I dropped out of blogging again. I am bad.
So we'll just make this march and get one out and I can work on things with more actual content later!
There's a plus-size superhero now; her name is Faith, and her superhero name is Zephyr. Amusingly, she can make herself lighter than air, and can fly. Well, why not?
Seanan McGuire learned that to write disturbing things, you have to learn disturbing things...and for writers, that's okay, that fuels the process.
And wau, the military is really specific on their brownie recipes.
More later!
Showing posts with label superheroes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label superheroes. Show all posts
10 February, 2016
05 December, 2015
a good excuse to be a bad influence on you
[20:04] Gxxx Mxxx: My 28.6k inventory says 'hi'.Also, I've updated the Advent list, if it helps, and I have a new notecard I'm going to check later on, so hopefully, there'll be more than just the one change.
[20:05] Mxxx Cxxxxx: wow...i have more inventory than Grey does. lol
[20:05] Sxxxxx Exx: most people have more inventory than grey does
[20:06] Axxxxx Bxxxxxxx: My main has just under 50,000, & I vow to keep it under 50,000.
[20:06] Nxxx Pxxx: I have 31,7k items.. But I've always been a deleter off and on.
[20:06] Mxxx Cxxxxx: i currently have 43, 793.
[20:07] Emilly Orr just deleted a bunch of things from template files and is now down to 136,343
[20:08] Lxxxx Mxxxxxx: 318,513 as of right now. but I'll be uploading some textures tonight
[20:08] Emilly Orr: YOU WIN
So there's some controversy over the way the promotion team seems to be sexualizing Deadpool. Mainly, the detractors seem to think the film will be jam-packed with homophobic jokes, unfunny attempts at humor at the expense of other minorities, and a general, shall we say, less than deft hand on gender issues and sexual orientation.
I think what people forget is that it's not homophobia, it's part of Deadpool's arsenal. And what I mean by that is, beyond flirting with attractive men and women throughout the run of his comics, just because he wanted to, he's also well known for using it to disconcert his enemies. It's a brilliant tactic, and one that I believe meshes well with his general insanity, ability to continue conversations with pieces of his anatomy missing, and his seeming inability to ever, ever shut up.
Also, his crush on Thor is canon, and I won't lie, I'm kind of hoping there is--in this film or another--a face-off between Chris Hemsworth and Ryan Reynolds. I will be the one giggling like a maniac in the theatre, if it happens.
26 August, 2013
dangling feet from the window frame, will I ever reach the floor?
People still wonder why some of us really dislike child avatars in SL...
Let me make this plain: I have no problem with the Babbage urchins. I have few problems with the children and wards in Caledon. I have no problem with the children who think playing a child in SL means playing an underage person.
I have HUGE problems with the kind of "Wook at mee, I so adowwabuh!" monstrosities like the chicklet mentioned above.
I've mentioned the folks behind the concrete shelters idea; this one's catching on everywhere from medical relief efforts to military installations. But in some areas, there's just not that much water to go around, or there's not electrical current to where the shelter is needed. What to do in those situations?
IKEA has a plan. They've partnered with a refugee agency within the UN, to design better homes for long-term refugee camps. The structures are still in the prototype stage, but they seem far more stable and more efficient than the tents refugees usually get, and they have the added advantage of lasting two and a half years longer than most tents. With time, they're hoping to design "temporary" homes that will last even longer.
Here's to more solutions working than failing. There are more refugees every day.
This is disquieting; this is disturbing; and this is some new level of financial hell. Though they're all worth looking at; your choice as to which ones sound best to drench your neurons.
Have some Pokemayans while we're at it.
This is this week's Coolest Thing Ever [TM], and you can find them at the Spencer's site (for US residents) or at the Fowndry site (for everyone else, I guess, though the Fowndry doesn't have the best selection).
Also, my last, tenuous shred of reality denial where the "New 52" are concerned has died in flames. Because that's not Lobo, that's a modernized Captain Harlock without the facial scarring. It's an abomination. I refuse to entertain the possibility that there will be a hope for the future, where DC Comics exists in any sense other than as an extreme parody of itself.
