, 03:18:35 am
On a completely unrelated note:

This forum seems to have changed, particularly the 'click and zoom' on the images becoming quite blurred.  Pardon if this is an idiotic question, but why was it changed? (I ask only because it's very difficult to view zoomed images of pixel art when the pixels become blurred).
link (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=8144.0)

I feel stupid now...
Anyways, I looked everywhere, and the best solution I found was just to downgrade back to FF2, which saddens me greatly.
Not to derail the thread or anything ^^.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on September 20, 2010, 01:58:36 pm
Does anyone feel meh at the graphics of Other M? I'll admit I haven't played the game yet but from the screenshots the game looks so... boring compared to the Prime games. Nothing pops out as amazing or breathtaking... or artistic. It all looks so dull. Like I said I haven't played the game, but all my impressions from screenshots are that everything just gives me the feeling of "good enough."
Other M's graphics are quite odd, they look so "videogame" that it feels very sterile.
I enjoyed Other M though, it absolutely has flaws and some pretty big ones at that, but I think it manages to hit a few of the notes that the Prime games didn't even swing at.

The main thing I always feel disappointed with in the Prime games is how Samus feels like a tank.
If she had a sense of agility like in Mirror's Edge and perhaps a similar "edge grabbing" control thing like the Call of Duty games I would be pretty damn happy. The best example of Retro not recognizing how important controlling Samus feels are those stupid little platform edges you can grab in Prime 3, having Samus only be allowed to grab specific parts of specific platforms is already pretty bad, but it just feels so awkward jumping into them and triggering a cutscene of her pulling herself up every time. It wouldn't be as bad if the camera at least stayed inside her helmet, but it changes to a fixed angle so it can completely break the immersion.
Also, you should have been able to see her body when looking down, every FPS should do this ffs.


It's interesting how different people think Metroid games should focus on different aspects in order to be more "Metroid," the atmosphere is probably second to the controls and handling of Samus on my list of priorities.. I don't think I really care that much about how linear or story driven they are.


edit-
I have not pixelled anything in ages, at least I still feel disappointed knowing that.. I'll try to be more active here again.
btw Ptoing, did anything ever come of that U-head concept?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 20, 2010, 02:12:17 pm
All I can say is that U-Head is on hiatus, but not considered dead. I am doing other stuff atm, which might help with U-Head later on.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sly on September 20, 2010, 03:05:49 pm
I feel stupid now...
Anyways, I looked everywhere, and the best solution I found was just to downgrade back to FF2, which saddens me greatly.
Not to derail the thread or anything ^^.

I added another post to that linked topic that has a very good fix for all of the web. =D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on September 20, 2010, 03:11:44 pm
Mother of fuck.

Now sweden, too, has a nationalist party in the parliament. HALLE FUCKING LUJAH. This is spreading like a coating of smellypoo over europe. This country will advance nowhere if there's a goddamn party of clowns trying to blame everything that ever seems a bit wrong on the immigrants. Oh god damn it all. I even redrew my rage face in honor of the occasion.

(http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo326/endisaster/rage2themax.png)

ARGH
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: miascugh on September 20, 2010, 03:28:05 pm
At least they didn't get to be part of a ruling coalition yet, not to speak of being second strongest party. The entire political spectrum suffers from a pretty bad offset towards the right in Austria :(

On the topic of rationalizing nostalgia (as seen in Arne SMB thread):

http://moistproduction.blogspot.com/2010/09/mario-anatomy-sculpt.html

Also a nice find remotely related:

http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/secret/weekly/Stars_of_the_Family_Computer.html

And strike 3:

http://vimeo.com/15021852
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: #36005A on September 20, 2010, 10:10:21 pm
I don't care about Samus, who is Samus, even? When I play Super Metroid, *I* am the person going around on the planet, not some Samus.

So my problem isn't that they misrepresent Samus's personality in the newer game, it's that Samus even has a voice and a face. I don't care about that stuff, the meta-plot inf these games is vapid at best. I just want to go around a well-crafted platform game at my own pace, in my solitude. Super Metroid is like a sensory deprivation tank for me, I think about different shit when I go around it, I don't think about Samus's personality. And if I want people around, I'll invite my friends and we'll swap the controller around and talk about the game.
Thank you, I have been trying to figure out what exactly is the "different experience" of Metroid Prime. For some reason it just didn't have any sort of impact on me, unlike Super Metroid which had a major one (and still does whenever I pick it up). You hit the nail on the head here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on September 21, 2010, 08:28:56 am
Awesome new skin my mia.

I don't think we've reached photorealism yet. Not by a long shot.
:y:

That shot can't be that long if you ask me.
Soon some new 3d mumbo jumbo will allow for an arbitrary amount of scalable detail and bam, we're almost there.
Like hardware tesselation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkKtY2G3FbU).
From there on, it's just a matter of convincing animations which is a whole different thing.

I LOVE the wireframe view of that....it feels much more alluring and engaging than same old detail we see every day, the wireframe seems to me like a representation of how our perceptions picks up new relationships betwen things the more we look at them, like a matrix code of perception. Much more interesting.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 21, 2010, 09:41:51 am
That doesn't look photorealistic at all to me but it might just be my brain as opposed to other people's brain
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 21, 2010, 10:05:11 am
Probably not but it's only a tech demo anyway.
Screenshots of some games look like photos already. Not much is missing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 21, 2010, 10:25:20 am
Oh yeah sure I've been tricked by small stills from tech demos and whatever thinking they're photos, but in motion, and in the context of realistic, human motion and animation, these fall apart very fast. We have decades in front of us before there is a real-time 3d experience that is indistinguishable from scenes from a movie.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 21, 2010, 10:59:48 am
Sure, that's why I said convincing animations is a whole different thing.
You can have all the details in the world, models made up of millions of tris but it all falls apart if you move them wrongly.
For reference look at, well, almost any movie with cgi characters in it.

The motions are either so snappy that no weight is being conveyed at all or so uniform that it just looks artificial.
Then there's those terrible cliches that monsters always have to roar towards the camera and that stuff just has to move in a blur at some point which we'll probably never see the end of.
It's tiny immersion-breakers like this.

I have not yet seen anything cgi that looks 'real', no matter how 'realistic' it looks. If that made any sense.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on September 23, 2010, 01:07:09 pm
Quote
I have not yet seen anything cgi that looks 'real', no matter how 'realistic' it looks. If that made any sense.

This is because of the "uncanny valley." (fun name!)  There is a point when something human-looking approaches realism where human empathy for the object drops severely and starts to evoke emotions of fear, death, and morbidity. This happens with wax models, 3d models, human-looking Japanese robots, etc.

For example:
(http://ivanreyes.tv/images/the-uncanny-valley.jpg)
Jarring isn't it?  Uncanny valley is why this picture is utterly disturbing.

They (scientists and professional guessers) say that this uncanny valley response is a built in emotional response.  Humans naturally want to avoid the sickly and diseased for survival.  The corpse appearance also reminds us that we will too die some day.  So pile all this up together and you've got Uncanny Valley.

On that note, here's cgi animation that claims to surpass the uncanny valley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF_NFmtw89g
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on September 23, 2010, 09:22:00 pm
Oh wow, there is a term for it?
That's interesting.

It also happens to be the perfect term to describe the latest final fantasy games then.
There's probably no other game series out there that puts as much emphasis on perfecting its visuals.
No matter how perfect they look, they're still kinda awkward and waxy. It's not just minor facial expressions though, the strange acting of the characters adds a big deal to it.
They're the uncanny valley games.


And now for something completely different, tinypic.com just decided to spontaneously combust so is there any other free image hosting site that isn't slow (imageshack) and doesn't require you to make a profile (photobucket) worth checking out?
I got a lot of suddenly dead picture links to replace it seems. Bugger.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on September 23, 2010, 10:19:10 pm
That doesn't look photorealistic at all to me but it might just be my brain as opposed to other people's brain

I think the point here was that with generative systems we will eventually reach a point where we can make enviroments that look photo realistic. I do think that's the only way we're gonna get there....SPORE was a start.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 25, 2010, 03:02:01 pm
I think people will want to achieve that and will work to achieve that for the next ten years or so, yes.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: miascugh on September 25, 2010, 06:41:57 pm
http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4811&Itemid=109

I am infinitely amused.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on September 26, 2010, 12:11:52 am
I think the point here was that with generative systems we will eventually reach a point where we can make enviroments that look photo realistic. I do think that's the only way we're gonna get there....SPORE was a start.
I wonder how long it'll take for them to return en-masse to styles with more personality.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on September 26, 2010, 07:08:20 pm
http://www.creativeapplications.net/games/robert-overweg-profile-games/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on September 26, 2010, 08:20:40 pm
Jim Woodring.   :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: #36005A on September 26, 2010, 10:03:51 pm
And now for something completely different, tinypic.com just decided to spontaneously combust so is there any other free image hosting site that isn't slow (imageshack) and doesn't require you to make a profile (photobucket) worth checking out?
I got a lot of suddenly dead picture links to replace it seems. Bugger.
Imgur should do the trick: http://www.imgur.com
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on September 27, 2010, 12:59:12 am
On that note, here's cgi animation that claims to surpass the uncanny valley: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF_NFmtw89g

And they sure didn't, that's more frightening then the picture you posted! *shudder*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McClaneGames on September 28, 2010, 10:11:45 pm
Speaking of awkward, human-esque things, this (http://pictureisunrelated.com/2010/09/24/wtf-photos-videos-money-and-poop-it/) is seriously freaky.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on September 28, 2010, 10:16:33 pm
Haha, I just came back from Japan and the hotel I stayed at had one of those on the counter, there was also one that was just a nose and a mouth that was even creepier!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on October 01, 2010, 05:57:28 am
GUYS YOU HAVE TO WATCH OUT FOR THE  GUARD DOG GLOBAL JAM.

it's going to be SIIIIIIIICK.

well, I'll try to make some more sense.

Basically, there's an independent animator called Bill Plympton, and he made a sort called Guard Dog.

Now, he's crowdsourced it, which means that he put up an online global jam in which any animator from any background can remake a shot.

http://www.shadowandact.com/?p=26352 this explains it more, plus you can see the original short

I entered in it as a way to push myself to do full drawn animation (what I've been doing isnt very pixelly anyway, so might as well go all the way)

today was a deadline to send a still snapshot what the colored version of your shot should look like.
it
was
amazing

I felt QUITE out of place, these are real profesionals...not conceited little pixel animators.

here's some stuff from it which was posted OUTSIDE the email (youtube, deviantart), I dont know if peopple want stuff from the emails to be shown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUg1zAxju0s&feature=player_embedded

http://hoekkadoogen.deviantart.com/#/d2zq0rr <-see that? that guy must fucking work for spumco...the bastard.


Ugh...actually there is nothing else posted that was outside of the email =/ sorry. but it blew me away...and it keeps on coming! more and more people post their shot and it's INSANE. KYHXBYE that was it for my irrational outburst for the day (on web forums, anyway)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on October 01, 2010, 08:48:01 pm
Quote
conceited little pixel animators
says Conceit  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on October 02, 2010, 04:25:37 am
New Ludum dare http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2010/09/22/povs-challenge-make-a-game-sell-1-copy/ (http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2010/09/22/povs-challenge-make-a-game-sell-1-copy/).  Create a video game and sell one copy by the end of October.  No prizes, just a challenge.

Tourist

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on October 02, 2010, 09:12:45 am
No prizes?  Challenge accepted.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on October 07, 2010, 12:14:22 pm
Quote
conceited little pixel animators
says Conceit  :lol:
pun absolutely intented :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on October 13, 2010, 07:43:28 am
I feel like I need a kick in the ass, I drop pieces whenever I can properly visualize them in my head or my silly palette experiments seems to mesh. At this point it seems pretty masturbatory and I want to kick that bad habit. Anyone have any tips on helping me rekindle my love for the more automatic, laborious side of pixel art? :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 13, 2010, 08:18:21 am
Yes! Make a piece of art that means more to you than palettes and aesthetics. Something with an internal story that you care about.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SwapBrain on October 13, 2010, 02:45:08 pm
I feel like I need a kick in the ass, I drop pieces whenever I can properly visualize them in my head or my silly palette experiments seems to mesh. At this point it seems pretty masturbatory and I want to kick that bad habit. Anyone have any tips on helping me rekindle my love for the more automatic, laborious side of pixel art? :(

The wife ran into a similar problem in school. One thing that helped was to focus on doing series work, the other thing was just treating it like work. Like cleaning house, once you commit and start it is oddly satisfying.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on October 13, 2010, 03:04:04 pm
Cow, work under a tight time constraint.  Give your self 10 minutes to do something that takes you 3 hours.  Then post it here for critique, whether it's done or not.  You won't have time to think about masturbation.

On a similar note (maybe?), I've lately been obsessed with determination versus futility. Nothing is more inspiring to me than when somebody attempts something ludicrously impossible, even if they utterly fail--especially if they utterly fail.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on October 14, 2010, 09:34:58 am
Seriously, thanks a bunch guys. I will think about these things.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on October 14, 2010, 10:21:17 am
I sometimes combined the story and time limit thing...I looked for a song I liked of a suitable time limit...and forced myself to sketch something before it was over :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on October 19, 2010, 04:27:45 am
Is it just me, or does Pixelation seem like more of a ghost town than ever?   :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 19, 2010, 12:23:22 pm
Doesn't to me. Do you want it to be a ghost town?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on October 19, 2010, 03:59:36 pm
Yes, but I want it to be a flying ghost town in geosynchronous orbit with Earth at a such a fashion where the sun would always be just a minute before high noon.  The cacti would be crispy--the tumbleweeds, burning.  The streets will be filled with sweaty John Waynes and Clint Eastwoods who had challenged each other to duels at high noon, skillfully waiting to draw.  And due to the nature of a floating city, the plumbing would be non-existent.

Do you have something else in mind?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 19, 2010, 06:34:35 pm
The critique forum seems to attract people, and their art is being critiqued by regulars. So I don't think Pixelation is in any trouble. My question to you was, are you sounding the alarm because you'd like there to be a discussion about something that isn't really happening?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Darien on October 19, 2010, 11:06:49 pm
(http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/6991/funwithnumbers.png)

Here's some fun with numbers.

Last month definitely had the lowest number of posts since this incarnation of Pixelation.  Not by a whole lot, though.  I wouldn't be too worried about, although the trend does seem to be a general decline in activity.  Too bad we don't have stats from the Blue Board and Pixelopolis, too... it'd be interesting to look at the activity since Pixelation was founded.  I wonder if it just feels like a ghost town because the there is a high turnover in membership in art boards like this (at least it seems to me).  But as long as the currently active members are posting and learning from each other, Pixelation is doing well, I think.

Isn't our 10th birthday coming up soon, by the way?  
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on October 19, 2010, 11:23:16 pm
We have stats of Pixelopolis. We are using the same database, nothing got lost from those days. But yeah, overall there seems to be a decline, but I think we are doing good.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on October 20, 2010, 03:23:33 am
Okay, so why do people perceive it as a ghost town?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on October 20, 2010, 04:00:57 am
Sheesh! What happened from August to November 2006?

Quote
are you sounding the alarm because you'd like there to be a discussion about something that isn't really happening?
Yep, caught me red-handed, Helm.  :huh:  Seriously though, what the hell man? Take a chill pill.  I didn't have any sort of devious motivation to post what I did.  I was just thinking last night that I kind of grew up on this forum.  Maybe it's rose-tinted glasses, or maybe it's because I'm such a self-centered wannabe, but it always seemed busier.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Darien on October 20, 2010, 04:13:28 am
I don't know.  I think a big part of Pixelation feeling like an active community is having a core group of people who are actively producing work and critiquing each other.  I haven't been active enough myself to say how the Pixel Art board feels right not, whether we have a solid group of people or just people who wander in for the odd post and who never appear again.  It feels like a ghost town to me because I'm not active and when I browse the forums I see all these names I don't recognize.  Or maybe the forums are just too inactive right now for all the separate boards it has now.  I forget when that happened, but it made more sense when posts per month were over 2000 rather than the 800 or so Pixelation is getting now.  I know I typically don't ever check the challenges board (I have always thought that it was better to keep one or two active challenges stickied in the main Pixel Art board rather than hidden in their own board).  But what really would matter is not how the forums appear to me but how do they appear to the people that are actually active.  Like I said before as long as there is a core group of people who are feeling a benefit from the place I think it should be considered successful.

So basically: when you say people perceive the boards to be a ghost town, who do you mean is feeling that?  Is it just the oldbies who check the place out but don't really post anymore or the newbies?  Helm and ptoing usually have a steadier finger on the pulse on the community than anybody, so if they feel like the place is doing okay it probably is.  Not saying it can't be improved--the numbers don't lie, and frankly most communities could always use more activity.  But I think it would be more beneficial to discuss ways to increase activity on the forums rather than being bummed out about it.  No scratch that--it'd be more beneficial to just start doing things.

Rydin:  I wouldn't take Helm's comment personally; you don't remember the times in Pixelation's past where someone would begin to feel that Pixelation wasn't "what it used to be" and this discussion would start, with little positive outcome?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on October 20, 2010, 04:26:22 am
For lack of any rational reason, it would almost be fun to smash all the boards together and watch the resulting chaos.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Josiah on October 20, 2010, 04:58:36 am
I guess it would be a good time from me to get active again, I've been missing this place.  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on October 20, 2010, 05:49:46 am
Quote
But I think it would be more beneficial to discuss ways to increase activity on the forums rather than being bummed out about it.

A community game project could be interesting. Something "simple" and doable with low production value. And actually put it together not just mockup.

The game could be very loose. No need to put your million dollar ideas and art into it.

We could ignore style matching so that more people would get involved. I've always thought that WarioWare looked nice despite having lots of different styles and mediums of art mixed together. although each game feels coherent within itself compared to all the other games there is a large variety.

Another way to go would be set a very simple style. but that might not appeal to everyone.

Personally I'm not so strict with matching drawing types. Cute things can exist among violent things or vice versa. Just using pallets and number of lighting passes ties things together well enough.

The SMB1 topic seemed to generate a lot of conversation. But the game was Arne's alone. And sometimes its better to do a game by yourself or with a very small team. But It'd be interesting to lump together a game with lots of people. If every post in that topic said "hey this is what I made for the game" and attached something a lot of work would have been generated.

The challenges I foresee in random order:
1. Common Interest - not everyone has the same taste in games and art
2. Huge list of features - everyone will want to provide their own ideas. not a bad thing but good code takes time like anything else
3. Ownership - If I move to Kenya and sell for millions how will you find and sue me? or anyone else?
4. PipeLining - This is always a challenge. organization and communication.
5. Documentation - Google.docs is great for summarizing a game and listing tasks but who will have rights to edit? everyone? one guy? select few?
6. Foresight - like most things game projects need positive mentality. if that is lost the project is prone to die.

I can volunteer some game programming. Currently I have quite a bit of studying to do. Development would go a little slow. Making a "simple" game is still quite a bit of work.

It's just an idea. I'd hate to rob people of time. I'm extremely busy myself. And I understand why most people don't want to hand out free art. Its very time consuming and mentally expensive to produce. I understand if people have more important things to do like make money and eat food.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 20, 2010, 08:47:56 am
Quote
It feels like a ghost town to me because I'm not active and when I browse the forums I see all these names I don't recognize.

Exactly.

I don't think there's any sense at artificially trying to amp up the community. As long as art is posted and art is critiqued, Pixelation's fine. If someone comes up with a good idea for an activity, it'll be considered on its own merit and not on how popular it would be.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on October 20, 2010, 04:33:42 pm
Maybe post activity is down, but I lurk while at my day job, and by night I'm working on pixeling and animating for hobby projects and pleasure because of the things I have learned from this board.  Basically I am a less active poster now because of the activity I have partaken in and witnessed in the past. :P

I still click my Pixelation bookmark more often than my gmail bookmark though.

*edit: not to mention I'm anticipating new activities.  The shatterhand challenge and the Commercial Critiques are things I've learned from, but are not so much of a blast as the hexquisite corpses.*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tenshi on October 26, 2010, 01:19:14 am
I've been something of a sparse poster but I'm going to try and correct that.

I think I have all of my information updated here and am getting back into things.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on October 31, 2010, 10:15:53 pm
I seem to have very low patience with paper and pencil, which I find odd considering that I enjoy pixel art. With pixel art I can spend hours on a piece... however when I try to draw on paper I seem to want to get it over with as fast as possible. I rush through, I don't spend enough time cleaning up as I should, and I just don't seem to want to put the effort into it. It doesn't seem subconscious, but it seems like while I'm drawing I don't seem to want to put the effort into things like accurate lines, and I get bored fast.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: B0mberman on November 01, 2010, 06:20:29 pm
I seem to have very low patience with paper and pencil, which I find odd considering that I enjoy pixel art. With pixel art I can spend hours on a piece... however when I try to draw on paper I seem to want to get it over with as fast as possible. I rush through, I don't spend enough time cleaning up as I should, and I just don't seem to want to put the effort into it. It doesn't seem subconscious, but it seems like while I'm drawing I don't seem to want to put the effort into things like accurate lines, and I get bored fast.

All you need my friend is time.
You get bored on the way, play a game with pixels to boost ..errr I dunno the brain?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on November 01, 2010, 06:32:16 pm
I find that playing games and trying to draw something afterwards makes me go into exactly that state of "low patience".
Perhaps getting rid of everything that distracts you will help?
Do you hear music while drawing? I've read in a book that you shouldn't even do that, go figure.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SwapBrain on November 01, 2010, 10:42:07 pm
I seem to have very low patience with paper and pencil, which I find odd considering that I enjoy pixel art. With pixel art I can spend hours on a piece... however when I try to draw on paper I seem to want to get it over with as fast as possible. I rush through, I don't spend enough time cleaning up as I should, and I just don't seem to want to put the effort into it. It doesn't seem subconscious, but it seems like while I'm drawing I don't seem to want to put the effort into things like accurate lines, and I get bored fast.

IMO artists do three things that allow them to do what they do - the see things differently, they make decisions about what they will represent and how, and they translate those decisions through a medium.

Try switching up your 1)work-flow 2) your subject matter, or your 3)media for example:

1) Go find a good book on drawing, and re-start from the basics, if you sketch with line-art, try starting with mass or volume or value studies, and proceeding from there. You will likely make new connections or find it was your work-flow that was broken.

2) Grab a big sketch pad and head out, draw things you normally pass over, like one of R Crumb's things that he paid attention to was the power poles and electrical lines in his city images. It might just be that you are bored with your subject matter. Talk to/read about other artists and find out how they see the world.  There is a fantastic book about new drawing practice called 'Vitamin D - New Perspectives in Drawing" put out by Phaidon which is likely in your local bookstore - have a look. Also there are probably cheap, or depending on where you live free, open model drawing sessions - try attending one of those.

3) Switch to conte crayon, charcoal, graphite stick, or india ink, and wrestle with the medium a bit. It may be that your technique is too, well, technical. You may find, as I did, the you just seem to click with one (for me it was crow quill and india ink.)

Finally, a lesson from pixel art, use all of these things to start imposing restrictions on a drawing piece before hand - you may find that the structure of having certain decisions out of your hands re-invigorates your love of the process.

Also I tend to agree with 9_6 that while I do 'inspired'-feeling by seeing work that I like, it does tend to jam me up creatively.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kren on November 02, 2010, 07:02:09 pm
Wierd we got like 300 guest viewing JunkBoy's art lol.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 02, 2010, 07:10:02 pm
Wierd we got like 300 guest viewing JunkBoy's art lol.
Notch linked it from his blog, announcing the new pixel artist for Minecraft.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on November 03, 2010, 02:33:39 pm
I failed the Ludum Dare, but I learned a lot along the way.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 04, 2010, 06:34:00 pm
The website Webhallen is having an officially recognized Minecraft texture competition, with first place 180gb SSD signed by Notch, and a painting by(and signed) Kristoffer Zetterstrand. http://www.webhallen.com/minecraft/

Also, thanks for all the above suggestions. I actually do listen to music for inspiration and to calm my mind, so it's odd to hear that can put you off.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on November 08, 2010, 07:27:39 am
(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3929909/Images/sterling.png)
(source) (http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=8204.msg429993#msg429993)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 08, 2010, 08:14:01 am
whhaaat?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on November 08, 2010, 08:47:22 am
Is it just me, or does Pixelation seem like more of a ghost town than ever?   :(

The low-spec forums kind of are, aren't they?
Makes me wanna try and pick up pre-rendered or low poly stuff.
Or pre-rendered low poly stuff.
Problem with that just seems to be that you have to have a very specific idea of what you want to do because just starting to model randomly with nothing to build on won't really go anywhere.

Or maybe that's just me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 08, 2010, 09:07:22 am
Quote
I seem to have very low patience with paper and pencil, which I find odd considering that I enjoy pixel art. With pixel art I can spend hours on a piece... however when I try to draw on paper I seem to want to get it over with as fast as possible. I rush through, I don't spend enough time cleaning up as I should, and I just don't seem to want to put the effort into it. It doesn't seem subconscious, but it seems like while I'm drawing I don't seem to want to put the effort into things like accurate lines, and I get bored fast.

Another thought I had on this: the more skilled you might be on one medium (pixel art here, and you are certainly skilled) the more psychologically disturbing it might be to you to return or dabble in another where the skills do not immediately translate, because the immediate results aren't as good as you're used to, so you want to subconsciously get it over with as fast as possible. I'm slowly learning to color digitally and I certainly feel this flight instinct here and there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on November 14, 2010, 09:57:36 pm
Just in case anyone here is ever in need of some inspiration, check this guys videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/JMEMantzel) out.
He's a little crazy but in the best ways, he lives out in the woods in an awesome dome house he built himself (the third floor is a trampoline) but his main project is a giant robot.
He's documenting pretty much every step of the way, you'll see him come up with some clever solutions and how his brain works.

Really inspiring stuff, the amount of videos might be a little daunting but once you watch one you won't want to stop.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on November 15, 2010, 08:26:33 am
* Use GMIC to apply a Difference of Gaussians on a copy of the source image,
   to detect areas of high frequency detail like eyes (parameters: 0.05, 0.10, threshold 20, enable 'negative'.
* Apply a curve with a point at 93,33 and 192,192 to reduce the amount of smoothing high-detail pixels will get, even more.
* Edit->Copy
* Enter QMask mode (using keyboard shortcut or the button at bottom-left of your window) and Edit->Paste what you just copied.
* Anchor the pasted layer and exit QMask mode. Now, the low-detail pixels are most selected, and high-detail are least selected.
* Apply GMIC Anisotropic smoothing (amplitude 8, sharpness .4, gradsmooth 0, tensor smooth 0.50, iterations 2)

FWIW, I have now made this into a custom GMIC filter (thus, interactive preview etc.)
It still needs to support multi-layer application (for animations).
Anyway I'll give the current definition here, as it's short:
Code: [Select]
#@gimp Antialias: antialias, antialias
#@gimp : note = note("* finetuning")
#@gimp : Detail preservation = float(.30,0,1)
#@gimp : Smoothing = float(8,0.5,1024)
#@gimp : Sharpness = float(.4,0.001,1)
#@gimp : Iterations = int(2,1,32)
#@gimp : Gradient Smoothing* = float(0,0,10)
#@gimp : Tensor Smoothing* = float(0.5,0,10)
#@gimp : Fast Approximation* = bool(1)
#@gimp : DoG base* = float(0.05,0.001,100)
#@gimp : DoG distance* = float(0.05,0.001,100)
#@gimp : DoG threshold* = float(20,0.0001,49.999)
#
#
# XXX some way to adjust DoG parameters

antialias :
  -repeat @# -l[@{>}]
    --gimp_dog[-1] $8,{$8+$9},$10,1,0
  # -2? -> -1?
    -input [-2]x1
    -repeat $4 -smooth[-1] $2,$3,1.0,$5,$6,.8,30,2,0,$7 -done
#  # sanitize the DOG layer for masking use
    -normalize[-2] 0,1
    -apply_curve[-2] 1,{93/255},{.73-.73*$1},{192/255},{192/255}
    -image[-3] [-1],0,0,0,0,1,[-2]
    -remove[-2,-1]
    -endlocal
  -done

Paste that into the file ~/.gmic and restart GIMP in order to try it, if you are curious.
Make sure to leave that final blank line in.

EDIT:
I just fixed multi-layer application; here's an overly enthusiastically applied example based on a RagnarokOnline animation:

Original:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/RagnarokOnline-sohee00.gif)
Smoothed:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/ro-critter-smoothed.gif)
(if this was an animation I was actually making, I'd draw some of the sharpness (eg sleeves) back in as needed)

EDIT2:

Here is a better example:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/Pyron_breathe.gif)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/Pyron_breathe_aa.gif)
(zoom helps :)
(parameters: smooth = 2 sharp = 0 detail = .2 iterations = 1 gradsmooth = .7 tenssmooth = .5)

The current default settings are pretty good, but I'm sure there are better -- If you think you've found better defaults I'd like to hear about it :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on November 15, 2010, 10:58:15 am
Can someone point me to that thread about the blur you get from upscaling?
It got mentioned in another thread but that comment apparently got deleted.
Opera spontaneously decided that firefox is a cool bro for doing it and now blurs everything that's being scaled up by default, even gifs which remained completely untouched in previous versions.

I'd like to turn that off but of course, that option is probably hidden in the most inconvenient manner possible.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on November 15, 2010, 09:41:28 pm
Can someone point me to that thread about the blur you get from upscaling?
It got mentioned in another thread but that comment apparently got deleted.
Opera spontaneously decided that firefox is a cool bro for doing it and now blurs everything that's being scaled up by default, even gifs which remained completely untouched in previous versions.

I'd like to turn that off but of course, that option is probably hidden in the most inconvenient manner possible.

Type 'opera:config' into your address bar, find the multimedia settings and turn off interpolate images.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on November 15, 2010, 11:56:54 pm
Type 'opera:config' into your address bar, find the multimedia settings and turn off interpolate images.
Aw how am I supposed to find that out?
Well that was short and painless. Something like that should be stickied.
Thanks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 16, 2010, 12:03:19 am
Quote
I seem to have very low patience with paper and pencil, which I find odd considering that I enjoy pixel art. With pixel art I can spend hours on a piece... however when I try to draw on paper I seem to want to get it over with as fast as possible. I rush through, I don't spend enough time cleaning up as I should, and I just don't seem to want to put the effort into it. It doesn't seem subconscious, but it seems like while I'm drawing I don't seem to want to put the effort into things like accurate lines, and I get bored fast.

Another thought I had on this: the more skilled you might be on one medium (pixel art here, and you are certainly skilled) the more psychologically disturbing it might be to you to return or dabble in another where the skills do not immediately translate, because the immediate results aren't as good as you're used to, so you want to subconsciously get it over with as fast as possible. I'm slowly learning to color digitally and I certainly feel this flight instinct here and there.
I can agree with this. Soon I hope to get into something like painting(I'm very interested in watercolor) to maybe revive the old drive I had for drawing before I got into pixel art.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on November 17, 2010, 10:53:47 am
What's the deal with artists for old CRPGs feeling the need to put a noise texture on everything? I'm mostly thinking of Dungeon Master-likes, Wizardry VI, Black Crypt, but non-first person ones too (unfortunately I can't think of any off the top of my head). Maybe I'm just over privileged because of this place and modern pixel techniques but I don't see how that became so pervasive and tied with that certain era and genre of games. Something about the late 80s/early 90s RPG nerd zeitgeist that caused them to search for distressing textures, or just a cultural memetic thing?

In any case, that kind of absolute dingyness doesn't happen much anymore.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 17, 2010, 04:26:40 pm
Keep in mind that say, dungeon master, has a global 16 color palette (if memory is good) and there's a bit limit on the channels too on the Atari ST (where the original game was programmed I think). This means that although these colors are hand-picked, they're still 16 colors. They have to shade and convey depth of vision with just these colors. And you're in a dungeon. Single pixel noise is just something that made sense for them.

See how things changed when Westwood got their hands on a VGA chip and did Lands of Lore in the same vein.

Don't be too hard on old Atari ST games, 'pixelling' wasn't important for them, the pixels were blurry and the colors were few. They were trying to convey spaces and gameplay with very little.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on November 17, 2010, 04:55:55 pm
Pretty much all of those games had the corridors fade into black in the distance:

(http://www.zakstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Dungeon-Master-ST.png)

To do that with heavy dithering seems obvious (although I'm not sure if anything else has ever even been attempted with a 16 colour palette in this genre), so maybe that influenced the rest of the design as well. How would it not?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Twirly on November 21, 2010, 06:38:54 pm
(http://somuchsilence.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/liquidswords.jpg)
I love this cover regardless of the perspective and other issues it has :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on November 27, 2010, 11:05:05 am
I dont know if any of you guys use socials networks but I do....I use facebook even tough I hate it, any time I'm about to go delete my account permanently some contact pops up that makes me think I should keep it after all.

Which is why I was excited about the open source alternative that values your privacy
https://joindiaspora.com/
problem is I didnt join their mailing lists so I didnt get an invite, does anybody have any?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on November 30, 2010, 02:48:39 am
Browsing the internet brought me to here:
http://blog.drawn.ca/post/1678823989/ray-harryhausens-rapunzel (http://blog.drawn.ca/post/1678823989/ray-harryhausens-rapunzel)

which has an 11 min long  flash video of Ray Harryhausen's Rapunzel.  Top notch animation. 

When I think about idle animations, this is the sort of thing I would like to emulate rather than the common standing bounce or heavy breathing.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: SirBilly on December 03, 2010, 05:14:13 pm
I've got a 100 x 100 cm canvas and thought I'd make another pixel art oil painting, but how about I paint something from you guys instead? Would anyone feel interested having their artwork painted?
I was thinking something like a 100 x 100 or 50 x 50 pixel art peice and making a thread where people could submit their art. 
Would be pretty cool to see what comes out of it.  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on December 29, 2010, 01:59:07 am
Anyone know where I can find some lossless screens of Watchmen Mobile? I can find some stray sprites here and there but nothing significant, and I want to study it because it's truly gorgeous. I have a vague feeling that at least one person here worked on it so I thought I could try my luck.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on January 11, 2011, 06:49:37 pm
2 minutes into the first episode of Battlestar Galactica. Never watched it before, just know of the hype.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on January 11, 2011, 10:03:02 pm
2 minutes into the first episode of Battlestar Galactica. Never watched it before, just know of the hype.
Did you/are you watching the miniseries that came before the TV show? You probably should, it's the best part of the series up until the third season.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: miascugh on January 12, 2011, 12:45:12 pm
I found it remarkably unexciting. I kept hearing so much good that I decided to overlook the corny visuals and give it a go, but it didn't come to blossom any time throughout the first season. For me it really was that kind of entertainment where I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I'm wasting time while at it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on January 12, 2011, 03:08:44 pm
2 minutes into the first episode of Battlestar Galactica. Never watched it before, just know of the hype.
Did you/are you watching the miniseries that came before the TV show? You probably should, it's the best part of the series up until the third season.

The miniseries, at least as it was labeled on netflix.  Though the episodes are hardly mini wtfff.  I got kinda bored and sidetracked and didn't actually pay too much attention after the first half-hour. Played a second episode that I don't even remember. Kinda getting the same feeling as miascugh
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on January 16, 2011, 03:58:33 am
Today's goofy experiment (which I put here instead of the creativity thread because I don't have any pix).

Print out some very fine graph paper.  One half the page was set to 30 squares per inch, one half to 20 squares per inch.  Lines were light gray so that they were not very visible.  Add some graphite drawing pencils and some cheapo colored pencils I had lying around, and I'm making pixels, but on paper.

Results were ... not good.

At 20 squares per inch, the grid is very visible and looks utterly unnatural.  At 30 squares per inch, the grid is less visible, but it is very difficult to fill in precise squares.  About half the time I would slop over.

In both cases, I had to go over the squares twice, once with the graphite for value, once with the colored pencil for hue.  This made the process rather slow.  Also, it is almost impossible to keep a consistent value from square to square.  Texture creeps in, grain creeps in from the hand motion, and so forth.

I tried a part of a face (eye and cheek line) and an iso line or two.  The face parts were not horrible at 30 squares per inch, but it can't compare to an ordinary sketch of the same size.  The iso lines looked really bad.

I might dink around with this a bit more, but this was pretty much a failure.  :)

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 17, 2011, 08:41:00 am
Old news but yeah:

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2495109/turricanmano.gif)

:D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on January 17, 2011, 04:51:05 pm
Old news but yeah:

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2495109/turricanmano.gif)

:D
Does ManoWar  know about this? If so the developers of Turrican are in trouble...Other bands play, ManoWar KILLS! :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on January 18, 2011, 01:58:03 am
haha, it's really weird that the Turrican cover keeps the majestic flowing barbarian hair, despite the futuristic theme.
For the record, the Manowar cover is way better. Looks like a Boris Vallejo?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 18, 2011, 08:13:31 am
Looks like a Boris Vallejo?

Ken Kelly.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ddawg on January 18, 2011, 02:42:17 pm
I'M BAAAAAAAAAACK BISHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've really changed alot, too. :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kren on January 18, 2011, 03:50:58 pm
they made a game out of truckers delight pixel video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQuEMAOe4B4&feature=related
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on January 19, 2011, 04:16:51 pm
they made a game out of truckers delight pixel video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQuEMAOe4B4&feature=related


Hahaha, nice!

For that PixelJoint challenge to make a mech a while back I almost made a trucker's delight mech. before I ended up making this (http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/52184.htm).

Here was the sketch:

(http://argylebox.com/images/truckermech.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on January 28, 2011, 04:28:55 pm
Anybody watch Zeitgeist?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w the new one's out... personally I found it less exciting but when I said that someone made a reply to me that makes a lot of sense: it's a lot less excluding than the older ones, maybe they felt they were being too far out to catch people
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on January 29, 2011, 07:47:11 pm
ugh zeitgeist was such a source of misinformation and conspiracy theories... was more painful than entertaining, but it was fun to see the crazy conclusions they'd throw out there.

primarily the jesus bit. silliness.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 0xDB on February 01, 2011, 08:16:28 pm
Hey, this seems like a neat idea: Explore some of the worlds art museums through a street-view like interface. http://www.googleartproject.com/ (http://www.googleartproject.com/)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 2hackx on February 02, 2011, 12:02:50 pm
(http://somuchsilence.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/liquidswords.jpg)
I love this cover regardless of the perspective and other issues it has :D

Wu's up! Chess boxing! Nice to see there is a Wu Tang Disciple in here!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 02, 2011, 12:25:16 pm
!DIE!
Watched most of Zeitgeist, was pretty amazed with it. Cure, what parts are misinformation do you think? Didn't catch the Jesus part. Will probably re-watch it all, this time without skipping around. I loved the observations about human needs and nature, and how the way the world is set up, which is running almost in bold opposition to what would really be beneficial for mankind. But that's a convo for another day.
!FEATURE!
I stubbornly stayed up past 6am tonight (day?) in order to see if I could win my little sketch war. Ever get a vague concept in mind and attempt to manifest it on screen, or paper, and simply fail fail fail? I've been doing that for a while with a little personal project of mine, but came across an interesting design of someone else and it gave me just enough inspiration to feel confident I could finally get the thing to let me draw it. But by sketch war I mean a project where you madly sketch away endlessly, only to be disappointed by what you keep ending up with. SO frustrating. Usually block sets in. But woo, I win this time. Will probably share later when the coast is clear. . .
!CREEP!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on February 02, 2011, 07:51:23 pm
!DIE!
Watched most of Zeitgeist, was pretty amazed with it. Cure, what parts are misinformation do you think? Didn't catch the Jesus part. Will probably re-watch it all, this time without skipping around.

http://conspiracyscience.com/articles/zeitgeist/ (http://conspiracyscience.com/articles/zeitgeist/)

I was pretty amazed when I first saw it too, I didn't buy into the whole ''NWO'  thingy but the part about religion I belived. Only now have I realized that part is complete bullshit as well. While I'm not really a very big fan of Christianity, spreading misinformation is never a good thing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on February 03, 2011, 05:27:14 am
I was referring to the first film, the one reo linked to. I haven't seen this new one.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on February 07, 2011, 08:19:33 pm
Heya! guys long time no hear ;D. Been inactive and haven't drawn anything for a year, but I hope 2011 will bear some fruits after replacing my brocken wacom tablet.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 08, 2011, 12:05:58 pm
You haven't drawn anything in a YEAR?? How is that possible? I would lose my identity and have a crisis.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on February 08, 2011, 09:52:16 pm
I officially dislike my local arts and crafts store.  I go shopping there today for some square beads.  they have a huge beads section.  Are the beads organized by size?  by color?  by shape?  Any of these would be reasonable.  Instead it is organized by manufacturer.  This makes it easy for the clerks to restock, but a pain in the butt to find what you want and compare different packages.  Grrr.

But to contribute something positive to the thread instead of just ranting, ran across this today:  http://pics.kuvaton.com/kuvei/average_faces.jpg (http://pics.kuvaton.com/kuvei/average_faces.jpg)  It is a large image with average female faces from different parts of the globe.  Only females, and only front view, but it might be useful for people making portraits.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 09, 2011, 11:03:57 pm
(http://locustleaves.com/nice.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on February 10, 2011, 12:58:08 am
That sure is some sinister dedication!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 10, 2011, 09:02:26 am
Tourist: swedish and finnish average faces are eeerily alike '  A  ' they might be sisters
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on February 10, 2011, 01:55:12 pm
The Russian generic girl face keeps popping out as more attractive than the others for me - maybe it's because over half of them look like they're vertically squashed 40% more than they ought to be.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 10, 2011, 05:18:36 pm
I dunno, Polish and Greek are rankin' pretty high. South African is caucasian? Yer right, many are squashed. And what's with the odd fading/blurring.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on February 10, 2011, 05:25:18 pm
Seen that image around, wonder where they got the data. It does seem a bit silly that Ms South Africa is white.

Wales and Peru are clearly the prettiest.

The symmetrical Simoan is creepy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on February 10, 2011, 07:01:56 pm
I dunno, Polish and Greek are rankin' pretty high. South African is caucasian? Yer right, many are squashed. And what's with the odd fading/blurring.

The fading/blurring is because they gather a bunch of pictures of women and using some technology from the future they combine the girls to create an average face. I did this with my office a while back and the result look like a female version of me.


I was in love.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Quake on February 10, 2011, 08:07:18 pm
isn't symmetry in the face meant to be more attractive?

Anyway, i'm liking the Israeli, Greek, Peruvian and the Spaniard.
Think it's time to move to one of these countries haha.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on February 10, 2011, 11:20:06 pm
I thought the consensus was that symmetrical faces look lifeless/robotic, and push toward the uncanny valley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley). Faces are asymmetrical and that's part of what gives them life and charm!

(http://www.medicalgeek.com/imagehosting/thum_396647524e2a43bb1.jpg)
left to right: mirrored from left half of face - original - mirrored from right half of face

Not that he is the most attractive human specimen by any stretch of the imagination :P but the only one that doesn't creep me out, personally, is the center, original face.

And this is coming from somebody that LOVES to abuse ProMotion's symmetry paint tools, haha
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on February 10, 2011, 11:41:18 pm
Symmetrical faces are more attractive. Of course not robotically symmetrical ones, but stuff like crooked noses or wonky eyes lowers the attractiveness usually. Tho I do agree that slight wonk can add a lot of charm.

Here is one of the same dude you posted where they made a more natural symmetrical version of him on the right. And it does look more attractive.
(http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/symmetrie/sym_mopglatt.jpg)(http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/symmetrie/faceasym.jpg)(http://www.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/phil_Fak_II/Psychologie/Psy_II/beautycheck/english/symmetrie/sym_nurproport.jpg)


I undertook a small experiment and averaged some of my pixelfaces using the faceresearch.org website.

These to be exact
(http://www.pixeljoint.com/files/icons/full/8cmugs.png)

The outcome is better than I anticipated
(http://ptoing.net/not/8ccmugs_avg.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on February 11, 2011, 12:13:44 am
I undertook a small experiment and averaged some of my pixelfaces using the faceresearch.org website.

These to be exact
(http://www.pixeljoint.com/files/icons/full/8cmugs.png)

The outcome is better than I anticipated
(http://ptoing.net/not/8ccmugs_avg.jpg)

I'd like to see this with some of your fruit people. Or maybe even the robots.


I agree with the slight wonk being charming. Every girl I've been with has had one! I'm just a collector of girls with slight wonks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: buloght on February 11, 2011, 04:55:00 pm
Seen that image around, wonder where they got the data. It does seem a bit silly that Ms South Africa is white.

Actually there are tons of white people here in SA. I am white and live near Cape Town. It's much more mixed than is seen, I'm sure, from the outside. The British and dutch have established colonies here way back around since the 1700s around the coast (on trading routes to the east) and integrated with the locals since (the "boerewar" was actually when the British came to claim the diamonds in SA and the by-then-pure-local white farmers ("boere") fought them back. My family, for example, originates in France. My first language is one originating from Netherlands. (The call South Africa the Europe of Africa)

There are many many many beautiful white girls here :), in that picture she looks very local actually.

I like the greek one the most.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on February 11, 2011, 07:44:26 pm
Thanks, buloght, for the learnings! :y:

(http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/7/2010/04/500x_the_more_you_know.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on February 11, 2011, 08:48:25 pm
I'd like to see this with some of your fruit people. Or maybe even the robots.

