JANUARY 1ST, 2015

Minecraft's new client was released today, completing the transition from Mojang's own servers to XBOX Live For Windows. This comes several weeks after Microsoft announced that mod support would be discontinued with the most recent update.

This comes as no surprise, after 4J Studios ceased development on the Playstation version updates, and Minecraft PE became a Windows Phone exclusive, with only the PC version needing to transition to it's new closed source client and Microsoft's own account system.

Several Minecraft long term users have been complaining on forums after Microsoft effectively shuttered development on non-Microsoft versions of the popular game, shortly before releasing a large title update to the XBOX 360 and XBOX One versions adding new features, and there is a petition currently in progress requesting the reintroduction of modding to Minecraft, due to 'Excessive monetizing'.

Microsoft declined to comment.
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Right now, Microsoft could easily destroy Minecraft as a social and creative juggernaut by working with it how they do with anything else. It's known that Microsoft wants Minecraft Windows Phone Edition, but the problem is how they will get the rest of the $2.5 billion back.
A good developer would leave Minecraft itself well enough alone, let 4J Studios develop for all platforms unhindered, keep Minecraft PE on iOS and Android, and leave authentication of ownership away from the limited coverage XBOX Live system.
A bad developer would ignore all those suggestions. They'd throw round their ownership of Mojang like a wrecking ball, and slowly guide the Minecraft consumer base to becoming one of the X million people who have to own THEIR system or walk away.
Microsoft, You have the power to inject new life into Minecraft, or kill it in a year.
Don't be a bad developer. Let's not have my peek be prophetic.

I can't keep funding things that I commission, and also my internet and similar costs, with my social cheque, so I am throwing this simple commissioning setup...

Story Requests: $10 per chapter for rewriting and continuing one of my own stories
This price is the base cost for requests on rewrites and continuing one of my abandoned stories. This is most of what I'll be doing, and will be completed as soon as possible.

Story Commissions: $10 per chapter for any new story involving personally known characters
I wish to make this clear. I have a loose qualification for what counts as 'known'. Well, I know some pretty obscure characters, so you might find that you get a discount just because I know a character almost no-one else does.

OC Commissions: $10-20 per chapter, depending on the story format and premise.
With this case, something I wish to say is that, if you want one of these two things, you will get the higher price...
Your OC captures and sexually uses and/or abuses most of the female cast of the series.
Your OC is among the five most powerful characters within the universe you want me to write in.
I don't mind writing your original character having fun in a different universe, or writing within your personally made universe, but I will charge extra for massive ego trips.

Esoteric Story Commissions: $20 per chapter for use of any real world people or lesser known characters
Suuuure, I can write a adult Disney short story involving Oswald's wife. Let me just look up who the heck she is... Oh yes, and have $10 added to your chapter price for the fact I'm going to spend half my writing time looking up some obscure bit of lore.
I'll also add $10 for using real people. There's a difference between using Emma Watson and using Hermione Granger. deviantART will not get a takedown notice for stories involving the latter.
So, if you want something like this, expect me to charge you. But, as I say, with characters, I'll more often than not waive the fee, since I know some really weird trivia... And Oswald's wife is called Hortensia, and is a cat.

I'm not planning to change these prices any time soon. I previously planned to add costs for artwork, but the deal there fell through. The extra charges are simply so you understand that I'm not doing this for you to ask me to do stuff which could either get my account suspended or leave me looking up obscure 70's and 80's TV programmes. I'm doing this to earn money.

If you can't pay, let me know. I'll give you what I can, then you can ask me for more when you have the money.
With the first option, I don't care if I have two or more people funding the same story, but I will let the commissioners know they're just one of a few people who want that story done...
And probably do some free stuff for them further down the line.

So, Note me if you want something, and I'll see what I can do.

I expected a lot of poor things from Symphonia Chronicles, only to find that Namco finally noticed their problem.

Yes, I know, I'm using a PS3 now, so sue me. Anyway, What I have to say is this...
You're going in the right direction now, Bamco.

For one, EVERYTHING is present in the two games, from japanese voiceovers to bonuses for people who own the newest games. Also, the Wii Remote heavy gameplay of DotNW finally gets on a 'proper' controller, and is much more playable as a result.

Anyone who has missed a shot in a lightgun game knows why the Sorcerer's Ring in DotNW was unworkable at times.

My gripe over favouring Sony still stands, but, now, at least I know they're not being total a-holes.

I decided to post this wherever it might be heard. Anyone who has been a fan of the most recent Phantasy Star games, based round the Ragol and Gurhal systems, will know of Phantasy Star Online 2, and it's protracted localization time, especially when data miners have found it can be made english fairly easily.

Recently, a rumor came out, due to IGN, that SEGA have decided to refocus their plans for the English localization to market it in Asia, rather than America and Europe, due to problems with profitability without a new market strategy.

I have to say that, if it is true, it's exactly what killed several games that could have made millions, like Dead Or Alive Online, a PC port of Dead Or Alive 2 at it's core, and Tales Of Eternia Online.

