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61

Graphics / Laugh until it stops hurting.. [New Addition.]

« on: July 07, 2006, 02:50:18 am »

Uhm.. Both of their necks are too long and Yuna's arms are too long. >____< Any ideas? Comments and crit very much appreciated.

-------



This is a remake of something I made.. probably a year and a half ago. It's sort of unfinished because I got tired of it. I think it's nifty, though. Here's the original version:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e188/spritecollector2/run.png

62

Entertainment / Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legend

« on: June 04, 2006, 03:47:08 am »

Has anyone gotten the game yet? I bought it last weekend along with the guide book, just in case [and just because I like having them], and I was a bit disappointed. Crystal Dynamics took over the Tomb Raider series for this sequel due to the decline in desire for the game. TR:Chronicles and TR:Angel of Darkness proved that the public was losing interest and that they were upset about the amount of glitches in Lara's first venture on the PS2. Core had taken her out of the Tombs and moved her into a much more modern society, losing focus of the actual idea of Tomb Raider. Because of this, one of the major concepts of TR:Legend was to incorporate the title of the series once again into the gameplay while truly showing the power the PS2 has to offer.

Good things:[PS2 Version, by the way.]
-Graphics are amazing.
-Lara is very agile and her movement is MUCH more believable than it used to be. [No more fifteen foot jumps.]
-Controls are easy.
-Crystal Dynamics brings some new moves to the table that work very with the environments and make Lara fit her aerobic body-type.
-Toby Grant [Last name may be off], the original creator of Lara Croft, was brought in to update her from previous looks and for once, an actual human female was not used as a basic concept for her design.
-Levels are large for the most part and the textures are amazing.
-Things you need to use to progress further aren't as obvious as they used to be. Now, they are more "one" with the scenery. [Such as ledges or grappling places.]
-Storyline was intriguing and original.
-Lara is able to kick her enemies and push herself off them. While she's in air from the kick, everything slows down and any bullets shot during that time inflict more damage. It's pretty dramatic and cool. She can also slide kick.
-Auto-lock has come back, and though it does have a "flashy" graphic when it locks to a target, it's not anything like those found in KH:II and FFX-2 [Which I didn't like. Personal preference, though. It's just not as flashy as a lot of sequels nowadays.]

Bad things:
-Lara's past is brought into this game and some of it seems a bit cliche and unemotional. You aren't given enough information or set up to actually care that much.
-Music and sound effects during cutscenes seemed to overpower voices making it hard to understand what was going on. [There isn't an option to lower those sounds during cutscenes.]
-There are eight levels and I beat it in two nights. [I stretched it because I didn't want to finish too quickly.]
-Lara was realistic, but some of the other models were very under-developed.
-Other characters had no personality or background. They were just there to be there.

Any glitches found? None yet.

Also, because Crystal Dynamics took over, the probability of us seeing any further information on TR: AoD's ending is very slim. Before TR: Legend, it was said that AoD was the first part in a three chapter story and it's unfortunate that we will not ever be able to see it.

Basically, if you're a fan, get it. However, if you're just starting out with the series, I suggest you rent or buy some of the older ones and really get a feel for who Lara is before you buy this game.

Discuss, please. =D

63

Other Discussion / Guess what I got? :D

« on: June 04, 2006, 03:16:16 am »

Since I work in the videogame section of Toys R Us, we get dibs on standees. And since no one ever wants them except me, I can get whichever ones I want so they don't have to throw them into a compactor. Check it. =D





The game had some good aspects and some bad.. but hey. Tomb Raider rocks. Lara's chillin' behind some of my plants now. =D One is dying, though. D= .. Different story. The hanging arm is a little gimpy because a lot of the kids like to grab it and shake it around.. so it's a little bent. But.. you know.. it still rocks. n____n;; I'm getting a New Super Marios Bros one sooner or later. n____n Dunno where I'm gonna put it, though.

