No idea if anyone has noticed but the last week I've been rather quiet.
Well that's because I've been on holiday. I've been down to Cornwall with the rest of my theatre company to put on a show at the Minack Theatre (look it up, and if you can, go there!).

Now however I am back, and I've got lotsa stuff to do now I'm home again...like going back to work as well as catching up with everything imaginable. Got a cool 2700 submissions in my inbox x3 Phew boy. And that's FA alone, I also have dA to look through.

Ontop of that I have quite the commission backlog to upload (still). Anyways I'll work on it over the next few days.

-S =^_^=

And so far I'm liking the device! I need more games but Splatoon 2 is a jolly lot of fun!

The only major issue I have with the console is the awful ergonomics of the Joy-Con controllers, especially when they're placed into the housing them turns them into a "standard" controller.

Everything on them is just too cramped, the buttons, the sticks, the triggers, it all results in a very uncomfortable experience. Worsened by the fact I have long fingers I further have to claw my hand into an unnatural position. Worsened further by Ninty still seeming hiring retired assembly line robots to QA test their controllers, since they still favour harsh geometric shapes rather than anything designed for human (or furry) hands.

So if, like me, you want to prevent carpal tunnel while still being able to rub one out later in the night, I'd recommend getting a Pro Controller which is exactly what I plan to do. I've heard many, many good reviews about it and has an identical layout to the 360/Xbone Controller. Which, along with the Gamecube's controller, I still posit as the Gold Standard for controller designs.

Other than that I'd say Ninty has cottoned on to a wonderful USP for the Switch, and while I don't see myself really using it's portable features, who knows? I might do. I just can't wait to get my mitts on further games for the system :3

They're boring...

There I said it. Let the long-time WoW players come at me with their Level 100 Crystal Nether Swords!

Okay let's be real here. Until today I've never touched an MMO, for two main reasons. I've been worried that I would get hopelessly addicted, or because I knew they were nothing but repetitive endless grinding. Or at the very least, that's what I've heard from many many sources over the years. And it turns out that's exactly the case.

So I tried Star Wars the Old Republic with my mate, because he's gotten re-hooked after a hiatus and wanted someone to play with. After about 2 hours of play I have zero desire to play it, or any MMO again. It just didn't grab me, I couldn't get into the story because the gameplay was so dull and tedious, lacked any sort of skill and involved nothing but standing around spamming the 1 key. I think it's safe to say that through secondhand experience over the years that this is pretty much just every MMO ever.

I simply cannot fathom the appeal. Now I know this is going to be an open invitation for every MMO player in a 10 mile radius to beat me around the head with a recommendation of their own favourite land of Massively Multiplayer Online Rage Producing Gobbledegook (or in my case I was so bored I could hardly summon annoyance at the tedium, let alone rage). But please don't recommend any, because I really have no desire to try any others. In essence they are all the same and I doubt dubious changes in the anaemic gameplay will change my mind.

With that in mind however I ask, MMO players: What is the appeal?
Gameplay? Fuck no, you click a dude and spam hotkeys all day with minimal skill involved.
Story? Well the gameplay has me so bored I can hardly get invested.
The social aspect? Well I hate randos and if I wanted fun with my mate, well I can think of many better things we could enjoy together.

So, what? I know some might argue that a lot of games simply boil down to clicking on enemies, but MMOs seem to boil that down to an even less engaging model.


Like I said, I'm not interested in being recommended any MMOs. I would simply like to try and understand how people can possibly find this sort of thing entertaining. It's truly baffling.
(Oh and no offence to anyone who enjoys MMOs, I'm not taking a dig at you. I'm simply bewildered)

Travel is always exhausting. I had a good time in Turkey though, but I'm glad to be home again!

Phew, I have a lot of catching up to do. A week without internet access and everything really piles up X.X

For the dates listed above I will be unavailable on account of the fact I'll be in Turkey enjoying the heat and doing a whole heap of fuck all *puts on sunglasses*

I'll be bringing minimal electronics with me, in fact only my phone of which I will limit my use of. As a result I'll be disconnecting myself completely for the week. No internet, no contact, nothing. I think an unplugged week will do me good...along with the whole going on holiday thing x3


...I'm gonna have a shit load of submissions in my inbox when I get back...don't wait up! <3

-S =^_^=

If not then close this browser tab and go vote! You have just under three hours to exercise the one chance you have in a long chance to exercise your democratic rights.

That's all I'll say, I've made my stance clear before. Have a nice day~

I still have a few things I'm waiting on, as well as two pieces waiting to upload. So that makes about ten pieces in waiting.

After those however, I shan't be buying anymore for the foreseeable future. I'll still be around regularly however.

But the reason I'm not buying any more is...well it's fairly obvious, financial reasons. Funny how things always come back to money isn't it?
I won't go into any gritty details but needless to say, if I won massive on the lottery tomorrow sooooo many issues facing me right now would be solved like that *clicks fingers*.

