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General | Posted 2 weeks agoHopefully this doesn't come across as moaning about not being as successful as others (though I'm not a BIG fan of my work at times, and have.. well, issues which lead to this and not being as much content as I would like) and I know one thing that would help me is to be more 'social' so more people are aware of my work and stuff cause some artists who aren't as good, are more popular because they are more social, post in more places to get noticed etc.. but this isn't about this.. Just want to get it out in the open that I'm not trying to do something where it's a cause of I'm moaning because of other people being a success where I'm not.
Has anyone else noticed that amount of major thieves going around in the adult art field? I see alot of videos posted on sites which I think, I know that artist/animator.. and you aren't them.. then see it's someone with a Patreon account who just re-uploads other peoples work, sticks on a there own patreon account ID and says "give me money and I'll re-post more of other peoples work". some try to make it 'different' by having a poorly designed and rendered 3D image in the corner which is meant to be 'giving comment' but most of the time just stands there (hell, there was a very successful 'reaction' couple who were finally caught about the fact that there video in the corner was in fact a png and was of course, like most of these 'reactioners' was stealing the whole video, and making money from it.
Sometimes they would directly take content which are behind a patreon 'pay wall' by an artist and share it cause their 'supporters' are paying them to joining various accounts, steal content and repost it, taking money and support away from the creator.
I can't stand this. It's like for both legal but mostly ETHICAL reasons, My own Patreon is for my Original content. You will NEVER find say Tikal Fan art there. I do not own the character. doing 'Fan art' is Techinally legally in a grey area as it is but charging people for it on my Patreon is 100% illegal and unethical. I try to make money on my own ORIGINAL creations. Any fan-art or characters I don't have permission to use, Is only on my free stuff and basically is in my free time, which in theory, my paid work gives me time to work on.. In reality, I get very little feed back on my original work and little support. I really like all the support I do get, even if it's only one or two people saying something once or twice a year, but it's very little.. Oh well. I don't expect people to like my work or stuff, I just would like it. I also go slower then I would like cause it can be a real choir for me to get energy to do stuff (depression is a bugger and meds only go soo far) and sometimes I can draw something, I'm soo NOT happy with it cause I'm just not in the mood, that i end up dumping it for a while cause I can't get back to it just to do something crap and useless and I get stuck in a "I'm useless and crap at everything I do, so why should I bother?" and sadly too little people to try to help me out of it.. not that it's just like TV where you say "Oh, you aren't that bad, cheer up" and that somehow saves the day.. In fact, sometimes that can make it worse cause It leads to "You are only saying that cause you know I have depression so you are pretending my work is better than it is"..
anyway.. kinda don't want to go into that right now.
It's more about how many people are just directly stealing from content creators and then having the nerve to make money, often way more then the original creator is, from that. years ago, I've seen some stuff I did stolen and posted on some art thief sites (art/games) where it had feedback and support which I never got directly. And of course, such sites have both third party and direct advert support (third party as in they just sign up to something like Google ads, and direct where they sell 'advertise on this place' to people who then support it) so they are creating nothing while profiting from it, yet the original creators of these works often are making piss all or often not even getting to know people like their work! If you want to look into history on this, there have been a number of people who have killed themselves cause they didn't know they had support and fans, and couldn't make a living, only for people to find out that others were making money and supporting them, but they never knew it... sigh..
every so often, I have tried to engage with people, just to be nice and maybe be friends with fellow artists who have some of the same problems, only for them to not give a damn. There are artists who have also moaned about having depression and not one really caring about them, I post comments saying hi, I like there work (I won't say that if I don't mind it.. and sometimes I will say I like how some bits work but not quite on other bits (like I don't like people drawing small breasted characters with insanely huge tits, but sometimes they art is still nice, so I say that) and Do I get a reply? nope.. they just .. what is called 'ghosting' for some reason. Then go on posting how they are depressed and no-one likes them.. and I just think, fuck you then. I try to reach out, it's not easy for me, but I try and in return you throw it back in my face. I will bother only so far.
This is why I try to reply to every comment I normally get. Not 100% cause sometimes there is just nothing to say, but I try. I remember when I was a kid and got my letter in print in a popular comic book in the UK.. It was a big deal for me. Okay, they rewrote it alot but it meant something back then. If I talk to someone and they just ignore me, I feel a bit bad. So I don't like to put someone else in that situration, so when someone who has simular issues reaches out, and I try to reply, I atleast expect a 'hi'..
That said, not getting a reply in such cases is kinda a problem with me.. I have, at times, had to e-mail people who I see as 'big and famous' and I don't mind too much if they don't reply.. they are a big and famous person and I'm a nobody so why should I expect them to take the time out of their day to bother with me. But when they ask people to contact them, I feel it's very rude when they don't atleast try. I have this same issue with people on eBay.. If you put something up for sale with a 'make an offer' on it, and I put in an offer, you have 24 hours to reply (or was it 48? I think 24).. you can do one of four things. You can reject my offer. You can accept my offer, you can counter my offer or you can do bugger all. For me, that last one isn't an option. You ASKED for an offer. I gave it. DO SOMETHING. Personally? I prefer accept or counter. Just rejecting is a bit annoying cause I don't know how far off what YOU think is reasonable I am and it would be nice to know so I could try to come up with a better offer. Sometimes I've gotten counters and have accepted. Sometimes I have countered that counter. That's how things work. But to ask for someone to contact you and then just ignore them? ... I try not to take it personally, but at times, how can I see it as anything BUT personal?
these thieves who take your content and make money off it without permission or anything, even if they think having a poorly rendered drag and drop 3d model in the corner just standing there all the way through (which by the way, commentery doesn't allow you to copy the WHOLE video. even if it's a bit short. I can do my own fan commetery track on a movie and have the whole movie playing (as a video) in the background. I can have some of the audio or clips, but I need to do about 75% of the work so that much is my own content. I know some people who do fan commetary' for films. they just upload them videos with the audio, which is muted and mostly just them talking. Like decent audio commetery on dvds.. So they are creating the majority of the content.)
anyway, these people that do that stealing, how can you not take it personal that they want to screw you over, punish you for your work. People moan about taxes taking the money from the workers, but I don't think of any tax that takes THAT much. Even an agent only takes 5-10% commission.
Sorry for spelling errors, as normal. but annolyy, what I use to type this in can point out spelling mistakes but can't correct them.. which is meant to be cause the license for a spell checker would cost alot more, yet it HAS a spell checker cause it'll point out the mistakes.. weird..
Posted using PostyBirb
Has anyone else noticed that amount of major thieves going around in the adult art field? I see alot of videos posted on sites which I think, I know that artist/animator.. and you aren't them.. then see it's someone with a Patreon account who just re-uploads other peoples work, sticks on a there own patreon account ID and says "give me money and I'll re-post more of other peoples work". some try to make it 'different' by having a poorly designed and rendered 3D image in the corner which is meant to be 'giving comment' but most of the time just stands there (hell, there was a very successful 'reaction' couple who were finally caught about the fact that there video in the corner was in fact a png and was of course, like most of these 'reactioners' was stealing the whole video, and making money from it.
Sometimes they would directly take content which are behind a patreon 'pay wall' by an artist and share it cause their 'supporters' are paying them to joining various accounts, steal content and repost it, taking money and support away from the creator.
I can't stand this. It's like for both legal but mostly ETHICAL reasons, My own Patreon is for my Original content. You will NEVER find say Tikal Fan art there. I do not own the character. doing 'Fan art' is Techinally legally in a grey area as it is but charging people for it on my Patreon is 100% illegal and unethical. I try to make money on my own ORIGINAL creations. Any fan-art or characters I don't have permission to use, Is only on my free stuff and basically is in my free time, which in theory, my paid work gives me time to work on.. In reality, I get very little feed back on my original work and little support. I really like all the support I do get, even if it's only one or two people saying something once or twice a year, but it's very little.. Oh well. I don't expect people to like my work or stuff, I just would like it. I also go slower then I would like cause it can be a real choir for me to get energy to do stuff (depression is a bugger and meds only go soo far) and sometimes I can draw something, I'm soo NOT happy with it cause I'm just not in the mood, that i end up dumping it for a while cause I can't get back to it just to do something crap and useless and I get stuck in a "I'm useless and crap at everything I do, so why should I bother?" and sadly too little people to try to help me out of it.. not that it's just like TV where you say "Oh, you aren't that bad, cheer up" and that somehow saves the day.. In fact, sometimes that can make it worse cause It leads to "You are only saying that cause you know I have depression so you are pretending my work is better than it is"..
anyway.. kinda don't want to go into that right now.
It's more about how many people are just directly stealing from content creators and then having the nerve to make money, often way more then the original creator is, from that. years ago, I've seen some stuff I did stolen and posted on some art thief sites (art/games) where it had feedback and support which I never got directly. And of course, such sites have both third party and direct advert support (third party as in they just sign up to something like Google ads, and direct where they sell 'advertise on this place' to people who then support it) so they are creating nothing while profiting from it, yet the original creators of these works often are making piss all or often not even getting to know people like their work! If you want to look into history on this, there have been a number of people who have killed themselves cause they didn't know they had support and fans, and couldn't make a living, only for people to find out that others were making money and supporting them, but they never knew it... sigh..
every so often, I have tried to engage with people, just to be nice and maybe be friends with fellow artists who have some of the same problems, only for them to not give a damn. There are artists who have also moaned about having depression and not one really caring about them, I post comments saying hi, I like there work (I won't say that if I don't mind it.. and sometimes I will say I like how some bits work but not quite on other bits (like I don't like people drawing small breasted characters with insanely huge tits, but sometimes they art is still nice, so I say that) and Do I get a reply? nope.. they just .. what is called 'ghosting' for some reason. Then go on posting how they are depressed and no-one likes them.. and I just think, fuck you then. I try to reach out, it's not easy for me, but I try and in return you throw it back in my face. I will bother only so far.
This is why I try to reply to every comment I normally get. Not 100% cause sometimes there is just nothing to say, but I try. I remember when I was a kid and got my letter in print in a popular comic book in the UK.. It was a big deal for me. Okay, they rewrote it alot but it meant something back then. If I talk to someone and they just ignore me, I feel a bit bad. So I don't like to put someone else in that situration, so when someone who has simular issues reaches out, and I try to reply, I atleast expect a 'hi'..
That said, not getting a reply in such cases is kinda a problem with me.. I have, at times, had to e-mail people who I see as 'big and famous' and I don't mind too much if they don't reply.. they are a big and famous person and I'm a nobody so why should I expect them to take the time out of their day to bother with me. But when they ask people to contact them, I feel it's very rude when they don't atleast try. I have this same issue with people on eBay.. If you put something up for sale with a 'make an offer' on it, and I put in an offer, you have 24 hours to reply (or was it 48? I think 24).. you can do one of four things. You can reject my offer. You can accept my offer, you can counter my offer or you can do bugger all. For me, that last one isn't an option. You ASKED for an offer. I gave it. DO SOMETHING. Personally? I prefer accept or counter. Just rejecting is a bit annoying cause I don't know how far off what YOU think is reasonable I am and it would be nice to know so I could try to come up with a better offer. Sometimes I've gotten counters and have accepted. Sometimes I have countered that counter. That's how things work. But to ask for someone to contact you and then just ignore them? ... I try not to take it personally, but at times, how can I see it as anything BUT personal?
these thieves who take your content and make money off it without permission or anything, even if they think having a poorly rendered drag and drop 3d model in the corner just standing there all the way through (which by the way, commentery doesn't allow you to copy the WHOLE video. even if it's a bit short. I can do my own fan commetery track on a movie and have the whole movie playing (as a video) in the background. I can have some of the audio or clips, but I need to do about 75% of the work so that much is my own content. I know some people who do fan commetary' for films. they just upload them videos with the audio, which is muted and mostly just them talking. Like decent audio commetery on dvds.. So they are creating the majority of the content.)
anyway, these people that do that stealing, how can you not take it personal that they want to screw you over, punish you for your work. People moan about taxes taking the money from the workers, but I don't think of any tax that takes THAT much. Even an agent only takes 5-10% commission.
Sorry for spelling errors, as normal. but annolyy, what I use to type this in can point out spelling mistakes but can't correct them.. which is meant to be cause the license for a spell checker would cost alot more, yet it HAS a spell checker cause it'll point out the mistakes.. weird..
Posted using PostyBirb
Movie Production
General | Posted a month agoWell.. I've been using DaVinci Resolve (free version) for a couple of weeks now and apart from the name (ugh.. why just use a generic name which has no real connection to movies or anything instead of coming up with a decent name) I'm really happy with it. It does appear to be a bit slow at rendering but not overly so.
It doesn't try to screw you all the time, it doesn't really hide any features, it has basic features which wondershare was missing.. boy, wondershare was very Amstrad... missing basic features that everyone else has, looked down on the customers and insulted them at any point.. just didn't have the good sides of Amstrad.. which weren't many but at some points, they did try to invent stuff, not just stealing it from others and EVEN THE CUSTOMERS! which wondershare did ¬_¬
a node base system for effects is a bit of a bugger but gives alot of control. some basic effect features are either not too hard to setup node wise (if you know how) or have a short cut method for them. Also appears to give a good range of stuff for users to come up with their own effects. DR does have a paid version but it doesn't really hide key features away behind a paywall. So so far, I'm pretty damn happy with it.
Are there things which annoy me with it? yes. but some of them... I might be able to do something with.. it annoyed me that when I selected a clip and pressed Delete on my keyboard, it did a 'ripple delete' which moved everything from later in the timeline forward.. sometimes, I can see this being useful, but as a default like that? I didn't like it.. but it was easy to change it to a normal delete, so that's fine. I think the problem I have with trying to use an verticial scroll to zoom in and out and instead it's just scrolling as if I did a horiztonal scroll... that's a bit annoying cause zooming is something I do a fair bit, but I think this can be changed in the control settings so no problem there.
I'm not sure if there is a kinda 'auto node setup' function which would be useful. like if you want a certain effect which is created by a few different nodes, I would be great to be able to just click to load and apply one series of nodes to a clip, and I THINK it might be able to do that.. but the manual is.. whoa, big..
a complete side note, I hate that soo many guides and tutorials people make for it are videos.. I have no problem if you want to make a video guide but often I either can't really understand what the person is saying or want to follow it at my own pace or while I'm doing the thing and a written guide with pictures is SOO much easier.. I remember when people were doing both.. a Video version WITH a written guide.. so why people got so bloody lazy I don't know..
Oh and .. while DaVinci can't handle swf files (it would be soo nice to find a modern movie editor which would allow swf flash files.. I had a couple of old ones which could, and now swf is opensource.. sigh... it does allow 3d models.. you can add a 3D model into the movie.. either a basic one, or FBX with animations.. I haven't gotten it really working well so far with my limited testing but still. it's fun.
While I haven't had any e-mail commucation with the people behind DaVinci, everything else with contact from how the GUI is laid out and stuff is much friendly and less 'Screw you guys!'.. I still haven't gotten an reply from wondershare after them telling me to fuck off ¬_¬
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It doesn't try to screw you all the time, it doesn't really hide any features, it has basic features which wondershare was missing.. boy, wondershare was very Amstrad... missing basic features that everyone else has, looked down on the customers and insulted them at any point.. just didn't have the good sides of Amstrad.. which weren't many but at some points, they did try to invent stuff, not just stealing it from others and EVEN THE CUSTOMERS! which wondershare did ¬_¬
a node base system for effects is a bit of a bugger but gives alot of control. some basic effect features are either not too hard to setup node wise (if you know how) or have a short cut method for them. Also appears to give a good range of stuff for users to come up with their own effects. DR does have a paid version but it doesn't really hide key features away behind a paywall. So so far, I'm pretty damn happy with it.
Are there things which annoy me with it? yes. but some of them... I might be able to do something with.. it annoyed me that when I selected a clip and pressed Delete on my keyboard, it did a 'ripple delete' which moved everything from later in the timeline forward.. sometimes, I can see this being useful, but as a default like that? I didn't like it.. but it was easy to change it to a normal delete, so that's fine. I think the problem I have with trying to use an verticial scroll to zoom in and out and instead it's just scrolling as if I did a horiztonal scroll... that's a bit annoying cause zooming is something I do a fair bit, but I think this can be changed in the control settings so no problem there.
I'm not sure if there is a kinda 'auto node setup' function which would be useful. like if you want a certain effect which is created by a few different nodes, I would be great to be able to just click to load and apply one series of nodes to a clip, and I THINK it might be able to do that.. but the manual is.. whoa, big..
a complete side note, I hate that soo many guides and tutorials people make for it are videos.. I have no problem if you want to make a video guide but often I either can't really understand what the person is saying or want to follow it at my own pace or while I'm doing the thing and a written guide with pictures is SOO much easier.. I remember when people were doing both.. a Video version WITH a written guide.. so why people got so bloody lazy I don't know..
Oh and .. while DaVinci can't handle swf files (it would be soo nice to find a modern movie editor which would allow swf flash files.. I had a couple of old ones which could, and now swf is opensource.. sigh... it does allow 3d models.. you can add a 3D model into the movie.. either a basic one, or FBX with animations.. I haven't gotten it really working well so far with my limited testing but still. it's fun.
While I haven't had any e-mail commucation with the people behind DaVinci, everything else with contact from how the GUI is laid out and stuff is much friendly and less 'Screw you guys!'.. I still haven't gotten an reply from wondershare after them telling me to fuck off ¬_¬
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Ugh
General | Posted 2 months agoI've been using Wondershare Filmore for some time now, I brought it on offer so it was a good price and the free programs (and some not) I was using before were either getting unusable due to age (for some reason, a couple of then just didn't wanna work any more ¬_¬ or they just didn't do much at all which I wanted.
So I got Wondershare's Filmore and it's been.. okay, but some annoying stuff.. Problem I'm having now is more and more, it's removing basic features and replacing it with fake 'AI' (which isn't) and adding alot of bloat ware to it you can't turn off. So the program is getting stupid. The Program doesn't even allow you to loop a video clip! you have to just create the same video clip again and again and again.. If it's a few second background loop, and you are doing something for it running half an hour or so, it's just insane. It also keeps removing alot of basic effects and overlays and replacing it with 'enter a text prompt and it will generate a crappy looking 'video' as well as removing basic customisation features. When they say 'give us your feedback', it does bugger all, not even a reply to comment about why they won't add some basic features or options to turn some features you don't want off etc. Stuff which code wise, isn't hard... alot of the features aren't ingrained enough that you can't have a disable feature.. but why should they bother to do stuff to improve user experience?
So I'm getting more and more fed-up with the program. These leaves two problems. 1) what program is a good replacement? 2) I'm a bit screwed if I have workspace files cause it's very unlikely these would be cross-compatable (the days when some were are long gone despite their workfiles being XML based (90% sure they are XML based).
As the program makers seam set on 'lets strip as many features from this as we can while adding soo much bloatware built in'.
I'm having flash backs to my days of quicktime and realplayer (both are still around in name only but still).
Anyone have much clue on new decent programs? or any good hacking guides to get the program to HAVE decent features? (hacking often as in 'turn on developer options' which some programs hide in places).
Posted using PostyBirb
So I got Wondershare's Filmore and it's been.. okay, but some annoying stuff.. Problem I'm having now is more and more, it's removing basic features and replacing it with fake 'AI' (which isn't) and adding alot of bloat ware to it you can't turn off. So the program is getting stupid. The Program doesn't even allow you to loop a video clip! you have to just create the same video clip again and again and again.. If it's a few second background loop, and you are doing something for it running half an hour or so, it's just insane. It also keeps removing alot of basic effects and overlays and replacing it with 'enter a text prompt and it will generate a crappy looking 'video' as well as removing basic customisation features. When they say 'give us your feedback', it does bugger all, not even a reply to comment about why they won't add some basic features or options to turn some features you don't want off etc. Stuff which code wise, isn't hard... alot of the features aren't ingrained enough that you can't have a disable feature.. but why should they bother to do stuff to improve user experience?
So I'm getting more and more fed-up with the program. These leaves two problems. 1) what program is a good replacement? 2) I'm a bit screwed if I have workspace files cause it's very unlikely these would be cross-compatable (the days when some were are long gone despite their workfiles being XML based (90% sure they are XML based).
As the program makers seam set on 'lets strip as many features from this as we can while adding soo much bloatware built in'.
I'm having flash backs to my days of quicktime and realplayer (both are still around in name only but still).
Anyone have much clue on new decent programs? or any good hacking guides to get the program to HAVE decent features? (hacking often as in 'turn on developer options' which some programs hide in places).
Posted using PostyBirb
Its a gay life On the Buses
General | Posted 6 months agoPretty UK focused here. Back in 1961 (till 1963), Roland Chesney and Roland Wolfe (nicknamed the Two Rolands) wrote a sitcom called 'The Rag Trade'. This focuse on a small clothing workshop called 'Fenner's Fashions' in London. It was run by Harold Fenner (played by Peter Jones), with the foreman and pattern cutter Reg Turner (Reg Varney), and a cast of female workers lead by Shop Steward Paddy Fleming (Miriam Karlin). It was pretty popular.
Later on, after this, they created a sitcom called 'On the Buses' which was VERY popular. It ran from 1969 to 1973 (7 series). This also starred Reg Varney, as bus driver Stan Butler. He lived at home with his Mum (Cicely Courtneidge at first, then Doris Hare), Sister Oliver Rudge (Anna Karen) and her husband Arthur Rudge (Michael Robbins). There was more but It would side track a bit more.. ah, atleast say Stan's Best friend, Nextdoor neighbour and Conductor Jack Harper (Bob Grant).
Now. as said, this was VERY popular and had 3 spin-off films made after the series, and a spin-off series 'Don't Drink the Water', featuring the bus company Inspector Blakey (Stephen Lewis) going to spain with his sister after his retirement. Now.. the Films don't follow the series. In that they are kinda an 'alternative' take. Techinally you have minor details like the bus companies name is a bit different but the main thing is to do with series 7. For various reasons, Michael Robbins didn't return for the last series, so it starts with Olive getting a divorce from Arthur (they often had a not very happy relationship anyway so it works story wise). During the series, Reg Varney also wanted to leave before the end so there is an episode where he ends up taking a better paying job up north at a bus production factory, which also allows him to leave home (though still sending some money home to help out.. old English style which is still partly in effect these days).
Problem is, in the films, Stan is still a Bus driver, and Arthur and Olive are still married. In theory you could say maybe Stan moved back and Arthur and Olive got re-married but that doesn't quite work... basically, the films are either an 'alternative' take OR take place without series 7 (though there are still some other minor differences like said above). So take it as alternative. Alot of the films based on sitcoms at the time weren't 100% compatible with the series, partly due to cost and the same reason some shows have the odd little mistake 'comedy over continuity'. But nevermind. Now, you might think "Oh, reguardless of when they are made, you could say they take place between series 6 and 7?' nope.. End of the first film, Olive becomes pregnant. In the second film, her and Arthur are getting used to being new parents, She believes she is pregnant again at the end of the second film but it's a false alarm and in the third film, her child is about 5 years old (the film was made the year later but oh well.. doesn't matter).
In 1975, they made a colour pilot to bring back the Rag Trade with only Peter Jones returning. It didn't work out but they did make a new series in 1977 (till 1978) which had Peter Jones and Miriam Karlin returned but the thing of more important was Olive now become a machinist. Anna Karen was playing Olive Rudge again (though I don't know if they did say her surname). When left in 1973, she was working as a clippy on the buses, a job she had briefly done before, but now she was working the sewing machines, no problem. But there was ONE problem.. she comments on her Husband. Not in a past sense but as in her current Husband. I haven't seen every episode of the Rag Trade but... As it's focused on the shop (where on the Buses had equal focus between the bus depot/on the routes and Stan's home life), we don't hear too much about her personal home life but it does bring up one of three options I can think of:
1) This is following on from the Films, where she was still married to Arthur and never got a divorce. This is possible but.. don't know.. this is kinda the weakest possible option I think.
2) Arthur came back and the two got remarried. Possible. Despite Arthur not being greatly interested in her, there was a certain amount of love between Arthur and Olive and she was quite happy swooning over him (something he seamed embarrassed about. Something not uncommon in older fashioned relationships of the type). It does seam a little odd that he didn't just leave her but divorced and then returns but.. it's not like that hasn't happened in real life because people don't want to sort out their problems. So.. this is possible but I wouldn't say the best outcome. Maybe the time difference between 1973 and 1977 could mean he fails in whatever he tries (he kinda tried to run-away with another girl once, only to find out that the girl wasn't interested in him and so he came home again). Like I said, this is fine but I'm not too sure on it, maybe just because we don't know what happened in that 4 year gap.
3) Olive found another Man and married him. I don't remember her saying who her husband was so it's possible that is wasn't Arthur.. this brings into one running joke which... has a little problem.. Olive was shown as a overweight, though not obscenely, VERY plain, large glasses and various things to try to make her 'unattractive'. people can moan about this as being 'body shaming' etc but.. yeah.. you go around and see if many people will say "Sure I'll date you, I don't think much of your looks but I don't believe in body shaming". I might not agree with something but people do have what they think is there idea of beauty. I know many people I think of as very unattractive physically but alot of people claim they are some of the most beautiful people in the world.. takes all sorts.. the problem is.. Anna Karen was a model. She was (well.. could say was still till her death in 2022 at the age of 85) an attractive woman. Sure, she had makeup to make her appear worse and wore clothes to make her look worse and suit the role but atleast one episode of On the Buses, she wears a Bikini, and you can see she isn't fat in the slightest.. yet they still have the play the "Look like a beached whale" joke.. fair enough but when you can see she isn't fat.. it doesn't really work... So while it's possible (and they kinda had a story where Arthur was partly 'tricked' into marrying Olive), it's quite possible she marred someone else. I think with the little amount of information given this is the most likely Situration.
So.. How about this for stuff which is both unimportant, about a niche bit of 1970s British culture, written by a guy very few people give a damn about.. but I've enjoyed writing this so I don't really care ^_^
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Later on, after this, they created a sitcom called 'On the Buses' which was VERY popular. It ran from 1969 to 1973 (7 series). This also starred Reg Varney, as bus driver Stan Butler. He lived at home with his Mum (Cicely Courtneidge at first, then Doris Hare), Sister Oliver Rudge (Anna Karen) and her husband Arthur Rudge (Michael Robbins). There was more but It would side track a bit more.. ah, atleast say Stan's Best friend, Nextdoor neighbour and Conductor Jack Harper (Bob Grant).
Now. as said, this was VERY popular and had 3 spin-off films made after the series, and a spin-off series 'Don't Drink the Water', featuring the bus company Inspector Blakey (Stephen Lewis) going to spain with his sister after his retirement. Now.. the Films don't follow the series. In that they are kinda an 'alternative' take. Techinally you have minor details like the bus companies name is a bit different but the main thing is to do with series 7. For various reasons, Michael Robbins didn't return for the last series, so it starts with Olive getting a divorce from Arthur (they often had a not very happy relationship anyway so it works story wise). During the series, Reg Varney also wanted to leave before the end so there is an episode where he ends up taking a better paying job up north at a bus production factory, which also allows him to leave home (though still sending some money home to help out.. old English style which is still partly in effect these days).
Problem is, in the films, Stan is still a Bus driver, and Arthur and Olive are still married. In theory you could say maybe Stan moved back and Arthur and Olive got re-married but that doesn't quite work... basically, the films are either an 'alternative' take OR take place without series 7 (though there are still some other minor differences like said above). So take it as alternative. Alot of the films based on sitcoms at the time weren't 100% compatible with the series, partly due to cost and the same reason some shows have the odd little mistake 'comedy over continuity'. But nevermind. Now, you might think "Oh, reguardless of when they are made, you could say they take place between series 6 and 7?' nope.. End of the first film, Olive becomes pregnant. In the second film, her and Arthur are getting used to being new parents, She believes she is pregnant again at the end of the second film but it's a false alarm and in the third film, her child is about 5 years old (the film was made the year later but oh well.. doesn't matter).
In 1975, they made a colour pilot to bring back the Rag Trade with only Peter Jones returning. It didn't work out but they did make a new series in 1977 (till 1978) which had Peter Jones and Miriam Karlin returned but the thing of more important was Olive now become a machinist. Anna Karen was playing Olive Rudge again (though I don't know if they did say her surname). When left in 1973, she was working as a clippy on the buses, a job she had briefly done before, but now she was working the sewing machines, no problem. But there was ONE problem.. she comments on her Husband. Not in a past sense but as in her current Husband. I haven't seen every episode of the Rag Trade but... As it's focused on the shop (where on the Buses had equal focus between the bus depot/on the routes and Stan's home life), we don't hear too much about her personal home life but it does bring up one of three options I can think of:
1) This is following on from the Films, where she was still married to Arthur and never got a divorce. This is possible but.. don't know.. this is kinda the weakest possible option I think.
2) Arthur came back and the two got remarried. Possible. Despite Arthur not being greatly interested in her, there was a certain amount of love between Arthur and Olive and she was quite happy swooning over him (something he seamed embarrassed about. Something not uncommon in older fashioned relationships of the type). It does seam a little odd that he didn't just leave her but divorced and then returns but.. it's not like that hasn't happened in real life because people don't want to sort out their problems. So.. this is possible but I wouldn't say the best outcome. Maybe the time difference between 1973 and 1977 could mean he fails in whatever he tries (he kinda tried to run-away with another girl once, only to find out that the girl wasn't interested in him and so he came home again). Like I said, this is fine but I'm not too sure on it, maybe just because we don't know what happened in that 4 year gap.
3) Olive found another Man and married him. I don't remember her saying who her husband was so it's possible that is wasn't Arthur.. this brings into one running joke which... has a little problem.. Olive was shown as a overweight, though not obscenely, VERY plain, large glasses and various things to try to make her 'unattractive'. people can moan about this as being 'body shaming' etc but.. yeah.. you go around and see if many people will say "Sure I'll date you, I don't think much of your looks but I don't believe in body shaming". I might not agree with something but people do have what they think is there idea of beauty. I know many people I think of as very unattractive physically but alot of people claim they are some of the most beautiful people in the world.. takes all sorts.. the problem is.. Anna Karen was a model. She was (well.. could say was still till her death in 2022 at the age of 85) an attractive woman. Sure, she had makeup to make her appear worse and wore clothes to make her look worse and suit the role but atleast one episode of On the Buses, she wears a Bikini, and you can see she isn't fat in the slightest.. yet they still have the play the "Look like a beached whale" joke.. fair enough but when you can see she isn't fat.. it doesn't really work... So while it's possible (and they kinda had a story where Arthur was partly 'tricked' into marrying Olive), it's quite possible she marred someone else. I think with the little amount of information given this is the most likely Situration.
So.. How about this for stuff which is both unimportant, about a niche bit of 1970s British culture, written by a guy very few people give a damn about.. but I've enjoyed writing this so I don't really care ^_^
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Prepare for Descent
General | Posted 8 months agolooks like no-one seam to get the humour with my last journal entry.. oh well ^_^ I felt like it so why not..
But now for something quite different..
If you are around in the 90s for gaming, you should know the great Descent. Classed as the first 3D 360 FPS, it's a space ship combat game where you are one of PTMC's Material Defenders, a group of hired Mercenary. PTMC (oringally the Post Terran Minerals Company, but later renamed Post Terran Mining Company") has a number of mines throughout the solar system, but the mining mechs have been infected by an Alien Virus and they are appear to be heading towards Earth. In the first game, your goal is to trigger a meltdown in each mine by destorying there central reactor. This will destory any robot left and clean the alien infection. However, there are Hostages so you should see about saving them if you can.
In the Second game, It carries on from the end of the first (mostly) as they have lost contact with their mines outside of the Solar System and you are sent to deal with them too. Afterwhich.. things happen which lead to the third game.. the third is a bit weird.. it's not bad, though personally I think some of the mech designs aren't as good but that's kinda to do with the fact you are not in the mines anymore, but dealing with the PTMC itself.. it has more 'plot' as instead of just opening and ending movies, there is a story which goes from level to level. Though I think there are some bits which are.. odd story wise..
