FA+
Shop
Cinematic Psychosis Review: Turning Red
Posted 3 years agoTurning Red, Disney-Pixar's newest film, follows Meilin 'Mei' Lee. She's just turned 13, is in the 8th Grade, and is already one busy go-getter. Problem is, there's a family secret that happens when women turn of age, and now Mei is turning into a Giant Red Panda any time she gets excitable, angry, or upset. Now Mei's got to figure out how to balance this new change in her life, while navigating friends, her mother, and all the pressures of growing up.
For anyone who has been following this movie over the last month or so, I'm sure the topic that it's come under fire hasn't gone unnoticed. The first debacle was when folks were accusing the film of being a 'CalArts' style, because for some reason people now have an issue if you draw an open mouth as a 'bean' shape. But there's literally only so many ways to draw an open mouth; is an anime triangle somehow superior? But the term is nothing more than "I don't like this style", which I don't know why folks don't just simply say that.
The second has been because certain reviews have gone to say that Turning Red is 'too narrow in scope', and was 'alienating' to audiences, as well as just being 'exhausting'. I have my suspicions as to why this was singled out in this movie, and not on something like...we'll say, 'Soul'. But what I can say is, I think this film has a specific audience it's trying to hit, that is often overlooked, and that I watch films for good stories. Doesn't mean my personal tastes are always super keen (I like the Super Mario Bros movie, for instance), but I can say that Turning Red is a way better movie than these detractors are giving it credit for.
Without going too hard into spoilers, the basic description is surprisingly simplistic in terms of the story. Yes, Mei is a 13 year old who is dealing with puberty and all that comes with that, but the story is made up of a bunch of smaller pieces that all fit together.
Mei isn't just dealing with school, but how she is with her friends, her family, and what she actually wants her life to be. Even actions taken by her own family, no matter how good of a place they come from, can actually be abusive when they just make assumptions about what Mei's life should be and not taking into consideration what SHE wants her life to be.
And this is a critical point of the story, is that Mei has to make choices. She wants to do it all and please everyone, but it just can't work out that way. She can stay in step in the path that her mother wants for her, OR she can go with her friends (who she barely gets to see or spend time with) and try to go see the boy-band, 4*Town.
To back up this theme, the film itself is actually set in the year 2002, and part of the music is boy-band music (the teaser and full trailers used music from both Backstreet Boys and N*Sync, to give you an idea of the musical theming). But it's not the only music, as whenever Mei's in danger of 'unleashing the beast', there's a strange classic Chinese track that plays, to imply that this thing from her family's history is ever lurking, and that she's in very real danger to expose her new secret to mass embarrassment.
As for the animation, I've heard mixed responses on character design. They look fine enough to me, and the film is filled with vibrant colors that pop, and the animation is fluid as usual on Pixar films. There's a lot of little details in the background (I guess Luca is hidden somewhere), along with other little nods.
So with those out of the way, I want to move on to the real meat and potatoes. As I mentioned earlier, the film has had detractors saying this film has too narrow a scope, nobody will be able to relate to it, and so on. Some folks are mad that it is 'promoting rebelling against your parents', as if that doesn't happen ALL. THE. TIME. in Disney or Pixar films. That's what makes some of these stories so compelling, is seeing folks go against the grain of society, of relationships, to go on the adventure and come out the other end all the better for it.
I think this is a film that almost ANYONE can actually relate to. Yes, I'm saying that anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Who hasn't gone through puberty? Who hasn't had strife in their life, and had to make tough choices? We all have to do it, be it with family, friends, at work, in relationships...everything we choose to do and say, is us making a choice and missing out on those other things. But this is how we define who and what we are, by what we choose, what we do and say. If we believe something is wrong, we oppose it, and try to make things right. We make decisions that influence not only our lives, but the lives of others as well. It's a painful experience many times, and that shapes how we take on the next challenge, the next choice.
As a white guy in his late 30s, who is in the furry fandom, I've made some of my own choices like this. Growing up as a teenager in the 90s and into the 2000s, for several years there I was all on my own when it came to this side of me. The internet was brand new, and nobody around me was into it that I was aware of. So there was nobody to talk to, nobody there that I could speak frankly with and get advice from. No, much like Mei, I was in a way on my own. I had to seek out people to MAKE those connections, to let being furry be as much a part of me as anything else was...never mind how you get those conflicting little things in your head. The 'Oh, this is for girls, and this is for boys' stigmata of toys, cartoons, let alone anything like...clothes. These are struggles that people have dealt with, and are dealing with. There are just certain expectations that parents have for their children, and at some point what they think of what they want for us isn't what we want for ourselves. That can be difficult to deal with, and sometimes isn't a happy ending.
We all have our inner beasts, and how we decide to take them on is what determines our future. Turning Red, set at a critical point in anyone's life, is a tale of puberty, of family pressures, and of choices. To me, that's going to make it a beloved classic in just a few year's time, once all this riff-raff discordance gets shed fully.
For anyone who has been following this movie over the last month or so, I'm sure the topic that it's come under fire hasn't gone unnoticed. The first debacle was when folks were accusing the film of being a 'CalArts' style, because for some reason people now have an issue if you draw an open mouth as a 'bean' shape. But there's literally only so many ways to draw an open mouth; is an anime triangle somehow superior? But the term is nothing more than "I don't like this style", which I don't know why folks don't just simply say that.
The second has been because certain reviews have gone to say that Turning Red is 'too narrow in scope', and was 'alienating' to audiences, as well as just being 'exhausting'. I have my suspicions as to why this was singled out in this movie, and not on something like...we'll say, 'Soul'. But what I can say is, I think this film has a specific audience it's trying to hit, that is often overlooked, and that I watch films for good stories. Doesn't mean my personal tastes are always super keen (I like the Super Mario Bros movie, for instance), but I can say that Turning Red is a way better movie than these detractors are giving it credit for.
Without going too hard into spoilers, the basic description is surprisingly simplistic in terms of the story. Yes, Mei is a 13 year old who is dealing with puberty and all that comes with that, but the story is made up of a bunch of smaller pieces that all fit together.
Mei isn't just dealing with school, but how she is with her friends, her family, and what she actually wants her life to be. Even actions taken by her own family, no matter how good of a place they come from, can actually be abusive when they just make assumptions about what Mei's life should be and not taking into consideration what SHE wants her life to be.
And this is a critical point of the story, is that Mei has to make choices. She wants to do it all and please everyone, but it just can't work out that way. She can stay in step in the path that her mother wants for her, OR she can go with her friends (who she barely gets to see or spend time with) and try to go see the boy-band, 4*Town.
To back up this theme, the film itself is actually set in the year 2002, and part of the music is boy-band music (the teaser and full trailers used music from both Backstreet Boys and N*Sync, to give you an idea of the musical theming). But it's not the only music, as whenever Mei's in danger of 'unleashing the beast', there's a strange classic Chinese track that plays, to imply that this thing from her family's history is ever lurking, and that she's in very real danger to expose her new secret to mass embarrassment.
As for the animation, I've heard mixed responses on character design. They look fine enough to me, and the film is filled with vibrant colors that pop, and the animation is fluid as usual on Pixar films. There's a lot of little details in the background (I guess Luca is hidden somewhere), along with other little nods.
So with those out of the way, I want to move on to the real meat and potatoes. As I mentioned earlier, the film has had detractors saying this film has too narrow a scope, nobody will be able to relate to it, and so on. Some folks are mad that it is 'promoting rebelling against your parents', as if that doesn't happen ALL. THE. TIME. in Disney or Pixar films. That's what makes some of these stories so compelling, is seeing folks go against the grain of society, of relationships, to go on the adventure and come out the other end all the better for it.
I think this is a film that almost ANYONE can actually relate to. Yes, I'm saying that anyone who says otherwise is wrong. Who hasn't gone through puberty? Who hasn't had strife in their life, and had to make tough choices? We all have to do it, be it with family, friends, at work, in relationships...everything we choose to do and say, is us making a choice and missing out on those other things. But this is how we define who and what we are, by what we choose, what we do and say. If we believe something is wrong, we oppose it, and try to make things right. We make decisions that influence not only our lives, but the lives of others as well. It's a painful experience many times, and that shapes how we take on the next challenge, the next choice.
As a white guy in his late 30s, who is in the furry fandom, I've made some of my own choices like this. Growing up as a teenager in the 90s and into the 2000s, for several years there I was all on my own when it came to this side of me. The internet was brand new, and nobody around me was into it that I was aware of. So there was nobody to talk to, nobody there that I could speak frankly with and get advice from. No, much like Mei, I was in a way on my own. I had to seek out people to MAKE those connections, to let being furry be as much a part of me as anything else was...never mind how you get those conflicting little things in your head. The 'Oh, this is for girls, and this is for boys' stigmata of toys, cartoons, let alone anything like...clothes. These are struggles that people have dealt with, and are dealing with. There are just certain expectations that parents have for their children, and at some point what they think of what they want for us isn't what we want for ourselves. That can be difficult to deal with, and sometimes isn't a happy ending.
We all have our inner beasts, and how we decide to take them on is what determines our future. Turning Red, set at a critical point in anyone's life, is a tale of puberty, of family pressures, and of choices. To me, that's going to make it a beloved classic in just a few year's time, once all this riff-raff discordance gets shed fully.
Video Game Stream: Resident Evil 7
Posted 5 years agohttps://www.twitch.tv/thelunatic25
Having only played a few minutes of this game EVER, I'm finally slipping into the game for real. Starting at 7:30 PM EST, in about 8 minutes.
Having only played a few minutes of this game EVER, I'm finally slipping into the game for real. Starting at 7:30 PM EST, in about 8 minutes.