64

Entertainment / Unfortunate Decline in Realism

« on: May 19, 2006, 06:14:47 am »

   As the new consoles come out, gamers avidly await the new graphic styles, huge titles and continuations of some of their favorite games. I, being a Photoshop junkie, am constantly on the prowl for the newest, most realistic and artistic graphics that are out there and I usually find comfort in Final Fantasy. Their gain in the realistic department is probably one of my favorites due to the character designs and whatnot, and I always seem to be artistically motivated by them. However, recently, with the release of FFVII:Advent Children, FFXII, and the upcoming PS3 title, FFXIII, graphics seemed to have taken a turn for the worse. While in-game situations and appearances are constantly being updated and improved, FMVs [full motion videos] seem to suffer. "WHAT?! AC WAS AMAZING!! ONLY ONE OF IT'S KIND!!" Yes, I know. It's gorgeous and I love the style. But, what about these skin tones and textures? Let me ask you, do me a favor and try and envision yourself touching Cloud or Tifa's face. They are standing in front of you, and you're being told to touch them. What do you feel? Plastic? Porcelain? Sanded wood? I could tell you now, I for one wouldn't feel skin.
   Blemishes are a thing of the past, along with blood flow, veins, color and aging. In the examples presented below in the quick reference chart consisting of examples of FMVs from each game [and movie], you'll notice that realism was successfully portrayed in FFX with rosy cheeks and the permission to have something other than perfection. Streaks of sweat stream down Yunas face, Tidus is allowed to do "the ugly cry," and Seymour doesn't have to have complection as clear as a fire-blown vase. For the most part, AC is exempt from any criticism, in my eyes, because the basis of each character was made on an anime styled creation. They're slanted eyes and clear faces are fine only because of that. But, when looking at screens from the most recent installment of the series, which is, granted, still in it's early stages, I see nothing but a doll that my cousin had when we were younger. Yes, clothing and hair and backgrounds are all amazing, but in order to make something truly come alive, all aspects need to be addressed rather than leaving some out and improving further on others.
   This plastic look first appeared in FFX's sequel, FFX-2, where happy-go-lucky, childish main characters jump around being girly and do nothing productive throughout the entire game until a boss is thrown at them out of no where. The increase in sex appeal in the game probably contributed to the want for the "barbie" look, trying to touch some sort of impossible perfection. Unfortuneately, it just makes them more unrealistic and unrelatable
   Since the AC team is working on FFXIII, the same style of fake appears and as of now, is a turn off to me. Now, don't get me wrong, the look of all of these games [and one movie] is amazing; I do love them and how far technology has come. But to hit a point where you're at your best, and to turn around and start walking back to the pasty facial features of FFVIII, just seems completely illogical to me. I'm not sure if I'm alone in this, but I do wish this new style of superficiality would comprise with that of FFX and find a comfortable medium where skin is balanced with it's amazing hair follicles and a pimple or two is allowed. Embrace scars. Embrace realism. Touching is good.

Examples:
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/3927/fmvcomparej1us.jpg

FFXIII Info:
http://ff-xiii.net/

65

Entertainment / Final Fanstasy XIII

« on: May 19, 2006, 04:58:20 am »

Yup. A video was released at E3 showing the new, FEMALE main character kicking a ton of ass. While the video is amazing, there's a lot of action and it's hard to focus. FFXIII will be a trilogy, which is kind of cool, featuring stories about three people. [I think]

Check it out here.

http://ff-xiii.net/

Also, I'd like to closely examine the video with those of you who are as interested in the graphics as I am. I'm very curious as to which parts of this game are FMV, ingame cutscene and just ingame in general. It's safe to say that everything including a HUD and damage numbers is ingame, and during the rest of the segment of fighting, I believe it is ingame as well. It seems as if you can either preform combos or some sort of special move that the game carries through with a small video that the player doesn't have control over, possibly like those in RE4 when the only thing you can do is press "A" or "B." Towards the beginning of the video, and near the end, there is a lot of movement that shows close ups of the main characters face. I noticed that her hair is very.. immobile and I think it's because the majority of these clips are ingame cutscenes rather than FMVs like we would normally think. For those of you who've played FF games before, you know in recent games that all hair moves around quite a lot during FMVs, no matter the style. It seems like, if they had complete control of how she was moving, they would do something more. I think, however, that they were restricted by the form of her model and that's why it moves only slightly, even when she's upside-down. It's on the PS3.. and the graphics are quite interesting, especially if most of them are ingame, which I wouldn't doubt. This may be an end to FMVs and a hello to full control movies. I can't wait.

Discuss.

66

Entertainment / College Essay/Creative Writing

« on: May 15, 2006, 02:19:07 am »

I guess most of you know that when you're going to college, you have to write an essay explaining yourself. Well, I have no idea where I'm going, but this is an essay I wrote for my AP English class. Ideas?