I don't have enough fruit people and I don't think it would work with the robots given that you have to set reference points based on humans. And some of the robots do have more or less eyes than humans, no proper necks, weird headshapes, no proper jaws and so on. It would just look weird.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on February 11, 2011, 09:21:15 pm
It would be cool to make average "pixelation user" face with that faceresearch thingy  :lol: anyone interested posting their faces here?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Quake on February 11, 2011, 09:29:17 pm
I'm up for it, if other people are. Would be good to see the outcome.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 11, 2011, 11:23:11 pm
http://ubiktune.org/releases/ubi020/

BROSEPHS, LISTEN UP.

I mean literally, the newest Ubiktune release is like the coolest thing to hit the streets since the boom box! Pure FM goodness with 'funkiness' as a main requirement. I'm halfway into the album and I'm digging so hard.

* U *

also song no. 6 "Ignition, Set, GO!" by Bomb Boy is by me <3 * W *
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on February 12, 2011, 05:38:42 am
High quality stuff for sure. You really did #6? It's definitely one of the best on the album. Great job on it.

Only thing I don't like is that stupid cover. What the crap is going on there?? That is NOT funky.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on February 12, 2011, 12:08:31 pm
I feel I'm being a bit cheaty by not adhering to any chippy restrictions at all, really. Used reason that has a great maximizer/limiter that makes sure you can pump the volume without clipping, etc, and concentrate on not only making a cool melody but also massaging the ears correctly. People who actually go under chip restriction or work more 'bare bones' have to convince only with the composition. My song couldn't handle that, it needs the boom boom smash quality of sidechain compression + good drums

But I will say that my song wins the disco award by a thousand miles, people just don't seem to be into disco at the moment and I'm completely lost inside the disco maze

And yeah, that cover is totally lame, like. Really? I think chrome and electricity when I think FM, not gouache-painted dragons and .. indians .. ? or whatever they are

well at least they're surfing on FM chips : D that's gotta count for something, right?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: #36005A on February 12, 2011, 09:36:08 pm
Great work Jad! Keeping disco electro funk alive in 2011 (have you heard the new Toro y Moi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNcYDwo9ksA)?). Always love Ubiktune—Up is my favorite chiptune release in a long time. BlitzLunar and Virt pushing out some amazing tunes as always.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on February 17, 2011, 01:44:49 pm
Has anyone heard of Health Month before? It's a social ... game ... that encourages healthy habits and discourages unhealthy habits. You set rules and try to meet them. I think it is technically a game because it has objectives, life points and score.
Check it out here! (http://healthmonth.com/)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Gamer36 on February 19, 2011, 11:04:36 am
FINALLY... A forum where I can post useless things with out potting giving me ANOTHER pm about something I did wrong (God save me if he DOES, in fact, give me a PM about this post).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 19, 2011, 11:07:11 am
No need for a PM, I'll tell you in public. Stop posting useless things, please.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 23, 2011, 08:24:05 pm
(http://locustleaves.com/victory.png)

meaningless to most, but meaningful to a few. Finished the first loop.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on February 23, 2011, 08:54:28 pm
Meaningless to me, but Tineye image search came up with one result that had similar contents

(http://www58.tok2.com/home/thewwworld/pic2/ddon0002.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 23, 2011, 09:29:47 pm
he finished it with green-laser?! Anyway, my score is better!!  !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: adcrusher524 on February 23, 2011, 10:39:00 pm
what game is that?The pixel art look sweet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 23, 2011, 10:50:03 pm
Dodonpachi
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tenshi on February 25, 2011, 04:53:39 am
@Jad - I'm definitely liking the track, especially since I've been in a SNES-style music phase, granted this is much higher quality. It's really quite enjoyable. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on February 26, 2011, 01:12:54 am
snip

Jesus. I was about to suggest you and Ptoing going for the second loop but apparently you can't with 2 players, which is silly. I'm not going to even bother trying until I get a stick...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on February 26, 2011, 01:28:45 am
Heh, it is quite possible that if Helm and I played 2 player mode we would destroy the 1st loop pretty good, just survival style.

I might try to get to the 2nd loop at some point, but for that I need a bit more practise (and time, which atm I do not really have)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on February 26, 2011, 09:37:43 am
We've met up enough times and we never thought to play two-player DDP? Insanity. Must do in the next meet. I guess we both thought of shooters like a solitary sport, right? I remember we played DDP on a laptop once, but one at a time and compared scores! That's not what friends do! Must amend.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on February 27, 2011, 12:59:40 am
Hey guys, we had another major earthquake here in Christchurch New Zealand, the power and water are back on, just wanted to let everyone know I'm fine, but the death toll has already passed 100 and there are still hundreds missing.

Some photos if you're interested:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/02/new-zealand-earthquake-search-rescue-and-repair/100016/
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/02/earthquake-in-new-zealand/100013/ (that cathedral in the first photo was part of my highschool)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on March 01, 2011, 03:17:06 am
Glad you're doing fine, Taka. Can't believe New Zealand got hit like that. Terrible. Oddly, we just had a minor earthquake here, too. Central US.

___

He went back and edited every single post (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?action=profile;u=1032;sa=showPosts;start=0), I'm impressed. What the heck . . .
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 01, 2011, 11:14:02 am
 :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 02, 2011, 08:17:55 pm
I can't imagine how it must be to have solid ground buckle and roll, it must be terrifying. I hope no one close to you was harmed, Taka.



I wasn't as active this past year what with starting work and everything. My 11 days 11 hours and 11 minutes per year trend has sadly died only two years in haha. Oh well, next march 2nd!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 03, 2011, 03:54:27 am
We've been getting minor aftershocks since the other big quake in September (we had another on boxing day) so you do kinda get used to them, but the one last week was pretty insane, I could see my room twist and shake while everything just bounced around like it was nothing.
I think at this point I can safely say no one I personally know was killed, most people had a close call story or two, but it's really quite lucky. My brother for example was just about to put his 4 month old to bed when he started crying, then the bookshelf walked in and bodyslammed his crib, one of my friends is an emergency medic so he was riding with an ambulance and army escort all day, carrying bodies, helping treat people, evacuate schools, etc, he even got to raid supermarkets and pharmacies for medical supplies and food/water for neighbourhoods.
My day was pretty tame, just sat outside in the driveway, got the generator going so we could charge our phones and watch the news, eventually the neighbours started coming over so we got the BBQ out and had a big neighbourhood BBQ going.


Everything is still really weird, the roads are like waves, there's liquifaction everywhere which is basically quicksand, it was very windy yesterday so you couldn't see to the other side of the street at some points, we've had looters but on a pretty small scale, and some of the international search and rescue workers have said this is the most organized operation they've been a part of.
Some of my friends have already left, and others are planning on leaving which really sucks, I absolutely understand- but it still sucks.

This photo is probably the best example of the overall attitude for Christchurch:
(http://i56.tinypic.com/108clzq.jpg)
We'll be fine.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 05, 2011, 01:04:26 am
http://www.scrolls.com/

junkboy? c: Art looks real nice!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 11, 2011, 03:19:49 pm
U n U

After hearing about the Christchurch quake, now we get japan's biggest one to date, and huge tsunamis and stuff.

' ___ ' all of this is mighty unsettling. I really hope the coming quakes and waves will be more benign.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 11, 2011, 03:27:51 pm
I hope so too, especially since my girlfriend is in an area where tsunamis might hit :/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on March 11, 2011, 06:34:07 pm
Saw the feeds and images. :(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YPOK_3r8Dc
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365318/Japan-earthquake-tsunami-The-moment-mother-nature-engulfed-nation.html

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: st0ven on March 11, 2011, 07:50:05 pm
wishing our japanese pixelers and their families are ok. saw some pretty terrible footage earlier this morning. lots of weird 'events' happening around the world lately. stay sharp all!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lizzrd on March 11, 2011, 08:07:42 pm
I hope everyone's okay. :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on March 11, 2011, 09:22:01 pm
My brother is in Tokyo, he's alright and says that a lot of people have sustained injuries. Most are scraps and cuts, a few deep gashes. Though there are still a lot of people with broken/shattered bones and probably a lot of concussions.


http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en (http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en)
Very useful! PLEASE USE IF YOU CAN! Spread words and all that.
I <3 Japan, hope more people are ok.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: malkomk on March 15, 2011, 05:01:32 pm
(http://locustleaves.com/victory.png)

meaningless to most, but meaningful to a few. Finished the first loop.
Could somone give me the meaning of this please? I am pretty sure it's some game but I don't know what one. Enlighten me!

Also: Earlier in the thread people were talking about their videogame purchases, and I'd like to get my two cents in.
Don't forget that there's a ton of awesome old DOS games and open source games out there, all for free. Certainly at least some of these will be ones your friends have never played! A couple of good sites for DOS are http://www.abandonia.com/ (http://www.abandonia.com/) and http://hotud.org/ (http://hotud.org/). I've played (or at least dipped into) loads of good DOS games that I never played when they originally came out. :) I think one reason I play DOS games is that they're free and many of them are really good. They haven't really aged despite the introduction of shiny new 3D engines, etc etc.

One game I really must recommend is Dwarf Fortress. Great stuff! It's probably the most 'fun' game on my HD at the moment. By that I mean that I think I get the most enjoyment out of it.There's some awesome tutorials out there: the Complete and Utter Newbie Tutorial for Dwarf Fortress is still great, if outdated; it can teach you the basics. Find it at http://afteractionreporter.com/2009/02/09/the-complete-and-utter-newby-tutorial-for-dwarf-fortress-part-1-wtf/ (http://afteractionreporter.com/2009/02/09/the-complete-and-utter-newby-tutorial-for-dwarf-fortress-part-1-wtf/). You can then head over to the Dwarf Fortress Wiki at df.magmawiki.com/ (http://df.magmawiki.com/) for more info. Also Captnduck's DFVIDTUTS are pretty great. Search him out on YouTube. As for the controls which so many complain about... all I can say is, persevere. I guess I found it easier because I'm used to using half-baked or arcaic commandline and open source software interfaces.

Minecraft is another recommendation if you like Legos, but it costs money. Way easier to get into though. Buy it at http://www.minecraft.net/ (http://www.minecraft.net/)

EDIT: Oh and if you like racing games then Supertuxkart at http://supertuxkart.sourceforge.net/ (http://supertuxkart.sourceforge.net/) is really very polished for a open source project. No doubt there's some good DOS/NES/other old ones available too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on March 18, 2011, 12:10:09 am
I ran across a resource (drawing lessons) the other day that included this (resized and rearranged a bit):

(http://www.4freeimagehost.com/uploads/6e342b3cdc9b.jpg)

Balancing colors and composition is something I seek to understand.  Are there any good rules of thumb?  Or books/websites that cover this sort of thing in detail?  There seem to be a lot of places that cover the basics with a lot of vague talk, but I haven't found anything with any depth.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on March 18, 2011, 02:50:41 pm
http://www.protomen.com/ (http://www.protomen.com/)

Amazing. Saw them at PAX east and didn't like them. Talked about them with a friend and I think I might be in love.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: malkomk on March 18, 2011, 04:03:55 pm
http://www.protomen.com/ (http://www.protomen.com/)

Amazing. Saw them at PAX east and didn't like them. Talked about them with a friend and I think I might be in love.

I have no idea what this is about and would appreciate it if someone would reply to my previous post before going on to discuss new things?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on March 18, 2011, 04:15:47 pm
http://www.protomen.com/ (http://www.protomen.com/)

Amazing. Saw them at PAX east and didn't like them. Talked about them with a friend and I think I might be in love.

I have no idea what this is about and would appreciate it if someone would reply to my previous post before going on to discuss new things?
Don't be so childishly moronic, we can go on discussing other things if we'd like. This is the Official Off-Topic Thread. Besides, your question has already been answered if you could just muster up the ability to scroll up a bit to find this:
Dodonpachi

I'm all for instant gratification but this is in(s)ane.


PROTOMEN is a Dystopian Megaman Rock Opera. It's quite impressive.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 18, 2011, 05:58:50 pm
Don't call people names. You now have one strike. Three strikes and you're out. If you'd like to dispute this, please send me a PM. Keep in mind the foremost rule in Pixelation is "Don't be an ass."
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on March 21, 2011, 10:28:47 pm
Lately a lot those spam bots been here  :n: anyway to prevent this?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lizzrd on March 21, 2011, 11:13:35 pm
If you give them enough constructive critism on their product they'll likely dissapear in shame.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: McSkippy on March 22, 2011, 01:08:01 am
(http://locustleaves.com/victory.png)

meaningless to most, but meaningful to a few. Finished the first loop.
Could somone give me the meaning of this please? I am pretty sure it's some game but I don't know what one. Enlighten me!
It's DoDonPachi, or it's godforsaken hard-to-remember sequel. I don't know.
Look it up on Youtube, insane bullet hell SHUMP.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on March 22, 2011, 04:16:48 am
Dai Ou Jou is, for all intents and purposes, impossible. Can't say I really like the switch to inexplicable anime schoolgirl images either. :-\
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 22, 2011, 08:17:59 am
: D given the climate in nerd-japan over the last 20 years I don't see how it's inexplicable, especially not seeing how CAVE seems to be a big part of the moe-fandom, but yeah, I know what you mean.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 26, 2011, 02:10:44 pm
Would you guys agree that "a celebration of the imagination" is a good simple definition of art?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on March 26, 2011, 02:45:30 pm
I don't think the term is very accurate, it might be a nicer and less "pretentious" way of putting it but I don't think the words are descriptive enough. I wouldn't use the word celebration to describe a lot of art and imagination is not a very specific word either, while most art is imaginative in its execution not all is from the imagination.

I would perhaps say something more like "an imaginative expression of intellect and emotion". In my opinion the two things which drive the majority of art are intellect and emotion, and I think expression is an important term when describing art. I don't think there is a simple definition to describe all art though, the term means different things to different people.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 26, 2011, 03:03:54 pm
Dai Ou Jou is, for all intents and purposes, impossible. Can't say I really like the switch to inexplicable anime schoolgirl images either. :-\

They are not schoolgirls but that is beside the point. And so far every Cave game has been very much possible given enough practise.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 26, 2011, 04:15:18 pm
Would you guys agree that "a celebration of the imagination" is a good simple definition of art?

Depends what you're trying to achieve with the definition, but no, I don't think it comes close to a definition of art. But then short definitions are difficult.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on March 26, 2011, 05:20:32 pm
"What is art?" is not unlike the question: "What is beauty?", books have been written about it and the discussion, I'm sure, will continue long after we're dead.

A question I've pondered lately:
Is art primarily commmunication, or personal expression? Can it be one and not the other? Is it necessary to have one, both- or neither?

e.g. Pollock's art seems to be pure expression, more about the act of creation, the dance, than the art-object resulting from the act of creation. In this way it seems like one of the few instances where visual art approaches the purity of music, and one can imagine Pollock in the same sort of trance-state Jimi Hendrix appears to slip into when he's knee-deep in a jam session.

On the other hand, there's the communicative function, who absolutely requires the art-object, and which the majority of the plastic arts seem to give a strong emphasis. The extreme I suppose would be something like the didactic Christian art of the Medieval period, back when the artist was more craftsman than prophet. But I've also wondered if all plastic art doesn't inherently communicate something simply by virtue of existing (so the artist should be aware that the act of perception will force his art to communicate to a viewer regardless, and thus should be mindful of what his art will say).

Maybe it's all about the function you want your art to fill. Art seems an umbrella term for a thousand different things anyway, so maybe it's a matter of semantics.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on March 26, 2011, 05:27:50 pm
I was hoping to think of a simple definition that could be applied to any medium in at least some way.
It's not very original to get hung up on the definition of art, but it really is something to think about. I guess I am hoping for a simple broad definition too, I think there's a way to summarize the potential of any given artform.
I don't know if I agree with intellect and emotion being a real factor (at least to be used in an attempt at a broad definition) because they can be received in an entirely different way. I think imagination plays the largest role on the receivers end, because I would be happier just engaging someones imagination rather than a specific feeling or thought.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on March 26, 2011, 05:39:32 pm
Art is creativity manifested? I dunno, you're gonna have a hell of a time simplifying such a complex subject.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 26, 2011, 05:59:12 pm
If it's 'something to think about', anything's fine as long as your brain is stimulated. But if you're searching for a communicative definition to further an argument, then a definition becomes more and more useful 1) the narrower the scope of examination is and 2) the more detailed the definition becomes. So 'what is art' is one thing, but 'what social status art and the artist enjoyed in the sixteenth century England' is quite another. That's how people move from discussing abstracts idly while drinking with their friends and looking at the stars, to writing theses or books on aesthetics and philosophy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on March 26, 2011, 06:19:25 pm
"a celebration for the imagination" may be a better definition if you are trying to define it from the viewers perspective, while I can see the term imagination covering the result of viewing art the term doesn't fit perfectly, I don't think celebration fits well, engage is better. I don't know how useful such a broad definition is, I'm sure most people understand the concept of art on that level intuitively.

When I say intellect and emotion I mean the abilities(toolkit?) we use to communicate through art(mental abilities, not drawing skill etc.), not necessarily a specific thought or feeling. I'm sure that makes no sense but if I could describe it better I would have.

Edit: another thing is that engaging the imagination is not something unique to art and so I don't think definition can work without describing intent in some way.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on March 27, 2011, 01:25:53 pm
I can't remember where I read it but "the rhythmic expression of feeling" is about as good as a short definition can get.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: trough on March 27, 2011, 04:55:11 pm
It's easier to define music. Music is arranged sound.

But art can be lots of things. I heard art was anything that served no purpose besides "being art." But by that definition, game art is not art.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on March 27, 2011, 06:27:55 pm
that (art for art's sake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_for_art%27s_sake)) is just one philosophy of art, and is a reasonably recent idea.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on March 29, 2011, 05:42:33 am
Has anyone seen this? Card saga wars
Crono vs soma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rnBRTEEfBw
Master Chief VS Samus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDjeO1wCJmo

The artist seems familiar from pixeljoint.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on March 30, 2011, 06:32:31 pm
Has anyone else seen these two links pop-up a lot quite recently?
http://jezebel.com/#!5785846/video-game-lets-players-slap-women (http://jezebel.com/#!5785846/video-game-lets-players-slap-women)
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-walmart-dont-sell-duke-nukem-forever-with-babe-slapping-mode#?opt_new=t&opt_fb=t (http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-walmart-dont-sell-duke-nukem-forever-with-babe-slapping-mode#?opt_new=t&opt_fb=t)

Is the game sexist? How about the characters? What about the game development community? Will any of this effect it's reception (in the gaming communities) or sales?
Does this mean throwing the damsel around in Spelunky makes me sexist? If not, does sacrificing her for some loot make me sexist?

Thoughts?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on March 31, 2011, 12:37:53 pm
Duke Nukem was always sexist, wasn't it? Whether the player is sexist or not, playing a Duke Nukem game, for me only depends on whether the player has a sexist mindset from the start.

With what distance does the player play duke nukem? What part about these acts entices the player? Is it fun because it's utterly ridiculous to the player, or fun because it's fun to the player to slap a bitch?

I don't know. It was expected.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 31, 2011, 04:35:05 pm
Quote
Is the game sexist?

The game itself isn't this or that. But it can be recieved in a cultural context in which it is supporting sexism, yes. There is a difference. Art doesn't have any obligation to ethics. But the way art occurs in a society is a reflection of the ethics of artists and consumers alike. This means that Duke Nukem isn't *anything* as far as I'm concerned. But that Duke Nukem exists and is celebrated tells us that there is a lot of sexism in the developing and game playing community, absolutely.

Demonizing Duke Nukem for being a honest reflection of how people feel isn't going to do anything. It's a product you can buy or not buy, enjoy or not enjoy. But a broader discussion about gender roles in the video game industry and in the video game playing community absolutely is affected by something as high profile as Duke Nukem 'tapping asses'.

Quote
How about the characters?

A character isn't sexist. What a character says about creator and adopter/consumer though, is very much open for discussion.

Quote
What about the game development community?

Absolutely ridden with sexism and chauvinism, and not even of the ideological kind. The kind perpetuated out of sheer ignorance and perception bias.

Quote
Will any of this effect it's reception (in the gaming communities) or sales?

I don't think so, significantly, no. Duke Nukem already preached to a very specific choir, I think.

Quote
Does this mean throwing the damsel around in Spelunky makes me sexist?

No it doesn't. Please consider for a moment how it'd feel to not be part of the most privileged social group in the world (first world, white, young adult, middle class, straight, male). Please consider how it feels to be on the 'out' while people constantly belittle your problems with being in the out. Being a woman is hard. Spelunky has nothing to do with it. What people sweep under the rug and call non-priviledged Others hysterical over sweating has everything to do with it.

If you consider sexism and chauvinism a bad thing, something you'd like to see less of in the world, you can start by being more sensitive to the plight of individuals who aren't in your priviledged position. Just to consider them. It took me a long while to get to doing that as well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on March 31, 2011, 05:15:40 pm
I don't care because I know how to draw the line between reality and a video game. If parents don't want their kids to be influenced by video games like these then they should actually look at the rating and tell them no.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 31, 2011, 05:20:02 pm
Video games can't influence you, let's say. But they tell you how people really feel often.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on March 31, 2011, 05:36:26 pm
Video games can't influence you, let's say. But they tell you how people really feel often.

I can't say I agree. I play video games because they're not real life, and they're fun. In Grand Theft Auto it's fun to just run down the streets and not worry about if you hit pedestrians, in fact, seeing them fly 40ft into the air was always funny. Do you think that it means I really want to grab a car and start running people over, even if I know not to do it?

I have a deep respect for women, being raised in a household of with mother and three sisters(and no brothers), but I can still play a game like GTA or Duke Nukem without having it influence me, or more importantly, thinking it's reflecting some deep inner hate against people/women.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 31, 2011, 06:08:52 pm
Quote
Do you think that it means I really want to grab a car and start running people over, even if I know not to do it?

Do I think you have death fantasies and power fantasies just like you have sexual fantasies? Of course. What is so shocking in that?

edit: to flesh out my reply a bit further: in a different social time, with different social rules, you'd be mowing people down with your chariot like a motherfucker. This is not 'bad' or 'good', it's just how... humanity works.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on March 31, 2011, 06:45:55 pm
Quote
Do you think that it means I really want to grab a car and start running people over, even if I know not to do it?

Do I think you have death fantasies and power fantasies just like you have sexual fantasies? Of course. What is so shocking in that?

edit: to flesh out my reply a bit further: in a different social time, with different social rules, you'd be mowing people down with your chariot like a motherfucker. This is not 'bad' or 'good', it's just how... humanity works.

Maybe, but I'd also be a totally different person regardless. Environment when growing up has a great influence on who you become, I think.

In the end though, I can play a game like GTA and run over a person and not care because I know it's just a game. On the otherhand, I can witness someone actually being hit by a car(which I have) and feel genuine concern for the person.

I don't believe, given the opportunity to be in a world without order, law, and morality, that everyone who enjoys games like GTA/Duke Nukem would suddenly start doing everything they enjoy in the games.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 31, 2011, 09:42:47 pm
You'd be different, but you'd still have a sex drive and a death drive. Reading some of Dr. Freud's work might be of interest to you.

"It's just a game" is a very insidious little thing to say. You run someone down in GTA knowing full well what internal desires this is feeding. They do not directly translate to killing people in the real world, that's a simple way to look at what I am saying. Nor do irrational desires for death and destruction bar you from being able to feel empathy. Emotions aren't either/or, they're not binary, life is not a bioware rpg where you're either space jesus or superjerk.

In a world without order, law and morality (back in the onset of human civilization) human beings created order, law and morality so as to stratify the desires of the wealthy few on the backs of the poor masses. Behind closed doors everything you consider despicable and inhuman is entertained by those that are beyond the reach of order, law and morality. The poor can die in the shit, and the middle class (us) can play videogames where they pretend to be the ones in power instead.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: trough on April 01, 2011, 12:33:21 am
It's interesting to read this. Do you think all people have a "Death Drive?" I really can't remember ever wanting any deaths to occur.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 01, 2011, 01:51:55 am
What I theorize is not very important. You can read great psychologists, philosophers and authors ponder on this forever if you want. Here's a start http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_drive
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on April 03, 2011, 06:22:39 am
Helm: What I could muster from that reading, it seems that the death drive is dealing more about the want of self harm, much in the ways when we're depressed we think about more sad things and thus often spiral deeper. It didn't seem to me at all that the death drive was linked to any fantasies to harm others.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 03, 2011, 11:22:52 am
I find it crass to debate the possibility of violent fantasies and death drive not existing just so we can feel better about what videogames represent in our modern lives.

It seems to me the death drive very much has to do with self harm and the harm of others. When we shoot someone in the face in a videogame, we empathize both with the one doing the harm and the one getting harmed, there's power in proactive violence and in the slave mentality of being helpless to  a violence. What can I say? If you're interested in the subject you can educate yourself further. A discussion on it without a foundation won't be of much use. You could say "yes, but..." and I can reply "no, but..." for a long time and we'll get to know each other better like that, but if you want to actively learn the most you can on the subject, read the philosophical and psychological sources instead. Let's just agree that the human mechanism is very complex and that any of our shallow predictions about how it works do not delicately represent the reality of the situation. Videogames aren't 'just' videogames just how anything isn't 'just' anything.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: trough on April 03, 2011, 03:49:28 pm
Agreed. I think I misunderstood what you meant in your earlier post. (If you don't really care for further explanation, feel free to skip over this post and talk about something else)

I wasn't trying to deny it for the sake of making video game violence seem more socially acceptable. It was just something I hadn't thought of before. I agree completely that video games can be a way to satisfy the death drive without causing any real-life problems. But the death drive varies in strength by each person. To some people with a weaker death drive, violence is not only unsatisfying, but disturbing. I'll agree that I have this drive, otherwise I wouldn't have enjoyed Metroid Prime so much.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on April 05, 2011, 09:16:21 am
Has anyone played the minitroid tech demo? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGgApXz0X68

I just beat it. It's a pretty nice little game.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zenobia on April 07, 2011, 12:41:18 pm
Edit: [fml]
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on April 08, 2011, 02:27:07 am
Umm, same here. Literally the exact same story, so I'm wondering if it's the same person (though this would be better to discuss through PMs)... I know they had a few other people from here working with them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Alonso on April 11, 2011, 05:05:47 am
The reason why we would like to run people over with cars, rape and kill is because it's in our most primordial nature to do it. Supposed occidental civilisation has, as Freud once said (and I don't agree very much), made one of the most repressive systems to be had. We can't even think about doing wrong, and we're already punishing ourselves for thinking about it. I would like to think these acts of violence do take place, although it be in the mind. They're just as powerful and liberating, but they have the advantage of remaining just as possibility (and not fact, although they're just as meaningful as if they were fact). There's a huge undertaking to be made when we bring the word "possibility" into the conversation (there's also a huge road to explore with "death" and "time", but I'm sure most wouldn't be as interested as me) :).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: #36005A on April 12, 2011, 11:55:35 pm
I am fairly sure my boss is going to e-mail me later today that I will not get paid for my work. Once again. Even though I had a proper contract this time too.

Then why not take legal action? Isn't that what the contract is there for?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on April 13, 2011, 12:46:40 am
Dunno if anyone has seen this: http://www.gamesradar.com/f/cave-story-remake-announced-for-3ds/a-2011021016228990012
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grinner on April 13, 2011, 06:53:51 am
Finally, someone's making a 2.5 d game for the 3DS.
I personally think the graphics look nicer (I didn't care much for the original's pixel art graphics).
I didn't like Cave Story that much, so I'm not really interested in this, but still - it looks very nice.

Also, there's another Humble Bundle released:
http://www.humblebundle.com/
There are only games from the one developer, but whatever, it's practically free!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Zenobia on April 13, 2011, 07:07:25 am
I am fairly sure my boss is going to e-mail me later today that I will not get paid for my work. Once again. Even though I had a proper contract this time too.

Then why not take legal action? Isn't that what the contract is there for?

[...]
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on April 13, 2011, 07:08:28 am
Dunno if anyone has seen this: http://www.gamesradar.com/f/cave-story-remake-announced-for-3ds/a-2011021016228990012

they really need to stop that.  let the good game be a good game and make something new.  bleh.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on April 13, 2011, 06:12:39 pm
Dunno if anyone has seen this: http://www.gamesradar.com/f/cave-story-remake-announced-for-3ds/a-2011021016228990012

they really need to stop that.  let the good game be a good game and make something new.  bleh.

I don't agree. I thought Cave Story was a fun game, but if you ask a lot of mainstream gamers, they probably would tell you they've never played it. A great little title that flew under the radar, if you will. By making a remake as this, it may help boost it's popularity, intrigue, the possible the demand for more titles such as this, and maybe even more old school 2d games. At that point, hopefully pixel artists, like myself, may get more job opportunities to quell the demand.

Of course, this is all wishful thinking. But optimism never hurts.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on April 13, 2011, 09:27:19 pm
They already had an okay remake of Cave Story for the Wii. But this just seems bad, given how far removed it's becoming from the source material. Sort of looks like Crash Bandicoot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on April 14, 2011, 05:40:52 am
It's weird to refer anyone to a different forum, but this post has some cool pixel tile sets in it:
http://lostvikings.lordaeron.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=35
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cassowary on April 15, 2011, 11:44:55 pm
Man this site is intense. Starting to wonder whether joining was such a good idea. I feel like such a newb.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on April 16, 2011, 12:11:28 am
I can't help it. I randomly burst blood vessels in my head, that's how intense I am!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cassowary on April 16, 2011, 05:48:30 pm
... how are you still alive? You're so intense that you heal up immediately after?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: big brother on April 16, 2011, 06:19:31 pm
I wish. I should probably see an intense doctor.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on April 16, 2011, 06:24:19 pm
Man this site is intense. Starting to wonder whether joining was such a good idea. I feel like such a newb.

You think this site is intense? Man, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

...EXTREEEME!! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/)

[gasp]

Okay, look. I know everyone's heard of this place. I just thought it was a good opportunity for a reference. Besides, I love that site so much even though I haven't joined. If I didn't love it, I wouldn't have referenced it, now would I?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on April 18, 2011, 01:35:56 pm
I'm so fucking scared of conceptart.org

That's all
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on April 18, 2011, 02:22:40 pm
I'm so fucking scared of conceptart.org

That's all
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mush on April 22, 2011, 08:12:34 am
Quote
I'm so fucking scared of conceptart.org

Why?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on April 22, 2011, 09:00:12 am
Quote
I'm so fucking scared of conceptart.org

Why?

Here, Jad, I'll spoiler this sentence for your sanity. Consider it a favor.

Oh, what, we can't put spoilers on things? Damn. Okay...

˙ʇı ɥƃnoɹɥʇ oƃ oʇ ƃuıllıʍ ʇou ǝɹ,noʎ ɟı ʎɹɐɔs ʎʇʇǝɹd sı dɯɐɔ ʎɯɹɐ ˙sʇsıʇɹɐ ǝqɐuuɐʍ ɹoɟ dɯɐɔ ʎɯɹɐ ǝʞıl s,ʇı ˙ʇı oʇ ǝɟıl ɹnoʎ ɟo ɥɔnɯ ǝʇoʌǝp oʇ sı ʇɐɥʇ op oʇ ʎɐʍ ʎluo ǝɥʇ 'ʍouʞ llɐ ʎǝɥʇ--ǝʍ sɐ 'puɐ ˙poƃ ʇɹɐ ǝɹoɔpɹɐɥ ɐ dn puǝ oʇ noʎ sʇuɐʍ ǝɹǝɥʇ ǝuoʎɹǝʌǝ ʇsoɯ ǝsnɐɔǝq ʎlqɐqoɹd s,ʇı

...Army camp...

Why did I think of it that way? Scratch that, why didn't I? :yell:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on April 23, 2011, 03:40:08 pm
Hm.. I'm curious, how is everyone? Is it me or I don't seem to see the old regulars this days  :(
Work, gigs and family eh? I guess I'm being nostalgic.

I "sometimes" think when you finally got your skills to a level that is good enough in the industry you graduate from pixelation  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 24, 2011, 06:07:50 am
I'm good, life is still a bit unsettled- we had another large earthquake a week ago, I've been working on my game (Fetch Quest) pretty decently for a while now and we'll be throwing up a demo soon, I'll be sure to let you guys know.  :y:


Happy magical rabbit day everyone!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on April 25, 2011, 03:17:00 am
Froli: I still check up on the forums pretty frequently, as does Xion to a lesser degree, I believe. The 'graduation' part is pretty accurate though, I think eventually you learn a good chunk of the things the forums have to offer and then you can either continue learning on your own, or find a forum based around more fluid art mediums (which are more apt to learning fine art things). Or you can be like me and find an unhappy medium where you have just enough contact with learning-centric groups that you're aware you're on the wrong road ;).

Oh, but on a personal level, I'm trying to make flash games for money and somewhat failing (I end up learning a lot with each attempt but get no money) :-[.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cassowary on April 25, 2011, 03:30:44 am
Man this site is intense. Starting to wonder whether joining was such a good idea. I feel like such a newb.

You think this site is intense? Man, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

...EXTREEEME!! (http://www.conceptart.org/forums/)

[gasp]

Okay, look. I know everyone's heard of this place. I just thought it was a good opportunity for a reference. Besides, I love that site so much even though I haven't joined. If I didn't love it, I wouldn't have referenced it, now would I?
I've never heard of it. And now I know why. So above me... too high to even see  :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on April 26, 2011, 04:35:08 pm
Rather pointless post incoming, but has anyone noticed the slight increase of spambots lately? Some of them just make me laugh. Others really creep me out.

On that note, the "leather bags are delicate" bot (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=12258.msg122046#new) is certainly one of them. I don't know what it is exactly. But the way all the words are pieced together in loose, nonsensical sentences, blatantly revealing the account's status is somehow... Entertaining in a disturbing way. Hard to say, really. It's very odd, blabbering on for pages like the voices in a schizophrenic's head.* It's certainly not like any bot I've ever seen.

Clipping:

Quote
4, canvas width:
 
 width: refers to the zonal width of the canvas, often in the international Used in the country,
 inches and centimeters conversion formula: 1 inch = 2.54 cm
 common conversion in the form canvas width calculation:
 inches centimeters general usage
 36 90cm
 47 :
 7, strong: the powerful man-made cotton less than cotton, especially in wet conditions, rayon fastness is poor, when compared from the fabric edge spinning, stretching, more cotton, rayon wire easily broken, so most of rayon thick texture, no cotton yarn as thin.
 
 1. plain cloth plain cloth in common is the use of plain weave woven system, warp and weft of the linear density and fabric weft yarn density in the same or similar. Depending on the thickness of warp and weft can be divided into coarse cloth, Zhongping cloth and fine cloth.

:huh:

Overall, just a slight increase in spambots. Interesting ones. Maybe it's just me.

(*I don't know, I'm not a schizophrenic. Sorry if I offended any schizophrenics.)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on April 26, 2011, 05:26:49 pm
Glad to see Sherman Gil and Takam! :D
We are still missing a few handful of guys though. Where are you?! Even for a short time.. Just drop by and say hi! :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 27, 2011, 01:11:08 pm
I've been working on my game (Fetch Quest) pretty decently for a while now and we'll be throwing up a demo soon, I'll be sure to let you guys know.  :y:
Oh, we're done!
Please guys, I'd love to hear what you think about our game so far, keep in mind this is mainly an engine demo but I still think it's pretty fun.
(http://i53.tinypic.com/256btyd.gif)
Download here (http://fetchquest.wordpress.com/)

If you'd like to discuss it over at TIGsource (http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=19253.0)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on April 27, 2011, 04:14:04 pm
Hey, .TakaM, that engine looks pretty nice and I'll definitely be taking a look at it soon. But from the GIF you just posted the only problem I have right now, graphic-wise, is that the character's movements seem a bit stiff, namely when he takes a swing at the snail. That seems like a pretty powerful move. Maybe have him lean a bit more?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on April 27, 2011, 08:12:10 pm
This is so wonderful! I just can't fathom how I'm supposed to get that one last ruby and last health in the bottom left corner of the map. It's driving me mad. :blind:

Otherwise, it controls beatifully, the graphics flow smoothly and it's wonderful fun even in the demo stage!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jad on April 27, 2011, 09:38:44 pm
This is looking hella sexy, I'm gonna play it HARD : D coming back with more feedbac after having played
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on April 28, 2011, 01:52:44 am
Played it, love the smooth animation/artwork and the controls are easy to use. I got a bit frustrated at the wall bouncing in order to get that additional life bar .. but with a gamepad this would be probably get easy for me :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on April 28, 2011, 05:00:12 pm
This is so wonderful! I just can't fathom how I'm supposed to get that one last ruby and last health in the bottom left corner of the map. It's driving me mad. :blind:

Like this (Warning: 4 MB, 249 frame GIF): http://nimga.com/m/nuwIZ.gif

I get hit by the plant on purpose, then use the mercy invincibility to kick off the first wall.

Edit: Replaced the gif with one that's half the size. I figure it doesn't need to be full quality. I took out every other frame, and edited out the time spent positioning myself.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on April 28, 2011, 07:16:01 pm
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/huzba/cyberninja_intro.png)
"cyber ninja, suspended in deep-lurk, ancient arts extracted for evil, still conscious, waiting for a release..."
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on April 28, 2011, 07:36:25 pm
Ai Weiwei has vanished. Please sign the petition!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/artists_for_ai_weiwei



omg kasumi <3 You're magical  : D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ovyx on April 29, 2011, 12:31:35 am
.TakaM, the game looks sweet!  :D
Might I suggest a low swipe by pressing down and X?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on May 02, 2011, 02:16:00 am
o n o so much spam!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on May 02, 2011, 02:26:12 am
Need new capchas or something :(

Every night at 10 it happens.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 02, 2011, 02:30:10 am
This forum version is three security patches behind. Maybe that has something to do with it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on May 02, 2011, 07:47:28 am
Might be. We actually updated the forum, but then the whole forum got deleted (minus the database) because of some accident and the restored version seems to be the older version again. It will get updated again, but likely not before early july.
There will always be some spammers coming through, most are caught via a plugin we have installed. And the rest will get deleted as I see them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 02, 2011, 04:19:12 pm
I feel like I've deleted half of china sometimes :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on May 04, 2011, 02:32:35 am
gotta love that spam

:crazy:

They're good storytellers, too. Got a couple of them saved on my PC. Classic stuff, really; but not all of them, though.

Also, thanks for the popcorn Mathias.

damn can't find anything else to talk about how do i cover up this stupid topic

EDIT:

Wow, "jacklong"'s literally churning out this stuff. This popcorn will come in handy anyway.

hdsiugiugsai
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on May 04, 2011, 02:54:27 am
I just don't understand what the hell the posts are trying to accomplish... you think they'd even TRY to trick someone.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on May 04, 2011, 04:59:50 am
Quote
But such a greedy woman can maintain a perfect body that is extremely rare, and where Xi Feng their appetite is not large, or rather small, could not help but also secretly envy Gulina appetite. After all, health is the foundation for ensuring the efficient, and myself have often been tortured stomach, Gein has been established Champs Hin.

They even deal with real issues.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 04, 2011, 06:28:31 am
*guffaw*  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on May 13, 2011, 07:52:33 pm
http://is.gd/R3dQsH a video of a 3d deconstruction of the RGB elements in a woman's portrait...I found it pretty amazing =) (the link's to my tumblr)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: bengo on May 14, 2011, 10:34:36 pm
I don't know if anyone knows about this yet. I may be late on this, but theres a new MAME emulator that is developed specifically for shmups. What drew me to this emulator was the fact it could run some newer (not too new) Cave games including Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou, EspGaluda, and Ketsui. I figured you might all be interested so I'll link to the emulator: http://shmupmame.wordpress.com/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Moribund on May 16, 2011, 03:08:58 am
Check out this really swag game, guys. Its got dem pixel art and everything (http://forums.datarealms.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=23692&start=0)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on May 16, 2011, 03:14:24 pm
Check out this really swag game, guys. Its got dem pixel art and everything (http://forums.datarealms.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=23692&start=0)

Whoa.

It's like Terraria. (Which is like Minecraft.) I would say better, but that's just graphically, as I haven't gotten to buying it yet. On that note Terraria's supposed to be out today, isn't it?

Seems I can't connect to any servers, won't let me press the button... Damn, only played it once and all the buttons have stopped working. It just takes me back to the main menu. What can I expect though? It's in alpha. I'll be sure to tell the team of geniuses who came up with this thing soon, see if I can find a solution.

Edit: Works now, and it's great! Save for an abundance of griefers. The spawning tent sunk to the bottom of the map, and we had to make a giant ladder to get back up.

I guess I should share a few things I found lately and fell in love with, just to return the favor:

Note: The player's a bit (very) loud. Turn down your volume first. Especially if you're wearing headphones as the site logo demonstrates. (It also loops arrgh.)
This chiptune (http://keygenjukebox.com/?i=NoWa.ru_-_Reflexive_Killer_v2.02.mp3) has been in my head for the past, what, week? I think it's turning into an ear worm. Mostly the part that kicks in at 0:36 though. Here's hoping your musical taste and/or/= immunity to ear worms isn't like mine. Lucky sons of--

Oh, yeah. And a collection of various Unity games (http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=13377.0) over at the TIGSource forums. Not sure if any of you found it yet, maybe you did.

There's also this (http://teknopants.com/games/uberleben/) game.

I keep forgetting this is a thread and not some personal blog... :yell:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on May 16, 2011, 09:23:42 pm
KAG is awesome, thanks for the link. And our very own Geti made it! *applause*

I just wish that more than 6 people would play at any given time : D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 18, 2011, 05:34:18 am
This thread lacks cat pictures.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 18, 2011, 04:36:17 pm
oh god oh god KITTEN I LOVE YOU :y: :y: :y: :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on May 18, 2011, 08:58:52 pm
For US citizens,  the National Endowment for the Arts provides grants for non-profit artwork.  This year they have included video games in their list of media platforms.  Announcement here: http://arts.gov/grants/apply/AIM-presentation.html (http://arts.gov/grants/apply/AIM-presentation.html)

Heck, Pixelation could establish itself as a non-profit (US) corporation and apply for a grant to promote the arts as well.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on May 20, 2011, 05:06:40 am
did nobody check the RGB video I posted? it's called "fragments of rgb", in it you see the pixels of a woman's portrait broken down to it's rgb componnents and then the dots of each channel start spinning and acting up it's really good...I really want to see what my fellow pixelartists think about this possibility! I think it would be crazy to see some pixelart with this threatment

REPOST for stubborness =OOOO
http://conzeit.tumblr.com/post/5431162885/georgeous-reminder-that-all-we-see-in-this-screen
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ovyx on May 20, 2011, 05:24:15 am
That's brilliant, should be a weekly challenge at PixelJoint. :o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on May 20, 2011, 06:04:23 pm
I'm not really sure what you're proposing, conceit. I'm thinking that's a render of some crazy 3D scripting taking a bitmap image and generating some particle effects animation using it. Not only do I have no desire to try, I wouldn't know where to start.

But the video itself is amazing. Mind boggling for sure!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on May 21, 2011, 02:40:52 am
I'm not really proposing anything I just thought people that probably geek out about pixels as much as I do would dig it :p

if I coded or I knew someone that could do something like that I'd propose something but...meh :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 21, 2011, 02:57:15 am
LSD is better. You should try it some time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on May 21, 2011, 06:45:06 pm
Tell us about your LSD usage, blu.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on May 25, 2011, 05:16:17 pm
Lot's of RPG sprites and stuff on the forum as always, but has there ever been a game that's been made using some sort of an RPG creation program that's worth paying money for? (Or has in fact made some money?) I don't follow this scene but love RPGs so I wanna know..  If there is one I wanna try it out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on May 25, 2011, 05:44:57 pm
The only name that comes to my mind as possibly good and made with an RPG maker is Yume Nikki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yume_Nikki), and it's not really an RPG.

That said, I've never played it. I have a huge queue of indie games to play and it's somewhere late on it.

I have never played a game made with an RPG maker that I have liked, though. When the "free to use" graphics are used, it's a turn off. When the standard battle/movement system is used, it's a turn off. When they significantly mod the system, I think it would have been less work to just program it.

I too, would be interested in a good indie RPG to add to my indie queue, RPG maker or no.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on May 26, 2011, 09:55:16 pm
DMT is better. You should try it some time.

fixeded :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on May 26, 2011, 11:03:23 pm
Tell us about your DMT usage, conceit.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on May 27, 2011, 09:32:01 pm
So much spam   :sry:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on May 27, 2011, 10:46:33 pm
It's everywhere on SMF. Time for a change? Some kind of riddle to get in?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on May 28, 2011, 12:11:33 am
It's everywhere on SMF. Time for a change? Some kind of riddle to get in?
Or a rubix cube. Can we make those with html5?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Fawful on May 28, 2011, 12:24:17 pm
So much spam   :sry:
isn't that the point of offtopic?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on May 28, 2011, 03:56:41 pm
So much spam   :sry:
isn't that the point of offtopic?
I believe they are referring to the spam on the forum. UPDATE YOUR SMF! USE A CAPTCHA(like) PLUG-IN!

I recommend anything with a riddle or a picture of Michael Jordan.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Fawful on May 28, 2011, 04:44:50 pm
oh, i hadn't noticed it
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Joe on May 29, 2011, 04:14:41 am
Quote
LSD is better. You should try it some time.