*sigh* How joyous it must be to not have to worry about money. While I don't necessarily desire riches, it would certainly make life a fuck load of a lot easier xP

So if you don't like hearing other people's opinions or viewpoints and just wanna stay snuggled up safe and warm in an echo chamber, then leave now!

For everyone else, let's get down to business. As usual if you want to comment, be amicable and civil. We can discuss matters as adults, not screaming children. Or you know, if you want to be a screaming child then do so, I can't stop you. I'll just willingly ignore you.

All of this is related to the upcoming British election.


A reminder ahead of the election.

The Tories want to suppress your freedom to say whatever you like, suppress your civil liberties, and suppress your ability to engage
in whatever media you want on the internet. Don't believe me? It's in their manifesto, clear as day, and open for ANYBODY to read.
If I might, direct your attention to page 79 the section titled "The safest place to be online"
https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto
Which basically boils down to:
"We want to restrict what you're allowed to say and do online, because you might hurt people's feelings"
People's feelings are not, never were, and never will be, an argument in regards to anything.

Alongside that they want to dick around everyone else because parents are too lazy to supervise children. Allow me to quote:
"We will work with industry to introduce new protections for minors, from images of pornography, violence and other age-inappropriate content not just on social media but in app stores and content sites as well."

So basically, they recognise that parents supervising their own children is not required and instead, everyone else should be inconvenienced for it. We shouldn't be teaching kids the dangers of the online world, we should be teaching parents to...shit I don't know, actually be parents.

This here is but a small tip of the bullshittery iceberg.

The Tories seem to have an enormous raging hate stiffy for people's freedom to do and say what the fuck they want online. They want to regulate what you can or cannot say in a public, and need I remind you, free and open setting.

Sadly I cannot articulate the sheer degree of authoritarianism present in the Conservative Party. Now you may think me a little hysterical for saying that, but just read the bullshit that is their own manifesto with even a modicum cynicism and it'll become clear as day. Theresa May and her party are moral busy-bodies who want to impose a nanny-state, and they'll be able to if nobody decries their bullshit. Let them sort out Brexit, and nothing else! Fight against their authoritarian policies whenever they rear their rancid heads!

Don't believe me? Don't believe me that they want to stifle your freedoms and privacy? The Investigatory Powers Act exists, and more, far greater intrusive policies will come along if we allow them.
If they manage to pass the crap listed in their manifesto, this very post you are reading could easily be restricted, and removed because it speaks ill of the people in charge.

More and more an Ingsoc like government is starting to become feasible. "That won't happen" you might say. Well, do you want to just HOPE it doesn't? Personally, I'm not a gambling individual, so I won't take my chances.

If you really must vote for the Tories in the upcoming election, be vigilant of the aforementioned shit that WILL crop up later down the line. When it does, be ready to fight it off!

Thank you for your time in reading.
Fuck the the Tories.

After toughing it out, it happens that I can get into it.

The frustrations I brought up in my previous journal are still present, but now that I've adjusted to the game and gotten into it's groove properly they're somewhat diminished.
I upgraded my processor just yesterday so now I can admire the game in all it's visual glory. Because I think we can all agree that DICE does some phenominal audio/visual work on their products.

This is in regards to any Battlefield game, they're all pretty much the same. And this is about the multiplayer, not like I need to specify that. Having said that this is mostly all from my experiences with Battlefield 1.

Anyway, can anybody tell me the appeal of Battlefield Multiplayer? I've been playing Battlefield 1 the last couple days after it was gifted to me, and it's baffled me what people find in it....that won't stop me playing again for several hours again and again this week X.X

So lemme run down my general thoughts. There are several momentary satisfactions to be had in say popping a headshot, or finishing off a guy with just a slither of health left yourself, or heck just throwing down health packs and reviving team mates.
The weapons have a good weighty feel to them, shots firing with a satisfying *THUNK* so it's feels immensely good landing kills just in general.

The problem is all this little moments of entertainment are relentlessly book-ended by massive frustrations. The majority of my time playing the game is spent either trekking across open country just to get to where the action is, or laying flat on my back, dead because I was shot by someone I couldn't have possibly seen. Usually it's the former very swiftly followed by the latter.

But that's just one annoyance. The weapons. I know I just praised them a moment ago but that was praising how they FELT, not how they actually played. I know this is going to invite so many people to spam me with the 'ol "Git gud!", but if I had a penny for every shot that the cross-hair was dead centre on my target but the hit simply didn't register I'd be a rich Wuffie I tell you that! And no it's not even damage drop-offs at work. I shot a guy in the back, three times, with a trench gun, well within optimum range. Only one shot seemed to register.
Time and time again I find shots simply not hitting, again even if I'm lined up.