        Once upon a time, in a land closer to home than I would ever imagine, the sky blanketed itself in shades of gray, engulfing any color it had once possessed, and left its onlookers a particularly drab sight to gaze upon. Each disheartening cloud billowed through the blank palate, moving hastily, plowing through one another as if they were each competing in some sort of unwinnable race against themselves. And not only was it the sky, but it seemed as if even the very ground I stood on had now sought to completely relieve itself of any sort of saturation, and instead, strike a starkly black and white pose. I felt myself start to absorb this plague, with vines of simplicity crawling up my legs, dominating my lower half, up until almost instantly, there was a light. I looked towards the sky, searching aimlessly for the sun, for it had to be somewhere, and yet I found nothing.
   The sky remained faded, but amongst the clouds in a place unseeable by the human eye, an eloquent mass of fire sat bathing our world in a warm wave of light. It was untouchable to me, and yet it so easily graced my flesh. Each omnipresent ray stroked my skin and formed wisps of florescent balls that emanated around me as I soaked in the curious heat. Every bush and building, and every tree and animal developed an odd cast shadow in sync with this phenomenon stretching across our common skies. Have you ever been outside on one of those days? I danced along with the sound that rings through your ears when some sort of God-like music harps itself in the very canals of your symmetrical lobes and pondered its composer. I let that gorgeous feeling consume my body and devour the very sense of my being just as not to let myself be taken over by the gray. It was almost sinful, how much I enjoyed it.
   I was once told that I could be that light. Deep within me, down in the most hidden valves of my heart I was told there lies a power which had never had the courage to surface and let its true brightness glorify that which was before it. I was once told that I myself could uncap that power; I could finally end all suffering and put a halt on grayness which began to slowly creep upon my worlds inhabitants. I was once told that nothing could touch someone with my masked abilities and I was once told that I would be the one to turn the knob to an everlasting salvation.
   However, despite all attempts, the gray began to darken, blackening with each and every unsettling news report, and the state of emergency had spread not only across my world, but across whatever else lies out there beyond me. The more I tried for a just outcome, the worse things seemed to become. I streaked daubs of colorless pigments across thinly stretched canvas, scribbled endless lines of unrighteous swirling enigmas and still, throughout all of my effort, felt inept to prove any sort of point. Those gentle wisps of light grew heavy with deceit. Each curl of evil smoke wavered with an unmistakable quality of revenge and retaliation, intoxicating the minds of any who encountered it, forcing them into a emotionless shell of their former selves. We took for granted what comfort such a small luxury could bring, and in doing so, raised a blind eye to what dangers had been threatening us. Just as the clouds on the last day of sunlight, this hatred surged forward until it had finally exhausted an entire population. Bonds of teachers held back the creation, hiding what needs to be said, hindering my thoughts. The creativity throbbing through my hands, flooding through my veins and pulsating directly into a number two pencil spat nothing but blobs of inconsistent mess.
   And because of my inability to accomplish such a minuscule task, nothing changed. We remained stuck in a dismal world, trapped by discriminating dusk. We forgot about the light and all of its powers, forever preying in darkness. Around the corner lay our next meal, and only inches above the highest point man can reach lies his preservation of innocence. I stand here without the ability to push that man the extra inch. I stand here futilely wondering what will happen tomorrow and I stand here knowing all of this but somehow, more than ever, I???m able to say I???m okay. And, while my hopeless fingertips may not be able to grasp the brush of a genuinely blissful public and paint onto them a muse of harmony, I still manage to orchestrate a decent sketch or two.

67

Graphics / Zelda's Courtyard GB Style (And GB Ganondorf)

« on: May 03, 2006, 10:02:48 pm »

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e188/spritecollector2/hyrulecastle.png
Please don't use this. It's a work in progress.. and.. I'm hopefully using it in a game. So.. please don't use it.

     

Yeah so.. .. any thoughts appreciated.

68

OoA/S & LA / [Solved] LA Secret Ending Sequence (-__-")

« on: April 30, 2006, 11:33:12 pm »

Okay.. I can't find this anywhere and it's been an hour. Everyone knows that if you beat Link's Awakening without continues, you get a really small clip of Marin floating away after the normal ending. She has wings and it's there to prove she survived. Yay, everyone's happy, I love it. BUT, I can't find a screenshot. I used to have it saved and now I've misplaced it.. or it's on another computer. So, can someone please post just a shot of her flying? Or a sequence of images or whatever you have? It'd be very much appreciated. X3 Thanks in advanced!

69

Audio / Request: TP Tribal Song.. thing.

« on: April 27, 2006, 12:47:27 am »

I remember hearing that TP song a while back.. It was really tribal sounding and sort of moan-ish. [cough] >___> I don't know.. it was really cool. Does anyone have a download link to that? Or even know what I'm talking about? Thanks in advanced! I haven't been able to find it anywhere.