Quote
DMT is better. You should try it some time.

I think they're almost impossible to compare.  But if you two weren't joking, then that's awesome.  And I'm curious as to what insights you've had.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 29, 2011, 08:29:20 pm
I haven't tried DMT, but I do LSD once or twice a year. Very good for inspiration. This lady pretty much sums up my feelings on using it:

http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/journalism/telegraphdrugs.htm (http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/journalism/telegraphdrugs.htm)

I would mirror the things she says about exploring the best and worst parts of yourself. If you're not mentally prepared to face the darker side of yourself you can get lost in a bad trip for hours. That's why I only do it once or twice a year.

I used to smoke marijuana quite regularly, but I have found that light weekend social drinking with friends tends to mellow me out more nowadays.

Also, a huge post on LSD:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2497360
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 01, 2011, 02:58:53 am
So we're actually doing this? Cool =) you'll see Photocopier that wasnt  precisely spam :p.

DMT is the active ingredient in Yage/Ayahuasca, a native drug that's become popular in the psychedelic community lately, in my country specially it's becoming more and more fashionable. I've never actually tried pure DMT and I'm not sure that I would, what I experienced with Yage was very dense and it was trough 8 hours, DMT is supposed to be the same thing but in 15 minutes, and it's said to be absolutely the most intense psychedelic experience you can have.

Something that also influenced me a lot was Terence Mckenna, who is equally respectful of them and is useful in fitting these ideas for cerebral occidental folks such as myself :p. I reccomend his book True Hallucinations. Mckenna is very speculative, you shouldnt follow his ideas as something 100% true, he's very speculative and it'd be silly to believe what he says, but that's kind of the point because his whole outlook is about empowering your own critical mind, it's this outlook what I think is valuable about him as well as his respect for indigenous people http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMNAOk1bMDw if you want more there's loads of material here http://deoxy.org/mckenna.htm

What Yage is, is a soup made out of several plants sacred to indigenous people, 2 of which are responsible for the hallucinogenic aspect, but the soup as a whole also acts as a purgant, so you puke and you shit and you're also tripping out of your mind, you might leave your body (I didnt) but it also gives you an outlook on all of your life and makes you see why you do the mistakes you do, so all of it's effects including the puking are seen as a phisical and spiritual "cleansing". Personally it gave me the assurance that the good part of you is what really exists, what is the center of you while the rest is just shit you pick up. I have only done yage once, but I've tried one thing or the other over the last few years, but no more often than 6 months, I believe these things are to be respected.

I think Blumunkee's position on LSD is positive, honestly I havent tried it because being in Colombia it seems better to go for more indigenous aproaches than LSD, we also obviously have some LSD culture but I havent been intrigued enough to try it. I've tried Psilocybin mushrooms in natural contexts tough, and I dont know how similar it is to LSD but if you take just a bit of Shrooms I could see using something like that for inspiration.

What Terence says about LSD is that he went to seek DMT and Yage because he didnt think LSD was fullfilling the promiss of trippyness he expected :p, he found it far more trasnforming and I'm pretty sure that view is widesperead.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tsugumo on June 04, 2011, 04:33:14 am
Hey, all!  Tsugumo back from the dead here, but unfortunately not in a very pixely form!

Been busy taking a business course and getting an iPhone dev license and working on a game that should be going live this Sunday.  I've been documenting the progress of it over at Bulletproof Outlaws (http://www.bulletproofoutlaws.com/) with pretty much 100+ days worth of daily updates.  Derek of Ravenous Games (http://www.ravenousgames.com/) (who made the pixel intensive League of Evil (http://www.leagueofevilgame.com/) for the iPhone) did the programming.

It's all hand-drawn and "3d cel-shaded to look 2d" art because the iDevices are powerful enough to push some pretty large graphics around and I wanted to try making something anime-ish, though I haven't left pixels forever...I'll probably be doing some pixel art for a League of Evil update down the road!

Here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8YJdLpICu8

And here are some screenshots:

(http://bulletproofoutlaws.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ElusiveNinja_iPad_screenshot0.png)

(http://bulletproofoutlaws.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ElusiveNinja_iPad_screenshot1.png)

(http://bulletproofoutlaws.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ElusiveNinja_iPad_screenshot3.png)

(http://bulletproofoutlaws.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ElusiveNinja_iPad_screenshot4.png)

It's not pixel art but I figured I'd pop in and let you guys know that I'm not dead yet, I'm just too busy to have much of a message board presence anywhere.  :)  Good to see the place is still running and doing awesome, and that some familiar names are still around.

- Tsugumo
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on June 04, 2011, 07:01:53 am
I always liked to think you were here the whole time, it's just that we couldn't hear or see you because you're a ninja stalking the shadows.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on June 04, 2011, 10:43:35 am
Tsugumo lives!

*Festival*


Love the neon projectiles, though the arrow looks kind of blunt. D: Still, any game with Bundle of TNT as an item is instantly incredible.

Best of luck!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tsugumo on June 04, 2011, 12:02:31 pm
I always liked to think you were here the whole time, it's just that we couldn't hear or see you because you're a ninja stalking the shadows.

haha I lurk sometimes just to see how the pixel art world is doing. And, you know, to assassinate the occasional unsuspecting victim or two.

Anyone going to E3 this year?

- Tsugumo
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: digitaldust on June 04, 2011, 01:14:31 pm
Hi, I'm still alive or something. I'm hiding in a hole because I'm sort of destroying myself with self-training of 3D modelling, and I haven't even finished my first character, mostly due to the fact that she's become some kind of testbed of technique polishing. Some aren't impressed at how much time I've spent on her, but eh, it's not really good looking anyway.

But that's besides the point. Anyone remember Skullgirls (http://www.skullgirls.com/home)? Alex Ahad posted here a few years ago about it, and now he's assembled quite a team of buddies to help him with the animations, and I can't wait to look at them up close and personal, because the videos they show of them are absolute diabetic eyecandy to look at.

To top it all off, they managed to hire Michiru-freakin'-Yamane for the jazzy BGMs the game is going for. She's not slacking off in quality, as usual.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on June 05, 2011, 04:58:30 am
heh
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 05, 2011, 07:39:50 am
Yep, seems like Alex Ahad really upped the quality bar when he decided to do without pixelart, I was specially impressed with the way he separated the volume from the coloring, so he now has sprites made in photoshop that can be recolored. I know pretty technical but I wasnt sure this could be done and to me this speaks of how he's not holding back one bit.

Honestly I feel more and more the reason we stick with pixelart comes down to nostalgia...if it isnt expanded to things like ascii or modular art, vectors and whatnot it seems like there's no more appeal in it...I havent been thinking "pixel-perfect" for a while anyway, so maybe I'm not one to talk :p

Welcome Tsugumo! glad you're getting down to busyness and releasing your own games and stuff...this is Camus BTW :p. You should put back up that little priest sprite you used to have way back when, it's so iconic to me =).

(http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/baybaybom/PixelationBanner.gif) You guys remember the first time we considered pixelation having a banner? :p I submitted this..heheh I was pretty crazy about those two sprites =)...looks kinda passive agressive in retrospective but I didnt mean that XD
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ovyx on June 05, 2011, 08:15:11 am
 neat.  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Joe on June 05, 2011, 10:37:58 pm
@blu: Interesting articles.  I do the same thing as that woman as far as using it to explore my consciousness, although I'm not so keen on trying drugs outside the hallucinogens as she is.  The second link I found that I could relate to many things that people said.  This:

Quote
Bad trips were something else. We're talking about seeing everything bad about myself and humanity, which considering the basically selfish nature of a human is quite something. Very black-and-white, good-and-evil thinking, alternating between extremes. Synthesizing sounds, colors, physical things around me. When I read about people going nuts or harming themselves, I'm not surprised. Very black-and-white thinking can lead to some alarming thoughts.

I'd find that if I spent a few hours spiraling on that I could lose the ego totally and emerge with a very objective sense of the world. A world in balance, things as they should be, personal and friends' faults accepted, insights into myself and others. I definitely made some amazing self-discoveries, but at significant risk.

I feel that very strongly.  Many times before I read this I would describe to my friends that certain experience in a trip as "spiraling down," where your thoughts follow this pattern that just keeps zooming in on a subject, almost like that subject becomes a fractal.  But in my experience when you break out of that spiral, you can fell that you've integrated with a piece of your unconcious.

@Conceit:  I've heard of McKenna before but never actually read any of his stuff but I read Tryptamine Hallucinogens and Consciousness from your second link and it was interesting hearing his own experiences with it.  And as you said, his theories are way out there, but after your mind is opened to a whole new world, anything is possible really.  I've never done ayahuasca, and I hate throwing up so much I don't think I'll ever do it.  But the first time I did DMT, actually all of the times I've done it... It is literally the most powerful experience I have ever had, that I can remember in this life.  It is terrifying to feel as though you are not a part of your body.  But the implications... these things are what make these compounds so amazing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 06, 2011, 07:29:35 am
Joe, that little thing about being focused on a subject being like zooming in a fractal..perfect description. The intensity of that experience really convinced me that your ego is fake, the way zooming fractally on an idea like that makes you forget even who you are and lose yourself completely just finally convinced me that the ego is just a really bloated idea that we've been chucking stuff on for years and years. Made me feel my screen name is pretty true, it's all just a big conceit.

it's weird with these things. how art intertwines with psychedelia too, I go into these psychedelic experiences and BOOM, you know how an aesthetic impression of the world comes to dominate your whole perception in a moment,  I feel like it is totally new at the moment, but days weeks or months later reflecting on the experience all of a sudden I realize some phrase or a random scribble from years ago described that same perception, only it was much more minute. it's like getting some artistic dream realized instantaenously, with absolute care to detail and without losing a bit of spontaneity.

About throwing up & ayahuasca, I didnt even throw up...and some people who have thrown up told me they didnt mind in that state,  honestly I loathe throwing up too...yet I imagine that I still wouldnt mind in that state because you're really recognizing all this crap you carry that you dont need, so throwing up would seem like a fitting symbolic action for getting rid of that crap. When I took yage it was in a group setting, I recall hearing a woman cry her heart out and a bunch of people throwing up at the same time, but even THAT cacophony seemed really beautiful, because the cry was a very intense expression of life, and the puking...it's not the same as when you puke because you're drunk or sick, because people werent going "aaagh"*barf!* holding it back until it bursted out, it sounded like it just flowed out, sounded more like water being poured. I know it sounds disgusting but I think you'd understand an altered consciousness would change that, and Yage makes you quite compassionate.

DMT....yeah...that sounds like what McKenna describes, actually I wanna test something, have you ever been in the dome? heheh...he says anyone who'd done it would know what that means. I'd love to hear more...because Mckenna's descriptions of it have made it quite imprinted in my mind, and while it's the same compound it's supposed to be completely opposite to ayahuasca.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Joe on June 07, 2011, 11:46:50 pm
Oh yeah.  Art definitely has an intimate relationship with psychedelics.  I think the reason is the art we make is rooted in our perception, of the objects we portray and our understanding of how the world is, and they alter that incredibly.  Like for example, I'm sure you know that when you're drawing something, in your mind you break it up into regions and break those up into colored shapes, etc.  I was able to do that fine before, but once on acid I started concentrating on "perceiving."  I concentrated very hard on a shape that belonged to a pamphlet at a very skewed perspective like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/7c2VA.png)

And I was able to perceive the orange shape as completely two dimensional, with no interference coming from the perspective.  I don't know if you can do that, but since then I've been honing that skill.  I've also been given the gift of visualization, to a small degree, whereas before I could not do it at all.  But at this point in time, if I concentrate very hard I can project an image of something onto a solid colored surface.

But no, I have not encountered this dome yet.  I've only had the chance to do it 5 times now, and each time it's only 5 minutes.  It's extremely tricky; there's this enormous wave of energy that comes over you, and you either ride it or miss it.  And it takes a lot of concentration to ride it.  So far I've only been able to be just outside of my body.  But I'm sure an individual with McKenna's experience would know of it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on June 08, 2011, 02:12:04 am
I've actually come across a very similar phenomenon while on shrooms once. as I looked out at a lake and the trees behind it, the entire scene's perspective seemed to fade away and it became almost photographic in nature, although the space entirely living and moving still. very interesting, not sure if such a discovery has really helped, though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 08, 2011, 04:58:07 am
hahaha, I'm loving this. I knew there were some psychedelic undercurrents in some PixelJoint pieces but actually talking about this stuff in Pixelation is waaay cool, pretty fitting now that there's a proposal to end the war on drugs on the way to ONU backed by over 500.00 people (avaaz) and some presidents and ex presidents from drug producing countries  :D here's hoping that goes well.

I never tried what you described of removing perspective, but I can definitively see that you could do that, one of the things I enjoyed about Psilocybin was to look at a tree, and see how different sections of leaves would go into the foreground and into the background again, and that made it look like there were figures shifting inside the tree, and sometimes you'd see faces and it'd seem like they were gesticulating to you...I'm almost sure that's what the whole deal with the greenman is about.

On the DMT thing, he says that you have to get affected by DMT, and then take ANOTHER hit, this is what he calls a "heroic" dose. This is how you get to the "Dome" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oigtSg6ZFiw here he describes it a bit...:p

IDK I personally enjoy this, but every time I post I feel like this might be not the topic for Pixelation, does anyone feel so? should we do this in PM?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on June 08, 2011, 07:56:29 am
Ah, I can't help but spur on the psychedelic talk a bit, though it is inherently (at the bottom of the spiral) something that cannot be communicated (by its nature), and certainly can be known only experientially, though all these 'fingers pointing at the moon' I find interesting, especially hearing other people's analogies. It certainly magnifies whatever you bring into the trip, and I find that if I enter it with an attitude of acceptance and submission then I allow the acid to create a much more profound experience, without my interruption. When it reaches zero kelvin and enters into that silence-of-silences, that complete letting go of all ideas/emotions/concepts, without reflection or the desire to communicate the experience, even to oneself- that's when it borders on the spiritual and earns its entheogenic classification.

I usually relate to a sinking analogy, with non-lucid life being the sloshing current on the surface (characterized by being rooted in the thinking mind), and acid acting as a catalyst to bring these energies to a still point, almost as if there were something like gravity pulling me down to that place-that-can't-be-expressed. I'm sort of a religion geek, so I'm always interested with the striking parallels between these experiences and concepts like Nirvana and the Kingdom of God (Huxley called it Moksha Medicine, after all). I personally like 'the Riverbed', 'the Substrate' or 'Chu', though there are as many analogies for trying to communicate it as there are communicators. I like that Joe mentioned 'riding the wave', that's another feeling I sometimes get. No tension or resistance, just flowing with it, completely in-tune, almost like a needle finds a groove on a record. The whole 'purging/pouring out' thing I can certainly relate to as well. There a link to McKenna's concept of 'the dome' ?

As far as visual stuff goes, I had a somewhat opposite experience a few times, where, when looking at an object close to my eye, the view retains its fish-eye perspective, and my mind doesn't 'unfold' it and make sense of the view by reconstructing it without the extreme distortions. Usually the only visual effects are of course the vibrancy of the colors and the way that everything 'breathes' and flows with a certain life.

It does feel a strange thing to discuss in a public forum though, these are pretty intimate and personal experiences after all, something with an almost sacred air. If only there were a washed-out psychonaut subforum...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 0xDB on June 08, 2011, 08:42:05 am
Kids, don't do drugs, 'coz drugs 'r bad, nnkay?  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 09, 2011, 05:55:08 am
Cure, cant really respond right now I havent read all your comment and it's a bit late at night to do that, but you should be aware that the "dome" analogy is specifical to DMT in a heroic dose, so it's not a catch all entheogenic analogy. I find that each component has its own set of sensations, but that statement about not wanting to explain the experience, even to yourself I can definitively relate to in general :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 09, 2011, 02:58:45 pm
(http://twp.patton.pa.us/files/images/dare_logo.JPG)

geeze you guys, didn't know tripping was so prevalent. surprising . . .
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 09, 2011, 03:13:59 pm
I've almost never taken any drugs and I'm glad there hasn't been judgment on these posts by us squares. Thank you sincerily for sharing your experiences.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on June 09, 2011, 05:14:16 pm
The extent of my 'journeying' was just twice right out of high school with robotussin with a girl and then another time with LSD, a set of speakers on either side of my head just playing music while looking at patterns (that was insane). The first time I tried that, it was a 5 hour adventure sitting on my bed where everything was a completely disconnected reality. If I put my head under a blanket I was traveling through a completely black world on a zip-line miles away from a majestic neon city, constantly riding toward it and into the heart of it.  It was literally like something out of an old vectrex system where it was all made of neon vectors. Pretty indescribable of an experience all around, but it was definitely an experience.  With a child, there is not really any chance that I will be going on any trips for a long long time, but it is interesting to read about your encounters with it :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 10, 2011, 12:40:04 am
you'll like this http://youtu.be/m7z25MrF1hk
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on June 10, 2011, 12:44:44 am
Kids shouldn't do drugs, for the same reasons kids shouldn't drive automobiles or have children or sign mortgage contracts. However, many adults could probably improve their lives with recreational/social drug use. Drugs and humans have coexisted for a long, long time. Modern notions of drugs are skewed (at least here in America) towards pinning all drugs as dark temptations detrimental to any person. I can say for sure that human civilization would have destroyed itself long ago if alcohol never exited.

It's interesting hearing from people having deeply religious and/or life changing experiences from psychedelic drugs. My experiences have been pretty straightforward sensory adventures. I have never experienced anything like the "ego death" that many people talk about. Nor have I ever gotten closer to god. But I think that might have a lot to do with me reading Carl Jung during my formative years.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Joe on June 10, 2011, 12:57:19 am
you'll like this http://youtu.be/m7z25MrF1hk

Reminded me of this part of Koyaanisqatsi:

http://youtu.be/Sps6C9u7ras?t=1h53s

Which I would recommend anyone on this topic to watch the whole of.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on June 10, 2011, 08:44:47 am
All great things. Helm, those french fry road zones and The Sims diamond logo highways were almost as treacherous and peril-filled as the mandrill maze (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMc4Lcxmmso) (a place I send my enemies to).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 12, 2011, 07:26:52 pm
(Know that the videos in this post are supplementary, in case you want to expand on a point I'm making)

totally agree kids shouldnt do drugs...well atleast kids born in OUR culture....some abiriginal cultures have kids on entheogens from the early age, so when we go on a bad trip or something like that a chaman looks at us the way we would look at a grown up if he pulled a tantrum or something silly like that, in many ways we are like big selfish consumer man babies to them. Of course, indigenous kids are born in a culture where you are taught how to be wise about these things, in our culture whe
n a kid does something like this he does it for entertaiment, to get away from the problems of life, which is exactly the opposite of what it should be, it should be a journey into yourself....really our stance on drugs is just about the worst one to have.

Cure, the term i've been using for hallucinogens "enthoegen" very much points toward that idea that this is a sacred mindspace like nirvana, it literally means "the generator of god within", this is pretty much what I felt ayahuasca to be.

Helm, you say you havent done "many" drugs? sounds like you have atleast cursory introduction...:p I think you know more than you let on.

For anyone reading this that has that feeling that they havent done and WILL NOT DO DRUGS, I want you to atleast not drop everything into that big bag of "drugs" as if it were all one and the same thing, not because you'll try it but to avoid misconceptions about people you meet.

First, we have to recognize WHY should something a plant makes affect our brain? it is strange to think a plant would make something for our brain. What is true is that every substance is effective because because normal human experience that triggers the same sensations in a lesser extent, so what a person takes tells you about their personality. Consider dopamine, this chemical is involved in practically any action you take, it's the stimulant that makes you learn, seek food, etc.

You can start by distinguishing depressants (alcohol) anti depressants (prozac) stimulants (cocaine,caffeine) and halucinogens (ayahuasca, lsd). This is not the only way to classify them but it's a start.

Then, recognize that someone that has done any of these substances isnt inherently an addict, we now have gaming addicts shopping addicts and sex addicts, this is because it's not the object that's addictive, it's the personality. if you've had a surgery you've been given copious amounts of Moprhine and you barely had any widthrawal, and you've not went out to look for ways to get that morphine fix again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-4ECrP71rI here's an excellent lecture on that, you can expand on it with the link in the description. He also gives his perspective on Ayahuasca http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_3lweLmQ8o

Then there's the question of taking the extracted psychodelic agent (cocaine) versus the whole plant sans any chemicals (coca leafs). The process of extracting the psychoactive agent involves many chemicals, and often the unnatural chemical form will have several added undesirable side effects, not to mention the fact that it's far more potent than the natural form. Were you to observe a cocaine addict you'd see that they're jumpy accelerated and cant seem to sit still. On the other hand Kogi indigenous people have chewed coca leafs for millenia and on the opposite are the softest genlest and sweetest people you'll meet, the effect is completely different.

The context within which a drug is done, is far more important a factor that you can imagine, if there's someting that drugs defintively do is affect the way we relate to the world, and the stronger the drug the more suceptible to any stimulus you'll be. From personal experience I can tell you that under these states it feels like you may be  emotionaly going trough something that would take a year in a few hours, so someone who carefully builds the context to make this suceptibility a catalyst for inner change is very much different from someone who would do it in any back alley.  I try to build a sacred context when I do anything hallucinogenic/entheogenic, because I find that whenever I reject what the substance is doing to me, the traumatic part beggins to happen. You have invited a mind state into your being you have to be a good host, and be willing to let it do what it does, otherwise you shouldnt have taken it, which is why it's important to know as much as posible about a substance before taking it.

There is a biological notion that plants substitute behavior with chemistry, what this means is that a tree does not just sit there its whole life growing and absorbing nutrients, trees have been shown to take the nutrients at specifical hours of the day, in one big gulp much like when we eat, and they also tweak the chemicals they produce, to atract different animals, in a sense manipulating them into doing what they need, they communicate with the world by creating chemicals. This is not guesswork, this is true description about how plants relate with the world.

There is a theory, and unlike the past statement it IS speculation but it connects back to the question of why plants produce something to affect our brain. Theory is that they do it in order to communicate with us, by producing cannabis everywhere the earth is telling us "hey you hairless chimps, chill out". I take this perspective when I do natural plants and entheogens, I look at it as being a sort of embassador for the animal kingdom, so I ask permission to the plant before I take it, I make sure I surrender completely to the experience before I take it (the indigenous perspective that these are gods is useful in this) and while under its influence I try to watch my behavior and learn from the experience, anything that is learnt should be taken as something serious, and the point of the experience is to capture ideas and bring them back to waking life, create something which brings the message to the rest of mankind. Mckenna has an analogy for that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7WjtZnEEiA
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on June 12, 2011, 09:22:34 pm
Personally I don’t even consider acid (perhaps others in its family, haven’t tried them so I can’t say) a ‘drug’. Alcohol, pot -yeah, drugs. Things like that seem to add a layer, a cloud, a haze, on top of your regular mind state. For me, acid removes layers, leaves you laid bare as opposed to hovering around in your mind like the haze of, say, weed. When I smoke pot or drink alcohol, it’s for a different reason than I would use an entheogen. It’s to escape boredom usually, or sometimes to escape stress. It’s really sad to me when I see people treat something like LSD, which can have such a profound effect on an individual, like a ‘drug’ to ‘get fucked up’ on, to ‘feel good’, etc. It’s almost abuse, and that mindset denies one the possibility of the full experience of the journey, and I guess I'm like Conceit in that I treat these substances in a very respectful way, would never dare to group them in with the other 'drugs', or treat them if they were only a feelgoodchemical.

I’d like to emphasize a point Conceit made: ‘whenever I reject what the substance is doing to me’. I think that’s important to keep in mind- an attitude of complete submission and acceptance, resistance and rejection will deny the possibilities of the experience (either in a trip or without, really). “I make sure I surrender completely”- this is dead-on, exactly the mindset one needs to cultivate in this context, lest they miss the train.

This discussion prompted me to write about my experiences with LSD, so I might as well share if anyone’s interested (http://beta.landofbrokendreams.com/vj.php?id=3041). (be warned, it’s quite long, and at times might seem like I’ve really lost my marbles. Some parts might be completely incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the experience.)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 13, 2011, 12:13:48 am
Quote
Helm, you say you havent done "many" drugs? sounds like you have atleast cursory introduction...:p I think you know more than you let on.

no, I sincerely have minimal experiences with drugs, I do not participate in or appreciate drug culture. I offer no criticism towards people who find something constructive in drug taking, though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StaticSails on June 19, 2011, 12:25:28 am
My friend is a very talented composer. He just wrote a piano album and has done some work for DS and XBLA games.
He's considering quitting music. Show him THE love.

Visit his soundcloud and maybe contact him to compose music for a very very very promising game you're probably making.
http://soundcloud.com/zack-parrish/ (http://soundcloud.com/zack-parrish/)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tsugumo on June 22, 2011, 09:21:37 pm
But that's besides the point. Anyone remember Skullgirls (http://www.skullgirls.com/home)? Alex Ahad posted here a few years ago about it, and now he's assembled quite a team of buddies to help him with the animations, and I can't wait to look at them up close and personal, because the videos they show of them are absolute diabetic eyecandy to look at

Skullgirls is gorgeous!  Didn't know the guy popped up on here before, that's awesome.  I found a few behind-the-scenes clips on GameTrailers that show some artsy/design stuff...the hand-drawn sprites look a lot slicker than the pixel art ones he had and I like that they're pushing tech with the palette swapping layers, I don't think anyone has done that yet.

heh

Still alive, eh?  I'll send more ninjas.

Honestly I feel more and more the reason we stick with pixelart comes down to nostalgia...if it isnt expanded to things like ascii or modular art, vectors and whatnot it seems like there's no more appeal in it...I havent been thinking "pixel-perfect" for a while anyway, so maybe I'm not one to talk :p

For the mobile market, with all the different screen sizes and stuff, I'm finding working with large hand-drawn art that I can just shrink down is really versatile for planning to port to various devices.  With pixel art you have to scale up 2x, 3x, 4x, etc. which can take a lot more juggling around to fit everything.  I love pixel art visually, and I like the limits because they force you to think "what's the most efficient way to depict this?" but aside from doing some League of Evil pixel art down the road for a friend I don't know if I'll be doing any pixel art games...at least on iDevices.

I'm finding a lot of the stuff I learned through doing pixel art helps my hand-drawn stuff.  I do the same blobby/sketchy rough animation stuff I did for pixel sprites and I'll separate parts of the sprite like the head and copy/paste it to new frames to use again or tweak slightly to keep things consistent.  I also find it easier for me, personally, to scribble out an animation really small (not cleaned up or anything), then scale it way up and retrace it hand-drawn.

Welcome Tsugumo! glad you're getting down to busyness and releasing your own games and stuff...this is Camus BTW :p. You should put back up that little priest sprite you used to have way back when, it's so iconic to me =).

haha hey man!  I think I still have that sprite somewhere...I was actually planning to use him in a future game.  Part of starting my own stuff up is that I can finally use oldschool characters I used to doodle and put them into a game.  I've got a hand-drawn revamp of Kyodai from TheGame that I'm dying to make some kind of action game with.  Right now I have to market the crap out of Elusive Ninja though, I didn't have my laptop or a decent internet connection while I was at E3 so I'm playing catch-up on the marketing.  It's a ton of work to do solo, so I'm working pretty much 24/7, but it's worth it.  :D

(http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b340/baybaybom/PixelationBanner.gif) You guys remember the first time we considered pixelation having a banner? :p I submitted this..heheh I was pretty crazy about those two sprites =)...looks kinda passive agressive in retrospective but I didnt mean that XD

haha awesome.

- Tsugumo
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on June 23, 2011, 12:40:40 am
...And I'm the guy that drunkenly confessed his love for you at GGJ! Game looks great by the way!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 23, 2011, 08:08:41 am
Drugs!


That's about all I've got on the subject, I've never done anything beyond marijuana mainly because it's hard to find anything else in New Zealand.
But let me talk about my marijuana setup, I've got a shed in the back yard with two couches on each side and a nice little coffee table in the middle, Star Wars poster with every character, common sea birds poster, common insects poster, common fish poster (my friend has a whole bunch of these common X posters for some reason) all held up with magnets. There's about 30 candles, all different colours and we like to pour the wax into a jar of water and see what shape it sets as.
I don't think you can have any major epiphanies on weed, but my friends and I have definitely had good times in there.

In other news, here's what I made today:
(http://i55.tinypic.com/28gs4uc.gif)
For the opening cutscene of Fetch Quest, I need to draw the rest of the boat for the background now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on June 24, 2011, 01:16:59 pm
New avatar, changed the canvas to 64x64 from 90x30 for a challenge at PixelJoint back in 2008 and added some hands and bamboo.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 24, 2011, 04:09:33 pm
Takam, that is quite nice looking, tho those eyes are totally rubbish if you ask me. They do not emote very well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on June 24, 2011, 10:08:18 pm
leroys words got me to make new ava too D:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 25, 2011, 12:28:50 pm
Takam, that is quite nice looking, tho those eyes are totally rubbish if you ask me. They do not emote very well.
Thanks, the face is pretty much just a zoomed in copy of the in game sprite:
(http://i51.tinypic.com/2nnh2r.gif)
I tried putting white, and outlines around the eyes but I couldn't come up with anything I liked better, I guess his design is kinda like Bomberman or 1930's Mickey Mouse
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 25, 2011, 01:45:12 pm
That is a lame excuse, sorry. Mickeys eyes are flat back with perhaps the triangle thing for shading. And that actually is possible to make more emotive than blue ovals with highlights and shadows, which look nothing like eyes in the first place. To me the more I look it the more it looks like he has his eyes closed and is wearing blue eyeshadow.

Anyway, I made an edit:

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15588722/edits/takamsailordude.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 25, 2011, 11:07:50 pm
Hah yeah, does look like blue eye shadow to me now. Nice little portrait shot though, Taka. Yet FYI, those blue eyes go bug the heck out of me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 26, 2011, 08:46:37 am
No need to apologize, I was hitting a wall when I tried different things with the eyes and basically gave up, it really helps to get some fresh perspective. How does this look:
(http://i52.tinypic.com/onv2p.gif)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on June 26, 2011, 09:29:46 am
Pretty soon this is gonna need its own thread. :P

Eyes are definitely an improvement. Have to say, though, his right arm just looks odd without any foreshortening, but I suppose that's to go along with the paper-cut-out style, or something like that.

I'll make an edit tomorrow, especially if this gets its own thread.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on June 26, 2011, 10:43:12 am
I don't think I'll make a thread, not for this at least.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the c+c but I don't think there's a whole threadsworth of content left in this piece. If you still want to offer an edit by all means go ahead, just keep in mind the flat style and basic character design are quite set in stone at this point, also this is only used in one shot of the opening cutscene.

edit-
Maybe we should have a casual pixel art megathread where people can just post whatever and discussions just naturally take place?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on June 26, 2011, 11:53:01 am
Might be a nice idea.

Anyway, new eyes look better, but the light pupils look freaky. I think it does look better with black ones (I tried it).
Also I think his ear is too far forward on his head, should be a bit further back.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on June 26, 2011, 11:47:43 pm
Okay here.

Took Ptoing's suggestions as well as made a bit of a suggestion of my own, basically just rotate the arm to a more natural, and I hope less odd-looking, position. I don't know if this will work with both layers rotating, however. Whatever I didn't list here, you'll probably notice.

(http://i.imgur.com/4phZR.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cassowary on June 27, 2011, 05:30:21 am
Joe, the beetle, I love it.

Hm I kinda forgot about here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on June 28, 2011, 08:38:23 pm
GUYS, I'm back briefly to whore myself out! I have a kickstarter.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2131879989/king-crow-shirts-stylish-art-tee-shirts
It's not doing great, so any support means a lot to me :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Arachne on June 28, 2011, 09:57:46 pm
GUYS, I'm back briefly to whore myself out! I have a kickstarter.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2131879989/king-crow-shirts-stylish-art-tee-shirts
It's not doing great, so any support means a lot to me :(

Yeah, go go! I really want some of these. :0';D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mush on July 02, 2011, 04:51:26 am
Hey! I'm also in Sacramento!

I love the tiger design, so I'll pledge some monies.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Joe on July 02, 2011, 09:50:35 am
Lately I've been having dreams within dreams, where I "wake up," but I'm still dreaming only I don't realize it and do daily activities, and then I "go back to sleep" into the seconnd level dream again.  Does anyone here have dreams within dreams?  Also branching off of psychedelics, has anyone had lucid dreams or out-of-body experiences?

Joe, the beetle, I love it.

Thank you.  What kind of crab spider is that?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on July 02, 2011, 11:11:22 pm
He's lapsing into some self-inceptionizing dream world!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 06, 2011, 12:53:04 am
Does anyone have any suggestions for good earbuds in the $100 USD range?

The cat ate the iPod earbuds and I'd like to get a high-end replacement. (And obviously guard them from the cat closely!)

I saw some beats by Dr Dre that looked pretty nice. Might get those.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on July 06, 2011, 07:33:17 am
i'm assuming you already have a good pair of headphones, because for me earbuds are mostly for on-the-go or convenience. if not, get a pair of headphones!

http://www.amazon.com/HeadDirect-RE0-HEAD-DIRECT-In-ear-Headphones/dp/B001MQ8BL6 i've tried these, the sound quality is really good for earbuds.

or you might want to look into klipsch, image s4 I think it is, I've heard pretty good things about them.

sennheiser is also reliable brand at that price range.

I dunno about the dre stuff, I tried them out at a store but I don't think they are worth the prices they ask for them. the quality is decent, but you could do soo much better with the same amt of money.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 06, 2011, 11:33:46 pm
I don't have headphones and I don't want any. Is that bad?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on July 07, 2011, 03:06:06 am
Haven't been here in a while. Things seem a bit quiet, if I say so myself. I guess it's that the users I used to post with have mostly moved on to something else. Either way, something compelled me to post here again. But I don't want it to be completely meaningless. So seeing as how this is the Off-Topic Thread, I thought I'd ask:

Is there any song that you guys hear that INSTANTLY puts a smile on your face, even if it goes against the grain of your general musical tastes? I'm still a metal head, but I enjoy other old rock and roll songs just as well. That being said, there is a guilty pleasure of mine, though. Every time I hear it, I can't help but enjoy the 80's gloss of it. I think it goes a little something like this:

"  Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere
... "

...So if I had to tell pixel artists who are down on their luck, not willing to continue, I'd tell them:

" Don't stop believin'!!!
Hold on to the feelin'!!!
Streetlights people (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxUExzMuxXA)
"

 :)

The question itself doesn't lend itself to just bands. It could be of any medium. I have a love for some memorable cartoon themes as well. How could one not smile when the Duck Tales theme comes on? *sigh* Oh nostalgia...

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 07, 2011, 04:15:13 am
Heck yeah B.O.B., can't go wrong with some Journey.


Great question.

Forever (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XxmhBhFR3A), by hurt

We Live No More (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGYtWA3LUCQ), by black label society

Blank Page (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw2s8BObYF8), by the pumpkins

Rowboat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYJ-H5Me__c), by coal chamber

and yes, noticeably more on-topic, Gangsta's Paradise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdWB_u_FqmU), by coolio! Put on yer locs!  . . . k, don't . . . don't.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 09, 2011, 05:34:47 pm
Does anyone know some good tutorials on adjusting Wacom tablet sensitivity? The settings provided with my tablet(Bamboo) don't cut it. If I set the sensitivity to firm it seems like no matter how hard I press, I can't get a stroke that ever matches the intended size. From what I can tell, it's like the sensitivity settings just increase the size of the brush stroke, but does nothing to assist in sensitivity. It might be the the fact that it isn't a high-end tablet, but I hope I can adjust it at least a little further. I can get variable strokes between the full brush size and very thin strokes, but I have to basically go from pressing with a stroke to a hover over the tablet to get that amount of sensitivity... something that isn't very easy to do.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 09, 2011, 06:36:00 pm
I usually set mine to be pretty firm. Low sensitivity works out for me because it gives me more range between the lightest and hardest, but I do experience a jump from about 60% pressure upwards where it seems like its sort of uncontrollably going up to the highest pressure. I have an intuos 3, so it's not entirely the same as your problem, but what I do when I want good line variability without carving is to just set the sensitivity low (firm) and paint like I think Helm put it once in a thread about cintiqs, "homosexual watercolor feathering"... Which is something that, like you said, is hard to do.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on July 10, 2011, 04:18:05 am
My friend is a very talented composer. He just wrote a piano album and has done some work for DS and XBLA games.
He's considering quitting music. Show him THE love.

Visit his soundcloud and maybe contact him to compose music for a very very very promising game you're probably making.
http://soundcloud.com/zack-parrish/ (http://soundcloud.com/zack-parrish/)

This is late, but that sucks.. Don't let him quit. Zack's worked on a few games with my old company back in the day, and I was always amazed by his compositions. It would truly be a shame if he quit making music.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 10, 2011, 04:28:33 am
I usually set mine to be pretty firm. Low sensitivity works out for me because it gives me more range between the lightest and hardest, but I do experience a jump from about 60% pressure upwards where it seems like its sort of uncontrollably going up to the highest pressure. I have an intuos 3, so it's not entirely the same as your problem, but what I do when I want good line variability without carving is to just set the sensitivity low (firm) and paint like I think Helm put it once in a thread about cintiqs, "homosexual watercolor feathering"... Which is something that, like you said, is hard to do.
I remembering reading something about going into the ini files and adjusting all the numbers manually but I can't find it. You'd think they'd allow you to set the min and max of the sensitivity instead of a single value :( Kind of got me interested in this because I was watching a livestream of Gabe from over at penny-arcade drawing one of his comics and he was able to swipe and create all kinds of dynamic lines so easily. I know there is a learning curve with tablets, but I hope it doesn't involve learning how to draw lines by hovering the pen over the tablet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 10, 2011, 02:29:57 pm
I've found it also matters what program you use. Paint tool Sai and Manga Studio produce wonderful wonderful lines, because they work with the pressure sensitivity to formulate corrections to your strokes and to even them out, so gabe could have been using one of those. Photoshop is much more 1:1 and blobby for me. Newer models all seem to favor lighter strokes... I tried out my friend's intuos 4 and it was MUCH more sensitive than my intuos 3 to the point of me not being able to get the right lines, and what Helm said about his cintiq needing feathery watercolor all lead me to believe it has more to do with the later models.

That said, I believe I found what you were talking about: http://www.zimbio.com/Graphic+News/articles/84/Wacom+Cintiq+driver+manual+adjustment+pen

It looks promising. It's also very educational to know that what it says is "firm" or "soft" doesn't actually change the pressure to get too 100%, only the values in between 0 and 100.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 10, 2011, 07:29:22 pm
I tend to not overuse pressure sensitivity for inking, really. I set the driver to hard so when I carve the lines (and oh, I do carve) the difference from the soft stroke is pretty minimal. Enough for the line to be alive, really. And when I want even strokes for hatching, I use the correction tools in manga studio. Pressure sensitivity for line width is overrated. It's much more useful for brush opacity and other effects.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: michelcote on July 11, 2011, 02:30:52 pm
...so when I carve the lines (and oh, I do carve)...
I'm scared of destroying my new baby tablet, how much punishment can touch panels usually take? If I start "carving" into it it certainly would help in the comfort zone.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 11, 2011, 06:17:26 pm
Got my tablet adjusted, so thanks! It's not perfect, but now I don't have to be so meticulous about my strokes and the whole "floating hand" thing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ninja Crow on July 12, 2011, 09:21:03 pm
None of the 'cautions' that I heard about before getting a tablet seemed to be that big a deal for me, and I'm very happy with it...for pixeling, because I can work longer with less fatigue, and get more natural shapes.  For drawing though, there were two things I did not foresee:

The first was how little 'give' there is in the nib.  I expected a couple millimeters of spring in it, at least, for direct tactile feedback of how much pressure I was putting into the pen.  As far as I can tell, the nib has no spring in it at all, and making lines taper off is nearly impossible.  Is this normal, and will the manual driver adjustment help this?

Second, and let's say stroke thickness is solved, the other thing I hadn't thought of is that when you draw IRL you can turn the paper!  I would never be able to get the curves to my lines that I was used to if I couldn't orient the page -- or screen.  So I looked all over for some kinda hot-key driven app that would run on top of my GIMP or Inkscape, but found nothing.  On the SAI forum, though, there was a subforum dedicated to a program called AZ Draw, which seemed rather simple and unimpressive, but a video of it in action showed the screen being rotated!  Also, that demo video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-VvC0uW9Ps) was pretty cool.

I tried it, and the program was far more impressive than at first glance, doing several things I wish that GIMP could do even.  You can free-rotate the screen by dragging -- yay!  (you can find the English version a little down on its home page (http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA033749/soft/azdrawing.html))

So if these two problems are solved, I'll be in business -- perhaps literally.  Thanks for all the info, guys!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on July 13, 2011, 01:18:25 am
Quote
The first was how little 'give' there is in the nib.  I expected a couple millimeters of spring in it, at least, for direct tactile feedback of how much pressure I was putting into the pen.  As far as I can tell, the nib has no spring in it at all, and making lines taper off is nearly impossible.
Wacom Graphire3 here, and I agree with the first (no give at all, really). Not so much with the tapering -- you might want to check your pressure settings.
On Windows IIRC this is found in the driver settings dialog (at least for Wacom).

I do find it depends on things like the smoothing -- if the smoothing of your stroke is increased, tapering looks better. If tapering is really important, I like to turn smoothing up to the max.
Also, I always taper UPWARDS, rather than downwards -- it just seems to be easier, cause it's much easier to start with low pressure than with high.

Here's an example of tapering downwards (done with MyPaint)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v449/neota/tech/tapertest.png)

Compared to pencil work, it requires a much lighter touch. perfectly doable though :) (and moreso if you adjust your pressure curve)

OH! Let me recommend Mypaint! It's infinitely better than GIMP for painting, of course.. and yes, it has free rotate (and a similar 'free zoom' mechanism which is also damn handy). I have them configured as Shift+Button3 and Ctrl+Button3, respectively -- Don't remember whether that is default setup or not.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ninja Crow on July 13, 2011, 07:59:23 pm
Thanks, Ai, Mypaint looks cool -- I never looked into it enough to notice the rotate feature -- I've downloaded it to try out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 14, 2011, 01:24:58 pm
Higher end Wacoms come with multiple pen nibs. The default has very little give, but there is a soft springy one. I believe replacement pens and nibs can be purchased separately.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ninja Crow on July 14, 2011, 06:53:05 pm
If a springy nib will solve that problem, I'll have to start saving up for one :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 14, 2011, 10:17:02 pm
Yeah, my intuos3 came with a bundle of regular white nibs, a nib with a spring built into it, and a black rough nib. Unfortunately the black nib must have gotten mistaken for pencil lead and vaccuumed or something, and i never got to try it :c I used the springy one for a long time but I feel like I have better control with the regular nibs.

Actually since it's close to 6 years old and I'm quite rough with it, my pen has broken and I have the eraser end taped down in order to keep the nib extended (wtf), so there IS a bit of spring to it from that.

Here's a link to the springy nibs if you're interested: https://direct.wacom.com/stores/5/Stroke%20Nibs%20(10%20pack)_P1502.cfm
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ninja Crow on July 15, 2011, 05:26:44 pm
Thanks!  But now I'm starting to regret not getting a tablet with tilt sensitivity.  Pressure may be a great way to simulate a pen, but I also miss the ability to tip and turn my pencil to control the sharpness of the line (by never using any one spot on the lead until it got too dull).  I don't know if there's a work-around for this, easy or not, or if I just have to get used to using pressure instead of position!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on July 17, 2011, 12:51:04 am
woot over 2 years of daily forum checking: Total time logged in: 30d 11h 24m :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: malkomk on July 19, 2011, 09:26:37 pm
I'm back!

I had somehow lost the name of this forum in my Great Migration from Google Chrome to Firefox, and also lost interest in pixel art for a time. Blame RL, Dwarf Fortress, Minecraft...

Anyway, here I am and I intend to keep watching this forum (at least). I also want to get better at making pixel art. I also want to create a game. Impossible? No. Improbable? Maybe. Will it happen someday? Probably...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 29, 2011, 08:31:37 pm
Haven't been here in a while. Things seem a bit quiet, if I say so myself. I guess it's that the users I used to post with have mostly moved on to something else. Either way, something compelled me to post here again. But I don't want it to be completely meaningless. So seeing as how this is the Off-Topic Thread, I thought I'd ask:

Is there any song that you guys hear that INSTANTLY puts a smile on your face, even if it goes against the grain of your general musical tastes? I'm still a metal head, but I enjoy other old rock and roll songs just as well. That being said, there is a guilty pleasure of mine, though. Every time I hear it, I can't help but enjoy the 80's gloss of it. I think it goes a little something like this:

Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere
... "

...So if I had to tell pixel artists who are down on their luck, not willing to continue, I'd tell them:

" Don't stop believin'!!!
Hold on to the feelin'!!!
Streetlights people (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxUExzMuxXA)
"

 :)

The question itself doesn't lend itself to just bands. It could be of any medium. I have a love for some memorable cartoon themes as well. How could one not smile when the Duck Tales theme comes on? *sigh* Oh nostalgia...