Classes take an eternity to make any kind of level up progress, which is further annoying since there is so little weapon variety available from the start. The weapons that you can unlock from the start are 2-3 different variants of the default weapon of each class, or one other different weapon. The problem I have with this? If I want different weapons for that class, I need to play it, putting up with weapons that I don't like. Even if I just do support stuff like, handing out aid or ammo, or blowing up tanks or class specific stuff, it really makes little difference the class will still level up with the speed of a narcoleptic snail.

Speaking of weapons once again, the absolute abundance of automatic weapons really pisses in my cornflakes. Yes I realise there WERE some automatic weapons in WW1, but they're far far too abundant in comparison to everything else. SMGs are the most egregious offender, since it seems Assault is the most popular class.


Well that concludes my dumb rant on why I find Battlefield multiplayer immensely frustrating. I know some will read this and probably think "What? But these are just small issues". Regardless of whether they're big or small issues to you, they are big issues to me. Having said all this, I'll no doubt boot up the game again tomorrow because despite all this, I want to like it. It does have a lot of good going for it.

Simply put, what's the appeal of Counter Strike: Global Offensive?

Every time I come back to it I remember why I hardly play it, because it infuriates me to no end. So here me out on this one, it's not like I haven't the game a good chance:

For me, the game sits in a weird nether-space between fast paced arcade style shooters (think Call of Duty, Halo and the like) and slow paced, methodical, tactical shooters (think classic Ghost Recon titles).

It sits between these two categories to me, providing none of the appeal of either, but bringing in all the annoyances of both.
Alongside that, here are my grievances that may seem like niggles but they all add up to make the experience rather infuriating:
-It's too slow to fall into the former category, but still too fast to fall into the latter.
-Everyone weirdly feels like a massive bullet-sponge, but also like they're made of paper at the same time, resulting in some instant kills out of nowhere even without headshots.
-The pace is too fast for how inaccurate your aim often is, resulting in some serious crapshoot kills. Because getting an instant kill headshot while spraying and praying is fun!
-If you start getting shot, you slow to a fucking crawl! Essentially assuring your death with no chance for retaliation since you can neither run for cover nor locate your attacker since you'll be dead before you get eyes on them. (This one really pisses in my cornflakes). And this happens more often than I'd like to mention since 50% of kills come down to who saw who first.

In the past I played shit loads of Call of Duty and Halo, and most notably TF2 and most recently Overwatch. So maybe it's because I'm used to faster paced arcady shooters. But even having said that, while I've never played them much myself I can easily see the appeal in slower, tactical shooters along the lines of classic Ghost Recon titles. As I said however, CS:GO lacks the appeal of either for me with it sitting in an odd dead zone in between.

So hardcore, or even softcore players, lemme hear it. I wanna know the appeal you find in Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

Do you primarily play games on a console? A console gamer, if you will. If so, I'm genuinely curious as to why.

Now I'm looking for amicable and good willed discussion, so don't be afraid about being truthful. But be prepared for differing viewpoints.
Reason I'm asking? Well it baffles me that people play on consoles, and I wanna hear some reasons as an outsider looking in and former console gamer myself.

So go ahead, lemme hear 'em :D

So let's talk robots.

Any are welcome, the classic grey plated, boxy looking things, to anything up to and including human-like synthetics.

Tell me what you like about robots? What kind? Why do you like 'em? What about androids or cyborgs?
Throw your comments at me! :D

Who's dreading it? How many of you actually have a good Monday?

Whatever happens, be a good person.

Why? Because it's easy to be an asshole. Far too easy that you see it too much these days. If you can be a good person in a sea of shit-head, you'll stand out as a pillar. A pillar of good will, an amicable person and someone who can keep their stuff together in any situation.

It's easy to be an asshole. But it's difficult, and commendable, to resist that temptation and be a good person.

Did you see how easy it was to garner comments through a completely vapid journal?

Because who needs substance, really?

(NOT taking a stab at people who replied. Just pointing out how writing silly things can garner a big response).

Here let me do it again. Banana pancakes. Anyone? Anyone at all?

Who likes em? Big dicks anyone? *readies clipboard* For science of course.

(because lol random journal, am I right guys?!)

I managed to clear out my inbox! That's right I went through all 1760-something submissions! Probabaly a little more since I stopped last night at 700-something.

Expect new arts! :D

Wow, that stuff really piles up after being away for a week....not willingly, mind you.

Really, if your reaction to an innocuous comment is to go full on racist, swearing arm flailing....then you might wanna stay off the internet.
If only for your own good.

(See I can make passive aggressive remarks too >;3)

And because it's funny, have a middle finger or something
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgGZOYJ3MPI

Everyone who's bought art on or around sites like FA have more than likely paid via PayPal. Nothing uncommon there.

But as an artist that does that as their job (produces artwork) aren't they supposed to accept payments via the "Goods and Services" option?
Rarely so I see any request you do it via "Friends and Family", but every now and again I see it.

While I'm not bashing those who do, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to. Doesn't the customer get buyer protection by paying via the former? That they don't get via the latter?

Anyone have the facts on this? Because it's got me curious.