Scenes from a Chat: I Don't See the Point edition

I thiink I've pinpointed my exact problem with mainland event hosts:

[14:03] CoolMan33 HUD!: ☆´¨) [name of artist]
[14:03] CoolMan33 HUD!: ¸.•´¸.•´¨) ¸.•*¨) AMAZING
[14:03] CoolMan33 HUD!: (¸.•´ (¸.•´ (¸.•*´¯`* SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!
[14:03] CoolCool HUD!: ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— Í ƒєєι тhe 尺ђץ†ђм Õƒ the MUSIC! ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ—
[14:03] CoolCool HUD!: the MUSIC , , , swaying
[14:03] CoolCool HUD!: ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— Í ƒєєι тhe 尺ђץ†ђм Õƒ the MUSIC! ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ— ☸ڿڰۣ-ڰۣ—

Not only did this hostess do the all-caps, Facebook-language spam posts every five minutes or so, she also had TWO different huds to spit out this. Every five minutes or so.

Ugh.

In other news...oof, this went odd places. Left the group name in, anonymized everything else:

[14:24] Axxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Anyone know a environment light that is close to black and white, as good as it can be I guess for selfies?
[14:25] Cxx Bxxxxxx: that's a good question
[14:25] Jxxxx Vxxxx: u want it off
[14:25] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Ooh, that's fascinating. No, but if you do find one, let me know!
[14:25] Jxxxx Vxxxx: or on
[14:25] Txxxxxxx Dxxxx: There's a filter option when you take a shot.
[14:25] Lxxxxxxxx Mxxxxxx: have you tried the black and white filter...what [txxxxxx] said
[14:25] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: There's also editing after which is brilliant
[14:25] Axxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yea dull saturation is the best I found so far, but am still looking sheesh, lol
[14:25] Axxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oo wow, no I havent
[14:25] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): There is, sure, if you're using Firestorm, but there's not a lot of subtlety?
[14:25] Txxx Oxxxxxxxx: If you use firestorm it has a filter set
[14:25] Axxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Let me try to fiigure that out, thanks
[14:25] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Their filters are just that--you can't make them less of that effect, or more, it's just what's there.
[14:26] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: You're still better off learning a little photo editing for the best effect
[14:26] Jxxxx Vxxxx: this
[14:26] Jxxxx Vxxxx: find that drop down when open snapshot
[14:27] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Right. And as [Vxxxxx] pointed out, after-image processing is a thing. So if nothing else, pull open the image in your graphics program of choice, track down Desaturate, and play with the settings.
[14:27] lxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Even the default Win10 photo editor is good for basic stuff
[14:28] Jxxxx Fxxxxxxx: this has what to do with Amanda and Dench Designs?

Really? We've never had to restrict only to the bare discussion of furniture prims before, so...why now?

[14:28] Cxxxxxx Vxxx: look up GIMP its free editor and very advanced
[14:30] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, if nothing else, Amanda makes a lot of vintage and gothic/haunted things, that would look stunning with a black and white filter, or a black and white sim environment?

And then Ms. J IMed me:

[14:31] Jxxxx Fxxxxxxx: black and white in foto pics, there's a lot of choice
[14:31] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Oh, definitely.
[14:31] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Myself, I use a combination of IrfanView and Gimp, if the in-world FS filters don't do it for me.
[14:32] Jxxxx Fxxxxxxx: maybe it should be taken into private IMs
[14:33] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) headtilts
[14:33] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Wasn't my question. I just gave an answer.
[14:33] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): But if you're that bothered by it, sure, I can stop talking on it.
[14:34] Jxxxx Fxxxxxxx: thanks

I mean, sure, I guess so, you're being awfully snorty over one little photography discussion, but whatever. I closed the window and I'm moving on.

I don't know the people in your picture frame

When one is running on an antiquated video card--because, at this point, it can no longer be updated, it's that old--there are bound to be glitches. I've run into glitches before--they're irksome, but in general, not game-breaking. Until, perhaps, the last one.



I'll start with a simple attempt at sitting. Suddenly, I was tilted in the wide silver skies. Well, this wasn't anticipated.