There was also a great series of 3 novels based on the games, a few changes from the games but pretty faithful and work really well. As well as a couple of expansions for the games. After the third, some issues happened which basically means we aren't gonna be getting any more. One company has the rights to the name and wanted to use it for stuff that is completely unrelated, while others have the rights for the gameplay style and stuff.. Then they made Overload, a great (though bloody hard in the later levels) game which while it isn't descent, has references and is in all but name and plot (it deals with a very similar plot taking place after wards, where a guy is taking over a colony product and it's mines on Saturn and it's moons.
Now, I could do a break down of the Descent Plot and the... issues with the third game (it's not bad by a long shot, but there are weird major plot points which aren't dealt with.. like the unseen aliens disappear from the story completely) but instead, I'm gonna say about some of the .. mm.. most annoying Mechs from the first two games. by Most annoying I don't mean that they are bad, or really hard to deal with, but bots which you really wanna take out as soon as you can cause they can really annoy you. (if I did just the hardest, it might be just the 6 Descent 2 bosses really but that's not what this is)..
1) Diamond Claw, Second Generation
This is a pretty weirdly named Descent II mech. You see, in Decent, you had the Medium Lifter. This was a PTMC maintenance mech with 2 large Diamond plated swingarms. The Virus has modified some mechs, but with this one it's mostly just how it acts. Despite being a maintenance robot, it was designed to burrow through porous rock in the mines, but now will attack anything in sight. This will move with a fair speed towards you and start slicing. They also come in Cloaked versions which are even more of a pain to deal with (but clocked mechs often drop cloaking powerups so yay. right now.. it was kinda nicknamed 'Diamond Claws' but never officially. In Descent II, there is this upgraded version. technically, it's smaller (the first was said to be 5 meters, this one is 3).. Why it's officially called 'Diamond Claw, Second Generation' is unknown as it should be Medium Lifter, Second Generation.. but it's not classed as a maintenance or lifter bot, it's a Standard Drilling Robot. Now it comes with 4 Diamond infused Swingarms, plus a energy pulse, designed for drilling hardest rock walls. This is a basic homing plasma shot. While it doesn't shot it alot, it shots it enough to make this very annoying. Like the original, it also comes in Cloaked versions.
2) Lou Guard
Another D2 mech, the Lou Guard was designed as a Mine entrance protector and boy, does it do the job. While it's pretty slow moving, it's basically an upgraded version of the 'Red' version of D1's Medium Hulk which was modified by the alien virus to fire homing missiles. Lou Guards are pretty comparable but smaller, making it harder to hit.
3) Class 1 Driller
From Descent, the Class 1 driller was a prototype unit designed for tunnelling through semi-molten rock. Armed with a Uranium Mass Driver (high speed Vulcan Cannon, this are a real pain. They are fast moving, and shoot with good arm and not a laser or missile attack, so you can't really dodge. They are also fairly small and often come in pairs. Oh, and can come in cloaked.
4) 'Purple' Hulk
A purely alien designed mech, The purple hulk is based on the design which the aliens used for the first 'boss' robot from level 7. It's smaller and in-game wise, I would say based on the Hulk line. While the original boss fires Smart Missiles (ouch) these ones are armed with Fusion Cannons. Two of them. They can take a fair bit to wipe out their armour . As the Fusion shots can take out 60 units of your shield (which defaults to 100, but can go up to 200), it's not good to take many hits from this.. problem is worse when there is a construction web (purple web like vines which the aliens have created to manufacturer new mechs in) which is producing these.
5) Bandit
KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL IT!
While this D2 bot doesn't appear to have any weapons (claims to have a 'flash defensive system', the Bandit was designed as trash collector, meant to pick up rubble and move it out of the way in no time. As a result, it's fast.. very fast. However, it's new programming means it loves to sneak up on you and nick your weapons. It's pretty small, and very fast. On top of which, it flitters around and takes alot of damage. Luckily, there is only about 1 per level But it's really something to take out as soon as possible. When you are fighting against a horde of mechs only to find out your best gear has just been stolen.
Y'know what, as I like that kind of thing and there doesn't seam to be alot of places around and non that really go into the story of Descent, I think I'll do that for another post.
Posted using PostyBirb
But now for something quite different..
If you are around in the 90s for gaming, you should know the great Descent. Classed as the first 3D 360 FPS, it's a space ship combat game where you are one of PTMC's Material Defenders, a group of hired Mercenary. PTMC (oringally the Post Terran Minerals Company, but later renamed Post Terran Mining Company") has a number of mines throughout the solar system, but the mining mechs have been infected by an Alien Virus and they are appear to be heading towards Earth. In the first game, your goal is to trigger a meltdown in each mine by destorying there central reactor. This will destory any robot left and clean the alien infection. However, there are Hostages so you should see about saving them if you can.
In the Second game, It carries on from the end of the first (mostly) as they have lost contact with their mines outside of the Solar System and you are sent to deal with them too. Afterwhich.. things happen which lead to the third game.. the third is a bit weird.. it's not bad, though personally I think some of the mech designs aren't as good but that's kinda to do with the fact you are not in the mines anymore, but dealing with the PTMC itself.. it has more 'plot' as instead of just opening and ending movies, there is a story which goes from level to level. Though I think there are some bits which are.. odd story wise..
There was also a great series of 3 novels based on the games, a few changes from the games but pretty faithful and work really well. As well as a couple of expansions for the games. After the third, some issues happened which basically means we aren't gonna be getting any more. One company has the rights to the name and wanted to use it for stuff that is completely unrelated, while others have the rights for the gameplay style and stuff.. Then they made Overload, a great (though bloody hard in the later levels) game which while it isn't descent, has references and is in all but name and plot (it deals with a very similar plot taking place after wards, where a guy is taking over a colony product and it's mines on Saturn and it's moons.
Now, I could do a break down of the Descent Plot and the... issues with the third game (it's not bad by a long shot, but there are weird major plot points which aren't dealt with.. like the unseen aliens disappear from the story completely) but instead, I'm gonna say about some of the .. mm.. most annoying Mechs from the first two games. by Most annoying I don't mean that they are bad, or really hard to deal with, but bots which you really wanna take out as soon as you can cause they can really annoy you. (if I did just the hardest, it might be just the 6 Descent 2 bosses really but that's not what this is)..
1) Diamond Claw, Second Generation
This is a pretty weirdly named Descent II mech. You see, in Decent, you had the Medium Lifter. This was a PTMC maintenance mech with 2 large Diamond plated swingarms. The Virus has modified some mechs, but with this one it's mostly just how it acts. Despite being a maintenance robot, it was designed to burrow through porous rock in the mines, but now will attack anything in sight. This will move with a fair speed towards you and start slicing. They also come in Cloaked versions which are even more of a pain to deal with (but clocked mechs often drop cloaking powerups so yay. right now.. it was kinda nicknamed 'Diamond Claws' but never officially. In Descent II, there is this upgraded version. technically, it's smaller (the first was said to be 5 meters, this one is 3).. Why it's officially called 'Diamond Claw, Second Generation' is unknown as it should be Medium Lifter, Second Generation.. but it's not classed as a maintenance or lifter bot, it's a Standard Drilling Robot. Now it comes with 4 Diamond infused Swingarms, plus a energy pulse, designed for drilling hardest rock walls. This is a basic homing plasma shot. While it doesn't shot it alot, it shots it enough to make this very annoying. Like the original, it also comes in Cloaked versions.
2) Lou Guard
Another D2 mech, the Lou Guard was designed as a Mine entrance protector and boy, does it do the job. While it's pretty slow moving, it's basically an upgraded version of the 'Red' version of D1's Medium Hulk which was modified by the alien virus to fire homing missiles. Lou Guards are pretty comparable but smaller, making it harder to hit.
3) Class 1 Driller
From Descent, the Class 1 driller was a prototype unit designed for tunnelling through semi-molten rock. Armed with a Uranium Mass Driver (high speed Vulcan Cannon, this are a real pain. They are fast moving, and shoot with good arm and not a laser or missile attack, so you can't really dodge. They are also fairly small and often come in pairs. Oh, and can come in cloaked.
4) 'Purple' Hulk
A purely alien designed mech, The purple hulk is based on the design which the aliens used for the first 'boss' robot from level 7. It's smaller and in-game wise, I would say based on the Hulk line. While the original boss fires Smart Missiles (ouch) these ones are armed with Fusion Cannons. Two of them. They can take a fair bit to wipe out their armour . As the Fusion shots can take out 60 units of your shield (which defaults to 100, but can go up to 200), it's not good to take many hits from this.. problem is worse when there is a construction web (purple web like vines which the aliens have created to manufacturer new mechs in) which is producing these.
5) Bandit
KILL IT! KILL IT! KILL IT!
While this D2 bot doesn't appear to have any weapons (claims to have a 'flash defensive system', the Bandit was designed as trash collector, meant to pick up rubble and move it out of the way in no time. As a result, it's fast.. very fast. However, it's new programming means it loves to sneak up on you and nick your weapons. It's pretty small, and very fast. On top of which, it flitters around and takes alot of damage. Luckily, there is only about 1 per level But it's really something to take out as soon as possible. When you are fighting against a horde of mechs only to find out your best gear has just been stolen.
Y'know what, as I like that kind of thing and there doesn't seam to be alot of places around and non that really go into the story of Descent, I think I'll do that for another post.
Posted using PostyBirb
5 Early Forgotten TV shows
General | Posted 8 months agoRandomly, of course, Here are 5 TV shows from the very early days of Television which were popular in there day but are all but forgotten these days:
1) Star Trek: The Next Generation
This TV show really confused people when it first came out as no-one had ever seen a 'Science-Fiction' show before. Being the first of it's kind it wow audiences for many years until it's decline, partly due to the age of the cast and it's many controversy storylines which not only featured rape of human characters but robots but even had a black man as a main cast member, something completely unheard of at the time.
2) Dinosaurs
Despite being a reality show with hidden cameras in order to catch animals in there native habitat, Dinosaurs had a strangely cartoon feel it which kept people interested in the show and paid for it's high production costs. Like many of the early shows, however, health and safety issues on set lead to the deaths of a number of the behind the scenes staff as placing the cameras among such dangerous animals often lead to issues. A boycott was launched to improve the safety of crew, but with no way to get around some of the key problems, the show had to stop production.
3) Play your cards right
Based on a British TV show originally called 'The Generation Game", Play your Cards right was a world wide hit as one of the first TV game shows, and THE first to have many regional editions made for over 200 Countries in the world. It pitted teams of contestants, each from a different 'Generation' fighting against each other to see which Generation was in fact, the greatest Generation while playing what at first appeared to be a simple card game, but would turn out to be far more complex.
4) Static
The first ever TV show ever broadcasted was "Static". While completely forgotten today, this show was the most popular until around the end of the 20th century when it was replaced. The Storylines were very complex as it depicted the the Lives and loves of a community of inter-coloured people as they actively rush around in there surreal world.
5) Fantastic Voyage
Originally a series of 2 novels by best selling Author, Isaac Asimov, Fantastic Voyage was a hugely popular cartoon series which spawned a Live action film remake. Featuring a crew of 4 including a woman and a magician, when both were under represented in most media, this show had them shrink down to enter various objects to help teach the children viewers how various things worked, from computers to the human body. While not the first cartoon ever, it was one of the first to be made with an all child cast.
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1) Star Trek: The Next Generation
This TV show really confused people when it first came out as no-one had ever seen a 'Science-Fiction' show before. Being the first of it's kind it wow audiences for many years until it's decline, partly due to the age of the cast and it's many controversy storylines which not only featured rape of human characters but robots but even had a black man as a main cast member, something completely unheard of at the time.
2) Dinosaurs
Despite being a reality show with hidden cameras in order to catch animals in there native habitat, Dinosaurs had a strangely cartoon feel it which kept people interested in the show and paid for it's high production costs. Like many of the early shows, however, health and safety issues on set lead to the deaths of a number of the behind the scenes staff as placing the cameras among such dangerous animals often lead to issues. A boycott was launched to improve the safety of crew, but with no way to get around some of the key problems, the show had to stop production.
3) Play your cards right
Based on a British TV show originally called 'The Generation Game", Play your Cards right was a world wide hit as one of the first TV game shows, and THE first to have many regional editions made for over 200 Countries in the world. It pitted teams of contestants, each from a different 'Generation' fighting against each other to see which Generation was in fact, the greatest Generation while playing what at first appeared to be a simple card game, but would turn out to be far more complex.
4) Static
The first ever TV show ever broadcasted was "Static". While completely forgotten today, this show was the most popular until around the end of the 20th century when it was replaced. The Storylines were very complex as it depicted the the Lives and loves of a community of inter-coloured people as they actively rush around in there surreal world.
5) Fantastic Voyage
Originally a series of 2 novels by best selling Author, Isaac Asimov, Fantastic Voyage was a hugely popular cartoon series which spawned a Live action film remake. Featuring a crew of 4 including a woman and a magician, when both were under represented in most media, this show had them shrink down to enter various objects to help teach the children viewers how various things worked, from computers to the human body. While not the first cartoon ever, it was one of the first to be made with an all child cast.
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It's NOT Open all hours
General | Posted 9 months agoTime for a random British rant that is.. very niché really.
I'll have to start with some minor explaining..
back in 1976, Ronnie Barker, a highly popular British comedy actor and writer stared in a show 'Open All Hours' created and written by Roy Clarke. The Premise of the show was Arkwright (Ronnie Barker) was a middle-old cheapskate who ran a small grocer's shop in the suburb of Doncaster. He was either trying to make some money by partly conning customers (some minor recurring ones, or some one-off ones), or dealing with his nephew/Errand Boy who tries to improve his social life and date girls, while Arkwright is always chasing local traveling nurse Gladys Emmanuel.
simple enough, fine. In 2013, Roy Clarke did 'Still Open All Hours'. now.. It was meant to be a continuation of the original show. Ronnie Barker had died so his character died, with the now old Granville (the Nephew) running the shop, his.. I think son, Nurse Gladys regularly visiting and keeping an eye on Granville and a couple of regular customers returned.. and it was crap.
now.. techinally, you could say 'Oh, but it ran for longer then the original show'.. maybe.. so what? doesn't mean anything. There has been more episodes of Knightrider AFTER the original show, but they haven't really been a hit now, have they?
I'm gonna explain why it is crap, even to people who love it. It's very simple.. what the hell IS the show? Lets say it's a continuation. It makes sense for it to be that. Still features the shop, All but 1 main character, but the problem comes from the fact that a continuation should keep the same basic premise of what the show is.. I think you could get rid of a the main character of Arkwright even though he is a huge focus. So the show is about a cheapskate owner of a small grocer's shop either trying make some money from the customers and people around, or dealing with his maybe son who is trying to improve his social life and date girls... Nope.. atleast HALF of the show is in fact about random people who live in the street and the show revolves around them more then the Store and it's owner.
So... It's not a Continuation. So It's a spin-off? a Spin-off is where you take a character or concept from a show and make a new show around that. The main example is where you take a character and put them in a new situation in a new show. But then, as a spin-off, it's crap.. cause it's too focused on the original show. Its what is meant to be the original shop, most of the original main cast, SOME of the original premise.. Not enough to be a continuation but too much to be a spin-off... so it's.. greatly flawed. The show has more in common with another Roy Clarke show 'Last of the Summerwine' which was about a whole bunch of people in a village (though it was meant to be basically about a few old people but early on had other stuff so its fine).
So, maybe the show has to be accepted on it's own merits as it's own show? But you can't do that cause even the title 'Still Open All Hours' is trying to show it's STILL the old show, and there is too much connection for it to stand on it's own feet.
Was it successful? most likely. Doesn't mean it's any good as what it is trying to be. I see some films that do really well, which are meant to be based on books or comics or games, and they are SOO far removed, it's an insult.. people say "Oh, but it's great and you got to accept it for it's own thing".. but it's NOT meant to be it's own thing. There is a reason they pay the money to license it. In the old days, some films brought the rights to a book, just cause it was popular and they wanted to use the name, but had no intent on making anything like it. So try to get the fan base from the source, and all the credit which comes from it, so they want you to connect the two things. Making it pointless to try to say you have to treat it as it's own thing. cause it soo isn't.
It reminds me of one of the biggest insults (well.. maybe not) the USA did to a video game. I love the Fatal Frame games (well.. 1 and 2 are the best, 3 is good but the character flipping starts to take you out of the story but keeps it tight enough to work, the 4th had SOO much flipping that I just couldn't get into it as much as the first 3, and the 5th I haven't played cause it was a Wii U exclusive game (which cause the Wii U was a crap flop, they did release on PC but only on Steam, so I can't get it).. Oh and the 3DS game isn't too bad but has hardware issues (poor lighting for the camera). Now, the game series is infact' Zero'.. the US renamed it 'Fatal Frame' and personally, I think the name is better.. Zero doesn't really mean too much (though one of the camera shots you can take is referred to as a 'zero shot') where Fatal Frame subs up the series nicely.. Ghost attacks, dangerous, you use a Camera to take photos to defeat them. and later they added the 'Fatal Frame' shot into the games. (I've talked about the naming issue elsewhere). But for some stupid reason, they felt for the original game, it should have the large tagline 'Based on a true story' to help sell it.. It was crap made up by the yanks. True, all the games are based on the kinda local folklore rumours and stories around, and the mansion was inspired by a real life place but that's it. It is in no way based on a true story.. So they were insulting the players and the game makers to try to say the game would only sell on that merit.. ah.. soo good with the name change, crap with the tagline..
Posted using PostyBirb
I'll have to start with some minor explaining..
back in 1976, Ronnie Barker, a highly popular British comedy actor and writer stared in a show 'Open All Hours' created and written by Roy Clarke. The Premise of the show was Arkwright (Ronnie Barker) was a middle-old cheapskate who ran a small grocer's shop in the suburb of Doncaster. He was either trying to make some money by partly conning customers (some minor recurring ones, or some one-off ones), or dealing with his nephew/Errand Boy who tries to improve his social life and date girls, while Arkwright is always chasing local traveling nurse Gladys Emmanuel.
simple enough, fine. In 2013, Roy Clarke did 'Still Open All Hours'. now.. It was meant to be a continuation of the original show. Ronnie Barker had died so his character died, with the now old Granville (the Nephew) running the shop, his.. I think son, Nurse Gladys regularly visiting and keeping an eye on Granville and a couple of regular customers returned.. and it was crap.
now.. techinally, you could say 'Oh, but it ran for longer then the original show'.. maybe.. so what? doesn't mean anything. There has been more episodes of Knightrider AFTER the original show, but they haven't really been a hit now, have they?
I'm gonna explain why it is crap, even to people who love it. It's very simple.. what the hell IS the show? Lets say it's a continuation. It makes sense for it to be that. Still features the shop, All but 1 main character, but the problem comes from the fact that a continuation should keep the same basic premise of what the show is.. I think you could get rid of a the main character of Arkwright even though he is a huge focus. So the show is about a cheapskate owner of a small grocer's shop either trying make some money from the customers and people around, or dealing with his maybe son who is trying to improve his social life and date girls... Nope.. atleast HALF of the show is in fact about random people who live in the street and the show revolves around them more then the Store and it's owner.
So... It's not a Continuation. So It's a spin-off? a Spin-off is where you take a character or concept from a show and make a new show around that. The main example is where you take a character and put them in a new situation in a new show. But then, as a spin-off, it's crap.. cause it's too focused on the original show. Its what is meant to be the original shop, most of the original main cast, SOME of the original premise.. Not enough to be a continuation but too much to be a spin-off... so it's.. greatly flawed. The show has more in common with another Roy Clarke show 'Last of the Summerwine' which was about a whole bunch of people in a village (though it was meant to be basically about a few old people but early on had other stuff so its fine).
So, maybe the show has to be accepted on it's own merits as it's own show? But you can't do that cause even the title 'Still Open All Hours' is trying to show it's STILL the old show, and there is too much connection for it to stand on it's own feet.
Was it successful? most likely. Doesn't mean it's any good as what it is trying to be. I see some films that do really well, which are meant to be based on books or comics or games, and they are SOO far removed, it's an insult.. people say "Oh, but it's great and you got to accept it for it's own thing".. but it's NOT meant to be it's own thing. There is a reason they pay the money to license it. In the old days, some films brought the rights to a book, just cause it was popular and they wanted to use the name, but had no intent on making anything like it. So try to get the fan base from the source, and all the credit which comes from it, so they want you to connect the two things. Making it pointless to try to say you have to treat it as it's own thing. cause it soo isn't.
It reminds me of one of the biggest insults (well.. maybe not) the USA did to a video game. I love the Fatal Frame games (well.. 1 and 2 are the best, 3 is good but the character flipping starts to take you out of the story but keeps it tight enough to work, the 4th had SOO much flipping that I just couldn't get into it as much as the first 3, and the 5th I haven't played cause it was a Wii U exclusive game (which cause the Wii U was a crap flop, they did release on PC but only on Steam, so I can't get it).. Oh and the 3DS game isn't too bad but has hardware issues (poor lighting for the camera). Now, the game series is infact' Zero'.. the US renamed it 'Fatal Frame' and personally, I think the name is better.. Zero doesn't really mean too much (though one of the camera shots you can take is referred to as a 'zero shot') where Fatal Frame subs up the series nicely.. Ghost attacks, dangerous, you use a Camera to take photos to defeat them. and later they added the 'Fatal Frame' shot into the games. (I've talked about the naming issue elsewhere). But for some stupid reason, they felt for the original game, it should have the large tagline 'Based on a true story' to help sell it.. It was crap made up by the yanks. True, all the games are based on the kinda local folklore rumours and stories around, and the mansion was inspired by a real life place but that's it. It is in no way based on a true story.. So they were insulting the players and the game makers to try to say the game would only sell on that merit.. ah.. soo good with the name change, crap with the tagline..
Posted using PostyBirb
Bloody Stupid Iris
General | Posted 9 months agoMy laptop has two graphics cores. the Intel Iris XE which is integrated with the Intel CPU I believe, and an Nvidia GeForce MX350. The Nvidia one is FAR better performance for more intense graphic function but uses alot more power, the Intel is meant to be pretty good and generally, I would say it's fine for any standard OS stuff. Mostly, I just use the Nvidia GPU when playing more graphical intense stuff.
However, for a long time (can't remember how long) it's kinda been getting worse but I can be typing in notepad and the screen stutters. I've been going through a number of things but without too much luck. I've tried updating drivers, reverting to old drivers, stripping the heatsink and repasting it (non-user servicable my arse.. a bit trickier but I've stripped this laptop down and rebuilt a few times for various things.. just a bugger the keyboard is heatstaked)
anyway.. Finally found out the issue was 100% the Intel Iris GPU.. and I've found.. well, meant to be 2 ways of patching it (as they aren't really fixes per say). One I ruled out completely, and that's uninstalling the Nvidia drivers. As in all Nvidia software (which is often a bit of a pain as alot of software isn't needed but not a HUGE issue) and drivers.. so I would pretty much be given up the better graphics.. screw that. Can't even be arsed to 100% confirm that one as an option.
the other, which is working, is... just odd.. Basically, open the Nvidia control panel with the image adjustment settings open (it'll show a 3D copy of the Nvidia logo spinning). and just leave that open.. I don't think it's good to minimise it as it'll pause so doesn't really do much but just have it open in the background, doesn't have to be viewable or anything. And I'm getting no stuttering and no other side-effects.
I was wondering that IF the uninstall Nvidia option worked, it would be a odd driver compatablity issue. But since it's not this going on,.. I'm partly wondering if its to do with CPU access.. for some reason, is the Intel chip trying to access part of the CPU which is being used as a result, it stutters.. possible but doesn't sound right cause.. what difference does this make? The next idea, because that preview is opening, it means the Nvidia GPU is running, so maybe it means they are both able to manage there resources right and the intel one isn't trying to grab what it can't? but that doesn't make sense cause sometimes I've had other things which are using the Nvidia core running at the same time and still get the stutter (one reason it took a while to figure out the reason) so... no clue why this works.. it's a bit annoying in a way but.. no real side-effects, and it works.
The stuttering was driving me mad and getting worse I think. I would be typing up some code and get a 1-2 second graphic stutter. While that might not sound like much, it's ALOT when you are typing up code or something else. I'm kinda use to the old days when you would type and then could just sit there or a while and wait for the computer to catch up (always fun doing that at school and getting weird looks for why I'm just sitting there doing nothing for a bit every so-often, but if you might the odd mistake or something, that stutter makes typing and coding SOO much harder.
But now... atleast with this 'patch', its working fine. It's weird, but it's fine. Oh and by the way, CPU usage wasn't being taxed (even during Stutters, it was going up but not enough to cause that) and the memory usage is far from taxing either. It does seam online that this has been an issue with people for some years and sometimes it's Intel folks blaming Nvidia, sometimes it's Nvidia folks blaming Intel, sometimes it's both sides blaming Laptop manufacture or OS manufacture or sometimes just telling the user with the issue that they are making it up ¬_¬ it's not really easy to do a dump and see what is trigging the problem with how complex computers are these days.. Maybe a small team or someone more skilled in drivers and the like could do something but.. that's out of my field if I can't just POKE it ^_^:
It took be a while to figure this out and confirm it works (it doesn't seam to just apply to one manufacture or even one OS as some people have problems on win10, some win11, some Linux and.. well, mac users are probably just so use to problems they don't think it's work mentioning much but I think I did see one. Either way, this is one more for anyone that thinks looking on the .. erm.. notification/journal/blog/internet diary/whatever they call them now, of a two-bit artist
Posted using PostyBirb
However, for a long time (can't remember how long) it's kinda been getting worse but I can be typing in notepad and the screen stutters. I've been going through a number of things but without too much luck. I've tried updating drivers, reverting to old drivers, stripping the heatsink and repasting it (non-user servicable my arse.. a bit trickier but I've stripped this laptop down and rebuilt a few times for various things.. just a bugger the keyboard is heatstaked)
anyway.. Finally found out the issue was 100% the Intel Iris GPU.. and I've found.. well, meant to be 2 ways of patching it (as they aren't really fixes per say). One I ruled out completely, and that's uninstalling the Nvidia drivers. As in all Nvidia software (which is often a bit of a pain as alot of software isn't needed but not a HUGE issue) and drivers.. so I would pretty much be given up the better graphics.. screw that. Can't even be arsed to 100% confirm that one as an option.
the other, which is working, is... just odd.. Basically, open the Nvidia control panel with the image adjustment settings open (it'll show a 3D copy of the Nvidia logo spinning). and just leave that open.. I don't think it's good to minimise it as it'll pause so doesn't really do much but just have it open in the background, doesn't have to be viewable or anything. And I'm getting no stuttering and no other side-effects.
I was wondering that IF the uninstall Nvidia option worked, it would be a odd driver compatablity issue. But since it's not this going on,.. I'm partly wondering if its to do with CPU access.. for some reason, is the Intel chip trying to access part of the CPU which is being used as a result, it stutters.. possible but doesn't sound right cause.. what difference does this make? The next idea, because that preview is opening, it means the Nvidia GPU is running, so maybe it means they are both able to manage there resources right and the intel one isn't trying to grab what it can't? but that doesn't make sense cause sometimes I've had other things which are using the Nvidia core running at the same time and still get the stutter (one reason it took a while to figure out the reason) so... no clue why this works.. it's a bit annoying in a way but.. no real side-effects, and it works.
The stuttering was driving me mad and getting worse I think. I would be typing up some code and get a 1-2 second graphic stutter. While that might not sound like much, it's ALOT when you are typing up code or something else. I'm kinda use to the old days when you would type and then could just sit there or a while and wait for the computer to catch up (always fun doing that at school and getting weird looks for why I'm just sitting there doing nothing for a bit every so-often, but if you might the odd mistake or something, that stutter makes typing and coding SOO much harder.
But now... atleast with this 'patch', its working fine. It's weird, but it's fine. Oh and by the way, CPU usage wasn't being taxed (even during Stutters, it was going up but not enough to cause that) and the memory usage is far from taxing either. It does seam online that this has been an issue with people for some years and sometimes it's Intel folks blaming Nvidia, sometimes it's Nvidia folks blaming Intel, sometimes it's both sides blaming Laptop manufacture or OS manufacture or sometimes just telling the user with the issue that they are making it up ¬_¬ it's not really easy to do a dump and see what is trigging the problem with how complex computers are these days.. Maybe a small team or someone more skilled in drivers and the like could do something but.. that's out of my field if I can't just POKE it ^_^:
It took be a while to figure this out and confirm it works (it doesn't seam to just apply to one manufacture or even one OS as some people have problems on win10, some win11, some Linux and.. well, mac users are probably just so use to problems they don't think it's work mentioning much but I think I did see one. Either way, this is one more for anyone that thinks looking on the .. erm.. notification/journal/blog/internet diary/whatever they call them now, of a two-bit artist
Posted using PostyBirb
Idiots of the world ¬_¬
General | Posted 11 months agoI am far from the most learned guy in the world but one thing I really hate is being treated like an idiot.. When I ask something stupid, then you can call me stupid. If I say something stupid, Say its stupid.. fine.. but don't treat me like an idiot.
Some of the best Children's TV hosts in the UK and .. well, not sure about else where cause I don't watch them really, Were ones which could simplify things for for children watching without talking down to them. Of the top of my Head, I would say Mathew Corbett is the first in my head which shows this well. anyway..
Sometimes when I'm on youtube or such like, it thinks it is recommending me something good I might like but in fact, it's either something I have no interest in, or worse, It's something which really REALLY annoys me.
Today, It recommended a video which was looking at old Flash Games and claimed in it's title: "Flash Games: the Ultimate Early Internet Nostalgia Trip". Oh where to begin..
Let's start with some terms we need to define:
The Internet is a connection between computers which was first opened around 1969. The term predates it of course, and the idea wasn't new but the internet as it is today, is 1969.
Flash was a program first created by Futurewave as.. I think Futurewave SmartSketch in 1993. It was an drawing tool.. As it started to move to Animation then and became Futurewave Animator around 1995. In 1996, It was brought my Macromedia and was rebranded as Macromedia Flash 1, which when used with Macromedia Flash Player could be used for nice vector animations, which when it launched the web browser version a number of years later, became very popular indeed. Macromedia upgraded the system to allow actions (in a script later referred to as Actionscript 1) between 1996 and 1999. I'm pretty sure I had Flash 4 but my MAIN first flash was Flash 5. I still got that disc.. probebly in the draw next to me right as I write this.. My first things and little games where this. Flash 5 was the first really 'Actionscript' version as while they had it before, it was VERY basic.. so which the original script can be referred to as AS1, It isn't often.. Anyway, AS1 added the ability for basic script interactions. I made Slot machine games, card games etc with that.. pretty basic though. With Flash MX 2004 (which, yes, I also had the disc) they upgraded to AS2 which really allowed Games to be made.. this was, of course, around 2004. I don't need to go past this with AS3 etc.. so that's fine
So.. We know the Internet started in 1969, and Flash Games started about 1996 (but 2000 was the MAIN start of Flash games really being possible). It's currently 2025... so the Internet started about about 56 years ago. Taking the earlier possible date, Flash games started about 29 years ago.
so.. for about the first 27 years, the internet had no games.. and it's only a couple of years longer that Flash games HAVE been around.. so... well.. Flash was clearly not a part of the early internet.. as early doesn't really, by any stretch, include 'first half'.
While I don't like being treated like an idiot, I do know I have... well, some issues which often lead me to treat others as stupid (which isn't quite the same thing) but.. I find I can cope better that way.. Hanlon's razor and all (origin of complex but basically "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity") and it's much better for me to think of alot of people I met as just very stupid then being THAT evil). but.. Lets say the guy/girl making the video is stupid and didn't know that 'The Internet' and 'The World Wide Web' are two DIFFERENT things.. The World Wide Web runs over the Internet.. anyway.. that help things.. we can define the WWW (or 'The Web')
The World Wide Web was started in 1989 using a set of protocols which first existed in CERN in 1989 but was opened to the public in 1991 as a large linked information system. This is what we think of when we look at what things are now. This message you are reading is on the Web, which is being run over the Internet.