I'm sorry, DC. You've finally lost me. I guess I'm a Marvel girl now.
You bastards.
Will me is going to tell yew about me famweee me has a greatest famweee in sl my mommy is a guud mommy amd me wub her wots. my daddy he is de most awesome daddy anygurl could ask for my nana her super nana and my pawpaw is a grest pawpaw me wub dem to def my unkie pso and my auntie jules are great my auntie sky is great tew and me bestest friens faiths me miss her rite her not on . auntie pru her a guud auntie tew me wub dem all. and me knows dem would all of dem would come at anytime me neAny questions?
Let me make this plain: I have no problem with the Babbage urchins. I have few problems with the children and wards in Caledon. I have no problem with the children who think playing a child in SL means playing an underage person.
 |
| (from the bizarre album; father and daughter fishing at Lucky Cat Games.) |
I have HUGE problems with the kind of "Wook at mee, I so adowwabuh!" monstrosities like the chicklet mentioned above.
I've mentioned the folks behind the concrete shelters idea; this one's catching on everywhere from medical relief efforts to military installations. But in some areas, there's just not that much water to go around, or there's not electrical current to where the shelter is needed. What to do in those situations?
IKEA has a plan. They've partnered with a refugee agency within the UN, to design better homes for long-term refugee camps. The structures are still in the prototype stage, but they seem far more stable and more efficient than the tents refugees usually get, and they have the added advantage of lasting two and a half years longer than most tents. With time, they're hoping to design "temporary" homes that will last even longer.
Here's to more solutions working than failing. There are more refugees every day.
This is disquieting; this is disturbing; and this is some new level of financial hell. Though they're all worth looking at; your choice as to which ones sound best to drench your neurons.
Have some Pokemayans while we're at it.
This is this week's Coolest Thing Ever [TM], and you can find them at the Spencer's site (for US residents) or at the Fowndry site (for everyone else, I guess, though the Fowndry doesn't have the best selection).
Also, my last, tenuous shred of reality denial where the "New 52" are concerned has died in flames. Because that's not Lobo, that's a modernized Captain Harlock without the facial scarring. It's an abomination. I refuse to entertain the possibility that there will be a hope for the future, where DC Comics exists in any sense other than as an extreme parody of itself.
I'm sorry, DC. You've finally lost me. I guess I'm a Marvel girl now.
You bastards.
09 December, 2012
turn out the light, and what are you left with?
I realize it's been some time since my last post to the blog. It's not looking sure that Disney's going to even bid on the City of Heroes software and code, and with them out of the picture, who's left? Of course, in a depressing bit of improper timing, the Titan Network's ongoing debates on Plan Z--the player-funded 'after project' of City of Heroes--have already hit a major snag, as one of their committee members went off and set up her own game site with no one from Titan the wiser. "Hurt feelings" over this duplicitous move is putting it mildly.
And NCSoft's already killed another game--and another game studio.
It seems to be what they do.
In the meantime, there's apparently been a rash of very coordinated thieves--or at least one coordinated thief with a lot of alts. My bet's on more than one, though, because of how frequently it seems to be happening. Flatterbots, panhandling bots, beggar-bots, call them what you will, but what they add up to is even more cynicism and lack of trust on the grid.
Moving to games, Quantic Dreams have put out a new "prototype" video called Kara, that they say isn't tied to any particular game at present. But, considering that Quantic's a game studio, and they have developed games in the past...actually, you know, I don't so much care if it's a game or a movie. I'll take either. It's that beautiful. (Note of warning: some [mild] robotic nudity, and some [again mild] adult concepts, but no bad language, no blood, no spinning weapons.)
Also, Ragnarok Online 2 may be getting a USA server soon. Beyond that, I don't know much, but it would be fun.
Meanwhile, Think Geek has invented...a...thing. It's tentacular, it moves, but it's not a memory stick, so...I'm afraid my mind is contemplating more adult uses for the...err...do they really call it the "Squirming Tentacle"? Really?