The Luni Bin's Open Invitation 2019
Posted 6 years agoHello everyone, Luni here with a message from me and my buddy Toby Bentobox! We want to tell you some exciting news. Street Fighter 5 has become free to play for the next week between now and the 24th. So to that end We're proud to present Luni Bin's Open Invitation, a small Street Fighter 5 double elimination tournament where anyone is welcome to join! If you're not confident at fighting games don't worry! As not only do we have a prize for the winner, we have spot prizes to be won if you beat one of our various selected combatants. More importantly we're here to have fun by punching each other repeatedly in the face ^_^
The competition is tentatively scheduled to take place on the 21st at 7 PM (EST), or 22nd at 12 Noon (EST), and the final rounds on the 23rd at 7 PM (EST), meaning that you have all of the week to download SFV, get some training in and prep for the tournament. Please express your interest by sending me a Private Message here! We'll reserve a spot in the tournament so we have an idea of numbers. We'll detail the rules and spot prizes in a midweek post and confirm times (If many are unable to participate due to the Friday time, we are willing to try and reschedule it. Please let me know!); in the meantime here's a breakdown of what's being offered so far.
WINNERS Prize: 4 months fully paid subscription of TobyBentobox's PixelHub at the highest tier. Which includes various benefits including full access to blog posts, game builds, and commissioned pixel artwork.
Spot Prizes: Various free tier rewards from Pixelhub, Movie stream choices on Luni's Discord Channel. And potentially more when updated!
We look forward to hearing from (and fighting) you!
Once more, if this is of interest to folks, please send me a PM here on FA! We'll get you set up on my Discord and discuss more details! Please let me know if the 21st or the 22nd would be preferable!
The competition is tentatively scheduled to take place on the 21st at 7 PM (EST), or 22nd at 12 Noon (EST), and the final rounds on the 23rd at 7 PM (EST), meaning that you have all of the week to download SFV, get some training in and prep for the tournament. Please express your interest by sending me a Private Message here! We'll reserve a spot in the tournament so we have an idea of numbers. We'll detail the rules and spot prizes in a midweek post and confirm times (If many are unable to participate due to the Friday time, we are willing to try and reschedule it. Please let me know!); in the meantime here's a breakdown of what's being offered so far.
WINNERS Prize: 4 months fully paid subscription of TobyBentobox's PixelHub at the highest tier. Which includes various benefits including full access to blog posts, game builds, and commissioned pixel artwork.
Spot Prizes: Various free tier rewards from Pixelhub, Movie stream choices on Luni's Discord Channel. And potentially more when updated!
We look forward to hearing from (and fighting) you!
Once more, if this is of interest to folks, please send me a PM here on FA! We'll get you set up on my Discord and discuss more details! Please let me know if the 21st or the 22nd would be preferable!
Cinematic Psychosis stream tonight!
Posted 6 years agoFrom 2:OO PM EST to midnight, watching a marathon of some of the best Friday the 13th films!
Feel free to join me, and my friends!
https://jottor.tv/stream/TheLunatic25
and for a chat: https://discord.gg/Qhxafct
Feel free to join me, and my friends!
https://jottor.tv/stream/TheLunatic25
and for a chat: https://discord.gg/Qhxafct
R.I.P.: Angus Scrimm dead at 89
Posted 10 years agoAngus Scrimm, best known for his role as 'The Tall Man' in the Phantasm series, passed away on January 9th. News of his passing was passed along by Don Coscarelli, creator/director of the Phantasm series.
http://movieweb.com/angus-scrimm-de.....tasm-tall-man/
I knew it had to be coming, but damn.
http://movieweb.com/angus-scrimm-de.....tasm-tall-man/
I knew it had to be coming, but damn.
Yet another Horror Icon has passed away
Posted 10 years agoJust saw the news that actor Gunnar Hansen, the man who portrayed the iconic Leatherface in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, has passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 68.
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainme.....-arts-34760060
RIP Gunnar
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainme.....-arts-34760060
RIP Gunnar
The Fandom Mourns
Posted 10 years agoAs I'm sure many of you are aware by now, yesterday around 4:20 pm ET (1:20 pm PT), Doug Winger's body finally gave up the fight and he passed away. I realize I'm pretty late to paying my respects, but at the time of his passing I was at work, and had to deal with that while trying to keep up a strong front.
It surprised me how much Doug's passing affected me yesterday, as I had to fight back tears pretty much the whole rest of my shift. Unfortunately, unlike with Christopher Lee, there's no real way for me to do something in honor of him: He didn't make movies, or music. I suppose I could stream some of the cartoons or shows he worked on, provided I can figure out what some of those were (I keep seeing it listed that he worked on Angry Beavers, but I've never been able to find his name among the credits for it).
So a measly little journal is going to have to be enough, I guess.
I never met Doug Winger, I never spoke one word to him. I didn't know what his favorite show was, or how he felt about FA, or any of that stuff. But Winger had a rather profound affect on my life, back when I was but a teenager. First getting onto the internet, and discovering that folks had an interest in the talking animals beyond just mere funny cartoons, I came across the works of Eric Schwartz, which then lead me to Roxikat by way of fan art....then from Roxikat, to Winger, also by way of fan art.
Roxikat and Winger's artwork in particular played pretty big roles in shaping me how I am today. It was the first time I'd ever seen herm or shemale characters, which felt...extremely lewd. I was drawn to Roxikat, 'cause she was this adorable pink fluffy cat...who just happened to have a really big dong.
Of course, that was NOTHING compared to the stuff Winger was drawing. Back then, I genuinely felt like I shouldn't be looking at it, like i needed to stop...but I couldn't. I just couldn't. His stuff was so outrageously over the top, but the humor he instilled in there...even the awful, awful puns...just made it somethin' unique, beyond the obviously arousing state of his herms.
It was in this way that I sorta found out that maybe I wasn't JUST fully into women, at least not artwork wise. So in that way, Winger affected my life, and helped shape some of my thoughts and ideals into my adulthood. Not that he ever knew that, of course.
So too he had this effect on many other people; lord knows how many in the fandom are fans of hypers, herms, and other bits because of what Winger was doing for the last 30 or so years. There's a reason why the fandom itself seems to be crying over the loss of this one man who drew some of the silliest porn on the net.
We lost someone who had an amazing influence on our fandom, regardless if you liked what he drew or not. And it's disheartening that we lost him not because of some freak accident, or just something suddenly happening: We lost him because of complications of health problems he had, as well as a very stubborn soul who just wouldn't take the help offered sooner. And I'm sad that's how the story for him ends.
And it hurt SO BAD yesterday to hear it. I was already in a bit of physical pain from taking a fall the night before, but somehow..the knowledge that he was gone, that we're never going to get to see him crank out another herm mink, or horse, or whatever random bit of silliness popped into his head....it hurt so much worse.
I saw someone make a journal in regards to the loss of Winger, which was doing 3 things: Remembering him, ranting, and then giving a request.
The request was to try and to remember that Winger was more than just a porn peddlar with the herms; but what got me about it was the rant. It was going on about how that's all some folks remember him as.
Right now, however? I don't think it's right to do that. People have a right to mourn, to grief, the way they choose. To remember him how they want. Yeah, they remember him for the herms, they were prolific.
It's not WRONG to remember him as the Hyper Size-Queen King, I don't think. If anything, he'd probably get a laugh out of the title alone, knowing that the man enjoyed slipping humor into almost every piece he did.
So I say to you, remember Doug Winger in whatever way you choose to; and be grateful that you still have loved ones, both family, friends, and in this fandom, and enjoy a bit of that today. Because sometimes, just the fact that we are still here, and that the memory of Doug's work is going to carry on without him BECAUSE he had such an effect on us, is important
And my request would be that if you're sad, let that out...but let out a bit of Happy, silly fun too. I think, if I knew anything about the man at all, he would much prefer to have a bad pun said in his honor than a sobbing story.
Plus, he'd probably get a great big laugh at the idea of a 21 Hyper Herm Mink Salute at his funeral. 'cause if you gotta go out, go out with a bang...or failing that, at least with a bunch of well-hung minks.
It surprised me how much Doug's passing affected me yesterday, as I had to fight back tears pretty much the whole rest of my shift. Unfortunately, unlike with Christopher Lee, there's no real way for me to do something in honor of him: He didn't make movies, or music. I suppose I could stream some of the cartoons or shows he worked on, provided I can figure out what some of those were (I keep seeing it listed that he worked on Angry Beavers, but I've never been able to find his name among the credits for it).
So a measly little journal is going to have to be enough, I guess.
I never met Doug Winger, I never spoke one word to him. I didn't know what his favorite show was, or how he felt about FA, or any of that stuff. But Winger had a rather profound affect on my life, back when I was but a teenager. First getting onto the internet, and discovering that folks had an interest in the talking animals beyond just mere funny cartoons, I came across the works of Eric Schwartz, which then lead me to Roxikat by way of fan art....then from Roxikat, to Winger, also by way of fan art.
Roxikat and Winger's artwork in particular played pretty big roles in shaping me how I am today. It was the first time I'd ever seen herm or shemale characters, which felt...extremely lewd. I was drawn to Roxikat, 'cause she was this adorable pink fluffy cat...who just happened to have a really big dong.
Of course, that was NOTHING compared to the stuff Winger was drawing. Back then, I genuinely felt like I shouldn't be looking at it, like i needed to stop...but I couldn't. I just couldn't. His stuff was so outrageously over the top, but the humor he instilled in there...even the awful, awful puns...just made it somethin' unique, beyond the obviously arousing state of his herms.
It was in this way that I sorta found out that maybe I wasn't JUST fully into women, at least not artwork wise. So in that way, Winger affected my life, and helped shape some of my thoughts and ideals into my adulthood. Not that he ever knew that, of course.
So too he had this effect on many other people; lord knows how many in the fandom are fans of hypers, herms, and other bits because of what Winger was doing for the last 30 or so years. There's a reason why the fandom itself seems to be crying over the loss of this one man who drew some of the silliest porn on the net.