So... If we think they mean 'Web' instead of Internet, then.. say 1989, so yep.. 1996 is pretty early.. within the first 10 years.. much better to think of as early.
The fact that they when to some effort to make a video which then gains enough traction to get promoted by YouTube (new accounts and stuff pretty much DON'T get any promotion.. they don't like new comers) and yet hasn't even done this first bit of checking/research.. sigh.. I didn't bother to watch it cause if the name and the thumbnail which is MEANT to get your attention and say 'Watch me!' in the same way a book cover is meant to tell you what the book is about and like (like saying the name of the author, a brief Synopsis of it etc) Is soo insulting, why should I waste my time on it?
Posted using PostyBirb
Some of the best Children's TV hosts in the UK and .. well, not sure about else where cause I don't watch them really, Were ones which could simplify things for for children watching without talking down to them. Of the top of my Head, I would say Mathew Corbett is the first in my head which shows this well. anyway..
Sometimes when I'm on youtube or such like, it thinks it is recommending me something good I might like but in fact, it's either something I have no interest in, or worse, It's something which really REALLY annoys me.
Today, It recommended a video which was looking at old Flash Games and claimed in it's title: "Flash Games: the Ultimate Early Internet Nostalgia Trip". Oh where to begin..
Let's start with some terms we need to define:
The Internet is a connection between computers which was first opened around 1969. The term predates it of course, and the idea wasn't new but the internet as it is today, is 1969.
Flash was a program first created by Futurewave as.. I think Futurewave SmartSketch in 1993. It was an drawing tool.. As it started to move to Animation then and became Futurewave Animator around 1995. In 1996, It was brought my Macromedia and was rebranded as Macromedia Flash 1, which when used with Macromedia Flash Player could be used for nice vector animations, which when it launched the web browser version a number of years later, became very popular indeed. Macromedia upgraded the system to allow actions (in a script later referred to as Actionscript 1) between 1996 and 1999. I'm pretty sure I had Flash 4 but my MAIN first flash was Flash 5. I still got that disc.. probebly in the draw next to me right as I write this.. My first things and little games where this. Flash 5 was the first really 'Actionscript' version as while they had it before, it was VERY basic.. so which the original script can be referred to as AS1, It isn't often.. Anyway, AS1 added the ability for basic script interactions. I made Slot machine games, card games etc with that.. pretty basic though. With Flash MX 2004 (which, yes, I also had the disc) they upgraded to AS2 which really allowed Games to be made.. this was, of course, around 2004. I don't need to go past this with AS3 etc.. so that's fine
So.. We know the Internet started in 1969, and Flash Games started about 1996 (but 2000 was the MAIN start of Flash games really being possible). It's currently 2025... so the Internet started about about 56 years ago. Taking the earlier possible date, Flash games started about 29 years ago.
so.. for about the first 27 years, the internet had no games.. and it's only a couple of years longer that Flash games HAVE been around.. so... well.. Flash was clearly not a part of the early internet.. as early doesn't really, by any stretch, include 'first half'.
While I don't like being treated like an idiot, I do know I have... well, some issues which often lead me to treat others as stupid (which isn't quite the same thing) but.. I find I can cope better that way.. Hanlon's razor and all (origin of complex but basically "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity") and it's much better for me to think of alot of people I met as just very stupid then being THAT evil). but.. Lets say the guy/girl making the video is stupid and didn't know that 'The Internet' and 'The World Wide Web' are two DIFFERENT things.. The World Wide Web runs over the Internet.. anyway.. that help things.. we can define the WWW (or 'The Web')
The World Wide Web was started in 1989 using a set of protocols which first existed in CERN in 1989 but was opened to the public in 1991 as a large linked information system. This is what we think of when we look at what things are now. This message you are reading is on the Web, which is being run over the Internet.
So... If we think they mean 'Web' instead of Internet, then.. say 1989, so yep.. 1996 is pretty early.. within the first 10 years.. much better to think of as early.
The fact that they when to some effort to make a video which then gains enough traction to get promoted by YouTube (new accounts and stuff pretty much DON'T get any promotion.. they don't like new comers) and yet hasn't even done this first bit of checking/research.. sigh.. I didn't bother to watch it cause if the name and the thumbnail which is MEANT to get your attention and say 'Watch me!' in the same way a book cover is meant to tell you what the book is about and like (like saying the name of the author, a brief Synopsis of it etc) Is soo insulting, why should I waste my time on it?
Posted using PostyBirb
Reviewly? Tormented Souls... ehuh
General | Posted a year agoSpoilers ahead.. for a pretty new game so a surprise for me ^_^
It was on a really good offer the other day so I ended up with a copy of the survival horror game 'Tormented Souls'. Meant to be highly inspired by survival horror of the 90s more then the more awful stuff they became. Set in 1994, you play as Caroline Walker, a very stupid idiot who can't seam to add 2 and 2 together.. I mean, I know there is a thing with game logic and having diaries being more optional collectables which just give backstory more then something the character is required and there fore, the player might not know but still.. she is THICK. Things which you NEED to know in order to be able to complete a puzzle, you complete and then she doesn't know what she has just done.. anyway, she gets a picture which shows two 10 year old (approx) twin girls who look quite a bit like her and she gets a headache.. and there is an address if a hospital on a island, so she goes there to find out what happened to the girls and find them. despite the photo looking a bit old, she thinks they are still.. young..
Anyway, the moment she gets there, she is knocked out and wakes up naked in a bath and attached to a venalator and the hospital with a bandage around her right eye with no sign of blood or anything.. she goes to the mirror, removes the badage and finds her eye I missing.. and in it's place.. a weird.. I think it's meant to be an empty eye socket with the eye lid removed as well.. no blood so it's been well cleaned and cared for but still.. someone clearly did a professional job for some reason..
She also ends up finding not only is the place very run down but there are surgically changed (it makes a point that alot of surgery has been done on them) humans mixed with metal. You probebly haven't noticed, but we already have some major mysteries which... will NEVER get properly solved..
The only living person you find is a weird priest who appears to be very much up to something and doesn't seam to notice some of the weird things going on and is saying.. well, clearly NOT the last rites over a corpse.. He acts like he has met you before but you have never met him (this DOES get solved.. and then more confused).
anyway.. As things go on, you then find you can go into a mirror and enter a 'twisted' version of the world where some things you do effect the real world.. What is this world? you never find out. let, at all. unless I really missed something... But there are a few mirrors in the game which allow you to swap between the real world and this one.. where people are more twisted like the creatures you keep coming across.. like they have been experimented on in this weird world which is kinda giving a huge USA cold-war submarine feel.. well.. I'll tell you now.. this MIGHT make sense and explain the creatures perfectly.. but nope.. one document you find, explains kinda where they really came from but doesn't make too much sense.. I'll get to that real thing a bit later then it comes up ^_^
One puzzle, you find a body of a human who is somehow kinda still alive, despite medical notes saying she is dead, but seams to have died not too long ago cause rigor mortis has set in, and she has an important item in her hands which can't be taken out by the documents who have bone saws and stuff to hand.. yeah.. OH, and the operation that was being done on her? had some of her rib bones removed and her heart taken out.. (if she had been dead for.. say roughtly a day, Rigor mortis would have disapated so it would have fallen out of her hand.. of course, it does partly depend on enviroment but it doesn't seam to be that warm or cold.. so kinda 'normal'. BUT if you go to the other world, you can find a doll in her place which has the chest open.. with no heart.. If you find 2 pieces of a plastic heart in the 'real' world, and then put them into the doll, when you go back to the real world, the woman has her heart now! and you can use a shock machine to cause her heart to briefly beat and she drops the key item.. Then just leave her.. don't worry.. she'll disappear and never been seen again later.. with just Caroline acting shocked that she has gone..
after a little, not too hard computer passcode problem, you find Dr William, the father of the missing twin girls.. (also get shocked by a scary overwait girl who is the games only unkillable creature.. mm.. sounds like plot point). But he is dead. the body still warm.. and his diary appears to have been written on as he was dying.. someone added poison to his wine!.. which he was happily drinking while all these monsters were around.. and it appears William isn't a bad guy in any way.. for some reason.. despite clearly knowing these monsters running around and everything.. Oh well..
now, the puzzle with the heart clearly shows, as she had to know to solve that puzzle, that something which happens in the 'dark' world effects the real world.. later on, she finds that the priest is in shock and has lost an arm.. In the dark world, she finds a maniquin in his place with a missing arm.. and she can find a chest with spare arms.. she is able to attach the new arm and when going to the real world, the priest is now fine! and comments on her having deal with her arm.. she acts confused as she didn't do anything (and she appears to REALLY have no clue that she did anything more then not trusting the priest.. for some reason.. this is the third encounter with him and each one has shown something really wrong with the guy which she refuses to notice).. anyway, he corrects himself and says that William did it.. and she acts shocked that William is someone in the hospital! and he is the father of the twins!.. She asks where William is, and is told in the office.. yep. the office which less and then a hour ago (in real life more then game time) I found him dead ¬_¬.. I saved the game around this time and she made a comment about how she HAS to find William.. BUT I'VE ALREADY FOUND HIS CORPSE!.. if you are going to have such a thing as a plot point, try to set it up so the player can't get access to his corpse until AFTER you have seen the cutscene setting it up like that.. Oh and the game clearly tells you the new arm on the priest Isn't his arm put back, but a replacement arm.. and someone stole his bible he had earlier.. okay..
sigh.. This game has alot of people work on it.. I'm used to playing alot of small time games with a team of.. like 5.. if that (I'm pretty much a 1 person team.. though I can get the odd help in some things).. this team is a bit.. less bothered in that.. well, they use unity as an engine which is fine, yet they have some really basic beginner screw ups.. the controls for the game are either 'tank' controls like all the old decent games, or some modern setup which seams to be all Xbox focused.. yet looking online, while an xbox and PS4 port were planned, they never got released.. so.. why so xbox focused? no clue. you can't customise a gamepad other then two, only slightly different choices, it only tells you keyboard controls in some documents you can find which give hints on what buttons to press.. oh and mouse control.. fine.. I plugged in my game pad and.. nothing.. Looking on line, yep.. the game pad only works IF you unplug your mouse... well.. 1) I'm using a laptop so that isn't gonna happen, then 2) I used a keymapper to use my gamepad as IF it was pressing keyboard buttons.. fine.. could only use 'tank' controls? no problem. Oh but some things you NEED to use the mouse for.. So you might be screwed if you unplug a mouse to use the gamepad.. some options do seam to allow gamepad only (like you CAN use the menus very keys and not mouse but is a bit iffy).. either way, As I couldn't unplug my mouse (I was going gonna disable it just for one game) I couldn't use the gamepad mode anyway..
Oh and I had to cheat.. was the game hard? not really.. it used a limited save system like old games, though it was a bit rarer to find what you needed to save it wasn't amazingly hard.. but there is one enemy who you NEED to kill to get past.. they are attached to a wall and slice up anything trying to go past.. you just can NOT get past them without killing them.. So as I was killing one.. something happened.. he became immortal!.. Caroline will normally autotarget if an enemy is close.. she didn't interact with him at all, as if he was dead but the animation hadn't updated.. I tried ranged and melee weapons.. nothing.... tried exiting the area and coming back but he couldn't be interactied with as if he was dead but the animation hadn't updated.. so I thought, if that's the case, I should be able to walk past him.. Nope.. accessed the dev debug menu, made myself invinceable and he would still attack and push me back.. so I had to warp into the room he was guarding.. this is called a game breaking bug.. I would either have to start the game all over again (a few hours of play) and hope it never happened again, or just warped as if i did go through the door (by the way, I then returned through the door, to solve the unlock puzzle which I had everything to do but couldn't get to, so i could open the door correctly.. since there was a backdoor which I now was able to unlock too, I just had to go the long way around each time..
anyway, back to the plot.. we find the operating room where the priest said the girls might be.. for some reason.. they aren't.. but you see a weird monster (who doesn't appear anywhere else it seam) walking around a copse and the priest refuses to admit there is anything there.. when you go into that room, he was right.. there is nothing there.. huh.. not.. not too long later, we have VHS tapes! which we find act like the mirrors.. but instead of traveling to a dark version of the world, take you back in time to wherever it was a recording off.. one of these tapes, you can find Anna! one of the two missing girls.. who somehow escaped at one point, then came back to leave bits of her diary around the house, before being captured again.. you try to help her escape but it ... well, she does escape, but it's a few days later.. where she hasn't had any food or water for some days and is fine.. but anyway, she escapes and goes into hiding..
now.. (I'm skipping some details and stuff) you start to find out her grandfather is behind an evil cult who wants to kill the children for there dark radicative god.. to be reborn.. And you have also found out that this grandfather is the Priest! But.. Caroline doesn't pick up on this.. at all.. I mean.. it's POSSIBLE they aren't the same but.. at this point, with him being the only living guy around, and the diary entries all saying the mothers father, who is the local priest, is a nut job that used to whip her 'for her sins' and kidnapped her and the twins to kill for the god, and the priest saying he was the local priest.. yeah.. only an idiot Wouldn't have put two and two together.. like Caroline!.. and you find out one of the twins (Emma) fell of a bridge into the water and was never seen again, but everyone believes she is still alive.. and when Anna and Caroline met, she comments on how she looks somehow familier.. yeah, you are even shown in such a way to show the player, they are both the same.. thus Caroline is clearly Emma.. but Caroline has a different name and doensn't say anything about her background or anything. Like by hiding this key detail about the character we are playing as is meant to make the player NOT think "hey, the fact they have gone out of there way NOT to tell us alot of stuff.. and hinting at alot of stuff like she appears to know this place, and the local priest thinks they have met before, and she had a headache when she saw the picture of the twins and everything set up like SHE is the twin but doens't know it.. maybe it means she isn't?"... again, I know how hard some of the writing can be for games where some background stuff is optional and the character is in a stressful situration which means she isn't thinking as clearly as people at home playing but still.. come on..
after more stuff and finding out the Anna escape but then was trapped in the hospital and recaptured about 5 years later, with radiation burns and sickness which everyone else seams to come down from even if they are wearing hazmat suits (apart from the priest.. he appears 100% fine with the radiation..) we find that members of the cult who started to get really bad with the radiation, started to 'fuse' with nearby metal in some weird distorted way.. making the creatures you have been fighting (or running) from.. even though they had been surgery worked on.. and you can find places where it took place.. and the Priest appears to be behind it yet it appears he has NO medical training (he is very much acting like a weird catholic priest who later admits he wants to become the ultimate pope and destory all those unworthy priests who think they are really worshiping god) yikes.. Oh but some of his men turned again him.. and they were trapped in a hidden bunker, unable to get out.. but somehow he did.. and somehow he was able to go through a few puzzles which kinda reset in kinda impossible ways behind him.. eh.. Oh and on the VHS.. you also have one set a few days before you arrived, where you met the priest for the first time.. anyway.. before you can get to the bunker, you are able to find where Anna has been hiding, but she destories her own eyes because for some reason, the bunker has two eye scanners which need the twins to open.. but they are either side of the door, so you really need BOTH twins.. and if she destories her eyes, everyone will be safe from the evil in the bunker.. and she has a mirror. but unlike all the others that go to a dark world, it goes to Caroline's bedroom! and Anna's bedroom appears like the dark world version... even down to the point that Anna kinda skinned up a corpse and attached it to her wall.. huh.. You also are able to access a hidden room in the childrens bedroom where you remember YOU are Emma! still no mention of how you were found and raised by someone and lost your memory but oh well..
anyway.. you then find out.. as the only way to open the bunker is with two eyes, that you go back in time and find yourself in the bath! on the vent machine.. and YOU are the person that cuts out your eye.. and leaves no blood.. and doesn't bandage it.. why you were naked in the bath on a vent is never explained.. guess its kinda that the priest wants you go try to surrive the hospital to find a way into the bunker cause, dum-dum-dum, HE knocked you out after luring you to the hospital, and after capturing your sister, so he could get the blood from both twins.. even though he didn't know how to get past the lock.. despite the whole thing that HE Seamed to be the one that designed the system (somehow) and that he could have probebly figured out to cut off one of your eyes (hey, it worked in demolition man).. As you have your memory back you reconigise the priest as your Grandfather!.. finally.. after going after him through the bunker, you find he has your sister tied up and wants you so he can take both your blood cause he needs.. and this is a bit confusing (hell, there are mistakes in the diaries where the Priest finds Anna and says "Now I have found you, As soon as I find Anna, we can perform the ritual", and then the diary goes on to have Anna say "If you find this Emma, run away".. it seams he is so nuts that he doesn't remember which twin is which.. still don't find out WHO cut off his arm and stole his bible which he made a fuss about earlier.. anyway.. you find out your sister who had the radiation sickness? probebly not.. it also warped her like the other creatures, but not as bad. but SHE is the unkillable enemy! .. well, for once, Caroline didn't act like this was a shock and it bloody wasn't.. (also a game which warns about nudity and gore.. and yet not only is Caroline the only girl in the game with nipples (and only briefly) but she doesn't bleed from her eye at all.. the gore is very... toned down.. not a problem but it's kinda is if they were trying to a PG rating instead of an 18.. oh well.. even Resident Evil had more blood on it and the western release of that was not only an 18 but had to censor bits (Oh god! HE is smoking a cigarette!) anyway.. you have picked up a radiation cure which you use to cure Anna, she turns into your double but pretty much shown to already be dead.. but is able to move her arm to cover her tits.. OH and I know i'm not a breast expert (prefering them on the smaller side) but ladies, are your bras in the 90s soo good that your breasts grow in size when you take off your bra? I don't mean spread out as the bra kinda 'pushs' them into a shape.. they appear to KEEP they same shape, just grow a bit larger when naked... weird).. anyway.. behind her she has some wire cutters.. gee.. these would have been soo much help to save Anna when she was locked up and before she got captured..
following your grandfather, he reveals that he has faith and in front of his mutant god monster he thinks his blood alone (probebly because he was one of a pair of twins) would be enough to feed it.... and he cuts both his wrists and bleeds out.. both his real arm and what is meant to be the replacement.. while his blood would have been pumping through this, I did kinda hope for some weird thing where his brother who pretty much died at childbirth, with all the experiments they had been doing (like how you aren't really his granddaughter, you were artificially created and injected into the mother as eggs) would have meant the other arm is in fact, his twins! so two twins blood!.. but they didn't happen.. probebly for the best as it would make no sense but.. oh well.. Oh and one of the diaries points out it need to be MALE twins.. yet female is clearly okay too.. ehuh.
anyway.. god changes abit, priest dies, slightly annoying puzzle to kill monster which.. despite its looks and nature, is pretty easy to kill.. You then go to leave.. something has happend, all the monsters are gone, and some paths are now blocked off (game play reasons so that's.. kinda okay) you go into the room with the VHS projector.. As I had the tape with Anna trapped, and now the bolt cutters to save her, I went into the past again and brought her to the present.. we can then safety leave the place.. and for some reason, Caroline is acting a bit depressed She says that she never should have left (erm.. Emma didn't have a choice.. she was not only the 'evil' twin (yet.. doesn't go anywhere with this story line.. I'm pretty sure it says Emma was the evil acting one and not Anna) but as they were all escaping together, they were attacked and she fell into the water.. then says when she tells Anna the truth and that she is really Emma and stuff, she hopes Anna will forgive her.. why? no clue.. apart from the fact you promise her to save her mother (your mother) who notes already said is completely dead, pretty much even at that point in the past).. anyway, you leave, game over..
I heard there was other endings so I looked up some videos.. if you don't go back to save Anna or inject her with the cure.. as you leave, Mutant Anna appears and kills you.. and if you not only don't save her in the past BUT do inject her with the cure.. you just leave, being a bit upset..
All in all, the game was.. okay.. a few problems, the game breaking bug, there was also a thing where often you would walk up stairs but it didn't change you to 'stair walking up' mode, so you went very VERY slowly.. which in a game where you CAN kill or run (to save ammo), it's a big problem.. the story was okay but just SOOO many plot holes.. sure, I don't want or need my handheld to explain every little thing but.. it sets up major hints and clues and then does nothing with them.. here is a quick list of them:
1) What is the dark world? it is clearly connected to the real world as one affects the other and it PARTLY sets up that some human experiments to create the monsters you find come from there (and you can even find the some monsters in the world) but then it controdits all that saying they are just mutated via diary entries which clearly show it was the evil radiation which mutates
2) does this evil god have something to do with the monsters? it seams it does and it isn't normal radiation but.. is it FROM the dark world and was some how summoned? all they say seams to be about an ancient tribe and finding there ruins (which the ones you kinda find in the game are clearly not as old as the ones written about.. too modern in design)
3) The heart woman.. she appear to have gotten up and left.. mutated? but you ever see her again.. or anything related.. not even like she has gone and you find a monster instead in the room.. nope.. just gone.. in fact, the same happens with 'your' father, Doctor William.. when you come back later, his fresh body is gone..
4) There is alot of hints that people at the hospital were doing surgery even above ground to make monsters.. but these don't add up.. and there is a bit of controdition.. William was kinda a good guy, not knowing about all this evil cult, but other times he seams to have known but thought he was going it for the right reasons? then there is more saying he did nasty stuff after wards just to try to save his wife and kids.. I'm missing something in the logs surely.. Probebly gonna have to boot up the game just to read the diaries again now they are complete to see what I'm missing.
5) You changed the past.. it clearly shows in some points (like you have to charge a car battery, so you take it to the past, put it on charge, come back to it modern (1994) day to find it fully charged) so.. is the fact the hospital appearing more.. calmer and a bit cleaner as you leave when you have Anna with you, because you changed the timeline enough so.. the monsters weren't around? sure, you would still have lost your eye (wait.. you wait up with one eye missing.. you later find out you go back in time to remove it.. but with other time travel issues, like with the battery, you find it isn't on charge until you go back in time and clearly CHANGE things to put it there, so someone ELSE removed your eye originally, but you changed history by removing it yourself before? but then, you were already stripped down, and put in a bath on a vent machine.. with no reason the priest would do that.. I only thought it was because whoever took your eye, wanted you alive.. but nope.... did think it was a bit odd).. anyway, you still would have lost your eye cause you are a 'out of time' version really, but Now Anna was never hiding in the hospital all these years, she just went missing.. So as the only reason the priest lured you there was because he had Anna, He now wouldn't have.. so.. He wasn't killed but is still alive someplace? and you never killed the dark god because you never got access cause Anna and the priest weren't there?
6) Okay, I'm starting to think that.. somehow, Anna (as the unkillable creature) was maybe whatever attacked the priest, took his arm and bible.. but it was clearly soo far gone (and having no eyes) that it doesn't quite make sense.. and if you want to really get picky.. you only find her for the first time when you unlock a puzzle which is what leads to the Doctor's office.. yet the cutscene encounter with the priest which it meant to be BEFORE it, would be.. before it.. so.. somehow she would be trapped there.. or maybe it was the William who attacked the priest? also makes sense.. though not really much clue why even if he wanted to kill the priest.. could have done more then just cut off his arm and seal his bible (which .. by the way, the priest has his bible.. when it's stolen he makes a big fuss about it.. like it was going to be a puzzle item.. nope.. don't see it again. Though William could (and I guess Anna... Maybe) get out of that area since the main office door is locked from the inside where William is.. so he could have attacked Priest, went into the office, locked the door, then drunk the wine which killed him.. but.. seams a bit tricky and William's diary which he was writing AS HE WAS DYING surely would have mentioned something.
well.. the ending cutscene was pretty damn small and short.. I was wondering.. though people seam to say they are a small independant creator, they appear to have done.. a fair bit.. and this game was 2021.. and this year, 2024, a sequel was meant to be coming out.. it's almost December and it's still 'Coming soon 2024'.. huh.. the first preview trailer.. erm.. kinda showed a location and an unseen but known event from the first game.. Like the sequel was really a remake.. (a game called 'Pathologic' did that. they made the original game which was okay but had ALOT of problems mixing between 'scripted story' and 'your actions have a consequence' game. also some of the NPCs looked like they had a range of styles in the texturing) but then they did a demo-remake (which you need to buy to play) and then a complete remake which is meant to fix some of the problems but.. again, it's a sequel which is really a remake.. though it seams this one is a full game.. unlike the demo.. I haven't bothered.. the first game was okay but like I said, too much of a fight between scripted story and 'your actions have a consequence'.. also I was meant to protect some people, I found out one had killed themselves and only then (about half way through the characters story) I found out I had a letters menu where I got letters and notes every day.. which in fact, gave a fair bit of the story ¬_¬ thanks for telling me about that ¬_¬ oh and these letters kinda said that something was happening and you need to check on this person or she'll die, but looking around, her death is scripted reguardless.. so it's just story you are missing more then anything to help you play the game..) well, they released another trailer which.. erm.. I'm not a big fan of some of the character design changes, but most minor and can be chalked down to 'improved graphics' (often an excuse for bad character redesigns) but she is wearing a medical eye patch.. one which kinda hints this new game takes place shortly after the first.. as pretty sure in 1994, she could have a more long term and harder wearing eye cover if some real time had pasted since she had her eye taken out.. maybe America is just weird like that and only wear the temp things all the time? Kinda reminds me of the 'Zero' (Fatal Frame) novel which the Movie (which despite the odd bit isn't too bad) was based on where the main character wears an eye patch during her period cause at those times, she can see 'ghosts' with that eye and she doesn't want to, so she wears an eye patch to cover it up, but it changes.. some time the right eye, some times the left.. they removed the whole eye thing from the film sadly.. there are a number of changes done to the film version where the novel is better.. but on the whole, still good... most people just either moan that it has some christian faith as part backdrop where the games were more Japanese Buddist (but in the games, it's a higher focus on this, in the novel/film, it was just the setting being a catholic girls school) and that it didn't turn into a porno.. There is a fair lesbian favour which.. from my knowledge is kinda.. true to life in that girls of a certain age, when growing up in all girls boarding schools, kinda go through a lesbian 'phase' which either ends up with them being lesbians or just being bisexual for a bit. Same is well known and reported in boys schools.. 1800s England was very famous for it.. Same with prisons.. most of them are only gay as long as that is the only option though.... anyway.. because it was a more matter of fact background for it (with the curse that only affects girls) some people moan it didn't go all the way and have underage sex scenes ¬_¬ stupid people. though 16 isn't underage in the UK.. I think it's kinda not in Japan either but nevermind (no-one tell Tracy Lords that she could have just gone to the UK to make porno instead of lying about her age in the US and making all but 1 of her films into Child rape porn).
anyway, this is besides the point.. there looks to be a sequel.. with the same kinda monsters.. so.. maybe we will get answers? best I can find is it saying Caroline goes to a monstery to save her cursed sister.. well, here is a thing I didn't say.. When Anna was now in the future (so she was still about 10 when her twin sister was.. erm.. 20 I think.. 18 or 20.. oh.. it's American.. the bare tits means she would probebly have been 25..) she said about how she didn't feel right, like she didn't belong there.. which is something Caroline herself had said.. but in a slightly different context.. anyway.. So maybe this is a sequel taking place not long later where we find out more about the dark world and the fact that the twins are genetically created with an 'ancient blood line', who was implanted into the mother.. and all her previous tries failed, but they worked after alot of experiments...
Do I think the game will be out this year? probebly not.. Do I think i'll get it? While there have been some new games I did buy on release.. this is kinda a 'wait till it's on offer' thing..
As I was saying that, I looked around a bit at where I would buy it from and.. mm.. a bit more info.. ehuh.. erm.. right..
"After the Events of the Wildberger Hospital, Caroline yearns for a normal life with her younger sister, Anna (only younger due to the time stuff.. very normal ¬_¬), however, fate has other plans. As Anna falls victim to a mysterious afflication, coughting blood and expericencing blackened eyes and moments of unconsciousness (which sounds like how they described the radiation poisoning which effecting people in the first game.. and which Anna had already been subjected to, just not quite as much as by 5 years later, when she was half way to her mutant form), Conventional remedies prove futile (yep.. there Doctor father spend years making a weird 'blue' antidote to the radiation.. but you used all of it that was left to cure the dead Anna.. none left for the living one.. maybe you should return to get more of the notes which you left behind and with some help, recreate it). In a desperate bit to save her sister, Caroline must turn to the supernatural..."
ehuh.. not alot of new but.. doesn't really sound good in that.. it SOUNDS like it's following on the story and picking up on some threads left behind but then tries to tell you it's NOT what you think... like all the problems with the first game I've just been saying about ^_^
looks like you are now going to the remote southern american town of Puerto Miller (oh god, why is it always former Mexican places these days? what is it with the yanks and places taken from the Mexicans in the various USA v Mexico wars?).. Founded ages ago by the reclusive Ismuit tribe (anything like the Tismet tribe (I think that was the spelling) used in this first game as the background of the twin killing and evil god?) a small religious group that shunned the outside world - The town conceals unspeakable horrors beneath it's ancient exterior.. .. so.. yes then. and Oh look, a puzzle which looks like a mixture between Major Sir Eric Moreland Clapham-Lee and Henry Wentworth Akeley.. if any of you are well read enough to know what THAT is a reference too..
This was a bit of a long ramblely ramble wasn't it?
short version? good game, a suffers as it if was the first real game a new team created and the plot writer felt they were way smarter then they were and could out think even a kinda basic player who was drawn to the game because it was 'like' old 90s games.. which if they had played, they would pick up on alot of where the story was going (it isn't a ripp-off plot but you can see all the threads being hung in-front of you like you were a cat yet expecting you to be a blind cat that couldn't see them).
Posted using PostyBirb
It was on a really good offer the other day so I ended up with a copy of the survival horror game 'Tormented Souls'. Meant to be highly inspired by survival horror of the 90s more then the more awful stuff they became. Set in 1994, you play as Caroline Walker, a very stupid idiot who can't seam to add 2 and 2 together.. I mean, I know there is a thing with game logic and having diaries being more optional collectables which just give backstory more then something the character is required and there fore, the player might not know but still.. she is THICK. Things which you NEED to know in order to be able to complete a puzzle, you complete and then she doesn't know what she has just done.. anyway, she gets a picture which shows two 10 year old (approx) twin girls who look quite a bit like her and she gets a headache.. and there is an address if a hospital on a island, so she goes there to find out what happened to the girls and find them. despite the photo looking a bit old, she thinks they are still.. young..
Anyway, the moment she gets there, she is knocked out and wakes up naked in a bath and attached to a venalator and the hospital with a bandage around her right eye with no sign of blood or anything.. she goes to the mirror, removes the badage and finds her eye I missing.. and in it's place.. a weird.. I think it's meant to be an empty eye socket with the eye lid removed as well.. no blood so it's been well cleaned and cared for but still.. someone clearly did a professional job for some reason..
She also ends up finding not only is the place very run down but there are surgically changed (it makes a point that alot of surgery has been done on them) humans mixed with metal. You probebly haven't noticed, but we already have some major mysteries which... will NEVER get properly solved..