Cesar Kuriyama will be putting out his "One Second Everyday" app; it's been fully funded and has eighteen days to go. The "Dancing in Jaffa" documentary, about Pierre Dulane's journey to bring Jewish and Palestinian children together on a neutral dancefloor, will also be fully funded--three days ago, it was at $18,000 of its goal, but it's now well over the asking fund of $35,000. And the "Amazing Capes" Kickstarter is ridiculously well-funded, and will go into production within a couple weeks! Yay for innovation!
And the desire to be superheroes, apparently.
Maskull Lassere is a woodcarver, a sculptor, and a painter, but he's recently come to my attention on Tumblr of all places for the carved bone intersection work. You'll see what I mean when you look at that particular archive, but feel free to look at the rest of his work. If you like those in-between places between the inanimate and the organic, and ponder the potential inner structures of objects, you'll like Lassere's work.
Tardar Sauce, the internet phenomenon named "GrumpyCat" by the masses, has been given the Storyboard treatment. What's that, you ask? Storyboard is this odd, quirky video project where everyday objects--including pets--are overvoiced by small children. It's perplexing, occasionally baffling, and usually very fun.
Two French designers have decided to immortalize their love for retro geekery in the form of a table. A table designed to look like a floppy disc. It's definitely innovative, and witty design, and features a hide-the-whatever pocket in form of a shutter that actually slides, revealing a small space just large enough for most remotes. Perfect.
This may well be the most impressive Minecraft shot--using the default game textures, that is--that I've ever seen. Phenomenal...though I don't think there's enough torches...
And, um...apparently the Daleks are invading. And I do not understand Imgur. That is all.
And NCSoft's already killed another game--and another game studio.
It seems to be what they do.
In the meantime, there's apparently been a rash of very coordinated thieves--or at least one coordinated thief with a lot of alts. My bet's on more than one, though, because of how frequently it seems to be happening. Flatterbots, panhandling bots, beggar-bots, call them what you will, but what they add up to is even more cynicism and lack of trust on the grid.
Moving to games, Quantic Dreams have put out a new "prototype" video called Kara, that they say isn't tied to any particular game at present. But, considering that Quantic's a game studio, and they have developed games in the past...actually, you know, I don't so much care if it's a game or a movie. I'll take either. It's that beautiful. (Note of warning: some [mild] robotic nudity, and some [again mild] adult concepts, but no bad language, no blood, no spinning weapons.)
Also, Ragnarok Online 2 may be getting a USA server soon. Beyond that, I don't know much, but it would be fun.
Meanwhile, Think Geek has invented...a...thing. It's tentacular, it moves, but it's not a memory stick, so...I'm afraid my mind is contemplating more adult uses for the...err...do they really call it the "Squirming Tentacle"? Really?
Cesar Kuriyama will be putting out his "One Second Everyday" app; it's been fully funded and has eighteen days to go. The "Dancing in Jaffa" documentary, about Pierre Dulane's journey to bring Jewish and Palestinian children together on a neutral dancefloor, will also be fully funded--three days ago, it was at $18,000 of its goal, but it's now well over the asking fund of $35,000. And the "Amazing Capes" Kickstarter is ridiculously well-funded, and will go into production within a couple weeks! Yay for innovation!
And the desire to be superheroes, apparently.
Maskull Lassere is a woodcarver, a sculptor, and a painter, but he's recently come to my attention on Tumblr of all places for the carved bone intersection work. You'll see what I mean when you look at that particular archive, but feel free to look at the rest of his work. If you like those in-between places between the inanimate and the organic, and ponder the potential inner structures of objects, you'll like Lassere's work.
Tardar Sauce, the internet phenomenon named "GrumpyCat" by the masses, has been given the Storyboard treatment. What's that, you ask? Storyboard is this odd, quirky video project where everyday objects--including pets--are overvoiced by small children. It's perplexing, occasionally baffling, and usually very fun.
Two French designers have decided to immortalize their love for retro geekery in the form of a table. A table designed to look like a floppy disc. It's definitely innovative, and witty design, and features a hide-the-whatever pocket in form of a shutter that actually slides, revealing a small space just large enough for most remotes. Perfect.