We lost someone who had an amazing influence on our fandom, regardless if you liked what he drew or not. And it's disheartening that we lost him not because of some freak accident, or just something suddenly happening: We lost him because of complications of health problems he had, as well as a very stubborn soul who just wouldn't take the help offered sooner. And I'm sad that's how the story for him ends.
And it hurt SO BAD yesterday to hear it. I was already in a bit of physical pain from taking a fall the night before, but somehow..the knowledge that he was gone, that we're never going to get to see him crank out another herm mink, or horse, or whatever random bit of silliness popped into his head....it hurt so much worse.
I saw someone make a journal in regards to the loss of Winger, which was doing 3 things: Remembering him, ranting, and then giving a request.
The request was to try and to remember that Winger was more than just a porn peddlar with the herms; but what got me about it was the rant. It was going on about how that's all some folks remember him as.
Right now, however? I don't think it's right to do that. People have a right to mourn, to grief, the way they choose. To remember him how they want. Yeah, they remember him for the herms, they were prolific.
It's not WRONG to remember him as the Hyper Size-Queen King, I don't think. If anything, he'd probably get a laugh out of the title alone, knowing that the man enjoyed slipping humor into almost every piece he did.
So I say to you, remember Doug Winger in whatever way you choose to; and be grateful that you still have loved ones, both family, friends, and in this fandom, and enjoy a bit of that today. Because sometimes, just the fact that we are still here, and that the memory of Doug's work is going to carry on without him BECAUSE he had such an effect on us, is important
And my request would be that if you're sad, let that out...but let out a bit of Happy, silly fun too. I think, if I knew anything about the man at all, he would much prefer to have a bad pun said in his honor than a sobbing story.
Plus, he'd probably get a great big laugh at the idea of a 21 Hyper Herm Mink Salute at his funeral. 'cause if you gotta go out, go out with a bang...or failing that, at least with a bunch of well-hung minks.
Christopher Lee dead at 93
Posted 10 years agoIt would appear that we've lost yet another of the great Hammer Studios' actors, as Christopher Lee passed away back on Sunday, June 7th from respiratory problems. He was 93 years old, having just celebrated his 93rd birthday back on May 27th.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/cel.....ynews/11666316...
R.I.P. Christopher Lee, you were one really bad-ass Dracula.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/cel.....ynews/11666316...
R.I.P. Christopher Lee, you were one really bad-ass Dracula.
Carmine charity stream
Posted 10 years agoMy friend Carmine is doing a charity stream to help PrDarkFox by playing horrible games for donations!
https://furstre.am/stream/UncleCarmine
Come watch him suffer horribly in the name of charity! RUnning right now!
https://furstre.am/stream/UncleCarmine
Come watch him suffer horribly in the name of charity! RUnning right now!
Club Nintendo: Do's & Don'ts
Posted 11 years agoClub Nintendo: Do's & Don'ts
So, you were eagerly awaiting to see what the final Club Nintendo offerings were going to be, and now they've struck! Now comes the hard part: to decide what to get with what remains of your hard earned coins!
Don't worry yourself TOO much, though! Luni is here to help with some tasty tips!...get outta my pantry!
The first thing you should ask yourself is: Do you want any of the physical rewards offered, or are you okay with just games?
If you do want physical rewards, then those need to be redeemed first. As anyone who has been a part of Club Nintendo knows, the physical rewards can and do run out.
Right now, they're offering 9 new items, alongside the other remaining 3: a 3DS carrying case, a desk calendar for 2016 (seriously, is anyone going to get this before everything else?), some Animal Crossing playing cards that were exclusive to Japan's club, a poster set that was a previous year's Platinum rewards, a jigsaw puzzle, a messenger bag, a t-shirt, and a couple of other goodies.
I find it interesting that two offered rewards are from previous years, either from Japan or NA platinum rewards. The one that a lot of folks seem to be digging is that messenger bag, which I think would have benefited from the design being purple or white or SOMETHING other than black on top of black.
But anyway, any of these you should go for first, because they're not going to be around forever.
So, okay, you either got your physical rewards chosen and ordered, or you just don't give a flip about those. What about EXCLUSIVE video games?
Well, Club Nintendo actually never did have much to offer far as exclusive ones went.
Right now in NA, you can get Grill-Off with Ultra Hand! for 80 coins, a small WiiWare title that stars...you guessed it, Ultra Hand. (For those that don't know, the Ultra Hand was a toy designed and made by Gunpei Yokoi while working at Nintendo. It was then manufactured by Nintendo, propelling Gunpei's career. Gunpei would go on to help design ROB, the Game Boy, Metroid, Wario, & the Virtua Boy).
The only other exclusive is Doc Louis' Punch-Out!!, which was a 2009 platinum exclusive. You had a choice of a Mario Hat or this WiiWare download, and now you have another shot at it for only 250 coins!
Both games will run you a total of 330 coins, which is not bad if you want something both digital and exclusive.
But okay, you've got your physical rewards ordered, and you've already got both of the 2 exclusive games downloaded...what else is there? Well, that's honestly where we're coming in at; with 116 other possible game choices, there's a LOT to pick from! But which ones are good? Which ones are crap?
One thing that should influence your purchases is if you own a Wii U or not. If so, then you should be careful with some of your selections.
Reason is, a few titles are repeated in the section. Notably, Super Metroid, Super Punch-Out!! & Pilotwings.
All of these games are offered for both the Wii, and the Wii U. If you have the Wii U, you want to make double sure you select the Wii U option.
First, because it is easier to access, right from the Wii U menu. As opposed to the Wii version, which requires you to access the Wii emulator menu before selecting the game.
Second, the Wii versions cost 50 coins MORE than their Wii U counterparts. I don't understand why, but for some reason, they do. Right now, coins are at a premium as you're trying to stretch them as far as you can, and to spend more and have a more cumbersome experience doesn't make any sense.
But other game choices are just as baffling. For some reason, Wii Party U is set at a premium 850 coins, which is more than even the Majora's Mask messenger bag, or the Fierce Deity Link jigsaw puzzle. It is, in fact, the most expensive offering.
I could understand it, if the game was paired with a Wii Motion Plus controller as it is in retail. But just the game alone isn't really worth that, considering it's a collection of mini-games and digital board games. Most everyone either owns a copy of Mario Party, or has at least played one. (and if you're a big fan of these type of games, Mario Party 2 is being offered for a Wii download at a much more affable 250 coins).
Wii Fit U isn't a good choice either, unless you already have a Wii Balance Board. Even then, at 600 coins, you're more likely to pass on another slightly updated version of some exercise software you have in favor of a higher profile game, such as Super Mario 3D Land, DKC Returns 3D, or Wonderful 101.
Then there's odd pairings of things like Dr. Mario as a VC game on Wii U, and Dr. Luigi. While Dr. Luigi is 100 more coins (300 vs. Dr. Mario's 200), that extra 100 coins nets you more modes to play around with, and online competition. It's obviously a smarter move to go with that, unless you're just scraping the bottom of your coin bag and REALLY like the original Dr. Mario.
There's also things such as NES Golf, NES Open, and then 2 Mario Golf titles(One for the Wii, and one for the 3DS). With the exception of Mario Golf 64 on the Wii, they all come in at 200 coins (with Golf 64 coming in at 250. What is with the Wii seemingly having this premium charge?).
Between the 4 titles, your best bet would be either NES Open if you're curious to see what an 8-bit Mario Golf is like, or the Game Boy title on the 3DS for golfing on the go. NES Golf can be ignored, as NES Open was a smartly updated version. Why they put both, is unfathomable.
Also odd choices are the Brain Age titles. Concentration Training comes in at a whopping 600 coins, but only retails for about 20 or 30. The Express titles are also very meh choices, as they're just smaller chunks of an overall more complete package. Sudoku might be a good choice, if you happen to really like those puzzles.
And lastly, there's the 2 Excitebike games: 3D Classic Excitebike and World Rally. While seemingly similar games, it would appear that 3D Excitebike is considered the superior choice. and if you have the choice of World Rally on Wii, or 3D Classics on the 3DS, the 3DS one is less cumbersome (just boot it from the start pages), and costs 50 coins less.
So really, my picks for digital games would be as follows:
Do's:
Doc Louis' Punch-Out!!
Grill-Off with Ultra Hand!
Earthbound
Dr. Luigi
Wonderful 101
DKC Returns 3D
Super Mario 3D Land
Super Metroid (Wii U if you have a Wii U)
Punch-Out!!
Super Punch-Out!! (Wii U if you have a Wii U)
Super Mario World
NES Remix
Donkey Kong (Game Boy game on 3DS)
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
Yoshi's Island
Super Smash Bros.
Wario Land 2
3D Classics: Excitebike
Don'ts:
Game & Wario
Wii Party U
Wii Fit U
NES Golf
NES Pinball
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Donkey Kong 3
Ice Climber
Balloon Fight
1080 Snowboarding
Snowpack Park
Brain Age: Concentration Training, OR the Express titles
Kid Icarus
Dillon's Rolling Western
Dillon's Rolling Western: Last Ranger
...and that's about it, really! There's other titles, but to me, these are the things to look out for.
So happy hunting, guys! Hope everyone out there gets at least something they want from these final rewards!
So, you were eagerly awaiting to see what the final Club Nintendo offerings were going to be, and now they've struck! Now comes the hard part: to decide what to get with what remains of your hard earned coins!
Don't worry yourself TOO much, though! Luni is here to help with some tasty tips!...get outta my pantry!
The first thing you should ask yourself is: Do you want any of the physical rewards offered, or are you okay with just games?
If you do want physical rewards, then those need to be redeemed first. As anyone who has been a part of Club Nintendo knows, the physical rewards can and do run out.