I logged out, because it just wasn't resolving, and when I came back, not only was I not standing near the chair I'd been attempting to sit on, but I was falling through space. Also not ideal.



Later that week, I went to a highly-trafficked event, then returned home. When I returned, I...wasn't all there.



I do know that if I ever want a really jarring visual effect, now, just detach one mesh eye and let the alpha show through on that side. Because trust me, seeing one green eye, and one red-hair-colored empty socket, was somewhat disquieting.



Today, this was what I saw after logging back into SL after a crash, and again after I'd logged out and logged back in, and then a third time when I'd spent some hours off for dinner.

Nothing about this makes sense, though I'm fairly convinced that none of my group names are written in Z̵̪̐̊a̷̖̾́l̴̨̺͗g̷̢̔ò̴̢̚ ̵̰͝t̷͓͓͆̚ẹ̷̄x̴͙̆͊t̴̬̏. Which is disturbing on its own.

But all of that would be fine (or, if not fine, mayhap, at least reasonably tolerable), if it was just me. But no, it's starting to be people around me, as well.



Please make it stop. I beg of you, ancient graphics gods. Please.

i got a compass in my arm, I got a needle in my heart

Quote of the day:

"When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist."
~Hélder Câmara

In other news, lady out of the blue offers to port me somewhere. This continually weirds me out, especially if I've never met the person in question.

[13:58] Emilly Orr: Whyforso? I'm at work.
[13:58] Emilly Orr: Now if you want to come to my work, great....
[13:58] lxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ok never mind i thought you were where you wanted the board to be slapped

Ah, I get it now. I'd been talking in one of my groups about a particular hair MM board, and the avatar who could not manage to link a simple SLUrl so any of us could actually get there.

And yes, even with my explaining in the simplest terms possible--namely, Open map. Find 'Copy SLUrl' button. Hit button. Go to group chat. Hit paste.

Is that hard?

[13:58] Emilly Orr: No, not at all. I'm hosting a dance at Sakura.
[13:58] lxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: np
[13:59] Emilly Orr smiles
[13:59] Emilly Orr: Sorry about that?
[13:59] lxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: didnt read properly

Reading incomprehension, it's apparently a thing.

Need a poster for something? I think Canva may have you covered, but they really, really want you to buy a pro account, so your choices on free seem to be "accept logo stamped on work" and "stare at it then leave", because...ya can't save. That's a problem.

In more personal news...I was finally able to listen to Carnival of Rust again. In tracking down the link to that song, I discovered I can also watch the video again, which used to be the most massive heart punch, and would reduce me to tears for several years after...well, after.

I don't know entirely what that says. I regained the ability to listen to VNV Nation about two years after that particular relationship imploded. Curiously, I was able to listen to Thrice's Artist in the Ambulance only six months after the vampire idiot died and was resurrected.

Does it speak to the intensity of the relationship? Perhaps. It's been seven years, after all, since I stopped being able to listen to Poets of the Fall. Or perhaps some things cut more deeply than others. And maybe it's the difference in musical tone--Thrice tends to write hard rock, VNV Nation writes chill electronica, by and large, and Poets...they write from a place of emotion, they always have. Usually strong emotion, and very rarely positive.

Perhaps that's why? I don't know. I'm not thinking that much on the whys, frankly, because that would lead me to a place of overthinking. Some things don't have clear answers. This may be one of those things.

you have to learn to pace yourself

Things seemed to be going okay at the Friday dance at Sakura. Then this happened:



I have seen this before. But it has been literally years since I have. Then, it was a case of an older graphics card with zero updates. But my current card? I updated the drivers last week, and today is the first day I've seen this. So what gives?



Worse was knowing this was centered on me. Which usually means I'm the only one who can see it (though that's not always true), so I didn't want to mention it.



Then it switched to the lass to my left. How do I know this? Look in the circled portion: those are the buckles of the dress she's currently wearing.



I was baffled though. Updated drivers, I didn't get it. During all of this, also, I crashed three times. Yes, yes, I know, we're on a homestead, and yes, I know, we were holding a dance, as we are wont to do, ON that homestead, but still...I usually don't crash that often even when there's a large number of people on the sim.