This may well be the most impressive Minecraft shot--using the default game textures, that is--that I've ever seen. Phenomenal...though I don't think there's enough torches...
And, um...apparently the Daleks are invading. And I do not understand Imgur. That is all.
11 November, 2012
I look over out of the window, I see your face, and I'm frightened, 'cause I live on the eighth floor
"Please, get the name right when citing it elsewhere: the name is "Cool VL Viewer", and not "Cool VL", "Cool Viewer", etc..."
Bite me, Henri. Especially since I had to abandon the use of CoolVL--again--when I lost the ability to perceive scattered text (so far observed: landmark descriptions, sim descriptions, the 'Buy/Pay' button on menus, my last name on login, and names of avatars I'm searching for, among other things) whenever I logged in. After spending two days tracking down the exact version of my graphics driver and reading something like eight different sites dealing with graphical concerns, I can say with some authority that it wasn't my drivers.
Mr. Allen talked me into downloading Catznip, and while on the catputer, it failed to work at all, on this one, it does. I have the usual days-to-weeks of figuring out where everything is, but seriously, I'm so tired to having to change viewers because they get buggy and stop working.
Which, in this case, I lay entirely at CoolVL's door.
Remember Power Girl? Rather infamously known for her "boob window" (though her backstory was originally something like, she didn't feel she could wear Superman's token 'S', so she removed it from her costume, leaving the oval where it would have been bare), she's been largely given the Emma Frost treatment by fans and artists on her comic line both.
Granted, she's always been slightly tilted towards pinup art, even briefly dipping into nigh-porn territory on occasion (at the very least, heavy on the cheesecake poses), but...I really have to protest, because this goes WAY too far in the other direction. Plus, keep in mind that's art published in one of the newly-revised lines; somewhere, somehow, that art passed the test for publication.
Power Girl as a giraffe with malformed hips (her legs quite clearly split in twain just below the curve of her right hip, and the hell?), linebacker shoulders, at least one broken arm, holding an invisible handbag...That was the best they could come up with?!?
Apparently, the "look" they were trying to go for is seen more proportionately here, but seriously, that's not an epic costume redesign in the first place. (And there's more than one artist doing weirdly mutated version of Power Girl in the New 52 as well--witness this appalling example, with her snarling knees and that staggeringly reconfigured package.)
The best image I could find of the new costume doesn't even seem to feature the new costume--it ditches the wonky 'arm capes' entirely, removes the tightly boned and lengthened giraffe neck, and trades in her expected white/gold/red color scheme for a navy/red/gold scheme, but barring all that, it's not that bad. But everything to get to that point, so far, is tacky at best, and revolting at worst. Poor Kara.
Finally, for Memorial day, a poppy to wear. While it is a US holiday, it's one with historical standing: the roots go back at least to the Civil War, if not farther. I also know there are at least a few international groups in Second Life who broaden the day to include honorable dead from all conflicts, not just the US ones.
Remember, honor, acknowledge; really, that's what Memorial Day is. And that goes farther than any one nation.
Bite me, Henri. Especially since I had to abandon the use of CoolVL--again--when I lost the ability to perceive scattered text (so far observed: landmark descriptions, sim descriptions, the 'Buy/Pay' button on menus, my last name on login, and names of avatars I'm searching for, among other things) whenever I logged in. After spending two days tracking down the exact version of my graphics driver and reading something like eight different sites dealing with graphical concerns, I can say with some authority that it wasn't my drivers.
Mr. Allen talked me into downloading Catznip, and while on the catputer, it failed to work at all, on this one, it does. I have the usual days-to-weeks of figuring out where everything is, but seriously, I'm so tired to having to change viewers because they get buggy and stop working.
Which, in this case, I lay entirely at CoolVL's door.
 |
| (from the Canada album) |
Remember Power Girl? Rather infamously known for her "boob window" (though her backstory was originally something like, she didn't feel she could wear Superman's token 'S', so she removed it from her costume, leaving the oval where it would have been bare), she's been largely given the Emma Frost treatment by fans and artists on her comic line both.
 |
| (from the Canada album) |
Granted, she's always been slightly tilted towards pinup art, even briefly dipping into nigh-porn territory on occasion (at the very least, heavy on the cheesecake poses), but...I really have to protest, because this goes WAY too far in the other direction. Plus, keep in mind that's art published in one of the newly-revised lines; somewhere, somehow, that art passed the test for publication.