Right now, they're offering 9 new items, alongside the other remaining 3: a 3DS carrying case, a desk calendar for 2016 (seriously, is anyone going to get this before everything else?), some Animal Crossing playing cards that were exclusive to Japan's club, a poster set that was a previous year's Platinum rewards, a jigsaw puzzle, a messenger bag, a t-shirt, and a couple of other goodies.
I find it interesting that two offered rewards are from previous years, either from Japan or NA platinum rewards. The one that a lot of folks seem to be digging is that messenger bag, which I think would have benefited from the design being purple or white or SOMETHING other than black on top of black.
But anyway, any of these you should go for first, because they're not going to be around forever.
So, okay, you either got your physical rewards chosen and ordered, or you just don't give a flip about those. What about EXCLUSIVE video games?
Well, Club Nintendo actually never did have much to offer far as exclusive ones went.
Right now in NA, you can get Grill-Off with Ultra Hand! for 80 coins, a small WiiWare title that stars...you guessed it, Ultra Hand. (For those that don't know, the Ultra Hand was a toy designed and made by Gunpei Yokoi while working at Nintendo. It was then manufactured by Nintendo, propelling Gunpei's career. Gunpei would go on to help design ROB, the Game Boy, Metroid, Wario, & the Virtua Boy).
The only other exclusive is Doc Louis' Punch-Out!!, which was a 2009 platinum exclusive. You had a choice of a Mario Hat or this WiiWare download, and now you have another shot at it for only 250 coins!
Both games will run you a total of 330 coins, which is not bad if you want something both digital and exclusive.
But okay, you've got your physical rewards ordered, and you've already got both of the 2 exclusive games downloaded...what else is there? Well, that's honestly where we're coming in at; with 116 other possible game choices, there's a LOT to pick from! But which ones are good? Which ones are crap?
One thing that should influence your purchases is if you own a Wii U or not. If so, then you should be careful with some of your selections.
Reason is, a few titles are repeated in the section. Notably, Super Metroid, Super Punch-Out!! & Pilotwings.
All of these games are offered for both the Wii, and the Wii U. If you have the Wii U, you want to make double sure you select the Wii U option.
First, because it is easier to access, right from the Wii U menu. As opposed to the Wii version, which requires you to access the Wii emulator menu before selecting the game.
Second, the Wii versions cost 50 coins MORE than their Wii U counterparts. I don't understand why, but for some reason, they do. Right now, coins are at a premium as you're trying to stretch them as far as you can, and to spend more and have a more cumbersome experience doesn't make any sense.
But other game choices are just as baffling. For some reason, Wii Party U is set at a premium 850 coins, which is more than even the Majora's Mask messenger bag, or the Fierce Deity Link jigsaw puzzle. It is, in fact, the most expensive offering.
I could understand it, if the game was paired with a Wii Motion Plus controller as it is in retail. But just the game alone isn't really worth that, considering it's a collection of mini-games and digital board games. Most everyone either owns a copy of Mario Party, or has at least played one. (and if you're a big fan of these type of games, Mario Party 2 is being offered for a Wii download at a much more affable 250 coins).
Wii Fit U isn't a good choice either, unless you already have a Wii Balance Board. Even then, at 600 coins, you're more likely to pass on another slightly updated version of some exercise software you have in favor of a higher profile game, such as Super Mario 3D Land, DKC Returns 3D, or Wonderful 101.
Then there's odd pairings of things like Dr. Mario as a VC game on Wii U, and Dr. Luigi. While Dr. Luigi is 100 more coins (300 vs. Dr. Mario's 200), that extra 100 coins nets you more modes to play around with, and online competition. It's obviously a smarter move to go with that, unless you're just scraping the bottom of your coin bag and REALLY like the original Dr. Mario.
There's also things such as NES Golf, NES Open, and then 2 Mario Golf titles(One for the Wii, and one for the 3DS). With the exception of Mario Golf 64 on the Wii, they all come in at 200 coins (with Golf 64 coming in at 250. What is with the Wii seemingly having this premium charge?).
Between the 4 titles, your best bet would be either NES Open if you're curious to see what an 8-bit Mario Golf is like, or the Game Boy title on the 3DS for golfing on the go. NES Golf can be ignored, as NES Open was a smartly updated version. Why they put both, is unfathomable.
Also odd choices are the Brain Age titles. Concentration Training comes in at a whopping 600 coins, but only retails for about 20 or 30. The Express titles are also very meh choices, as they're just smaller chunks of an overall more complete package. Sudoku might be a good choice, if you happen to really like those puzzles.
And lastly, there's the 2 Excitebike games: 3D Classic Excitebike and World Rally. While seemingly similar games, it would appear that 3D Excitebike is considered the superior choice. and if you have the choice of World Rally on Wii, or 3D Classics on the 3DS, the 3DS one is less cumbersome (just boot it from the start pages), and costs 50 coins less.
So really, my picks for digital games would be as follows:
Do's:
Doc Louis' Punch-Out!!
Grill-Off with Ultra Hand!
Earthbound
Dr. Luigi
Wonderful 101
DKC Returns 3D
Super Mario 3D Land
Super Metroid (Wii U if you have a Wii U)
Punch-Out!!
Super Punch-Out!! (Wii U if you have a Wii U)
Super Mario World
NES Remix
Donkey Kong (Game Boy game on 3DS)
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels
Yoshi's Island
Super Smash Bros.
Wario Land 2
3D Classics: Excitebike
Don'ts:
Game & Wario
Wii Party U
Wii Fit U
NES Golf
NES Pinball
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Donkey Kong 3
Ice Climber
Balloon Fight
1080 Snowboarding
Snowpack Park
Brain Age: Concentration Training, OR the Express titles
Kid Icarus
Dillon's Rolling Western
Dillon's Rolling Western: Last Ranger
...and that's about it, really! There's other titles, but to me, these are the things to look out for.
So happy hunting, guys! Hope everyone out there gets at least something they want from these final rewards!
to my friends: About that 'thing' that happened
Posted 11 years agoThis is to you guys and gals who know about that event that happened last week. If you know about it, awesome. If you don't, don't fuss over this too very much.
I just wanted to put a short little note out there: Thank you for pointing out to me things that are being discussed or happening in regards to that, but really, I'm happier not seeing or reading about it.
What happened, happened. They can deal with the fallout of their actions. They made something that was at least semi-private into a public spectacle, when it didn't need to be. I said what I needed to on that piece in particular, and received the answer I figured I was going to. At that point, to me, it was done.
This whole thing was 'over' back in October 2013, which if you look at the calendar was about 15 months ago. At this point, it is a waste of time to keep focusing on it; it's certainly a waste of time to 'fight' against it. and I mean that for everyone involved.
Why they felt like it needed to be done NOW, and in the way they did, I will never understand. But that's okay: it was their choice to make, they made it.
There's a tumblr post I was directed towards, where they responded to someone talking about how 'tired' they were about the assumptions other folks are making. That's unfortunately part of it, because something that most folks weren't aware of was made public, and they're only given a few choice images to make ideals off of.
I talked about this thing with a few of my closer friends, and that was it. I moved on. Whatever happens on from this point, I've no interest in it.
So thank you, for anyone who was concerned for me, or wanted to point things out to me and so forth. But really, there's nothing else for me to say on the matter. I already said to them what I wanted to, and at this point I'm little more a spectator looking in.
I just wanted to put a short little note out there: Thank you for pointing out to me things that are being discussed or happening in regards to that, but really, I'm happier not seeing or reading about it.
What happened, happened. They can deal with the fallout of their actions. They made something that was at least semi-private into a public spectacle, when it didn't need to be. I said what I needed to on that piece in particular, and received the answer I figured I was going to. At that point, to me, it was done.
This whole thing was 'over' back in October 2013, which if you look at the calendar was about 15 months ago. At this point, it is a waste of time to keep focusing on it; it's certainly a waste of time to 'fight' against it. and I mean that for everyone involved.
Why they felt like it needed to be done NOW, and in the way they did, I will never understand. But that's okay: it was their choice to make, they made it.
There's a tumblr post I was directed towards, where they responded to someone talking about how 'tired' they were about the assumptions other folks are making. That's unfortunately part of it, because something that most folks weren't aware of was made public, and they're only given a few choice images to make ideals off of.
I talked about this thing with a few of my closer friends, and that was it. I moved on. Whatever happens on from this point, I've no interest in it.
So thank you, for anyone who was concerned for me, or wanted to point things out to me and so forth. But really, there's nothing else for me to say on the matter. I already said to them what I wanted to, and at this point I'm little more a spectator looking in.
MFW: New York preparing for dangerous Snow Storm
Posted 11 years agoJust putting up a quick journal telling anyone who lives in the New York area, or to the North-East of it (That is, New England and up into Canada), be really careful the next few days. Especially you guys in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and other nearby states.
New York is expecting to see a pouring of snow, anywhere from 1-2 feet in depth (so between 12 inches to 24 inches).
The Governor of New York is warning folks to get home early, as they expect it to really start turning nasty around 6, but the worst of it will hit overnight. Get home, stay home. Take any elderly folks you know of...grandparents, or just a neighbor that may have difficulty caring for themselves...and bring them with you. Call 911 ONLY if you ABSOLUTELY need to.
He's even warning for homeless folks to seek shelter through government means. SO yeah, New York is batting down the hatches here.
Anyone living in the general area, or may be afflicted with it tomorrow, be careful out there. Don't take it lightly, and don't extend yourself more than necessary.
New York is expecting to see a pouring of snow, anywhere from 1-2 feet in depth (so between 12 inches to 24 inches).
The Governor of New York is warning folks to get home early, as they expect it to really start turning nasty around 6, but the worst of it will hit overnight. Get home, stay home. Take any elderly folks you know of...grandparents, or just a neighbor that may have difficulty caring for themselves...and bring them with you. Call 911 ONLY if you ABSOLUTELY need to.