And it kept going for a REALLY long time. Annoyingly long. And, after this started happening, I crashed twice. The third time I crashed? Firestorm reset my graphics setting. Grr.



When it briefly cleared? What showed was that I'd lost the floor entirely. It was just carpets and clouds. This was just before the third time I crashed.



And then the glitching moved to the girl on my right. After this picture, I did crash.

So irritating. Tomorrow, I'll check my graphics drivers, but it hasn't happened all day today, so...still baffled. Was it just a momentary thing, or is it indicative of a larger problem? More grr.

go make some new disaster

Several months ago...

Yeah. It's been a while. I got to the point where I realized that the longer I put it off, the longer it would be before I said anything. So...I made plans to write an entry, even if it was a short fluff piece.

And...a week later, I realized I still hadn't written that short entry, so I spent part of last night, and part of today, off and on, changing things a bit. I'm still not sold on how big most of the charity link banners are now, and the colors still seem somewhat...off...but for now, it's enough. I can stop here and work on writing later and we'll see where we are when that happens.

And...that's about it for now. Cheers, I guess. The writing drought is over, at least for now.

her reflection struck back

Found at MAJD:

(from the shopping album; flat mesh kitteh avatar!)

The flat kitten avatar, in simple black and white.

(from the shopping album; flat mesh kitteh avatar!)

Here's it from the back...

(from the shopping album; flat mesh kitteh avatar!)

And yeah, it really is completely flat.

You'll need to find it in the store (but that's not hard) and pay nine Lindens to get it (that's not hard, either). Only drawback? The little cardboard cutout cat made it look like I'd actually be a flat, corrugated cardboard thing. Instead, I'm a flat black and white thing.

Still totally worth the Lindens. You'll need to be able to see mesh to see it, but when it walks, it's got a built-in "hopping" AO, and it's just fun to move around in.

Speaking of mesh, got a tip from a friend today to make mesh rez in faster . This was seen in one of her group chats, so I'm just reprinting it word for word:

Q. Part of the mesh product is invisible!

A. This is generally due to a cache issue. If right-clicking the area where the mesh should be doesn't force it into view, just clear your cache and relog (cache clearing is under your Preferences). This will fix almost any mesh (or graphics in general) visibility issue.

Q. I sometimes don't see mesh clearly from far away, or areas with lots of mesh won't fully load for me.

A. Try increasing your "Objects & Sculpts LOD" (under Preferences), and raise the number of mesh objects you can view at once by following these steps:

1. Open Advanced menu by going to Preferences > Advanced > check the "Show Advanced Menu" box

2. Go to Advanced and Debug Settings

3. In the Debug Settings window, choose "MeshMaxConcurrentRequests" from the drop down menu.

4. Change the value from the current number to 100.

You should now instantly be able to see any missing mesh items. This setting persists through logins but may reset when you install an update to your viewer.

Which is all well and good, until the conversation that happened just after:

[6:29:26 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: I note that raising MeshMaxConcurrentRequests is, from what I remember, not the *best* plan. I think it causes issues with the client/server. Because the problem really is that a request gets stuck. SO all it does is push the problem down the line.
[6:30:21 PM] Axxxxxxxx Rxxxxx: I dunno of anything better, short of writing better code in the first place
[6:32:23 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Pretty much. The best solution is a relog/cache clear.

So...take with a grain of salt? In that the "solution" may make the problem worse.

From a random profile seen by a friend:

Internet in 10 years from now: We no longer ask "where are you from" but "what is your timezone?"

Hells, we're there now.

makes me want to be a little stronger; still I see monsters

So so so many links to things today.

First up: Linden Lab carefully screens mesh makers so they won't just rip mesh models from other games and upload them for quick Lindens, but...who do we complain to once they start doing exactly that? Every single thing in Manticore's shop is a straight model rip from Final Fantasy XI. There is nothing original in that shop, not one thing, from textures to the actual mesh models themselves.

I pulled up the "Baby Boco" model and actually started to flag the item, but the only thing that seemed to apply was that Manticore was violating my IP rights, and I'm not the injured party, Square Enix is.