Power Girl as a giraffe with malformed hips (her legs quite clearly split in twain just below the curve of her right hip, and the hell?), linebacker shoulders, at least one broken arm, holding an invisible handbag...That was the best they could come up with?!?
Apparently, the "look" they were trying to go for is seen more proportionately here, but seriously, that's not an epic costume redesign in the first place. (And there's more than one artist doing weirdly mutated version of Power Girl in the New 52 as well--witness this appalling example, with her snarling knees and that staggeringly reconfigured package.)
.png){kind=link}
The best image I could find of the new costume doesn't even seem to feature the new costume--it ditches the wonky 'arm capes' entirely, removes the tightly boned and lengthened giraffe neck, and trades in her expected white/gold/red color scheme for a navy/red/gold scheme, but barring all that, it's not that bad. But everything to get to that point, so far, is tacky at best, and revolting at worst. Poor Kara.
Finally, for Memorial day, a poppy to wear. While it is a US holiday, it's one with historical standing: the roots go back at least to the Civil War, if not farther. I also know there are at least a few international groups in Second Life who broaden the day to include honorable dead from all conflicts, not just the US ones.
Remember, honor, acknowledge; really, that's what Memorial Day is. And that goes farther than any one nation.
17 August, 2012
I'm still looking for the answers, I'm still searching for the key
[Help] Viridian Storm: I love the crazy names people come up with...
[Help] Havoc Salamander: Like mine? :D
[Help] Viridian Storm: I was referring to the water blast users with red and yellow water earlier... and just saw a girl with the name Spicy Taco.
[Help] Havoc Salamander: Oh jeeze
[Help] Viridian Storm: It never ends
I'm not even going to tell you some of the names I've seen regarding water-blast characters. Let's just say the three most popular colors for folks seem to be yellow, red...and brown.
[Help] Hexman: this is was happens when most names are taken
[Help] Fire-kissed: that's an innuendo on so many fronts I don't even know
[Help] Viridian Storm: I suppose.
[Help] Viridian Storm: I can't really complain... I'm guilty, too.
[Help] Cyrien: I love the unique name system in CoH. ;) Hate it in other games where you can have 15 people with the same name.
[Help] Kaliana: I dunno... I found and claimed Shade Sorceress just yesterday... there are still decent names out there.
There are. You just have to be creative with the naming. And be willing to be mobile on the name you want. Case in point: there's a Lucifer' in the game. Yes, "Lucifer" with an apostrophe on the end. At that point, just give up the name, because with that end apostrophe, it just makes me want to never, ever run on a team with him.
[Help] Viridian Storm: I made Australian Kiss... which is like a French kiss, only down under.
*facepalms*
[Help] Hexman: And each day fewer and fewer :)
[Help] BodyElectric: ya just got to be creative
[Help] Cyrien: Just makes people more creative... either in name choice or spelling.
[Help] Viridian Storm: I hate creative spelling.
Well, it depends. Like, I've met "Shocking Gurl" and "Shocking Grrl", and I'm quite sure there's a "Shocking Girl" out there. In my mind, each spelling of the "girl" portion indicates a different mentality--like "history" and "herstory". (Though I will say feminism, in specific, did the concept a vast disservice by "honoring" all variant spellings of "women", including "wimmin", "wymyn", and "wemoon".)
[Help] Hexman: I dislike that response because it fails to address the fundamental issue of a person wanting to make the Hero (or villain) that they actually want to make.
Okay, fine, but seriously--if the rut you're in requires you to be "Lone Wolf-" because "Lone Wolf" was taken...just switch the name to another one that references lupines in some way and move on.
[Help] Viridian Storm: Drives me nuts.
[Help] Kaliana: That said... I too would prefer a non-unique naming system... mainly because there have been times when the perfect name for my concept was already taken.