The only living person you find is a weird priest who appears to be very much up to something and doesn't seam to notice some of the weird things going on and is saying.. well, clearly NOT the last rites over a corpse.. He acts like he has met you before but you have never met him (this DOES get solved.. and then more confused).
anyway.. As things go on, you then find you can go into a mirror and enter a 'twisted' version of the world where some things you do effect the real world.. What is this world? you never find out. let, at all. unless I really missed something... But there are a few mirrors in the game which allow you to swap between the real world and this one.. where people are more twisted like the creatures you keep coming across.. like they have been experimented on in this weird world which is kinda giving a huge USA cold-war submarine feel.. well.. I'll tell you now.. this MIGHT make sense and explain the creatures perfectly.. but nope.. one document you find, explains kinda where they really came from but doesn't make too much sense.. I'll get to that real thing a bit later then it comes up ^_^
One puzzle, you find a body of a human who is somehow kinda still alive, despite medical notes saying she is dead, but seams to have died not too long ago cause rigor mortis has set in, and she has an important item in her hands which can't be taken out by the documents who have bone saws and stuff to hand.. yeah.. OH, and the operation that was being done on her? had some of her rib bones removed and her heart taken out.. (if she had been dead for.. say roughtly a day, Rigor mortis would have disapated so it would have fallen out of her hand.. of course, it does partly depend on enviroment but it doesn't seam to be that warm or cold.. so kinda 'normal'. BUT if you go to the other world, you can find a doll in her place which has the chest open.. with no heart.. If you find 2 pieces of a plastic heart in the 'real' world, and then put them into the doll, when you go back to the real world, the woman has her heart now! and you can use a shock machine to cause her heart to briefly beat and she drops the key item.. Then just leave her.. don't worry.. she'll disappear and never been seen again later.. with just Caroline acting shocked that she has gone..
after a little, not too hard computer passcode problem, you find Dr William, the father of the missing twin girls.. (also get shocked by a scary overwait girl who is the games only unkillable creature.. mm.. sounds like plot point). But he is dead. the body still warm.. and his diary appears to have been written on as he was dying.. someone added poison to his wine!.. which he was happily drinking while all these monsters were around.. and it appears William isn't a bad guy in any way.. for some reason.. despite clearly knowing these monsters running around and everything.. Oh well..
now, the puzzle with the heart clearly shows, as she had to know to solve that puzzle, that something which happens in the 'dark' world effects the real world.. later on, she finds that the priest is in shock and has lost an arm.. In the dark world, she finds a maniquin in his place with a missing arm.. and she can find a chest with spare arms.. she is able to attach the new arm and when going to the real world, the priest is now fine! and comments on her having deal with her arm.. she acts confused as she didn't do anything (and she appears to REALLY have no clue that she did anything more then not trusting the priest.. for some reason.. this is the third encounter with him and each one has shown something really wrong with the guy which she refuses to notice).. anyway, he corrects himself and says that William did it.. and she acts shocked that William is someone in the hospital! and he is the father of the twins!.. She asks where William is, and is told in the office.. yep. the office which less and then a hour ago (in real life more then game time) I found him dead ¬_¬.. I saved the game around this time and she made a comment about how she HAS to find William.. BUT I'VE ALREADY FOUND HIS CORPSE!.. if you are going to have such a thing as a plot point, try to set it up so the player can't get access to his corpse until AFTER you have seen the cutscene setting it up like that.. Oh and the game clearly tells you the new arm on the priest Isn't his arm put back, but a replacement arm.. and someone stole his bible he had earlier.. okay..
sigh.. This game has alot of people work on it.. I'm used to playing alot of small time games with a team of.. like 5.. if that (I'm pretty much a 1 person team.. though I can get the odd help in some things).. this team is a bit.. less bothered in that.. well, they use unity as an engine which is fine, yet they have some really basic beginner screw ups.. the controls for the game are either 'tank' controls like all the old decent games, or some modern setup which seams to be all Xbox focused.. yet looking online, while an xbox and PS4 port were planned, they never got released.. so.. why so xbox focused? no clue. you can't customise a gamepad other then two, only slightly different choices, it only tells you keyboard controls in some documents you can find which give hints on what buttons to press.. oh and mouse control.. fine.. I plugged in my game pad and.. nothing.. Looking on line, yep.. the game pad only works IF you unplug your mouse... well.. 1) I'm using a laptop so that isn't gonna happen, then 2) I used a keymapper to use my gamepad as IF it was pressing keyboard buttons.. fine.. could only use 'tank' controls? no problem. Oh but some things you NEED to use the mouse for.. So you might be screwed if you unplug a mouse to use the gamepad.. some options do seam to allow gamepad only (like you CAN use the menus very keys and not mouse but is a bit iffy).. either way, As I couldn't unplug my mouse (I was going gonna disable it just for one game) I couldn't use the gamepad mode anyway..
Oh and I had to cheat.. was the game hard? not really.. it used a limited save system like old games, though it was a bit rarer to find what you needed to save it wasn't amazingly hard.. but there is one enemy who you NEED to kill to get past.. they are attached to a wall and slice up anything trying to go past.. you just can NOT get past them without killing them.. So as I was killing one.. something happened.. he became immortal!.. Caroline will normally autotarget if an enemy is close.. she didn't interact with him at all, as if he was dead but the animation hadn't updated.. I tried ranged and melee weapons.. nothing.... tried exiting the area and coming back but he couldn't be interactied with as if he was dead but the animation hadn't updated.. so I thought, if that's the case, I should be able to walk past him.. Nope.. accessed the dev debug menu, made myself invinceable and he would still attack and push me back.. so I had to warp into the room he was guarding.. this is called a game breaking bug.. I would either have to start the game all over again (a few hours of play) and hope it never happened again, or just warped as if i did go through the door (by the way, I then returned through the door, to solve the unlock puzzle which I had everything to do but couldn't get to, so i could open the door correctly.. since there was a backdoor which I now was able to unlock too, I just had to go the long way around each time..
anyway, back to the plot.. we find the operating room where the priest said the girls might be.. for some reason.. they aren't.. but you see a weird monster (who doesn't appear anywhere else it seam) walking around a copse and the priest refuses to admit there is anything there.. when you go into that room, he was right.. there is nothing there.. huh.. not.. not too long later, we have VHS tapes! which we find act like the mirrors.. but instead of traveling to a dark version of the world, take you back in time to wherever it was a recording off.. one of these tapes, you can find Anna! one of the two missing girls.. who somehow escaped at one point, then came back to leave bits of her diary around the house, before being captured again.. you try to help her escape but it ... well, she does escape, but it's a few days later.. where she hasn't had any food or water for some days and is fine.. but anyway, she escapes and goes into hiding..
now.. (I'm skipping some details and stuff) you start to find out her grandfather is behind an evil cult who wants to kill the children for there dark radicative god.. to be reborn.. And you have also found out that this grandfather is the Priest! But.. Caroline doesn't pick up on this.. at all.. I mean.. it's POSSIBLE they aren't the same but.. at this point, with him being the only living guy around, and the diary entries all saying the mothers father, who is the local priest, is a nut job that used to whip her 'for her sins' and kidnapped her and the twins to kill for the god, and the priest saying he was the local priest.. yeah.. only an idiot Wouldn't have put two and two together.. like Caroline!.. and you find out one of the twins (Emma) fell of a bridge into the water and was never seen again, but everyone believes she is still alive.. and when Anna and Caroline met, she comments on how she looks somehow familier.. yeah, you are even shown in such a way to show the player, they are both the same.. thus Caroline is clearly Emma.. but Caroline has a different name and doensn't say anything about her background or anything. Like by hiding this key detail about the character we are playing as is meant to make the player NOT think "hey, the fact they have gone out of there way NOT to tell us alot of stuff.. and hinting at alot of stuff like she appears to know this place, and the local priest thinks they have met before, and she had a headache when she saw the picture of the twins and everything set up like SHE is the twin but doens't know it.. maybe it means she isn't?"... again, I know how hard some of the writing can be for games where some background stuff is optional and the character is in a stressful situration which means she isn't thinking as clearly as people at home playing but still.. come on..
after more stuff and finding out the Anna escape but then was trapped in the hospital and recaptured about 5 years later, with radiation burns and sickness which everyone else seams to come down from even if they are wearing hazmat suits (apart from the priest.. he appears 100% fine with the radiation..) we find that members of the cult who started to get really bad with the radiation, started to 'fuse' with nearby metal in some weird distorted way.. making the creatures you have been fighting (or running) from.. even though they had been surgery worked on.. and you can find places where it took place.. and the Priest appears to be behind it yet it appears he has NO medical training (he is very much acting like a weird catholic priest who later admits he wants to become the ultimate pope and destory all those unworthy priests who think they are really worshiping god) yikes.. Oh but some of his men turned again him.. and they were trapped in a hidden bunker, unable to get out.. but somehow he did.. and somehow he was able to go through a few puzzles which kinda reset in kinda impossible ways behind him.. eh.. Oh and on the VHS.. you also have one set a few days before you arrived, where you met the priest for the first time.. anyway.. before you can get to the bunker, you are able to find where Anna has been hiding, but she destories her own eyes because for some reason, the bunker has two eye scanners which need the twins to open.. but they are either side of the door, so you really need BOTH twins.. and if she destories her eyes, everyone will be safe from the evil in the bunker.. and she has a mirror. but unlike all the others that go to a dark world, it goes to Caroline's bedroom! and Anna's bedroom appears like the dark world version... even down to the point that Anna kinda skinned up a corpse and attached it to her wall.. huh.. You also are able to access a hidden room in the childrens bedroom where you remember YOU are Emma! still no mention of how you were found and raised by someone and lost your memory but oh well..
anyway.. you then find out.. as the only way to open the bunker is with two eyes, that you go back in time and find yourself in the bath! on the vent machine.. and YOU are the person that cuts out your eye.. and leaves no blood.. and doesn't bandage it.. why you were naked in the bath on a vent is never explained.. guess its kinda that the priest wants you go try to surrive the hospital to find a way into the bunker cause, dum-dum-dum, HE knocked you out after luring you to the hospital, and after capturing your sister, so he could get the blood from both twins.. even though he didn't know how to get past the lock.. despite the whole thing that HE Seamed to be the one that designed the system (somehow) and that he could have probebly figured out to cut off one of your eyes (hey, it worked in demolition man).. As you have your memory back you reconigise the priest as your Grandfather!.. finally.. after going after him through the bunker, you find he has your sister tied up and wants you so he can take both your blood cause he needs.. and this is a bit confusing (hell, there are mistakes in the diaries where the Priest finds Anna and says "Now I have found you, As soon as I find Anna, we can perform the ritual", and then the diary goes on to have Anna say "If you find this Emma, run away".. it seams he is so nuts that he doesn't remember which twin is which.. still don't find out WHO cut off his arm and stole his bible which he made a fuss about earlier.. anyway.. you find out your sister who had the radiation sickness? probebly not.. it also warped her like the other creatures, but not as bad. but SHE is the unkillable enemy! .. well, for once, Caroline didn't act like this was a shock and it bloody wasn't.. (also a game which warns about nudity and gore.. and yet not only is Caroline the only girl in the game with nipples (and only briefly) but she doesn't bleed from her eye at all.. the gore is very... toned down.. not a problem but it's kinda is if they were trying to a PG rating instead of an 18.. oh well.. even Resident Evil had more blood on it and the western release of that was not only an 18 but had to censor bits (Oh god! HE is smoking a cigarette!) anyway.. you have picked up a radiation cure which you use to cure Anna, she turns into your double but pretty much shown to already be dead.. but is able to move her arm to cover her tits.. OH and I know i'm not a breast expert (prefering them on the smaller side) but ladies, are your bras in the 90s soo good that your breasts grow in size when you take off your bra? I don't mean spread out as the bra kinda 'pushs' them into a shape.. they appear to KEEP they same shape, just grow a bit larger when naked... weird).. anyway.. behind her she has some wire cutters.. gee.. these would have been soo much help to save Anna when she was locked up and before she got captured..
following your grandfather, he reveals that he has faith and in front of his mutant god monster he thinks his blood alone (probebly because he was one of a pair of twins) would be enough to feed it.... and he cuts both his wrists and bleeds out.. both his real arm and what is meant to be the replacement.. while his blood would have been pumping through this, I did kinda hope for some weird thing where his brother who pretty much died at childbirth, with all the experiments they had been doing (like how you aren't really his granddaughter, you were artificially created and injected into the mother as eggs) would have meant the other arm is in fact, his twins! so two twins blood!.. but they didn't happen.. probebly for the best as it would make no sense but.. oh well.. Oh and one of the diaries points out it need to be MALE twins.. yet female is clearly okay too.. ehuh.
anyway.. god changes abit, priest dies, slightly annoying puzzle to kill monster which.. despite its looks and nature, is pretty easy to kill.. You then go to leave.. something has happend, all the monsters are gone, and some paths are now blocked off (game play reasons so that's.. kinda okay) you go into the room with the VHS projector.. As I had the tape with Anna trapped, and now the bolt cutters to save her, I went into the past again and brought her to the present.. we can then safety leave the place.. and for some reason, Caroline is acting a bit depressed She says that she never should have left (erm.. Emma didn't have a choice.. she was not only the 'evil' twin (yet.. doesn't go anywhere with this story line.. I'm pretty sure it says Emma was the evil acting one and not Anna) but as they were all escaping together, they were attacked and she fell into the water.. then says when she tells Anna the truth and that she is really Emma and stuff, she hopes Anna will forgive her.. why? no clue.. apart from the fact you promise her to save her mother (your mother) who notes already said is completely dead, pretty much even at that point in the past).. anyway, you leave, game over..
I heard there was other endings so I looked up some videos.. if you don't go back to save Anna or inject her with the cure.. as you leave, Mutant Anna appears and kills you.. and if you not only don't save her in the past BUT do inject her with the cure.. you just leave, being a bit upset..
All in all, the game was.. okay.. a few problems, the game breaking bug, there was also a thing where often you would walk up stairs but it didn't change you to 'stair walking up' mode, so you went very VERY slowly.. which in a game where you CAN kill or run (to save ammo), it's a big problem.. the story was okay but just SOOO many plot holes.. sure, I don't want or need my handheld to explain every little thing but.. it sets up major hints and clues and then does nothing with them.. here is a quick list of them:
1) What is the dark world? it is clearly connected to the real world as one affects the other and it PARTLY sets up that some human experiments to create the monsters you find come from there (and you can even find the some monsters in the world) but then it controdits all that saying they are just mutated via diary entries which clearly show it was the evil radiation which mutates
2) does this evil god have something to do with the monsters? it seams it does and it isn't normal radiation but.. is it FROM the dark world and was some how summoned? all they say seams to be about an ancient tribe and finding there ruins (which the ones you kinda find in the game are clearly not as old as the ones written about.. too modern in design)
3) The heart woman.. she appear to have gotten up and left.. mutated? but you ever see her again.. or anything related.. not even like she has gone and you find a monster instead in the room.. nope.. just gone.. in fact, the same happens with 'your' father, Doctor William.. when you come back later, his fresh body is gone..
4) There is alot of hints that people at the hospital were doing surgery even above ground to make monsters.. but these don't add up.. and there is a bit of controdition.. William was kinda a good guy, not knowing about all this evil cult, but other times he seams to have known but thought he was going it for the right reasons? then there is more saying he did nasty stuff after wards just to try to save his wife and kids.. I'm missing something in the logs surely.. Probebly gonna have to boot up the game just to read the diaries again now they are complete to see what I'm missing.
5) You changed the past.. it clearly shows in some points (like you have to charge a car battery, so you take it to the past, put it on charge, come back to it modern (1994) day to find it fully charged) so.. is the fact the hospital appearing more.. calmer and a bit cleaner as you leave when you have Anna with you, because you changed the timeline enough so.. the monsters weren't around? sure, you would still have lost your eye (wait.. you wait up with one eye missing.. you later find out you go back in time to remove it.. but with other time travel issues, like with the battery, you find it isn't on charge until you go back in time and clearly CHANGE things to put it there, so someone ELSE removed your eye originally, but you changed history by removing it yourself before? but then, you were already stripped down, and put in a bath on a vent machine.. with no reason the priest would do that.. I only thought it was because whoever took your eye, wanted you alive.. but nope.... did think it was a bit odd).. anyway, you still would have lost your eye cause you are a 'out of time' version really, but Now Anna was never hiding in the hospital all these years, she just went missing.. So as the only reason the priest lured you there was because he had Anna, He now wouldn't have.. so.. He wasn't killed but is still alive someplace? and you never killed the dark god because you never got access cause Anna and the priest weren't there?
6) Okay, I'm starting to think that.. somehow, Anna (as the unkillable creature) was maybe whatever attacked the priest, took his arm and bible.. but it was clearly soo far gone (and having no eyes) that it doesn't quite make sense.. and if you want to really get picky.. you only find her for the first time when you unlock a puzzle which is what leads to the Doctor's office.. yet the cutscene encounter with the priest which it meant to be BEFORE it, would be.. before it.. so.. somehow she would be trapped there.. or maybe it was the William who attacked the priest? also makes sense.. though not really much clue why even if he wanted to kill the priest.. could have done more then just cut off his arm and seal his bible (which .. by the way, the priest has his bible.. when it's stolen he makes a big fuss about it.. like it was going to be a puzzle item.. nope.. don't see it again. Though William could (and I guess Anna... Maybe) get out of that area since the main office door is locked from the inside where William is.. so he could have attacked Priest, went into the office, locked the door, then drunk the wine which killed him.. but.. seams a bit tricky and William's diary which he was writing AS HE WAS DYING surely would have mentioned something.
well.. the ending cutscene was pretty damn small and short.. I was wondering.. though people seam to say they are a small independant creator, they appear to have done.. a fair bit.. and this game was 2021.. and this year, 2024, a sequel was meant to be coming out.. it's almost December and it's still 'Coming soon 2024'.. huh.. the first preview trailer.. erm.. kinda showed a location and an unseen but known event from the first game.. Like the sequel was really a remake.. (a game called 'Pathologic' did that. they made the original game which was okay but had ALOT of problems mixing between 'scripted story' and 'your actions have a consequence' game. also some of the NPCs looked like they had a range of styles in the texturing) but then they did a demo-remake (which you need to buy to play) and then a complete remake which is meant to fix some of the problems but.. again, it's a sequel which is really a remake.. though it seams this one is a full game.. unlike the demo.. I haven't bothered.. the first game was okay but like I said, too much of a fight between scripted story and 'your actions have a consequence'.. also I was meant to protect some people, I found out one had killed themselves and only then (about half way through the characters story) I found out I had a letters menu where I got letters and notes every day.. which in fact, gave a fair bit of the story ¬_¬ thanks for telling me about that ¬_¬ oh and these letters kinda said that something was happening and you need to check on this person or she'll die, but looking around, her death is scripted reguardless.. so it's just story you are missing more then anything to help you play the game..) well, they released another trailer which.. erm.. I'm not a big fan of some of the character design changes, but most minor and can be chalked down to 'improved graphics' (often an excuse for bad character redesigns) but she is wearing a medical eye patch.. one which kinda hints this new game takes place shortly after the first.. as pretty sure in 1994, she could have a more long term and harder wearing eye cover if some real time had pasted since she had her eye taken out.. maybe America is just weird like that and only wear the temp things all the time? Kinda reminds me of the 'Zero' (Fatal Frame) novel which the Movie (which despite the odd bit isn't too bad) was based on where the main character wears an eye patch during her period cause at those times, she can see 'ghosts' with that eye and she doesn't want to, so she wears an eye patch to cover it up, but it changes.. some time the right eye, some times the left.. they removed the whole eye thing from the film sadly.. there are a number of changes done to the film version where the novel is better.. but on the whole, still good... most people just either moan that it has some christian faith as part backdrop where the games were more Japanese Buddist (but in the games, it's a higher focus on this, in the novel/film, it was just the setting being a catholic girls school) and that it didn't turn into a porno.. There is a fair lesbian favour which.. from my knowledge is kinda.. true to life in that girls of a certain age, when growing up in all girls boarding schools, kinda go through a lesbian 'phase' which either ends up with them being lesbians or just being bisexual for a bit. Same is well known and reported in boys schools.. 1800s England was very famous for it.. Same with prisons.. most of them are only gay as long as that is the only option though.... anyway.. because it was a more matter of fact background for it (with the curse that only affects girls) some people moan it didn't go all the way and have underage sex scenes ¬_¬ stupid people. though 16 isn't underage in the UK.. I think it's kinda not in Japan either but nevermind (no-one tell Tracy Lords that she could have just gone to the UK to make porno instead of lying about her age in the US and making all but 1 of her films into Child rape porn).
anyway, this is besides the point.. there looks to be a sequel.. with the same kinda monsters.. so.. maybe we will get answers? best I can find is it saying Caroline goes to a monstery to save her cursed sister.. well, here is a thing I didn't say.. When Anna was now in the future (so she was still about 10 when her twin sister was.. erm.. 20 I think.. 18 or 20.. oh.. it's American.. the bare tits means she would probebly have been 25..) she said about how she didn't feel right, like she didn't belong there.. which is something Caroline herself had said.. but in a slightly different context.. anyway.. So maybe this is a sequel taking place not long later where we find out more about the dark world and the fact that the twins are genetically created with an 'ancient blood line', who was implanted into the mother.. and all her previous tries failed, but they worked after alot of experiments...
Do I think the game will be out this year? probebly not.. Do I think i'll get it? While there have been some new games I did buy on release.. this is kinda a 'wait till it's on offer' thing..
As I was saying that, I looked around a bit at where I would buy it from and.. mm.. a bit more info.. ehuh.. erm.. right..
"After the Events of the Wildberger Hospital, Caroline yearns for a normal life with her younger sister, Anna (only younger due to the time stuff.. very normal ¬_¬), however, fate has other plans. As Anna falls victim to a mysterious afflication, coughting blood and expericencing blackened eyes and moments of unconsciousness (which sounds like how they described the radiation poisoning which effecting people in the first game.. and which Anna had already been subjected to, just not quite as much as by 5 years later, when she was half way to her mutant form), Conventional remedies prove futile (yep.. there Doctor father spend years making a weird 'blue' antidote to the radiation.. but you used all of it that was left to cure the dead Anna.. none left for the living one.. maybe you should return to get more of the notes which you left behind and with some help, recreate it). In a desperate bit to save her sister, Caroline must turn to the supernatural..."
ehuh.. not alot of new but.. doesn't really sound good in that.. it SOUNDS like it's following on the story and picking up on some threads left behind but then tries to tell you it's NOT what you think... like all the problems with the first game I've just been saying about ^_^
looks like you are now going to the remote southern american town of Puerto Miller (oh god, why is it always former Mexican places these days? what is it with the yanks and places taken from the Mexicans in the various USA v Mexico wars?).. Founded ages ago by the reclusive Ismuit tribe (anything like the Tismet tribe (I think that was the spelling) used in this first game as the background of the twin killing and evil god?) a small religious group that shunned the outside world - The town conceals unspeakable horrors beneath it's ancient exterior.. .. so.. yes then. and Oh look, a puzzle which looks like a mixture between Major Sir Eric Moreland Clapham-Lee and Henry Wentworth Akeley.. if any of you are well read enough to know what THAT is a reference too..
This was a bit of a long ramblely ramble wasn't it?
short version? good game, a suffers as it if was the first real game a new team created and the plot writer felt they were way smarter then they were and could out think even a kinda basic player who was drawn to the game because it was 'like' old 90s games.. which if they had played, they would pick up on alot of where the story was going (it isn't a ripp-off plot but you can see all the threads being hung in-front of you like you were a cat yet expecting you to be a blind cat that couldn't see them).
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Tis the Season
General | Posted a year agoWell, Bonfire night is over, the bonfire season is dying down so it's gearing up for the next big holiday of the year, yes it's Tikal Day!
Tikal Day is something I've been celebrating for well over 10 years now (I can probebly work it out but can't be bothered right now.. At least since 2010.. so 13 years.. mm) and celebrates the release date of the first Computer game featuring Tikal because there is no way I can find out the date of the character first being created or first public showing etc.. So 23rd December, the release of Sonic Adventure (the original Japanese release, not the delayed bug-fixed Western release).
Why Am I talking about this? no clue. I do have a badge I designed a few years back for Tikal Day but haven't really done much with it.. either way, with over a month to go, I really need to get into gear to design and do a Tikal Day Picture. so far, not much idea.. I like to try to do something special but... soo many personal issues really which limit stuff.. I need to try to sort some of them issues out and I can kinda sort some, and do sort some.. but oh well..
no-one else that I know of seams to do anything for Tikal day but that's fine. But Tikal day is clearly the next big holiday and I'm gonna have to think hard for this.. what fun can she have this year?
Posted using PostyBirb
Tikal Day is something I've been celebrating for well over 10 years now (I can probebly work it out but can't be bothered right now.. At least since 2010.. so 13 years.. mm) and celebrates the release date of the first Computer game featuring Tikal because there is no way I can find out the date of the character first being created or first public showing etc.. So 23rd December, the release of Sonic Adventure (the original Japanese release, not the delayed bug-fixed Western release).
Why Am I talking about this? no clue. I do have a badge I designed a few years back for Tikal Day but haven't really done much with it.. either way, with over a month to go, I really need to get into gear to design and do a Tikal Day Picture. so far, not much idea.. I like to try to do something special but... soo many personal issues really which limit stuff.. I need to try to sort some of them issues out and I can kinda sort some, and do sort some.. but oh well..
no-one else that I know of seams to do anything for Tikal day but that's fine. But Tikal day is clearly the next big holiday and I'm gonna have to think hard for this.. what fun can she have this year?
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Mystic man from afar?
General | Posted a year agoIn 1987, the Victorian era American Mid-west came to space with Bravestarr, the story of a Galactic Marshal keeping peace on the planet of New Texas after the rare mineral Kerium was found in great supply (a parody of the gold rushes). The show was a mix of space opera, Victorian north American Mid-west cowboy action and some magic thrown in.
for.. some odd reason, the feature film which was, instead of a prequel, the set up of the whole series, did not reach cinemas until AFTER the series had finished it's original 65 episode run. Which does create alot of unanswered questions in the show, some of which are okay as just missing backstory (like how Bravestarr got his abilities, arrived on the planet, met Thirty-thirty, relationships of natives etc.. but some are kinda major.. Like Tex Hex, the main villain, was kinda created by the main villain Stampede, who doesn't appear much in the series at all. In fact, he is only in a hand full of episodes and commented on in a few more. In the original feature film, It is Stampede who takes the dying Tex and transforms him and gives up alot of power. Of course, the Film does also create it's own problem.. At the end, Stampede and Tex appear defeated and gone.. the first episode of the series which flashes back to PART of the film and kinda directly follows on, Tex is said to be around and stuff.. Kinda like the film was meant to have a bit about how they were only defeated 'For now' but that's not the impression given..
anyway, I wanna talk about something which I think is a HUGE mistake in the intro theme and most peoples understanding. In the Film, it is shown that Bravestarr and Shaman's people, who are like some 'native American' tribes, live on a planet where they invented a huge power source. The evil and magical Stampede launched and attack against them to get it. After a long battle, Shaman's tribe had to leave the planet but as Stampede gained the power he wanted, It wiped out all of Stampede's own race's, the Broncosaurs, turning them into bones, and wiped out all the tribe (which were never named) apart from the one ship, which was carrying the Shaman and the child Bravestarr. After traveling through space for some time, they came across New Texas where Stampede was. Shaman knew Stampede's evil must be kept in line and defeated in the end, and that Bravestarr was the Hero to do it, As he went to crash his ship on the planet, covering it in stone to hopefully protect it (which became Starr Mountain), he sent Bravestarr off in a ship to be found by the Galatic marshals, where they trained him. He was given powers but until he found the Shaman again, he was unable to control or fully use them..
Now, on New Texas, alot of the badlands are covered with Broncosaurs bones, which Stampede is able to bring to life a couple of times (mostly only in the film, but with minor times in the series).. even the planet itself appears to look just like the tribes planet.. I don't quite see how it works but.. I think they tribe is FROM New Texas (which was originally meant to be called New Cheyenne, but the producers felt New Texas would be a more known name.. the name of New Cheyenne does later appear in the show).
In fact, alot of the damage on New Texas's badlands where Stampede's base is, looks like the damage created when Stampede gained all the power (which he appeared to have alot of power before but gained more).
However, this doesn't quite make sense with the native prairie people, how Shaman travelled from his home planet TO new Texas (though Bravestarr was in some form of suspended animation) and how the Shaman didn't seam to know the planet or that Stampede was there until he 'sensed the evil'..
In the episode 'Legend of a Pretty Lady', Judge J.B goes back in time about 1 million years, which she worked out by the fact of Living Brontosaurs, and the Shaman believes that date as well and sends him back in time. Though it's probebly longer as the Judge says there haven't been Living brontosaurs on New Texas for that long. However, this might in fact work to explain the shaman's traveling.. Were they traveling for over a million years? Bravestarr was in suspended animation and the Shaman's age is very unknown due to his 'magic powers' (He was shown as having black hair with the odd bits of grey in Bravestarr's childhood and the same at the start of the movie, which turned Grey fully after crashing onto New Texas. The water and some more plants also hint make it look even more like the planet Shaman and Bravestarr came from (though it's worth pointing out, in a couple of episodes it was shown the two had travelled to other planets at some point. (interesting side note is that the episode Legend of a Pretty Lady also is a nice call back to the Movie. In it, When J.B. meets the paerie people and is the first human nice to them, they give her her Hammer, and a outfit she then wears which is more designed for the Desert, making a comment about the Hammer being used in a legend of their people of a great lady of Justice. As she goes back in time to help the more primitive while wearing her outfit and using her hammer, it appear this person WAS her all along. Though you could argue that she didn't really do enough to make for the legend, but that's how Legends work and a million years is a very long time, also they couldn't really have the same hammer cause she didn't leave it behind.. but oh well)
So I think there is alot of pros and cons for the idea.. I think there are MORE Pros then cons though and in the end of the day, It was a kids cartoon designed to be entertaining so the kids would buy the toys.. well, not quite.. it was MOSTLY that.. and of course, can't always use what you see as 100% proof.. the movie has the odd animation mistake as most things do as well as other mistakes like when Hex's gang is being hired, they point out each of the special skills of the people, but many of these don't appear at all later on (probebly too powerful), the intro reuses alot of footage created for the movie (and some of the episodes too), a couple of bits are used twice, including the bit of Fuzz being caught by Tex.. problem is, Fuzz has his star.. he doesn't gain that till right at the END of the movie so when it appears it's a huge mistake,
End of the day, doesn't really matter but I think people should think more about Bravestarr's planet of origin really being New Texas, if they think about it at all.
Posted using PostyBirb
for.. some odd reason, the feature film which was, instead of a prequel, the set up of the whole series, did not reach cinemas until AFTER the series had finished it's original 65 episode run. Which does create alot of unanswered questions in the show, some of which are okay as just missing backstory (like how Bravestarr got his abilities, arrived on the planet, met Thirty-thirty, relationships of natives etc.. but some are kinda major.. Like Tex Hex, the main villain, was kinda created by the main villain Stampede, who doesn't appear much in the series at all. In fact, he is only in a hand full of episodes and commented on in a few more. In the original feature film, It is Stampede who takes the dying Tex and transforms him and gives up alot of power. Of course, the Film does also create it's own problem.. At the end, Stampede and Tex appear defeated and gone.. the first episode of the series which flashes back to PART of the film and kinda directly follows on, Tex is said to be around and stuff.. Kinda like the film was meant to have a bit about how they were only defeated 'For now' but that's not the impression given..
anyway, I wanna talk about something which I think is a HUGE mistake in the intro theme and most peoples understanding. In the Film, it is shown that Bravestarr and Shaman's people, who are like some 'native American' tribes, live on a planet where they invented a huge power source. The evil and magical Stampede launched and attack against them to get it. After a long battle, Shaman's tribe had to leave the planet but as Stampede gained the power he wanted, It wiped out all of Stampede's own race's, the Broncosaurs, turning them into bones, and wiped out all the tribe (which were never named) apart from the one ship, which was carrying the Shaman and the child Bravestarr. After traveling through space for some time, they came across New Texas where Stampede was. Shaman knew Stampede's evil must be kept in line and defeated in the end, and that Bravestarr was the Hero to do it, As he went to crash his ship on the planet, covering it in stone to hopefully protect it (which became Starr Mountain), he sent Bravestarr off in a ship to be found by the Galatic marshals, where they trained him. He was given powers but until he found the Shaman again, he was unable to control or fully use them..
Now, on New Texas, alot of the badlands are covered with Broncosaurs bones, which Stampede is able to bring to life a couple of times (mostly only in the film, but with minor times in the series).. even the planet itself appears to look just like the tribes planet.. I don't quite see how it works but.. I think they tribe is FROM New Texas (which was originally meant to be called New Cheyenne, but the producers felt New Texas would be a more known name.. the name of New Cheyenne does later appear in the show).