Within the online gaming market, there are two major territories, America and Europe, counted as Worldwide or Global when marketing to them, and Korea, Singapore, China, Japan and Asia, which are where most of the games begin, and several big name licenses have tried and failed due to staying there.

SEGA changed their marketing strategy for Phantasy Star a few years back, making Phantasy Star Universe free to play in Japan, while scaling back the US/EU version to the Microsoft-hosted XBOX 360 version until the contract ran out.
When PSO2 came round, they only gave mutterings that, similar to PSU's Guardian Cash, 'there were on-going issues with ARKS cash in the west'.
Their solution? Scale back the plans for western release, and likely declare that it is no longer marketable to sell it in the West at all.
Their problem? They promised they would release it well in time. This was a big chance for them to revisit Phantasy Star's online roots, and, due to using gambling and real money transactions, they blew it.

I don't want people to go into how I'm doomsaying or similar. I'm just the messenger.
Phantasy Star Online 2, even if this source is wrong, and they sound worryingly honest, is never coming to the West in a workable state.

REPOSTED FROM MY OTHER ACCOUNT ON DEVIANTART -

I need sprites, obviously, set up in Game Maker Studio compatible strips, and to a lesser extent, in that I can use material from other games, background assets, for doing a side-scrolling game, or set of games, where one or more fictional character(s) from a list [the current list is below] must avoid various things that try to drag her off to a kinky and sometimes gruesome fate.

The detail level will not be stellar, but that's only since doing guro sprite art to the detail level of a game like even Final Fight might make the game impossible to share out beyond a few select people, and detail in the low-to-mid range level of 16-bit graphics has been a common way to do these kinds of things.

I can easily set up a fortnightly pay schedule for any artist, but have a very finite source of money, only about $90 a fortnight for investing into this. Any artist who takes up this project will need to have no issues with stronger fetishes, since it is likely to cover a wide range of them, and I very much cannot take donations purely to pay for someone else to do your work.

All I ask is for a demonstration of your work, using one of the characters, walking, standing and being rendered helpless by one mild and one extreme fetish scenario. My first pay window is in a fortnight, I hope to be able to pay someone.

The List [As of 4th October] -
Ruki Makino
Hikari Yagami
Lain Iwakura
Aelita Schaeffer
Saber Arturia
Hatsune Miku

More suggestions welcome.

ANNOUNCEMENT

For the next week or two, I might well be not really writing, despite the fact I could easily publish several things. I am a follower of fetish artists and writers as well as a fanfiction author, and I found, in my e-mail, a message about the death of Joseph 'Porcelain Joe' Pratt, killed during recovery from a eye injury, when a drunk driver ignored a red light and pretty much did the worst thing possible.

From how I see it, he probably couldn't really see what happened, but I don't know. I can't exactly ask him.

What I do know is that it's hit me hard, since I haven't really had someone disappear offline due to such a foolish act by someone being a ass. Where I live, in Middleton, the traffic density is minimal, and I can stand out in the middle of the road and not worry about it.

However, even I know there's idiots out there who ignore the traffic laws, and, one day, I might just pay for my loose attitude about traffic safety, but I doubt it will be any time soon.

The problem of drink driving is a universal problem, and even worse is those people who think that, just since there's no police around, the red light doesn't apply to them.

I've temporarily stopped playing games like Grand Theft Auto, TDU2 and Need For Speed Hot Pursuit, just since you are encouraged in some parts of the game to be ignorant of the same laws that a stupid drunk idiot ignored.

This is Philip Elthorpe, also known as Valentine Meikin, saying, to all those who knew Joe Pratt, I feel for you and mourn with you.

Many people have ranted about the disastrous things discovered in Tales Of Vesperia, from in-code flags for Flynn and Patty, to the fact they discovered Flynn's 'one step ahead' storyline aspect was to cover up cutting his inclusion in the party.
Now, I'm not going to rant at the fact the new PS3-exclusive Xillia is guaranteed out in English practically back-to-back with the Japanese release, instead I'll pick out three releases, which you can pick up in English, which should have broken the Sony monopoly on great Tales game releases.

STRIKE ONE - Tales Of Phantasia GBA
Now, Here's a good one. Tales Of Phantasia was ground-breaking for it's implementation of the Flexible Voice Driver, which allowed for the vocals to be crisp, clear and of a quality that was valid for the Red Book Audio standard.
When Nintendo localized it, there were localization errors, and the Flexible Voice Driver appeared to fail miserably, as the audio had several of the problems that the driver was intended to stop. Later releases, like the Full Voice Edition and the pack-in with Narikiri Dungeon X both added what this version failed to do, but still, a stink had begun to form within the Namco fanbase.

STRIKE TWO - Tales Of Vesperia X360
Here, the game itself was brilliant and widely acclaimed in all regions... but it was what happened after it's release that was the problem. A PS3 version was released with full voices, several cameo costumes and Flynn no longer running off, as well as the exclusive character, Patty Fleur.
However, the problem was that people discovered Flynn's walking data in the XBOX 360 version as well as, in the strings file, references to everyone, including Flynn and Patty.
Added to that was that one of the cameo costume titles was not DLC, and was instead a replacement for a existing title, which didn't give a costume, and you get a massive stink yet again.