Nobody else posted happy music! WHATTHEHECK losers
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 30, 2011, 03:56:52 am
I've been eating yogurt for about a year to improve my health, and I just tried some Greek style "Oikos", and it was incredible. I don't think I can eat the thin slimy crap that's so popular any more. I'm not sure where to find authentic Greek yogurt stateside, but I'll be looking.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 30, 2011, 07:28:02 pm
Health food stores like Whole Foods stock Greek yogurt around here. AUTHENTIC though, I wouldn't know.

Personally its much too thick for me, but I know what you mean about slimy crap. That and I haven't really had it more than once or twice with just honey. I can't exist without my strawberry yogurt though, that stuff basically fuels my being haha.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 31, 2011, 05:31:44 am
blu, go for the:

(http://www.yoplaitbikini.com/images/prd_bg_3.jpg)

Always been my favorite. Way more solid than everything else. The greek stuff is . . . different alright.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 31, 2011, 08:21:29 am
Yoplait tastes like it's specifically catered for 5 year olds with ADD who need a sugar rush every half hour. I tried some unholy cake flavor my mother eats, and it tasted like a hippie on meth went dumpster diving behind a donut shop and then took a crap in a white plastic cup.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ovyx on July 31, 2011, 08:43:29 am
(http://www.kosher.com/images/products/product/045/894700010045/894700010045-chobani-nonfat-greek-yogurt-strawberry-1.jpg)
 I highly recommend this brand.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 31, 2011, 09:05:20 am
Chobani makes my daily protein counting adventure run smoothly.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 31, 2011, 04:32:27 pm
Yoplait tastes like it's specifically catered for 5 year olds with ADD who need a sugar rush every half hour. I tried some unholy cake flavor my mother eats, and it tasted like a hippie on meth went dumpster diving behind a donut shop and then took a crap in a white plastic cup.

Fine, more for me. I was just going to . . . hey a butterfly . . .

(stick to the original fruit flavors)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: TomF on July 31, 2011, 06:47:00 pm
Chobani makes my daily protein counting adventure run smoothly.

This made me check out the nutrition info....15g per pot. Where have you been all my life Chobani? I'll never eat any other brand of yoghurt again.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 31, 2011, 07:41:24 pm
Chobani is what I've been eating too. Danon's Greek yogurt is good too, though some flavors are very sugary.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on August 01, 2011, 08:21:56 am
Just saw Inception.

That movie is hailed as some sort of "game changer" much like what matrix did for special effects, but this time, it's for intelligent, thought provoking concepts and delivery.
Really, that in itself is just all kinds of sad. If that is a change of game, the game so far must have been pretty borked but I guess the existence of transformers 3 or twilight 2 says it all.

The movie itself was okay.
Some wasted opportunities, a little too dragged out and a little too demanding on absolute focus on every single line each character says but in the end, you'll probably not regret that you saw this.
It's just a bit frustrating since this is about the vast, limitless space of dreams. Endless possibilities yet in the end of the day, all Leo and friends do is fighting gunmen with karate kicks and more guns.
No one at least kills the evil gunmen by pointing at them and yelling "bang", no one flaps their arms to fly or anything.
The gunmen, projections of someones subconscious btw, always remain dudes in suits and not monsters, cavemen, storm troopers, you name it.
Those are pretty boring dreams.
There is a very frustrating explanation for why everything is so dreadfully normal though so that's not the movies fault, it's just my preference. And the fact that this is over 2 hours of it.

It's polarizing that way but even if you hate it, it's still interesting and if you're like me who will watch a movie only because you want to see where someone goes with an interesting/absurd concept, chances are you won't hate it.
Chances are, you will want to see it again to pick up on the (many) little details you inadvertently missed cause despite all the chances it missed, after all that could have been, it does anything but falling short on meaty details.
Everything is there for a reason. Everything.

Oh and the soundtrack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGH4aOsIn_s&feature=related) is pretty amazing at times. Very iconic, very distinctive.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on August 07, 2011, 07:51:06 am
Did I break the off-topic?
Would endorsement for greek dairy products fix this?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on August 07, 2011, 08:01:15 am
I liked Inception. It had some plot holes, but those were forgivable, since the concept behind the movie (and the visuals) were pretty cool. And I did love the soundtrack, namely that deep, resonating underwater-bell-toll motif. the whole dream-in-a-dream-in-a-dream thing was a bit tough to keep up with at times, but Ellen Page is pleasant to look at and Leo's a fantastic actor, so it all evens out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on August 07, 2011, 09:04:44 am
Yeah I watched it again lately but this time not half-asleep and knowing what I'd get.
Guess that helps with focusing on the things that are there instead of lamenting over what could have been there (and missing obvious points. Gosh =P).
All I had seen beforehand was that infamous bent city shot and the notion that it's about dreams in dreams.
The movie poster (http://www.impawards.com/2010/posters/inception.jpg) featuring a guy with a gun standing in in an ocean with skyscrapers in the background also didn't help with not expecting a lot more of that surreal imagery.

But what's there is actually so good that this is probably a movie I can watch again and again without it getting old.

As for leo, whenever I see him, titanic immediately springs to my mind and I hated titanic.
That's pretty unfair though cause he's actually great in inception as well as shutter island.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on August 07, 2011, 01:33:38 pm
Just wanted to let you guys know that there are some pixel prints (http://www.inprnt.com/gallery/ptoing/) available of some of my stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on August 07, 2011, 02:11:18 pm
Awesome! Though, I would buy prints of your older acrylic stuff in a heartbeat. Any chance of putting those up?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on August 07, 2011, 02:24:47 pm
Which ones exactly? Also there will be more pixel stuff as well as digital painting stuff (cleaning up a few older ones for print size)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on August 07, 2011, 03:27:10 pm
From your blog, these traditional works are my favorites and I think have the potential to become wonderful prints:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XTdEISdE39o/SKrbiS19QZI/AAAAAAAAAFI/KFiHoMHr9Ww/s1600-h/uheadnotamused.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XTdEISdE39o/ScfwJjxwXmI/AAAAAAAAAMM/gPen7TApYG4/s1600-h/bluenude.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XTdEISdE39o/ShHhSh5mDVI/AAAAAAAAAMs/roqUKIdYy4s/s1600-h/blobodile.jpg

And this digital piece is also extremely printworthy: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XTdEISdE39o/SPENFVqBfHI/AAAAAAAAAHw/-7qSX2Ve6So/s1600-h/birdspirit_final.jpg

I think Blue Nude and Bird Spirit would be the most popular ones, and the one's I'd buy and hang up for sure : )

Uhead would also be an extremely attractive print if the contrast got bumped up to make the colors a tad more vibrant - but that's likely the scanner's fault. Your colored pencil sketches such as blobodile would also work if you somehow collaged them into a larger image.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on August 07, 2011, 03:45:55 pm
Hm, true about the blobodile.

The bird spirit one I plan to have up there as well, but atm it is too small for a good print. So I will have to scale it up, clean outlines and also probably scan new textures and do strategic texture replacement to make the texture more crisp. I will post about new posters on my blog for sure as they happen.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ovyx on August 07, 2011, 04:54:59 pm
I think UHead would make an awesome tshirt!  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on August 10, 2011, 07:46:29 pm
Found another random generator.  This one for art projects.  http://www.magatsu.net/art/index.php (http://www.magatsu.net/art/index.php)  Useful as a a starting point.

When set to 'elaborate' it creates results like:


Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on August 10, 2011, 08:22:39 pm
Man, I needed that a couple of weeks ago!

Bookmarked for future use.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 11, 2011, 01:39:14 pm
That is so neat, Tourist. Thanks!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on August 12, 2011, 06:19:23 am
Just wanted to let you guys know that there are some pixel prints (http://www.inprnt.com/gallery/ptoing/) available of some of my stuff.

I will travel back in time and eat baby Jesus himself if it will land me a Yus! shirt.

!yus! !yus! !yus!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 12, 2011, 10:36:43 am
man, I'd need the extra cash. I must consider this.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: timeatscookies on August 16, 2011, 03:17:01 pm
So.. I logged in today and my avatar is gone (or replaced?) and now I have some "troll spray" picture. I'm many much confused. Any explanation why this happened lol?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on August 16, 2011, 03:57:08 pm
You seem to have linked your avatar from a different forum. Someone over there must have replaced that image file.

You could host your avatar picture yourself or using services like tinypic or imageshack to avoid that.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on August 17, 2011, 09:14:02 am
On the topic of random generators, if you haven't heard of it already, I recently found this neat tool (http://tones.wolfram.com/) to play around with. You can think of it as an sfxr for music--especially ambience. Other than that, it usually only understands solos that sound like someone bashing a keyboard, but when you think about it, it's certainly an impressive step in the right direction (for cheesy elevator music (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/GRLNWaJbpIYXbE37IpHMc2TOuWhWlxDeWqBceijewQCZHNsG&abmnk=1)).

It also sounds alright if you're up to clicking buttons for a while, so frankly that wasn't the best example for a standard, untouched result, given you don't get lucky.

But it's probably nowhere near as useful as the art prompt generator Tourist posted up there--many thanks for that by the way--except, somehow, I suppose, for the more musically inclined here, or as a temporary antidote for boredom.

( (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/GNs5aisMlhfqcD72mZBjWd8Wa5rut1UH4vCMJFcWZpLkWRu3o&abmnk=2)two (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/GznEmUSOpDAtAbig4a2iq8TvfGBZuqOBDCqhf9nVdvJSBRP&abmnk=3) more (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/G1k4uiI0feHMkZUWdtYc8ZIg8LhuuqnfsIrpXfhtP9MHxZYJit5&abmnk=1)) (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/GznEmxR2T0h7gWEZeoixuSpb6yfvgpEfnKriijojtQw7jYa&abmnk=2)

( (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/GzX0dQT16nu7VdPfgGrykn0uQPDqWHtD3gvmP13E2KGExPh&abmnk=3)another (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/GRLNW0vN6CMlPSn0FZQUkNPoNuX0uXTxSdOK10mY4YXFyfRE&abmnk=3) two (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/GEbYLwROppkTs2narYMJUOiesTtU7BxvNRlmzpXbK74eBvvqxU&abmnk=2)) (http://tones.wolfram.com/id/G1fiIVTbkFrYgOIgrBvgpIfW6WCpd5AN8Ge9lY58AZn9f&abmnk=2)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on August 21, 2011, 01:44:21 am
man, I'd need the extra cash. I must consider this.

I would definitely buy a print of polish girl, but I guess that isn't pixel art.
It would be better than the printout I already have of it at least.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on August 21, 2011, 09:35:22 am
man, I'd need the extra cash. I must consider this.

I'd buy a print of " the spartan". badass.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on August 22, 2011, 03:24:56 am
http://mobmotherscitah.deviantart.com/gallery/2443125#/d2aovi7

i dont want to be mean. i just want people to appreciate pixelation and all it's done for them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on August 22, 2011, 03:34:20 am
When she walks around she has to be like "Whoa... whoa whoaa whoaaaaa!!!"
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on August 22, 2011, 03:35:47 am
Speaking of which... I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with Woot but they also have a sub-retailer called shirt.woot that sells various prints. Most of the prints they sell come from submissions into weekly contests. I'm not sure what the specifics of these contests are, but they usually have different themes and possibly limitations, and I think the winner gets a chunk of the sales or something. Anyways, I always check out the shirts every night and I guess one week they had a pixel/retro-themed contest... and this was second place:

http://shirt.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4588039

(http://sale.images.woot.com/Morning_Powerup_2y7Detail.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on August 22, 2011, 03:59:36 am
man, I'd need the extra cash. I must consider this.

I'd buy a print of " the spartan". badass.

You realise that it basically relies on being displayed on a monitor (additive medium) and would look a lot different when printed?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on August 22, 2011, 09:15:44 am
I've seen it often enough for a printed image to just be something to spark my memory of how it looks on a monitor, plus even though the focus of the image was the color palette I think the image stands alone well enough.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 0xDB on August 23, 2011, 09:25:56 am
Hehe, I just googled "so you wanna be an artist" and this is what I found(mild nudity warning) (http://yaminah.de/de/node/20). I feel like I'm currently at step 5 (having skipped some steps before that) and will have to go back to 1 now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on August 24, 2011, 01:35:55 am
Do people still use the resource thread?  It seems like that board does not get much traffic beyond new folks introducing themselves.

Latest find:  The Art of Pantomime, 1927  http://www.mondobeyondo.com/projects/art_of_pantomime/ (http://www.mondobeyondo.com/projects/art_of_pantomime/)

Public domain book.  The first half has a catalog of gestures and poses for actors to express various emotions and whatnot.  I can imagine silent film stars of that era studying this kind of thing.  Also, mimes.  The second half seems to cover creating silent dramas or plays.  Things that work, things that don't.  I'm still reading this part.

Useful, I think, for artists who want some help with posing figures (static or animated).  Not useful for basic run and jump motions, but for emotions or more subtle action.  Example from the section on hands:

"The open hand with fingers spread, palm down, thrust forward at the level of the waist, the hand reached out open and the fingers closed one by one [means] to steal."

Try it out and, yep, that's a good motion to convey theft.

Anyway, free to grab, folks might find this useful.  I'm liking it so far.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on August 25, 2011, 11:21:04 am
I'm mildly excited about this upcoming Dungeon Master/Eye of the Beholder/Lands of Lore -like game:

http://www.grimrock.net/ (http://www.grimrock.net/)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 25, 2011, 05:18:57 pm
Ah neat looking! +5 for a playable minotaur.

One complaint: something I call "matter displacement" - what happens to objects when they disappear, are defeated, explode.
In the case of grimrock I hate how all enemies vaporize into little sparks and smoke despite spiders and snails having a ton of mass. Can't they just fall over dead and you right-click to loot them? The carcasses act as markers, telling you where you've already been and it's so much more realistic, when the rest of the game is trying so hard to look realistic. If poly count/FPS is an issue, sure sure, make the dead absorb into the ground, but leave a blood/goop/charred stain or something.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on August 25, 2011, 11:49:48 pm
Mathias: Yeah, that would be the biggest complaint for me as well. Surely it can't be a matter of a memory limit to leave at least a tiny pool of blood behind.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on August 25, 2011, 11:50:40 pm
Mathias: Yeah, that would be the biggest complaint for me as well. Surely it can't be a matter of limited memory to leave at least a tiny pool of blood behind.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ovyx on August 26, 2011, 06:12:50 am
I'm mildly excited about this upcoming Dungeon Master/Eye of the Beholder/Lands of Lore -like game:

http://www.grimrock.net/ (http://www.grimrock.net/)

Saw this on youtube, some animation sequences from Grimrock. if you haven't seen it you should, its very well done..  :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEDQvkJ3WjQ  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEDQvkJ3WjQ)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on August 30, 2011, 09:24:07 am
The Pixel Art (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_art) entry on Wikipedia is quite lame. Not very representative of the awesome things pixel art can do.

Also:

Spriting (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spriting&oldid=84454277)

WHAT?!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 30, 2011, 04:41:25 pm
JJ Naasm are you ready for a wiki war? You're not.


This is why these articles are as they are.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on August 30, 2011, 06:26:52 pm
No, I'm not ready. Not out of cowardice, but I lack the training and the motivation.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on August 30, 2011, 08:04:40 pm
Wow.. check this out guys  :o

<found this on Gaf>
Inkling by wacom

The Inkling is a "digital sketch pen" that allows you to draw or sketch on any standard piece of paper (a big advantage over Livescribe, which requires special notebooks) and automatically have a digital version created. The pen looks like a regular ballpoint pen, but is much more powerful than that. As you draw, sketches, mind-maps, or brainstorms all get captured, and are available just by connecting your pen to the computer. You can even create layers as you sketch, and edit drawings even easier when you get back to the computer. Files can be accessed in applications like Photoshop and Illustrator, or just viewed on the computer.

There's also a receiver that comes with the Inkling, which is likely how Wacom was able to avoid requiring special paper. The receiver clips to whatever page or notebook you're using, and requires an uninterrupted line of sight with the pen while you're working. It could be a little kludgy, as the receiver is fairly large and is one more thing to carry and set up when you want to work. Battery life for the system, Wacom says, is more than eight hours of working time, which is a good number, but still means you might want to carry a normal pen or the charging cable in case you have a full day's worth of sketching to do.

(http://i.imgur.com/7HJ0t.jpg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXbBA1DRE84

$200 September.


Then again, we have scanners  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on August 31, 2011, 01:38:46 am
That's really cool! I'll wait for it to get released and scans/vectors to be compared before I get too excited though.

Layers sound really useful if its easy to swap out differently colored inks easily.

Edit: it is easy to swap out cartridges and they're a standard size so you can just buy whatever color you need... to this day it takes me 2-3x as long to draw on a tablet rather than paper so i'm actually sort of looking forward to this as a poor-man's cintiq.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 31, 2011, 04:58:45 am
JJ Naasm are you ready for a wiki war? You're not.


This is why these articles are as they are.

A wiki war? Never heard of such a thing. But, I assume it's a phenomenon occurring when two or more schools of thought want to create an official wikipedia page for their vocation/craft? How funny.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on August 31, 2011, 02:44:07 pm
Wiki's example of isometric pixel art:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Room_with_45_Degrees_Near-Isometric_Pixel_Art.png)

 :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on September 01, 2011, 03:03:00 am
No judgment implied. Just saying it's a topic that's come up a lot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on September 01, 2011, 06:38:58 am
wooot.....  :crazy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt4LpLOx0j4&feature=player_embedded (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt4LpLOx0j4&feature=player_embedded)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on September 01, 2011, 07:03:56 pm
Whoa batlorder, that's sweet. And the demo model is so happy about it, too . . .



No judgment implied. Just saying it's a topic that's come up a lot.

Personally I have no use for a quality wiki page on PA. I know where to find high quality PA instruction when I feel the need for some review. The general public, though. They go to wikipedia. It would be nice, for the sake of PA itself, if there was a properly represented wiki page(s) created to allow a layman to get informed quickly and easily and accurately, all in one place - wikipedia. Of course, I'm no champion of PA awareness, so I honestly have no desire to assist with this especially when I know others would do a better job. And I do wish others would do the job.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Redshrike on September 04, 2011, 03:59:38 am
@Froli:  I actually have a sonic tablet, though it's an offbrand.  I got it for free for testing through my dad's work.  Let me just say that they must have substantially improved the technology since then if Wacom is willing to make one, because the one I have is pretty bad (draw circle; get oval) despite the cool concept.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on September 04, 2011, 07:57:26 pm
Pixelation did have a wiki back in the Pep days, and it really didn't go anywhere. I doubt it would be any different today.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: st0ven on September 07, 2011, 12:48:19 pm
Anyone else playing Disgaea 4? The spritework is absolutely delicious... i really hate how this series dares you to grind to levels never before heard of in JRPG's, takes probably weeks and months out of one's lifespan DX
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 07, 2011, 02:03:53 pm
wooot.....  :crazy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt4LpLOx0j4&feature=player_embedded (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt4LpLOx0j4&feature=player_embedded)

It only has 320 dpi scanning resolution :( If it had at least 600 that would be cool. But it's cheap and portable, so it's got that going for it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: xhunterko on September 15, 2011, 06:08:51 am
WHOA!

Since when did the pixelation forums become powered by simple machines? I mean, I know I don't visit the site every day but I wasn't certainly prepared for a change like this. What happened?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: API-Beast on September 15, 2011, 06:40:38 am
New server and apparently the old theme isn't applied yet. (It was a SMF before, just skinned.)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: xhunterko on September 15, 2011, 06:43:20 am
Huh, okay, I was just wondering what was going on.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on September 16, 2011, 02:18:35 am
ptoing is a machine
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on September 24, 2011, 07:08:28 am
Hey friends, I made a 3D screenshot of Fetch Quest, if you have a 3DS and wanna see it you can download and put it in your camera folder.
Click the swiveling gif to download the .mpo
(http://i56.tinypic.com/r9pt2w.gif)

Pixel art looks really neat in 3D. Wayforward have a game called Mighty Switch Force (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGlj2VjcoZI) coming out soon, looks really cool and I'll be buying it just to see some quality pixel art in 3D.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 24, 2011, 10:59:18 am
WHOA!

Since when did the pixelation forums become powered by simple machines? I mean, I know I don't visit the site every day but I wasn't certainly prepared for a change like this. What happened?

Since July 2005. Ever since Pixelopolis.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 0xDB on September 26, 2011, 05:20:20 am
Hey friends, I made a 3D screenshot of Fetch Quest, if you have a 3DS and wanna see it you can download and put it in your camera folder.
Click the swiveling gif to download the .mpo
(http://i56.tinypic.com/r9pt2w.gif)

I think the farthest away layers (mountains and clouds) should move the least amount (slowest) and then as the layers come closer to the camera they should progressively move faster. That is, if you intended to get that "looking-outside-through-moving-car-side-window" effect. Currently it looks like it's just the other way around in your screenshot with the farthest layers moving faster than everything else.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on September 26, 2011, 06:19:57 am
I think for 3D further away stuff is split more. Which is why the far away stuff "moves" more.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on September 26, 2011, 01:52:16 pm
The 3DS requires you to hold it quite closely to your face, close enough that your eyes are crossed a little, the further each layer is apart to each eye the more parallel your eyes receive the same image which makes it appear further away. You can reverse the process but it strains the eyes a lot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on September 26, 2011, 09:12:51 pm
HAY GUYS! I just got my invite to Diaspora*
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/196017994/diaspora-the-personally-controlled-do-it-all-distr
it's a facebook designed to take the information that gives facebook so much $$$$ from them and give it to the people =)


it's looking pretty empty right now...and I would like to have some pixel-friends over there is anybody over there or wants to be?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 32 on September 27, 2011, 04:56:37 am
I was messing around with 3d for the game I'm working on as well. Not developing on a 3ds though so I was just playing with cross eye 3d. Thought it would be relevant to anyone who didn't have a 3ds and wanted to see taka's picture.

(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/The_32nd_day/r9pt2wce.png)

All you do is look at the image and cross your eyes over until both images overlap. Might take a little practice but it's the clearest stereostropic image you can get.

Those light rays on the top look soooo good in 3d, not to mention the rest of it, I feel like the flat trees in the background really stand out in 3d though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on September 27, 2011, 05:49:14 pm
HAY GUYS! I just got my invite to Diaspora*
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/196017994/diaspora-the-personally-controlled-do-it-all-distr
it's a facebook designed to take the information that gives facebook so much $$$$ from them and give it to the people =)


it's looking pretty empty right now...and I would like to have some pixel-friends over there is anybody over there or wants to be?
I'm hyped up for it. I just recently signed up for an invite, though.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to leaving Facebook permanently. Hopefully.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on October 02, 2011, 03:06:10 pm
I'm in it and I can send you an invite right now, charlie ...so I will =)

I am in Diaspora because of this http://youtu.be/QOEMv0S8AcA (Full Speech http://youtu.be/m7LVZON5uRQ)

Here's a post about it from inside Diaspora* by one of the devs
Quote from: Yosem Companys
The media has painted us as the David that will either slay or succumb to Goliath. (Insert FB or G+ for the Goliath, depending on the media's narrative.)

It's also a function of competitive differentiation. You only know what something is by comparing it to something else that exists. The media has chosen to compare us to FB & G+, which is understandable.

The better comparison, however, is AOL vs the WWW. When AOL appeared on the scene, it was the only commercial email provider. You couldn't send email to Prodigy, for example, from AOL, and vice versa. AOL would force you to navigate the Internet through AOL's portal. Then the (free or open-source, use your preferred term here) WWW came on the scene. Soon thereafter came communication protocols that enabled different email providers to connect their users with each other. AOL clung to their walled garden approach and slowly over time was transformed from a monopolist into just one of many actors on the open web.

Fast forward to today, and you find a similar situation. FB doesn't allow its users to message G+ users, and vice versa. FB forces all applications to use their API, thereby losing the richness of the larger web, forcing applications to conform to FB's development environment. D* is not trying to kill FB or G+. Like the WWW before it, D* is trying to reinvent the social web from one that relies on walled gardens to one that is open to all players. We believe the world will be better when users own their own social data and decide with whom to share it with, regardless of where these users are online. There is no reason why you shouldn't be able to communicate with G+ users from FB, and vice versa. There is no reason why you should be forced to use pre-approved FB apps instead of any web app available online in its native environment.

D* wants to enable you to own your own data and enjoy the open web in a social way. It's not about killing G+ or FB. It's about enabling users to own their own social data and have the choice to use any service they want, which will force the walled gardens to provide better services, lest their users leave and take their own data to other services online that provide these for them.

if you feel like you want to network with discussion like that now join diaspora now, otherwise wait to see if maybe they do make some kind of killer feature...cause right now as much as I'd like to say so I dont think we have it yet :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on October 02, 2011, 04:42:09 pm
Hey, thanks a lot! I'll try it soon, for sure!

Either way, I believe that they'll start sending out invites to whoever hasn't got them yet, soon. "...by the end of October at the latest" has been said.

Though I'm eager to start using it soon, so, great thanks, anyway!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on October 06, 2011, 10:39:53 pm
R.I.P. Steve Jobs :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on October 07, 2011, 03:44:35 pm
Yeah :c

Although I came to hate all things Apple, Steve Jobs grew on me and I admired his decisions and involvement in his company.

Kinda cool that they're basically indexing all of his decisions and putting it in a rulebook for future managers. Immortalizing the leadership style that got Apple to where it is today, I suppose.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on October 07, 2011, 07:28:20 pm
Is everything in place for this year's Secret Santa?  The Holidays march closer with every second...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on October 11, 2011, 12:24:44 pm
for all of you photoshoppers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-7hBP6MfX_U#!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on October 18, 2011, 04:39:46 pm
Says video is private.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on October 18, 2011, 05:22:11 pm
I watched it a few days ago. Adobe's sharks are probably out for blood.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on October 18, 2011, 06:28:55 pm
Says video is private.
tsh... it got removed anyway it got reuploaded see it while you can  :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xxjiQoTp864 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xxjiQoTp864)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on October 20, 2011, 12:26:57 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7cOutEuhCs&t=35s

I stumbled across this video of a simon's quest revamp, and the pixel art is ridiculous! I remember the towns being so boring and bland looking.

Can anyone with a sharp eye spot if these are accurate to restrictions or not? Looks that way to me, but I only know about tiles and not holistic things like scanlines. They do a very nice fade to black in their tiles which leads to some very impressive tiling. As far as I know it is indeed a hack of the ROM and not some remake in Game Maker.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on October 20, 2011, 04:59:45 pm
It's a rom hack, and the video is almost certainly legit, so it does conform to NES restrctions. He used to have another vid of that hack that he took down, but his other vids have neat pixel art as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSKXYbvNxNQ  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZWLp31Rvto

And a bonus, here's a pirate Pokemon Yellow rom that did an excellent job downscaling graphics to NES restrictions: (music sucks, though) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8gR5o72M-b4#t=138s

There's a lot of neat NES stuff out there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on October 20, 2011, 07:40:09 pm
Thanks for those links! Yellow looks really bold and vibrant on the NES, though I guess that's because the GB Pokemons were all very chromatic and used tons of white for their open areas.

The artist for the CVII romhack: http://datacrystal.romhacking.net/wiki/Thaddeus

His art is quite good. Glad to see some stunning original art in a community centering on romhacking where there's such a heavy emphasis on editing.

Some very nice and rich rpg tilesets in a FF1 hack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca9rMq9VIpU&t=37s
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kain Nobel on October 23, 2011, 09:40:18 am
I came home tonight to work on some of my stuff, and my son had this picture up on Graphics Gale.

(http://bb.ohsk.net/uploads/Zeke.png)

He's 5 years old and spends day and night playing InFAMOUS 2, and the character is supposed to be Cole's best friend Zeke. For being artwork by a little kid, I was impressed, so I decided to show you all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on October 27, 2011, 08:57:22 am
Kain: Looks like he's got colour conservation down pat.

Are there any other wacky pixel aspect ratios that pixel art is likely to have been created in?
Code: [Select]
var aspectRatios = {
  "square" : [1, 1],
  "wide" : [2, 1],
  "tall" : [1, 2],
  "cga32k" : [1.667, 1], // 160x200
  "cga64k" : [1, 1.2], // 320x200
  "cga128k" : [1, 2.4], // 640x200
  "hercules" : [1, 1.552], // 720x348
  "ega" : [1, 1.371], // 640x350
  "apple2ehi" : [1, 1.094], // 280x192
  "apple2edblhi" : [1.829, 1], // 560x192
};
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on October 27, 2011, 10:44:24 am
He's 5 years old and spends day and night playing InFAMOUS 2. . .

I'm sorry, but he's 5 and you let him play Infamous 2 day and night ? ! ? Wow.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on October 27, 2011, 12:29:09 pm
Surt: You know that all those (not sure about apple stuff) are still 4:3 in the end. They all have varying degrees or tall or wide pixels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on October 27, 2011, 12:32:45 pm
Surt: You know that all those (not sure about apple stuff) are still 4:3 in the end. They all have varying degrees or tall or wide pixels.
Yes. Those are the aspect ratio's of the pixels, not the displays, so the images can be displayed in their correct intended proportions.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on October 27, 2011, 12:44:34 pm
What do you mean by "correct intended proportions". The correct proportion = 4:3 not whatever aspect the image has in that case. A good example of this is CPS arcade hardware which has a resolution of 384x224 which is 12:7 but still should be displayed at 4:3. This is the reason that streetfighter sprites you usually see floating around the net are all squashed and short looking.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on October 27, 2011, 01:02:07 pm
Yes, because the pixels on the original display were a different shape (not 1:1 aspect ratio) so to display them in the "correct intended proportions" on a display with 1:1 aspect ratio pixels you must scale the image from 1:1 to the original display's pixel aspect ratio (not screen the screen aspect ratio). eg. Mode 13h has a pixel aspect ratio of 1:1.2 so you need to scale the y-axis by 1.2 for correct proportions.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on October 27, 2011, 01:24:00 pm
Problem is that that looks shit and you get fudge pixels which are not all the same size.
What you have to do to get clean aspect scaleups is find the lowest common multiple of the 2 sides so that you can scale them accordingly.

The least common multiple of 640 and 350 for example is stupidly high, 22400. So that means to get the proper aspect for 640x350 on a LCD with equal sized pixels throughout you would need to scale it to 22400x16800. And if you say, oh but that can be made smaller. like halfing it down to 11200x8400 or even lower. No, then the pixels are not equal again. because 22400/640=35 so halfing it would result in half pixels, which would result in uneven pixel distribution.

We are nowhere near the resolutions needed to scale this stuff 100% correct.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on October 27, 2011, 02:11:48 pm
You don't always need to scale the whole screen. If you want to inspect single sprites the they may well fit at clean scales.
Even when the scaling isn't perfect it can still look passable so long as the error isn't huge.
Mode 13h scales nicely by 5 onto a 1980x1200 display (http://work.putpixel.com/?img=http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/142589-dune-ii-the-building-of-a-dynasty-amiga-screenshot-need-more.gif&aspect=1:1.2&zoom=5) (needs canvas support and probably Firefox).

Somehow I completely forgot all the consoles.  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on October 27, 2011, 02:35:41 pm
ptoing is a pixel scientist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on October 27, 2011, 02:40:07 pm
Yeh I see what you mean. Also the 640x350 is one of the worst cases.
320x200 you can scale to 1600x1200 and it is good. That's within what we can do today with normal resolutions.

The CPS resolution can for example be scaled to 384*4 x 224*5 which is almost a 4:3 aspect and would be acceptable.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yrizoud on October 28, 2011, 11:04:20 pm
Amiga medium resolution was 320x256 in 4:3, it's 16:15 pixel ratio.
edit: after a bit of research (http://"http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=50015"), make it 1.041 in PAL (256 lines) and 0.8595 in NTSC (200 lines)

With a CRT you can achieve a lot of exotic resolutions. On windows, use Powerstrip to unlock more low resolutions that your card would propose.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on October 29, 2011, 09:50:22 am
I kind of have made peace with the fact that I'll have to filter strange pixel ratios to get the image to show without being squashed, for stuff like capcom arcade games and whatnot. I'm losing some pixel fidelity, but it's not like said capcom games benefit a lot from me being able to see every pixel most of the time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on October 29, 2011, 05:54:59 pm
Ug, I know I shouldn't party so hard on Halloween, but I still do every year.

:0#
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on November 03, 2011, 10:14:02 pm
Do you think it's likely there will be a secret Santa this year?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 03, 2011, 10:40:55 pm
Oh fudge! It's almost that time of the year again. I dunno if I will have time, it's quite a bit of work.

Any volunteers?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 04, 2011, 12:49:24 pm
I'd love to give it a go. c:

Been looking at past ones, and while it does look like a lot of work, I'd enjoy it quite a bit I think. So if nobody else can do it, hit me up!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on November 05, 2011, 03:31:38 am
Cross-stitch is a kind of hand-crafted embroidery.  Strands of string are hand-stitched in small X patterns on a larger piece of fabric.  The kind of stuff your grandmother has hanging on the wall.  The patterns are laid out on a basic grid pattern, and typically try and use a minimal number of colors.  It's also easier to stitch in small clumps, dare I say clusters, of color rather than widely scattered individual spots.  Does this sound familiar?

(http://www.artecy.com/images/sfriendnew.GIF)

(http://www.artecy.com/images/seasoneveningsampler_LRG.jpg)

Images linked from  www.artecy.com (http://www.artecy.com) which sells the patterns pictured, among others..  There are several sites which sell these patterns, at a typical price of $5-10 US per copy, depending on size, subject, complexity, and so forth.  Most of these sites either have public domain artwork converted to pixels, er, patterns, or some crummy pixel-ish art.  I don't know how large this market is, but I think there may an opportunity for talented pixel artists to make a few bucks.

Or one could just turn their pixel art into some embroidered Xmas gifts.  ;D

Edit: Holy crud, I found something else too.  PixelHobby (http://www.pixelhobby.com.au/whatis.html) looks like small plastic bits that get mounted on a plastic baseboard.  10 dpi if I'm doing my math correct, and they claim 312 colors.  They actually call their plastic bits 'pixels' as if this is some new thing.  Customers buy a pattern and plastic build and assemble the artwork themselves.  Looks like patterns sell for about $10 for each 40x50 tile + pixels.  The link goes to an Australian site but there are links to distributors in Europe and the US.  This .. this is actually a thing.

No obvious links for selling your own patterns but you could always buy the materials and set up your own site.  I imagine the cross-stitch is a larger market though since it can be applied to clothing and pillows and whatnot.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on November 05, 2011, 02:00:44 pm
I tried cross stitching pixel art, and it is VERY time consuming. So time consuming I don't think people would want to pay the price I'd want to set for the time lost.

PixelHobby looks totally neat, though. And it's square, unlike bead art. (http://nesdev.parodius.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=7726) Not to take away from bead art's coolness because it is still totally cool. The linked thread even has some 3D voxel type bead stuff on the third page.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 05, 2011, 03:03:32 pm
Yeah, I started a cross stitch earlier this year which I still have to finish and mail Helm.

It takes forever:

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15588722/zx_stitch_05.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on November 05, 2011, 03:55:50 pm
That's good to know.  Cancel my idea of trying out cross-stitch. 

The pixelhobby thing is neat, but expensive.  I've seen the beads before, but they were rather large, 2-3 dpi or so.  The main problem I see with both of those is that they don't connect to anything of practical use.  It would be faster and cheaper to simply print your pixel art out at 10x and mount it on a stiff backing. 

I think the real opportunity for the members here is to sell the patterns to the cross-stitch folks.  Dust off the old pixel art you have in your gallery, adjust the colors a bit to match the available string colors, and sell it for $5-10 a copy.  Or maybe half that if you use one of the existing web sites selling these things.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rosse on November 06, 2011, 11:27:40 am
I'd like to share some thoughts about Cosmigo ProMotion.

I bought the V5.1 in July 2007 and used it ever since (no upgrade). These days I bought a new Computer (Asus EEE EP121 Slate) with Win7 64bit and 4GB of Rams. After installing ProMotion, I couldn't open a file or create a new one.
So I wrote an Email to Jan Zimmermann and asked if that is a known error and if there is a solution. He told me that this has to to with my memory and that the old v5.1 doesn't support more than 3GB. Now, do you know what? Normally, a Developer would suggest to buy an update to solve this problem (~40$). But no, he sent me a Patch to solve this problem, letting me use my old version on the new computer, for free.
I'm amazed by his support and like to let the world know about this great piece of software. If you're undecided between ProMotion and e.g. GraphicsGale, I suggest ProMotion. The amazing support makes the bigger price more than worth.
To show my gratitude to Jan, I'll upgrade to the newest Version soon, even though I can use the old now without problems.

I hope it was helpful to some of you. Thanks for reading.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: surt on November 07, 2011, 02:10:40 pm
Cross-stitch game (sort of) art: http://nifflas.ni2.se/?page=Miscellaneous (http://nifflas.ni2.se/?page=Miscellaneous) (go down to Six Shots of Whiskey)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 07, 2011, 09:27:37 pm
@Rosse: That's awesome! For comparison: I sent an email to Humanbalance about a feature suggestion for gale a few days ago:

Quote
Hello,

I've been using Graphics Gale for close to 6 years now, and use it for my job. I love this program.

I have a suggestion if you'd like to include it in the next beta: Enable changing the pen tile with shortcuts (going up or down the list). This way it would be easier to switch between a big brush or little brush.

Thank you!

The response:

Quote
Dear Clement.

Thanks for your advice.

Best regards,
 HUMAN BALANCE

The language barrier may be getting in the way, but the difference is that Humanbalance is a company and Jan seems to manage the whole product himself. Been thinking about getting ProMotion, as both ProMotion and GraphicsGale do things the other can't, and in different ways.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 09, 2011, 03:31:21 pm
(http://www.zeldainformer.com/images/news/DrawsomeTablet.jpg)

Well that's... interesting. From videos it doesn't seem to have pressure sensitivity.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on November 09, 2011, 05:11:17 pm
Wow. Looks a lot like the Wii uDraw Tablet from last year. http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/15/thq-udraw-gametablet-for-wii-review/

Wii uDraw does have pressure, (so I've read) but I've never used it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on November 09, 2011, 05:55:54 pm
I'd like to share some thoughts about Cosmigo ProMotion.

I bought the V5.1 in July 2007 and used it ever since (no upgrade). These days I bought a new Computer (Asus EEE EP121 Slate) with Win7 64bit and 4GB of Rams. After installing ProMotion, I couldn't open a file or create a new one.
So I wrote an Email to Jan Zimmermann and asked if that is a known error and if there is a solution. He told me that this has to to with my memory and that the old v5.1 doesn't support more than 3GB. Now, do you know what? Normally, a Developer would suggest to buy an update to solve this problem (~40$). But no, he sent me a Patch to solve this problem, letting me use my old version on the new computer, for free.
I'm amazed by his support and like to let the world know about this great piece of software. If you're undecided between ProMotion and e.g. GraphicsGale, I suggest ProMotion. The amazing support makes the bigger price more than worth.
To show my gratitude to Jan, I'll upgrade to the newest Version soon, even though I can use the old now without problems.

I hope it was helpful to some of you. Thanks for reading.

Yes, Jan is awesome.  I've tossed a few emails back and forth with them in the past for various reasons and always had a pleasant response.  The most recent - when 6.5 was released this last month - I had caught a bug that was pretty majorly bugging out GIF files that I would save that had more than 16 colors in them. Provided all the information that I could find regarding where the problem was showing up, which files weren't getting affected, screenshots and workfiles to look at, etc. just in case it would help in solving the issue. I recommend the software to people left and right, I'd hate for people to get turned off by it or think I love using borked software :P

Anyway, I got a response that day about it. Mentioned that they were bushwhacked from finally pushing the release out and would look into it asap. I was expecting maybe a couple weeks or something. But I got an email back the next day with details on a hotfix being made, and that he placed a renewal on my download ticket so I could get the new installer and everything was right as rain after that.

Great customer service, even after doing tons of work to get it out the door!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on November 10, 2011, 05:34:58 pm
I haven't played any game this year.. Then I notice skyrim, it's flooding reviews and initial walkthroughs vids.

Looks awesome, tempting.. but you might as well say goodbye to your real life :lol:
I'll get it next year when I have some time  :-\
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on November 13, 2011, 12:41:23 am
Happened across this while crawling around Reddit in between workfiles.  It's all black and white 'lineart' and some of it is interesting :P

(http://unomoralez.com/content/files/catalog1/source/catmadalah_1276164443.gif)

Here's the site.[/url]

Also, livejournal postings with more weirdness. (http://unomoralez.livejournal.com/)

And I guess while I'm posting something, here's an album of my terrible drawing studio interns sleeping on the job.

(http://i.imgur.com/OmZCT.jpg)

Showed a few people on IRC that enjoyed so here you are, Pixelation. (http://imgur.com/a/jLag5)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 13, 2011, 02:37:26 pm
i love that cat album so much i pull it up whenever i need some happiness c:

Figured it's relevant since VOXELS: http://www.humblebundle.com/ only a day left, but its a fun game and pay-what-you want. Level/character editors too! Would be cool seeing some stuff made by pixel artists, I haven't tried my hand at the custom stuff yet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Calx on November 14, 2011, 12:21:24 am
I was looking through Pixeljoint's gallery on my Ipad and I realized the dark colors are drastically darker on my Ipad verses my laptop. Now I'm paranoid as to whether my laptop, and therefore my art, has messed up colors or not. Can anyone with an Ipad tell me if they see a difference between their laptop and Ipad colors?  ???
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on November 14, 2011, 09:30:19 am
Stumbled across this really old instructional video while browsing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIn9baUNH0w

50's paint colors really have a look to them.  I wonder if it has to do with being made with lead.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on November 16, 2011, 08:57:07 pm
I was wondering if anyone can help me find a program someone posted awhile ago on here. It generated images that looked like this:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/MANDRAGGANON/randommonster01.png)

I tried the search function but I wasn't able to find anything. I think Happymonster created it but I'm not sure.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 16, 2011, 09:21:11 pm
Yep!

Found an old mirror of it on my site from 2009. (http://lolipopsicle.com/linky/Rest.zip) It's called Richard's Evolving Sprite Tool, for reference.

Awesome little program, a challenge/activity involving it would be neat. He also made a program that generates an image sorta like these based on a name, over at TIGSource a while ago people were using them for avatars.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jakten on November 16, 2011, 09:50:59 pm
Ah yes! Thanks Atnas. I find it really helps me come up with some interesting monster ideas when I start getting into a rut. I would love to participate in some kind of a challenge involving it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pistachio on November 16, 2011, 10:23:15 pm
Awesome little program, a challenge/activity involving it would be neat.

I would love to participate in some kind of a challenge involving it.

Second this notion. :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on November 16, 2011, 10:43:01 pm
Those are wonderful, and a CHALLENGE! centered around this would be ace. Question is, what should the challenge be?

Brainstorm!

Also, these snowman-smileys are adorable.  :-* :-[
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: miascugh on November 16, 2011, 11:56:56 pm
Two obvious notions that come to mind are using a randomly generated base and pixel what you think you see in it. or the other way around, turning something existing into one of those, which in my opinion is the unattractive cousin of notion #1.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 17, 2011, 01:16:06 am
Just so this doesn't get buried before we get around to doing it, please redirect discussion here! (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=7417.msg127727#msg127727) I quoted all the posts already so it can pick up where it left off.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on November 19, 2011, 06:17:07 pm
A questionably appropriate video of my 3 year old learning a lesson in bullying from Skyrim got featured on Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/5861090/skyrim-teaches-a-3+year+old-about-bullying). Pardon the 3 yells at the beginning, if you can make it to about 40 seconds in it's well worth her reactionary face. Also sorry about video quality, low-ish light cell phone camera :3

Hadn't expected more than my family and facebook friends to see it, honestly haha.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on November 26, 2011, 03:05:51 am
: D that's really impressive that that ended up on kotaku, Argyle. Your daughter is such a sweetheart by the way. "sword him" :']

Someone on IRC couldnt remember what the old skins looked like so here they are: Older (http://lolipopsicle.com/uploader/uploads/Pixelation1.png) Newer (http://lolipopsicle.com/uploader/uploads/Pixelation2.png)

I'm making a temporary skin to replace the default one by the way. Should be ready within a month or less. Unless miascugh updates the old one for the current forum version before then. Mine will just be something quick with the color scheme of the old one, nothing fancy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on November 26, 2011, 03:20:52 am
Color scheme is all that's really needed atm.  I would be happy just to see the dark grey background that's so useful for showing pixel art on.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on November 27, 2011, 01:55:01 pm
Made this in response to the video getting ridiculously over-viewed.

(http://i.imgur.com/ihANn.png)

Now to finish up work for a couple projects and Secret Santa  :blind:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on November 27, 2011, 11:03:51 pm
I have to say your child is the cutest child in the world.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scuba Steve on December 08, 2011, 04:54:17 am
Evening, ladies ;)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on December 08, 2011, 06:19:16 am
Evening, ladies ;)

That would be madam to you, young man.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on December 09, 2011, 06:03:00 pm
Evening, ladies ;)

Hey I remember you. From 2004, right?


Speaking of which, what url or name did Pixelation go by around that time? I'm hoping to find some of my old stuff with the http://www.archive.org/web/web.php (http://www.archive.org/web/web.php)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 09, 2011, 06:10:55 pm
pixelation.cjb.net?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on December 09, 2011, 06:21:01 pm
Doesn't ring a bell.  :-\ 2002-2004.