He's even warning for homeless folks to seek shelter through government means. SO yeah, New York is batting down the hatches here.
Anyone living in the general area, or may be afflicted with it tomorrow, be careful out there. Don't take it lightly, and don't extend yourself more than necessary.
Help a kitty save her face, and possibly life
Posted 11 years agoI don't like to make a lot of journals like these, but I promised someone I would try to help out.
So, this woman has a less than a year old kitten, whom she's named Uno.
Uno had to have surgery done to remove one of her eyes; but the operation was botched some. It wasn't entirely removed correctly, and a cyst was formed. It swells up, and is going to cause extreme damage to her face and head, and is very painful for the poor kitten.
They're needing to raise up about 1,200 dollars to get her eye properly worked on. So far, the fund raising has managed to get about 70 dollars raised up.
Mai made a journal about it which you can read here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6414779/
And the donation page is here:
http://www.gofundme.com/saveunosface
I'm just putting this word out there to hopefully help a little kitten have a better life than it is going to if left untreated. Thank you.
So, this woman has a less than a year old kitten, whom she's named Uno.
Uno had to have surgery done to remove one of her eyes; but the operation was botched some. It wasn't entirely removed correctly, and a cyst was formed. It swells up, and is going to cause extreme damage to her face and head, and is very painful for the poor kitten.
They're needing to raise up about 1,200 dollars to get her eye properly worked on. So far, the fund raising has managed to get about 70 dollars raised up.
Mai made a journal about it which you can read here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6414779/
And the donation page is here:
http://www.gofundme.com/saveunosface
I'm just putting this word out there to hopefully help a little kitten have a better life than it is going to if left untreated. Thank you.
MFW: Club Nintendo Shutting Down
Posted 11 years agoHi everyone, this is gonna be a real short and sweet announcement!
Last night, I was talking with some friends on what I should do with some of my coins on my Club Nintendo account, and ultimately decided to download Kirby Dream Land 3. It was on its' last day, and well, I didn't really see anything else I wanted.
To wake up this morning, go "Huh, wonder what new download games Nintendo has available?" to discover that they put up a series of games that I mostly already had...
And the announcement that they're discounting Club Nintendo entirely. That's not to say that they're just flat out getting rid of their customer loyalty program, but they're discontinuing Club Nintendo to make way for a new one.
In February, they plan on offering a whole bunch of goodies to help folks get rid of any coins they may have had saved up. But all coins MUST BE USED BY JUNE 30th, 2015.
After that point, all coins not used will be deleted.
There's also a couple of other important dates to know:
Any products released after today, January 20th, 2015, are NOT eligible to earn coins.
March 31st, 2015 is the last day to earn coins.
Gold/Elite status rewards will be awarded in April. This will be in the form of a downloadable game. (so, pretty much last year's program).
Additionally, all Club Nintendo members will receive a code for Flipnote Studio 3D sometime in February. While this may not be much, it is at least something. If you can't use it, maybe pass the code along to someone who can?
For those who would like to read the note:
http://club2.nintendo.com/program-notice/
Europe Club Nintendo's posting:
http://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2015.....source=twitter
And finally, Japan Club Nintendo's posting:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/support/i.....2015/0120.html
...myself? I really kind of wish they had announced this a few days ago...I might have waited to redeem Dream Land 3.
Last night, I was talking with some friends on what I should do with some of my coins on my Club Nintendo account, and ultimately decided to download Kirby Dream Land 3. It was on its' last day, and well, I didn't really see anything else I wanted.
To wake up this morning, go "Huh, wonder what new download games Nintendo has available?" to discover that they put up a series of games that I mostly already had...
And the announcement that they're discounting Club Nintendo entirely. That's not to say that they're just flat out getting rid of their customer loyalty program, but they're discontinuing Club Nintendo to make way for a new one.
In February, they plan on offering a whole bunch of goodies to help folks get rid of any coins they may have had saved up. But all coins MUST BE USED BY JUNE 30th, 2015.
After that point, all coins not used will be deleted.
There's also a couple of other important dates to know:
Any products released after today, January 20th, 2015, are NOT eligible to earn coins.
March 31st, 2015 is the last day to earn coins.
Gold/Elite status rewards will be awarded in April. This will be in the form of a downloadable game. (so, pretty much last year's program).
Additionally, all Club Nintendo members will receive a code for Flipnote Studio 3D sometime in February. While this may not be much, it is at least something. If you can't use it, maybe pass the code along to someone who can?
For those who would like to read the note:
http://club2.nintendo.com/program-notice/
Europe Club Nintendo's posting:
http://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2015.....source=twitter
And finally, Japan Club Nintendo's posting:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/support/i.....2015/0120.html
...myself? I really kind of wish they had announced this a few days ago...I might have waited to redeem Dream Land 3.
Do you guys like Cricket Inc's work?
Posted 11 years agoIf so, then you should totally go commission the fella!
He's needing a bit of help reaching the last bit of cash he needs for rent, and his work is stupendous if you've never seen it. If you haven't, you should really head on over to his account here on FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/journals/cricket-inc/
And right now, he's been running a special on bust commissions, going for 10 bucks a pop and 15 with mature content~. C'mon, you know you wanna see your lovely ladies struttin' their stuff out there!
So go on over, check out his stuff, and help him out if you can!
He's needing a bit of help reaching the last bit of cash he needs for rent, and his work is stupendous if you've never seen it. If you haven't, you should really head on over to his account here on FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/journals/cricket-inc/
And right now, he's been running a special on bust commissions, going for 10 bucks a pop and 15 with mature content~. C'mon, you know you wanna see your lovely ladies struttin' their stuff out there!
So go on over, check out his stuff, and help him out if you can!
MFW: Things Neer SHOULD do, but probably won't
Posted 11 years agoHi everyone, welcome to another 'My Furry Word'! Today, let's talk about Dragoneer and FA. The website has garnered some pretty bad PR in the past few years, from questionable choices for the staff, to horrible decisions making and just outright lying to the community as a whole.
But, let's not focus on all the negatives here! Let's take a look at five ways that Dragoneer could improve not only his image in the eyes of his fellow furs, but help improve FA on the whole as well!
5) Stop Promising New Features
This is a relatively easy one to do: Just stop doing it.
No, seriously. FA has become notorious for promising features that never come to fruition. From folders, to improved avatars, to a better tagging system, to this, that, the other, my kitchen sink, your mother, nearly EVERYTHING that every other site out there has, they have promised to us. So stop it. Stop saying these features are coming.
Instead, focus on features that you WANT your site to have. Folders? Okay, that's a good one to choose: it's highly desired, and would help out immensely.
Pick a feature, focus on getting it up and running, and announce it to us when it is DONE. Do a site update, do the update notes, and tell us about the new toy we have. People will be like “Alright, 'Neer and FA are starting to get things done!”
Focus on ONE feature at a time. Your eyes are bigger than your bellies, so it's time to cease this endless feature promising, and start to actually deliver something.
4) Improve Response Time to Drama
This has become an incredibly touchy problem with the community.
Fact is, when something major happens on FA and folks are upset about it, they start to want answers. And some of them are going to get angry and get pushy when they get a wall of silence; or even worse, if they see the folks in charge doing ANYTHING ELSE (see point number 3 below) BUT dealing with the issues at hand.
And trust me, I understand Dragoneer's side of things too, needing to read the situation and take care of that. But the last big problem spent well over 2 weeks in development, and then last January during the 'Zaush' debacle there was well over a week of silence before even one thing was said from the staff.
This can be mitigated pretty easily. You do not have to all the answers up front! But don't sit there and just ignore it. There should be SOME kind of response within a day, at least. Something that says “Hey, we're aware of this problem, and we're looking into it. Someone on the staff will be getting back to you within the week to help sort this out.”
There's no reason to go for over a week with nothing said. There's not. Folks get upset and angry, and one of your jobs as Head Admin, Dragoneer, is to help placate your community.
But that also leads us into my next point...
3) Stop Using/Fighting on Twitter
While this doesn't directly involve FA, it does involve Dragoneer. But this isn't a problem that is SOLELY attached to 'Neer, I've seen many many folks hurt themselves with the Twitter. Remember back during the last presidential election, those comments by Donald Trump? Remember how much of a fool he looked like AFTER that?
Yeah. This is a common problem, is the folks having to get their immediate thoughts and ideals out there, come hell or high water. While Dragoneer is dead silent on FA, he's busy tweeting up a storm as he goes shopping, deals with home issues (such as an ill kitty), and then is getting into fights.
Look, I know that when folks say horrible things about you, the instinct is to try and get them back. But Dragoneer, you do not win these fights. Getting into them only makes you look foolish, and it gives folks fuel to go “Look, he's wasting his time fighting with folks on Twitter instead of dealing with this!”...which is partially true.
Dragoneer IS allowed to have a life outside of FA. It's true! But you have to be careful with things like this. When there's a question of where donation money is actually going, and there's dead silence on that (see point 4 above!), but you're posting about this cute fox decoration you just bought, well, folks are going to make assumptions. This is why not leaving dead air hanging there is important. If you want to use Twitter, fine. But understand that using it while other issues, ones more important to your userbase, go ignored is going to cause backlash.
2) Knock out Anonymous Admin Accounts/Being Transparent
Aaahhh, so here I am, having myself just a fine day, and I log onto my favorite website, FA! Oh, look, I have a PM! It's from an Admin! They got back to me on an issue I had with another FA user, who was harassing me and evading blocks!
..wait, what? You can't do anything about it? Why, that's bollocks! I'll ask the other staff about that, which Admin are....oh. It's System Admin.
Okay, my example isn't probably the best, but you get the idea. These 'multiple user' accounts that Mods and Admins can access are a huge issue. The general idea is that it's a banner that anyone can use, at any time, and therefore it keeps users in the dark as to who they're dealing with.