There's going to be an upcoming change in Monopoly tokens, apparently. I can't vote, because you have to have a Facebook account, but if you have a Facebook account, and you want your opinion registered, that link will show the new proposed designs, and how to vote for the old token you want to keep.

I'm maybe not the best voice of Monopoly traditionalism, anyway--I usually play the Mind Flayer.

Things like this just make me never want to own an iPhone 5. Also, longcat is long, but we knew that. Also, I don't know whose girlfriend is in the panoramic view, but if that jagged distorted thing and her deeply frightening expression are an example of the panoramic setting on the iPhone 5? That's actually a deterrent for getting one.

David Bowie has a new single out! You can see the first video and pre-order the album on Bowie's site. Because Bowie just is that cool.

Few days ago, Gizmodo leaked that PhotoShop CS2 had gone free. Apparently that's not quite the case, but Adobe just can't be bothered to correct the misunderstanding at this point, so...it's effectively free. Ish. Sorta.

Moving to quirky gadgets, I have to admit the breakfast station makes me giggle. Small coffeemaker, small griddle--just big enough for one egg and a couple of sausages--and a toaster oven for toast. All in one device. It's suitably odd, but fun.

More gadget news--there's a terabyte solid-state computer hard drive (SSD) that will be released for under six hundred dollars. It technically rates as a 960 Gb drive, but seriously, that's still an amazing amount of memory for the price. It should release in the first quarter of 2013.

Also, if you want to mess with the heads of your guests, this would be a good way for more futuristic design ethics.

And while I don't spend a great deal of time on Pinterest, on occasion there are some fascinating board concepts. Like that one from "lettybird"--some of the most innovative architectural ideas worldwide, with links to source content.

The UK Royal Mail is putting out Doctor Who stamps in honor of the show's upcoming fiftieth anniversary. It's obvious they gave some serious thought to each design, and they look SO impressive.

And finally, the first full trailer for the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 MMO has released, and I have to admit, I am so anticipating this one. It's likely more than we can afford, but right now, I just want more information! If it all looks like that, I am going to be waiting impatiently by the door into the game!

some things we always remember, some things we forget

[Looking For Group] Punk Mage: i am deeply sad that there are no games comparable to this one.
[Looking For Group] Thorn-Roseblood: I am still very much hoping a CoX 2 is announced soon

Why would it be?

[Looking For Group] Howl at the Moon: what is the conversation concerning CoH about?

And dear gods, this kept happening. Every time the depression had sunk us all, someone else would log in and go "whatwaitwhatNOOOO".

[Looking For Group] Punk Mage: what scares me is how the gaming industry is incapable of not producing a buggy simplistic idiotic mess, to replace older games with.

Yeah, that bugs me too.

[Looking For Group] OmniBrute3: http://na.cityofheroes.com/en/news/news_archive/thank_you.php
[Looking For Group] OmniBrute3: go to that link
[Looking For Group] Punk Mage: city of heroes closes in november
[Looking For Group] Howl at the Moon: why?
[Looking For Group] ScrewyouNCSoft: I'm now disputing my last three NCsoft transactions with paypal. All were made within the last 10 days for a total of $130. Dispute ALL recent purchases!

While I understand his ire--I have some of my own, considering my subscription technically ends next February--I'm not sure that approach will lead to any substantive redress. Plus, whether he gets his $130 back--or not--he's still going to be angry.

[Looking For Group] Howl at the Moon: wow?! this is very depressing. this is really the only game i play
[Looking For Group] Stormbuster: sometimes i don't even play i just wanna see what everyone is bitching about
[Looking For Group] Kiteru: This was the Best Game ever!!!

Well, to be fair, everyone says that about their favorites at the time. And I won't lie, City had some flaws--all games do. But they worked hard on their stories, they worked harder on their scenery, and they did their best to keep an alive, involved community. Tons of us stayed subscribers after they went free-to-play. Tons of us worked hard on our characters because we liked the game. And while I wasn't that involved on the forums--because I'm never much involved on ANY forum site--tons of people were.

[Looking For Group] Howl at the Moon: ok, guess i'm out.....literally, goodbye all.

And a lot of folks did this, too--took this as the very last day the game was in operation, and logged out, never to log back in again.