[Help] Viridian Storm: I agree, Hexman. There are a couple of names (and variants) that have been denied me... and I abandoned the concepts.
[Help] Bracket Claw: so find a different one.
[Help] Kaliana: You clearly aren't a writer.
Yeah, see...I don't buy that. That reads of "excuse" to me. For example: when I was setting up my team of virus-born villains, I got the first three out (and Influenza Annie is the one that lasted longest, she's at level 49 and counting, on her way to be a viral Incarnate, muahahahaha), and then ran into a snag on the remaining ones. "Smallpox", you see, was taken. And I had a series of concepts in mind. So I made "Smallpoxx". A simple renaming, and not taken, and then came her sisters "Mediumpoxx" and "Largepoxx". (And of the three, Largepoxx is the only one who survives--I let Smallpoxx go a long time back, and Mediumpoxx actually got completely remade due to her love of 1940s murder mysteries and noir--she's now happily romping around the Rogue Isles in a wide-brimmed fedora and a trenchcoat as Samantha Spade.)
[Help] Hexman: And at the end of the day, the rare possibility that one might see a name run by that they dislike doesnt trump that person's desire to have the name they like, since they have to see it 100% of the time they are playing said character. :) [Help] Havoc Salamander: I agree with kaliana
Oh, no, I get why this is a bother, I'm just saying, there are alternatives. And as pointed out, if the biggest fix for your problem is to make "xXSuccubusXx" instead of the main "Succubus" name (because the original's taken)...well, that problem may be with your lack of imagination than the game locking down all variants of your desired name. (This is also why most of my characters have two names instead of just one.)
[Help] Viridian Storm: I am a writer and imaginative... but sometimes the "creative alternatives" are just so far removed from what I wanted that I'm no longer happy with the result.
[Help] Kaliana: When you have a concept its the whole package... change the name you change the whole concept... especially with superheroes where things like aliteration are common.
Yeah. It's called character growth, Kaliana, look into it.
[Help] Havoc Salamander: But how exactly can non-unique systems work
[Help] Hexman: No I'm not a writer, I shouldnt have to be, nor do I want to be, in order to play a video game :)
[Help] Bracket Claw: when a name ruins your character, it becomes a little too serious there
That's my thinking. But here's the thing--you don't have to write for a living or create intricately crafted RPGs to properly name things in City of Heroes. You just need to have a good character concept, and be willing to be flexible on what autre nom you can live with. Yes, with this many people already registered--especially on the heavy Virtue and Freedom servers--it can be tricky. But it's far from impossible.
[Help] Cyrien: Non unique naming system? *looks at CO*
Yes, but that's also why you can stand in a city square in Champions Online and watch thirty-seven guys in black named "Batman" run past. That's not the solution anyone wants for City.
[Help] Viridian Storm: Its not the name that ruins a character... its the lack of the right name.
[Help] Category 5': how can someones name bother u ... unless its someone u know and dislike?
Sure, and I won't lie, I've ditched character concepts because I couldn't fit a name I wanted to the character I was creating. But that happens with everything. It's just a matter of picking something else that's similar enough.
[Help] Kaliana: But for those of us who play a concept... changing the name is the same as changing the entire toon... Shade Sorceress has completely different connotations than say "Ghost Guardian" or "Abyssal Angel" or even just "Ghost Girl"
I shall forego my usual rant on the use of "toons", and simply point out that her use of the word "toon", in this connotation, may well point to the flaw in her arguments--she is having difficulty because her imagination is simply not skilled enough, not flexible enough, and not tolerant enough to broaden her selection pool beyond "X Name and nothing else".
[Help] Havoc Salamander: In the world of writing and poetry there's a saying
[Help] Havoc Salamander: There's a mile difference between the right word and almost the right word
And while that's also true, if she hadn't been able to take Shade Sorceress, and still wanted the alliteration, then what about Sepulchral Siren? It doesn't just have to be "[some variety of dark]" plus "[some variety of female]", does it?