This is something that SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. No, seriously, users have just as much right to know who they're dealing with as the Admin does to the user. What if an Admin is abusing power? The users can do nothing...and I mean NOTHING...about it without some critical data. Some users are willing to try and hack the system, but a lot of just left confused, angry, and upset.
This isn't a good thing, for anyone. If you can't tell who you're dealing with, you start to blame everyone...but ESPECIALLY the Head Admin, Dragoneer. After all, he's the one that allows these accounts to even exist, and he's the one who has final say in staff picks. Why WOULDN'T you blame the guy who is not addressing the biggest brew-ha on FA, and is tweeting pictures of that sweet Foxy Santa Statue?
These accounts are cancer to the site. They do nothing but create paranoia and hostility. Get rid of them. You talk about being transparent, well this would really help. Stop hiding who is doing what behind these anonymous accounts.
But that also leads me to my last point, which is perhaps the most important one...
1) Pick staff members with great care, & put some trust in your users
This is perhaps the biggest, most important thing that Dragoneer could do that could actually help his public image, and help FA. The people he chooses for his staff...being them Mods, Admins, or Coders...has a major influence on the entire community as a whole.
It's also where a majority of the drama from FA comes from.
I understand that Dragoneer has a desire to choose folks he feels he can trust, but that cannot be the only credential on choosing someone. Plus, when you have incidents like what happened with Zaush, things just look really bad.
And I don't even mean the alleged rape accusations. Most folks were like 'well, it was a he said/she said' situation. I'm talking about how he talks to his fellow staff members.
Or in the case of Chase & Zidonuke. Both of them were brought onto staff (Chase brought BACK on after being kicked off for other reasons), and both were hidden behind socket puppet accounts. BADLY hidden behind sock puppet accounts.
There's all this talk about transparency with FA and the users, but 'Neer...be honest. You're not being transparent at all when you hide folks like this behind sock puppet accounts.
You do it because you're afraid there will be backlash against those you choose...and yes, there will be. I don't feel that Chase SHOULD be on staff right now, I have zero trust and faith in him...and I have zero trust and faith in you. That's just me speaking from the heart.
But....while I don't trust Chase, if you do, then you need to step up. Don't hide them behind an account until you get found/called out.
Be up front about who you're choosing. Admit to their faults, but support them verbally, publicly, explaining WHY you think they are right for the job. There'll be backlash, but if you're RIGHT, and they do their jobs well without abusing their power, then folks will start having some faith in your choices again.
Plus, you gotta put a little faith that the community will be able to handle it. Right now, there's a clear divide between the userbase of FA and the staff of FA. The userbase doesn't trust you as much as it once did, and the staff doesn't trust the userbase enough to be open and frank with us.
For all this talk of being more transparent, you still tried to hide Zidonuke behind the StarryKitten account. That has to stop, if you're ever to regain any respect.
But hey, ya know, that requires a bit of trust.
But, let's not focus on all the negatives here! Let's take a look at five ways that Dragoneer could improve not only his image in the eyes of his fellow furs, but help improve FA on the whole as well!
5) Stop Promising New Features
This is a relatively easy one to do: Just stop doing it.
No, seriously. FA has become notorious for promising features that never come to fruition. From folders, to improved avatars, to a better tagging system, to this, that, the other, my kitchen sink, your mother, nearly EVERYTHING that every other site out there has, they have promised to us. So stop it. Stop saying these features are coming.
Instead, focus on features that you WANT your site to have. Folders? Okay, that's a good one to choose: it's highly desired, and would help out immensely.
Pick a feature, focus on getting it up and running, and announce it to us when it is DONE. Do a site update, do the update notes, and tell us about the new toy we have. People will be like “Alright, 'Neer and FA are starting to get things done!”
Focus on ONE feature at a time. Your eyes are bigger than your bellies, so it's time to cease this endless feature promising, and start to actually deliver something.
4) Improve Response Time to Drama
This has become an incredibly touchy problem with the community.
Fact is, when something major happens on FA and folks are upset about it, they start to want answers. And some of them are going to get angry and get pushy when they get a wall of silence; or even worse, if they see the folks in charge doing ANYTHING ELSE (see point number 3 below) BUT dealing with the issues at hand.
And trust me, I understand Dragoneer's side of things too, needing to read the situation and take care of that. But the last big problem spent well over 2 weeks in development, and then last January during the 'Zaush' debacle there was well over a week of silence before even one thing was said from the staff.
This can be mitigated pretty easily. You do not have to all the answers up front! But don't sit there and just ignore it. There should be SOME kind of response within a day, at least. Something that says “Hey, we're aware of this problem, and we're looking into it. Someone on the staff will be getting back to you within the week to help sort this out.”
There's no reason to go for over a week with nothing said. There's not. Folks get upset and angry, and one of your jobs as Head Admin, Dragoneer, is to help placate your community.
But that also leads us into my next point...
3) Stop Using/Fighting on Twitter
While this doesn't directly involve FA, it does involve Dragoneer. But this isn't a problem that is SOLELY attached to 'Neer, I've seen many many folks hurt themselves with the Twitter. Remember back during the last presidential election, those comments by Donald Trump? Remember how much of a fool he looked like AFTER that?
Yeah. This is a common problem, is the folks having to get their immediate thoughts and ideals out there, come hell or high water. While Dragoneer is dead silent on FA, he's busy tweeting up a storm as he goes shopping, deals with home issues (such as an ill kitty), and then is getting into fights.
Look, I know that when folks say horrible things about you, the instinct is to try and get them back. But Dragoneer, you do not win these fights. Getting into them only makes you look foolish, and it gives folks fuel to go “Look, he's wasting his time fighting with folks on Twitter instead of dealing with this!”...which is partially true.
Dragoneer IS allowed to have a life outside of FA. It's true! But you have to be careful with things like this. When there's a question of where donation money is actually going, and there's dead silence on that (see point 4 above!), but you're posting about this cute fox decoration you just bought, well, folks are going to make assumptions. This is why not leaving dead air hanging there is important. If you want to use Twitter, fine. But understand that using it while other issues, ones more important to your userbase, go ignored is going to cause backlash.
2) Knock out Anonymous Admin Accounts/Being Transparent
Aaahhh, so here I am, having myself just a fine day, and I log onto my favorite website, FA! Oh, look, I have a PM! It's from an Admin! They got back to me on an issue I had with another FA user, who was harassing me and evading blocks!
..wait, what? You can't do anything about it? Why, that's bollocks! I'll ask the other staff about that, which Admin are....oh. It's System Admin.
Okay, my example isn't probably the best, but you get the idea. These 'multiple user' accounts that Mods and Admins can access are a huge issue. The general idea is that it's a banner that anyone can use, at any time, and therefore it keeps users in the dark as to who they're dealing with.
This is something that SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. No, seriously, users have just as much right to know who they're dealing with as the Admin does to the user. What if an Admin is abusing power? The users can do nothing...and I mean NOTHING...about it without some critical data. Some users are willing to try and hack the system, but a lot of just left confused, angry, and upset.
This isn't a good thing, for anyone. If you can't tell who you're dealing with, you start to blame everyone...but ESPECIALLY the Head Admin, Dragoneer. After all, he's the one that allows these accounts to even exist, and he's the one who has final say in staff picks. Why WOULDN'T you blame the guy who is not addressing the biggest brew-ha on FA, and is tweeting pictures of that sweet Foxy Santa Statue?
These accounts are cancer to the site. They do nothing but create paranoia and hostility. Get rid of them. You talk about being transparent, well this would really help. Stop hiding who is doing what behind these anonymous accounts.
But that also leads me to my last point, which is perhaps the most important one...
1) Pick staff members with great care, & put some trust in your users
This is perhaps the biggest, most important thing that Dragoneer could do that could actually help his public image, and help FA. The people he chooses for his staff...being them Mods, Admins, or Coders...has a major influence on the entire community as a whole.
It's also where a majority of the drama from FA comes from.
I understand that Dragoneer has a desire to choose folks he feels he can trust, but that cannot be the only credential on choosing someone. Plus, when you have incidents like what happened with Zaush, things just look really bad.
And I don't even mean the alleged rape accusations. Most folks were like 'well, it was a he said/she said' situation. I'm talking about how he talks to his fellow staff members.
Or in the case of Chase & Zidonuke. Both of them were brought onto staff (Chase brought BACK on after being kicked off for other reasons), and both were hidden behind socket puppet accounts. BADLY hidden behind sock puppet accounts.
There's all this talk about transparency with FA and the users, but 'Neer...be honest. You're not being transparent at all when you hide folks like this behind sock puppet accounts.
You do it because you're afraid there will be backlash against those you choose...and yes, there will be. I don't feel that Chase SHOULD be on staff right now, I have zero trust and faith in him...and I have zero trust and faith in you. That's just me speaking from the heart.
But....while I don't trust Chase, if you do, then you need to step up. Don't hide them behind an account until you get found/called out.
Be up front about who you're choosing. Admit to their faults, but support them verbally, publicly, explaining WHY you think they are right for the job. There'll be backlash, but if you're RIGHT, and they do their jobs well without abusing their power, then folks will start having some faith in your choices again.
Plus, you gotta put a little faith that the community will be able to handle it. Right now, there's a clear divide between the userbase of FA and the staff of FA. The userbase doesn't trust you as much as it once did, and the staff doesn't trust the userbase enough to be open and frank with us.
For all this talk of being more transparent, you still tried to hide Zidonuke behind the StarryKitten account. That has to stop, if you're ever to regain any respect.
But hey, ya know, that requires a bit of trust.