[Looking For Group] Techno Spider: the point is WAS
[Looking For Group] Amazing Heels: was, circa i2
[Looking For Group] Punk Mage: there seems like no point to log in. it is like getting close to a terminal cancer patient in the hospital.
[Looking For Group] Eumi: This was the only PC game I played anymore
[Looking For Group] House of Whacks: nothing with this level of character customization

And that's another thing. The character artist behind the coming Post-Apocalyptic pack posted several pictures of two separate models. She was very excited. That was just yesterday. It was scheduled for release.

Also scheduled for release:

"Powersets that were in active development:
Kinetic Assault
Radiation Armor
Radiation Melee
Savage Melee
Wind Control
Force of Will (Pool)
Experimentation (Pool)
Gadgetry (Pool)
Utility Belt (Pool)

"Powersets that were planned:
Radiation Melee
Close Quarters Weapons
Wind Blast
Magnetic Blast
Sniper Rifle
Autumnal Blast
Thrown Weapons
Magnetic Control
Water Control
Light Affinity
Wind Assault"

When he says "were planned", he means ideas they were tossing around on what to do after the ones actually actively being developed--which is the top list. And, according to that post, there was an entire new zone planned. We don't know the name.

(from the City of Heroes album; planned new zone in City of Heroes)

We know it was going to be blueside because of the War Walls. In this shot, however, it seems to be a mix between traditional blueside zones and Sharkhead Isle on redside.

(from the City of Heroes album; planned new zone in City of Heroes)

The man who posted these likely did it in violation of company non-disclosure policy; I'm not pulling these images to implicate him, but because when NCSoft tracks this post down, they may well erase it from the forums.

(from the City of Heroes album; planned new zone in City of Heroes)

These are obviously in-process shots--none of the texturing may have been fixed in place, some of the colors might have been shifted, and there's evidence of buildings used from both villain side as well as Praetorian structures--likely, simply because they wanted structures of those particular shapes to texture the rest around. In this one, we can clearly see a building floating in midair with only walls around it. If the zone had been allowed to be finalized, they would have filled in most of the water seen in this image with streets, park spaces, trees, benches, and utility fixtures.

take my name and just let me be

[Help] Electro Valkyrie: Man this is an awesome cell phone
[Help] Electro Valkyrie: I'm in Echo: Dark Astoria and it can call through time and space to someone in present day Founder's Falls

Weird, innit?

[Help] Captain Typhoon: The roaming charges are gonna kill you though.
[Help] Dragon Magus: almost as bad as calling from the shadow shard
[Help] Banshee Moth: wait until Montague gives you grave dirt over the phone, that'll blow your mind

Yeah, and that's not the weirdest thing that happens with NPCs in City, either.

(from the City of Heroes album; downtown Astoria)

[Help] Wasurenagusa: And you forgot calling from Cimerora, that's quite the cellphone range
[Help] Electro Valkyrie: I forgot how much I hated old Dark Astoria
[Help] Electro Valkyrie: Can't see my hand in front of my face.
[Help] Densmorou: I loved that about Old Dark Astoria... it was dark

(from the City of Heroes album; downtown Astoria)

Actually, I wouldn't precisely agree. Oh, the whole cell phone thing has always amused the hell out of me--out of all the various ways NPCs with missions have of contacting players, the cell phone trope has only made sense in areas where there's a certain level of technology. For NPCs from Cimerora--elsewise stuck in ancient Rome--it's never made sense as a point of contact. And it's not the only oddity in the calling trope used throughout the game.

(from the City of Heroes album; downtown Astoria)

But no, we were talking about Dark Astoria. Dark Astoria wasn't dark before Mot arrived; it was grey.

(from the City of Heroes album; downtown Astoria)

Really grey. Really, really grey. Like, what's-that-off-in-the-distance grey.

(from the City of Heroes album; downtown Astoria)

Oh, and there were zombies.

(from the City of Heroes album; downtown Astoria)

And there were some deep oddities about the zone--not only was it the only zone in the game that had no story arc of its own, but some areas--like this one--had distinct light-and-shadow patterns from a sun that was never truly seen. Also, all the zombies shot at you, rather than shamble forward and try to eat you. Unless you're a decayed Vietnam-war-era zombie vet in House, why would you use a gun, and not teeth and hands?