In fact, alot of the damage on New Texas's badlands where Stampede's base is, looks like the damage created when Stampede gained all the power (which he appeared to have alot of power before but gained more).
However, this doesn't quite make sense with the native prairie people, how Shaman travelled from his home planet TO new Texas (though Bravestarr was in some form of suspended animation) and how the Shaman didn't seam to know the planet or that Stampede was there until he 'sensed the evil'..
In the episode 'Legend of a Pretty Lady', Judge J.B goes back in time about 1 million years, which she worked out by the fact of Living Brontosaurs, and the Shaman believes that date as well and sends him back in time. Though it's probebly longer as the Judge says there haven't been Living brontosaurs on New Texas for that long. However, this might in fact work to explain the shaman's traveling.. Were they traveling for over a million years? Bravestarr was in suspended animation and the Shaman's age is very unknown due to his 'magic powers' (He was shown as having black hair with the odd bits of grey in Bravestarr's childhood and the same at the start of the movie, which turned Grey fully after crashing onto New Texas. The water and some more plants also hint make it look even more like the planet Shaman and Bravestarr came from (though it's worth pointing out, in a couple of episodes it was shown the two had travelled to other planets at some point. (interesting side note is that the episode Legend of a Pretty Lady also is a nice call back to the Movie. In it, When J.B. meets the paerie people and is the first human nice to them, they give her her Hammer, and a outfit she then wears which is more designed for the Desert, making a comment about the Hammer being used in a legend of their people of a great lady of Justice. As she goes back in time to help the more primitive while wearing her outfit and using her hammer, it appear this person WAS her all along. Though you could argue that she didn't really do enough to make for the legend, but that's how Legends work and a million years is a very long time, also they couldn't really have the same hammer cause she didn't leave it behind.. but oh well)
So I think there is alot of pros and cons for the idea.. I think there are MORE Pros then cons though and in the end of the day, It was a kids cartoon designed to be entertaining so the kids would buy the toys.. well, not quite.. it was MOSTLY that.. and of course, can't always use what you see as 100% proof.. the movie has the odd animation mistake as most things do as well as other mistakes like when Hex's gang is being hired, they point out each of the special skills of the people, but many of these don't appear at all later on (probebly too powerful), the intro reuses alot of footage created for the movie (and some of the episodes too), a couple of bits are used twice, including the bit of Fuzz being caught by Tex.. problem is, Fuzz has his star.. he doesn't gain that till right at the END of the movie so when it appears it's a huge mistake,
End of the day, doesn't really matter but I think people should think more about Bravestarr's planet of origin really being New Texas, if they think about it at all.
Posted using PostyBirb
R?MJ.. where is the rest?
General | Posted a year agoNot long ago, some people finally released an English patch for the Japanese FMV horror game 'R?MJ: The Mystery Hospital'.. the playstation version (I believe the Saturn one is being translated too).
Finally got around to playing it.. my reaction is 'Where is the rest of the game?'.
Now, I'm not new to FMV games. They are often shorter then many other games of the type because they waste alot of space on the FMV which is sometimes an okay thing, often the games couldn't render the level of detail and action required, but this game kinda.. doesn't have alot in FMV's which couldn't have been handled in-game. In fact, it being an FMV might be a big set back in what they were trying to do with the game because it limits soo much. Games like phantasmagoria was able to balance the FMV and game elements pretty well, and so did the sequel phantasmagoria 2 (though this was very more FMV heavy). It is slightly a bad game to compare it to as phantasmagoria was a PC game which was ported to the Saturn and took 8 Discs for the Saturn, compared to R?MJ which only took 2 discs for the PS release and I believe the same for the Saturn.
However, R?MJ really wastes the FMV content. There is pretty long intro which really goes on TOO long and appears to show clips from throughout the game.. however, most of these do NOT feature in the game. they appear to be exclusive for the intro.. this include shots which set up the game as well as various pieces throughout the game.
So, after seeing the intro, and (before it) having a brief of each character with 'cryptic hints' which range from pointless to kinda giving away parts of the game, you are told that the game only has autosave. Fair enough. This was often done for one of two reasons in the past and in this case it's to help give a 'cinematic style' to the game. okay.. I'm fine with that.. It's autosaving isn't too far apart from each other point so if you screw up, you haven't lost a huge amount of progress. But when you start the game, you get the first sign of something not being right..
Basically, you are presented with a series of still images explaining the back story, why you are in the hospital, and what traps you there. stuff which they HAD video for, cause alot of it was in the intro, but now it comes time to take place, it's just static images and text.. yeah.. that goes against the cinematic feel.. That intro was clearly 'clips' more then that BEING the backstory (I have seen and played games where the intro is the prologue to the game but this intro clearly wasn't).
Nothing really explains why there appears to be only you 4 (and later you find a 5th) in the hospital.. while you are limited in areas to visit, the hospital is also... pretty damn small.. taking into account what you see in game, the doors you can't use and the maps and external images, My primary school was fairly small.. Pretty sure it was WAY bigger then this hospital. After all these years, I can still map the place out pretty well (It's since been heavily refitted and some nice things have been taken away.. shame.. Don't have too much good to say about secondary school but do for Primary school.. like not as much out right lying to me).
Anyway. the basic story? Three friends, Hajime, Tomowo and Ryo have kinda drifted apart. Ryo is then in an accident which seams suspicious (I'll call this Plot point 1.. Keep track, I'll review them later) and rushed to the S.T.G. Hospital. The two friends hurry there to find out it was pretty much just a bruised knee.. When there, with Nurse Aya, who was looking after Ryo, there is a huge explosion which wrecks.. well, part of Level 2 and that's it, but all he safety shutters come down trapping them inside. Oh and it seams there are strange paintings around the place which deal with the Asmos Legend (PP2).
After exploring a bit (and a pretty stupid 'random' scene which gives you two paths which you are randomly picked which one you go to and only lasts a short time and then the rest of the game is the same... so very pointless) you find (or more she finds you) a girl called Misato who is another patient and set up a bit to be a love interest for Tomowo but via a 'we fight but really care' but also set up as a mysterious girl.. (PP3). We also find out someone is jamming the computer controls and watching via security cameras (PP4). Oh and Ryo acts weird (PP5) but they kinda say that is part of his character..
Part of the gameplay over then moving around and the odd interaction, is using the '5 senses' button.. basically this is meant to be a way to interact but it's pretty pointless. a Character will say "Did I hear something?' or "What's that smell?" and you press the button for some bit of information, mostly this is of no real use, not even in story building. There is also a thing where there are 4 (techinally 5) different viruses running loose in the hospital and you get a fancy watch which points out the virus levels in the area you are in. I don't know if I was just super good at this game but.. it never came into play.. Didn't hang around in areas too long (hell, if you spend more then a 10 seconds a character slowed you down by telling you to move). There are basically no enemies so nothing that could infect you or slow you down or anything.. and while you can get some disinfection.. I didn't figure out a use cause, like I said, didn't seam to have any issue with the infection system, the only points where there was something to do with infection very much appeared to be story based and checking online, yep.. story only.. this reminds me of the problem (and reason I haven't played it) with 'The Thing' computer game.. they wanted to make a great infection system so you didn't know if your allies were infected and about to attack you, or fine.. but since different ones had scripted transformation scenes for the story, you could test them to see they were fine and a second later, they aren't ¬_¬)
There are the odd bit of story as you explore but very little. then bits of it jump out as stuff you should know.. okay, very spoliery here but of course, you pretty easily find a hidden lab where some viruses are being worked on.. Aya thinks it's weird but since some stuff you have says they are working on cures to the various viruses, it's no very odd.. no staff though, that's odd.. and I seams only two patients (Ryo and Misato) who don't appear to have much wrong with them.. then then you get split from your group and they get infected! yay, a real puzzle! you have a limited time to get some virus and anti-viruses (probebly could get away with just anti-viruses since apart from an optional bit, no use for the viruses), checking some information on what each virus does, get back to your friends and then cure them by using the right anti-virus.. And now swap to disc 2 cause despite very little being done, due to being overly FMV heavy, you are half way through the game.
We then find more labs and some ancient culture stuff.. his is back to Plot point.. Aya appears to know some stuff about the Asmos legends but.. not a huge amount.. then we find out guy who has been watching you (which is plot point 4) is he director who has trapped you 5 here because of the Asmos legends. which are.. erm.. Ancient Culture of superhumans who were immune to everything..
He found a mummy of one, and cloned one to create both your friend Ryo and a clone of Ryo who has been the guy with you and acting a bit weird all through the game.. The Director, which his Japanese native English speaking assistant stick you all in tubes, infect you with some virus which was with the Mummy, cause.. only one of you carries he immune antibodies, saying you are desedant of the ancient race (but he doesn't know which one, despite luring you here and doing tests on thousands of people via this 'fake' hospital front.. Why the Hospital? cause he runs a .. well, seams to be that he wants to get rich via getting the antibodies and selling them to make everyone immune to everything.. Oh and kill anyone he doesn't like so the world is taken over by a race of new super humans who have the anti-bodies.. He can't quite make up his mind here.. While injecting you with a new virus found in a mummy, which is meant to be from this anti-race.. or maybe not cause it had a bunch of viruses and Ryo was cloned from it and yet doesn't have the anti-bodies and turns you into a bobby monster he finds that you, the player character, automatically is cured.. thus you have he anti-bodies.. He also comments about Misato not being one of the ones he is looking for.
He takes the antibodies, your friend Ryo's monster form starts to get free and attack people, but he is taken out while the director buggers off.. You then get some copies of the antibodies and read something about the anti-virus to the flu not working cause the new flu strain has mutated.. sometime very briefty commented on in a hospital notice board but minor. (though I guess PP 6), inject Aya to save her and have to go find the other three..
But before you can, you and Aya and sent to some ancient ruins which share the same (though much smaller) layout as the hospital.. in there are two monsters.. you are told one is Ryo and one is the Ryo clone who is really the ultimate life form.. The director then says can you inject the right one to save your friend, or will you unleash the new master race?.. pass.. when I injected who I through was Ryo, it appeared to be him but outside, the Director still rants that He was the Master Race guy.. then his friend shots him and buggers off.. (PP7) then.. you go into some tunnel with a train, Ryo fights with Meant to be English native guy who isn't, you find Misato and Tomowo, inject and cure them. Then go back to find Ryo has been defeated by weird guy.. but then some mutant guy turns up, I think meant to be the master race guy attacks weird guy and defeats him.. then attacks Tomowo and I guess kills him cause.. the others just decide to abandon your friend.. and jump on the train to escape.. then a giant rock appears and seams to flatten Tomowo (who I'll point out is still wearing his hat.. Call this PP8 cause.. you'll see), Master Race guy and I guess Weird Guy.. but it's gaining on the train! you use your skill to.. put on the accelerator.. Then check on the girls.. when the Master Race guy shows up from the back.. shoot him with a gun that was just randomly on the floor and.. he goes flying away.. he appears to heal and I thought he went back to attack you again but... Nope.. that's the last you see of him..
However, Misato has Tomowo's hat.. somehow.. and is upset by his death and in a flash of light, turns into Master Race Guy.. I though this was the same guy but.. nope.. new one.. Inject him with the Flu anti-virus (I guessed it was that because of the two notes earlier about the flu which hadn't come into play yet, and he/she turns into a messy puddle.. and you win.. Misato and Tomowo are dead but you have surrived!..
ehuh.. but as there was no real character progression or alot of background information given by some log files and stuff, it appears soo much of the game is missing.. There is also, like I said, very little of the hospital to explore and little real development of anything.
So.. Lets now go through the checklist of Plot points.
PP1 - The Accident which sent Ryo to the hospital.. Nothing is explained.. I can GUESS, it was created because Director wanted to lure you to the hospital.. and he replaced your friend with the clone.. but.. he created your friend in the first place? so you would think your friend was in on this whole thing from the start but nope.. Maybe when he said he created Ryo, he didn't.. he just created the clone from the Mummy.. who he found out was then able to shapeshift a bit? it's not really explained cause LACK OF STORY.. mostly focus on action to push the story along. so.. maybe dealt with.. hard to say.
PP2 - Asmos legend.. Okay, they KINDA make this the main thing but again, lack of details.. It appears the Asmos were an ancient race who were immune to everything, but somehow kinda died out, but you are a desendant of that race and it's find the Asmos ruins and a Mummy (found by the directors father) which sets everything off.. not a huge amount is really spent on this legend, even in one of the few documents in game. And most of the paintings on the walls which are meant to show ancient culture and stuff.. aren't really given any interaction points to give out story.. atleast not as far as I found out. So.. yeah, I guess that plot point was also dealt with.
PP3 - Misato.. a Mystery girl. Not really.. She is jus a patient in the hospital. In fact, the only OTHER one (other then Ryo). Apart from being a bit whiny, not much in her character is shown.. There is the comment that something is up with her during the injection scene, which I'm guessing is cause they didn't expect her to be in the hospital and might be a hint as to why she transformed later but.. not really too much is explained on that.. since they were doing thousands of tests to find the person they were looking for, you would have though they would have noticed she was also one of the master race guys... but it appears not.. so.. was the plot point about her deal with? ... maybe?
PP4 - the Director.. yep. that's clearly solved.. The director arranged for you to be in the hospital and was keeping an eye on you and testing etc.. 100% successful plot point!
PP5 - Damn.. looks like I skipped 5 somehow.. erm.. I'll use one I forgot then.. in the character intro thing before the intro, it sets up about your friend Tomowo, Is he infected already?.. well.. no clue.. at one point he claims he is infected but it's a joke, then he IS infected.. then he is cured.. then he is infected with something else, then he is cured, then he dies.. Boy, he is just the damsel in distress for most of this game..
PP6 - The Flu strain mutating and the anti-virus made no longer working.. No clue what they did with that apart from me thinking "Huh, they haven't done anything with this and shooting that last guy just gave him a hole he healed.. why not try this as it appears to be the end of the game".. so.. some reason, the flu anti-virus is able to melt Master Race guys!.. why? no clue.. no information on that.. the plot point isn't expanded on or anything.. complete fail on this
PP7 - Weird Meant to be English speaking native but clearly Japanese native guy was working for the director.. but then near the end turned on him and shot him, looking for drugs.. I guess the Drug in question is the antibodies which make the super race but.. picked a bad point kill the director and then... decides to make sure no-one escapes? if he just ran then, he would have gotten way with everything and got rich and stuff but nope.. No motive or anything is given but.. I guess just greedy guy..
PP8 - Minor point and his game has a number of things which didn't make sense but.. Tomowo is 'killed' with his hat on. He is no-where near anyone else.. the rest escape by running into the train.. not holding anything (Tomowo is being held by Master guy race).. Then somehow, Misato is holding Tomowo's hat when she is crying over his death! How? No clue.. At first I wondered where she got a large egg from but then figured out it was somehow his hat.. How it got there? no clue.. really a plot point? you would have though so as it was clearly shown to be with him and, here is something I didn't mention.. when the Master Race guy first turned up, he is red.. he graps onto either Weird guy or Tomowo and shown to absobe something which turns him blue.. So maybe there is an infection on the hat which then leads to the huge flash as Misato transforms? but no.. cause she is blue (which is another reason why I though it was the other master race guy first) and there is NO WAY the Hat could have gotten from Tomowo to Misato.. and no-one comments on it being odd or anything..
There is a potential for this story and this game if.. 1) they added some thing more in the way of a game. There is very little outside of moving around collecting the odd item (there is a very small list of items in the game) and using them, with about 2 puzzles (getting and sorting out the anti-virus in a time limit, and a sliding puzzle that there is a time limit for). 2) Documents! Stick a bunch of documents into the game to give background information and well, I don't expect EVERYTHING to be explained but come on.. set up some foreshadowing a bit more, give hints and bits of information more on the Asmos legend and things not being right with the hospital which makes sense when you find out its mostly a front.. One of the things when they made Resident Evil was to add documents in order to do this.. It worked. Games like the Great Thief series has story told greatly via a mix of overheard conversations and documents. It works.. this games has very little so very little story comes out.
Also.. the game keeps coming up 'No Fear'.. I have no bloody clue why..
Is the game terrible? no.. not by a long shot.. but it is SUCH a missed opportunity game which just a few extra bits of work would have made it much better.. Oh and it uses motion capture.. which even today.. Don't bother with.. seriously, while with todays tech there are times it CAN be used to work well... It mostly doesn't.. It looks horrible.
The translation team did a good job but I get the feeling.. either not a native English speaker or a USAer.. cause a couple of lines really don't flow as native English and USA English is just the same as bad English so you get that issue with stuff like that, more so when they are doing translations on an amateur level. But good enough work so congrats on that.
Oh and the title? the "R?MJ"? ... no clue.. MJ is the name given to one of the ancient races but.. hat's about it..
Posted using PostyBirb
Finally got around to playing it.. my reaction is 'Where is the rest of the game?'.
Now, I'm not new to FMV games. They are often shorter then many other games of the type because they waste alot of space on the FMV which is sometimes an okay thing, often the games couldn't render the level of detail and action required, but this game kinda.. doesn't have alot in FMV's which couldn't have been handled in-game. In fact, it being an FMV might be a big set back in what they were trying to do with the game because it limits soo much. Games like phantasmagoria was able to balance the FMV and game elements pretty well, and so did the sequel phantasmagoria 2 (though this was very more FMV heavy). It is slightly a bad game to compare it to as phantasmagoria was a PC game which was ported to the Saturn and took 8 Discs for the Saturn, compared to R?MJ which only took 2 discs for the PS release and I believe the same for the Saturn.
However, R?MJ really wastes the FMV content. There is pretty long intro which really goes on TOO long and appears to show clips from throughout the game.. however, most of these do NOT feature in the game. they appear to be exclusive for the intro.. this include shots which set up the game as well as various pieces throughout the game.
So, after seeing the intro, and (before it) having a brief of each character with 'cryptic hints' which range from pointless to kinda giving away parts of the game, you are told that the game only has autosave. Fair enough. This was often done for one of two reasons in the past and in this case it's to help give a 'cinematic style' to the game. okay.. I'm fine with that.. It's autosaving isn't too far apart from each other point so if you screw up, you haven't lost a huge amount of progress. But when you start the game, you get the first sign of something not being right..
Basically, you are presented with a series of still images explaining the back story, why you are in the hospital, and what traps you there. stuff which they HAD video for, cause alot of it was in the intro, but now it comes time to take place, it's just static images and text.. yeah.. that goes against the cinematic feel.. That intro was clearly 'clips' more then that BEING the backstory (I have seen and played games where the intro is the prologue to the game but this intro clearly wasn't).
Nothing really explains why there appears to be only you 4 (and later you find a 5th) in the hospital.. while you are limited in areas to visit, the hospital is also... pretty damn small.. taking into account what you see in game, the doors you can't use and the maps and external images, My primary school was fairly small.. Pretty sure it was WAY bigger then this hospital. After all these years, I can still map the place out pretty well (It's since been heavily refitted and some nice things have been taken away.. shame.. Don't have too much good to say about secondary school but do for Primary school.. like not as much out right lying to me).
Anyway. the basic story? Three friends, Hajime, Tomowo and Ryo have kinda drifted apart. Ryo is then in an accident which seams suspicious (I'll call this Plot point 1.. Keep track, I'll review them later) and rushed to the S.T.G. Hospital. The two friends hurry there to find out it was pretty much just a bruised knee.. When there, with Nurse Aya, who was looking after Ryo, there is a huge explosion which wrecks.. well, part of Level 2 and that's it, but all he safety shutters come down trapping them inside. Oh and it seams there are strange paintings around the place which deal with the Asmos Legend (PP2).
After exploring a bit (and a pretty stupid 'random' scene which gives you two paths which you are randomly picked which one you go to and only lasts a short time and then the rest of the game is the same... so very pointless) you find (or more she finds you) a girl called Misato who is another patient and set up a bit to be a love interest for Tomowo but via a 'we fight but really care' but also set up as a mysterious girl.. (PP3). We also find out someone is jamming the computer controls and watching via security cameras (PP4). Oh and Ryo acts weird (PP5) but they kinda say that is part of his character..
Part of the gameplay over then moving around and the odd interaction, is using the '5 senses' button.. basically this is meant to be a way to interact but it's pretty pointless. a Character will say "Did I hear something?' or "What's that smell?" and you press the button for some bit of information, mostly this is of no real use, not even in story building. There is also a thing where there are 4 (techinally 5) different viruses running loose in the hospital and you get a fancy watch which points out the virus levels in the area you are in. I don't know if I was just super good at this game but.. it never came into play.. Didn't hang around in areas too long (hell, if you spend more then a 10 seconds a character slowed you down by telling you to move). There are basically no enemies so nothing that could infect you or slow you down or anything.. and while you can get some disinfection.. I didn't figure out a use cause, like I said, didn't seam to have any issue with the infection system, the only points where there was something to do with infection very much appeared to be story based and checking online, yep.. story only.. this reminds me of the problem (and reason I haven't played it) with 'The Thing' computer game.. they wanted to make a great infection system so you didn't know if your allies were infected and about to attack you, or fine.. but since different ones had scripted transformation scenes for the story, you could test them to see they were fine and a second later, they aren't ¬_¬)
There are the odd bit of story as you explore but very little. then bits of it jump out as stuff you should know.. okay, very spoliery here but of course, you pretty easily find a hidden lab where some viruses are being worked on.. Aya thinks it's weird but since some stuff you have says they are working on cures to the various viruses, it's no very odd.. no staff though, that's odd.. and I seams only two patients (Ryo and Misato) who don't appear to have much wrong with them.. then then you get split from your group and they get infected! yay, a real puzzle! you have a limited time to get some virus and anti-viruses (probebly could get away with just anti-viruses since apart from an optional bit, no use for the viruses), checking some information on what each virus does, get back to your friends and then cure them by using the right anti-virus.. And now swap to disc 2 cause despite very little being done, due to being overly FMV heavy, you are half way through the game.
We then find more labs and some ancient culture stuff.. his is back to Plot point.. Aya appears to know some stuff about the Asmos legends but.. not a huge amount.. then we find out guy who has been watching you (which is plot point 4) is he director who has trapped you 5 here because of the Asmos legends. which are.. erm.. Ancient Culture of superhumans who were immune to everything..
He found a mummy of one, and cloned one to create both your friend Ryo and a clone of Ryo who has been the guy with you and acting a bit weird all through the game.. The Director, which his Japanese native English speaking assistant stick you all in tubes, infect you with some virus which was with the Mummy, cause.. only one of you carries he immune antibodies, saying you are desedant of the ancient race (but he doesn't know which one, despite luring you here and doing tests on thousands of people via this 'fake' hospital front.. Why the Hospital? cause he runs a .. well, seams to be that he wants to get rich via getting the antibodies and selling them to make everyone immune to everything.. Oh and kill anyone he doesn't like so the world is taken over by a race of new super humans who have the anti-bodies.. He can't quite make up his mind here.. While injecting you with a new virus found in a mummy, which is meant to be from this anti-race.. or maybe not cause it had a bunch of viruses and Ryo was cloned from it and yet doesn't have the anti-bodies and turns you into a bobby monster he finds that you, the player character, automatically is cured.. thus you have he anti-bodies.. He also comments about Misato not being one of the ones he is looking for.
He takes the antibodies, your friend Ryo's monster form starts to get free and attack people, but he is taken out while the director buggers off.. You then get some copies of the antibodies and read something about the anti-virus to the flu not working cause the new flu strain has mutated.. sometime very briefty commented on in a hospital notice board but minor. (though I guess PP 6), inject Aya to save her and have to go find the other three..
But before you can, you and Aya and sent to some ancient ruins which share the same (though much smaller) layout as the hospital.. in there are two monsters.. you are told one is Ryo and one is the Ryo clone who is really the ultimate life form.. The director then says can you inject the right one to save your friend, or will you unleash the new master race?.. pass.. when I injected who I through was Ryo, it appeared to be him but outside, the Director still rants that He was the Master Race guy.. then his friend shots him and buggers off.. (PP7) then.. you go into some tunnel with a train, Ryo fights with Meant to be English native guy who isn't, you find Misato and Tomowo, inject and cure them. Then go back to find Ryo has been defeated by weird guy.. but then some mutant guy turns up, I think meant to be the master race guy attacks weird guy and defeats him.. then attacks Tomowo and I guess kills him cause.. the others just decide to abandon your friend.. and jump on the train to escape.. then a giant rock appears and seams to flatten Tomowo (who I'll point out is still wearing his hat.. Call this PP8 cause.. you'll see), Master Race guy and I guess Weird Guy.. but it's gaining on the train! you use your skill to.. put on the accelerator.. Then check on the girls.. when the Master Race guy shows up from the back.. shoot him with a gun that was just randomly on the floor and.. he goes flying away.. he appears to heal and I thought he went back to attack you again but... Nope.. that's the last you see of him..
However, Misato has Tomowo's hat.. somehow.. and is upset by his death and in a flash of light, turns into Master Race Guy.. I though this was the same guy but.. nope.. new one.. Inject him with the Flu anti-virus (I guessed it was that because of the two notes earlier about the flu which hadn't come into play yet, and he/she turns into a messy puddle.. and you win.. Misato and Tomowo are dead but you have surrived!..
ehuh.. but as there was no real character progression or alot of background information given by some log files and stuff, it appears soo much of the game is missing.. There is also, like I said, very little of the hospital to explore and little real development of anything.
So.. Lets now go through the checklist of Plot points.
PP1 - The Accident which sent Ryo to the hospital.. Nothing is explained.. I can GUESS, it was created because Director wanted to lure you to the hospital.. and he replaced your friend with the clone.. but.. he created your friend in the first place? so you would think your friend was in on this whole thing from the start but nope.. Maybe when he said he created Ryo, he didn't.. he just created the clone from the Mummy.. who he found out was then able to shapeshift a bit? it's not really explained cause LACK OF STORY.. mostly focus on action to push the story along. so.. maybe dealt with.. hard to say.
PP2 - Asmos legend.. Okay, they KINDA make this the main thing but again, lack of details.. It appears the Asmos were an ancient race who were immune to everything, but somehow kinda died out, but you are a desendant of that race and it's find the Asmos ruins and a Mummy (found by the directors father) which sets everything off.. not a huge amount is really spent on this legend, even in one of the few documents in game. And most of the paintings on the walls which are meant to show ancient culture and stuff.. aren't really given any interaction points to give out story.. atleast not as far as I found out. So.. yeah, I guess that plot point was also dealt with.
PP3 - Misato.. a Mystery girl. Not really.. She is jus a patient in the hospital. In fact, the only OTHER one (other then Ryo). Apart from being a bit whiny, not much in her character is shown.. There is the comment that something is up with her during the injection scene, which I'm guessing is cause they didn't expect her to be in the hospital and might be a hint as to why she transformed later but.. not really too much is explained on that.. since they were doing thousands of tests to find the person they were looking for, you would have though they would have noticed she was also one of the master race guys... but it appears not.. so.. was the plot point about her deal with? ... maybe?
PP4 - the Director.. yep. that's clearly solved.. The director arranged for you to be in the hospital and was keeping an eye on you and testing etc.. 100% successful plot point!
PP5 - Damn.. looks like I skipped 5 somehow.. erm.. I'll use one I forgot then.. in the character intro thing before the intro, it sets up about your friend Tomowo, Is he infected already?.. well.. no clue.. at one point he claims he is infected but it's a joke, then he IS infected.. then he is cured.. then he is infected with something else, then he is cured, then he dies.. Boy, he is just the damsel in distress for most of this game..
PP6 - The Flu strain mutating and the anti-virus made no longer working.. No clue what they did with that apart from me thinking "Huh, they haven't done anything with this and shooting that last guy just gave him a hole he healed.. why not try this as it appears to be the end of the game".. so.. some reason, the flu anti-virus is able to melt Master Race guys!.. why? no clue.. no information on that.. the plot point isn't expanded on or anything.. complete fail on this
PP7 - Weird Meant to be English speaking native but clearly Japanese native guy was working for the director.. but then near the end turned on him and shot him, looking for drugs.. I guess the Drug in question is the antibodies which make the super race but.. picked a bad point kill the director and then... decides to make sure no-one escapes? if he just ran then, he would have gotten way with everything and got rich and stuff but nope.. No motive or anything is given but.. I guess just greedy guy..
PP8 - Minor point and his game has a number of things which didn't make sense but.. Tomowo is 'killed' with his hat on. He is no-where near anyone else.. the rest escape by running into the train.. not holding anything (Tomowo is being held by Master guy race).. Then somehow, Misato is holding Tomowo's hat when she is crying over his death! How? No clue.. At first I wondered where she got a large egg from but then figured out it was somehow his hat.. How it got there? no clue.. really a plot point? you would have though so as it was clearly shown to be with him and, here is something I didn't mention.. when the Master Race guy first turned up, he is red.. he graps onto either Weird guy or Tomowo and shown to absobe something which turns him blue.. So maybe there is an infection on the hat which then leads to the huge flash as Misato transforms? but no.. cause she is blue (which is another reason why I though it was the other master race guy first) and there is NO WAY the Hat could have gotten from Tomowo to Misato.. and no-one comments on it being odd or anything..
There is a potential for this story and this game if.. 1) they added some thing more in the way of a game. There is very little outside of moving around collecting the odd item (there is a very small list of items in the game) and using them, with about 2 puzzles (getting and sorting out the anti-virus in a time limit, and a sliding puzzle that there is a time limit for). 2) Documents! Stick a bunch of documents into the game to give background information and well, I don't expect EVERYTHING to be explained but come on.. set up some foreshadowing a bit more, give hints and bits of information more on the Asmos legend and things not being right with the hospital which makes sense when you find out its mostly a front.. One of the things when they made Resident Evil was to add documents in order to do this.. It worked. Games like the Great Thief series has story told greatly via a mix of overheard conversations and documents. It works.. this games has very little so very little story comes out.
Also.. the game keeps coming up 'No Fear'.. I have no bloody clue why..
Is the game terrible? no.. not by a long shot.. but it is SUCH a missed opportunity game which just a few extra bits of work would have made it much better.. Oh and it uses motion capture.. which even today.. Don't bother with.. seriously, while with todays tech there are times it CAN be used to work well... It mostly doesn't.. It looks horrible.
The translation team did a good job but I get the feeling.. either not a native English speaker or a USAer.. cause a couple of lines really don't flow as native English and USA English is just the same as bad English so you get that issue with stuff like that, more so when they are doing translations on an amateur level. But good enough work so congrats on that.
Oh and the title? the "R?MJ"? ... no clue.. MJ is the name given to one of the ancient races but.. hat's about it..
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Quack! It deserved better.. Quack!
General | Posted a year agoin 1984, an USA sitcom 'The Duck Factory' first aired.. It was treated very poorly and it deserved better. But lets work out what it is and what happened.
The show was created by Allan Burns and Herbert Klynn. It was about a small time animation studio in Hollywood and the work and lives of people who worked there.
Now.. Burns and Klynn weren't new hands. Allan Burns broke into TV working for Jay Ward and his animation studio, where he worked on both writing and animating The Rocky and Bullwinkle show, Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle and creating Cap'n Crunch (the character) for Quaker Oats. After doing this work in animation, he teamed up with Chris Hayward and created The Munsters, and My Mother the Car. He also worked on Get Smart, The Smothers Brothers Show (unaired pilot) before creating the Mary Tyler Moore Show, which led to spin-offs Lou Grant and Rhoda.
Herbert Klynn, meanwhile, started as an animator for UPA who ended up being the Vice President. He worked on Mr. Magoo, Gerald McBoing-Boing and the 1952 Madeline. He then founded Format Films who did the Alvin Show, The lone Ranger (cartoon) as well as working for Warner Brothers with some Road Runner, Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales cartoons. He also worked on the animated intros for shows like I Spy and Hee Haw as well as working with Dr. Seuss and Ray Bradbury.
This gave them both great experince in the animation field and good people to come up with and work on such a sitcom idea.