I remember being introduced to pixel art through Habbo Hotel. So lame.

Ah well I guess it's best not to dwell on things past.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Arachne on December 09, 2011, 06:39:58 pm
Evening, ladies ;)
Speaking of which, what url or name did Pixelation go by around that time? I'm hoping to find some of my old stuff with the http://www.archive.org/web/web.php (http://www.archive.org/web/web.php)

http://web1.t43.greatnet.de/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on December 09, 2011, 06:54:14 pm
i think it also was on something like pixelation.swoo.net or .org, not sure.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on December 09, 2011, 07:01:13 pm
Evening, ladies ;)
Speaking of which, what url or name did Pixelation go by around that time? I'm hoping to find some of my old stuff with the http://www.archive.org/web/web.php (http://www.archive.org/web/web.php)

http://web1.t43.greatnet.de/

Whoa hell yes! http://web.archive.org/web/20040524115914/http://web1.t43.greatnet.de (http://web.archive.org/web/20040524115914/http://web1.t43.greatnet.de)
Can't open any threads though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Scuba Steve on December 09, 2011, 11:11:06 pm
Ahh good times. I think Pixelation Forums were destroyed with a degree of regularity then.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rosse on December 10, 2011, 09:46:48 am
Yup, I'm pretty sure it was pixelation.swoo.net. With all the other tsugumo subdomain-glory.

Btw, here's another temporary pixelation forum, the posts are still readable:

http://pixelation.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pix
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on December 11, 2011, 12:35:56 am
I really don't mind those colours at all except that out of place yellow. Was Atnas remaking the last skin or is he doing his own?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 11, 2011, 01:37:57 am
http://lolipopsicle.com/uploader/uploads/tempskin.png

just bits and pieces of the old skins. I just need mia to send me the graphics from the old one so i can put them in and we're good to go. Or would people not mind the default SMF stuff going with it? It's a temporary skin, so i guess it wouldnt be a huge deal.

I do like those greys though, as I mentioned in IRC. I'll see if some of that theme might work better than the colors I have atm.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on December 11, 2011, 01:48:32 am
That purple kind of clashes with the brown and the rest of the other colours... also the grey and the beige/ecru are pretty similar...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 11, 2011, 02:25:13 am
Ah yeah the purple was ripped from the second to last skin, could be why. The grey/beige though is straight from the last one though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on December 12, 2011, 05:45:45 am
Heck, anything darker is a big improvement. This light skin is so off-putting.

Aha, I see your pass is 7 chars long. *INITIATING BRUTE FORCE ATTACK
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 12, 2011, 03:00:23 pm
Haha, I only use that password for really old stuff like that forum and irc accounts.

Anyway if anyone wants to do a tweak of the screen I posted be my guest.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Chris2balls on December 12, 2011, 07:51:30 pm
How about this (http://i.imgur.com/QC1BB.gif)?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 12, 2011, 08:56:26 pm
Much much better!

Mia hasn't gotten back to me with the images yet, but Batlorder just had me look at wayback machine again. On one of the sub forums I hadn't checked on my first visit, it preserved some of the images from the latest skin, so I'll rip them later tonight and hopefully in the next few days we can get the placeholder up c:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 13, 2011, 02:11:08 am
How about this (http://i.imgur.com/QC1BB.gif)?
I dunno, I find the contrast between the background and foreground elements a bit distracting.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Chris2balls on December 13, 2011, 07:57:11 am
Mhhh, is this (http://i.imgur.com/6cGp8.gif) better?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 14, 2011, 04:18:31 am
Hmm, was there anything in particular wrong with the old theme color choices?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on December 14, 2011, 07:16:34 am
Mhhh, is this (http://i.imgur.com/6cGp8.gif) better?

The first one was a lot better IMO.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Chris2balls on December 14, 2011, 02:08:55 pm
Hmm, was there anything in particular wrong with the old theme color choices?
Wrong, no. Not quite to my liking, yes! ;)
I tried the blue-greys from a recent Pixelation skin (http://i.imgur.com/EBP7A.gif), but I still think brown-green-grey is good. That being said, I liked the way Pixelation was and that would be better than the current skin.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on December 14, 2011, 02:19:17 pm
Ah, I prefer Chris' edits, but I suppose that's not others' preferences?

To get the old skin's colors I'd pretty much just have to take out the purple titlebars.

Warning while you were posting...

Behold! another. This is better than my mish mash too imo. Anyhow, It's just a temporary skin and anything is better than white and blue... So I don't know which one to adopt. :u
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on December 14, 2011, 06:44:16 pm
For what it's worth I do quite like the last metallic blue skin.

One small change though.

(http://i.imgur.com/oyJpi.png)


For giggles

(http://i.imgur.com/Wcvoz.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: robalan on December 22, 2011, 07:53:23 pm
*pokes head in*

*looks around*

Man, this place really doesn't change, does it? I leave for... *checks recent posts* really? Almost 3 years? Man, time flies. Anyway, I leave for three years and the place still looks pretty much the same as ever. Well, I suppose "ever" is a relative term, since there was more turmoil, server changing, and new skins back in the day... What I'm trying to say is "hi guys, how's it going?"

[EDIT] Also, what's up with all the Guests viewing remarkably random topics? There are two looking at the election results from '05, others viewing (or printing) topics from '07 where most of the picture links are broken, etc. Are these bots? Spammers looking for text for their next opus? Actual people who like reading unusual things? [/EDIT]
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Photocopier on December 24, 2011, 03:36:08 pm
 I can't believe I only just noticed the snowman yus: !yus!
Genius.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on December 31, 2011, 11:42:59 pm
Happy New Year!   :y: 8) or something
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Sherman Gill on January 02, 2012, 01:54:31 am
Man, this place really doesn't change, does it? I leave for... *checks recent posts* really? Almost 3 years? Man, time flies. Anyway, I leave for three years and the place still looks pretty much the same as ever. Well, I suppose "ever" is a relative term, since there was more turmoil, server changing, and new skins back in the day... What I'm trying to say is "hi guys, how's it going?"
Three years? Goddamn, I remember you being active around here when I was as well :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on January 09, 2012, 02:56:39 pm
Today I found out about a site called Bittybay (http://www.bittybay.com/). Looks familiarish... so I made a picture comparing old Habbo graphics with BB graphics. Well, well. The guy is also on PJ: http://www.pixeljoint.com/p/13936.htm (http://www.pixeljoint.com/p/13936.htm)

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12041164/habbo_bittybay.png)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lizzrd on January 10, 2012, 06:20:46 pm
Not really any other similarities other than the perspective and the subject.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on January 12, 2012, 03:47:58 am
Just played through Trip World (gameboy) on my 3DS, I'm sure it's been brought up here before because it has some of the best pixelart from before the gameboy colour and also some of the best gameboy music.
Here's a video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REtJqEMcdBQ), the video doesn't correctly show some of the tricks like flickering sprites/etc but it's still a pretty good video. Best $5 I've spent in a while, it's not the longest game but it has some decent challenge, a lot of charm, and curiously most of the other critters in the game don't try to hurt you, though some do if you attack them first.

I never heard of this game before so I thought I might as well mention it here, it could make for a good PA analysis thread or something someday.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on January 12, 2012, 03:57:47 pm
Trip World indeed is great as far as art and music go, the game mechanics are a tad weird.
Also as far as GB emulators KiGB is by far the best I have seen and to my knowledge the only one which has an option for image ghosting which makes the flicker effects used in this, Castlevania 2 and stuff like Chikyuu Kaihou Gun ZAS and other games look proper and not seizure inducing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PypeBros on January 19, 2012, 10:43:38 am
Wow.. check this out guys  :o

<found this on Gaf>
Inkling by wacom

(http://i.imgur.com/7HJ0t.jpg) -- (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yac1sNHxo7I/TvetYswoicI/AAAAAAAADW8/oxmQuELibp8/s320/bouli.jpg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXbBA1DRE84

$200 September.


Then again, we have scanners  :lol:

I got a similar tool by Staedler (http://sylvainhb.blogspot.com/2011/12/one-man-and-his-android.html) for X-mas, although it was clearly aimed at taking notes more than drawing. The sensitivity seems binary (on/off) and you need more pressure for the moves to be recorded than for the pen to actually draw on paper. Result is depicted above: coverage area when hashing isn't coherent with the real drawing, and some lines are slightly misplaced (due to inclination of the pen, maybe ?)
The software to manage the pen is windows-only, and a bit obsolete. It only export in JPEG ... wt?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on January 19, 2012, 04:11:26 pm
So, what happened to adding a skin to the forum? I got the impression that we were close to having at least a temporary skin. And that was several weeks ago.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cow on January 20, 2012, 02:25:48 am
I haven't talked to Atnas recently, but I would say just chill for a while. Chances are he's relatively busy, and a skin for the forum isn't a really huge issue. Last I checked he was waiting on Mia for some stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Froli on January 23, 2012, 02:10:41 pm
Sorcery!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21bFpgEfDFM

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on January 23, 2012, 05:14:58 pm
Whoa
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on February 06, 2012, 04:11:08 pm
Was processing a bunch of png animation frames, using ProMotion, of rough 3D modeled body parts to prepare them for resizing to actual sprite size and do cleanups... After like the 5th sheet of things, this was the entirely random palette result after it imported the indexes and removed the colorful default palette entries where needed.

Like a boss.

(http://i.imgur.com/vq18l.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on February 06, 2012, 04:19:39 pm
I didn't understand what you were saying...  Until I realized that it looked kinda like an Atari 2600 game and then I saw it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on February 06, 2012, 07:04:12 pm
Haha, sorry, I guess as soon as I saw it I couldn't unsee the big glitchy-looking-font pattern so I hadn't even considered that it probably isn't as obvious as I think.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on February 11, 2012, 10:28:17 pm
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/02/hilariously-ferocious-underwater-dogs/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+colossal+%28Colossal%29 Saw this and it reminded me of Upside-down doggies =)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: API-Beast on February 14, 2012, 03:52:30 am
Those teeth *shiver*
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ninja Crow on February 17, 2012, 02:53:10 am
Hi guys,
I have a 10-15 year old sketch of Superman by golden age comic artist, Leo Nowak (http://dccomicsartists.com/superart/Shustershop.htm), who worked on the actual Superman comic in the 40s.  It's about 8x11 inches.  Here's a picture I put on my Tinypic:

Superman - by Leo Nowak (http://i41.tinypic.com/1twkkw.jpg)

Obviously, it's one of a kind, but I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts on the best way to evaluate it's worth, or how to get it officially appraised, or whatnot.

Thanks!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on February 18, 2012, 06:56:57 am
(http://i.imgur.com/Nr16Y.gif)

To put this in context, I'm implementing the 'Include endpoints' toggle for GPick's "Mix colors" tool, which generates color gradients (a patch implementing this feature is here (http://code.google.com/p/gpick/issues/detail?id=67), btw). . This is meant to address the issue where you create a gradient, and the output colors get added to the palette -- and that includes a copy of the start and end colors (pink and yellow in this case).
When you want to insert a blend between two existing colors (rather than make an entirely independent ramp), this is annoying, because you now have two instances of the start and end colors -- ie

So-- .. Is this confusing or understandable, the way that 'Steps' changes when you toggle 'Include Endpoints'?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on February 29, 2012, 12:19:21 am
Any of you old pixel pushers going to GDC next week?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on February 29, 2012, 09:01:29 pm
Yeah man, I'll be there.  We should meet up at some point.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on March 01, 2012, 01:29:49 pm
Let's sneak up on AdamAtomic and tag team him!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: StevenM on March 01, 2012, 11:14:38 pm
How do you enable the 'click image to zoom in' feature on this website? I'd like to know if I could do the same thing on a Wordpress-enabled website, since I'm planning on uploading mainly pixel art there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 02, 2012, 12:55:00 am
It's a script. Check the source, you'll see the link.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on March 02, 2012, 09:54:24 pm
Too busy, too far, too many excuses to make it to GDC. Have fun though guys. Make sure you tie John Romero's hair to Adam Atomic's shoelaces. Hilarity!

Anyone else have a Nintendo 3DS? My toddler bricked my DSi with an epic juice maneuver, so I got a surprise 3DS gift last month. Never was a fan of Nintendo's online friend system because of those ridiculous numbers, but my friend code is 0688-6036-0065. I like to send stupid post-it note comic strips to whatever victims I can find.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on March 10, 2012, 08:38:34 am
I am so horrendously pissed at Pro Motion right now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 10, 2012, 11:06:05 am
I feel your pain. I'll be switching to something else soon. Might even learn ScriptFu and try extending GIMP now that it's getting single window mode.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 10, 2012, 02:28:19 pm
Huh? What happened with Pro Motion?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 10, 2012, 11:28:47 pm
Layers + Linking + Crashes + Lost Work + Facepalms
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on March 11, 2012, 03:21:59 pm
I wish gale would support tile mapping so I wouldn't have to deal with pro motions funky hotkeys and quirks.
Is there even a way to replace colors? If there is, this fundamental functionality is so hidden underneath bullshit no one needs (wtf color cycling mode? Dotted drawing mode being the standard?) it's not even funny.
It's on par with blender in terms of non-intuitiveness except that blender, being a 3d modeling program, has an excuse to be complicated, big and scary.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on March 11, 2012, 03:58:57 pm
To deal with gale not having tilemaps, I wrote a mode for my map editor that loads the image a few times every second so i can get real time updates on how the tiles work together. Hacky solution, but it really is one of the only things missing from gale. That and mirrored drawing, then the package would be complete...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on March 11, 2012, 04:30:55 pm
I found that using the scroll feature (image -> scroll) is amazing for tiles because it allows me to make them seamless without having to tile them first.  It's a feature I would use even if there was proper tilemap support.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 11, 2012, 06:09:12 pm
I wish gale would support tile mapping so I wouldn't have to deal with pro motions funky hotkeys and quirks.
Is there even a way to replace colors? If there is, this fundamental functionality is so hidden underneath bullshit no one needs (wtf color cycling mode? Dotted drawing mode being the standard?) it's not even funny.
It's on par with blender in terms of non-intuitiveness except that blender, being a 3d modeling program, has an excuse to be complicated, big and scary.

How about reading the included help? There are ways to change most shortcuts even.
And yes you can replace colours, in more than one way. But there is no simple Replace foreground with background colour functionality atm, you need to use a mask, which is easy enough.

KittenMaster: In the newest version of Promotion there is a neat thing where you can toggle a mode which tiles your image and you can make a pattern in realtime without shoving the canvas around. You can even set it to have horizontal or vertical offset.

As far as crashes and lost work goes. I have not lost ANY work in Promotion since 6.5 and not a lot since 6.0 even with crashes it always managed to make an emergency save.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on March 11, 2012, 07:34:41 pm
Quote
KittenMaster: In the newest version of Promotion there is a neat thing where you can toggle a mode which tiles your image and you can make a pattern in realtime without shoving the canvas around. You can even set it to have horizontal or vertical offset.
Sounds good, but the only reason I haven't stuck with ProMotion is because the trial period ran out and I don't have the money for the full version.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on March 11, 2012, 09:15:13 pm
How about reading the included help? There are ways to change most shortcuts even.
And yes you can replace colours, in more than one way. But there is no simple Replace foreground with background colour functionality atm, you need to use a mask, which is easy enough.

You have to open a dialog and select colors from the palette each time you do it?
Is that it? Cause that's a pretty tedious way to do such a simple task.

My point was that it is not intuitive at all, why do you think "read the manual" is a proper defense here?
Come on. It has a freaking color spray in the standard tool bar over a replace colors brush or a magic wand.
A color spray!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 11, 2012, 10:53:41 pm
Yes, reading the manual would help. There is a paint mode called formula and you can define your own shit in it in the settings dialogue under Mode

Here, this will make the fg colour paint ONLY over the bg one:

if( a==bg, fg, a )

and this the other way round which you put in the 2nd dialoge when adding a new formula

if( a==fg, bg, a )

That was not hard, now was it. Learn to read before you bitch around, seriously.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on March 12, 2012, 12:29:47 am
Okay look, I don't know what your problem is, maybe some misguided sense of obligation to protect "your program", but I do not appreciate you being condescending over what amounts to my opinion.
I wouldn't be condescending to someone saying photoshop is big and scary just because I've been using it for years.
Someone was saying promo drove them up the wall, I was explaining what about it it drives me up the wall.

You're even proving my original point, you realize that?
Anyway thanks for helping me with my problem even if not in the most charming way  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on March 12, 2012, 01:05:38 am
I feel your pain. I'll be switching to something else soon. Might even learn ScriptFu and try extending GIMP now that it's getting single window mode.
I'm curious, if you were switching away from ProMotion, why do you pick GIMP before Grafx2?

@KittenMaster: FWIW Grafx2 also has that functionality.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 12, 2012, 01:07:13 am
9_6: Sorry for being a bit harsh, and yeah I see how PM is counterintuitive in a lot of ways, but it is not really hard to learn if you spend a weekend to look into things. I got quite a bit of stuff around my head atm and am a bit on edge. Sorry again for lashing out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 12, 2012, 03:48:04 am
I'm curious, if you were switching away from ProMotion, why do you pick GIMP before Grafx2?

Animation. Also, the old school interface doesn't really resonate with me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on March 12, 2012, 06:06:24 am
Haha, I wondered if it'd be animation (In that case, I guess you are also aiming to install GIMP-GAP.).
Interesting timing you have. (http://code.google.com/p/grafx2/issues/detail?id=31).
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on March 12, 2012, 11:47:42 pm
I can die now. (http://www.jwz.org/blog/2012/03/oh-my-god-i-have-to-draw-you/)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on March 14, 2012, 12:01:18 am
Forgot to mention this here, since I know there are other artists that appreciated his work on Pixelation, but Moebius (http://www.geekosystem.com/rip-moebius/) died this week. Chances are you've seen something he's done or influenced in your time enjoying artistic entertainment.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on March 14, 2012, 01:29:12 pm
Oh man.  :(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on March 14, 2012, 11:15:34 pm
Yeah, Moebius dying made me sad when I heard it a few days ago. His legacy will live on.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alex pang on March 16, 2012, 11:09:39 am
any 1 know this guy?
http://www.youtube.com/user/SqRtOfPi
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on March 16, 2012, 06:20:10 pm
I feel like I've seen that piece of Bruce Lee in PixelJoint but I can't check because it's down.  :yell:

EDIT http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/67935.htm (http://www.pixeljoint.com/pixelart/67935.htm)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cure on March 16, 2012, 09:58:24 pm
X0-000 (http://www.pixeljoint.com/p/21883.htm)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alex pang on March 16, 2012, 10:25:01 pm
Thanks! (I'm gonna stalk that guy XD, he is amazing!)

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on March 16, 2012, 10:47:26 pm
DA is holding an "8-Bit" contest (http://deviantwear.deviantart.com/journal/New-8-Bit-deviantWEAR-Design-Challenge-290498291?utm_source=elnino&utm_medium=messagecenter&utm_campaign=031512_RET_8-Bit&utm_term=link) for hoodie designs.
I'd probably enter but judging by the pics they posted and some of the entries so far I fear that they are after the "intentionally shitty because retro" look which is kinda sad.
Any of you want to enter?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: The B.O.B. on March 22, 2012, 03:36:34 pm
   Just got done reading Moby Dick. I must say, I can see how this book received such mixed reactions when it first came out. Maybe it's due to the volume of movies I've inhaled over my lifetime, as opposed to books, but I felt this story dragged far too long in it's waist.
   It felt as if the writer(Melville) had trouble deciding what type of book he was wanting this to be when starting it off, what with the silly antics between Ishmael and Queequeg, to the GIANT wad of ship and whale anatomy in the middle, and finally the mad hunt in the end. Ahab is introduced bit by bit, which kind of hurts the novel's excitement of progression, in my opinion. When I was younger, I heard so many great things about this character, and he was built so largely as some American literary icon. He is said to be completely mad with vengeance, which I could see the writer was attempting to display. However, his interaction with most Captains he came across, and his crew seemed almost sportsman-like(if whale hunting could be called this, away from it's true cruel nature) as far as the whereabouts of the White whale go during the all save the last chapters. There is only 1 or 2 chapters truly dedicated to him in the middle of the book, and rest feels like Sailor ship-anatomy lessons 101.
   So much description goes into every minute detail, that I feel the writer loses himself in what was supposed to be the focal point of the story. I did enjoy the crew, however, and feel they got the brunt of it, in the end. Not that I was angry of their final fate, I just felt that their demise could've been better appreciated had the writer took the time to describe their ends sincerely, instead of mark their deaths "off-screen", so to speak. I was just so frustrated that it took so long for some excitement to reach the book, and have even more so to have it end so abruptly for a crew who were the ONLY reason to even bother with the middle of the bloated story.
   Overall, I wanted to like this, after hearing about it so often. Unfortunately, it dolled on and I can't quite say I enjoyed his Melville's descriptive nature as much as I've enjoyed Hemingway's in this field of story telling. A sad disappointment, for uneducated fool like myself. I'd give it a 2 out of 5 stars.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on March 22, 2012, 04:44:18 pm
Good work sticking with it, even though it felt dragged out. I should, too. I haven't approached Moby Dick at all, yet. I see it's 560 pages though, so that'll have to wait for now! I have other stuff to finish off first (incidentally, Hemingways The Sun Also Rises being one!).

If you want to try another book that really drags on, try Don Quixote ;). Though that's a very "episodic" piece of literature (it's a picaresque, after all), which could serve as an excuse I guess. You could treat it as a long-running TV-series!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 02, 2012, 01:51:07 pm
Help recognize a game!!!

What IS this platformer game? I remember having played it on 286 PC in year 1990 or thereabouts. The starting area looked something like this:

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12041164/some_game.gif)

The hero may or may not have had a sword in hand. And the grass was animated like that. The graphics may have been EGA or CGA. I've been wondering about this for years.. decades, in fact. There can't have been that many platformers on PC in the beginning of the 90's, but all my googling attempts have proven futile.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on April 04, 2012, 03:51:30 am
Perhaps it was just a dream.



Perhaps this is dream.



Perhaps . . . we're all just asleep, dreaming.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 04, 2012, 07:21:13 am
Perhaps . . . we're all just asleep, dreaming.

No we bloody well aren't.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 04, 2012, 07:24:03 am
JJ Naas, I'm wide awake and I've played most of anything for old pcs, but what you've posted doesn't ring a bell. Sorry. You can check on mobygames for your time period of 4-5 years of CGA and EGA for PC and PC Booter.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 04, 2012, 10:22:30 am
Thanks. I didn't know Moby Games had such an excellent search feature and database. The game must be this one. (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/dark-ages-volume-i-prince-of-destiny/screenshots)

(http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/4436-dark-ages-volume-i-prince-of-destiny-dos-screenshot-consulting.gif)

The grass animation is there as well. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4WHYP3Z5KY) This was the first non-Nintendo platformer I ever played, on a school computer. It felt epic and mysterious at the time.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on April 04, 2012, 10:48:55 am
I like your version better  :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 04, 2012, 10:55:24 am
JJ Naas, I've very happy to have helped even a little bit in finding this. I've been in similar situations with yours and it's always rewarding when you finally find the thing that you've been remembering.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: JJ Naas on April 04, 2012, 02:23:25 pm
Helm: Yeah, it was nice to finally know this. :) I expected that in my memories it was more awesome than it'd turn out to be, so I was actually positively surprised that judging from the video this game even seems somewhat playable even now. If I were to remake of the graphics, it'd be fun to try to make it similar to the image I've had in my head for decades. Mostly in terms of trying to capture the atmosphere. I made the previous example very gray because I didn't remember what the palette was like.

Platformers were my favourite genre, and I liked them quite slow-paced. This one was faster than I remembered. Maybe I was just such a noob that I played it very slowly and cautiously.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: pgil on April 04, 2012, 03:43:44 pm
Oh, man, Dark Ages  ;D

I love all the weird little details in that game, like how the screen doesn't stop scrolling at the level borders, implying that the game's world is much bigger than the part you get to explore...  Also, how there aren't any transitions between levels. You go through the door in Level 1, and level 2 just appears. There are later levels where you're just walking through a hallway, then the passage behind you sort of clamps shut.  I also found the enemies pretty creepy when I first played it. Of course, I was 7.  Was still pretty fun when I replayed it a while back, though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on April 04, 2012, 04:32:04 pm
Actually I just played a bit of Dark Ages on dosbox and it's very solid, in my opinion. Besides not having real scrolling.

edit: messed with this for fun

(http://locustleaves.com/darkages.gif)


After what Arachne and Surt have done for redefining what's possible for EGA scroller art, my straight tilemap edit's kind of passe, but still, fun.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on April 06, 2012, 09:40:05 pm
I remember playing that as well, but only for a short time.  I myself couldn't remember the name of the game.  I fondly remember finding the 5 1/2" floppy disk it was on.

Too busy playing stuff like Xargon, though, heh.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on April 13, 2012, 05:51:08 am
REMOVED FOR THE SAKE OF NOT CROSSPOSTING OMWTFBBQ

http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=5006.msg130719#msg130719
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Rydin on April 18, 2012, 10:15:16 pm
Pixelation is way more tao-ier with a default theme. Me likey ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 22, 2012, 08:54:52 am
Anyone else playing Fez?

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed.
I love the atmosphere and the core gameplay, but all the meta-stuff put me off. First off almost everyone speaks in a language you're supposed to translate outside of the game (pen and paper) but I don't have an HDTV and I can barely even make out the symbols, same problem with the tetris blocks representing buttons I'm supposed to press- the whole thing is what, 3 pixels wide? nope, I'm not pressing my face up against the TV.
And the sheer amount of all these cryptic messages puts me off even attempting to solve one.

I just can't really access this whole other half to the game and it makes it hard to enjoy, I would rather watch someone else play and explain the game- and I think that's a sign of a bad game.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on April 23, 2012, 09:46:58 am
You have some valid complaints mixed with some invalid complaints. A budget monitor + Xbox 360 VGA adapter could improve your experience significantly.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on April 23, 2012, 09:56:31 am
That goes for a lot of 360 games, doesn't it?
It seems most game devs think everyone has an HD tv nowadays.
Larger fonts as an option are practically a nonexistant feature for whatever reason.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: .TakaM on April 24, 2012, 12:59:54 am
Yeah, even a few Wii games had very small text that was hard to read, I know I'll get an HDTV eventually but I didn't expect Fez to require one.
I should clarify I don't hate the game, I enjoyed playing it and I don't regret buying it. But there's this whole other half to the game I'm finding a bit too hard to access, like there are these QR barcodes in the game you can scan with your iphone but I don't have one so I have no idea what they do.

Basically, I know I can't get 100% so I feel like it's pointless.

It's a shame because it seems like everyone who's decoding puzzles and translating dialog is having their minds blown.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on May 01, 2012, 09:46:50 pm
Just saw this fantastic Deadly Premonition tribute on youtube. And I swear to god I knew it was Helm from the thumbnail already, don't ask me why!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XECH9w3y3AM
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on May 02, 2012, 07:43:58 am
Hehe, yes. I don't take too much credit for that one because it is a rush-job based on a conversion of a frame of the game, after all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 07, 2012, 05:37:56 am
Just an FYI for anyone intersted, Creative Suite 6 is out for download on Adobe's servers. Here's (http://prodesigntools.com/adobe-cs6-direct-download-links.html) a (legal, legit) direct download link if you want to try the new softwares out.

I really, really, like the new subscription model. I'll gladly shell out $20 a month for the latest and greatest Photoshop version. Creative Cloud looks like a good deal too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on May 11, 2012, 03:18:35 am
The idea of downloading the beta free seems cool, but considering how they're going into subscription model couldnt this possibly have some draconian DRM that embeds itself to your motherboard (exagerating :p) so you can never erease it? this could be the worm to their hook.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 11, 2012, 05:08:29 am
Actually, it's the older versions of CS that use draconian DRM. CS1 & CS2 install SafeCast DRM, and CS3 installs FlexNet DRM, both of which write data to the boot sector of your HD, which hangs around even during OS re-installs. Newer versions rely solely on phoning home and checking the license key for uniqueness.

Having hopped around between several Mac and Windows computers the past few years, I know way too much about the pains of DRM.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on May 12, 2012, 03:38:33 am
I'm lovin' CS6!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on May 20, 2012, 11:58:30 pm
I'm lovin' CS6!

I am too! But the chances that I can afford to buy a license when my trial period expires are very slim. Guess you can pay an additional 20 every month and keep it, though? Does it mean I can pay for one month at a time, as long as I see fit, or is a prolonged subscription required? (I will look this up soon)

Anyway, I've tried my hand at OpenCanvas (latest v.) today, to see if it could be a viable alternative for my cg-arting needs. It's very affordable, at least. Has anyone else here got any good experience with it? Cause to me it's rather confusing. It doesn't appear to work too well with my Bamboo Pen, either, or I'm missing/not understanding something (the stylus button-controls don't seem to work properly).

All I'm wondering is if it has enough to offer that I can attempt to do professional-level art with it. Example: if I'm commissioned to create a fantasy landscape in a painterly style, can I count on OpenCanvas to have all the tools I need towards achieving that goal? Sure, a good artist could make do with any tool, I guess. What I'm trying to get at is if it's feasable to achieve the goal in question in regards to efficiency (not having to do any elaborate, time consuming workarounds to get the desired requirements. That's generally what I feel my issue is with GIMP). Would anyone here have an answer to that?

Otherwise, what other art programs would you suggest that are free to relatively cheap, and could fulfill the requirements of the example above?

Thank you for your time!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on May 21, 2012, 12:53:45 am
Here's the Photoshop CS6 price breakdown:

$20/month, if you sign up for a 1 year subscription.
$30/month, for month-by-month payments.

There's also Creative Cloud, which gives you access to every single Adobe product. $50/month for yearly subscription, $80 for month-by-month.

Someone on Hacker News did the math, and the new subscription model is cheaper than buying a perpetual license. Especially now that new versions come out yearly.

Otherwise, what other art programs would you suggest that are free to relatively cheap, and could fulfill the requirements of the example above?

MyPaint (http://mypaint.intilinux.com/) has a beautiful painting engine. It's free and open source. Very minimalist. It's a great supplement for Photoshop/GIMP. Laydown the foundations in MyPaint, then do final color and rendering adjustments in Photoshop.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on May 21, 2012, 04:46:30 am
Otherwise, what other art programs would you suggest that are free to relatively cheap, and could fulfill the requirements of the example above?

Paint tool sai makes photoshop look like a klutzy dinosaur when it comes to digital painting and drawing.
It has pretty much everything you need except for text support (which you can always do in something like gimp) and a pretty sane price tag.
I've seen it grow more and more popular among digital artists and for good reason.

You just can't comfortably pixel in it, it's pretty much tailor made for high res cg art only but there are better alternatives for that anyway.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on May 21, 2012, 10:36:45 am
Here's the Photoshop CS6 price breakdown:

$20/month, if you sign up for a 1 year subscription.
$30/month, for month-by-month payments.
Thanks for the info!

As for MyPaint, I've played with it for quite a while. Though I couldn't quite figure out how to get the brushes behave like I wanted. Never really bothered to learn how the brush settings in MyPaint worked, though. I went on to PS because I already knew how to get versatile, foundational brushes for it (through the help of the brilliant Ctrl+Paint (http://www.ctrlpaint.com/)).

Paint tool sai makes photoshop look like a klutzy dinosaur when it comes to digital painting and drawing.
It has pretty much everything you need except for text support (which you can always do in something like gimp) and a pretty sane price tag.
I've seen it grow more and more popular among digital artists and for good reason.

You just can't comfortably pixel in it, it's pretty much tailor made for high res cg art only but there are better alternatives for that anyway.

Cool, I'll have another look on that then. I already have GraphicsGale for pixels, and it turns out to be able to handle all professional requirements on the pixel-side of things.

Thanks, all!  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Doppleganger on May 30, 2012, 12:09:28 am
Does anyone know/remember how to remove the automatic anti-aliasing that firefox does when zooming in on an image? I used to have something that addressed it, but for whatever reason that's gone and now I'm at a loss. Any help would be appreciated.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Jeremy on May 30, 2012, 08:37:19 am
This thread (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=8144.msg130356#msg130356)? (see Dusty's post)

It's odd, I have a Stylish thing for PJ's forum, but not here, and the click zoom works fine  ???
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yrizoud on May 30, 2012, 04:14:20 pm
Pixelation's own CSS includes the necessary fix(es):
img.zoom
{
   image-rendering: -moz-crisp-edges; /* Firefox */
   image-rendering: optimizeSpeed; /* Webkit */
   image-rendering: -o-crisp-edges; /* Opera */
   -ms-interpolation-mode: nearest-neighbor; /* IE */
}
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 17, 2012, 03:40:40 am
trying to raise some money for a camcorder:
http://www.indiegogo.com/meltingmind?a=703840
figure I'd hit this place up since it's the best creative outlet I know and there might be better support here than other places.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 17, 2012, 10:34:54 am
Good luck with reaching the sum. Is getting a job in the field out of the question? You're a wonderful pixel artist.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 17, 2012, 04:45:39 pm
thanks, i've been trying to do freelance, but it's been hard for me to stay motivated. I want to try and do more outside my apartment and tie my interest in observation of detail beyond just looking at a screen- to kind of capture real-life stuff rather than just repeat cycles of thought inside my own head.. to put it simply I guess. :\
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 17, 2012, 06:47:23 pm
I understand. Perhaps you'll make the money this way. But if not, holding a job to make the necessary money to live is what most people do. If you can't get yourself to be motivated to basically provide for yourself, then there are larger issues at hand than a camcoder.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cyangmou on June 18, 2012, 10:56:21 pm
quite nice vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mqAZ06dwKU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mqAZ06dwKU)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on June 20, 2012, 05:51:59 am
Well, Prometheus sure was disappointing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 20, 2012, 11:58:05 pm
So many plot-holes, yes. Bad pace. Good acting! Could have been so much better.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on June 21, 2012, 02:33:38 am
Prometheus was dumbfounding. Really disappointed. How do these major productions fall victim to these things? I was SO looking forward to it, too. Many gripes.
There were some gems, though. I LOVED the Space Jockey scene - when the Giger-inspired machine emerged from the ground and the engineer climbed into it. That was cool! Nostalgic, yet new.
As for Prometheus being bad a subjective thing, here's some pretty objective points to read - Just 5 little things (http://screenrant.com/prometheus-changes-alien-vic-178488/).

And here's a little something (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJQQZum6D3M&feature=related) I just found today. Where else am I going to link it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on June 21, 2012, 10:52:11 am
How can plot holes not bother people? Oh well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on June 21, 2012, 07:39:44 pm
I know we kinda moved off the prometheus topic...but I still wanted to make a little post :p

I still havent watched it, but his is so seminal that I will even if it sucks if only to watch it crash. Much like what Metal Gear Solid 4 was for me personally (I wouldnt compare the scale of the franchises, just that I was a big MGS4 fan :P)

https://kbco.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/prometheus-no-spoilers-though/ I read this, and it says to not expect answers, to not expect terror.

From Pixelation, I gather I can also expect plotholes, bad pace and some good acting :p. I've heard it removes (whatever little was left) of the mysticism from the Xenomorphs, is this true?

I also stumbled into an interview where Ridley allegedly "explains it" I wonder if it's satisfying for someone who saw it...
http://www.movies.com/movie-news/ridley-scott-prometheus-interview/8232

I've managed to be spoiler free so far, so if anybody can tell me some more things I can expect to suck without singling out the elements I'd apreciate it, so I can become as disappointed as posible before I enter the theater, and I get to enjoy the visuals atleast as much as one could.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on June 21, 2012, 09:55:34 pm
Since drawing with colors just overloads me and gets me more concerned with the colors instead of actual pixeling and drawing, is it ok to just draw everything in greyscale first? 

And if so, is it ok to use a 16 color palette which is evenly divided in value, like so?  (http://i.imgur.com/VFV0L.png)

And if so, how does one go about coloring a greyscale image, or devising a coordinated palette from a greyscale piece?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on June 22, 2012, 01:53:39 am
Of course it's ok.  Grayscale is fine.  You might try fewer colors though.  Maybe 6 or so to start.  Practicing Line art or complete forms is fine. 
If you are new to pixels, the noobtorials at PixelJoint are useful: http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5692 (http://www.pixeljoint.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5692)

Hope this helps.


But off topic, this week was adventures in digging. 

There is a tree stump in my yard.  So I go to dig it out.  Only it's not a tree stump exactly.  Two feet down and there's no roots so far, just trunk.  Like the previous owner buried a tree halfway and then just chopped off the top half at the new ground level.  Why????  This thing could go down six feet or more.  Well, ok, I can just cover the top with brickwork.

Digging adventure #2 was the anvil.  Yep, my house came with an anvil.  An I-beam really, about 1 foot long and 6 inches in either direction.  Welded to a short post that is stuck in a large post that is stuck in the ground.  The whole thing comes up to your waist.  The anvil part is heavy, gotta be 60 pounds or so (25+ kg) but it comes off and I can carry it.  The large post goes down to the ground, embedded in concrete.  No problem, I can just dig it out, right?

An hour later, I've got a hole a yard deep (1 m).  I've had to dig a hole to stand in just so I can dig down further.  The post keeps going, and doesn't even wiggle when I tug on it.  On the one hand, it's kind of amazing how much dirt one person can move in an hour.  On the other, I'll never be a gravedigger because I'm too much of a wimp.  And the post still mocks me.  I'll give it another shot tomorrow.

Anyone have a use for a heavy chunk of steel I-beam?

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on June 22, 2012, 05:34:24 am
I've managed to be spoiler free so far, so if anybody can tell me some more things I can expect to suck without singling out the elements I'd apreciate it, so I can become as disappointed as posible before I enter the theater, and I get to enjoy the visuals atleast as much as one could.

The biggest problem is that the movie was coauthored by Damon Lindelof. The same gripes that Lost fans have with the writing to Lost, Alien fans will have with the writing to Prometheus.

Plots sprout out and are never resolved, or are promptly resolved without any emotional resonance. Characters are one-dimensional and their actions are idiotic. Personalities never emerge. No one is likable. Something is very wrong when an android is the most fleshed out and believable character in a movie. The movie wasn't character based like it's predecessors. People only exist to move the plot along.

Really, this movie was sabotaged by a bad screenplay. As Helm said, the actors did great. Ridley Scott is one of the better directors alive today. The production was top notch, but you can't polish a turd.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on June 24, 2012, 12:09:02 am
Whenever I see a movie script several times rewritten, my alarms go off. It's usually a recipe for a disaster. Also, when you put in the mixe writers hired to write the original screenplay in the first place...not good.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on June 24, 2012, 08:37:23 am
Sporadic back and forth between locations and characters and everything driven by christian symbolism in the expense of believable characters. So disappointing.
I really hoped to see something as nice as the David promo.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 28, 2012, 02:46:21 am
funny baby monkey-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5dT8Pm9ow4
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 28, 2012, 08:14:57 am
omg.. what kind of monkey astronaughts are they?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0FZts2QC7M
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on June 28, 2012, 02:12:58 pm
haha just saw Penny Arcade's - on the rain slick precipice of darkness 3 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/213030?snr=1_41_4__42) suprised at the visual styling

remember playing a demo of the first one years ago from a disc on my usual PC game magazine, and it was all 3D, and they did a 2? must've missed that
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 29, 2012, 03:52:16 am
pixels for the win, Grimsane, nice video.


I mades a video about tiny animals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvyEJSrX0II

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on June 29, 2012, 05:13:08 am
I officially hate electricity companies, it took them dozens of problems, most of them ludicrous (and downright criminal) for the hatred to finally stem !yus!

latest offence over 1 hour on hold and counting, sadly it's something critical so wait I must, good lord the in your face advertising and patronizing auto-pology, why oh why :'(

* done close to 2 hours on hold, resolved, boy am I glad I got them to call back at the start :lol: non toll-free on a mobile would've cost a fortune  :blind: but oh my time so much wasted time >:(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 29, 2012, 05:48:05 am
maybe my vid can be happiness.. i added annotations!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 30, 2012, 02:39:08 am
YEA! more funnnsss I make..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX6kk7kyA7c
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on June 30, 2012, 04:51:14 am
whoa check it out guys:http://www.doublefine.com/news/comments/fan_art_roundup_pixel_art/ (http://www.doublefine.com/news/comments/fan_art_roundup_pixel_art/)
 ;D got featured in a Double Fine news post, I posted that stuff on the official Double fine forums because I figured I'd share it with them and it's where alot of enthusiasts of the game could appreciate it, and lo and behold that happens, hah cool  :D

*they kinda messed up putting oleander on black though  :mean:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 30, 2012, 08:05:56 pm
still looks good though Grimsane..

Here's another video I made about double-ness?.. potentially.. possibly?.. Maybe...?.. who knows..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0ucxRswMMk
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on June 30, 2012, 10:25:44 pm
Save the space monkeys! haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtLnl2T_d9M
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 01, 2012, 03:15:04 am
yeah, and lucky I didn't use pure black on the sprite itself..

what happened to that pixelator Vs challenge thing? just saw that thread and seemed like it just died before it ever began, or am I missing something  ???

late to the game for all those cool activities, although  hope peeps won't mind if I participate in some of the ones without deadlines and Necro them with my results  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 01, 2012, 04:01:25 am
idk.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEFYOH80Gns
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 01, 2012, 10:48:55 pm
another go at rawness: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LujI-49-0S0
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on July 01, 2012, 11:02:25 pm
Haha, this last video is nuts. Don't know what you are trying to say, but giving a voice to things you are drawing in a neat thing. Wonderful concept to play around with.

Might steal it for something...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 01, 2012, 11:54:39 pm
lol, that would be fun to see :)

here's some Sloth time!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAuDjNdVqIM
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 02, 2012, 08:04:40 am
another sloth video.. who knew sloths poo?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMG9e6XlxJQ
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on July 02, 2012, 08:48:11 am
Did you really just read wikipedia to the camera for 15 whole minutes?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 02, 2012, 09:22:21 am
...
I guess it's up to them to decide.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 02, 2012, 10:10:13 am
and.. here.. is.. a.. dundundun..waterbottle!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY7-oUa0B_U
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on July 02, 2012, 10:23:07 am
That's over a dozen videos here and half a dozen double-posts, in only 4 days or so, I think this is pretty spammy.   :n:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 02, 2012, 10:28:14 am
...lol...wow...that was magical.
you have no idea...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 02, 2012, 02:25:32 pm
...lol...wow...that was magical.
you have no idea...

making it sound like you were doing so intentionally trying to see how far you could push it until you got that response?

whatever you are doing I think you are whittling away your credibility and starting to grate on people, if this really is a social experiment it is quite baffling what you seek to prove...

just an relatively unbiased observation take it as you will..
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 02, 2012, 03:44:25 pm
Since January I have been rehearsing for a play that takes place on the evenings of 12th-14th July.   :) 

It's Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and this version is set in 1919 just after the First World War and I'm playing the villain Borachio and I get to wear a nice First World War soldier's uniform (though I've exercised a bit much since my measurements were taken and the costume's now a smidge tight) and be a bastard so I'm having fun.  ;D   It's an outdoor show performed at the grounds of the beautiful Anglesey Abbey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglesey_Abbey) with the house itself being the backdrop of the second half of the play.  It's by my local drama group called Viva (who I did a play with last year too) and performed as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Open Stage event.

I know it's unlikely anyone here is local enough (Cambridgeshire, England) or interested if they are and want to come watch, but if you happen to be then times and ticket price details are here (http://www.viva-group.org.uk/shows/auditions-open-for-much-ado-about-nothing-with-royal-shakespeare-company/)

Sorry that almost comes across like advertising spam but I just thought some people might like to know what I've been up to. So yeah.  Delete this post if it does seem too spammy-ad-crap. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on July 02, 2012, 04:51:05 pm
Since January I have been rehearsing for a play that takes place on the evenings of 12th-14th July.   :) 

It's Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and this version is set in 1919 just after the First World War and I'm playing the villain Borachio and I get to wear a nice First World War soldier's uniform (though I've exercised a bit much since my measurements were taken and the costume's now a smidge tight) and be a bastard so I'm having fun.  ;D   It's an outdoor show performed at the grounds of the beautiful Anglesey Abbey (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglesey_Abbey) with the house itself being the backdrop of the second half of the play.  It's by my local drama group called Viva (who I did a play with last year too) and performed as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Open Stage event.

I know it's unlikely anyone here is local enough (Cambridgeshire, England) or interested if they are and want to come watch, but if you happen to be then times and ticket price details are here (http://www.viva-group.org.uk/shows/auditions-open-for-much-ado-about-nothing-with-royal-shakespeare-company/)

That's wicked cool, post a pic of you in uniform!  I'm in Portsmouth that weekend, but it sounds amazin'.  Do have some indie dev friends in Cambridge tho who may be interested tho. 

(Apologies if I made you uncomfortable by bemoaning more spammy posts, I was concerned specifically with the frequency / clearly trolling nature)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 02, 2012, 05:04:00 pm
That's wicked cool, post a pic of you in uniform! 