(from the City of Heroes album; mourning in Moth Cemetary)

But in the new Dark Astoria? It really is dark. Really dark. Dark red, and largely infected by eddies of black magic and swirling shadows.

(from the City of Heroes album; a run through old Astoria)

Old Dark Astoria? Really wasn't that dark.

and my love for you is still unknown

I have a few shots of Founders' Falls. But I want to preface them with something I found in the Jordan's Town gallery:

(from the City of Heroes album; All Rights Reserved to whomever's behind the "Shazel" account from Jordan's Town)

So, this was taken three years ago. It shows Founders' Fall by night, but I think it gives a good idea of what Founders' Falls looks like for most, and for me until a month ago.

(from the City of Heroes album; Founder's Fall with full reflections)

And this is a shot I took a couple weeks back. Note the reflections and the sweep of shadows.

(from the City of Heroes album; another shot of Founder's Falls)

This so completely whelms me. Honestly, it's distracting running missions, I keep stopping and staring at things.

(from the City of Heroes album; under the canal bridge)

And--at least so far--there's never been an instance where I duck under a shadowed structure and suddenly stop seeing shadows and reflections. It's been very organic, very--if I can use this word in the context of an MMO--natural, with the movement of the water, the shadows, the way light works with them...Founders' Fall has become a very lovely place.

(from the City of Heroes album; angel statues everywhere)

Even long-distance shots still retain that sense of majesty and scope, and the sweet of shadows from the pillars. Far back, there's not as much shine off the water, but that happens in RL, too.

More to come.

and her cold voice sings a melody

(from the City of Heroes album; floating destroyers)

There is a mission towards the end of the game where a megalomaniac makes several surgical strikes on named heroes--and villains. One of his maneuvers was to seize control of several destroyers on patrol in the Atlantic. This is how military ships look when they're lifted and tilted into the air.

(from the City of Heroes album; more floating destroyers)

This is the shot of them rising from the sea into the air, partially trapped in the bubble of force holding them up.

(from the City of Heroes album; Lord Recluse on the ship)

It always weirds me out a little to stand next to a major villain in the game. As a villain, I've dealt with Recluse, Captain Mako, Ghost Widow, and some of the others--but as a hero? Our paths are not supposed to cross as easily.

(from the City of Heroes album; Lord Recluse on the ship)

Oh dear gods, is he staring at me? Look away, look away...Don't look in his eyes, I'm not here, I'm not here!

(from the City of Heroes album; Mako on the ship)

Another shot of the ships rising from the sea. Captain Mako's on my right.

(from the City of Heroes album; Mako on the ship)

And no idea why the chosen color for the mystical hovering stones, and their metalwork lattice cages, was bright neon pink...but they were oddly pretty.

More to come.

oh pretty girls, you're too good for this

There are many places in Dark Astoria that are just disturbing--the prevalence of wandering undead; the presence of Mot pushing its way into the world, in protrusions of bone and fang and flesh; the corpses lying unburied on the city streets; the amount of crashed vehicles scattered about that have never been carted off.

The fact that the power's still on in the buildings that remain, but they radiate a green eldritch light, instead of normal incandescence.

(from the City of Heroes album; Moth Cemetary statue in Dark Astoria)

Still, there are sights like this--one of the mourning statues. She's very tall, taller than she looks in this image, but there is such an utter weariness to her, an abject suffering. Even her bouquet looks wilted, but I'm fairly sure that's just the textures used, and not the artistic intent.

(from the City of Heroes album; Moth Cemetary statue in Dark Astoria)

Still, the fact that the minimal light that strikes the street in Dark Astoria is dull and red; the fact that even the moon rising behind the War Walls looks dipped in blood; the fact that that sun never rises; all of these and more make Dark Astoria an eerie and unnerving place.

(from the City of Heroes album; MOAR EFFECTS!)

Remember what I said about multiple, overlapping effects? This is another aspect of it: with so many particle effects going off, they tend to render participants cut-outs limned in light.