In his first led roll, Jim Carrey (Before he started to go overboard on the high energy out of control style which worked for people like Robbin Williams but I personally never felt really worked with him, as Skip Tarkenton. A young cartoonist who got an invite by animation producer Buddy Winkler to work for him. However, the moment he gets there, he ends up helping as one of Bubby's pull barers as he has recently died. This creates problems for the studio and through various things, he ends up helping them out when they all look to him for his youthful optimising to help them out and keep there studio, nicknamed the Duck Factory, and there main show 'The Dippy Duck Show' going. Along with Skip, there is the Business manager Aggie Aylesworth (Julie Payne) who is always looking to save what money they can, Old hand and long time animator (who then works as director, Brooks Carmichael (Jack Gilford), Storyboard Artist Roland Culp (Clarence Gilyard Jr), Film editor Andrea Lewin (Nancy Lane), Scriptwriter Marty Fenneman (Jay Tarses, who mostly worked as a comedy writer anyway) and Voice actor Wally Wooster (Don Messick, in his only live-action role). On top of it all is Buddy's 3 week widow Sheree Winkler (Teresa Ganzel) who is pretty dumb and naive but well meaning (she met Buddy while working as a topless Ice dancer.. who couldn't really ice dance). The show had some great guest stars and worked pretty well about a very small time studio, with the odd piece of animation showing Dippy Duck.
It even won 2 awards. What went wrong? well, I'm not up on USA tv seasons but starting mid-april seams like a Mid-season show, which is why it had 13 episodes instead of atleast 26 - 40. And it's airing was butchered.. First it was aired on Thursday nights directly after Cheers, before being moved to Wednesdays. The first episode which introduces the characters ends on a cliffhanger.. Can Skip come up with an idea to save the studio and Dippy Duck or not? this was carried on in Episode 2.. which they aired as Episode 13.. After a few months working on the show, Mrs Winkler notices Buddy is still created as producer and they think about a new person for the role, which is taken over by Skip (much to his and the others displeasure), even though he was starting to grow into the role and developed even more as the show went.. well.. this episode was aired as number 2.. so episodes where he isn't producer was aired afterwards.. At first, they each take time as the receptionist because Aggie won't hire one due to the money. In the end, Mrs Winkler decides she wants to help more and as she can't do anything else, she works as the recepionist for free. But this aired BEFORE episodes where they are still timesharing the role. In one episode, Wally has a problem as his doctor has said due to throat issues, he can no longer do Female roles. So they need a female VA.. this is refenced in some later episodes but as they are aired all out of order, he has on-and-off again throat problems.
while it isn't a highly serial based sitcom, there is character development and relationship and that fact that only 1 episode was aired as intended (I'm not 100% sure where one of the episodes is meant to be cause while it's production order puts it in one place, it might be a case of produced out of order (as does happens) cause there are the odd comments which makes it appear to be set a bit later.
Doing this, people can't really get to care about the characters and see how they evolve and grow and it appears like the writers are just crap. No so as there are many good writers on the show (US shows, unlike UK ones, often have a bunch of different writers and while only 1 or 2 credited per episode, often a whole group works on writing the scripts more then just one or two people). Ratings weren't too bad either.. but NBC just butched the show with it's airing and I think putting it on at 9:30 at night was a bit too late for it. Going via UK times, it's more of a 7:30-8 show. Okay for the family but some bits geared to more adult group.
So after it wasn't renewed for a new series.. what happened? bugger all. Some episode were released in the USA on VHS (which appears to be just the first 3 and last 3) to tie in with Jim Carrey's main success which was mid 90s, but in the UK, 8 episodes were released instead of the 6 the USA got, so score one for the UK.. normally we even have to wait longer then the USA to even get UK shows released ¬_¬
Other then that.. Nothing. The show could probebly do okay as a cheap DVD release which is the whole series over 3 discs for say £15. But nope.. Nothing. You have to make do with the VHS and any recorded from TV in the 80s episodes ¬_¬
Oh and incase people are wondering (you probebly aren't) Gerry Woolery worked as an animator and graphic designer on the show, doing the intro. He was also well known for titles and stuff which as well as Duck Factory, which was also loosely based on his Playhouse Pictures studio, was well known working doing TV ads for Hanna-Barbera, Walt Disney as well as working on stuff such as the film 'Mannequin'.
The show could be better in places but could easily have gotten a second series and developed more.. but they just didn't seam to want it and so, it went away.
Posted using PostyBirb
The show was created by Allan Burns and Herbert Klynn. It was about a small time animation studio in Hollywood and the work and lives of people who worked there.
Now.. Burns and Klynn weren't new hands. Allan Burns broke into TV working for Jay Ward and his animation studio, where he worked on both writing and animating The Rocky and Bullwinkle show, Dudley Do-Right, George of the Jungle and creating Cap'n Crunch (the character) for Quaker Oats. After doing this work in animation, he teamed up with Chris Hayward and created The Munsters, and My Mother the Car. He also worked on Get Smart, The Smothers Brothers Show (unaired pilot) before creating the Mary Tyler Moore Show, which led to spin-offs Lou Grant and Rhoda.
Herbert Klynn, meanwhile, started as an animator for UPA who ended up being the Vice President. He worked on Mr. Magoo, Gerald McBoing-Boing and the 1952 Madeline. He then founded Format Films who did the Alvin Show, The lone Ranger (cartoon) as well as working for Warner Brothers with some Road Runner, Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales cartoons. He also worked on the animated intros for shows like I Spy and Hee Haw as well as working with Dr. Seuss and Ray Bradbury.
This gave them both great experince in the animation field and good people to come up with and work on such a sitcom idea.
In his first led roll, Jim Carrey (Before he started to go overboard on the high energy out of control style which worked for people like Robbin Williams but I personally never felt really worked with him, as Skip Tarkenton. A young cartoonist who got an invite by animation producer Buddy Winkler to work for him. However, the moment he gets there, he ends up helping as one of Bubby's pull barers as he has recently died. This creates problems for the studio and through various things, he ends up helping them out when they all look to him for his youthful optimising to help them out and keep there studio, nicknamed the Duck Factory, and there main show 'The Dippy Duck Show' going. Along with Skip, there is the Business manager Aggie Aylesworth (Julie Payne) who is always looking to save what money they can, Old hand and long time animator (who then works as director, Brooks Carmichael (Jack Gilford), Storyboard Artist Roland Culp (Clarence Gilyard Jr), Film editor Andrea Lewin (Nancy Lane), Scriptwriter Marty Fenneman (Jay Tarses, who mostly worked as a comedy writer anyway) and Voice actor Wally Wooster (Don Messick, in his only live-action role). On top of it all is Buddy's 3 week widow Sheree Winkler (Teresa Ganzel) who is pretty dumb and naive but well meaning (she met Buddy while working as a topless Ice dancer.. who couldn't really ice dance). The show had some great guest stars and worked pretty well about a very small time studio, with the odd piece of animation showing Dippy Duck.
It even won 2 awards. What went wrong? well, I'm not up on USA tv seasons but starting mid-april seams like a Mid-season show, which is why it had 13 episodes instead of atleast 26 - 40. And it's airing was butchered.. First it was aired on Thursday nights directly after Cheers, before being moved to Wednesdays. The first episode which introduces the characters ends on a cliffhanger.. Can Skip come up with an idea to save the studio and Dippy Duck or not? this was carried on in Episode 2.. which they aired as Episode 13.. After a few months working on the show, Mrs Winkler notices Buddy is still created as producer and they think about a new person for the role, which is taken over by Skip (much to his and the others displeasure), even though he was starting to grow into the role and developed even more as the show went.. well.. this episode was aired as number 2.. so episodes where he isn't producer was aired afterwards.. At first, they each take time as the receptionist because Aggie won't hire one due to the money. In the end, Mrs Winkler decides she wants to help more and as she can't do anything else, she works as the recepionist for free. But this aired BEFORE episodes where they are still timesharing the role. In one episode, Wally has a problem as his doctor has said due to throat issues, he can no longer do Female roles. So they need a female VA.. this is refenced in some later episodes but as they are aired all out of order, he has on-and-off again throat problems.
while it isn't a highly serial based sitcom, there is character development and relationship and that fact that only 1 episode was aired as intended (I'm not 100% sure where one of the episodes is meant to be cause while it's production order puts it in one place, it might be a case of produced out of order (as does happens) cause there are the odd comments which makes it appear to be set a bit later.
Doing this, people can't really get to care about the characters and see how they evolve and grow and it appears like the writers are just crap. No so as there are many good writers on the show (US shows, unlike UK ones, often have a bunch of different writers and while only 1 or 2 credited per episode, often a whole group works on writing the scripts more then just one or two people). Ratings weren't too bad either.. but NBC just butched the show with it's airing and I think putting it on at 9:30 at night was a bit too late for it. Going via UK times, it's more of a 7:30-8 show. Okay for the family but some bits geared to more adult group.
So after it wasn't renewed for a new series.. what happened? bugger all. Some episode were released in the USA on VHS (which appears to be just the first 3 and last 3) to tie in with Jim Carrey's main success which was mid 90s, but in the UK, 8 episodes were released instead of the 6 the USA got, so score one for the UK.. normally we even have to wait longer then the USA to even get UK shows released ¬_¬
Other then that.. Nothing. The show could probebly do okay as a cheap DVD release which is the whole series over 3 discs for say £15. But nope.. Nothing. You have to make do with the VHS and any recorded from TV in the 80s episodes ¬_¬
Oh and incase people are wondering (you probebly aren't) Gerry Woolery worked as an animator and graphic designer on the show, doing the intro. He was also well known for titles and stuff which as well as Duck Factory, which was also loosely based on his Playhouse Pictures studio, was well known working doing TV ads for Hanna-Barbera, Walt Disney as well as working on stuff such as the film 'Mannequin'.
The show could be better in places but could easily have gotten a second series and developed more.. but they just didn't seam to want it and so, it went away.
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Golden Ales
General | Posted a year agoPeople of my age should know Golden Axe. If you don't, popular range of Arcade games and Console ports (and some console originals) which are basic scrolling beat'em ups for the most part.. Please ignore that awful PS2 '3D remake' and 'Beast Rider'.. please.. It'll do you no good to look at what was done..
Anyway, one thing often overlooked because it's not really in the games are the names of the enemies in the original game, mostly via the Japanese name and.. If you know what I'm gonna say, I think it's pretty fun but a little interesting too. If you don't know, you are gonna learn some things.
Now, we will ignore the 3 heroes, and we start with Level 1 which is set in the remains of Old Firewood Kingdom, which was ruled by the King and Queen until they were killed, but there young daughter Tyris Flare escaped.
We first met Heninger, bald guy with Mace and LongMoan (helmet guy with Club). Heninger is named after the Henninger Brewery company from Frankfurt, Germany which went under around 2001. LongMoan is named after the Longmorn distilery in Scotland, mostly producing single malt Scotch, named after the town of Longmorn where it is.
We also met Zuburoka, the Amazons who come in 4 colour names: Storchinaya (Blue), Strobaya (Green), Lemanaya (Red) and Gruziya (Grey). the clan is named after Zubrowaka Vodka. Storchinaya after Stolichnaya Vodka, Strobaya after Stolovaya Vodka, Lemanaya after Limonnaya Vodka and Gruziya? It was the russian name once given to the country currently called Georgia. They are one of the earlest known makers of wine and of course, make alot of Vodka's.
The first Boss fight we get is the Bad Brothers, two big guys with Hammers. You might be thinking, Ah I know the theme now, but then can't figure out Bad brothers.. well.. It's to do with Japanese. there is a drink (i'm not sure if it's the watery USA stuff or the original european stuff with the same name) called 'Budweiser'. which in japanese is basically spelt 'Badowaiza', so it's a shorten version for 'bad' (so an english name for them would more correctly be 'Bud brothers'. They later come in Blue (Sgt. Malt and Sgt. Hop. Two main ingredients in beer), as well as a Red one (General Heartland, named Heartland Beer which is made in Japan by Kirin Brewery).
Going onto Turtle Island we met the armoured Lt. Bitter (A type of Pale Ale), with two recolours that just change his rank.
We then met the Skeletons... that's it.. All just Skeletons.. dull..
So.. apart from the Skeletons... all the enemies are named for alcoholic references. It's a very drunk game ^_^
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Anyway, one thing often overlooked because it's not really in the games are the names of the enemies in the original game, mostly via the Japanese name and.. If you know what I'm gonna say, I think it's pretty fun but a little interesting too. If you don't know, you are gonna learn some things.
Now, we will ignore the 3 heroes, and we start with Level 1 which is set in the remains of Old Firewood Kingdom, which was ruled by the King and Queen until they were killed, but there young daughter Tyris Flare escaped.
We first met Heninger, bald guy with Mace and LongMoan (helmet guy with Club). Heninger is named after the Henninger Brewery company from Frankfurt, Germany which went under around 2001. LongMoan is named after the Longmorn distilery in Scotland, mostly producing single malt Scotch, named after the town of Longmorn where it is.
We also met Zuburoka, the Amazons who come in 4 colour names: Storchinaya (Blue), Strobaya (Green), Lemanaya (Red) and Gruziya (Grey). the clan is named after Zubrowaka Vodka. Storchinaya after Stolichnaya Vodka, Strobaya after Stolovaya Vodka, Lemanaya after Limonnaya Vodka and Gruziya? It was the russian name once given to the country currently called Georgia. They are one of the earlest known makers of wine and of course, make alot of Vodka's.
The first Boss fight we get is the Bad Brothers, two big guys with Hammers. You might be thinking, Ah I know the theme now, but then can't figure out Bad brothers.. well.. It's to do with Japanese. there is a drink (i'm not sure if it's the watery USA stuff or the original european stuff with the same name) called 'Budweiser'. which in japanese is basically spelt 'Badowaiza', so it's a shorten version for 'bad' (so an english name for them would more correctly be 'Bud brothers'. They later come in Blue (Sgt. Malt and Sgt. Hop. Two main ingredients in beer), as well as a Red one (General Heartland, named Heartland Beer which is made in Japan by Kirin Brewery).
Going onto Turtle Island we met the armoured Lt. Bitter (A type of Pale Ale), with two recolours that just change his rank.
We then met the Skeletons... that's it.. All just Skeletons.. dull..
So.. apart from the Skeletons... all the enemies are named for alcoholic references. It's a very drunk game ^_^
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Oh those Rottentrolls!
General | Posted a year agoEven for more, I think this is gonna be a bit weird and very niche.. (isn't that meant to have an accent someplace?) in the late 90s to early 2000s, there was a british childrens tv show called (at first) 'Roger and the Rottentrolls' (renamed 'The Rottentrolls for series 3 and 4) created by Tim Firth and his dad Gordon Firth. A quick run down of This puppet + Live action show..
over 1000 years ago, Merlin was trying to make a ski resort for King Arthur however be mistake, he picked up some Norwegian trolls In a storm, yelling 'Oh those Rotten Trolls have really messed it all up', thus they believed their name was the Rottentrolls. They lived in Troller's Gill (near Cowsill), which was really the Brimham Rocks near Harrogate.. a short distance away from the real Troller's Gill). Each of the Trolls was named after a Local-ish english village, making some nice and slightly weird names (Yockenthwaite, Aysgarth, Penyghent, Trucklecrag etc). even the most sensible of the trolls (Penyghent) has some stupid and silly ways. The Trolls live on there own there waiting for their true king, whose name is written on a rock (Roger Was 'ere).
Then one day, young Roger Beckett fell off his bike into the area, annoyed by all the signs telling him to go away, he shouted 'Roger was Ere', so they made him there king. After two series, They introduced his younger stepsister 'Kate' as he is now busy with more school work and can't spend all the time with them.
Now.. there are some problems with the show change, mostly when Roger left, Kate was partly set up as soo much better at some things then him and did a bit of 'girls are better then guys' which was never there.. But she was also a bit nastier and stupider then Roger. (Never really been part of these 'one gender is better then the others which is very much in favour these days')
.
While the are basically 10 minute shows, 36 were made over the 10 years, though one of them was more a previewer for the start of series 3, and there was a special which was later cut and expanded into two episodes.
Despite being pretty tight story wise, there are some issues.. Trucklecrag is a slightly disappointing wizard because while he can do magic, the spell book is in Norwegian and No-one there can speak it.. Fair enough but in series 3, it's referred to a number of times as being Swedish.. ¬_¬
Roger has his Mother and Stepfather. fine.. Later on, we met his Stepsister.. again, no problem.. but one time when they are thinking of there lives as they are thinking they are dying, Kate thinks of her parents as her Stepbrother, Her mother and Stepfather.. while possible.. erm.. Roger's Mother had Roger with one guy, had a daughter with another guy, and then married a third?... that's very London...
While there are a couple of references about others of the young lived trolls (Yockenthwaite isn't the youngest but his 96 or so years is about 10 in human terms and while Aysgarth is called the oldest of the Rottentrolls, it's found out his sister is older then him and they learn about his mother when they find her old diary, As they are Norwegian but can no longer speak the language, it seams more likely that none of them are 1000 years old, but younger.. It is kinda hinted that they came to the Vally during Aysgarth's mothers time as she writes about coming there, which gives a bit of a date. Like I said, some of the trolls are shown to have died.. The mother in question has gone along time ago and no-one (apart from Aysgarth and his sister) know who she is, Penyghent grew up with Kettlewell's Son Loupscar before he was eaten by the Barguest. Also Sigsworthy Crags Wife and two children died, which sent him mad, but later his kids are found alive and then a few years later (when grown up a bit) starred in a pre-school show which was... not as good.... so we know about 3 which have died.. but if you add up all the trolls.. it appears:
* Aysgarth's wife has died (he has a daughter)
* Kettlewell's husband has died (she had a son Penghent's age and a baby girl, slightly older then Sigsworthy Crags sons)
* Aysgarth's father
* The Nab Twins (teenagers) parents
* Askrigg's parents.
while some aren't commented on being related, I guess it's possible some are.. The Nab Twins could be the younger brothers of Askrigg for example but no sign of this. Minor details but can sometimes really distract.. as a young child at the time, they were of minor note but noted.. as an adult, bother me a bit more ^_^; I really need to go through the book again to see if it has some more answers.. been a while since I went through it..
After the show finished, there were two kinda spin-offs.. Combat sheep, featuring.. well.. It's said to be the Character of Commander Harris (a former army mascot who is now guarding over the valley) but while the basic character is there, they removed any connection to the Rottentrolls. He is no longer a master of JimJam Ya Ha! Completely different voice, No longer a former army mascot since retired, he is now army mascot who in the special, loses his job, meets some other sheep and become soldiers for higher. The name of his one-time girlfriend Peaches is reused but a completely different design. Its still by Tim Firth but.. it's just a spin-off with the rough character of Commander Harris.. If it wasn't set more modern day, I could see it working as a prequel (explaining how he left the army and what he did before moving to the Ghyll) but it didn't seam to be that nor does it quite work.. oh well.. still not too bad for what it is..
The other thing was a pre-school spin-off featuring slightly older versions of Sigsworthy Crags sons (Ripley and Scuff) and the older Strid, along with.. sigh, a baby Barguest.. the Barguest was a nasty evil monster (based on the English folklore creature) of a large monstrous dog) but is now a cute little creature who acts as a pet.. each episode, the group just go to a school and interact with the local kids.. no real story or connection to the rest of the show.
A shame but oh well.. Oh and I think episodes were and are probebly out of order (the show is released on cheap DVD) as there are the odd times where there is a reference to sometime before it happens (like Roger trying to play Rat in a drainpipe before he has introduced them to it) but these don't really matter too much. Oh and while you can probebly find the DVD still for good price.. I'm not sure if they are officially released but (the DVD is) you can find episodes on youtube
Posted using PostyBirb
over 1000 years ago, Merlin was trying to make a ski resort for King Arthur however be mistake, he picked up some Norwegian trolls In a storm, yelling 'Oh those Rotten Trolls have really messed it all up', thus they believed their name was the Rottentrolls. They lived in Troller's Gill (near Cowsill), which was really the Brimham Rocks near Harrogate.. a short distance away from the real Troller's Gill). Each of the Trolls was named after a Local-ish english village, making some nice and slightly weird names (Yockenthwaite, Aysgarth, Penyghent, Trucklecrag etc). even the most sensible of the trolls (Penyghent) has some stupid and silly ways. The Trolls live on there own there waiting for their true king, whose name is written on a rock (Roger Was 'ere).
Then one day, young Roger Beckett fell off his bike into the area, annoyed by all the signs telling him to go away, he shouted 'Roger was Ere', so they made him there king. After two series, They introduced his younger stepsister 'Kate' as he is now busy with more school work and can't spend all the time with them.
Now.. there are some problems with the show change, mostly when Roger left, Kate was partly set up as soo much better at some things then him and did a bit of 'girls are better then guys' which was never there.. But she was also a bit nastier and stupider then Roger. (Never really been part of these 'one gender is better then the others which is very much in favour these days')
.
While the are basically 10 minute shows, 36 were made over the 10 years, though one of them was more a previewer for the start of series 3, and there was a special which was later cut and expanded into two episodes.
Despite being pretty tight story wise, there are some issues.. Trucklecrag is a slightly disappointing wizard because while he can do magic, the spell book is in Norwegian and No-one there can speak it.. Fair enough but in series 3, it's referred to a number of times as being Swedish.. ¬_¬
Roger has his Mother and Stepfather. fine.. Later on, we met his Stepsister.. again, no problem.. but one time when they are thinking of there lives as they are thinking they are dying, Kate thinks of her parents as her Stepbrother, Her mother and Stepfather.. while possible.. erm.. Roger's Mother had Roger with one guy, had a daughter with another guy, and then married a third?... that's very London...
While there are a couple of references about others of the young lived trolls (Yockenthwaite isn't the youngest but his 96 or so years is about 10 in human terms and while Aysgarth is called the oldest of the Rottentrolls, it's found out his sister is older then him and they learn about his mother when they find her old diary, As they are Norwegian but can no longer speak the language, it seams more likely that none of them are 1000 years old, but younger.. It is kinda hinted that they came to the Vally during Aysgarth's mothers time as she writes about coming there, which gives a bit of a date. Like I said, some of the trolls are shown to have died.. The mother in question has gone along time ago and no-one (apart from Aysgarth and his sister) know who she is, Penyghent grew up with Kettlewell's Son Loupscar before he was eaten by the Barguest. Also Sigsworthy Crags Wife and two children died, which sent him mad, but later his kids are found alive and then a few years later (when grown up a bit) starred in a pre-school show which was... not as good.... so we know about 3 which have died.. but if you add up all the trolls.. it appears:
* Aysgarth's wife has died (he has a daughter)
* Kettlewell's husband has died (she had a son Penghent's age and a baby girl, slightly older then Sigsworthy Crags sons)
* Aysgarth's father
* The Nab Twins (teenagers) parents
* Askrigg's parents.
while some aren't commented on being related, I guess it's possible some are.. The Nab Twins could be the younger brothers of Askrigg for example but no sign of this. Minor details but can sometimes really distract.. as a young child at the time, they were of minor note but noted.. as an adult, bother me a bit more ^_^; I really need to go through the book again to see if it has some more answers.. been a while since I went through it..
After the show finished, there were two kinda spin-offs.. Combat sheep, featuring.. well.. It's said to be the Character of Commander Harris (a former army mascot who is now guarding over the valley) but while the basic character is there, they removed any connection to the Rottentrolls. He is no longer a master of JimJam Ya Ha! Completely different voice, No longer a former army mascot since retired, he is now army mascot who in the special, loses his job, meets some other sheep and become soldiers for higher. The name of his one-time girlfriend Peaches is reused but a completely different design. Its still by Tim Firth but.. it's just a spin-off with the rough character of Commander Harris.. If it wasn't set more modern day, I could see it working as a prequel (explaining how he left the army and what he did before moving to the Ghyll) but it didn't seam to be that nor does it quite work.. oh well.. still not too bad for what it is..
The other thing was a pre-school spin-off featuring slightly older versions of Sigsworthy Crags sons (Ripley and Scuff) and the older Strid, along with.. sigh, a baby Barguest.. the Barguest was a nasty evil monster (based on the English folklore creature) of a large monstrous dog) but is now a cute little creature who acts as a pet.. each episode, the group just go to a school and interact with the local kids.. no real story or connection to the rest of the show.
A shame but oh well.. Oh and I think episodes were and are probebly out of order (the show is released on cheap DVD) as there are the odd times where there is a reference to sometime before it happens (like Roger trying to play Rat in a drainpipe before he has introduced them to it) but these don't really matter too much. Oh and while you can probebly find the DVD still for good price.. I'm not sure if they are officially released but (the DVD is) you can find episodes on youtube
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To Store or not to Store
General | Posted a year agoIf someone wants to call me a Digital artist, I won't really complain, but it's not quite true. On the whole, I draw on paper with a pencil, I then scan it into the computer, Digitally ink, with some tweaking (which is normal for inking) and then colour. So I'm more.. Mixed media.
This creates a small issue I think. If I was purely a digital artist, storage is very easy. it's all digital ^_^. If I was purely paper/card/whatever then there are some options but has some of the issues I have. My pencils can range from draft or quite a fully fleshed out drawing, depending on the need. Going back in history, this is a very common old way of doing things.. but anyway, this means I have alot of drawings which range in quality which.. I have no clue what to do with.. do I scrap them as they don't have much use? Do I store them for.. some future use or reason? sometimes I can't bring myself to throw them out but they aren't that great and it gets to be a pain trying to store them I've already got some big blinders full and some piles of stuff..
So I'm wondering what people do with there old sketches like that? Hell, while I don't think I'm (or alot of them) are good enough for selling, you see far worse sell on eBay (some up for sale, some DO sell).. Not that I would think of selling some of these which are mostly junk.. I could do some good ones for such a thing and could even do an okay colouring job (Hell, there are a number of crap 'paintings' fan art on eBay and I can do much better and don't know.. Would people be interested in such a thing? probebly not.. I'm probebly not in that league at all.. (how can people who aren't that good charge for there services? .... weird..)
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This creates a small issue I think. If I was purely a digital artist, storage is very easy. it's all digital ^_^. If I was purely paper/card/whatever then there are some options but has some of the issues I have. My pencils can range from draft or quite a fully fleshed out drawing, depending on the need. Going back in history, this is a very common old way of doing things.. but anyway, this means I have alot of drawings which range in quality which.. I have no clue what to do with.. do I scrap them as they don't have much use? Do I store them for.. some future use or reason? sometimes I can't bring myself to throw them out but they aren't that great and it gets to be a pain trying to store them I've already got some big blinders full and some piles of stuff..
So I'm wondering what people do with there old sketches like that? Hell, while I don't think I'm (or alot of them) are good enough for selling, you see far worse sell on eBay (some up for sale, some DO sell).. Not that I would think of selling some of these which are mostly junk.. I could do some good ones for such a thing and could even do an okay colouring job (Hell, there are a number of crap 'paintings' fan art on eBay and I can do much better and don't know.. Would people be interested in such a thing? probebly not.. I'm probebly not in that league at all.. (how can people who aren't that good charge for there services? .... weird..)
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Dr. Ruth
General | Posted a year agoNot quite sure if 'sadden' is the right word but Just found out about the death of Dr. Ruth. It is a shame but she liked a happy good life and was 96.
If you don't know, and you should, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, had an interesting early life. Born in 4th June 1928 in Germany, she was sent to school in Switzerland at the age of 10 due to that fact that her family as Jewish and she was very much Jewish, and about 1938, there was the raise of... a little bother in Germany I'm sure many know about. Her parents stayed behind to take care of an elderly grandmother. Both parents were later taken to concentration camps and killed. After WW2, she moved to British Palestine where she joined the Haganah (Jewish army) and trained as a sniper. She was 17 and while never in combat, was wounded in action by an exploding shell on her 20th Birthday during the Ha-Atzmaut war (1947-1949).
After that she trained in Psychology while working as a maid to put her self through school to earn a MA, and later a Doctorate at the age of 42.
It was then she really started what I think is what she is best known for and a reason everyone should know her. She was a highly skilled Sex therapist. She started a radio call-in show in 1980 and then a TV show. She was 4 foot 7 and would talk franky and honestly with people, teaching them not to be ashamed of stuff and basically to grow up as sexual health is just as much part of your health as blood tests and sticking plasters. Unlike many who would do stupid stuff to sensationalise such matters for ratings, she didn't. Like I said, she was frank and honest. She was open with people about how best to have foreplay, trying out sexual fantasies, learning what your partner wants to please them, contaception as a form of both birth control and to stop the spread of STDs, as well as educating people on them and the problems, favouring sex within a happy healthy relationship not just one-night stands, but not going against them completely. As well as many books, she even did a computer game and a board game designed to help and educate people in her normal fun way.
She also did a fair bit to talk about Sex and it's place in Religion, mostly her own Jewish one, citing the Book of Ruth, Rabbi Simeon Ben-Halafta and others.
For most of her life in the USA, she lived in Manhattan, in a 3 bedroom apartment she moved into early on where she raised her two children and where she died on the 12 July 2024.
Many of my own attitudes on sex either come from her or are greatly aligned with hers. Sex is something for two adults to do in whatever legal way makes them both happy, reguardless of gender and if one doesn't want to have sex? don't be a git and force them and if you are feeling a bit lonely? taking matters into your own hands isn't a crime.
Really, it's just best you do your research on her, watch some of her videos she put on Youtube and else where..
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If you don't know, and you should, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, had an interesting early life. Born in 4th June 1928 in Germany, she was sent to school in Switzerland at the age of 10 due to that fact that her family as Jewish and she was very much Jewish, and about 1938, there was the raise of... a little bother in Germany I'm sure many know about. Her parents stayed behind to take care of an elderly grandmother. Both parents were later taken to concentration camps and killed. After WW2, she moved to British Palestine where she joined the Haganah (Jewish army) and trained as a sniper. She was 17 and while never in combat, was wounded in action by an exploding shell on her 20th Birthday during the Ha-Atzmaut war (1947-1949).
After that she trained in Psychology while working as a maid to put her self through school to earn a MA, and later a Doctorate at the age of 42.
It was then she really started what I think is what she is best known for and a reason everyone should know her. She was a highly skilled Sex therapist. She started a radio call-in show in 1980 and then a TV show. She was 4 foot 7 and would talk franky and honestly with people, teaching them not to be ashamed of stuff and basically to grow up as sexual health is just as much part of your health as blood tests and sticking plasters. Unlike many who would do stupid stuff to sensationalise such matters for ratings, she didn't. Like I said, she was frank and honest. She was open with people about how best to have foreplay, trying out sexual fantasies, learning what your partner wants to please them, contaception as a form of both birth control and to stop the spread of STDs, as well as educating people on them and the problems, favouring sex within a happy healthy relationship not just one-night stands, but not going against them completely. As well as many books, she even did a computer game and a board game designed to help and educate people in her normal fun way.
She also did a fair bit to talk about Sex and it's place in Religion, mostly her own Jewish one, citing the Book of Ruth, Rabbi Simeon Ben-Halafta and others.
For most of her life in the USA, she lived in Manhattan, in a 3 bedroom apartment she moved into early on where she raised her two children and where she died on the 12 July 2024.
Many of my own attitudes on sex either come from her or are greatly aligned with hers. Sex is something for two adults to do in whatever legal way makes them both happy, reguardless of gender and if one doesn't want to have sex? don't be a git and force them and if you are feeling a bit lonely? taking matters into your own hands isn't a crime.
Really, it's just best you do your research on her, watch some of her videos she put on Youtube and else where..
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Izanami at 18
General | Posted a year agoSo.. 18 Years ago Today (as best I can remember), I created the character of Izanami. Why? felt like it mostly. I created a ID card which had the image I still use as my Sig. It also had on it some kinda still stuff you do for ID cards like Date of birth and Blood type. I should still have the file someplace if not on my site (Tempysart.com).
That is one reason I know the date I created her, as being the kinda person I am, I put the Date of birth as being the date when I did create her.. as they is her birthday, surely? If I was writing some story then there might be reasons to have another date but in this case, I didn't.