Haven't got any yet but likely will do after the play itself is done.  I don't know if I'd post any here though.  I don't tend to like photos of myself.  Some were taken on rehearsal yesterday (sunday) for the programme but not in costume and also I look like an idiot.  Was sunny and I was squinty.  I'm generally very sensitive to heat and light and affects my eyes greatly but I didn't want to wear my sunglasses in the programme and look like one of those actors with an ego.  Still not quite sure how I'm gonna get by without them in the play itself.  Not many folks had sunglasses in 1919 I reckon.  :)

Quote
(Apologies if I made you uncomfortable by bemoaning more spammy posts, I was concerned specifically with the frequency / clearly trolling nature)

I didn't know what you meant by that til I read previous posts.  I hadn't seen those.  I simply just posted in this topic without reading what had come before since it's off-topic.  So, thanks for consideration but no you didn't make me uncomfortable.  I just thought it might have been spammy like I'm trying to sell something ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on July 02, 2012, 05:45:33 pm
Not many folks had sunglasses in 1919 I reckon.  :)

You're kidding, right?  I mean, they weren't really popular until the early movie stars started wearing them (and even more popular after WW2), but tinted lenses have been around for a few hundred years.  Just get some vintage frames and don't go too dark on the lenses.  You probably don't want to cover your eyes for the acting bits, but it they could serve as a decent prop and give you an excuse to wear them around when not on stage.

http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/WWI.html (http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/WWI.html)
http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/19c-turnpin.html (http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/19c-turnpin.html)

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 02, 2012, 06:00:40 pm
You're kidding, right?  I mean, they weren't really popular until the early movie stars started wearing them (and even more popular after WW2), but tinted lenses have been around for a few hundred years.  Just get some vintage frames and don't go too dark on the lenses.  You probably don't want to cover your eyes for the acting bits, but it they could serve as a decent prop and give you an excuse to wear them around when not on stage.

http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/WWI.html (http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/WWI.html)
http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/19c-turnpin.html (http://www.eyeglasseswarehouse.com/pages/19c-turnpin.html)

Tourist

When we were doing costume and props research the costume lady said it was unlikely an officer of my rank would have them as they were apparently considered a luxury item and certainly not a good idea to add anything new to the props list at this stage anyway.  I think the budget is pretty much used up.  I'd prefer not to have them anyway as they may be awkward during certain scenes, like you say for 'eye acting' (which I've been told I'm very good at and having striking blue eyes so they say) and I need both hands free for certain scenes so best I don't have them to take on and off during bits. I'll have my regular sunglasses on 'backstage' and just be sure I remove them everytime I enter my scenes.    Thanks for the links though.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on July 02, 2012, 06:28:36 pm
No worries.  Good luck with the play! 

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 02, 2012, 06:48:08 pm
Thanks.  Still feels a bit odd at times in that it was only a few years ago that I was still having mental and physical health issues that made me very withdrawn, agoraphobic and prone to panic attacks.  Was difficult even just to leave the flat I had back then to go to the local shop.  Now I'm doing my second play since those times.  And I love it.  I know it sounds strange when I'm pretending to be other people, but this is the first thing I've done in years where I feel I'm myself.  Any remaining shyness, nervousness and quietness I have seems to disappear when I'm acting.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 03, 2012, 01:15:05 am
whoa good luck (with the weather especially) sounds awesome ;D
if I wasn't a broke student on the other side of the world I'd definitely consider attending :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 03, 2012, 05:15:27 am
I measure a Tortoise: http://youtu.be/mFBYNa9tRoo
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 03, 2012, 07:06:58 am
whoa good luck (with the weather especially) sounds awesome ;D
if I wasn't a broke student on the other side of the world I'd definitely consider attending :D

Heh, thanks.  Always some nerves in the run up to the show but it'll be fine when it's all happening and anything that goes wrong we'll just get on with it anyways.

My life is strangely upbeat at moment.  Even went on a date last night and we had a great time.  Surreal.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on July 03, 2012, 01:46:59 pm
Alex I want some of what you're smoking.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on July 03, 2012, 02:06:43 pm
I love your talking drawings Alex. Keep them coming.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 04, 2012, 12:33:25 am
uh.. hi  :crazy:   I just wanted to say for some reason the zoom function on Pixelation and Pixeljoint for the pixel art section and the forums respectively is finally keeping the crispness of the pixels for the first time ever, today.  I wonder why this is so, but I like it  :lol: :lol:

That is all.  Bye  :noob:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 04, 2012, 01:55:09 am
Good news Friend, and thanks Lachie/leroy..
Here is the Tortoise and Hare story for the future!
http://youtu.be/fXA5ohd7MQc
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 04, 2012, 02:20:30 am
uh.. hi  :crazy:   I just wanted to say for some reason the zoom function on Pixelation and Pixeljoint for the pixel art section and the forums respectively is finally keeping the crispness of the pixels for the first time ever, today.  I wonder why this is so, but I like it  :lol: :lol:

Did you switch or update your browser? I use Chrome and I've been waiting... a couple of years for Google to implement the required CSS tags for crisp zoom.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 04, 2012, 02:33:19 am
I broke your time...
http://youtu.be/Yl_tS9v-Xp0
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 04, 2012, 02:49:50 am
uh.. hi  :crazy:   I just wanted to say for some reason the zoom function on Pixelation and Pixeljoint for the pixel art section and the forums respectively is finally keeping the crispness of the pixels for the first time ever, today.  I wonder why this is so, but I like it  :lol: :lol:

Did you switch or update your browser? I use Chrome and I've been waiting... a couple of years for Google to implement the required CSS tags for crisp zoom.

yeah my chromium based browser still blur-o-vision, something relatively easy too for the devs I would imagine, writing a function to disable the filtering engine they implemented shouldn't be too much trouble, but it's an incredibly low priority for them :( I use Opera for the forums and pixel related stuff, because atleast you can toggle it off.


@friend so which browser are you using that's now crispy on pixelation?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 04, 2012, 04:56:07 am
No I didnt do anything to my browser!!! That's why I'm so confused. I use firefox. Version 13.0.1. It just started doing the crispy pixels in here and pj simultaneously this morning when I booted up my computer.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 04, 2012, 06:47:58 am
the problem was that the firefox code was before the webkit code in the css and that for some reason does not work. I fixed that yesterday.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 04, 2012, 08:36:22 am
well just tested firefox and it is indeed working at last ;D now all we need is chromium to get updated to allow the same :blind:

glad you guys sorted that out, on here and PJ simultaneously? coolness, got used to Opera though
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 05, 2012, 01:36:24 am
FREE Albert Einstein from imprisonment! share with your space buddies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvExLvf8YHw
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 05, 2012, 05:50:19 am
I don't know if it's better to sleep and never wake up, or wake up and realize all your dreams will never be true. What's the point of either if neither get you anywhere?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 05, 2012, 06:42:00 am
Alex: Read up on the Tao and you'll find that the latter is the infinitely superior option.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 05, 2012, 07:14:53 am
Jeebus my luck seems to be changing.
Got a £78 rent refund this week cos I'd overpaid somewhat back when I was working.
Had a great time with a lovely girl on Monday night and we're planning to go out again very soon (I'm a bit busy cos my play starts next thursday and most of my time is rehearsal)
and last night I got 5 numbers out of 6 on the National Lottery so won myself £1412 which is more money than I've ever had at one instance in my whole life.

And what I'd best do with that money is get driving lessons & a cheap car so I can actually travel outside of this nothing town, find work and make more money.  

Now excuse me while I continue doing an insanely happy dance around my living room.   Ok I'm not a millionaire but this money sure has eased some of the pressure off me and I'm looking forward to my next date too, and the play.   :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 05, 2012, 08:04:23 am
Carnivac: rock awesome!  :lol: :lol: :y: :blind:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on July 05, 2012, 08:21:08 am
You deserve it, dude! 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 05, 2012, 08:24:22 am
gratz!, may the awesomeness continue  :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 05, 2012, 10:47:16 am
Thanks Helm, rikfuzz and Grimsane.  Am looking into those driving courses where you can do it all in one week or so.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 05, 2012, 11:39:00 am
Nice one :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on July 05, 2012, 11:47:09 am
You see, I would be miserable if I was only one number from a Jackpot. Perspective.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 05, 2012, 12:23:42 pm
You see, I would be miserable if I was only one number from a Jackpot. Perspective.

I'm really not.  It's a game of luck so there's no point telling myself "oh I should have picked thaat number as my sixth or bonus ball".  Why dwell on the numbers I didn't manage to guess?  I got 5 of them right and that's given me a hell of a lot more money than I had before and is a huge help in my current situation.  Most weeks I'd be lucky to get the £10 for getting 3 of them and instead of I'm one of the 282 people in the UK who's got 1412 more pounds than I had the day before so I'm really pleased with my winnings and hey, I can always play again.  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 05, 2012, 12:25:07 pm
I would be too if it meant getting nothing,. But 1400 pounds out of the blue? Pretty ace.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 05, 2012, 09:13:24 pm
Wow, awesome luck Carnivac. 

How do you donate $ to Pixelation? 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 05, 2012, 10:37:09 pm
OK, I made a new button which should be english now or something and I made link to a page with that button in the news at the top of the screen.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 05, 2012, 10:55:44 pm
I saw something in some pixels about spaces that are coming through the screen at you..
http://youtu.be/BPfdl8BCZr0
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Bissle on July 05, 2012, 11:05:14 pm
I was just going to ask the same thing, Friend--I had noticed the banner was gone.

Awesome; you're on a roll, Carnivac!  :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 06, 2012, 06:54:07 am
You've got to be kidding me. Just now finding out that Shadow of the Collosus's main character is named Wander.

see project entropy thread to find out why this sucks x[
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on July 06, 2012, 07:56:24 am
Quote
Just now finding out that Shadow of the Collosus's main character is named Wander.
see project entropy thread to find out why this sucks x[

Don't worry about it, especially since its coincidence.
If the name fits your character stick with it.

Of course there's many synonyms to choose from if you feel the name is tarnished (but it isn't):
Ramble, Meander, Roam, Rove, Range, Go, Lost

Or perhaps some sort of portmanteau/word jumble:
Walkalot, Traveligo, Gofar, Nevahoem

Its fun to be completely original.
But ideas are just ideas.
It's all about execution.
Usually it's not worth getting bent out of shape over similar ideas.
"Crap some one already drew a robot! Now it sucks to draw one!"

Personally I wouldn't have made the connection.
But I'm the type of person that thinks mostly about gameplay.
Usually when a game prompts me to name characters, I go with: Chumpy, Lumpy, etc.
Yes, a hero named Chumpy saved Hyrule, at least in my game.

However I can understand wanting to make a completely tight creation with everything being important down to the name of each character.
I just don't think that players will boot up your game and say "Wtf? Has the same name as SOTC? Lame!".
Your project seems fun and interesting enough that it won't matter.

Carnivac:
Good luck with the lady!
Once you get a comfortable number of dates, seal the deal with home cooking.
I have an amazing salmon recipe that swoons the heart if you are interested.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 06, 2012, 08:03:30 am
PixelPiledriver: Thank your for the consolation, I think it was just a straw that broke the camels back after seeing the trailer for Journey and noting the vast desert landscape and textless gameplay. Also, perhaps the difference in gender will keep it acceptable.

Carnivac+PP: I concur with the home cooking, the ladies love it! And of course congratulations on the new found luck! You deserved a win!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on July 06, 2012, 08:21:01 am
PixelPiledriver: Thank your for the consolation, I think it was just a straw that broke the camels back after seeing the trailer for Journey and noting the vast desert landscape and textless gameplay. Also, perhaps the difference in gender will keep it acceptable.

Yeah, I think so..  Actually I always thought Wander was called Wanda. Technically it is 'Wanda' in Japanese, but I mean there's an actual name Wanda, and I never made the connection to the English word before.  (That's a girl's name though I think). 

In any case, remember the things that are important about the project, any elements have been done before don't detract from them. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 06, 2012, 08:35:04 am
I don't risk cooking for anybody.  I don't mind doing it for myself cos then it's just me I'm causing pain and repeated trips to the toilet to.  If I can use this money to get driving and find a new job then I can afford a new oven.  My current one is part of the reason every meal I cook in it tends to be awful.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 06, 2012, 05:52:05 pm
How come when I sneeze on my laptop screen (  :D ) and I look into the droplets left on the screen, it's like looking into a kaleidoscope of red green and blue only?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 06, 2012, 06:16:50 pm
Because the droplets magnify the screen and you actually see the subpixels, which are Red, Green, Blue. Red, Green and Blue light together makes White light. Red and Green makes Yellow. Red and Blue makes Magenta, Green and Blue makes Cyan. By combining them in different aspects and lightness you can make the RGB spectrum colours. And depending on the bitdepth per channel (Usually 8 bits per channel nowadays) you can get a different amount of total possible colours.

\o/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 06, 2012, 06:43:41 pm
You've got to be kidding me. Just now finding out that Shadow of the Collosus's main character is named Wander.

see project entropy thread to find out why this sucks x[
I could have sworn that Wander in SotC was a mistranslation and he was intended to have no name, but just be known as a wanderer. Either way, Wander is canon now either way :/
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 06, 2012, 07:11:33 pm
The Japanese title is "ワンダと巨像" which reads "Wanda to Kyozou" and means "Wanda and the Colossus". So whether his name is supposed to be Wanda or Wander I dunno, but he certainly does have a name.

And as for mistranslation, there are PLENTY of Japanese words which mean wanderer, and Wanda is not one of them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 06, 2012, 08:04:17 pm
The Japanese title is "ワンダと巨像" which reads "Wanda to Kyozou" and means "Wanda and the Colossus". So whether his name is supposed to be Wanda or Wander I dunno, but he certainly does have a name.

And as for mistranslation, there are PLENTY of Japanese words which mean wanderer, and Wanda is not one of them.
Maybe I was thinking Wanda, instead of wanderer. I know there was a lot of confusion over his name translation when the game was still popular.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 06, 2012, 08:10:50 pm
Wanda is the romanization of the original Japanese, the same way Sumisu is the romanization of Smith. Properly translated, you say Wander and Smith, not Wanda and Sumisu.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a basement to dwell in.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 06, 2012, 09:45:18 pm
Wanda could be pronounced Wanda or Wander. I have not seen any official statement from SONY regarding this.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 06, 2012, 09:56:22 pm
Japanese have carte blanche on mispronouncing foreign words. Us English speakers must be held to higher standards.

Also, it definitely is Wander.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEUsTCdjYXc#t=7m33s

Is that official enough for you?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 06, 2012, 10:25:46 pm
Yes. I played the game but I did not remember that. Good point.

About English speakers and pronunciation. Americans are hilarious at butchering foreign words and names :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 07, 2012, 12:47:05 pm
breakthrough found the right settings to make my digital input sound far more decent  :D thanks helm for pushing me in the right direction with your advice about pre amping  ;D
my FX pedal doesn't read as dB though just 0-100 volume scale on the preamp, but jacking up the preamp and the tone is a whole lot better than before :yay:

not quite perfect but even that'll likely get better with a higher quality guitar, and possibly better gear, also I found that if I had the analogueOUT and digitalOUT active simultaneously it downgrades both streams to 22k as opposed to one 44k, so theres more quality there, so studio quality audio isn't achievable on my rig anyway but still
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yaomon17 on July 07, 2012, 03:44:30 pm
You've got to be kidding me. Just now finding out that Shadow of the Collosus's main character is named Wander.

see project entropy thread to find out why this sucks x[
How is that coming along btw? Did the demo ever get finished?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 07, 2012, 06:05:28 pm
You've got to be kidding me. Just now finding out that Shadow of the Collosus's main character is named Wander.

see project entropy thread to find out why this sucks x[
How is that coming along btw? Did the demo ever get finished?

There is a very small demo (simply showing movement and the inventory system) I have a shitty recording of it on my YouTube but due to said recording it lessens the beautiful work the programmer did; footsteps in the sand coincide perfectly with the characters feet and the inventory is pretty yummy.
I'll be working on it more once I get my new computer! Currently looking at a MacBook pro 15 inch at a GREAT price but apparently has a small blemish on the screen. Decisions decisions...

Thanks for asking! I'll be sure to post some of the concept stuff/ illustrations to feed anybody that is interested in the project :]
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 08, 2012, 01:27:17 am
did you guys know that the Schrodinger's Cat paradox is flawed?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5hv8kc4A4&feature=g-all-u
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 08, 2012, 02:19:20 am
Alex, I am going to be a bit blunt here. It is very clear that you do not understand what the Schoedinger's Cat thought experiment (or paradox) is about at all. It's about quantum wave functions and the fact that things like electrons can exist in more than one configuration at a time. I am not pretending to undertand Quantum Mechanics very well, but I am not gonna go and take some thought experiment apart which someone made who was very intelligent and knew alot about his field. A field btw which is progressing quite fast atm and which makes it possible to make very exact predictions about certain phenomena. And then there is stuff like superconductors and quantum locking. All this stuff I would posit NOT A SINGLE person on this forum really understands. To quote Richard Feynman: "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics."

Stop making videos where you take apart stuff which you have not even looked into on a cursory level yet alone understand. This does not go for quantum mechanics only. Also the other strange things you post about earth sweat and other ridiculous things like that. Go read some good books about physics, astronomy, cosmology, biology, philosophy and so on. Don't just ramble about stuff you do not have the slightest clue about. It makes you look incredibly dumb and/or ignorant.

To be honest at this point I can not tell whether you are mentally ill in some form, dumb, or trolling for some kind of reaction, or a mix of some or all of these. It seems to me that you have little real human interaction in your life atm and I would suggest to get some. What you are doing is not healthy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on July 08, 2012, 02:54:47 am
Don't try to deny your ability to make sense of me because I appear as if I'm coming from a place you don't understand. If that's the case, then it is you who is misunderstanding things.
It is not everyone else's fault when they don't understand you. It is yours for not conveying it in a way that can be understood.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 08, 2012, 03:00:16 am
The thing is, the paradox is not flawed. You just clearly do not understand it. And you seem to not understand a lot of other things, judging by your videos.

But I see no point in conversing about this with you anymore really. I have tried before to make points to you which you ignored, same goes for the points Helm made.

If nothing else please consider the following things:

Consider those and then reflect on that a bit.

This is the last thing I will add to this. You do not even have to reply to me. I wont. Just try and consider those things. Don't ignore feedback (or lack thereof) from other humans.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 08, 2012, 03:18:23 am
It's about quantum wave functions and the fact that things like electrons can exist in more than one configuration at a time. I am not pretending to undertand Quantum Mechanics very well, but I am not gonna go and take some thought experiment apart which someone made who was very intelligent and knew alot about his field. A field btw which is progressing quite fast atm and which makes it possible to make very exact predictions about certain phenomena. And then there is stuff like superconductors and quantum locking. All this stuff I would posit NOT A SINGLE person on this forum really understands. To quote Richard Feynman: "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics."

Where do you learn about this stuff  :huh: 

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 08, 2012, 03:47:34 am
Alex:
No one likes a troll. How many people have told you that they fully understand what you are talking about, and think that the concepts that you are relaying to them are profound?  
It is very possible to misunderstand someone, but when no one has understood what you are saying ( or has understood and found it less than profound) there are really only two options:

1. Your concepts and your presentation of those concepts are half baked.
2. You are infinitely knowledgeable about the subjects, everyone else is completely mistaken, and your words are infallible.

It is obvious you believe the second, but I hope your own psycho-analysis skills can see how idiotic and primal it is. " I am right, everyone is wrong. No matter what".

While I do enjoy when this board gains activity, nearly spamming threads with your videos and prompting some of the biggest text walls on this forum ever is less than productive.

A lot of us have tried to be constructive and explain as explicitly and simply as possible the faults in these videos and your concepts, and you strike back with the same masked statements that are elaborate " I'm rubber and you're glue" remarks. I hope soon you will realize that the same ignorance and close-mindedness you claim we have is exactly what is shielding you from the truth.

I took the bait in giving this reply because I respected you as an artist, and as a person from what I knew of you ( the guide to pixel art book you had started a long while back was a great effort I thought, and knew it took a good natured person to put that time into helping others); now that respect is quickly fading away as you completely disregard reason and the people trying to honestly help you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 08, 2012, 04:54:35 am
No one came into this with preconceived notions, at least the people who watched the videos first. They saw them, analyzed them, thought about them, then determined that they do not make sense/ the sense they do make is rudimentary and common knowledge. Both Helm and Ptoing have shared this position, and I do too.

If we had the resources to make everybody on the planet watch your videos, the only people that would claim to have any benefit from it would be the recreational drug users and perhaps a slightly dumb monk of one of the various eastern religions, where circularity is more common to them. Once all the other people disregard your findings, it becomes YOUR error in human to human communication, and NOT their reaction to your material. Although I guess then you would argue that the drug users and mentally challenged monks are the ones who really "get it".


"I'm not trying to change you, but the feeling that something may be wrong with your perception of things should be a clue to yourselves that their may be something wrong with how you interpret things.."

No one here is under the impression you are trying to "change" them. However, it seems nearly everybody that has watched your videos do believe that what you have been producing and posting on this forum as of late has been of little value, from a presentational, factional, and philosophical standpoint.

As a fellow artist and person, I sincerely hope that your need to shelter yourself from what people are saying and discard it will fade soon; and you will once again be able to produce work that will both be an outlet for you, and of benefit to your peers.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on July 08, 2012, 05:06:10 am
(quantum mechanics)

Where do you learn about this stuff  :huh: 


College, to start with.  I took a graduate level course in quantum mechanics.  I think I got a B, but it was a number of years ago, so I don't remember much of the content.  It was mostly a lot of higher math, and it was only an introductory course.

Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics)) has links to some free course materials at MIT and Yale on the subject, and a link to a slew of free ebooks (textbooks, mostly).  I haven't looked at any of the stuff, but you'll need at least calculus, and more likely partial differential equations, to understand the material.

There are usually a few simpler books on the subject out there, things that focus on the implications rather than the math, but you'd have to accept the author's assertions about what the math or experiments say. 

I remember a book on simplified relativity that has examples like, 'if the speed of light was 20 mph and a man was pedaling a bicycle down the street...and then pedaled faster ...' and then went on to cover what the situation looked like to the man on the bike, to a person standing on the sidewalk, and so on, in order to explain the effects of time dilation and traveling near the speed of light.  I'm sure quantum mechanics has some similar books.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on July 08, 2012, 07:10:14 am
wow Alex. Yes. I had seen nothing of your vids here, but indeed you seem like you're about to reason your way out of sanity.

Sorry but making a monologue and exposing it on youtube is not the way, people have done it before. Ever heard of crossmack/ian crossland? he's been at it probably ever since YT started...he just seems to get more haters the more he does it.

I'm going to paraphrase something I read at Film Crit Hulk's review of Eat,Pray,Love which I feel strikes the point

"Seems like the kind of person who is so intelligent in that he can reason himself into any conclusion that fits his impulses. Smart people find that their reasoning can get them out of so many situations they end up justifying what they should be facing, they can intelectually justify their own arrogance to themselves."

You wanted a camera so you could go and film...something. I watched the video of your indiegogo and I still dont know what you meant.
 
You said you wanted a camcorder to keep your brain from melting? Make some videos that prove you deserve it first, something people will wish would've been filmed with a camcorder because the idea is SO GOOD but oh too bad that celphone camera just doesnt do it justice. You can also just grab footage and edit it like Zeitgest/esoteric agenda, not unheard of nowdays. When you make an amazing video without the tools, you have some proof that you really deserve a camcorder courtesy of the internet.

Next time you want to make a video, write down all the things you could possibly make a video out of as a list of questions. Out of those, pick one that you could possibly answer by interviewing someone you know, or a friend of a friend, or even better simply by going somewhere and filming a real life subject.

Now, Write the question in the form of a hypothesis that will be proven true or false trough whatever you plan to film, now is the time to narrow down the idea, possibly to just an aspect of the original idea so that it can be proven/disproven conclusively.

Accumulate as much information as you can about the subject, libraries, reliable internet sources, whatever. find out different lines of investigation, adress all of the subjects that inform the central question, so that you cover diferent angles and by the time you prove/disprove it the viewer has a reasonable amount of knowledge about it in their head.

Figure out the order in which you will present the information, what interview will lead into which footage, how you will slowly build up to the final moment where you come to a conclusion about the topic. You might find conflicting information in the actual filming but that is kind of the point, so keep it flexible. Now turn that into a plan of action, make all the appointments that you have to and make sure you get every shot.

Now go and do it, film the damn thing. Come away with a conclusion and edit the footage to reflect that new point of view.

-You will get actual interaction with people involved with subjects of your interest
-it'll make for a far more interesting video to see a point of view expressed with more than one voice
-you'll expand your view of the world just experiencing things you never have before.
-no matter how small the question is in comparisson to more ideal ones, you'll come away with a clear answer
-from personal experience, I can tell you this is more enlightning and it can lead to things that'll change your persepctive on life.

EDIT: http://www.ryanholiday.net/the-narrative-fallacy/ this seems relevant as well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 08, 2012, 07:22:06 am
seems like a way to do things.. I'll have to try it once I figure out which camcorder I'm getting. Thanks for the suggestions.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 08, 2012, 07:46:03 am
that's fine Ryumaru, if it's valueless then let it be. If I'm pure then I am me. Why does this make you want to stop me from being who I am?

Thank you for the straight reply, which seems to get to the heart of the issue. While I've strictly critiqued your work at it's surface value, some have gone further and implied that you are lacking in actual human contact, which may or may not be the case.
If we are at all trying to "change" who you are, it is because we( or, I might be speaking for myself here) have seen better conduct and output from you in the past, and through personal experience, we believe that there are better things to do with your life than work on poorly constructed videos, with flaws in the presentation and sometimes the logic behind it.

The danger with posting something like this online, especially on an art forum where critique is a primary aspect of it, is that we are going to give suggestions and opinions. The rate at which you post them here, and the defensive, non-answering replies you give to our critique will of course begin to aggravate.

I understand the position of letting you be. If you sincerely want that, I'd suggest only using these videos as an outlet, and not posting them publicly online, or use the critique and make more successful work that can further yourself and the people viewing it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 08, 2012, 11:18:10 am
I think most of the offense came from your bouncing defense of your videos where you didn't address any of the points that were made ( again I can really only speak for myself and from the posts I read) and not videos themselves, of which we just generally didn't find useful- but we are not the lawmakers of what you decide to put on youtube.

None of us are here to stifle your creativity, certainly; but it is always a good idea to improve yourself and your work in whatever avenue you decide to take- I think conceit especially gave some great critique that you can use to do what interests you, and do it well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 08, 2012, 12:19:14 pm
We are not lawmakers on youtube, but I am an administrator on Pixelation and it'd be best to ease up on all the video linking. I'm not saying none at all, but don't spam. And only in the offtopic thread unless they're tied to pixel critique for some member.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 08, 2012, 03:43:41 pm
Well it was nice while it lasted. Girl I was seeing was dating someone else too and even though we had a fantastic afternoon on friday she chose him.  Easy come easy go.  Least I still got my lottery money.  And I'm off to the primary school my friend works at tomorrow to speak with the headmaster about becoming a teaching assistant.  It'll be volunteer work at first as I'm not qualified but I reckon I'd enjoy it anyways.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 08, 2012, 03:53:46 pm
There'll be other girls, keep active.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 08, 2012, 04:06:16 pm
Well, I'd still like to be friends with her.  I don't often meet someone I can have a proper conversation with and seem to have a similar way of thinking and laugh a lot together so I'd like to keep that in my life even if we don't get to have a repeat of friday's kiss-fest and if nothing else I had two really lovely dates to remember.  Can always use more happy memories in my mind.  I just could have done without my confidence level being raised and knocked the weekend before I do my play.  Ah well, I'm a different person in the play anyways so it hopefully shouldn't matter too much.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 08, 2012, 04:42:40 pm
Well, I'd still like to be friends with her.  I don't often meet someone I can have a proper conversation with and seem to have a similar way of thinking and laugh a lot together so I'd like to keep that in my life even if we don't get to have a repeat of friday's kiss-fest and if nothing else I had two really lovely dates to remember.  Can always use more happy memories in my mind.  I just could have done without my confidence level being raised and knocked the weekend before I do my play.  Ah well, I'm a different person in the play anyways so it hopefully shouldn't matter too much.

Also I'm quite happy I finished this retro 8bit RoboCop CPC revamp which is in the off topic creativity thread if anyone wants to see and hasn't.  I get a sense of satisfaction working with retro 'limitations' even if there are so very few people I know who would consider it anything but a blocky mess of crud.
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=5006.msg133522#new (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=5006.msg133522#new)   :)

Aren't you at all irked that she was dating someone else while dating you?  Or did you already know about it? 

I basically just confessed my feelings to the person I love, though still don't know him personally nor have ever spoke to him.  I know it sounds silly and elementary... But I was offered lunch with him.  Now I feel like I want to explode  :-X
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 08, 2012, 05:00:26 pm
Aren't you at all irked that she was dating someone else while dating you?  Or did you already know about it? 

Nope.  I thought that was 'allowed' in the early stages.  Not that I'm an expert in dating rules or have ever dated more than one person at once myself (heck, it's rare I even get one person to date at a time).  It was only a week.  Too short to have expected exclusiveness or whatever you call it. 

(ok, most of my limited knowledge of dating comes from the TV show 'Friends')   ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 08, 2012, 05:33:00 pm
hahaha. I just thought exclusiveness is sort of implied in the equation of dating  :ouch:  but I hope you two can still be friends  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 08, 2012, 05:39:31 pm
Yup.  She's still coming to see the play.  She was coming to see it even before we met cos she likes plays and also likes Anglesey Abbey where we're performing.  She can now watch the play with the knowledge that she totally made out with one of it's 'stars'.   :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on July 08, 2012, 05:51:03 pm
From my experience, I would not recommend speaking about certain intimate matters in a public forum. Some things might get bitter, or maybe more sweet, but you might discover your future significant other (if she becomes one) hates the idea you talked about her in any form in a forum, so these posts, no matter how innocent and vague, might annoy/bother you on the long run.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 08, 2012, 05:55:50 pm
Are you serious?  Even if that were remotely true I haven't said anything derogatory about her, she's a lovely girl and even if I had done the chances of her coming to a pixel art forum are very remote indeed.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 08, 2012, 06:46:34 pm
And if someone were to come here and somehow managed to find this exact point in the off topic thread of 50+ pages, how would they know it's about them? 

I'm practicing basic shading cuz I'm an art noob =(  Colors 3D on the 3DS is pretty awesome though, especially since on the actual 3ds screen it really smooths everything out perfectly for you  (http://i.imgur.com/xXUEp.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on July 08, 2012, 06:52:04 pm
It's about talking about her in any manner. I'm just vary about these things because....well, things change.

Never mind.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 08, 2012, 08:45:42 pm
Anyone else on the East Coast getting whacked with tons of storms and record breaking heat?  I'm near DC, and while I've gotten used to the heat (2 hour commute to work each day with no A/C), everyone else around here is sweating bullets.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 08, 2012, 08:58:44 pm
Yep, I live in VA.  It's been nothing but record breaking heat and power out storms for a while  :blind: a storm is coming again perhaps. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 08, 2012, 10:18:13 pm
One actually just came by an hour ago for me (I'm in Fairfax), and it knocked out my power for an hour :/ it sucks because I've only lost power 5 times in my life -- 3 of those times were in the past week.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 09, 2012, 01:26:29 am
Anyone else on the East Coast getting whacked with tons of storms and record breaking heat?  I'm near DC, and while I've gotten used to the heat (2 hour commute to work each day with no A/C), everyone else around here is sweating bullets.
I'm outside of DC(in PG County) and it's pretty bad. The last storm knocked out power in my apartment for about 4 days; we lost all of our food. The storm before that had that major microburst up the street from here that caused an insane amount of damage(comparable to a tornado). Now my A/C isn't working and it's fucking horrible in my apartment.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 09, 2012, 01:35:35 am
Everything's quiet here on the Gulf Coast. :D

My cousin lives in Virginia. They couldn't keep any plants alive in their garden last year because it kept getting flooded.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 09, 2012, 06:55:39 pm
Drummer Danny Carey is my hero-  http://www.tubechop.com/watch/430722 (http://www.tubechop.com/watch/430722)

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 09, 2012, 08:16:39 pm
I guess I can post this..
start your week off with a little Borat meets Karl Pilkington :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_c6HHjc7Ww
I may try to make a better one with more borat..
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 12, 2012, 02:09:01 am
I had a bit of an idea for a sort of charity-driven event as it seems like game-related charity is getting pretty big with the Humble Bundle, Speedrun events and such.

The idea would simply be that we get a bunch of game artists, be them pixel art or otherwise and livestream them making game art. This could be anything from tiles to sprites or something. They have no direction or goal, just to draw whatever they want. And as they livestream people can bid on the art and whoever gets the final bid at the end of the livestream gets a copy/rights to the graphics for their own use(I'd imagine in their own game or something).

I have never really been involved with any sort of charity event, and not even in the many time-based game development scenes like Ludum Dare's so I'm not sure how successful something like this could be, but it was just an idea.

Alternatively instead of going the route of having only one winner we could instead go the Humble Bundle route and have it where anyone who donates can get rights to the graphics. *shrug* not sure what would be the better one for raising money.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 12, 2012, 03:08:24 pm
Just a quick post (I see a couple private messages but will reply to those later).  My play begins in a couple hours so I'm off out in a minute to go to the venue and get changed into costume and everything.  Oddly I'm nervous and yet not, at same time.  Like two different personalities or something.  Ah well, off I go.  Wish me luck.   Raaaaagh!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on July 12, 2012, 03:09:50 pm
Break a leg!  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on July 12, 2012, 09:58:16 pm
Has anybody seen Ian McQue's Stuff?
http://mcqueconcept.blogspot.com/2012/07/odds-ends-wips-etc.html
I dig the way he uses sharp brushes so often reminds me of pixelart, plus his flying heaps of junk world is just enthralling =)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on July 12, 2012, 10:22:40 pm
Rain drove away half our audience during the show (ah the risks of doing an outdoor play) but we stuck it out to the end and goddamn I loved it.  I dunno what it was.  Maybe newfound confidence or the fact rain makes me happy (I go running in it, cos it just makes me less stressed) or whatever.  I really felt I gave as good a performance as I possibly could.  Realy happy with it all despite the loss of half the audience.  Two more nights to go. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yaomon17 on July 12, 2012, 10:57:16 pm
Rain drove away half our audience during the show (ah the risks of doing an outdoor play) but we stuck it out to the end and goddamn I loved it.  I dunno what it was.  Maybe newfound confidence or the fact rain makes me happy (I go running in it, cos it just makes me less stressed) or whatever.  I really felt I gave as good a performance as I possibly could.  Realy happy with it all despite the loss of half the audience.  Two more nights to go. :)
:o
Rain?!?!?
 :o
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 13, 2012, 09:48:10 pm
Worst day ever... Just as I felt like I was starting to feel confident in myself, this is what happened:

I start the day off by waking up early and getting ready quickly, gung ho about having a productive day and doing things on my own, BUT

I started by backing into my dad's fiancee's car after I remember my left arm was sprained and couldn't turn the wheel, breaking off the mirror and scraping the paint on the side.

Then I try to look for the hospital and can't find it so drive around too long but finally find it.  I get 3 shots and begin my travel to my college to drop off my health form. 

Exasperated and freaking out about what I've done, I accidentally park in a reserved parking space as I drop off my form.  I come back to my car 10 minutes later and the cops gave me a ticket.

Then a 2 hour drive back home on the highway as I reminisce on the day that basically ruined my confidence again....

And my dad won't answer the phone so I can tell him all of this, and I have lunch with the person I have immense feelings for tomorrow, though I haven't had lunch with anyone in like 6 years.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: nivek on July 14, 2012, 07:55:19 am
@Friend - is it Friday the 13th over there?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 14, 2012, 01:41:46 pm
Yup. And it's the 3rd Friday the 13th this year, and all 3 of them were 13 weeks apart. The first time those dates happened since 1984.  Go figure...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 14, 2012, 09:44:29 pm
What is going on! I step away for a month or two and the forum is very very active. :)

Friend, I wish you the very best on your lunch date.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 15, 2012, 12:44:29 am
Hi Atnas, and thank you.  But he didn't answer  :-[  I guess I'll just have to wait... 

 :-\
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Atnas on July 15, 2012, 01:21:09 am
:< *pats you on the back*

Keep the hope alive as long as it's positive. When it turns into depression or feelings of neglect, let it go and (try to) move on. In any case, communication is important and I hope that gets better between you and him! :)

Is anyone interested in/already working on a game for the Ouya? I think Adam was porting Canabalt... It looks really cool and will probably cater to a more retro-minded audience. If it's real.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 15, 2012, 01:27:31 am
yeah him among a few other indie devs were featured in the pitch video ;D

it's just android OS? I have some projects brewing with a programmer I've recently teamed up with, and android games where a discussed possibility, and already mentioned the OUYA to him and he seemed excitable at the prospect, let's see what happens  :)


btw welcome back from your hiatus
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 16, 2012, 05:15:52 am
Medieval hack & slash + eSports?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n4OxFjckX4

This looks cool in a never-have-intercourse-again sort of way.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 16, 2012, 08:20:59 am
Atnas: I've got plans to release games to the Ouya if it does get created! Project Entropy and Deadbird would be awesome on a huge television screen :] Have to make them first though x[
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 17, 2012, 01:23:10 am
I think it'd be cool to have a thread that discusses "your favorite pixel art video game graphics" and let the person go into detail on why it is their favorite pixel graphics.  And a nice way to find some eye candy and inspiration
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: nivek on July 17, 2012, 03:04:28 am
I think it'd be cool to have a thread that discusses "your favorite pixel art video game graphics" and let the person go into detail on why it is their favorite pixel graphics.  And a nice way to find some eye candy and inspiration

I think they're already doing this here:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?board=16.0 (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?board=16.0)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 17, 2012, 05:12:27 pm
I think it'd be cool to have a thread that discusses "your favorite pixel art video game graphics" and let the person go into detail on why it is their favorite pixel graphics.  And a nice way to find some eye candy and inspiration

I think they're already doing this here:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?board=16.0 (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?board=16.0)
Well it used to be, CC's are pretty far and few these days.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Bissle on July 18, 2012, 01:22:25 pm
Friend's idea has me thinking. We already have a topic to share older pixelart and a creativity thread. How about a thread to post our own old (i.e, early/beginner level) work? I could even see editing our old work or each other's to gauge our progress. In addition to the fun factor, it could serve as a confidence booster, both for people who are just starting out ("if so-and-so started out so crappy there's hope for me, too!") and for more experienced people who feel they may be stagnant.

Plus, it could be a good laugh! I have stuff going back to at least 2003. :blind:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 18, 2012, 03:29:57 pm
:O That sounds like a thread full of win!  ::)  

Plus, newbies like me could work on editing the old works, and would be great practice for those that are a bit afraid to start new things on their own due to low confidence
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 19, 2012, 04:50:44 pm
Today's the day I'm going on a walk with the person of my dreams. I couldn't get any sleep and I feel like throwing up my breakfast and lunch and can't breathe. This is like a GIANT step for me. It may go ok, it probably won't, but at the end of the day, it will be memorable and I'll be proud of myself for not copping out.

Just 30 minutes away...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on July 19, 2012, 08:43:57 pm
Relax!
You'll know that it's solid if it goes TERRIBLE and still works out.
Just live in the present and have fun with what it is.
Best of luck!

In my personal news:
I've been very sick for 2 months and counting.
EXTREME constant pain.
Unable to work.
My posts and edits as of late are slowly completed between waves of hours of pain.
Also the main reason why most of the of text I write is down to 2 or 3 sentences.
Seen many doctors.
Did many tests.
Took many drugs.
They couldn't figure anything out.
So finally I flew out of state to see a doctor my parents recommended.
He's good.
I've been diagnosed, correctly I think, with Cluster Headaches (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_headache).

"Cluster headache is a condition that involves, as its most prominent feature, an immense degree of pain (doctors and scientists consider it the most intense pain a human can endure without passing out, worse than burns, broken bones or child birth)"

The good news is that it's treatable, and after 1 day of my new meds I'm feeling the best I have in months --> after initial woozyness of each dose.
Hopefully I'll recover quickly and be back to normal.

 :blind:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on July 19, 2012, 09:49:20 pm
Don't want to sound negative, but I don't think it's healthy to have "a person of your dreams".
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 20, 2012, 01:16:50 am
PPD, I'm incredibly sorry to hear such horrible news; I assumed you were ill in some sense from the caption under your avatar, but I would never imagine you having something so serious.  Best of luck with the med, and hope everything works out :)

Same with you and your special somepony Friend :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 20, 2012, 01:59:20 am
Yeah, I hope you continue to get well PPD. yeah, I may not be healthy, but I haven't been in a long time. Oh my gosh, talking with that guy.. He turned out to be just like I got from his smile..  He has the most beautiful soul like in the universe.  Turns out he's been through a lot I have and more.  Sure, I wasn't myself and I was mostly unresponsive, but he understood and gave me a hug :) but his words and soul hugged me much warmer. I'm so thankful
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 20, 2012, 03:39:00 am
PPD, all the best. I hope you recover fast and well.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Seiseki on July 20, 2012, 04:25:06 am
Don't want to sound negative, but I don't think it's healthy to have "a person of your dreams".

Why not?

And PPD, that sounds horrible!
I'm surprised you could even do anything at all.
I've had a mild headache a couple of hours now, and I haven't been able to do anything.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on July 20, 2012, 04:38:05 am
Pixelpiledriver: It hurt just to read the wikipedia page! Really hope you get better soon! You're a trooper.

Friend: That's great! Hope you'll see him again soon! :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yaomon17 on July 20, 2012, 04:52:35 am
So... How is it going?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Seiseki on July 20, 2012, 01:11:25 pm
Pixelpiledriver: It hurt just to read the wikipedia page!

Yeah! I shouldn't have read that, now I'm terrified :o
You must have a super high tolerance for pain..  :crazy:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on July 21, 2012, 04:16:16 am
Quote
Pixelpiledriver: It hurt just to read the wikipedia page! Really hope you get better soon! You're a trooper.
Quote
And PPD, that sounds horrible!
Quote
PPD, all the best. I hope you recover fast and well.
Quote
Yeah, I hope you continue to get well PPD.
Quote
Best of luck with the med, and hope everything works out

Thanks everyone!
I'm staying positive and at least pretending to be productive.
If my recovery keeps going at this rate I'll be fine in a month or so.

Quote
Yeah! I shouldn't have read that, now I'm terrified
Well with 0.1% of the population affected by this you should be alright by luck of the draw.

I gotta say this has aged me.
I'm getting old (27 :lol:) and I'm starting to feel it.
I'm over the panic, but its very unexpected, real, and life changing.
We are not immortal.
So let's enjoy what we have, and do what we can.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 21, 2012, 10:30:51 am
Best of luck to you PPD.

Friend, guys are dumb. If you have feelings for him you have to flat out say it.

I had a dream last night that I opened my laptop and Pixelation had changed to some horrible new domain name. I can't remember what the domain name was, but it was so bad, and I was so angered by it that I ordered plane tickets to Greece and Germany so I could kill Helm and ptoing.

Then I woke up and wayofthepixel.net was down. I really thought the nightmare was about to come true.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 21, 2012, 01:16:23 pm
OMG! I had this nightmare today that you came and burst into our house and killed me! COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT!

I kid. Also you probably are hanging out too much on Pix or something. I mean I am on here more than anyone else and most users combined and I have not dreamt of this place a lot.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 21, 2012, 02:15:07 pm
Maybe he just really loves pixelation or dreamt about it for special reason. Though I'd watch out ptoing and helm  :-X

Munkee, actually I told him I had feelings for him beforehand, which led him to ask me to lunch.  It ended up being a walk. Mid walk he asked me how long I've known since I was gay, and then how surprised I was when he said "I've always known.". Didn't see that coming in a million years.  I only talked with him for like 2 hours, and well I was mostly a clam, but his personality inspired me so much I came out to my parents and now I'm starting to try to give everything I observe and encounter meaning, and I already feel so much more connected to life again

No more rants, promise.  :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 21, 2012, 08:31:53 pm
Real robot monkeys are taking over the world, here is absolute proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H398FAq730g
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 21, 2012, 11:33:53 pm
Well, I'm happy to say I got my second feature on EquestriaDaily coming up soon! :)  Last time was for that Scootaloo pixel I made.  This time it's for a game I made a month back that's now in a "final beta" form, for graphing calculators; Essentially, just Robot Unicorn Attack except... ponies!  I need to spend a few hours polishing the code now that the platform I released it for (Casio Prizm) has been hacked further by me and my fellow Calculator enthusiasts -- Right now 50% of it's written in C and 50% is written in SuperH Assembly Language :P  partially because I had to crank out as much optimization as possible since it wasn't until recently that I figured out how to software-overclock the PLL circuit on the device to allow faster memory access (essentially, overclocking).  Right now the graphics are placeholders but now that I've improved with pixeling and art in general quite a bit I'm going to spend a few hours going back and making my own sprites/backgrounds/title screen, etc.