[Help] Viridian Storm: I think any names attached to accounts that haven't logged in so long that they don't even have a Global Chat handle should be released back into the wild. Those players are never coming back.
[Help] Minstral Cycle: I agree Havoc
Actually, I don't think that's an unfair distinction to make.
[Help] Melly: I also get extremely disappointed when I can't find the name I want. I figure using creative spelling is fine, because the "plain spelling" version is probably wasted on someone who doesn't give a shit about their own character.
That's an interesting point, too. I guess it depends on how "creative" people are getting.
[Help] Melly: But sometimes the simplest names (like Melly) aren't taken.
[Help] Havoc Salamander: But nearly always they are
[Help] Viridian Storm: I know a guy who waited for a real long time for the simple name of Joe.
[Help] Thing 0ne: I just used a zero in my name. ;) Find other ways to be creative and quit complaining, so what that someone stole the cookie you wanted oh well pick another. :-p
Sure, though you'd still want to do it with a little panache. "Thing 0ne" might pull that off, but "GodIike" doesn't work at all, because no one's going to look at that and not try to sound out "Gahd-eye-ike" first.
[Help] Kaliana: I had to settle for that because things like Shadow Spectre and even Ebon Eidolon were taken.
I rest my case.
[Help] Havoc Salamander: Like mine? :D
[Help] Viridian Storm: I was referring to the water blast users with red and yellow water earlier... and just saw a girl with the name Spicy Taco.
[Help] Havoc Salamander: Oh jeeze
[Help] Viridian Storm: It never ends
I'm not even going to tell you some of the names I've seen regarding water-blast characters. Let's just say the three most popular colors for folks seem to be yellow, red...and brown.
[Help] Hexman: this is was happens when most names are taken
[Help] Fire-kissed: that's an innuendo on so many fronts I don't even know
[Help] Viridian Storm: I suppose.
[Help] Viridian Storm: I can't really complain... I'm guilty, too.
[Help] Cyrien: I love the unique name system in CoH. ;) Hate it in other games where you can have 15 people with the same name.
[Help] Kaliana: I dunno... I found and claimed Shade Sorceress just yesterday... there are still decent names out there.
There are. You just have to be creative with the naming. And be willing to be mobile on the name you want. Case in point: there's a Lucifer' in the game. Yes, "Lucifer" with an apostrophe on the end. At that point, just give up the name, because with that end apostrophe, it just makes me want to never, ever run on a team with him.
[Help] Viridian Storm: I made Australian Kiss... which is like a French kiss, only down under.
*facepalms*
[Help] Hexman: And each day fewer and fewer :)
[Help] BodyElectric: ya just got to be creative
[Help] Cyrien: Just makes people more creative... either in name choice or spelling.
[Help] Viridian Storm: I hate creative spelling.
Well, it depends. Like, I've met "Shocking Gurl" and "Shocking Grrl", and I'm quite sure there's a "Shocking Girl" out there. In my mind, each spelling of the "girl" portion indicates a different mentality--like "history" and "herstory". (Though I will say feminism, in specific, did the concept a vast disservice by "honoring" all variant spellings of "women", including "wimmin", "wymyn", and "wemoon".)
[Help] Hexman: I dislike that response because it fails to address the fundamental issue of a person wanting to make the Hero (or villain) that they actually want to make.
Okay, fine, but seriously--if the rut you're in requires you to be "Lone Wolf-" because "Lone Wolf" was taken...just switch the name to another one that references lupines in some way and move on.
[Help] Viridian Storm: Drives me nuts.
[Help] Kaliana: That said... I too would prefer a non-unique naming system... mainly because there have been times when the perfect name for my concept was already taken.
[Help] Viridian Storm: I agree, Hexman. There are a couple of names (and variants) that have been denied me... and I abandoned the concepts.
[Help] Bracket Claw: so find a different one.
[Help] Kaliana: You clearly aren't a writer.