At first, she just mostly appeared in stuff all around the place as a Signature girl. Later on, she appeared in two comic strips (1 one pager and one 7 pager) which were printed in Ero-Mania #3 by Wildside comix in Norway. Looking back, I'm a far better artist now ^_^ though there are some bits of my style which have stayed as that's my style, despite the odd comment I've seen. The 1 pager was a simple gag strip which.. mm.. I think the joke could have been told better but is kinda more valid in these days where 'free' media is getting rarer and rarer and more moving to subscription systems so that people don't even own anything anymore.. while in theory, it means it's cheaper to get some software for £10 a month, then paying £300 outright, and often comes with updates, it does mean you can't just save up and get the software, or get it a version or two older for a cheap (or free with old cover discs) and now have to not only have a internet connection all the time but keep paying. If the company goes under? you're screwed. Reminds me of some computer games like there one was of them crap skateboarder games where it's pretty much impossible to play now cause the disc only had the tutorial and it needed an 'upgrade' which as in fact the whole game.. I think it was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5.. Don't know.. Not interested in skating in real life, less interested in 'fantasy' version in gaming (apart from minor interest in the 'removed' Skateboard in second gen Pokemon games ^_^)
Anyway.. The other comic was the first in the Code 69 series which carried on for some issues on the online Ero-Mania and I would love to get back to it and do more but.. things.. part of which goes into the old 'Art is easy when you don't know how, but very hard when you do' or something like that.
Izanami is still used, Still appears all over the place, Still has new art of her etc. Can't think of too much more to say but, still there after 18 years and still going. She even has a metal Miniature you can buy ^_^
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That is one reason I know the date I created her, as being the kinda person I am, I put the Date of birth as being the date when I did create her.. as they is her birthday, surely? If I was writing some story then there might be reasons to have another date but in this case, I didn't.
At first, she just mostly appeared in stuff all around the place as a Signature girl. Later on, she appeared in two comic strips (1 one pager and one 7 pager) which were printed in Ero-Mania #3 by Wildside comix in Norway. Looking back, I'm a far better artist now ^_^ though there are some bits of my style which have stayed as that's my style, despite the odd comment I've seen. The 1 pager was a simple gag strip which.. mm.. I think the joke could have been told better but is kinda more valid in these days where 'free' media is getting rarer and rarer and more moving to subscription systems so that people don't even own anything anymore.. while in theory, it means it's cheaper to get some software for £10 a month, then paying £300 outright, and often comes with updates, it does mean you can't just save up and get the software, or get it a version or two older for a cheap (or free with old cover discs) and now have to not only have a internet connection all the time but keep paying. If the company goes under? you're screwed. Reminds me of some computer games like there one was of them crap skateboarder games where it's pretty much impossible to play now cause the disc only had the tutorial and it needed an 'upgrade' which as in fact the whole game.. I think it was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5.. Don't know.. Not interested in skating in real life, less interested in 'fantasy' version in gaming (apart from minor interest in the 'removed' Skateboard in second gen Pokemon games ^_^)
Anyway.. The other comic was the first in the Code 69 series which carried on for some issues on the online Ero-Mania and I would love to get back to it and do more but.. things.. part of which goes into the old 'Art is easy when you don't know how, but very hard when you do' or something like that.
Izanami is still used, Still appears all over the place, Still has new art of her etc. Can't think of too much more to say but, still there after 18 years and still going. She even has a metal Miniature you can buy ^_^
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Coming of Age?
General | Posted a year agoWhile British tradition has 21 as a big thing (21 today, 21 Today, She's got the key to the door, never been 21 before), On the 26th June, Its been 18 years since I created Izanami.. and that is pretty much the main coming of age (though it's techinally 16, it's not full until 18)
Might have to do something to celebrate that.. no clue what.. Answers on a postcard please (other old British tradition ^_^)
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Might have to do something to celebrate that.. no clue what.. Answers on a postcard please (other old British tradition ^_^)
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Simple.. It's Dimple!
General | Posted a year ago"Once Upon a time, there was a princess and a peasant. She lived atop a hill in a glittering castle. There, she had a servant who kept her castle in order, selected and pressed her robes for the day, prepared her royal breakfast and served it to her in her chambers. She had fame, she had fortune, she had production indorsements. But she was not what she seemed."
Cat's Don't Dance was a 1997 US animated musical comedy which got the short end of the stick. seriously.. (and I wish the website of one of the animators was still around.. maybe my hunting through the archives will find it again some day)..
It was to be a film by Turner Features Animation done in the style of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons. It featured some pretty state of the art animation tools, hand draw, all star cast of good voice actors (more then just famous ones) including Scott Bakula, John Rhys-Davies, Don Knotts, Hal Holbrook, Betty Lou Gerson, Jasmine Guy, Rene Auberjonois and more. Director Mark Dindal had his first chance of directing as well as co-writing the story and voicing a character. Musical numbers were inspired by the 'golden age of Hollywood' style and written by Randy Newman, with Gene Kelly working as the choreographer for the dance numbers. At the preview screening for the cast and crew, not only did they rent a real movie theatre (often the previews are at a smaller in studio room) but many of the cast dressed in period outfits.. It was a big deal and set to be a smash hit film.
So what happened?
Turner Broadcasting Systems was 'merged' into Time Warner. They merged Turner Feature Animation into Warner Bros Feature Animation. Warner didn't want the film.. It was pretty much complete and very much in the classic great style but it wasn't there film. So they released in the minimal theatres the contract would allow, did pretty much no promotion and it was almost straight to video. There was a brief and kinda rare 'happy meal' toys, IF I remember right (90% sure) in some places for a smaller chain but that's about it. The Staff were not happy.
Basically.. the story is the set in 1939. Danny, a young and happy go lucky Cat dancer and singer leaves his home town of Kokomo to go to Hollywood to make his fortune and fame. Mostly to carry on doing what he loves and be a success. However, he quickly finds out that in Hollywood, Only the humans get the big parts. As a Cat, his job is to sit in the background and meow on cue. Cat's Don't Dance!
His main rival? Darla Dimple, the Adorable little girl who saves all the animals and is sooo sweet.. But of course, she isn't. That is her act. She is a bratty over pampered rich girl who has everything in the world she could want, and if you dare threaten her fame or fight back against anything she says, you better watch out.
Now, I'm not here to review the film today.. I just wanted to set it up. I knew about the film from when it came out but didn't see it until I got it on VHS in the early 2000s. Since then I have the Soundtrack CD and the DVD (boy, its still had a bad time with very limited barebones DVD releases). What I wanna wondered about is the Age of Darla Dimple who is .. well, she isn't just an antagonist, she is a Villain. Very much so.
She looks like a very young girl. Her very short and 'cute' nature kinda leans into that and she is a bit of a parody of Shirley Temple and child actors like that. But.. I always get the feeling she is much older then she appears.. The Studio which makes her films, Mammoth Pictures, still has the founder alive but the studio made itself due to her pictures. She seams very well known and setup. No parents in the picture but a older servant (the giant Max, which works even better due to her overly small size). At the end of the film, when she is defeated, we see her taking up a job putting up posters, which kinda lean into the fact she may be MUCH older then she appears. I get the feeling she is probebly more a teenager.. 16-18 at the youngest.. She looks young and is shown to undergo alot of makeup and stuff, which might feed on the old 'they give them age supressing drugs to keep them looking young' theories which sooo many people seam to think at times (no.. seriously, they don't.. It's a joke. Micheal J Fox just looked far younger then he was for some time, He was able to play a late 20s, early 30s year old when he was late 30s, early 40s. He was mid 20s when he started playing teenager Marty McFly.. some people are like that.. some are the opposite).
She is shown to be very cunning, well aware of how to use her looks and appeal to play with people to get what she wants. True, she is very bratty but she was in this situration where she got everything she wanted for quite some time. She even built up the studio wealth so much that even the founder panders to her. . This is also a bit like Shirley Temple in a way, in that during the great depression in the USA, the success of the Shirley Temple films are often credited as being what saved them from going bankrupt. Trying to work out how many child films she made is a bit tricky in that she started off doing as a 3 year old dancer doing one-reeler short films before launching into feature films in 1934, and as she grew up, she moved into playing the older role. By the mid 1940s, she was the teenage love interest role more then the 'sweet little child'. Another strong connection is the 1936 film 'Dimples'.. where Temple plays the titular 'Dimples' and behind the scenes, Shirley Temple and also star Frank Morgan where... pretty much fighting for control of who is the star, with Morgan trying to see scenes from Temple and Temple stealing scenes from Morgan. This probebly lead to the film being classed as, while not one of her worse, far from her best.
anyway.. back to topic.. She is also a pretty good judge of character and even after Hero Danny has seen her nasty side, and learned about it from his friends, she is still able to quickly find just the right way to twist him around her fingers in order to get rid of the animals from Hollywood all together.
It's pretty tricky to work out just how old she is meant to be.. I mean, you have to take into account it's an Anthro world so a mixture of humans and anthro animals who also appear to live atleast human lifespans, in fact a slight little joke/story bit right at the end appears to show some of these animals who are adult in the 1930s, are still around in the late 1990s and doing films... possible but... yeah.. not in the way they are showing.. so.. you have to take into account the 'cartoony' nature of things.. So she could be a very advanced 3 year old, or a young little 30 year old.. personally, I'm thinking more the older but like I said, I'm thinking 16-18 years old.
Some of the artistic design style is also of note in this idea of her looking younger then she is. Model sheet notes point out how when she is being her 'cute' form, she is very soft looking, baby-like hands which are tiny and slighty chubby, keeping the 'cute baby' look, but when she is angry, there is quite a change. Her hands are more expressive, larger in size and more defined with quite sharp fingers, even her nose goes from 'button like' to 'pig like'. Really, these are pretty good animation shortcuts for showing her as a cute girl or as the evil villain but also goes to a bit of the 'not what she seamed'.
Something a bit unusual for me, I asked a friends view on the matter. He believed between 6 and 12 as he thinks she acts too immature to be a teen and seams too mature to be under 6. Interesting and possible. She does have the bratty nature of wanting everything to be about her.. though this isn't always a sign of being younger.. there are quite a few examples of adults like this.
So.. what are peoples views on this?
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Cat's Don't Dance was a 1997 US animated musical comedy which got the short end of the stick. seriously.. (and I wish the website of one of the animators was still around.. maybe my hunting through the archives will find it again some day)..
It was to be a film by Turner Features Animation done in the style of the classic Warner Brothers cartoons. It featured some pretty state of the art animation tools, hand draw, all star cast of good voice actors (more then just famous ones) including Scott Bakula, John Rhys-Davies, Don Knotts, Hal Holbrook, Betty Lou Gerson, Jasmine Guy, Rene Auberjonois and more. Director Mark Dindal had his first chance of directing as well as co-writing the story and voicing a character. Musical numbers were inspired by the 'golden age of Hollywood' style and written by Randy Newman, with Gene Kelly working as the choreographer for the dance numbers. At the preview screening for the cast and crew, not only did they rent a real movie theatre (often the previews are at a smaller in studio room) but many of the cast dressed in period outfits.. It was a big deal and set to be a smash hit film.
So what happened?
Turner Broadcasting Systems was 'merged' into Time Warner. They merged Turner Feature Animation into Warner Bros Feature Animation. Warner didn't want the film.. It was pretty much complete and very much in the classic great style but it wasn't there film. So they released in the minimal theatres the contract would allow, did pretty much no promotion and it was almost straight to video. There was a brief and kinda rare 'happy meal' toys, IF I remember right (90% sure) in some places for a smaller chain but that's about it. The Staff were not happy.
Basically.. the story is the set in 1939. Danny, a young and happy go lucky Cat dancer and singer leaves his home town of Kokomo to go to Hollywood to make his fortune and fame. Mostly to carry on doing what he loves and be a success. However, he quickly finds out that in Hollywood, Only the humans get the big parts. As a Cat, his job is to sit in the background and meow on cue. Cat's Don't Dance!
His main rival? Darla Dimple, the Adorable little girl who saves all the animals and is sooo sweet.. But of course, she isn't. That is her act. She is a bratty over pampered rich girl who has everything in the world she could want, and if you dare threaten her fame or fight back against anything she says, you better watch out.
Now, I'm not here to review the film today.. I just wanted to set it up. I knew about the film from when it came out but didn't see it until I got it on VHS in the early 2000s. Since then I have the Soundtrack CD and the DVD (boy, its still had a bad time with very limited barebones DVD releases). What I wanna wondered about is the Age of Darla Dimple who is .. well, she isn't just an antagonist, she is a Villain. Very much so.
She looks like a very young girl. Her very short and 'cute' nature kinda leans into that and she is a bit of a parody of Shirley Temple and child actors like that. But.. I always get the feeling she is much older then she appears.. The Studio which makes her films, Mammoth Pictures, still has the founder alive but the studio made itself due to her pictures. She seams very well known and setup. No parents in the picture but a older servant (the giant Max, which works even better due to her overly small size). At the end of the film, when she is defeated, we see her taking up a job putting up posters, which kinda lean into the fact she may be MUCH older then she appears. I get the feeling she is probebly more a teenager.. 16-18 at the youngest.. She looks young and is shown to undergo alot of makeup and stuff, which might feed on the old 'they give them age supressing drugs to keep them looking young' theories which sooo many people seam to think at times (no.. seriously, they don't.. It's a joke. Micheal J Fox just looked far younger then he was for some time, He was able to play a late 20s, early 30s year old when he was late 30s, early 40s. He was mid 20s when he started playing teenager Marty McFly.. some people are like that.. some are the opposite).
She is shown to be very cunning, well aware of how to use her looks and appeal to play with people to get what she wants. True, she is very bratty but she was in this situration where she got everything she wanted for quite some time. She even built up the studio wealth so much that even the founder panders to her. . This is also a bit like Shirley Temple in a way, in that during the great depression in the USA, the success of the Shirley Temple films are often credited as being what saved them from going bankrupt. Trying to work out how many child films she made is a bit tricky in that she started off doing as a 3 year old dancer doing one-reeler short films before launching into feature films in 1934, and as she grew up, she moved into playing the older role. By the mid 1940s, she was the teenage love interest role more then the 'sweet little child'. Another strong connection is the 1936 film 'Dimples'.. where Temple plays the titular 'Dimples' and behind the scenes, Shirley Temple and also star Frank Morgan where... pretty much fighting for control of who is the star, with Morgan trying to see scenes from Temple and Temple stealing scenes from Morgan. This probebly lead to the film being classed as, while not one of her worse, far from her best.
anyway.. back to topic.. She is also a pretty good judge of character and even after Hero Danny has seen her nasty side, and learned about it from his friends, she is still able to quickly find just the right way to twist him around her fingers in order to get rid of the animals from Hollywood all together.
It's pretty tricky to work out just how old she is meant to be.. I mean, you have to take into account it's an Anthro world so a mixture of humans and anthro animals who also appear to live atleast human lifespans, in fact a slight little joke/story bit right at the end appears to show some of these animals who are adult in the 1930s, are still around in the late 1990s and doing films... possible but... yeah.. not in the way they are showing.. so.. you have to take into account the 'cartoony' nature of things.. So she could be a very advanced 3 year old, or a young little 30 year old.. personally, I'm thinking more the older but like I said, I'm thinking 16-18 years old.
Some of the artistic design style is also of note in this idea of her looking younger then she is. Model sheet notes point out how when she is being her 'cute' form, she is very soft looking, baby-like hands which are tiny and slighty chubby, keeping the 'cute baby' look, but when she is angry, there is quite a change. Her hands are more expressive, larger in size and more defined with quite sharp fingers, even her nose goes from 'button like' to 'pig like'. Really, these are pretty good animation shortcuts for showing her as a cute girl or as the evil villain but also goes to a bit of the 'not what she seamed'.
Something a bit unusual for me, I asked a friends view on the matter. He believed between 6 and 12 as he thinks she acts too immature to be a teen and seams too mature to be under 6. Interesting and possible. She does have the bratty nature of wanting everything to be about her.. though this isn't always a sign of being younger.. there are quite a few examples of adults like this.
So.. what are peoples views on this?
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NOT A HAND!
General | Posted a year agoNo matter how good the 2 films (I think the second more then the first) the 90s remakes of the Addams Family were, they did something Awful.. very awful.. they replaced Thing with some other thing.
what do I mean? well, The Addams family started off as a series of one-panel cartoons by Charles Addams. It was later made into a TV series and it's this series which shapes alot of peoples views of the Addams family.
The Thing first appeared in Charles Addams book 'Homebodies'. He was called 'The Thing' because he was said to be soo horrifying that he couldn't been seen by human eyes. He is often 'seen' observing the family from behind balcony's and curtains. the only parts of him seen are his hand and parts of his face. They don't know much about him but he appears to be a good natured soul, or atleast always grinning and sometimes a whimper. This was 1954 (about 20 years after the start of the Addams Family cartoons.
In the 60s, a TV series was made. The Thing was changed into being a kinda man-servant who all you saw was his hand and arm (a much a up to the elbow) coming out of a box, many placed around the house. As well known, he was played by Lurch actor Ted Cassidy. Again, he was more described around the time as being a creature too horrible to see, so you could only see his arm. (which would change between left or right, partly due to Cassidy's sense of humour, but also due to how hard it could be for the almost 7 foot actor to hide out of sight for just his arm to appear. In the 70s animated series, he was pretty much the same as the 60s show, being a hand and arm.
By the time of the 90s films, people had.. made up there mind that the Thing was only a hand.. and Special effects were to a point that the Thing could now become a spider monster.. His hand was cut off at the wrist and would run around and jump and do stuff. And from this point on, the Thing was mostly seen only as a hand. The New Addams Family live action series had him as a hand, as did the 90s second cartoon series. The 2019 and sequel animated films had him as a hand with an eye ball on a watch in order to 'give expression' due to poor acting (well.. I would be directing and Animating in this case) I guess, cause others before had gave him alot of expression without needing to go that route.
For the kinda godawful netflix series (as in.. what the hell has it got to do with the Addams family apart from a couple of names?) he is now a Flesh Golem hand for whatever stupid reason they had.
But like I said, the Thing wasn't just a hand. In fact, it would make no bloody sense.. He was called 'The Thing' because he was a 'thing'.. this works with the original, and the 60s and 70s series. after that? he was a Hand.. so.. why not just call him 'The Hand'.. he was no longer a thing. That major part of his character was lost. Personally, I preferred the Munsters as the Addam family were... confusing.. often shown NOT to be human at times with some thing such as being able to drink or eat stuff which was clearly poison, and mostly, they were not nice people. They were all murderers and worse. Fair enough but they never wanted to really run with it either way.. So it was just this slightly unsure what they wanted to be series.. Where as the Munsters made much more sense to me.. They were a group of classical 'monsters' but they kinda just wanted to live a normal life. They couldn't help being who they are. Grampa and Lily were Vampires (in the classical sense, not the more modern 'Can't go out in daytime ones'), but they didn't go around killing people, they didn't want that, Though Grampa would talk about the 'old days'. Herman just happened to be a re-animated corpse, Eddie was just a young werewolf and Marilyn was Lilly's sister's daughter who was pretty plain and ugly as far as the rest though, but wasn't to others. (it was never explained why the Sister of Lilly Munster nee Dracula, somehow gave her daughter the surname 'Munster'.. maybe she also married into the fairly large family? We know Herman had a twin brother (Charlie).. I think in the 90s remake, Marilyn was the daughter of Herman's Sister.. but she was married to Norman Hyde, and there for, she was Marilyn Hyde.. so why do such a change, I don't know (and no, that wasn't the 'Munsters Today' sequel, it was a complete remake TV movie 'Here Come the Munsters').
Anyway.. It might have been part of the... 'censorship' that soo many things went under to tone them down.. It's like.. I'll admit I've never seen the full film cause.. it looks sooo censored and tame compared to the book, but they did a Film version of the Hellbound Heart called 'Hellraiser'.. Or as I call it 'The Kiddy version'.. It was just a very tame and censored version of the book.. So I just gave up and haven't bothered. Why change a 60s 'family show' 'unseeable monster' into a cut off hand... really can't figure it out.. censorship like that is just confusing.. does it really make it more kid friendly? Or maybe it was just 'We couldn't be bothered to look into the story of the series we claim to love to make sure it's correct.
Posted using PostyBirb
what do I mean? well, The Addams family started off as a series of one-panel cartoons by Charles Addams. It was later made into a TV series and it's this series which shapes alot of peoples views of the Addams family.
The Thing first appeared in Charles Addams book 'Homebodies'. He was called 'The Thing' because he was said to be soo horrifying that he couldn't been seen by human eyes. He is often 'seen' observing the family from behind balcony's and curtains. the only parts of him seen are his hand and parts of his face. They don't know much about him but he appears to be a good natured soul, or atleast always grinning and sometimes a whimper. This was 1954 (about 20 years after the start of the Addams Family cartoons.
In the 60s, a TV series was made. The Thing was changed into being a kinda man-servant who all you saw was his hand and arm (a much a up to the elbow) coming out of a box, many placed around the house. As well known, he was played by Lurch actor Ted Cassidy. Again, he was more described around the time as being a creature too horrible to see, so you could only see his arm. (which would change between left or right, partly due to Cassidy's sense of humour, but also due to how hard it could be for the almost 7 foot actor to hide out of sight for just his arm to appear. In the 70s animated series, he was pretty much the same as the 60s show, being a hand and arm.
By the time of the 90s films, people had.. made up there mind that the Thing was only a hand.. and Special effects were to a point that the Thing could now become a spider monster.. His hand was cut off at the wrist and would run around and jump and do stuff. And from this point on, the Thing was mostly seen only as a hand. The New Addams Family live action series had him as a hand, as did the 90s second cartoon series. The 2019 and sequel animated films had him as a hand with an eye ball on a watch in order to 'give expression' due to poor acting (well.. I would be directing and Animating in this case) I guess, cause others before had gave him alot of expression without needing to go that route.
For the kinda godawful netflix series (as in.. what the hell has it got to do with the Addams family apart from a couple of names?) he is now a Flesh Golem hand for whatever stupid reason they had.
But like I said, the Thing wasn't just a hand. In fact, it would make no bloody sense.. He was called 'The Thing' because he was a 'thing'.. this works with the original, and the 60s and 70s series. after that? he was a Hand.. so.. why not just call him 'The Hand'.. he was no longer a thing. That major part of his character was lost. Personally, I preferred the Munsters as the Addam family were... confusing.. often shown NOT to be human at times with some thing such as being able to drink or eat stuff which was clearly poison, and mostly, they were not nice people. They were all murderers and worse. Fair enough but they never wanted to really run with it either way.. So it was just this slightly unsure what they wanted to be series.. Where as the Munsters made much more sense to me.. They were a group of classical 'monsters' but they kinda just wanted to live a normal life. They couldn't help being who they are. Grampa and Lily were Vampires (in the classical sense, not the more modern 'Can't go out in daytime ones'), but they didn't go around killing people, they didn't want that, Though Grampa would talk about the 'old days'. Herman just happened to be a re-animated corpse, Eddie was just a young werewolf and Marilyn was Lilly's sister's daughter who was pretty plain and ugly as far as the rest though, but wasn't to others. (it was never explained why the Sister of Lilly Munster nee Dracula, somehow gave her daughter the surname 'Munster'.. maybe she also married into the fairly large family? We know Herman had a twin brother (Charlie).. I think in the 90s remake, Marilyn was the daughter of Herman's Sister.. but she was married to Norman Hyde, and there for, she was Marilyn Hyde.. so why do such a change, I don't know (and no, that wasn't the 'Munsters Today' sequel, it was a complete remake TV movie 'Here Come the Munsters').
Anyway.. It might have been part of the... 'censorship' that soo many things went under to tone them down.. It's like.. I'll admit I've never seen the full film cause.. it looks sooo censored and tame compared to the book, but they did a Film version of the Hellbound Heart called 'Hellraiser'.. Or as I call it 'The Kiddy version'.. It was just a very tame and censored version of the book.. So I just gave up and haven't bothered. Why change a 60s 'family show' 'unseeable monster' into a cut off hand... really can't figure it out.. censorship like that is just confusing.. does it really make it more kid friendly? Or maybe it was just 'We couldn't be bothered to look into the story of the series we claim to love to make sure it's correct.
Posted using PostyBirb
In Defence of Brad Vickers
General | Posted a year agoIn the Original Resident Evil/Biohazard games, which I will refer to as the Arklay Series (as they are all set around in Arklay County, be it in the Arklay Mountains or the near by City of Raccoon City), Brad Vickers is probebly the NPC that appears the most, and kinda appears more then even some of the PCs. In the first game, he doesn't physically appear in game but he is the helicopter pilot for S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team and takes them into the Mountains. He is later heard at points during the game and rescues them at the end. In the Second game (Resident Evil 2) he appears in a easter egg (his appearance must be unlocked by giving up a number of things before he will appear) as a unique Zombie, showing he has died during the outbreak in the city. In Resident Evil 3, he appears at the begining warning Jill about something hunting down S.T.A.R.S. members before he is killed by it, later to return as a Zombie (RE3 is set a bit before and a bit after RE2).
In the original English release of the games, the manual gave newly created bios for each character which wasn't the same (and in some parts give key differences) from the original Japanese, but where later taken up by the.. Perry novels. In this, Brad is given the nickname 'Chickenheart'. With his primary colour (each member had a key colour scheme) being yellow, and his actions at the start of the first game, people have given to taking on talking about him in a disparaging way.. But is this really the case?
Lets Look at this.. I'll start with the English 'made up' bios from Resident Evil for the PS1, and yes, Made up. Alot of manuals at that time didn't bother to translate.. thus the problems with how the Super Mario backstory changed greatly and King Kooper getting the stupid name..
"Brad Vickers. Age 25, Height 5ft 9in. Weight 134 lbs, Blood Type 0.
Brad is a computer expert and a great information gatherer. Unfortunately, his fear of dying draws much heat from his fellow soldiers. His lack of enthusiasm for rushing into danger has earned him the nickname "Chickenheart". While Chris is a qualified Pilot, Brad flies the Helicopter for Alpha Team." This sets up him being a coward, a computer expert and.. despite the manual (english) saying S.T.A.R.S. are basically newly formed, he already has a nickname among the team who appear to want to rush in without checking out something first.
now. I couldn't find a translation for the original japanese manual for some reason so i'm afraid my translation is a bit rought/
"Brad Vickers
Chemical Protection Personnel. A Timid person who is moody and cynical. He also works as a Helicopter Pilot."
wow.. that's.. SOO different. Where the English one stats the rest of the team kinda look down on him for being a coward and running away, this says he is just timid and cynical, Also his job is Chemical Protection instead of IT expert and information gatherer. very different.
Now, the original game was in english all the time, with japanese subtitles as the team was meant to be from and set in the USA. This also leads alot of people to moan about crap voice acting (it's not really that bad) when it was mostly designed to be easier to figure out by non-native speakers (unlike alot of the dreamcast dubs where the acting, despite being some good actors, is just a bit bad). Either way, this means we can use the english transcript for his in-game 'apperances'.
well.. In the original intro, alpha team is dropped off to look around when Joseph finds Bravo teams helicopter. Joseph finds a hand and then is attack and killed by dogs (Cerberus, engineered zombie dogs, compared to the just infected zombie dogs in RE2). The rest of the team try to shot and fight off the dogs while they run away towards there Helicopter. However, Brad flys off in it seeing what is going on (the pack of dogs killing and attacking everyone). Chris vainly yells out "No, don't go!"
This is the main thing people like to pick on for saying he is a coward. Yes, he did panic. Hell, he is cynical, and the rest of the team were running away as well. It's a bit of a coward act but fair enough. The next we hear of him is when he tries to contact anyone on Alpha or Bravo team via Radio. the Radio isn't working (on either Jill or Chris' end) so he is just telling anyone to please contact him before the radio fails out. There is no difference in what he says for either player.
Later on, he is able to give a second message. This one he has figured out what's going on to a degree saying "I know you can't answer me, but somehow, give me a sign". Again, the same for both Jill and Chris.
He then contacts for a third time saying he is having a fuel shortage but still trying to contact the team, it's his last try and if someone is still alive, please send some sign to him.
After that, either Chris or Jill is able to send a flare from the Heliport and send that Sign. Brad comes to rescue them but they are attacked and he can't land. However, he is able to show great piloting skills as while he is hovering, he is able to get into the back, find there Rocket Launcher and drop it off for either Chris or Jill to use, defeating the Monster (Tyrant). He is then able to land and save whoever is there (techinally, story wise Chris, Jill, Barry and Rebecca, but game wise, there is no way to save all 4 at the same time.) Really, Brad saves them at the end of the game and is one of the few surrivors.
Now, In Resident Evil 2, he appears as a Zombie so doesn't really have any lines as such.. However, In the intro we learn that the S.T.A.R.S. unit began to investigate umbrella as the company behind the problems in the first game and the case is apparently closed due to the efforts of Jill, Chris and (in the original japanese but not the dub) others.
But we find out this isn't the case and the case was forced closed, despite the S.T.A.R.S. team looking into it.. kinda naughty to give sometime as fact like that but be wrong.. though you could say the 'apparently closed' is a bit of a get out..
Either RE2 player (Claire or Leon) can get hold of some letters sent between William Birkin of Umbrella, and Police Chief Brian Irons. In it, they are concerned about the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members, Chris, Jill, Barry, Rebecca and Brad and it might be nice if any evidence that is found is 'disposed of '...' In such a manner that would appear to be purely accidental'. This letter is sent AFTER the first game. A second latter says the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members are STILL looking into things and to stop them. The Japanese original isn't much different but makes a point to say to keep them away from the old Chemical Factory instead of the underground research facilities. Minor note but clearly Brad is still on the team and working to find out the truth and stop umbrella. In the Official guide book to the second game, Brad is said to have been infected with the Virus during the infection of the town.
In Chris's diary, he claims that Jill and Barry are helping him find out information and they find out about the new G-Virus. This is the same in the translation and original Japanese. Brad isn't mentioned. In the N64 port, which added a bit more content to get ready for the new two games in the works, there are some extra notes which can be found. They don't mention Brad much however, one of them is 'Brad's note'. Brad reports on a Monster in a black suit chasing him and he isn't happy with that. He claims if he knew how things were doing to end up, he would have left S.T.A.R.S. long ago. and belives he is going to die. The original japanese is a bit different, but not by much. Where the dub has him admitting 'whining won't help me now. I know I'm finished', the original is a bit more cynical with "Well, there's no point complaining about it now I guess. I'll be dead soon anyway". The opening bit also appears to play up to the 'coward' idea a tiny bit more in the dub then in the original. Either way, He isn't happy with some monster in black stalking him, doesn't know why and if he knew joining S.T.A.R.S. would end up with some monster hunting him down to kill him, he would have left. Fair enough
In the third game, we see what really happened. When S.T.A.R.S. try to get to the truth, the Chief closed the case. In the image we see, Brad is standing back with the rest of the team, but more timid.. like his original bio says, and Barry is also standing back, with Jill and Chris being very active. The Official guide (Japanese) to RE2 has Jill recieve a note from Brad asking if he is mad at her for keeping his head down and not saying anything when the Chief ordered the case closed and (probebly) disbanded S.T.A.R.S. but He didn't want to lose his job. again, this goes to the origial bio of being timid and cynical then just an outright coward.
We met Brad ingame for the first time (Alive) in the Bar Black Jack. He is being attacked by a Zombie. If Jill helps Brad out, He says he didn't know Jill was still alive and that there is a creature coming to kill S.T.A.R.S. members and there is no way to escape and the police aren't trained to deal with zombies. The only real difference between dub and original is in the option where Jill didn't help Brad, Brad says he wishes he hadn't joined S.T.A.R.S. basically cause they are all going to die.. again, this fits well ad more with the Cynical way more then the coward. Either way, he exits the bar, trying to escape. He appears to find the Nemesis tyrant, as when we next see him, he is hurt worse and is trying to warn Jill when the Nemesis appears and kills him just outside the police station. Jill is upset. Brad is infected probebly before this point as we know that within a day, He wakes up as a Zombie, still hanging out around the police station. While he at first though it was hunting him, he clearly learns its hunting down S.T.A.R.S. members.. probebly cause the only thing the Nemesis can say is 'Stars'.