This particular image is, in the main, no different from any other effects shots I have, I just liked the way the giant battle-axe seems the center of the action.

(from the City of Heroes album; light through the Eye of Thorns)

Sometimes, the simplest effects in a game can be the most powerful. Finding pyramidal structures underground, with golden glowing eyes...there's nothing complicated about it, but it does capture the attention.

(from the City of Heroes album; demons reading)

Moving through various underground caverns on this particular mission, all four of us stopped dead, staring at the outcropping one island over in the cavern we found ourselves in.

We had never seen this before. Any enemy mob has a chance to run through any of the standard animations in the game. Mostly, they default to things like looking stern, sneaking around, throwing air punches, fidgeting, or looking bored.

These guys? They were all reading. We almost felt sorry having to do them in; obviously, they were more interested in education, not destruction...

(from the City of Heroes album; the summoned Seer essences)

Oh, and while we're talking effects--part of the fun of being an Incarnate (what City of Heroes calls the endgame, which is level 50 and everything after) is that, once the Lore experience slot is unlocked, we can build our own pets (whether we had them or not). (Oh, and we're not talking literal pets, we're talking robots, psychics, floating giant eyes, storm elementals, and over a dozen others that may have started out human, but are now summoned shades bound to our will. "Pets" is simply what the game calls them.)

My main character, being as she's the Uber-Squishy (AKA, she's a Psi/Psi blaster), built two Seer essences as pets. To be frank, they rock--one of them beams psychic healing at me, the other beams psychic attacks at my enemies. Which they do while floating and wearing blindfolds--because Praetoria keeps their psychics blind.

More to come.

is this as hard as it gets?

I think I've brought up the War Walls that some folks find so unattractive in City of Heroes. There's this impression that War Walls are only found on blueside, and that's just not true--there's at least one that's off the shore of Grandville, which is a higher-level zone on redside.

But Dark Astoria, as usual, takes the concept and makes it creepier:

(from the City of Heroes album; the War Walls in DA)

See the skulls? At some point, I'll likely take a pic of Steel Canyon's War Walls, say, for comparison with a non-me-containing shot of Dark Astoria's walls...but in the meantime, the "traditional" Rikti-technology force walls around the city have been not that damn subtly changed. Just like the sewer water, the walls have gone red, and they're corrupted by moving skulls and screaming faces instead of simple lines of force.

This also does a great job at intimating just how total a grip Mot has--because he's so pervasive as an entity, he can make an alien race's technology craze across when he's near.

(from the City of Heroes album; under Paragon City)

This is the main Cathedral set, in Oranbega. Oranbega is more an Undercity, not a city on its own--it's accessible only via a series of storm drains and natural cave systems under Paragon City.

Populated largely by the Circle of Thorns and their minions, on my former system the graphics were on the dull side, to be fair. But this shot--the banners glow, the air seems charged and expectant with floating dust, and even the colors of the banners are brighter and more vibrant.

(from the City of Heroes album; Cimerora under attack)

I swear, this entire set reminded me so much of areas of Second Life. Here's the breakdown for what non-players are looking at, though:

Part of the Mot arc involves infestation of Cimerora, which is an alternate Rome containing many of the same signature heroes and villains--only in ancient times. Even with that, though, this was impressive--an entire field of broken ships and reaching tentacles. And the most amazing thing of all--rain.

Flash back to the first time seeing rain in Second Life--it was astounding, it was phenomenal. It was different. Well, as in SL, it doesn't rain in City of Heroes--save for this patch of infested sea.

(from the City of Heroes album; Cimerora under attack)

Of course, City of Heroes has one major disadvantage from Second Life--you can't swim in the oceans. In fact, about all you can do is tread water, and that's if you're lucky--most of the oceans you can simply walk in, because they're no more wading pools than anything.

Which makes sea-based activity--from submarine transports to this ocean scene with sinking ships--bizarre, to say the least.

Still. It looks impressive.

(from the City of Heroes album; Cimerora in the rain)

And the rain...I must have stood there on the prow of that ship for ten minutes, just watching the rain. It reminded me of the first time it rained in Rivula, back when the Enigma was still open.

Rain makes everything better.