Funny thing is, the little tech site I posted the progress on before is yelling at me for giving them a link to my thread there to Sethisto at EqD because now the site is going to get view-raped with 5000 people looking at it in one day  :-[

EDIT: I'll post the link when the feature is posted tomorrow, I guess.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on July 22, 2012, 12:53:55 pm
oh damn PP migraines are bad enough (i know) those sound more intense and far more constant, hope you feel much better soon, good to hear there is effective treatment.

haha @dreams, I've been dreaming in and about pixels alot lately, guess I'm not alone there?

btw what is up with the pix server there seems to be alot of timing out that I never got before :blind:

@friend so you're parent's are supportive/accepting? good for you for coming out glad to hear it's a turn for the better
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 22, 2012, 03:58:46 pm
 :huh: ok  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 22, 2012, 04:19:16 pm
AHW, en anglais?   ??? :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 22, 2012, 05:36:30 pm
What is it about my little pony?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 22, 2012, 05:40:04 pm
What is it about my little pony?

Oh, me?  Yeah, it is :) Bit of an overly-obsessive fan when it comes to that hence all the pony fanart and games and stuff I make.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 22, 2012, 05:53:44 pm
I get that. And I say live for your passions no matter what (unless they are detrimental to others)

But what is it about mlp that makes you a fan?  :P
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 22, 2012, 06:58:42 pm
AHW, en anglais?   ??? :lol:

en garde!..
..Just summoning some nothing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 22, 2012, 07:40:59 pm
I get that. And I say live for your passions no matter what (unless they are detrimental to others)

But what is it about mlp that makes you a fan?  :P

(http://pinkie.ponychan.net/chan/files/src/132505226769.jpg)

Let's hope I don't turn this into a long wall of text.  ::)

Anyways, it's a question I get a lot -- same with most bronies (one of the terms that refers to fans of the show that are male) -- and it's usually a long answer.  I first started watching the show during a field trip for an out-of-state computer science competition for my highschool a few months back; one of my good friends, a former member of the team who was hitching with us on the trip, was talking all about ponies, and was even wearing a fedora with tons of paper pony cutouts pasted on it (which at the time I thought was rather odd ;D).  Well, rather, I started watching them that night.  I was in a room with 3 other team members playing some game on the Wii they brought with them well past midnight so I started watching the first 4-5 episodes then (the first 2 sucked, but after I got through them, they were surprisingly good).  Another reason I started watching them was that another friend gave me a link to SHED.MOV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH-yA8U2XgI) and A Cupcakes Trollvid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGiBycxRNL4) (both NSFW) and after watching them I decided to see what the actual show was like.  So, fell in love with it.  Got through season 1 in about 3 weeks, then moved onto season 2.  Also joined some pony forums, and migrated from /b/ on 4chan to /mlp/.  Upon seeing all the great fanart the community was coming up with I decided to try some of my own, and stand out from the rest by doing some pixel art (a medium I've been fascinated with for some time, but never took up actually producing) and that's also why I'm now here as well.

As for why I still like it; ponies are great!  Especially Twily.  There's a few other bronies here on Pixelation as well, notably Seiseki and Ai, I think they'd agree with me (though perhaps their "best pony" may be different)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 23, 2012, 01:25:43 am
btw what is up with the pix server there seems to be alot of timing out that I never got before :blind:

No clue, I am not having timeouts. But we are moving server (hopefully for the last time ever, fingers crossed) next month. So I hope that stuff will be nicer then.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 23, 2012, 04:07:47 am
Circle of life

Days turn to weeks turn to months turn to years
turn to deaths turn to decay turn to smoke through the days through the weeks through the months through the years-laden with tears

The days these tears drop are beautiful and then they dry up and fade away into the week.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 25, 2012, 08:16:42 am
Alex, I think we had this before, please stop with the video spam and multiposts. Thanks.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 25, 2012, 02:50:20 pm
There are enough people reading this thread. And i am sure some might have watched your videos, but they have not replied to them for whatever reason. This happened before. Helm told you not to do it again. I am just saying, do not start the same thing again we had a couple of pages back where you just spam every video here which you made.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 25, 2012, 03:54:01 pm
What are you talking about? Why can't I post in the off-topic thread? I'm just posting things I've done. Who cares if people don't reply to it.. This is a thread for people to post off-topic things, you're telling me I can't do that?

I hate to jump in here, but I do see Alex's point.  I personally saw him posting videos he made as "off-topic", which I thought would be fine in an "off-topic" thread.  However, if this wasn't fine -- what exactly is fine?  As in, not a sarcastic or rhetorical question, I'm asking it honestly.  What are the limits of what we can post in the thread, what's outside the limits, do the "wait XX hours before bumping" rules appy or is there no bumping allowed, limit on video links, mods are asleep can I post ponies... etc. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 25, 2012, 03:59:38 pm
well technically you can post anything in here which does not go against the rules, such as warez, porn, spam and so on. You can post ponies, I don't mind. Just I would rather not have people spam this thread even when they do not get any replies to what they post in here. Usually people do get some kind of reply. See what Carnivac or Friend posted. They got replies.

Just spamming this thread without regarding whether people actually reply to anything you do or not goes a bit against what I would call Netiquette. Also you run the risk of coming across as socially retarded. All I ask for is a bit of reflection.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Batzy on July 25, 2012, 04:00:13 pm
Even though this is off-topic thread it's always good to have some limits like for example people including me aren't posting any porn links here or multi posting like you did  :blind: basic manners!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on July 25, 2012, 04:16:36 pm
I'm not spamming though.

You are double- and triple posting on a regular basis, i think that is what he meant.
This may be an off-topic thread but multiposting is usually frowned upon in any forum.

There would probably be no problem if you just edited your last post if you find yourself to be the last person that has replied and still want to share something new but I can only speak for myself.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on July 25, 2012, 04:28:54 pm
I'm not spamming though.

You are double- and triple posting on a regular basis, i think that is what he meant.
This may be an off-topic thread but multiposting is usually frowned upon in any forum.

There would probably be no problem if you just edited your last post if you find yourself to be the last person that has replied and still want to share something new but I can only speak for myself.

Agree that this is really the issue. 

On an unrelated note, my friend's working on this game (art director and concept art I believe, possibly models aswell) which is looking really lovely (even in this very early stage), so thought I'd share. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiEPghrV9o&feature=plcp (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiEPghrV9o&feature=plcp)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 25, 2012, 04:33:51 pm
That looks pretty cool.

Alex: What 9_6 said is correct. Just edit your posts if no one has posted since you and add the new content to that. Stop the multiposting. This thread is stickied anyway.

Also are you serious with the comment that if people do not reply I should tell them to or something? That is what you basically said there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 25, 2012, 04:57:58 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiEPghrV9o&feature=plcp (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiEPghrV9o&feature=plcp)

Ooooh!! Weaboo + bunny hopping looks great!

Keep in mind, ptoing is German. :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 25, 2012, 05:04:13 pm
I added new content though.
If I was simply editing my message, I would edit it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 25, 2012, 05:07:36 pm
Okay, thanks for the explanation ptoing :)

As for ponies, not planning on really posting them that often; I guess I will however direct any bronies here that use Facebook to my facebook page, streaming funny/interesting/cool pony pics 24/7.  Mostly funny, however.  https://www.facebook.com/TheGreatAndPowerfulTwilight  Some content is slightly NSFW for language and very slight sexual implications, but I post none of that Holocaust/ 9/11 / CO Shooting crap that other pages do, so that might be refreshing for some.  Plus you'll get your daily dose of Twily and Ashbad.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 25, 2012, 05:21:14 pm
I added new content though.
If I was simply editing my message, I would edit it.

If no one else has posted after you and you want to add new content, just edit your post and add that new content to it. What's so hard to understand? I don't want to discuss this any further.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 25, 2012, 07:16:35 pm
maybe, but people may have seen the first video, and then if i just edit it, they won't notice that there's a new video..
So If I'm posting something new, then I think it's warranted that I keep the thread up to date. :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on July 25, 2012, 07:41:03 pm
Alex, the OT thread is not the "When is Alex Hanson-White posting new videos?" watch thread. People that want to follow your videos have subscribed to your youtube channel. If a video you post generates any discussion, that's great. If not, them the breaks. If you double post, I'll delete the extra posts. If you keep posting videos without anyone having really anything to say about them, be civilized and take the hint and stop posting them.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 25, 2012, 07:51:17 pm
I know it's not the "When is Alex Hanson-White posting new videos?" thread. Who said it was that???
People don't have to subscribe to my channel to watch my videos, you just have to click the link, pretty easy..
What hint?.. that my posts aren't worthy? You don't want me posting anything?
btw, here's a new video I constructed with Robot Tarzan Chimp Man:
http://youtu.be/zacVMnstA5k
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Seiseki on July 25, 2012, 09:07:07 pm
Just thought I'd chip in.
It's not the quality of posts but the quantity, the OT thread shouldn't be dominated by a single person. Especially if you're only posting your own stuff.
But that's just my opinion.

Also, if people here aren't interested in your videos, then you gotta ask yourself, who are you posting them for? Others or yourself?

On an unrelated note, my friend's working on this game (art director and concept art I believe, possibly models aswell) which is looking really lovely (even in this very early stage), so thought I'd share. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiEPghrV9o&feature=plcp (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiEPghrV9o&feature=plcp)

Not sure if it's gameplay or animation, but it looks kinda stiff, doesn't it?
I like the art though, but in some cases the outlines are a bit messy (too many at the same time).

As for ponies, not planning on really posting them that often;

Can't we have a pony(pixel related) thread somewhere on the boards? Or would people feel to threatened? :D
Or you could just rename your twily thread to ashbads art and keep posting everything there :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on July 25, 2012, 11:16:06 pm

On an unrelated note, my friend's working on this game (art director and concept art I believe, possibly models aswell) which is looking really lovely (even in this very early stage), so thought I'd share. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiEPghrV9o&feature=plcp (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiEPghrV9o&feature=plcp)

Not sure if it's gameplay or animation, but it looks kinda stiff, doesn't it?
I like the art though, but in some cases the outlines are a bit messy (too many at the same time).

Yeah she said somewhere the animations (or maybe just some of them) are actually by the programmer and not an animator at the moment! I'm sure they've got a long way to go but it looks stylish and fun even when it's a bit rough around the edges. The hair probably needs to be animated by some kind of cloth physics (or just animated at all in some cases) but I don't really know anything about 3d!

Unrelated:
Completed Chip n Dales Rescue Rangers on my new (old) NES today!  Awesome game.   :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on July 25, 2012, 11:47:32 pm
Count me as optimistic about Cloudbuilt.

Also, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers truly is an awesome game. A friend and I play it every once in a while. Always better with two. I have a lot of respect for that game. The NES game I'm working on now is actually sorta similar. (Co-op, grabbing/throwing mechanics) There's a reason a lot of NES games didn't do this stuff. It's difficult to make happen.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on July 26, 2012, 12:07:13 am
Doesn't Pixelation bump a thread up as if a new post was made if the last post in a thread is edited? Or is that only for edits to the original post?

Count me as optimistic about Cloudbuilt.

Also, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers truly is an awesome game. A friend and I play it every once in a while. Always better with two. I have a lot of respect for that game. The NES game I'm working on now is actually sorta similar. (Co-op, grabbing/throwing mechanics) There's a reason a lot of NES games didn't do this stuff. It's difficult to make happen.

Indeed it was, definitely one of the greater co-op NES games out there.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on July 26, 2012, 12:32:18 am
Count me as optimistic about Cloudbuilt.

Also, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers truly is an awesome game. A friend and I play it every once in a while. Always better with two. I have a lot of respect for that game.

Yeah it's a really nice game. I played it with my girlfriend (though she was only involved in the first few stages, and then on my continue in Stage J  :lol:)

I want the sequel too, but I'm not sure if it was ever released in PAL regions.

The NES game I'm working on now is actually sorta similar. (Co-op, grabbing/throwing mechanics) There's a reason a lot of NES games didn't do this stuff. It's difficult to make happen.

Wow, that's awesome! (Maybe I will get that NES flash cart after all....) 

Is development difficult on the NES?  I made a bit of a game for the Atari 2600 once, and it was super fun figuring it out, but doing anything good or remotely complete on it is way beyond me. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 26, 2012, 01:07:38 am
@Seiseki: Not a fan about making my thread into a thread about all of my pony stuff (since as in the case of the scootaloo pixel, I eventually just split it off into it's own thread to keep responses and C+C clean with what I currently wanted C+C on) but a pony "doodles" thread would be awesome considering there's at least a few bronies here :)


... On another note, did I ever tell you kiddies about the time when Mike, after being banned here after the incidents regarding my scootaloo thread, pretended to be me on /MLP/ and /b/ right afterwords and posted a screencap of the scoots thread dozens of times along with derogatory (to say it gently) accusations about me?  Sometimes I enjoy the responsibilities of being a board janitor and cleaning up the crap ;D

... But you didn't hear that from me   ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on July 26, 2012, 01:40:49 am
Is development difficult on the NES?
Short answer: If you don't scroll, and don't handle slopes, it's actually only a little more difficult than C. You have to spend a little more time planning before doing your level format/etc. because of RAM and size constraints, but I've always found both to be extremely manageable. You also have to be prepared to learn some things about hardware you wouldn't need to know for anything modern. But really it's only hard if you want to make a very ambitious game. First game I made (which didn't scroll or handle slopes :P) was a clone of Geometry Wars and I think it only took about 4 months. (Starting from zero assembly or NES knowledge. I did know C beforehand.)

Longer answer:
The big problem about NES is that it doesn't have a fast processor. And my game is super ambitious for its CPU. Maybe that's my beef with PC games that are made as retro NES games. The graphical restrictions have always been easier to follow than writing/designing a game that can be optimized enough to not run at < 60 FPS. I've actually considered dropping co-op just so I don't have to worry about my game dropping frames.

Multidirectional scrolling (meaning I can scroll both up/down and left/right in the game frame) has been the hardest part so far in my own project. You'll notice a lot of games (Metroid/Megaman/lots of stuff) tend to do just one axis at a time. And even doing that is pretty difficult. The Level Hubs of Kirby's Adventure (with the doors to enter each level) multidirectional scroll, but as far as I can recall the actual levels never do. Super Mario Bros 3. does it, as does MC kids. My scrolling is about as optimized as I can make it, and in the worst case it alone can actually take about half to 1/3 of the available frame time. (But generally it hangs closer to 1/10 or 1/5).

Handling arbitrary slopes (think Sonic) has been the second hardest part. The main reason is, it has to be super optimized, especially if you want two players on screen. It takes a lot more time to check if a point is in a slope than if it's just in a tile. But there's even more to it than just each point taking more time. You also have to check more points. If your character doesn't move faster than your tile size and you don't support slopes, you can instantly eject a character from a wall in a given direction with just one point. (If the size is a power of two, you can AND the position with the tile size, and subtract that +1 to eject instantly, or AND the position with the tile size XOR that result with the tile size and add that +1 to eject instantly depending on the direction.) With slopes, you basically always have to check two. The character could fall less than your tile size, but still pass through a slope. You eject from the floor tile of the destination point. And then you have to check the point after that ejection to make sure you don't have to eject up FURTHER.

But most problems you face are problems you'd face in any game.

Hopefully that wasn't too specific/technical.

Ashbad: Sorry to hear about that. I still remember those posts by Mike and they just weren't okay.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Seiseki on July 26, 2012, 03:34:50 am
... On another note, did I ever tell you kiddies about the time when Mike, after being banned here after the incidents regarding my scootaloo thread, pretended to be me on /MLP/ and /b/ right afterwords and posted a screencap of the scoots thread dozens of times along with derogatory (to say it gently) accusations about me?  Sometimes I enjoy the responsibilities of being a board janitor and cleaning up the crap ;D

... But you didn't hear that from me   ::)

Wow, what a douche..
I actually wasn't sure if he was really mean or just a huge fan of irony and a dislike for bronies.. Had no idea he was crazy like that..
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 26, 2012, 12:23:27 pm
@Kasumi, being familiar with NES development myself, I must say that you are indeed correct, it's rather painful to work with :P I mean, even my TI-84+ was easier to work with -- a more "modern" 8bit processor (if you can call a z80 running at [6|15]MHz that -- still, beats a 6502 running at ~1MHz).  Even more painful to work with: Atari 2600  :ouch: still running on a 6502 but only 128 bytes of RAM and normally the top 64 bytes of that is used as stack space.  Plus, graphical drawing is a pain with all the sprite/scan registers.

Good luck on the NES development, and have fun with it!

... On another note, did I ever tell you kiddies about the time when Mike, after being banned here after the incidents regarding my scootaloo thread, pretended to be me on /MLP/ and /b/ right afterwords and posted a screencap of the scoots thread dozens of times along with derogatory (to say it gently) accusations about me?  Sometimes I enjoy the responsibilities of being a board janitor and cleaning up the crap ;D

... But you didn't hear that from me   ::)

Wow, what a douche..
I actually wasn't sure if he was really mean or just a huge fan of irony and a dislike for bronies.. Had no idea he was crazy like that..

I'm afraid he was :( oh well, I pruned his threads off in a matter of minutes after he posted them, so no harm done I would say.  Still, didn't sit well with me overall, I've had similar things happen to me at least a dozen times now, all because I publically post my pony related things on the internet.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 26, 2012, 12:32:15 pm
Well, here is banned for a year. He has made a new account (Yes, Mike, I know you have and I know you are browsing here). And if he decides to continue to be a douche when his ban runs out, he will be banned again. But the fact that he is trolling you on several sites is pretty telling and pathetic.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 26, 2012, 12:39:14 pm
Well, was trolling, not sure if he still is.  If he is, I don't really care, I've got "bigger and better trolls" trolling me right now, so if he wants to get me to rage he's gonna have to step up his game  :lol:  And even then, not sure I'd care.  That is, unless he starts hijacking my on-topic threads.  I am glad at least that you guys have zero patience for such notions here, it makes the whole place seem a lot more welcoming :) probably why I've decided to stay here and not move on.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 26, 2012, 01:23:18 pm
Yeah, that's how it's always been here and always will be as long as people like Helm and I have anything to say. Just because it is tolerated on other sites to mock people for whatever reason does not mean it is conductive to a nice atmosphere. I don't see what's the big idea about MLP and a lot of other things people like, but that wont hold me back from giving critique to their MLP related pixelart and leaving them alone otherwise. As long as people don't fuck with me, I wont fuck with them. And if people here fuck with others they get banned for a year. I think that has worked pretty well so far. Back in the day there was a lot less banning perhaps, but the community was also smaller, but then again, we do not ban people a lot. You really need to be a proper dickface to get banned here.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 26, 2012, 07:18:11 pm
another robot chimp is running around: http://youtu.be/8Uye0b-rCfU
probably not as good as the other ones I made, but It's okay I think.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 26, 2012, 08:07:20 pm
So how's life guys -.- ?

Ptoing, are you working on any new pixel works?  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on July 26, 2012, 08:22:43 pm
Friend: Mainly work stuff. But I sprained my right hand somehow helping my dad with construction stuff outside, so that's not fun.

As far as pixel works go, personal ones, yes, I actually have about 6 or more images which have been wips for quite a while now. I hope that I can wittle that list down a bit soonish.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on July 26, 2012, 09:04:20 pm
:/ your pixeling hand  :'(  we must ice it and protect it so that it may pixel again
I sprained mine too on a rope swing, and I only have 1 hand, so that's also no fun :-\

I can't wait to see your newest wip's being finished.  Can never see to much beautiful pixels from the greats  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: API-Beast on July 29, 2012, 12:07:12 am
hey did anyone notice Pixelation is up again?  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 29, 2012, 12:29:55 am
hey did anyone notice Pixelation is up again?  ;D

Yes! \o/ At last!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Âme on July 29, 2012, 12:37:29 am
yes, yes indeed we did  :)

now lets just hope it stays that way...


P.S. every couple times I refresh Pixelation or click on a topic or something it goes back to 502 bad gateway... it must be a warning. We must appease the pixel gods... Pixelation could be lost forever to the GREAT INTERNET ABYSS! dun dun DAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :'(

(sorry if it posts this a dozen times, it goes to 502 everytime i attempt to post or preview... well except for this time!!)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 29, 2012, 12:54:18 am
don't forget to highlight your posts, people!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Seiseki on July 29, 2012, 01:13:09 am
don't forget to highlight your posts, people!

Do what now? xD
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 29, 2012, 02:13:14 am
you know... highlight them. It's all the rage lately. That's what facebook forces you to do now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on July 29, 2012, 10:51:51 am
Alex. Watched some of your vidoes.

. . .

. . .
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on July 29, 2012, 04:34:25 pm
Kitten in distress! :'(



I won't let you die little one!

Found this in our backyard. She's feral, but she was so starved and dehydrated that she didn't have the energy to run away from humans. She got a bath and some milk yesterday, so she's already looking better, but so far today she hasn't eaten or pooped. Hopefully the vet can get her back to 100% tomorrow.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 29, 2012, 04:58:41 pm
Alex. Watched some of your vidoes.

. . .

. . .

any suggestions? ideas.. I'm kind of in limbo with what to do next. wish I had a bunch of junk to build stuff out of.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Seiseki on July 29, 2012, 05:27:59 pm
@blumunkee Dawww, what a cutie.

any suggestions? ideas.. I'm kind of in limbo with what to do next. wish I had a bunch of junk to build stuff out of.

Why not start drawing pixel or digital art while commenting on it while you draw? Use a screen capture software and setup the camera next to your pc to point at yourself.
Like a 'let's draw' or simply a tutorial.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on July 29, 2012, 05:53:20 pm
seems like a good idea.. idk how i'd do it to make sure the video isn't too long though..
It's also hard for me to get motivated to create art sometimes, so not sure if I'd be able to do it well.
Kinda looking for something that isn't too time intensive. but i'll think about it.. might be a way to do something fun that is similar.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 29, 2012, 06:29:24 pm
Blu: Poor kitty  :(

On another note, any other TF2 players here?  I'd definitely love to invite you all to one of the servers I frequent when it's moderately empty to have a very pixelated shooting session.  And by extension I can even invite bronies here to one of the pony servers I'm at.  I personally have been practicing art over playing TF2 lately but I think I'm going to push to actually take gaming breaks again :P

@Alex having a video series about pixeling: I'd so totally watch that.

I'd call it the "Joy of Pixeling - With Alex HW".  Bonus points for throwing in things like "just a happy banding area".  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on July 30, 2012, 09:22:44 am
Well, after EqD finally posted it, after flushing the queue with my game in it twice (... :huh:) it's finally up, it's the top one: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/07/game-trailerspreviews-rainbow-dash.html
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yaomon17 on July 30, 2012, 01:35:57 pm
Blu: Poor kitty  :(

On another note, any other TF2 players here?  I'd definitely love to invite you all to one of the servers I frequent when it's moderately empty to have a very pixelated shooting session.  And by extension I can even invite bronies here to one of the pony servers I'm at.  I personally have been practicing art over playing TF2 lately but I think I'm going to push to actually take gaming breaks again :P

@Alex having a video series about pixeling: I'd so totally watch that.

I'd call it the "Joy of Pixeling - With Alex HW".  Bonus points for throwing in things like "just a happy banding area".  :lol:
Yeah, but I only find fun in HL Lobbies. PS is just stupid now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on August 01, 2012, 11:33:08 am
Anyone else finding that the left two links in the bar that looks like
"Pixelation > General > General Discussion > Official Off-Topic Thread" end up going to a strange place?
I click on 'General' and arrive at

http://www.orchidsandonions.orgpixelation/index.php#1

... :crazy:
Yeah, I know it's not even a valid address. .orgpixelation top level domain, lol.
Thing is, I look at the source for those links, and they look perfectly ordinary. No orchids or onions involved, and I don't have any page-rewriting extensions (eg. Greasemonkey, Scriptish, Stylish) active. moreover, grepping through my firefox profile shows that the only reference to orchidsandonions is inside the cache, as a result of this bogus linking. I'd never even heard of such a site until this whole thing started.

So I'm starting to wonder if something is dodgy on Pixelation's end, since I can browse normally everywhere else.
Guess I'll dig into the Javascript.

Is anyone else experiencing this ?  ???
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: r1k on August 01, 2012, 12:13:05 pm
nope, they work normal for me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on August 01, 2012, 12:23:58 pm
nope, they work normal for me.

Same here.   ???
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on August 01, 2012, 12:44:34 pm
Oh well. After disabling all Firefox extensions, this behaviour is still present. Maybe it's a bug in this particular version (14.0.1). Thanks for the feedback, anyway, I'll just have to work around it for now.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on August 01, 2012, 01:15:24 pm
maybe scan your computer for malware or wahtever.. dunno the correct term for it.. or try clearing you cookies and temp internet files? idk..
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on August 01, 2012, 01:24:58 pm
I'm using chrome on my laptop.
I also get sent to orchids and onions from the main page.
I thought pixelation was down but was surprised to see that in chrome on my phone it works just fine.
It's possible to get around this by jumping to a personal message from gmail and then using my profile to jump to different sections.
Crazy.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on August 01, 2012, 02:36:28 pm
@PPD:
Actually, the distinguishing characteristic, for me, is that the link points at 'index.php' without an '?' following.
For example, if you look at the top-ish menu bar ('HOME HELP SEARCH PROFILE MY MESSAGES MEMBERS LOGOUT'), do you find that only the HOME link is crazy, and all the others work?
If you look at the two links I was referring to before, they show as
"http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php" and
"http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php#1" (1 being the number of the category "General" in this case.)

Everything else works. Since you've managed to reproduce this, I'm now moving to the hypothesis that it's an effect caused by a combination of a) the PHP giving bogus header information when no parameters are given, in a way that is harmless to most browsers, and b) A browser that actually interprets that data rather than simply ignoring it.

To demonstrate, try these links instead. They work for me:

http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?#1

It will be fascinating to see if PToing has anything to say about this (and WTF orchids and onions have to do with pixelation. Maybe they are just random junk data stuck in a database or cache somewhere on the server.)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on August 01, 2012, 04:00:04 pm
Well played Ai.

Yup these links DONT work for me:
"http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php" and
"http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php#1" (1 being the number of the category "General" in this case.)

And yes these DO:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?#1

But not sure why this is coming up just now.

Quote
I'm now moving to the hypothesis that it's an effect caused by a combination of a) the PHP giving bogus header information when no parameters are given, in a way that is harmless to most browsers, and b) A browser that actually interprets that data rather than simply ignoring it.
It could be along the lines of a deadbeef debug value. Or not.

Whatever it is, it sounds delicious.

Edit:
http://www.orchidsandonions.org/  :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on August 01, 2012, 04:04:55 pm
All these links work for me as they should. I have no clue what is going on here at all.
The hosting company we are with atm is under new management and they moved servers and because of this I have no direct access to the database atm. So it might have to do something with that, no clue really.

Things will get sorted out soonish.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on August 01, 2012, 04:33:59 pm
Let's face it, you guys. Pixelation is HAUNTED!  :o  :'(



Still working as normal for me, though. (currently running on latest version of Firefox)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Âme on August 01, 2012, 05:47:53 pm
Let's face it, you guys. Pixelation is HAUNTED!  :o  :'(

By a ghost who has a strange fetish with orchids and onions. :huh:

I'm having the same problem as Ai and PixelPiledriver. I just have internet explorer... and the sneaking suspicion that the problem isn't on our end...  :-\

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Crow on August 01, 2012, 09:19:12 pm
@Ai:
Can't reproduce this. Once Pixelation has moved, I'll be upgrading the forums to a newer version. We shall see if it's fixed then :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on August 01, 2012, 09:39:32 pm
I had a weird problem where it was redirecting to huevia or something like that. Clearing my cache was the only fix.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: API-Beast on August 01, 2012, 10:29:03 pm
By a ghost who has a strange fetish with orchids and onions. :huh:

What!? I don't want to be raped. :'(
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on August 01, 2012, 10:58:01 pm
I had a weird problem where it was redirecting to huevia or something like that. Clearing my cache was the only fix.

Huevia is the current host.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Âme on August 01, 2012, 11:08:51 pm
Hey, it works now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D

By a ghost who has a strange fetish with orchids and onions. :huh:

What!? I don't want to be raped. :'(

I bet the only reason it's working again is because you said that. ;) The ghost was all like "Oh, shiz they think I'ma rapist... :wah: I no wanna go ta jail!!"
shut up... its a wannabe gangsta ghost...

P.S. do you think it would look like a pacman ghost? :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on August 02, 2012, 01:08:21 am
I confirm that clearing my cache fixed it for me. Good call Alex and Dusty.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on August 02, 2012, 02:59:28 pm
Probably too off the topic of pixel art specifically to be posted as it's own topic, so here goes, in this thread.

Basically, I have a plan set out, to practice my drawing skills intensively for the next 4 weeks before school starts up again.  I'm getting my copy of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" in the mail tomorrow, and I'm going to start working with it on Monday.  My plan is to finish reading every last word, doing every last exercise, etc. within two weeks.  After that, I'm going to get myself to draw (at least) 5 hours a day for the remaining two weeks (since I'll have open time; internship ends).

Here's my question: what are some things I try doing to improve over these two weeks?  I might have a good idea once I get to them, but it generally works that if I don't plan something beforehand I make a sloppy plan as I go along and everything turns out crap and I act all lazy :P Some advice I've heard a lot is to do a lot of life drawing; other advice is to study anatomy of the human body, the face, animals, etc.  Are these recommended ideas, and if they are, what would you recommend I do specfically?

Or should I come back and ask after I've finished said book?

Or should I even ask at all?  Should I just figure it out along the way?

Perhaps I sound ridiculous to the good artists here when I ask these questions, so bear with me :)  I'm simply just over-motivated to improve at the fastest pace I can push myself at with my given schedule.

Oh, and on a side note,  the one thing I've specifically planned in is MLP anatomy study (because I plan on still making tons of fan-art in the future).  Basically I'm going to spend a day (or two or three) watching through season 1 again to an extent, pause the episodes every minute, draw the undersketches/actual form of the ponies in the still frame, and keep a "pony notebook" of all of these so that I can reference them in the future for  how poses would work, but also to try and practice correct anatomy with "live" references (it's as close as I can get to "life drawing" with said ponies :P )

Cheers to tangible improvement by September (or so I'll hope)!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on August 02, 2012, 04:48:58 pm
Would it be wrong if I posted a link to my Justgiving charity page for my sponsored skydive?   I've only got a couple weeks left til the date I'm supposed to do it but I'm not even quite half way to the money goal needed to actually get to take part so I'm pestering folks I know.  It's all for a good cause.  A local hospice that looks after very sick people and in the name of a local lady who died from cancer and spent her last days there.  Her widower husband spends him time arranging fundraising schemes to donate money to that hospice and this is one of his things I'm part of.   I don't just want to post the link without asking in case it breaks some sorta rule about money or something. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on August 02, 2012, 06:04:13 pm
Sure, go ahead. If it's for a good cause I see no problem :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on August 02, 2012, 06:33:24 pm
Thank you, sir.


My Justgiving Charity Skydive Page (http://www.justgiving.com/Scott-Robertson2)
Ignore the photos that don't even really look like me. Had to put something up.  
Any donation size would be muchly appreciated.  It all counts.   The skydive is booked for my group on the 18th August and if i don't reach my target amount I don't get to go, so please if you could spare anything.

Gah, I hate begging.  Never even did that when I was homeless.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 9_6 on August 02, 2012, 08:44:38 pm
@Ashbad

You should look into actual pony anatomy (not the cartoon kind).
You might come to a point at which you drew tons and tons of fanart but have no idea what a real horse actually looks like.
So I'd suggest studying the real, non-stylized version right along with the stylization so that you understand why the shapes are the way they are instead of just copying them if that kind of thing interests you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on August 02, 2012, 10:36:18 pm
@Ashbad

You should look into actual pony anatomy (not the cartoon kind).
You might come to a point at which you drew tons and tons of fanart but have no idea what a real horse actually looks like.
So I'd suggest studying the real, non-stylized version right along with the stylization so that you understand why the shapes are the way they are instead of just copying them if that kind of thing interests you.

Eh, that's a wonderful idea, sounds like I need to study actual pony (and horse) anatomy then :) probably'll learn a lot from that, and it'll maybe even lead me to form my own stylized version that's halfway between.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on August 03, 2012, 02:21:20 am
Ashbad, I read that book back when I was around 15 or 16. The presentation is dry but that's a good thing. It keeps the content clear. As I recall the book has suggestions for additional exercises, or if it doesn't, it's not hard at all to think up some similar projects on your own.

As to specific practice, just draw stuff. Drawing from life is always good, thou a little uncomfortable at times. Every now and then I'll pick up a magazine like national geographic or a fashion magazine and draw animals or people. Go to imgur and draw random stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on August 03, 2012, 06:58:59 am
In the mail from Amazon:

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Drawing for Beginners
Keys to Drawing


:)

Overdoing it?

I'm also getting Hubert Selby's The Room to break the monotony.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on August 03, 2012, 07:06:59 am
you forgot my book.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on August 03, 2012, 08:15:18 am
To be honest, I'm interested, but it is a bit pricey. 15 $ would be an ok price.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on August 03, 2012, 09:17:56 am
:\
createspace has a limit on the minimum price, so wouldn't even be able to sell it for that even if I wanted to.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on August 03, 2012, 10:04:17 am
You could sell an ebook (PDF or whatever) directly at any price you like if you wanted I suppose?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on August 04, 2012, 01:34:03 am
I haven't slept more than 4 hours in 5 nights and I don't know how much more I can take of all of this.  And the only voice that goes to my heart that told me that everything will be ok seems to grow further from me each day and I can't sleep and I want to give up but I've never given up on anything
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on August 04, 2012, 02:54:19 am
You could sell an ebook (PDF or whatever) directly at any price you like if you wanted I suppose?
I think the main issue is that people just don't know about my book, plus I'm a nobody.


Friend, what are you talking about? What is this voice you speak of?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on August 05, 2012, 03:22:23 pm
@Alex my first love, and I recently told him I loved him. 

And Alex you're defs not a nobody, why would you tell yourself that?  For starters I know nothing about you besides you stick greatly to what you believe in and have considerable talent in art and animation
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yaomon17 on August 07, 2012, 03:00:36 am
You could sell an ebook (PDF or whatever) directly at any price you like if you wanted I suppose?
I think the main issue is that people just don't know about my book, plus I'm a nobody.


Friend, what are you talking about? What is this voice you speak of?
Odysseus was nobody and he is well known across the world.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on August 07, 2012, 08:31:36 am
maybe somewhere an alien is writing a book about me, like homer's epic poem the odyssey.

sorry to hear that, Friend. I don't have much advice on that kind of thing.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on August 07, 2012, 10:45:12 am
Just a little reminder that if anyone has been considering to donate any money at all to my charity skydive then then please do it by the end of Thursday 9th August (as it has to all be sorted a week before the actual skydive takes place, actually it's meant to be two weeks but I've been given an extension).  Link in sig.

Thank you.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on August 08, 2012, 12:08:48 am
I forgot if i'm allowed to post this stuff, but here's something. http://youtu.be/hXuua1TUTpU
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ai on August 08, 2012, 08:13:49 am
Just found out that GIMP 2.9 recently gained some basic indexpainting support (http://www.gimp.org/)[1]
While the performance of GIMP 2.9 is currently pretty slow while they work through all the different changes needed to make high bitdepth support available in everything, and it'll never provide the degree of control you can get with eg. GrafX2, it's quite pleasing if you just want to do some minor edits.

Support includes (this is basically a list of everything in GIMP that is currently using GEGL):

* Full greyscale selection mask support (ie. you can generate some plasma as your selection mask, and then drop a greyish color on the canvas to layer some fog over the image)
* all 'basic' operations like paste, paste into, fill, pattern fill,
* All drawing modes; and drawing with lowered opacity
* Layer modes and opacity (but you don't get an indexized preview until you do 'new from visible', only a full RGB one.)
* Painting with 'paintbrush' and 'ink' tools (ie. the brush is plotted with levels of opacity, not just binary transparency)
* gradients (heh)
* most color filters, eg curves, levels -- this doesn't modify the palette but the image content. Posterize can be surprisingly useful.
* cage transform tool, smudge tool, clone tool, dodge/burn tool
* transform tool preview opacity works.

[1] The relevant news item is 'High bit depth processing available now'. As I write this, it is the fourth item from the top.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ninja Crow on August 08, 2012, 08:39:13 am
This seems like a worthy project:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/project-giana/project-giana (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/project-giana/project-giana)

Not a pixel game, but it is a sequel to a great pixel game :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on August 08, 2012, 09:13:46 am
This seems like a worthy project:

www.kickstarter.com/projects/project-giana/project-giana (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/project-giana/project-giana)

Not a pixel game, but it is a sequel to a great pixel game :)

Well that's depressing...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on August 08, 2012, 03:04:02 pm
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/badplanet/bad-planet (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/badplanet/bad-planet)

that's one I'm quite interested in, dunno if it'll get funded though  :(

they are going to go to a publisher otherwise, something they wanted to avoid (and for good reason, if some of the developer commentary in the industry over the years regarding publishers influence on the development process is not an exaggeration)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on August 08, 2012, 08:33:03 pm
I would like to propose removing some of the sticky threads from the general discussion forum.  I think we could remove the server move thread and forum funding thread since they are largely complete.  The CC suggestion thread could be archived or removed since no one has been doing that activity for a year.  The 'a new skin appears' could be removed since there seems to be plans in place, or kept until the reskin effort (and any bugs or comments) is complete, then removed.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Crow on August 08, 2012, 08:39:45 pm
I think we could remove the server move thread

That one's brand new! :'( Did you even read it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on August 08, 2012, 10:00:06 pm
RETRO POST, most people will probably miss this but oh well, that big fat image was bloating the thread, and didn't want a blank post so I'll type here just to be different.

I probably need to look at more books, although I have a subscription to ImagineFX which is a pretty good concentrated dose of digital art and is quite inspirational and often insightful, once I start struggling too much I'll probably seek some direction from books etc or even feedback from the community here or elsewhere, as is I just try figuring out most of it myself and come up with my own approaches, while taking examples and reference from places, probably a pretty time intensive approach but it pays of in the synapses that fire and form and it's proven that learning and formulating your own approach to things reinforces your recall of the techniques over approaching things via existing methods or trying to learn certain approaches, most only a percentage of what you learn is retained, but if the thoughts and observations are your own it sticks more, at least that's what I've come to believe
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on August 08, 2012, 10:20:45 pm
Yes, I have read it.  Server migration is complete, forum upgrade complete.  Good job.   Keep it around for a week in case anyone wants to report issues, but otherwise that topic is complete.  What more is there to discuss or convey?

The thread has already shifted to discussion of the reskin activity.  Which is at best redundant with the old reskin thread, and more likely pointless since you already have a plan (according to Ptoing's post).

Browsing the General Discussion forums at 1024x768, the entire first screen is sticky threads.  I think some of that can be pruned.  I could be wrong.

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 09, 2012, 03:46:28 am
(http://i.imgur.com/JyG2y.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: AlexHW on August 09, 2012, 07:20:37 am
Mathias, that rabbit is a great artist!



Browsing the General Discussion forums at 1024x768, the entire first screen is sticky threads.
that is a bit unnerving for me too..
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on August 09, 2012, 05:14:27 pm
I've revived the MLPforums' TF2 server, you're all invited to join us tomorrow for crumpets and tea the resurrected brony hangout time: http://mlpforums.com/topic/28307-tf2-on-mlp-forums-returns
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on August 11, 2012, 11:17:52 pm
Not sure I'm satisfied with The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain as someone eager to learn to draw. The upside-down exercises seem  unnecessary to me. I understand the point behind them, but really, if I'm going to learn to copy objects I see part by part by forgetting what they mean so to really see them...uh, I don't know. This doesn't seem like my problem at all. Controlling the line, shapes, getting proportions...that's my problem. Although the book is convincing and very well written. I guess I will have to trust her so far that the key is in seeing. Luckily I have two more books on drawing if her method fails on me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ryumaru on August 12, 2012, 03:15:17 am
Do not dismiss those ideas so easily. You will be surprised how much your mind creates symbols of things instead of representations of what you see.

Our brains are not wired to "see" they are wired to translate and interpret.

I have problems with it still.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on August 12, 2012, 03:31:20 am
Lachie, that exercise was hard for me to get thru the first time as well. Actually, I went to a special art school in high school, so a lot of the book was stuff i had already learned. Keep in mind the book is meant to also help people who can barely draw a stick figure. The latter parts of the book are pure gold.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on August 12, 2012, 04:47:02 pm
Wow, great to hear from Pixelation forum members supporting the book. Will keep going more motivated. Finished my upside down exercises! Reached the part where I need a transparent panel to continue. Hrm...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on August 12, 2012, 05:59:15 pm
Yep, I'm at about the same point in the book, actually -- good read so far, I find the whole "symbol system" part very interesting and my largest problem so far -- already getting a lot out of the read,
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Stab on August 12, 2012, 10:35:34 pm
I got so frustrated with some part of that book that I actually tracked down and emailed the author to try figure out why the exercise results were differing so much from "what was supposed to happen".

I guess the turmoil/frustration is good! Maybe it signifies your own struggle to understand the stuff put in front of you, and re-design the way you see things?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: halffish on August 15, 2012, 09:55:33 am
This place... pixelation... it still exists?!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Crow on August 15, 2012, 12:00:28 pm
This place... pixelation... it still exists?!

Sure! Why not?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on August 15, 2012, 12:03:56 pm
This place... pixelation... it still exists?!

Of course it does.  It'll probably exist long after mankind is extinct from some big catastrophe and the only active members using this site will be a race of pixelling cockroaches...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on August 16, 2012, 12:24:40 am
Pixelation can never die  :'(

Lachie D and Ashbad, I wish you guys the best with your studies.  That book sounds really good  ;D Hope to see some (more) beautiful pixels from you guys soon  ;D
.. ;D

Not to promote myself, cuz well I don't want to promote myself, but I just thought I'd post my youtube channel here, cuz I'm kinda proud of myself for starting to try to branch out and do things again, because for the past 1/3 of my life or so I literally haven't lived a day and within that time I've felt further from myself every day.  I'll probably do drum covers, sing a little, and idk what else.  Don't really mind who sees, it's just to push my comfort zone  :-[ http://www.youtube.com/user/OneStoneDrum?feature=mhee (http://www.youtube.com/user/OneStoneDrum?feature=mhee)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Crow on August 16, 2012, 07:56:39 am
Not to promote myself, cuz well I don't want to promote myself, but I just thought I'd post my youtube channel here, cuz I'm kinda proud of myself for starting to try to branch out and do things again, because for the past 1/3 of my life or so I literally haven't lived a day and within that time I've felt further from myself every day.  I'll probably do drum covers, sing a little, and idk what else.  Don't really mind who sees, it's just to push my comfort zone  :-[ http://www.youtube.com/user/OneStoneDrum?feature=mhee (http://www.youtube.com/user/OneStoneDrum?feature=mhee)

Really nice! I'll check back every once in a while. I like what you've got so far :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 16, 2012, 01:28:10 pm
Yeah, good stuff! Keep posting!

How do you handle the snare in these videos? It's not immediately apparent to me.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on August 16, 2012, 03:38:18 pm
Thanks!  Yeah, I have hundreds of things I can post.  I'm doing something today where you'll actually hear what I'm doing, since it'll be separate from music playing. 

About the snare, if you look carefully I have two bass drum pads, each with a foot pedal.  The left bass drum pad is programmed to do snare sounds, and the right is for the bass drum.  So, I play the snare drum with a foot pedal with my left foot, and the bass drum with my right foot.  Also, because a lot of music requires fast snare drum, I have a drum pad normally where a snare drum is that is programmed to do the exact same sound as the left bass drum pad.  I can alternate hits between my left foot and right hand on the snare pad when it's required.  But, I can also simply play traditionally, because electronic pads still respond to hits with my left arm, it's just quite clunky, but it is useful in times.  The video I'll do today will have my playing this way, utilizing all of my limbs
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on August 16, 2012, 09:54:50 pm
That's what I figured. Excellent solution.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on August 16, 2012, 10:45:32 pm
Would love to hear just the drums. Just to hear your performance better. Care to make few videos with your playing only?

Thanks for the support in my drawing/pixel art ambition.


I'm currently doing a pixel art work where I traced the body contours of a photograph (with a tablet). What's your stance on that guys? Useful? Worthwhile in the learning process? I tried to replicate the contours by watching the photo on the side, but it would take me too long, and I'm still getting used to tablet so I don't know how much the tablet is slowing me down in this, classic watch and replicate process.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on August 16, 2012, 11:08:08 pm
Yes, I'd be glad to do videos with just me playing.  The issue I have now with doing covers is that it's impossible to get my playing and the audio perfectly synced, because I'm playing with headphones and then trying to match an audio file to my motions, and imovie isn't really great for that kind of thing.  I'm uploading a video right now where you'll hear me playing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XDR-wDIKrU&feature=plcp (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XDR-wDIKrU&feature=plcp)

About your new pixel art, I really don't see how it is worthwhile.  You're not practicing drawing without reference, and you aren't even really practicing drawing.  The only good I can see in it is learning to convert in image into something with fewer colors, and you could just reduce the colors and go from there, which is frowned upon.  But idk others opinions on the matter
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on August 17, 2012, 12:36:48 am
good stuff friend!

maybe all the pixelation musos should do a collaborative track? ;D

been quite busy last few days, activity on the forums was quite high in my absence I see, should have some time over the weekend to invest here :)

@lachie drawing skills are intrinsically tied, mainly due to the understanding garnered of the subject matters and how to represent them, I think it's a good exercise particularly for familiarizing yourself with using the tablet and also make a concious effort to analyse and observe the subtly of curves and flow, not just copying for copying sake, that'd serve less purpose find some strong and striking figures and examples of proportions you want to depict and just take some time while you are practising to pay close attention to the subtleties and even the not so subtle elements of your chosen subjects

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Stab on August 17, 2012, 02:51:03 am
@Lachie

Drawing in itself is never bad. I'm certainly no expert, but I'm someone who is perpetually stuck in thought, and this is a subject I've put some thought in to. Forgive what might turn out to be a massive vomiting of information (and mind that these are only my thoughts, so don't let me corrupt you with any mistakes I've made!)!