In the end, his corpse either as an unliving zombie like creature, or as a dead zombie-like creature, was destoried when the US Government dropped some Thermobaric missiles on the place. (Basically, also known as an aerosol bomb, these are collection of 100% fuel in a gas or liquid form mostly which is then lit on fire, creating a large bomb. Due to my personal connections to fireworks, I have seen and kinda handled such a weapon on a minor scale used as part of a fireworks display and.. yeah.. big boom and cloud of fire. Scaling that to weapon grade... nasty. See the AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.)
So.. what do people think? Is Brad the coward chickenheart who abandoned his friends to die, or it is just a timid cynical guy who paniced but saved them in the end to make running away under pressure. I think Brad can be often unfairly victimised.
Posted using PostyBirb
In the original English release of the games, the manual gave newly created bios for each character which wasn't the same (and in some parts give key differences) from the original Japanese, but where later taken up by the.. Perry novels. In this, Brad is given the nickname 'Chickenheart'. With his primary colour (each member had a key colour scheme) being yellow, and his actions at the start of the first game, people have given to taking on talking about him in a disparaging way.. But is this really the case?
Lets Look at this.. I'll start with the English 'made up' bios from Resident Evil for the PS1, and yes, Made up. Alot of manuals at that time didn't bother to translate.. thus the problems with how the Super Mario backstory changed greatly and King Kooper getting the stupid name..
"Brad Vickers. Age 25, Height 5ft 9in. Weight 134 lbs, Blood Type 0.
Brad is a computer expert and a great information gatherer. Unfortunately, his fear of dying draws much heat from his fellow soldiers. His lack of enthusiasm for rushing into danger has earned him the nickname "Chickenheart". While Chris is a qualified Pilot, Brad flies the Helicopter for Alpha Team." This sets up him being a coward, a computer expert and.. despite the manual (english) saying S.T.A.R.S. are basically newly formed, he already has a nickname among the team who appear to want to rush in without checking out something first.
now. I couldn't find a translation for the original japanese manual for some reason so i'm afraid my translation is a bit rought/
"Brad Vickers
Chemical Protection Personnel. A Timid person who is moody and cynical. He also works as a Helicopter Pilot."
wow.. that's.. SOO different. Where the English one stats the rest of the team kinda look down on him for being a coward and running away, this says he is just timid and cynical, Also his job is Chemical Protection instead of IT expert and information gatherer. very different.
Now, the original game was in english all the time, with japanese subtitles as the team was meant to be from and set in the USA. This also leads alot of people to moan about crap voice acting (it's not really that bad) when it was mostly designed to be easier to figure out by non-native speakers (unlike alot of the dreamcast dubs where the acting, despite being some good actors, is just a bit bad). Either way, this means we can use the english transcript for his in-game 'apperances'.
well.. In the original intro, alpha team is dropped off to look around when Joseph finds Bravo teams helicopter. Joseph finds a hand and then is attack and killed by dogs (Cerberus, engineered zombie dogs, compared to the just infected zombie dogs in RE2). The rest of the team try to shot and fight off the dogs while they run away towards there Helicopter. However, Brad flys off in it seeing what is going on (the pack of dogs killing and attacking everyone). Chris vainly yells out "No, don't go!"
This is the main thing people like to pick on for saying he is a coward. Yes, he did panic. Hell, he is cynical, and the rest of the team were running away as well. It's a bit of a coward act but fair enough. The next we hear of him is when he tries to contact anyone on Alpha or Bravo team via Radio. the Radio isn't working (on either Jill or Chris' end) so he is just telling anyone to please contact him before the radio fails out. There is no difference in what he says for either player.
Later on, he is able to give a second message. This one he has figured out what's going on to a degree saying "I know you can't answer me, but somehow, give me a sign". Again, the same for both Jill and Chris.
He then contacts for a third time saying he is having a fuel shortage but still trying to contact the team, it's his last try and if someone is still alive, please send some sign to him.
After that, either Chris or Jill is able to send a flare from the Heliport and send that Sign. Brad comes to rescue them but they are attacked and he can't land. However, he is able to show great piloting skills as while he is hovering, he is able to get into the back, find there Rocket Launcher and drop it off for either Chris or Jill to use, defeating the Monster (Tyrant). He is then able to land and save whoever is there (techinally, story wise Chris, Jill, Barry and Rebecca, but game wise, there is no way to save all 4 at the same time.) Really, Brad saves them at the end of the game and is one of the few surrivors.
Now, In Resident Evil 2, he appears as a Zombie so doesn't really have any lines as such.. However, In the intro we learn that the S.T.A.R.S. unit began to investigate umbrella as the company behind the problems in the first game and the case is apparently closed due to the efforts of Jill, Chris and (in the original japanese but not the dub) others.
But we find out this isn't the case and the case was forced closed, despite the S.T.A.R.S. team looking into it.. kinda naughty to give sometime as fact like that but be wrong.. though you could say the 'apparently closed' is a bit of a get out..
Either RE2 player (Claire or Leon) can get hold of some letters sent between William Birkin of Umbrella, and Police Chief Brian Irons. In it, they are concerned about the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members, Chris, Jill, Barry, Rebecca and Brad and it might be nice if any evidence that is found is 'disposed of '...' In such a manner that would appear to be purely accidental'. This letter is sent AFTER the first game. A second latter says the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members are STILL looking into things and to stop them. The Japanese original isn't much different but makes a point to say to keep them away from the old Chemical Factory instead of the underground research facilities. Minor note but clearly Brad is still on the team and working to find out the truth and stop umbrella. In the Official guide book to the second game, Brad is said to have been infected with the Virus during the infection of the town.
In Chris's diary, he claims that Jill and Barry are helping him find out information and they find out about the new G-Virus. This is the same in the translation and original Japanese. Brad isn't mentioned. In the N64 port, which added a bit more content to get ready for the new two games in the works, there are some extra notes which can be found. They don't mention Brad much however, one of them is 'Brad's note'. Brad reports on a Monster in a black suit chasing him and he isn't happy with that. He claims if he knew how things were doing to end up, he would have left S.T.A.R.S. long ago. and belives he is going to die. The original japanese is a bit different, but not by much. Where the dub has him admitting 'whining won't help me now. I know I'm finished', the original is a bit more cynical with "Well, there's no point complaining about it now I guess. I'll be dead soon anyway". The opening bit also appears to play up to the 'coward' idea a tiny bit more in the dub then in the original. Either way, He isn't happy with some monster in black stalking him, doesn't know why and if he knew joining S.T.A.R.S. would end up with some monster hunting him down to kill him, he would have left. Fair enough
In the third game, we see what really happened. When S.T.A.R.S. try to get to the truth, the Chief closed the case. In the image we see, Brad is standing back with the rest of the team, but more timid.. like his original bio says, and Barry is also standing back, with Jill and Chris being very active. The Official guide (Japanese) to RE2 has Jill recieve a note from Brad asking if he is mad at her for keeping his head down and not saying anything when the Chief ordered the case closed and (probebly) disbanded S.T.A.R.S. but He didn't want to lose his job. again, this goes to the origial bio of being timid and cynical then just an outright coward.
We met Brad ingame for the first time (Alive) in the Bar Black Jack. He is being attacked by a Zombie. If Jill helps Brad out, He says he didn't know Jill was still alive and that there is a creature coming to kill S.T.A.R.S. members and there is no way to escape and the police aren't trained to deal with zombies. The only real difference between dub and original is in the option where Jill didn't help Brad, Brad says he wishes he hadn't joined S.T.A.R.S. basically cause they are all going to die.. again, this fits well ad more with the Cynical way more then the coward. Either way, he exits the bar, trying to escape. He appears to find the Nemesis tyrant, as when we next see him, he is hurt worse and is trying to warn Jill when the Nemesis appears and kills him just outside the police station. Jill is upset. Brad is infected probebly before this point as we know that within a day, He wakes up as a Zombie, still hanging out around the police station. While he at first though it was hunting him, he clearly learns its hunting down S.T.A.R.S. members.. probebly cause the only thing the Nemesis can say is 'Stars'.
In the end, his corpse either as an unliving zombie like creature, or as a dead zombie-like creature, was destoried when the US Government dropped some Thermobaric missiles on the place. (Basically, also known as an aerosol bomb, these are collection of 100% fuel in a gas or liquid form mostly which is then lit on fire, creating a large bomb. Due to my personal connections to fireworks, I have seen and kinda handled such a weapon on a minor scale used as part of a fireworks display and.. yeah.. big boom and cloud of fire. Scaling that to weapon grade... nasty. See the AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.)
So.. what do people think? Is Brad the coward chickenheart who abandoned his friends to die, or it is just a timid cynical guy who paniced but saved them in the end to make running away under pressure. I think Brad can be often unfairly victimised.
Posted using PostyBirb
Give the Devil his due
General | Posted a year agoThe Charles Daniel Band (they all worked on it) wrote and performed a classic song in 1979 called 'The Devil went down to Georgia'. Based on the old Faustian story (loosely but the classic deal with the Devil), the Devil is running late on his stealing souls job when it finds a young boy called Johnny playing a fiddle. The Devil then makes a bet, claiming he is good and he'll give Johnny a Fiddle of gold if he wins and if Johnny loses, the Devil gets his soul. Now, the next bit is the first bit I wanna bring attention to.. Johnny replies that though it's a sin, it'll accept the wager as he is the best that's ever been.
The devil goes first and then Johnny plays a collection of old songs and beats the devil. The devil then gives Johnny the fiddle. Johnny then tells the Devil that he can come back any time as He is the best that's ever been.
There is a slight censor issue (original line 'I done told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's eve been' which was often changed to 'Cause I told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best that's ever been') which is.. well, the one change makes sense, the other doesn't..
What's a bit odd.. a Violinist Mark O'Connor did a sequel song in 1993 which states that the Devil lost and is not happy about that and comes back for a rematch. The outcome isn't shown, though Johnny wins in the video that made, and it does feature many of the original Charlie Daniels Band members..
Now.. you might have noticed a couple of things I've said.. like how Johnny wins the fiddle contest but I said that the sequel states the Devil lost.. well.. I don't agree with this. It's pretty clear the Devil WON, but not quite in the way expected.
lets look:
* Devil wants souls to enlarge his kingdom ("Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris")
* Johnny admits it's a sin to wager
* Johnny boosts how he is the best that's EVER been
* Devil does lose the fiddle contest
* Johnny then overly boasts and gloats how he won.
So.. really, doesn't Johnny show by his 'sins' that the Devil probebly has his sold in the end? He gambled, he boasted vainly and gloats. The Devil might not have an 'instant soul' but he clearly has his soul in the end'.
However.. oh dear.. Charlie Daniels says the Devil lost 100%.. in fact, in one of them Guitar Hero Rhyme games, there was a version of the song which was used in a boss fight of sorts.. Daniels hated this saying that as the devil MIGHT win it is 'violating the very essence of the song'.. which appears very weird as it does seam Johnny lost in that fact that he probebly will end up in hell in the end, and that is in line with alot of the early faustine legends (some later ones, like the Devil and Daniel Webster, and more children based versions like 'The Care Bears Movie' have the devil being defeated though).
so.. What are people's views? does the Devil lost and will never gain Johnny's soul, or does Johnny's swearing, boasting and admitted sinning damn his soul?
Posted using PostyBirb
The devil goes first and then Johnny plays a collection of old songs and beats the devil. The devil then gives Johnny the fiddle. Johnny then tells the Devil that he can come back any time as He is the best that's ever been.
There is a slight censor issue (original line 'I done told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's eve been' which was often changed to 'Cause I told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best that's ever been') which is.. well, the one change makes sense, the other doesn't..
What's a bit odd.. a Violinist Mark O'Connor did a sequel song in 1993 which states that the Devil lost and is not happy about that and comes back for a rematch. The outcome isn't shown, though Johnny wins in the video that made, and it does feature many of the original Charlie Daniels Band members..
Now.. you might have noticed a couple of things I've said.. like how Johnny wins the fiddle contest but I said that the sequel states the Devil lost.. well.. I don't agree with this. It's pretty clear the Devil WON, but not quite in the way expected.
lets look:
* Devil wants souls to enlarge his kingdom ("Solamen miseris socios habuisse doloris")
* Johnny admits it's a sin to wager
* Johnny boosts how he is the best that's EVER been
* Devil does lose the fiddle contest
* Johnny then overly boasts and gloats how he won.
So.. really, doesn't Johnny show by his 'sins' that the Devil probebly has his sold in the end? He gambled, he boasted vainly and gloats. The Devil might not have an 'instant soul' but he clearly has his soul in the end'.
However.. oh dear.. Charlie Daniels says the Devil lost 100%.. in fact, in one of them Guitar Hero Rhyme games, there was a version of the song which was used in a boss fight of sorts.. Daniels hated this saying that as the devil MIGHT win it is 'violating the very essence of the song'.. which appears very weird as it does seam Johnny lost in that fact that he probebly will end up in hell in the end, and that is in line with alot of the early faustine legends (some later ones, like the Devil and Daniel Webster, and more children based versions like 'The Care Bears Movie' have the devil being defeated though).
so.. What are people's views? does the Devil lost and will never gain Johnny's soul, or does Johnny's swearing, boasting and admitted sinning damn his soul?
Posted using PostyBirb
Bits
General | Posted 2 years agoIn 1849, David Henry Thoreau (who went by the name Henry David Thoreau after he finished college for.. unknown reasons) published an essay mostly motivated by a pretty iffy war the USA was fighting against Mexico. Basically, as with most of it's early life (and it seams, modern life too) the USA had alot of 'We want, we take' attitude to land and the semi independent country of Texas had alot of USA citizens move there in the past 20 years, captured the Mexican president and forced him to sign a treaty to recognise that Texas, once a semi independent part of Mexico, was now part of the USA. Mexico wasn't happy with that and now Texas was part of the USA, it went from being Slavery-free to whole bunch of slaves. So the USA warred with Mexico over it.. they also took alot of other land from Mexico to expand California, which again, was Mexican.. kinda why there is soo much Spanish around the area.. but why stop the land of the free and home of the brave when they want to take land and increase slaves!
Anyway.. Thoreau was against the war and didn't like it that he was forced to pay taxes, which then went to the army to FIGHT this very war. He had given a few lectures on "The rights and duties of the individual in relation to Government" and turned this into his Essay entitled 'Resistance to Civil Government', later renamed 'On the Duty of Civil Disobedience' and later referred to as 'Civil Disobedience'. It wasn't about fighting the Government but mostly on the idea that If the goverment passes an unjust law, you shouldn't be forced into being an agent of injustice. As Slavery was a topic in it, It was basically like 'Goverment says you can have slaves? doesn't make it just for you to HAVE a slave. Stand up and stay 'I will not have a slave'. simple as that. It was not about rioting or anything but normal passive nonviolenced way. In fact, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (known as Mahatma Gandhi or 'venerable Gandhi') used alot of Thoreau's views ,or more his version of the views, for his own nonviolent resistance.
Some of it stands up, some of it doesn't. Mostly cause it was written in a time of war about a time of war with many differences to what we have today. But it's worth a read and alot of the underlaying stuff is still there. Thoreau wanted a government. But a BETTER one then he saw and people should let it known what they wanted.
"If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it will wear smooth,—certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.
As for adopting the ways which the State has provided for remedying the evil, I know not of such ways. They take too much time, and a man’s life will be gone. I have other affairs to attend to. I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not every thing to do, but something; and because he cannot do every thing, it is not necessary that he should do something wrong. It is not my business to be petitioning the Governor or the Legislature any more than it is theirs to petition me; and, if they should not hear my petition, what should I do then? But in this case the State has provided no way: its very Constitution is the evil. This may seem to be harsh and stubborn and unconcilliatory; but it is to treat with the utmost kindness and consideration the only spirit that can appreciate or deserves it. So is all change for the better, like birth and death which convulse the body."
While I openly admit, sometimes you can't NOT do harm in some way, Thoreau himself did stuff which many would call bad or harmful at times, but should you do evil, knowing it's evil, with a smile on your face and a song in your heart? no. I have spent far too long of my life helping others. I enjoy helping others. It is a good thing to do. Has it rewarded me? maybe. maybe not as much as the quick money that scammers and other scum get but if money is your view of 'good' to yourself then.. well.. yeah.. very few people will agree with you on a global scale. Some people can be happy with less.. All to do with so-called 'standard of living'. USA is pretty much the richs country (sic) in the world but also has some of the highest crime rates, highest unemployment rates and highest homeless rates. Some countries where the average person has pretty much nothing, are happier with lower crimes and problems. Not all of course but some. People can be happier with less.
I know some people around me who can't STAND to have 'cheap brands' of food. Have to have the latest tech etc. Even if they can't afford it.. yet they are probebly far more unhappy then people who are find with cheaper stuff, older tech or none at all (while I'm pretty much a 'tech guy', I'm not sure much into new stuff. The closet thing I have to a 'smart phone' which some people claim everyone has these days, is a second hand tablet which has smart phone option (and makes a big phone) which I picked up for like £10 (if that) which I use for some applications I've made (one being a card deck in a board game.. You need to customise this one deck of 40+ cards uniquely for each mission in the game and it was just adding to a pretty long setup time.. So I made a digital version of the deck. So now just pick the mission, select add-ons. Not only do you get the cards with nice flipping effect, but sounds related to the things, much quicker setup time and it's kinda fun ^_^. Tech can be used to give enhancements to board games.. though some have been stupid and you NEED a smart phone or something to play.. pointless.. Stupid..)
Anyway... I see people moan about how crap and evil the world is.. then they say 'Oh well, I just have to play them at there own game'.. make the world.. WORSE! ACTIVETY WORSE! sorry.. people like that, Fuck off. really. You may say 'Oh, it's my job to be evil and nasty so I can't help it.' I'm not saying quit your job and become homeless just because of that.. But I'm saying don't ACTIVILY increase the problems while doing NOTHING to improve the situration. There is basically NO time when you can't do something to improve the situration. While originally motovated for profit, German Oskar Schindler (of Schindler's Ark fame.. which was renamed for the film for some god awful reason), hired Jews to work at his factories during WW2. at first, it was because they were cheap labour, but as things went, the local goverment decided to kick out all Jews leaving in the city unless they had jobs directly related to the German war effort. He hired many to work in his factories. later on, many were sent to extermination camps and concentration camps, he was able to save them by hiring them as workers. Okay, he only saved about 1,200 of them but that is 1,200 MORE then would have been saved. He couldn't really fight against the system, but he was able to do something to HELP, even in a small way.
"I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not every thing to do, but something; and because he cannot do every thing, it is not necessary that he should do something wrong."
I'll add 'But when such time happens that you are forced to do some wrong, you can try to work to improve the situration to stop it from being AS wrong.'
There was a TV show years ago which is yet to get a decent DVD release, in that it went for 6 series, with only 2 on DVD, which are out of print). It's a comedy and while mostly about the lifes of two of the people, deals with that fact that one of them is a partner in a private law firm. When his son joins, he son gets unhappy that he is having to work for people who. aren't nice, and get away with crimes because of 'good lawyers' like him. well, It happens. In fact, if it didn't happen, it wouldn't be justice. But what does he do about having to do 'evil'? he decides that atleast one day a week, he will work, free of charge, as the court appointed laywer for people that can't afford it or anything. That way he is doing SOME good to help improve the situration. IT goes into a bit more detail and sorry, the show is out and you can't get hold of it so.. it's been awhile..
You can do something to help a situration to remove it from being as bad. You might not be able to see it, but you can. And more so, you don't have to be a happy killer and just say 'The world is evil and crap and I hate it.. OH but i might as well do this evil nasty stuff with a smile on my face.'
Here is a link to a repost by Writer Mark Evanier:
https://www.newsfromme.com/2016/06/19/tales-father-1/
I'll quote the one little bit here.. I'll set it up, his father worked for the IRS in the USA. He wasn't happy in the job but it was steady and would support his family. one thing he didn't like was how corrupt the system was/is. you would have to try to get alot of money out of people who really didn't have it, yet people who did and were 'friends of people in high places' got away with not paying a thing. That's probebly the set up you need for this bit, but read the whole thing..
"In the meantime, the boss would order him to get every cent plus penalties out of the poor woman in Venice whose husband had never paid their joint taxes, then had deserted her and the six kids she now couldn't afford to feed.
The woman in Venice was a real person. My father came home pale from the afternoon he called on her. She owed more money than she could ever possibly come up with and since she was not a Reagan donor, she was expected to actually pay it.
She had six kids who were all running around her little dilapidated home barefoot.
My father had a thing about "barefoot." No matter who the person was, if they didn't have shoes on and weren't on the beach or en route to a swimming pool, he felt sorry for them. It was from his upbringing, I guess, that he associated shoelessness with stark, life-threatening poverty. After I was six or seven years old, I was discouraged from it.
We used to get a lot of these mailings that asked us to "adopt" an orphaned child in some third world country — one of those deals where you send the kid five bucks and he can somehow eat for nine months. They would include what looked like trading cards of these impoverished children and ask you to select one or two and send money for them. My father would always send money for any child who was barefoot. If a kid had shoes on or if the photo didn't show his or her feet, no bucks…but he was very generous with the others.
He asked the woman in Venice why the kids who were old enough to be in school weren't there. She had a chilling answer: "The school won't let them attend without shoes and I can't afford to buy shoes for them." This was the person my father had been ordered to get thousands of dollars out of.
For days after his first meeting with the woman, my father was haunted by the image of those kids scurrying about sans footwear, unable to go to school and better themselves. Finally, one night about 3 AM, he woke my mother up and said, "I need to do something I probably shouldn't do but I have to do it." My mother knew what he was thinking and she said, "Do what you have to do," kissed him and rolled over and went back to sleep.
The next day, my father went to a Stride-Rite shoe store in Santa Monica and made arrangements with the manager. The woman would bring in the six kids and he would pay for one pair of shoes for each. Children's shoes cost a lot of money and working for the I.R.S. didn't pay well so it was a big, significant expenditure…but he had to do it. I think that year we didn't go on summer vacation because of it but I sure didn't mind.
He also went to bat for the woman with his superiors, finally getting them to settle her case for considerably less than the full amount. She was so grateful for that and for the shoes, she found out who my father's boss was and wrote him a letter, praising Bernie Evanier for his kindness. She meant well by it but my father was scolded. People were supposed to be afraid of an I.R.S. man, he was reminded. They were not supposed to think he'd tear up most of their bill and buy their kids shoes."
Personally, I don't understand why people think "We are poor, lets have lots of kids" but.. I've seen it and.. oh well. but yeah. He couldn't do much, but he did what he could to help.
I don't like to put my head in the sand but if you REALLY are a nasty person, or just ilmoral and smile about doing evil while moaning about evil, don't talk to me about it. Don't tell me cause.. we aren't gonna have a good relationship if you do. And sometimes that might lead to me doing harm to you by not being there for you or helping you.
Posted using PostyBirb
Anyway.. Thoreau was against the war and didn't like it that he was forced to pay taxes, which then went to the army to FIGHT this very war. He had given a few lectures on "The rights and duties of the individual in relation to Government" and turned this into his Essay entitled 'Resistance to Civil Government', later renamed 'On the Duty of Civil Disobedience' and later referred to as 'Civil Disobedience'. It wasn't about fighting the Government but mostly on the idea that If the goverment passes an unjust law, you shouldn't be forced into being an agent of injustice. As Slavery was a topic in it, It was basically like 'Goverment says you can have slaves? doesn't make it just for you to HAVE a slave. Stand up and stay 'I will not have a slave'. simple as that. It was not about rioting or anything but normal passive nonviolenced way. In fact, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (known as Mahatma Gandhi or 'venerable Gandhi') used alot of Thoreau's views ,or more his version of the views, for his own nonviolent resistance.
Some of it stands up, some of it doesn't. Mostly cause it was written in a time of war about a time of war with many differences to what we have today. But it's worth a read and alot of the underlaying stuff is still there. Thoreau wanted a government. But a BETTER one then he saw and people should let it known what they wanted.
"If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go: perchance it will wear smooth,—certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.
As for adopting the ways which the State has provided for remedying the evil, I know not of such ways. They take too much time, and a man’s life will be gone. I have other affairs to attend to. I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not every thing to do, but something; and because he cannot do every thing, it is not necessary that he should do something wrong. It is not my business to be petitioning the Governor or the Legislature any more than it is theirs to petition me; and, if they should not hear my petition, what should I do then? But in this case the State has provided no way: its very Constitution is the evil. This may seem to be harsh and stubborn and unconcilliatory; but it is to treat with the utmost kindness and consideration the only spirit that can appreciate or deserves it. So is all change for the better, like birth and death which convulse the body."
While I openly admit, sometimes you can't NOT do harm in some way, Thoreau himself did stuff which many would call bad or harmful at times, but should you do evil, knowing it's evil, with a smile on your face and a song in your heart? no. I have spent far too long of my life helping others. I enjoy helping others. It is a good thing to do. Has it rewarded me? maybe. maybe not as much as the quick money that scammers and other scum get but if money is your view of 'good' to yourself then.. well.. yeah.. very few people will agree with you on a global scale. Some people can be happy with less.. All to do with so-called 'standard of living'. USA is pretty much the richs country (sic) in the world but also has some of the highest crime rates, highest unemployment rates and highest homeless rates. Some countries where the average person has pretty much nothing, are happier with lower crimes and problems. Not all of course but some. People can be happier with less.
I know some people around me who can't STAND to have 'cheap brands' of food. Have to have the latest tech etc. Even if they can't afford it.. yet they are probebly far more unhappy then people who are find with cheaper stuff, older tech or none at all (while I'm pretty much a 'tech guy', I'm not sure much into new stuff. The closet thing I have to a 'smart phone' which some people claim everyone has these days, is a second hand tablet which has smart phone option (and makes a big phone) which I picked up for like £10 (if that) which I use for some applications I've made (one being a card deck in a board game.. You need to customise this one deck of 40+ cards uniquely for each mission in the game and it was just adding to a pretty long setup time.. So I made a digital version of the deck. So now just pick the mission, select add-ons. Not only do you get the cards with nice flipping effect, but sounds related to the things, much quicker setup time and it's kinda fun ^_^. Tech can be used to give enhancements to board games.. though some have been stupid and you NEED a smart phone or something to play.. pointless.. Stupid..)
Anyway... I see people moan about how crap and evil the world is.. then they say 'Oh well, I just have to play them at there own game'.. make the world.. WORSE! ACTIVETY WORSE! sorry.. people like that, Fuck off. really. You may say 'Oh, it's my job to be evil and nasty so I can't help it.' I'm not saying quit your job and become homeless just because of that.. But I'm saying don't ACTIVILY increase the problems while doing NOTHING to improve the situration. There is basically NO time when you can't do something to improve the situration. While originally motovated for profit, German Oskar Schindler (of Schindler's Ark fame.. which was renamed for the film for some god awful reason), hired Jews to work at his factories during WW2. at first, it was because they were cheap labour, but as things went, the local goverment decided to kick out all Jews leaving in the city unless they had jobs directly related to the German war effort. He hired many to work in his factories. later on, many were sent to extermination camps and concentration camps, he was able to save them by hiring them as workers. Okay, he only saved about 1,200 of them but that is 1,200 MORE then would have been saved. He couldn't really fight against the system, but he was able to do something to HELP, even in a small way.
"I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not every thing to do, but something; and because he cannot do every thing, it is not necessary that he should do something wrong."
I'll add 'But when such time happens that you are forced to do some wrong, you can try to work to improve the situration to stop it from being AS wrong.'
There was a TV show years ago which is yet to get a decent DVD release, in that it went for 6 series, with only 2 on DVD, which are out of print). It's a comedy and while mostly about the lifes of two of the people, deals with that fact that one of them is a partner in a private law firm. When his son joins, he son gets unhappy that he is having to work for people who. aren't nice, and get away with crimes because of 'good lawyers' like him. well, It happens. In fact, if it didn't happen, it wouldn't be justice. But what does he do about having to do 'evil'? he decides that atleast one day a week, he will work, free of charge, as the court appointed laywer for people that can't afford it or anything. That way he is doing SOME good to help improve the situration. IT goes into a bit more detail and sorry, the show is out and you can't get hold of it so.. it's been awhile..
You can do something to help a situration to remove it from being as bad. You might not be able to see it, but you can. And more so, you don't have to be a happy killer and just say 'The world is evil and crap and I hate it.. OH but i might as well do this evil nasty stuff with a smile on my face.'
Here is a link to a repost by Writer Mark Evanier:
https://www.newsfromme.com/2016/06/19/tales-father-1/
I'll quote the one little bit here.. I'll set it up, his father worked for the IRS in the USA. He wasn't happy in the job but it was steady and would support his family. one thing he didn't like was how corrupt the system was/is. you would have to try to get alot of money out of people who really didn't have it, yet people who did and were 'friends of people in high places' got away with not paying a thing. That's probebly the set up you need for this bit, but read the whole thing..
"In the meantime, the boss would order him to get every cent plus penalties out of the poor woman in Venice whose husband had never paid their joint taxes, then had deserted her and the six kids she now couldn't afford to feed.
The woman in Venice was a real person. My father came home pale from the afternoon he called on her. She owed more money than she could ever possibly come up with and since she was not a Reagan donor, she was expected to actually pay it.
She had six kids who were all running around her little dilapidated home barefoot.
My father had a thing about "barefoot." No matter who the person was, if they didn't have shoes on and weren't on the beach or en route to a swimming pool, he felt sorry for them. It was from his upbringing, I guess, that he associated shoelessness with stark, life-threatening poverty. After I was six or seven years old, I was discouraged from it.
We used to get a lot of these mailings that asked us to "adopt" an orphaned child in some third world country — one of those deals where you send the kid five bucks and he can somehow eat for nine months. They would include what looked like trading cards of these impoverished children and ask you to select one or two and send money for them. My father would always send money for any child who was barefoot. If a kid had shoes on or if the photo didn't show his or her feet, no bucks…but he was very generous with the others.
He asked the woman in Venice why the kids who were old enough to be in school weren't there. She had a chilling answer: "The school won't let them attend without shoes and I can't afford to buy shoes for them." This was the person my father had been ordered to get thousands of dollars out of.
For days after his first meeting with the woman, my father was haunted by the image of those kids scurrying about sans footwear, unable to go to school and better themselves. Finally, one night about 3 AM, he woke my mother up and said, "I need to do something I probably shouldn't do but I have to do it." My mother knew what he was thinking and she said, "Do what you have to do," kissed him and rolled over and went back to sleep.
The next day, my father went to a Stride-Rite shoe store in Santa Monica and made arrangements with the manager. The woman would bring in the six kids and he would pay for one pair of shoes for each. Children's shoes cost a lot of money and working for the I.R.S. didn't pay well so it was a big, significant expenditure…but he had to do it. I think that year we didn't go on summer vacation because of it but I sure didn't mind.
He also went to bat for the woman with his superiors, finally getting them to settle her case for considerably less than the full amount. She was so grateful for that and for the shoes, she found out who my father's boss was and wrote him a letter, praising Bernie Evanier for his kindness. She meant well by it but my father was scolded. People were supposed to be afraid of an I.R.S. man, he was reminded. They were not supposed to think he'd tear up most of their bill and buy their kids shoes."
Personally, I don't understand why people think "We are poor, lets have lots of kids" but.. I've seen it and.. oh well. but yeah. He couldn't do much, but he did what he could to help.
I don't like to put my head in the sand but if you REALLY are a nasty person, or just ilmoral and smile about doing evil while moaning about evil, don't talk to me about it. Don't tell me cause.. we aren't gonna have a good relationship if you do. And sometimes that might lead to me doing harm to you by not being there for you or helping you.
Posted using PostyBirb