Luni's Thoughts: Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 1
Posted 11 years agoToday Nintendo launched the first of two planned DLC packs for Mario Kart 8. This includes:
-3 new characters
-4 new karts
-8 tracks, both returning & brand new (3 retro tracks, 5 brand-new ones)
at cost of $7.99 USD (or $11.99 if you purchase both together at the same time),how does it hold up for the price?
Of the tracks, the 3 returning entries are Yoshi Circuit (Double Dash!!), Rainbow Road (Super Mario Kart), and Wario's Gold Mine (Wii). The rest are all brand new entries into the series, ranging from a race track on a icy tundra, to a track built on a twisting Chinese dragon. They also cover other Nintendo franchises, such as Excitebike, Legend of Zelda, and F-Zero. With Yoshi Circuit being an exception, each track feels unique and offer up a different racing experience.
While Excitebike looks like a very bland oval shaped track, due to the many jumps and hills and obstacles it becomes a very frenzied fight to get out in front. It also alters the track each time you play, so while it can be familiar, it's a little different here and there. F-Zero focuses a lot on speed, and the stage blazes by so fast that you may not be able to take in all the scenery the first or second times around the track. The Legend of Zelda track offers up familiar Hyrule settings, while replacing the usual coins with Rupees on the track.
Yoshi Circuit is the track that most folks are likely to experience first, and it unfortunately falls flat on its' face. Much like the base game's returning track Moo Moo Field, almost nothing was really done to Yoshi Circuit except to spruce it up a bit. It's still a fun and fast track to play on, but if you're really familiar with Double Dash!!, this doesn't offer up any new experiences like many of the others do.
I suppose the same could be said about Wario's Gold Mine, since it's not really altered too much from it's Wii counterpart (and is far more recent), but that track always struck me as kind of a roller coaster ride to start with, and the few times that it does inject some of the anti-gravity features of Kart 8 only helps smooth the track out.
Character choice was also another oddball area of the DLC. Instead of focusing on characters we hadn't seen before in this series, we're given one new character (Link, star of the Legend of the Zelda series) and then 2 reskins of characters we already have 3 sets of: Mario & Peach.
This time around, we get a Tanuki (spelled Tanooki) Mario & Cat Peach. While I wasn't particularly thrilled with either selection (why Captain Falcon wasn't chosen when there's both his car and a F-Zero track in this I can't fathom), I have to admit that both do have their charms. Tanuki Mario makes the 'tail flip' sound when honking his horn, and can even flip his tail or turn into a statue for some of his tricks. Cat Peach has perhaps the most annoying horn in the game, which I couldn't quite tell if it was trying to mimic a purring sound from a cat. But she is quite amusing otherwise, constantly saying meow, mew, myaaah and a few other kitty references.
Link is still the best one of this lot, and it shows. They made excellent use of a variety of Legend of Zelda musical cues and references, from his horn to swinging his sword for a trick. He even gets his own personal bike, the Master Cycle, which comes with its' own set of wheels and a glider to match. We're sure to see a lot of the full LoZ loadouts blazing through the lands of Hyrule.
While I still think the decision to not include Captain Falcon and someone else was the wrong way to go, I do enjoy all of the character choices they made.
The karts range from classic cars, such B-Dasher from Mario Kart DS & the Blue Falcon, to all new ones such as the Master Cycle and the Tanooki Kart, which was clearly designed to match up with Tanuki Mario. There's not much to say here, as these are all just reskins of karts and pieces we've already gotten in Kart 8, but if at least they offer up more visual choices.
Overall, despite some shortcomings in character selection and nothing really done to spice up Yoshi Circuit, it's a very solid pack. A lot of the tracks offer up fun game alterations, offering focus on different styles through the courses it offers. For any long-time fan of the series, this is an excellent purchase for the price. More so if you double down and buy both packs together, which costs less overall and allows you to start using two packs of Shy Guy & Yoshi colors. That may not sound like much, but it really is a thrill to see 3 or 4 yoshis on the same race track played by your friends, each one choosing a different color.
Additional note: the DLC also comes with an update that supports amiibos. What this does, is that from 10 select amiibo figures, you can get new costumes for your Mii to race in!
The suits are: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Samus, Captain Falcon, Link, and Fox.
The costumes unlock permanently once you do so, so it's very user friendly if you and your friends each have one or two. Myself...I'm all alone over here. ;3; Guess I'll have to go get 'em all myself!
-3 new characters
-4 new karts
-8 tracks, both returning & brand new (3 retro tracks, 5 brand-new ones)
at cost of $7.99 USD (or $11.99 if you purchase both together at the same time),how does it hold up for the price?
Of the tracks, the 3 returning entries are Yoshi Circuit (Double Dash!!), Rainbow Road (Super Mario Kart), and Wario's Gold Mine (Wii). The rest are all brand new entries into the series, ranging from a race track on a icy tundra, to a track built on a twisting Chinese dragon. They also cover other Nintendo franchises, such as Excitebike, Legend of Zelda, and F-Zero. With Yoshi Circuit being an exception, each track feels unique and offer up a different racing experience.
While Excitebike looks like a very bland oval shaped track, due to the many jumps and hills and obstacles it becomes a very frenzied fight to get out in front. It also alters the track each time you play, so while it can be familiar, it's a little different here and there. F-Zero focuses a lot on speed, and the stage blazes by so fast that you may not be able to take in all the scenery the first or second times around the track. The Legend of Zelda track offers up familiar Hyrule settings, while replacing the usual coins with Rupees on the track.
Yoshi Circuit is the track that most folks are likely to experience first, and it unfortunately falls flat on its' face. Much like the base game's returning track Moo Moo Field, almost nothing was really done to Yoshi Circuit except to spruce it up a bit. It's still a fun and fast track to play on, but if you're really familiar with Double Dash!!, this doesn't offer up any new experiences like many of the others do.
I suppose the same could be said about Wario's Gold Mine, since it's not really altered too much from it's Wii counterpart (and is far more recent), but that track always struck me as kind of a roller coaster ride to start with, and the few times that it does inject some of the anti-gravity features of Kart 8 only helps smooth the track out.
Character choice was also another oddball area of the DLC. Instead of focusing on characters we hadn't seen before in this series, we're given one new character (Link, star of the Legend of the Zelda series) and then 2 reskins of characters we already have 3 sets of: Mario & Peach.
This time around, we get a Tanuki (spelled Tanooki) Mario & Cat Peach. While I wasn't particularly thrilled with either selection (why Captain Falcon wasn't chosen when there's both his car and a F-Zero track in this I can't fathom), I have to admit that both do have their charms. Tanuki Mario makes the 'tail flip' sound when honking his horn, and can even flip his tail or turn into a statue for some of his tricks. Cat Peach has perhaps the most annoying horn in the game, which I couldn't quite tell if it was trying to mimic a purring sound from a cat. But she is quite amusing otherwise, constantly saying meow, mew, myaaah and a few other kitty references.
Link is still the best one of this lot, and it shows. They made excellent use of a variety of Legend of Zelda musical cues and references, from his horn to swinging his sword for a trick. He even gets his own personal bike, the Master Cycle, which comes with its' own set of wheels and a glider to match. We're sure to see a lot of the full LoZ loadouts blazing through the lands of Hyrule.
While I still think the decision to not include Captain Falcon and someone else was the wrong way to go, I do enjoy all of the character choices they made.
The karts range from classic cars, such B-Dasher from Mario Kart DS & the Blue Falcon, to all new ones such as the Master Cycle and the Tanooki Kart, which was clearly designed to match up with Tanuki Mario. There's not much to say here, as these are all just reskins of karts and pieces we've already gotten in Kart 8, but if at least they offer up more visual choices.
Overall, despite some shortcomings in character selection and nothing really done to spice up Yoshi Circuit, it's a very solid pack. A lot of the tracks offer up fun game alterations, offering focus on different styles through the courses it offers. For any long-time fan of the series, this is an excellent purchase for the price. More so if you double down and buy both packs together, which costs less overall and allows you to start using two packs of Shy Guy & Yoshi colors. That may not sound like much, but it really is a thrill to see 3 or 4 yoshis on the same race track played by your friends, each one choosing a different color.
Additional note: the DLC also comes with an update that supports amiibos. What this does, is that from 10 select amiibo figures, you can get new costumes for your Mii to race in!
The suits are: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Samus, Captain Falcon, Link, and Fox.
The costumes unlock permanently once you do so, so it's very user friendly if you and your friends each have one or two. Myself...I'm all alone over here. ;3; Guess I'll have to go get 'em all myself!
FCC & Net Neutrality
Posted 11 years agohttp://www.upworthy.com/john-oliver.....-to-see?c=ufb4
To be honest, this guy puts it into words much better than I ever could.
The deadline is the 15th of Sept, and if you want to be able to speak up for saving it from corporate grubbing, then you need to speak up NOW.
The video is about 13 minutes long, shows you some outstanding examples of just what is WRONG with this proposal, and then provides you to a link to the FCC page where you can fill out a form to leave your own thoughts. (Make sure you click on the correct form, it seems they moved it EVERY SO SLIGHTLY from where it is in the shown example on my link).
To be honest, this guy puts it into words much better than I ever could.
The deadline is the 15th of Sept, and if you want to be able to speak up for saving it from corporate grubbing, then you need to speak up NOW.
The video is about 13 minutes long, shows you some outstanding examples of just what is WRONG with this proposal, and then provides you to a link to the FCC page where you can fill out a form to leave your own thoughts. (Make sure you click on the correct form, it seems they moved it EVERY SO SLIGHTLY from where it is in the shown example on my link).
are you a Club Nintendo Member?
Posted 11 years agoAre you Gold or Platinum status for the 2014 fiscal year? Then make double sure to log into Club Nintendo and select your digital game reward before August 15!
club.nintendo.com
club.nintendo.com
Lunipiece Theater: Stream for July 2nd, 2014
Posted 11 years agoTonight is as good as any to get Anthologies started!