Drawing is a form of communication. This shouldn't be a hard concept to grasp; just as people speak or write or wave their arms frantically to convey some information or message, drawing is equally used to record and convey information that can be used at a later time. Often the message is less direct in intention than more formal methods of communication, but the beauty of art or drawing is that the message almost always has a certain ambiguity about it. The viewer of your message and information will almost always apply their own breadth of visual understandings to your message. While drawing has a lot in common with formal/literal communication, it

There are two aspects to any communication, your physical/mechanical ability to perform, and the mental message you wish to convey. In speaking or writing, your vocabulary is the primary physical restrictor on how accurately you can communicate your message. In drawing, your physical ability to produce the strokes/lines/marks you intend to is the primary restrictor on your ability to communicate your message. Someone could have a crystal-clear image of what they hoped to produce, but if they lack the mechanical ability to produce the lines or pick the colours or otherwise manipulate their tools, it is quite possible that they'll end up with a message that isn't quite what they intended. The beauty of art, again, is that this is totally okay. It isn't nearly as easy for the viewer to pick out where you've minorly mussed up your message, as there will typically be such a wealth of information that picking through it for the nitty gritty would be too imposing and uninteresting a task for the casual communicatee. But I digress! While I'd hope this is at least thought-provoking, it isn't necessarily useful or relevant information, so let's carry on!

Where this starts to take relevance to your practice is in the considerations of what you hope to communicate, and what aspect of your communication you hope to improve. A point I skipped over earlier is that from what I understand, people will understand visual information as symbols, and that if your symbols aren't true or understandable your message will start to fall apart. What I mean by this is simple; if you're drawing a leg that doesn't look like a leg and doesn't show an understanding of the leg people will automatically and instinctively "feel" that it is wrong. Any non-artist won't likely be able to point to a specific error, but an observant artist or critic would be able to point to the specific element or elements that make it inconsistent with the symbol of "leg". As with any message, context becomes important, but at the risk of bursting forth on yet another tangent, I'll try bring this back to what it means to anyone practicing drawing:

Learn to draw TRUTH, then deviate from that. Anime is a perfect example of an art-form that heavily relies on symbols to communicate its message. Could any physical person actually look like an anime character? Barring certain case instances, I'd venture to say no... but it still doesn't look wrong, right? A temptation of starting artists is to draw superheroes/anime characters or other already bastardized instances of truth... and while I would definitely and obviously say that that isn't unforgivably bad (We ALL started that way, didn't we?), it certainly isn't something conducive to efficient learning. What you're doing by learning from cartoons is learning someone else's set of symbols that they created from their own understanding and deviation from reality. It will teach you things that the original artist would have recognized as conscious untruths with intent (Compare: Exaggerated important facial features for purpose of impactful expression OR Exaggerated important facial features because anime.)... and won't tell you that they're conscious untruths, nor their intent. Sure, you can puzzle out the purpose of these deviations and still learn without permanently damaging yourself, but by doing so you'd be adding a layer of complexity to your learning AND still not endeavoring to learn truth, but rather someone else's deviation from it. So draw from life, draw from reality, learn from what IS so you can make up what COULD BE.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU SPECIFICALLY MR LACHIE DAZDARIAN is that my only concerns for you drawing the human form on a tablet in pixel art is that it's convoluted practice. It's somewhat comparable to learning to play the piano while learning to ride a unicycle, but less obviously and pointlessly difficult. If you want to learn about the human form, isolate that as the purpose of your practice, and make EVERYTHING ELSE AS EASY AS POSSIBLE. Trying to exercise your mechanical ability to communicate while refining the message you'd hope to communicate WHILE restricting yourself to pixel art is a lot and diminishes your ability to actually absorb the lessons you could be learning. You'll learn stuff about all three, yes, but I'm inclined to believe that you'd learn them slower than if you'd spent time focusing specifically on specific aspects.

But as I said, drawing in itself is never bad. You'll always be improving something, and if you're careful about considering whether or not what you're learning is TRUTH, then you should be a-shootin' for the stars.

That was a lot of words. I like taking time to figure out what the heck I think about things. GOGO OFF TOPIC THREAD.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on August 17, 2012, 10:07:30 am
(http://i.imgur.com/x3B4R.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/Fnia2.png)
fullsize WiP map (http://i.imgur.com/83lpm.png)

figured I'd post it here because I figured people would be less hesitant to make non Critique comments here, I've got a few projects going, and with one particular collaborator (a programmer) I am narrowing down game concepts, he recently put together a demo of collision and movement, and it was a varied terrain and the character rotated to adhere to the surface angle, immediately upon testing we thought a gravity based game where the character rotates to the surface would be a great idea, I've just mocked up a game concept art wise, and also experimented with organic 360 degree level design and tile maps, it's partially tiled in that screenshot with 3x sprite rotation, the tiles are 8x8 at the moment but will likely end up 24x24, with a 3x scaled sprite doing realtime rotations.

what do you guys think of the art style and gameplay concept? we might play with rotating camera too, so you can set it to track with player rotation and it'll seem like the level is rotating, or have just player rotation meaning you'll end up sideways and upside down, (the option to have fixed on player, will be enough for anyone who finds the other mechanics disconcerting)

the setting I've got in mind is chunks/levels that are parts of a planet torn asunder, and the main character will transit between these chunks searching for artifacts from her civilization and survivors of the cataclysmic event. the quadruped in that image is a proposed player companion who we will try working into the gameplay mechanics and story.

so yeah what do you guys think? I can start a thread later if you guys think I should, posting updates on the game art, and welcoming any critique or comments
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on August 18, 2012, 03:21:32 am
Quote
so yeah what do you guys think? I can start a thread later if you guys think I should, posting updates on the game art, and welcoming any critique or comments
There isn't much for me to comment on at the moment.
But I offer positive vibes to help you get there.  :y: :)
Would be happy to see it progress over time.
PLAY TEST YOUR GAME A LOT.
Many great ideas will come up as a result of filling in gaps.
What kind of cool stuff might the beast do?
Perhaps after a few more art posts I'll have something real to say.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on August 18, 2012, 09:04:46 am
I made a game on a rotating planet thing once.  It's just a very very basic game made in two days, so probably very little in common with yours, but I did a little write up afterwards on the things that worked and didn't work which you might find interesting. 

game: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1534394/ld48/planet/game.html (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1534394/ld48/planet/game.html)
write up:  http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2012/04/27/a-post-mortem/ (http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2012/04/27/a-post-mortem/)

I think the worst thing was the small featureless planet, you don't really feel like you're exploring anything or going anywhere, cos it all looks the same.

Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yaomon17 on August 19, 2012, 05:53:16 pm
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/322438897/mercenary-kings/posts/290181
Looks promising.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 20, 2012, 03:31:29 am
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/322438897/mercenary-kings/posts/290181
Looks promising.

Wow, that is extremely Paul Robertson inspired. The art. Even the name.

Can't blame a guy for copying such a PA hero, though. Haha, remember when PA purist retards ran him off from PJ? They pissed him off, hah.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on August 20, 2012, 04:06:25 am
Is it Paul Robertson inspired if the actual Paul Robertson is the one doing the art?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yaomon17 on August 20, 2012, 04:57:35 am
Is it Paul Robertson inspired if the actual Paul Robertson is the one doing the art?
I don't see why not. I inspire myself all the time :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on August 22, 2012, 04:36:09 am
hey guys. sorry for the dip in activity have been hectically busy. For example last night was pulled into attending a seminar it was quite a wasteful 3 hours :blind:

There isn't much for me to comment on at the moment.
But I offer positive vibes to help you get there.  :y: :)
Would be happy to see it progress over time.
PLAY TEST YOUR GAME A LOT.
Many great ideas will come up as a result of filling in gaps.
What kind of cool stuff might the beast do?
Perhaps after a few more art posts I'll have something real to say.
:) thanks appreciate the good vibes and it's the kind of interest i was unsure of and hoping to confirm existed. I haven't had as much time as I'd want but I have been pushing a few ideas, once I get enough content I'll start a thread, and be sure to include playable builds when the time comes.

I have quite a few ideas for the beast companion if I pursue some of the ideas to fruition let's just say the creatures role won't just be auxiliary and an unnecessary element, and will likely become an integral part of the gameplay, and might as well mention the proposed possibility of direct creature control sections.

I'm leaning toward not just camera options as a choice, but specific areas and zones/scenarios where each will work and amplify the level design not just disorient, vertical jumping sections for example will be difficult and disorienting if your character is diagonal down, but everything is still subject to exploration. some of the bigger levels will be rather subtle rotations, but if there is a map system it'll be an interesting approach to level design, quite a challenge too, I might need to go the route of vector environments just for practical reasons, which will fit within the reasonably minimilistic stylings I am trying to work within it's early days and the project is quite malleable and when I get the thread open I'd welcome any ideas or suggestions for what you all want to see integrated. game engine is in the works, so it's still conceptual and in discussion with my programmer I'm getting excited as his vision and design mythos is in-line with my own and seems we aren't afraid to push and challenge ourselves, more importantly we both have realistic expectations and are actively keeping our project from becoming fatally ambitious.

also I know enough about programming logic (through study and personal experience doing it) to not throw stupid awkward non thought out ideas into the mix :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 22, 2012, 05:50:56 am
Is it Paul Robertson inspired if the actual Paul Robertson is the one doing the art?
I don't see why not. I inspire myself all the time :D

Bahaha I failed to notice!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 22, 2012, 06:30:14 pm
(http://i.pgcdn.com/pi/100/60/22/1006022845_260.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: yaomon17 on August 23, 2012, 01:36:37 am
(http://i.pgcdn.com/pi/100/60/22/1006022845_260.jpg)
(http://www.fooddepotcorp.com/productimages/A/200/7110.jpg)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Mathias on August 24, 2012, 10:24:50 pm
whut
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on September 04, 2012, 02:48:24 am
DUDES.

A friend of mine is embarking on the crazy journey of becoming an artist supported entirely by her artist-ness. I've got my own package of warnings and excitements and considerations, but if anyone has any personal thoughts or bits of advice on the subject (or links to discussions on the subject; I'm sure we've had at least one discussion on pixelation about surviving as an artist) it would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on September 04, 2012, 05:46:53 pm
Keep your day job.  :crazy: :lol:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on September 04, 2012, 09:23:08 pm
Arm yourself with patience. Arm yourself good.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Willows on September 06, 2012, 01:23:50 am
Alex, that comes somewhat ironically given the posting exactly before it :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on September 12, 2012, 07:19:15 am
Did my skydive a few weeks ago.  Was awesome.  I wanna go again sometime.  Right now though I'm trying to learn to tap dance for this play I'm in.  Not going well.  I sure can make a lot of noise in those shoes though.  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Lachie Dazdarian on September 12, 2012, 08:04:10 am
Maybe I wasn't clear. I didn't mean idle patience. Usually, when you develop a piece, it takes hours, sometimes days for your work to form a pleasing (nice looking) shape (depends on the skills, but that's the case with me), the stage when it becomes very obvious (or probable) that it will develop into something good/usable. For me usually this "will I have to chuck completely what I'm working on ATM" phase is the worst.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on September 16, 2012, 01:16:19 am
Checked with ptoing to post this, so may as well.

Someone wrote a neat little native graphics editor for NES. You can get it here under Graphics Editor. (http://pineight.com/nes/) Run it in an emulator of your choice, or the NES. Naturally, it's pretty tough to place pixels with a d-pad and four buttons, but if you import a tileset from elsewhere it can be pretty easy to put together a quick mockup. It even lets you edit pixels directly on the map and have them all update at once, like PyxelEdit. (http://pyxeledit.com/about.php)

May as well post about another homebrew NES while I'm around. Super Bat Puncher. It's a little old, but I haven't seen it posted about here before.

Video here. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2DJrr2iBXc&feature=relmfu)

Get it here. (http://morphcat.de/superbatpuncher/)

I really enjoy its enemy animation, and its palette use is super clever. But even if it didn't have nice graphics, it's a very good (and short) demo worth checking out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Facet on September 17, 2012, 12:04:32 am
Yeah, definitely check out Bat Puncher, really slick presentation all round; an awesome soundtrack too.

Have you more homebrew suggestions Kasumi? as if I didn't have enough ROMs to keep me occupied forever :P 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Kasumi on September 17, 2012, 12:48:04 am
Hmm... I collect a bunch of homebrew roms to check out my competition, but most aren't that complex or interesting enough to recommend checking out. Even mine! (http://www.evilemp1re.com/kasumi/Galaxy%20NES%20000.zip) A Geometry Wars (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-_qlaywKBs) clone, but most did not like the controls. I did what I could to get eight buttons to control a game that used two joysticks + a button. I enjoy it, but it's basic. The highest score I've got is a little over 700,000 if you're feeling competitive. Most people quit before it starts to get intense at 10,000 because of the controls. Oh well! The real killer of the game is actually the green enemies. They lack a max speed check. There are strategies that make them a non-issue, though, if you spend some time on it. I wish I had the optimization knowledge I have now when I made it, I probably could have had a max speed check for them and still had ~40 of 'em on screen. 

Enough self promotion. Shiru has made quite a few neat ones.

Zooming Secretary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6EGvZyl7PM) is a great arcade style game that's pretty much totally adorable. Sweet pixels, good and original concept.

Alter Ego (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN-Z8S_MIH4) is a puzzle type game.

(Download links in the descriptions of the youtube videos.)

There are the two Battle Kid games, but I assume most have heard of them.

Lots of clone games too. Chu Chu Rocket (http://www.dwedit.org/nes/chuchurocket.php) is very technically impressive. There are Rodent's Revenge and Chip's Challenge clones as well.

Most of the scene is clones, or really short demos unfortunately.

The game I'm making now is a giant co-op platformer with slopes, but it's a while from release.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Facet on September 18, 2012, 09:59:55 pm
Great round-up thanks, I gave Galaxy a go today but didn't make 10,000 in 10-15 tries; I kinda suck at shooters. I spent almost all game-time turning tail whilst firing backwards, the Weavers are indeed right bastards :P.

Also playing Black Mesa (http://release.blackmesasource.com/) which I'd almost forgotten about since the hype a few years ago; good stuff.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Crow on September 27, 2012, 03:00:17 pm
AVATAR~ >:D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on October 04, 2012, 07:39:11 am
IDK if any of you noticed, but I had stopped drawing. I started C&Cing myself in my head so much I didnt want to do art anymore

That ever happen to you? I think this post might help =)

http://chrisoatley.com/inner-critic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChrisOatley+%28ChrisOatley.com%29

Incidentally, that's not what got me back into art, what got me back into art was a very eclectic design job I got....learning all sorts of shit, making up for all the years I stopped branching out and just stuck with pixelart & ink =)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Grimsane on October 08, 2012, 07:00:04 pm
sorry about the absence guys, have had quite alot of compounded PC issues including 1 which resulted in a forced complete format and re-installation of windows, also running Ubuntu now too because windows has gone whackodoodle, spent most my break fixing my PC issues, and now it's back to class, and it's getting pretty hectic assignment wise so won't be able to invest as much time in the forums as I'd like

oh and anyone who likes customizing and modifying graphical appearance in games might want to check out this graphic injector for dx9,10&11 games there is a tool/injector called SweetFX which can be found here (http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=368880) essentially it's a compilation of quite a few fullscreen filters and shaderFX etc including HDR simulation,  chroma based edge sharpening, tonemapping, technicolor simulation and other FX and film type simulation

played around with it a bit and did this (http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/281/1/f/vamps_comp_by_grimsane-d5h8ff7.jpg) (warning it's quite a large image) didn't want to mess with the mood of the game too much so I just sharpened and tried making the lighting read more current gen.
the injector also allows for some SMAA (Sub-pixel Morphological Anti Aliasing) which can be much less of a performance hit than MSAA (MultiSample Anti Aliasing) and traditional AA, and can be applied to games without any AA support, so it's quite a nice tool. it's as easy as dropping files into your games folder, there are presets in the thread, and to do your own adjustments it's just adjusting values in a text file, also it updates in realtime without needing to restart the program/game

anyway I'll hopefully be hanging around here when I can
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on October 13, 2012, 05:08:16 pm
Been a few months since I've even logged in here, but I was incredibly busy with school, the last days of my internship and summer, and multiple other projects.  I've gotten the DotRSotB book a while ago, but I'm finally at peace enough to actually crack it open -- I'm hoping to get a read through of it and an attempt at every exercise by the end of the month.  That aside, I've been having some fun doodling shapes in class (mostly 3-dimensional ones, to practice perspective and shading on simple objects and such, which I'm getting down pretty well I'd say) -- not the most advanced art study, but I'm not the most advanced artist, by any means.  Anyways, probably not going to be terribly active with pixeling for a while (as I'll be doing pencil and paper drawing), but thought I'd drop by and prove I haven't died in the mean time, in case anyone remembers me  ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Seiseki on October 13, 2012, 06:40:38 pm
IDK if any of you noticed, but I had stopped drawing. I started C&Cing myself in my head so much I didnt want to do art anymore

That ever happen to you? I think this post might help =)

http://chrisoatley.com/inner-critic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChrisOatley+%28ChrisOatley.com%29

Incidentally, that's not what got me back into art, what got me back into art was a very eclectic design job I got....learning all sorts of shit, making up for all the years I stopped branching out and just stuck with pixelart & ink =)

Great read!
I heavily criticize the stuff I do, which have been quite hampering. But without that critique I wouldn't be where I am because it also pushed me forward. Just like what this forum has done for my pixeling skills.
I wish I'd draw more though, I tend to avoid it because it's tough and it looks ridiculous (my inner critic is very quick to point that out).. So I stick to vector art, or pixels..
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on October 16, 2012, 12:23:37 pm
Does anybody that plays Paper & Pen RPGs know how much interest there would be if I made pixels of tokens that can be printed out and glued to otherwise useless US pennies? I'm thinking of doing that as a side project of mine.

Also I decided "screw it" and become less strict with color counts even if it's not optimal.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on October 21, 2012, 10:35:58 am
SeisekI: PLEEEEEASEEE dont do that. draw. draw your arse off.

Dont be like me, and devote several years to "art" but never really draw...and then wonder WTF you were doing all those years. draw people around you draw strangers draw buildings. draw whatever.

on that note

http://www.linesandcolors.com/2012/10/19/david-johnson-portraits/

I'm in love with this guy's work, the LINEWORK people....he doesnt even vary the line width that much, his line is clean and simple, but it's SO gestural, balances angular and round lines so well, and his portraits  and on the verge of caricature.....it just...it just makes me FLIP THE FUCK OUT with every new portrait he posts.

I used to think if you drew in an anatomically correct way you'd get boring but this guy's the proof, knowledge never stiffles.

DOUBLEPOST

http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2012/10/four-color-poster-palette.html


a four color poster before pixelart, just felt too NES not to post :p
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: EyeCraft on November 10, 2012, 12:45:48 am
Hello everyone.  :)

It's been a long time. How have we all been?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on November 10, 2012, 04:36:22 pm
So, um, how about that Secret Santa? ::)

I'd be more confident to join this year, if it's happening at all.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: miascugh on November 10, 2012, 07:11:22 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3RsvTjJZjk

I love that kind of stuff  ;D

There's something about nighttime and twinkles that I always liked in 8/16-bit era games too.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on November 11, 2012, 01:00:42 pm
Last night was my last of three nights performing in another play.  I played the part of Geoffrey, the only male character, in a local production of 'Stepping Out' a play about an amateur tap dance class.  So yeah I had to learn to tap.  I'm not a natural dancer so was a bit strange to be there in front of audiences dancing away while wearing incredibly sparkly silvery top hat, tails and a cane.   Never thought I'd ever do something like that.   But it's done and I had fun.  :)   And today I've got a rehearsal for a local production of 'The Sound of Music', as it's my first musical as an adult I'm just gonna be in the chorus rather than have any leading roles where I might have been forced to sing solo.  At least with singing with the chorus I can actually learn to sing in public and build up confidence as I go.   Still going to be hard work as chorus members have usually have to play many different background characters and learn a lot of songs and dance routines.  Yeah I'm barely recovered from the last three night's performing and off to go rehearse for another.  Busy busy. :D

Anyways I hope everyone here has been well.   ;D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 12, 2012, 06:32:33 am
This thread (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=14820.0) gave me an idea. Because of what pixel art is, it's no doubt that there's plenty of artists around here working on games, and with Greenlight becoming so popular it seems counter-productive to have a thread for each game an artist may eventually want to get support getting the greenlight. It'd be nice if there was one dedicated thread where we can all post/get input our Greenlight projects.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Seiseki on November 12, 2012, 08:01:37 am
This thread (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=14820.0) gave me an idea. Because of what pixel art is, it's no doubt that there's plenty of artists around here working on games, and with Greenlight becoming so popular it seems counter-productive to have a thread for each game an artist may eventually want to get support getting the greenlight. It'd be nice if there was one dedicated thread where we can all post/get input our Greenlight projects.

Good idea, perhaps greenlight/Kickstarter? :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: alkaline on November 13, 2012, 08:37:48 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3RsvTjJZjk

I love that kind of stuff  ;D

There's something about nighttime and twinkles that I always liked in 8/16-bit era games too.

well, that was pretty wild

got anything else like this?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on November 13, 2012, 06:41:22 pm
Does anyone know of a good method to work in tall pixels (1:2) in Photoshop, or some other program? I know it's possible to set the pixel aspect ratio in PS, but making them tall doesn't work the same way as making them wide, for some reason. For one you don't get pixel perfect placement, it also becomes blurry from some sort of filtering thing. Very annoying.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 13, 2012, 06:50:12 pm
Promotion and Grafx2 support tall pixels.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on November 13, 2012, 08:28:38 pm
Hrm. Maybe I'll do the sketch in PS and suck it up and polish it in either Pro Motion or Grafx2 then...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on November 13, 2012, 09:11:16 pm
Hey Junk boy,

It's possible to do in PS with a bit of setup using smart objects.  Lets say your canvas is 256x128 (stretched tall to 256x256)....

make a new document size 256x256
make sure document filtering is set to nearest neighbor
make a new layer, make a 128x256 selection, and flood fill
turn that layer into a smart object
rotate that layer 90 degrees clockwise, and transform-stretch the object to take up the entire canvas (final transform settings should be: W:200% H:100% Angle:90)
open up the smart object
rotate the canvas 90 degrees clockwise (using the rotate view tool, NOT rotating the image itself)
goto view->Pixel aspect ratio-> 2:1

If you've done everything correctly, you can start pixeling inside the smart object with a pencil brush with tall pixels.  So long as you're zoomed in at least 200% photoshop wont be stupid and apply filtering while you're painting.  In order to save the image or preview it at 100% scale, just save the smart object then go back to the root document.  From there you can save out a crisp image.

It's a bit weird of a set up, I know, but if you prefer painting in photoshop it's probably still net positive.  Being comfortable with your tools is far more important.

Here is an example document for you to check out.  (CS6)
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13350050/Junk/PSTallPixelsTest.psd
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on November 13, 2012, 10:09:20 pm
That's... MADNESS! But it actually seems to work, haha! Thank you Indigo!  :D :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Indigo on November 13, 2012, 10:28:44 pm
No problamo!  I've become a Smart Object Jedi due to the Spunk and Moxie project
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 13, 2012, 11:23:47 pm
This thread (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/index.php?topic=14820.0) gave me an idea. Because of what pixel art is, it's no doubt that there's plenty of artists around here working on games, and with Greenlight becoming so popular it seems counter-productive to have a thread for each game an artist may eventually want to get support getting the greenlight. It'd be nice if there was one dedicated thread where we can all post/get input our Greenlight projects.

Good idea, perhaps greenlight/Kickstarter? :)
Ya that'd be nice, I didn't consider kickstarter but I'm sure there's a few people around here with projects that need help.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Aastikya on November 17, 2012, 03:40:40 pm
Hi there everyone :D
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on November 17, 2012, 09:05:56 pm
Photoshop natively supports any pixel aspect ratio you like, it's just confusingly in the View window, view > pixel aspect ratio.

 :)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 17, 2012, 10:18:02 pm
Yeah, it's just a bit confusing. For tallpixels you need 0.5 for the custom aspect, works fine.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on November 18, 2012, 03:35:05 pm
Yes, PS supports it, but you don't get pixel-perfect pixel placement with the 1 pixel brush. You place two pixels each time, which makes it very clunky to work in that mode. (Wide pixels work perfectly though). Indigo's method work as you would expect though!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on November 18, 2012, 04:25:00 pm
Ah, makes sense. Pixel perfect pixel placement. The bane of Photoshop. :ouch:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: junkboy on November 18, 2012, 05:32:23 pm
Ah, makes sense. Pixel perfect pixel placement. The bane of Photoshop. :ouch:

Really now?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on November 20, 2012, 12:17:24 pm
Just got shown this by a guy using the Transformers name of Rumble.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rumble-art/8202902226/in/photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rumble-art/8202902226/in/photostream)
That's my Carnivac avatar in perler bead form on the wall of a his home in Australia.  He'd shown me the piece before many months ago and I was pretty flattered he'd taken the time to put that together (cos it's quite a lot of little fiddly bead thingies) but today he linked me this and I'm amazed to see something of mine recreated in physical form and framed and hung up on a wall.  Almost makes me feel like an actual artist or something.    I'd love to have it up on my wall too (or is it vain to have your own graphics framed and on your wall?).   
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: huZba on November 20, 2012, 05:45:13 pm
I think with a bit of vanity a lot of digital artists could feel more like "real" artists. I think you really should display your work where it can be viewed and discussed upon in person. Also most pieces look way nicer when they're outside of your monitor in a book or on the wall.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Charlieton on November 24, 2012, 12:20:39 pm
Manga Studio EX 4 is on sale this weekend: http://mysmithmicro.com/marcom/eblasts/manga/20121123/index-web.html (that's $30 instead of the usual $300! - also the page says it's until midnight 23rd, but actually the offer has been extended through the weekend)

Thought some of you artists might be interested. Haven't tried it, but I've heard good things.

Peace! :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Argyle on November 24, 2012, 01:06:55 pm
Thanks for the heads up, snagging it while I'm INUNDATED WITH CASH MONEYS from working too much, and because I've heard good things as well.  :y:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 26, 2012, 03:59:07 am
A bit of an odd question, but is anyone familiar with book publishing? Specifically page formatting/margins and such. I have a friend who was close to getting her book published but they need some margins fixed. All I have is the PDF file she sent, that was given to her by I'm assuming whoever did the layout. Problem is the person can be a bit slow to reach and she was hoping to get it fixed up sooner than later.

Basically it's a PDF of a childrens book with about 20 pages and all illustrated, and from what I can tell it's designed to be printed with bleed... and I have absolutely no idea nor the tools to properly margin/size it for her.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Friend on November 26, 2012, 04:07:03 am
I tried my hand at music comp. today.  I was wondering what you guys think.  It's my first shot at it, and I have no composition knowledge lol.  It's not done yet but: http://static.musescore.com/74460/793e55916e/score.mp3 (http://static.musescore.com/74460/793e55916e/score.mp3)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on November 26, 2012, 09:26:37 am
A bit of an odd question, but is anyone familiar with book publishing? Specifically page formatting/margins and such. I have a friend who was close to getting her book published but they need some margins fixed. All I have is the PDF file she sent, that was given to her by I'm assuming whoever did the layout. Problem is the person can be a bit slow to reach and she was hoping to get it fixed up sooner than later.

Basically it's a PDF of a childrens book with about 20 pages and all illustrated, and from what I can tell it's designed to be printed with bleed... and I have absolutely no idea nor the tools to properly margin/size it for her.

I always use inDesign to save PDFs for books, is that available to you?  It has more options for margins and stuff than the rest of CS I think. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on November 26, 2012, 05:27:10 pm
A bit of an odd question, but is anyone familiar with book publishing? Specifically page formatting/margins and such. I have a friend who was close to getting her book published but they need some margins fixed. All I have is the PDF file she sent, that was given to her by I'm assuming whoever did the layout. Problem is the person can be a bit slow to reach and she was hoping to get it fixed up sooner than later.

Basically it's a PDF of a childrens book with about 20 pages and all illustrated, and from what I can tell it's designed to be printed with bleed... and I have absolutely no idea nor the tools to properly margin/size it for her.

I always use inDesign to save PDFs for books, is that available to you?  It has more options for margins and stuff than the rest of CS I think.

I don't have inDesign, but I have no tools at all for it so I've just been downloading everything I might be able to use. I mean, I was able to set the margins, but the problem is bleeding is a lot more complicated and I don't think I'll be able to set them right.

Can inDesign set the margin differently for gutters/top/bottom and such, and can I make the pages larger while keeping the current content the same size?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: rikfuzz on November 26, 2012, 06:21:00 pm
inDesign has options for bleed/slug/margin with independent values for each edge.  I can probably help you out of you can't get it sorted out. 
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Carnivac on November 30, 2012, 11:29:07 pm
It's so damn frustrating when you know exactly what you want to be doing and getting on with but you can't because of some simple misunderstanding on someone else's part that prevents you from doing so for at least another month or two and even then it's not certain it will happen...

That feeling of being stuck in limbo when you just want to get a move on really sucks...
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: #36005A on December 06, 2012, 02:24:06 am
Excited to see the new game collaboration between AdamAtomic and Keita Takahashi as part of the LA Game Space project (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lagamespace/la-game-space-a-place-for-re-imagining-video-games?ref=home_popular)!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on December 08, 2012, 01:22:22 am
Ug, Black Ops II is so gay, I think it's giving me AIDS. Why do I keep playing it?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on December 08, 2012, 02:56:43 am
Ug, Black Ops II is so gay, I think it's giving me AIDS. Why do I keep playing it?

What a wonderfully /pol/ evaluation of a wonderfully /pol/ game.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on December 08, 2012, 04:38:09 am
I think more than being politically incorrect it makes blu sound incredibly homophobic. Sorry blu.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: xhunterko on December 08, 2012, 07:15:16 am
Hm. Anyone bored/have time/want to do something free for a ludum dare game?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on December 08, 2012, 01:31:52 pm
I've been trying to draw for days now, but I've been constantly drawblocked by TF2 -- until today.  The latest update broke the game for me again.  I can't find any servers (and this time, doing an extensive system scan, forwarding port 27015, killing any programs that might be intercepting that port, etc.) all are failing.  It's amazing that such an innocent game is keeping me from studying and drawing, perhaps I have an addictive personality -- sounds like I'd better stay away from 'dem beers when I turn 21  :-[

I think more than being politically incorrect it makes blu sound incredibly homophobic. Sorry blu.

Agreed, unless he's acting that way for comedic reasons as I suspect (calling everything "gay", because all of the 13 year olds who also play that game use it as an insult.)  If not... welcome to 2012, Blu!  :blind:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on December 08, 2012, 09:24:35 pm
I think more than being politically incorrect it makes blu sound incredibly homophobic. Sorry blu.

Agreed, unless he's acting that way for comedic reasons as I suspect (calling everything "gay", because all of the 13 year olds who also play that game use it as an insult.)  If not... welcome to 2012, Blu!  :blind:

I'm from the Dirty South. Nothing is sacred and everything is fair game for jokes. I call "Black Ops" "Black Cocks" and make fun of myself for being half black. I'm not sure a German could even begin to understand the kind of culture I was raised in. :lol:

And yes, using my Xbox LIVE headset has destroyed the higher functioning parts of my brain.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Reo on December 08, 2012, 09:49:49 pm
I think more than being politically incorrect it makes blu sound incredibly homophobic. Sorry blu.

Agreed, unless he's acting that way for comedic reasons as I suspect (calling everything "gay", because all of the 13 year olds who also play that game use it as an insult.)  If not... welcome to 2012, Blu!  :blind:

I'm from the Dirty South. Nothing is sacred and everything is fair game for jokes. I call "Black Ops" "Black Cocks" and make fun of myself for being half black. I'm not sure a German could even begin to understand the kind of culture I was raised in. :lol:

And yes, using my Xbox LIVE headset has destroyed the higher functioning parts of my brain.
Is that a good reason to shrugg it off? Everything you say and do has an effect on the world. As long as people use gay as an insult and to mean something negative, that is how society is going to keep percieving it.  :mean:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on December 08, 2012, 09:50:36 pm
I'm from the Dirty South. Nothing is sacred and everything is fair game for jokes. I call "Black Ops" "Black Cocks" and make fun of myself for being half black. I'm not sure a German could even begin to understand the kind of culture I was raised in. :lol:

And yes, using my Xbox LIVE headset has destroyed the higher functioning parts of my brain.

Very true of The South -- I'm just north enough to have been raised in a different environment (Northern Virginia, the Land of the Politically Hypercorrect, Rich and Insensitive, Overly Self-Centered Democrats -- or so it seems.)

I find that the witty comments I intend to make generally dissolve when I talk online during games, into things involving lack of dropped testicles and the such.  Afterwards, I always contemplate my wasted opportunities to crush the egos of 13-year-olds everywhere for hours, asking myself where I went wrong in life.

And then I go back to playing and making shitty insults  :yell:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: xhunterko on December 08, 2012, 11:12:20 pm
Quote
sounds like I'd better stay away from 'dem beers when I turn 21

Probably one of the wisest decisions you'll make in your life.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on December 08, 2012, 11:37:24 pm
Statistically, people who drink alcohol -- even those who abuse alcohol -- have longer lifespans than those who abstain.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on December 08, 2012, 11:42:04 pm
Statistically, people who drink alcohol -- even those who abuse alcohol -- have longer lifespans than those who abstain.

73% of statistics are made up, though.  ::)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: PixelPiledriver on December 09, 2012, 12:30:39 am
Any Tekken Tag 2 players on xbox out there?
My tag is PixelPiledriver if you want to do a few matches.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: API-Beast on December 09, 2012, 02:02:34 pm
@Ashbad Wrong duh, it's 98% not 73%.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Helm on December 09, 2012, 04:33:48 pm
I don't care where you're from, please don't use 'gay' as an insult on Pixelation.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Conzeit on December 09, 2012, 06:28:58 pm
yeah well if you have to tell people it's ok where you live it's evident that it's not so ok where you're doing it.....Pixelation is worldwide not in south USA.

There is a sexually transmitted disease that kills 100% of the infected population and there's no known cure for it, it's called life :p so yeah I dont pay much attention to statistics, we live life as individuals and the perspective of an individual has nothing to do with statistics, statistics are for corporations trying to have multinational control that try to treat us as asheep and lump us into homogeneous groups.

At a time I used to see alcohol as something I'd never try. That didnt last very long because at the end of my adolescence I got bored of my verbose overly serious side (which the oldies in pixelation have seen a lot of :p) so I got drunk to see if I became suddenly extroverted. Obviously that didnt work :p.

But I feel that if you never try even a little bit of alcohol you might see it as something indecipherable and mysterious, like I did before I tried it.
There's nothing too mysterious or worthwhile about it, getting "wasted" or puke-level drunk is not worthwhile.
The reason I think it's so accepted to get wasted is because that's the only enviroment where people dare to show their basest desires, and it's the "ok" place to do so, you can always excuse what you regret to do with "I was drunk that day". I think that's bs personally, I always stay accountable no matter how drunk. I think we should all just learn be emphatic and laugh at ourselves instead of getting wasted.

I think drinking is good if you try one or two beers ( or wine or whatever form of non hard alcohol you choose) and see what that does to you, on that dose it can be relaxing and it can help develop the taste for bitter flavors. that's what I do now-a-days. There's one thing I still want to try though, Absynth....because of all that hype
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: blumunkee on December 10, 2012, 12:24:27 am
I don't have any problem apologizing! I'm sorry for using the word 'gay' as an insult.

As for alcohol, it has helped me from quitting my job and going penniless and homeless on several occasions. Downing a couple of lagers after a shitty day of work helps me unwind enough to get back at it the next day.

And I really don't understand the appeal of getting shit-faced drunk. I've done it a couple of times and I always regret it. I think it's much better to get a nice buzz going for an hour or two, then eventually sober up before going home and passing out.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: #36005A on December 10, 2012, 03:52:39 am
I'm just north enough to have been raised in a different environment (Northern Virginia, the Land of the Politically Hypercorrect, Rich and Insensitive, Overly Self-Centered Democrats -- or so it seems.)

Oh hi, I'm also from NoVA.

Re: alcohol, having a bit of it with friends is plenty of fun. As with anything, going overboard with it is not going to be a good idea.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: ptoing on December 10, 2012, 04:18:44 am
I don't much get the appeal of alcohol. I like to drink certain things, not most beers though (never got used to the taste and I am not gonna drink it until I am), and most stuff like wine or whiskey are lost on me, since I can not smell. As far as drinks go I always figure, might as well not drink alcohol, because it is cheaper and it does nothing for me. I do not even like a light buzz.

I was proper drunk 3 times in my entire life (last time summer 2007), and I think I can say that what I have consumed in my entire life others drink in a year or probably a lot less.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on December 10, 2012, 02:28:58 pm
Does anyone know why pixel art draws so much more attention from the general population when drawn in minecraft rather than just being drawn sanely?  Many of the revered pixels of the minecraft medium would barely even attract any attention in something like the pixeljoint gallery (assuming they weren't projected in a poorly coded time waster game -- otherwise, they wouldn't even pass into the gallery.)  It's not even like it's hard to build these pixels, too: http://www.diamondpants.com/spritecraft/ -- I assume it's because kiddies like 3-D vidya blocks or something?

Now, if many of these models were more 3-D, as in, not a picture simply converted into a 1-block thick viewing plane -- It would be a pretty neat phenomenon.  Voxels would actually be kind of cool.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: leroy on December 10, 2012, 03:25:59 pm
Far Cry 3 makes me gay! I keep playing it.  ::)

/joke

Actually I haven't played it in a while  :ouch:
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Dusty on December 10, 2012, 07:10:09 pm
Does anyone know why pixel art draws so much more attention from the general population when drawn in minecraft rather than just being drawn sanely?  Many of the revered pixels of the minecraft medium would barely even attract any attention in something like the pixeljoint gallery (assuming they weren't projected in a poorly coded time waster game -- otherwise, they wouldn't even pass into the gallery.)  It's not even like it's hard to build these pixels, too: http://www.diamondpants.com/spritecraft/ -- I assume it's because kiddies like 3-D vidya blocks or something?

Now, if many of these models were more 3-D, as in, not a picture simply converted into a 1-block thick viewing plane -- It would be a pretty neat phenomenon.  Voxels would actually be kind of cool.

Legos.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: HughSpectrum on December 11, 2012, 01:10:55 am
In my observation people tend to be more entertained by showings of how accurately mainstream commercial works can be imitated and how well they can be presented rather than what kind of original work you can create (in Minecraft's case I am assuming with knowledge of how buildings and stone works are made). Combine that with a massively popular construction game with a pseudo-retro (that isn't truly vintage) look and it becomes a recipe for easy success.

At least that's why I think that is. There's no actual scientific research on matters such as this.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: NaCl on December 11, 2012, 02:46:30 am
Quote
time waster game

Isn't that a little presumptuous? As a child I loved legos. Minecraft lets me play legos in a huge lego world with my friends. I'd say it's a pretty good use of time because I have fun :D

And most people who care about stuff like pixel art, care about it in some larger context. In a game, or whatever. Most people don't just like pixel art for pixel arts sake (and if they do, they are often a pixel artist themselves). Seeing pixelart creations in minecraft can be interesting because the person looking at it knows about the process that went into creating it. If they just look at some pixel art, they can only see it as a complete observer, oblivious to anything that went into it.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Tourist on December 11, 2012, 05:50:09 am
There's one thing I still want to try though, Absynth....because of all that hype

There are a staggering number of images of an Absinthe Fairy around the web, so you are not alone in your interest.  For example (linked for size):

http://cghub.com/images/view/268914/ (http://cghub.com/images/view/268914/)

Tourist
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: API-Beast on December 11, 2012, 03:43:46 pm
The connection goes in the other direction, the art is popular because Minecraft became popular and not Minecraft became popular because of the art.
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on December 11, 2012, 11:16:20 pm
I am currently on a quest to kill an evil dragon that is guarding treasure stolen from my kingdom's coffers.

Well, the dragon is more like a malicious piece of software on my laptop called "Sendori", and the treasure is access to the TCP/UDP ports that TF2 uses to access servers.

I'd much rather face a dragon, really.

- Used the uninstaller.  Nope.

- Ended the Services associated with Sendori, and set them to never start up on boot.  They started up anyways, and were set back to "start on boot."

- Slew the program right in its nest in the cave of the Program Files (x86).  Blood lay everywhere, and countless KibiBytes of the malicious program fell right through the Limbo of the Recycle Bin and into the void of Windows' internal garbage collector.  Forced the sun to sink and rise by restarting the computer.  All of the files came right back on boot.

- Did all previous attempts with the addition of clearing the registry of all entries remotely related to Sendori.  The magic spell faltered -- the entries reappeared on boot, along with the files.

- Did a comprehensive cleanse of the whole system; deleted all files with even the word "Sendori" in it as well as *sendori*.* files, and other names associated with the program I discovered on previous attempts.  The dragon still lives.

- Did the same thing in Safe Mode boot with minimum drivers/services loaded.  Nope.

- Used the magic bullet -- NortonAV, Avast!, MalwarebytesAV, McAfee, and more all got a chance to scan everything from the inside-out.  They only found one or two completely unrelated and harmless tracking cookies.

TL;DR: Being a computer knight is pretty shitty.

I have one last resort, which is to quickly back up everything in my home folder to my other HDD and use the handy-dandy OS reinstall utility that my laptop came with (which I've used probably 3 times now...)  It's a solution that will obviously work, but I'm a bit depressed that it's the only solution that can mend things.

Anyone else here run into this little bugger yet?  It's a pretty silent stalker, so it's possible you have it and don't even know it.


~~~


With that, I have a question -- at what age did you guys begin your serious artistic pursuits (as in, started practicing to improve at a vigorous rate?)  My age is soon to reach 17, and I've only been seriously drawing for at least an hour a day for at most a month; I'm somewhat happy with my improvement over this period of time, but I'm curious to see how many people started at an age around mine, how many people started much older, and how many people have been doing it for as long as they can remember.  (Perhaps a lot of "I was [15 to 18] years old" responses will reassure me that I won't be 30 before I reach many of my improvement goals I've set for myself, somehow.)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Siapran on December 25, 2012, 04:45:33 pm
I'd really be tempted to tell you to abandon Windows to the profit of Linux, but that would be bitter flavoured and it's not my intention.
The only help I can give you is a link to a pertinent suggestion from google: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/protect_other-protect_scanning/how-to-remove-sendori-malware/a35e5c4b-63c5-4a59-abab-669a76717ed9 (http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/protect_other-protect_scanning/how-to-remove-sendori-malware/a35e5c4b-63c5-4a59-abab-669a76717ed9)
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Crow on December 25, 2012, 04:59:16 pm
Ashbad, just out of curiosity, how did you get this thing, uh, "installed"?
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Ashbad on December 25, 2012, 05:10:22 pm
Well, I got tired of battling this Sendori thing, so a second fresh install later and everything's running perfectly again.

Ashbad, just out of curiosity, how did you get this thing, uh, "installed"?

I'd love to say I had some sort of idea, but to tell the truth, it beats me  :-[  I'd suspect that at one point I installed something slightly shady, and that somehow in turn installed this as well.

I'd really be tempted to tell you to abandon Windows to the profit of Linux, but that would be bitter flavoured and it's not my intention.
The only help I can give you is a link to a pertinent suggestion from google: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/protect_other-protect_scanning/how-to-remove-sendori-malware/a35e5c4b-63c5-4a59-abab-669a76717ed9 (http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/protect_other-protect_scanning/how-to-remove-sendori-malware/a35e5c4b-63c5-4a59-abab-669a76717ed9)

Indeed, I followed those steps, and while it subdued it for the time being, upon next reboot everything was back to square one again.  A fresh OS install zapped it, though :)

As for the linux suggestion, no need to suggest installing something that I already have running on two other computers at home!  :lol:
Title: Pixel Art by Sub
Post by: suburbexpresion on December 28, 2012, 08:03:19 pm
Hello, I would like to share my work.
Greetings!
sub
http://www.sub.cl/pixel-art.html
http://www.facebook.com/suburbexpresion
Title: Re: Pixel Art by Sub
Post by: surt on December 29, 2012, 12:13:01 am
Where does the "Art" come into it? It looks to me like you are just printing other peoples art in tile form.  ???
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: Cage on December 31, 2012, 07:17:13 pm
I've had good year and I've hope it was great for you guys too! I'm very happy I've finally managed to get into regular drawing schedule this year - I'm looking forward to the next!

Happy, creative and successful 2013, everybody!
Title: Re: Official Off-Topic Thread
Post by: 0xDB on January 01, 2013, 08:55:06 am
Happy New Year! May all your strokes vibrate with confidence.

my new years resolution is: to draw more and to start with oil painting (got "Oil Painting For Dummies" from Santa)