STRIKE THREE - Tales Of The Abyss 3DS - Coming Soon
OK, Everyone knows what to expect from a rerelease. Several new Artes, a new character, probably some new relevant cameos and usually the game makes the previous one look inferior.
Tales Of The Abyss on 3DS is purely a 3D downsampled version of the american PS2 version, with nothing announced to sell it as more than that.
With Tales Of Innocence R coming for the Vita and Tales Of Graces f for the PS3, both with the usual slew of new features, again, Namco Tales Studio are smelling of manure rather than roses.

They say 'Three Strikes and you're out'... I see a boycott in the future, as they've, three times in a row, released games with noticeable feature drift from what Sony happily get without any problems.

OK, I'm planning to do some Let's Plays, but, well, to be honest, my PC stinks. Got some really good games to do it with too.

Anyway, The idea here is that I have a good few watchers, and well, I have a Paypal on sheng.long[at]ntlworld.com

Anyone willing to donate, or commission me to write something if you don't like the idea of money for nothing, well, Drop some money in, and let me know if you want something for it.

Now, I wish to make this very clear.

'Technobondage - Krystal and Saya' was being worked on over three months ago, long before we started on Sally and Nicole's story, and Renamon wasn't even planned.
The problem was, at the time, me and my co-writer weren't exactly working day-to-day on Technobondage, and it slipped heavily.

We have Chapter 1 ready, but want to get a chapter ahead of ourselves first.
Also, Anyone who guessed TB3 was Renamon/Rika... Have a cookie. [Pulls a bluenette chibi holding a cookie out of the jar, the chibi looking forlorn that it might lose the cookie] ...OK, Have a chibi.

OK, Due to the fact that this is massive, and it would be pointless to turn my Google Docs into a reading group, I'll be posting the Technobondage stories here from now on.

The parts are:

Technobondage - Krystal and Saya
This story tells of when Krystal got suited, and uses updated designs rather than the early designs used when Krystal was done.

Technobondage 2 - Sally and Nicole
What happens when a princess becomes a slave, a computer becomes a living being and two friends discover their true relationship?

Technobondage 3 - Renamon and Rika
The first human on a planet populated by anthromorphic animals... How will Rika cope?

I have opened a forum at:
http://efn-millenium.forum-free.net

This will eventually contain all my stories, and this account will purely be used for observing my favorite artists from then on.

Ah, Thank you, S'Zira, for that wonderful sketch...

As you may know, I am a vulpine furry, and well, I hunt rabbits. It's part of who I am.
Pleinair, well, in the form S'Zira sketched out, is my personal... we'll say 'Assistant', and leave it at that... in the reality that Valentine is more than a fictionalized version of myself.

She needs no gag, just some good solid restraints and not to be left to run free. And as a trade-off, she's so yummy and cute.
I will be requesting, or even commissioning for money, a much better version when S'Zira isn't so overheated and busy.
For now, All I wanted is some way for me to go I hunt a bunny, and oh look how cute she looks'...

Now, Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm playing with Pwenair... 'eh 'eh 'eh 'eh 'eh...
[numerous squeaking sounds of latex rubbing against latex ensue]

Hikari's face went red, as one of her darkest fantasies came true in the most perverse way. Her dream was intense, but this was worse by far, as the space between devil and angel shrank, with her in the middle. "Whose lips would you like to taste?" Ladydevimon breathed, "You are mine, either way, but choose..."
Hikari found herself in a bit of a bind, the metaphorical kind, as two women she'd had wet dreams about were currently staging a very real version of her 'favorite' one. "Hikari... Do you want a sinful love or a pure love?" Latexangewomon retorted. The two women moved away, as Hikari somehow induced her own digivolution, digivolving all the way to Ultimate, and then kissed her twin... The one she wanted to be with for the rest of her new life...
"Now, I know who I am... Aishiteru..."

There are two possible endings to this extract...

Aishiteru Ladydevimon
OR
Aishiteru Angewomon

This Journal Entry is purely to vote...
ANGEL OR DEVIL... THE WINNER WILL DECIDE THE NEXT PART OF 'Curiosity'!

http://www.watchtail.com/view.php?v.....alentineMeikin

Managed to work out a messy but effective way to screengrab a word processor while it's running.

See the latest chapter... while it's still not done!

Every angel needs her devil...

And there's a picture coming shortly of that devil with her Gato-Slut...
Oh how delicious...

And the thumbnail for the full story will come from it.

Firstly, I wish to thank Dragon_Nexus, for, without him, the picture wouldn't even exist.

Secondly, Yes, It's Hikari 'Kari' Kamiya, in what is likely to be her first, last and only appearance in S0lar1x's gallery in the latex version of the picture.
This picture is partially to announce the fact that, when I do my first stories for this page, both sluts will be represented, each by their original partners, with a bonus girl for the Rena-Slut set.

So, Gato-Slut H-9460 and Rena-Sluts R-4601 and J-1011 will have their lives, both mundane and transformed, chronicled in these pages...

If you want more, please ask, and I'll see what I can do.