Seeing how the stream won't start until later (roughly 10 PM EST; I'll post a head's up about an hour before hand), I figured we'd start off kind of easy with Masters of Horror: Homecoming, and a couple of Tales From the Crypt episodes.
And just for a taste of things to come, MoH: Homecoming trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jdPg5xNY0
Hope to see ya guys tonight!
Seeing how the stream won't start until later (roughly 10 PM EST; I'll post a head's up about an hour before hand), I figured we'd start off kind of easy with Masters of Horror: Homecoming, and a couple of Tales From the Crypt episodes.
And just for a taste of things to come, MoH: Homecoming trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93jdPg5xNY0
Hope to see ya guys tonight!
Gaming stream for charity
Posted 11 years agoa direct link to the journal here: https://inkbunny.net/journalview.php?id=138901
For those of you who don't go to IB, I will repost below the majority of the journal:
YukiAkuma (https://inkbunny.net/YukiAkuma) had to take a loan out from one of those payday advance places, and who are demanding their money back about a week before he gets paid!
It's a crummy situation to find oneself in, and Carmine (https://inkbunny.net/Fergas) is intending to help out as much as he can, and is hoping to help drum up about 100 USD in charity drives while streaming games. He'll be streaming from noon CST, until about 5-6 CST tomorrow. (June 25th, 2014). And may stream again the following day, depending.
Furthermore, Yuki intends to fully repay back any funds given to him when he gets paid on the 9th; the funds are due on the 1st.
So names will be taken and money refunded ASAP. So if you can spare a few dollars, it would go a long way to helping out.
For those of you who don't go to IB, I will repost below the majority of the journal:
YukiAkuma (https://inkbunny.net/YukiAkuma) had to take a loan out from one of those payday advance places, and who are demanding their money back about a week before he gets paid!
It's a crummy situation to find oneself in, and Carmine (https://inkbunny.net/Fergas) is intending to help out as much as he can, and is hoping to help drum up about 100 USD in charity drives while streaming games. He'll be streaming from noon CST, until about 5-6 CST tomorrow. (June 25th, 2014). And may stream again the following day, depending.
Furthermore, Yuki intends to fully repay back any funds given to him when he gets paid on the 9th; the funds are due on the 1st.
So names will be taken and money refunded ASAP. So if you can spare a few dollars, it would go a long way to helping out.
Public Announcment: Crystal Lake Residents
Posted 11 years agoAs we all know, this week's Friday happens to be the 13th of the month. In order to ensure that our peaceful, quiet community stays that way, we've come up with a few safety tips and rules.
1. Do not leave the main roads or highways. Take especial care to avoid any roadways that travel through the nearby woods.
2. If you see a person you cannot readily identify, keep your distance. If possible, leave the area ASAP and contact police to report the sighting!
3. Do not pull a 'Scooby Doo' and decide to investigate yourself; do NOT 'split up gang'! Remain in large groups, and avoid secluded or wooded areas!
4. Avoid booze, premarital sex, and drug use! For some reason, any combination of the three seems to draw attention immediately to you!
5. Do not trespass on the old campgrounds for ANY circumstances! It is considered private property these days, and you WILL be jailed if you're discovered anywhere near them!
Following these rules helps ensure your safety as well as keeping Crystal Lake a happy, peaceful community.
****
Also, seeing how it's June, Friday the 13th with a full moon, I plan on celebrating Jason's birthday today with a marathon of all the previous films I've aired so far this month, leading up to Parts 8 and 9. Showtime is set to start around 1 pm EST, or thereabouts.
May try to have a few special treats in store for between movies, so hope to see ya there!
1. Do not leave the main roads or highways. Take especial care to avoid any roadways that travel through the nearby woods.
2. If you see a person you cannot readily identify, keep your distance. If possible, leave the area ASAP and contact police to report the sighting!
3. Do not pull a 'Scooby Doo' and decide to investigate yourself; do NOT 'split up gang'! Remain in large groups, and avoid secluded or wooded areas!
4. Avoid booze, premarital sex, and drug use! For some reason, any combination of the three seems to draw attention immediately to you!
5. Do not trespass on the old campgrounds for ANY circumstances! It is considered private property these days, and you WILL be jailed if you're discovered anywhere near them!
Following these rules helps ensure your safety as well as keeping Crystal Lake a happy, peaceful community.
****
Also, seeing how it's June, Friday the 13th with a full moon, I plan on celebrating Jason's birthday today with a marathon of all the previous films I've aired so far this month, leading up to Parts 8 and 9. Showtime is set to start around 1 pm EST, or thereabouts.
May try to have a few special treats in store for between movies, so hope to see ya there!
Should data in franchises get passed along?
Posted 11 years agoWhat I'm talking about is something that has long plagued gamers in long-running series: the ability to build one's self up, taking the data with them into the next game.
It's an idea we've seen before in series such as Mass Effect, to varying results.
But I'm thinking less 'major data moving' and more along the lines of something smaller, for series like Animal Crossing and Pokemon.
I realized today that I'm at a point in Animal Crossing: New Leaf where I have about half or so of the Modern furniture set; but I had the whole thing in Wild World. In fact, I had a lot of things in Wild World, such as villager pictures, that I don't have access to in New Leaf...due to the fact that I just don't have those villagers in my town in NL, and I may NEVER have them.
I'm thinking for something like AC, make it so you can carry along your catalog of items, and certain items (such as pictures) purchasable.
Now, I understand that to a point, this affects the game with the Happy Home Academy, but these were items that I had earned before, and are unable to access now. I really liked having the picture of one of the octopus villagers in Wild World. But these were items that I did already EARN, and may not be able to if just thanks to the RNG.
I had a similar idea for Pokemon. Now, you can already carry Pokemon along with you, which is great. It is, in fact, better than it has ever been thanks to just how many you can move with the Pokemon Bank, and have them happily planted inside your current X or Y game.
However, it's long been pointed out by many fans that it does get to be a bit...weird, that you're always a new trainer starting out in these games. I would suggest perhaps allowing folks to bring over SOME kind of data...either badges from previous titles, and being able to show that off, or the same Trainer name and ID combo.
Just, SOMETHING to help feel like you're continuing the journey, instead of always starting over.
I would say maybe offer something like a different starting point, but that is, in all seriousness, almost impossible without re-doing a lot of the spoken dialogue in the game. Which is not really a feasible request.
I've already had one friend countering this, saying that anything like a hat from a previous gen that is only available to previous players is less rewarding long-term fans, and more punishing newcomers. My thought is, is that something like a hat from Sinnoh is less a punishment, and far more understanding than now Nintendo basically punishes everyone who doesn't get a particular Pokemon/item during a very limited window.
Thoughts? Comments? Hate it? Let me know!
It's an idea we've seen before in series such as Mass Effect, to varying results.
But I'm thinking less 'major data moving' and more along the lines of something smaller, for series like Animal Crossing and Pokemon.
I realized today that I'm at a point in Animal Crossing: New Leaf where I have about half or so of the Modern furniture set; but I had the whole thing in Wild World. In fact, I had a lot of things in Wild World, such as villager pictures, that I don't have access to in New Leaf...due to the fact that I just don't have those villagers in my town in NL, and I may NEVER have them.
I'm thinking for something like AC, make it so you can carry along your catalog of items, and certain items (such as pictures) purchasable.
Now, I understand that to a point, this affects the game with the Happy Home Academy, but these were items that I had earned before, and are unable to access now. I really liked having the picture of one of the octopus villagers in Wild World. But these were items that I did already EARN, and may not be able to if just thanks to the RNG.
I had a similar idea for Pokemon. Now, you can already carry Pokemon along with you, which is great. It is, in fact, better than it has ever been thanks to just how many you can move with the Pokemon Bank, and have them happily planted inside your current X or Y game.
However, it's long been pointed out by many fans that it does get to be a bit...weird, that you're always a new trainer starting out in these games. I would suggest perhaps allowing folks to bring over SOME kind of data...either badges from previous titles, and being able to show that off, or the same Trainer name and ID combo.
Just, SOMETHING to help feel like you're continuing the journey, instead of always starting over.
I would say maybe offer something like a different starting point, but that is, in all seriousness, almost impossible without re-doing a lot of the spoken dialogue in the game. Which is not really a feasible request.
I've already had one friend countering this, saying that anything like a hat from a previous gen that is only available to previous players is less rewarding long-term fans, and more punishing newcomers. My thought is, is that something like a hat from Sinnoh is less a punishment, and far more understanding than now Nintendo basically punishes everyone who doesn't get a particular Pokemon/item during a very limited window.
Thoughts? Comments? Hate it? Let me know!
Lunipiece Theater: Stream for June 3rd, 2014
Posted 11 years agoTonight we dare to return to Crystal Lake, for Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter! Despite the title, this 4th entry into the series was NOT the ending!
This time, Jason is stalking a bunch of teenagers and the Jarvis family, including young Tommy Jarvis. A horror movie aficionado, can Tommy unlock the secret to stopping this killing machine, or is Jason going to kill everyone in his path?
Showtime will begin roughly between 9:30-10:00 pm EST (depending on when I get home!), and hopefully you guys (or Jason) will have to wait too long!
This time, Jason is stalking a bunch of teenagers and the Jarvis family, including young Tommy Jarvis. A horror movie aficionado, can Tommy unlock the secret to stopping this killing machine, or is Jason going to kill everyone in his path?
Showtime will begin roughly between 9:30-10:00 pm EST (depending on when I get home!), and hopefully you guys (or Jason) will have to wait too long!
Lunipiece Theater: Stream for June 1st, 2014
Posted 11 years agoTonight we start our month-long Friday the 13th marathon, with the first two films in the series!
Show time is gonna start around 6:00 pm EST. Hope to see ya there!
Show time is gonna start around 6:00 pm EST. Hope to see ya there!