Yeah, see...I don't buy that. That reads of "excuse" to me. For example: when I was setting up my team of virus-born villains, I got the first three out (and Influenza Annie is the one that lasted longest, she's at level 49 and counting, on her way to be a viral Incarnate, muahahahaha), and then ran into a snag on the remaining ones. "Smallpox", you see, was taken. And I had a series of concepts in mind. So I made "Smallpoxx". A simple renaming, and not taken, and then came her sisters "Mediumpoxx" and "Largepoxx". (And of the three, Largepoxx is the only one who survives--I let Smallpoxx go a long time back, and Mediumpoxx actually got completely remade due to her love of 1940s murder mysteries and noir--she's now happily romping around the Rogue Isles in a wide-brimmed fedora and a trenchcoat as Samantha Spade.)
[Help] Hexman: And at the end of the day, the rare possibility that one might see a name run by that they dislike doesnt trump that person's desire to have the name they like, since they have to see it 100% of the time they are playing said character. :) [Help] Havoc Salamander: I agree with kaliana
Oh, no, I get why this is a bother, I'm just saying, there are alternatives. And as pointed out, if the biggest fix for your problem is to make "xXSuccubusXx" instead of the main "Succubus" name (because the original's taken)...well, that problem may be with your lack of imagination than the game locking down all variants of your desired name. (This is also why most of my characters have two names instead of just one.)
[Help] Viridian Storm: I am a writer and imaginative... but sometimes the "creative alternatives" are just so far removed from what I wanted that I'm no longer happy with the result.
[Help] Kaliana: When you have a concept its the whole package... change the name you change the whole concept... especially with superheroes where things like aliteration are common.
Yeah. It's called character growth, Kaliana, look into it.
[Help] Havoc Salamander: But how exactly can non-unique systems work
[Help] Hexman: No I'm not a writer, I shouldnt have to be, nor do I want to be, in order to play a video game :)
[Help] Bracket Claw: when a name ruins your character, it becomes a little too serious there
That's my thinking. But here's the thing--you don't have to write for a living or create intricately crafted RPGs to properly name things in City of Heroes. You just need to have a good character concept, and be willing to be flexible on what autre nom you can live with. Yes, with this many people already registered--especially on the heavy Virtue and Freedom servers--it can be tricky. But it's far from impossible.
[Help] Cyrien: Non unique naming system? *looks at CO*
Yes, but that's also why you can stand in a city square in Champions Online and watch thirty-seven guys in black named "Batman" run past. That's not the solution anyone wants for City.
[Help] Viridian Storm: Its not the name that ruins a character... its the lack of the right name.
[Help] Category 5': how can someones name bother u ... unless its someone u know and dislike?
Sure, and I won't lie, I've ditched character concepts because I couldn't fit a name I wanted to the character I was creating. But that happens with everything. It's just a matter of picking something else that's similar enough.
[Help] Kaliana: But for those of us who play a concept... changing the name is the same as changing the entire toon... Shade Sorceress has completely different connotations than say "Ghost Guardian" or "Abyssal Angel" or even just "Ghost Girl"
I shall forego my usual rant on the use of "toons", and simply point out that her use of the word "toon", in this connotation, may well point to the flaw in her arguments--she is having difficulty because her imagination is simply not skilled enough, not flexible enough, and not tolerant enough to broaden her selection pool beyond "X Name and nothing else".
[Help] Havoc Salamander: In the world of writing and poetry there's a saying
[Help] Havoc Salamander: There's a mile difference between the right word and almost the right word
And while that's also true, if she hadn't been able to take Shade Sorceress, and still wanted the alliteration, then what about Sepulchral Siren? It doesn't just have to be "[some variety of dark]" plus "[some variety of female]", does it?
[Help] Viridian Storm: I think any names attached to accounts that haven't logged in so long that they don't even have a Global Chat handle should be released back into the wild. Those players are never coming back.
[Help] Minstral Cycle: I agree Havoc
Actually, I don't think that's an unfair distinction to make.
[Help] Melly: I also get extremely disappointed when I can't find the name I want. I figure using creative spelling is fine, because the "plain spelling" version is probably wasted on someone who doesn't give a shit about their own character.
That's an interesting point, too. I guess it depends on how "creative" people are getting.
[Help] Melly: But sometimes the simplest names (like Melly) aren't taken.
[Help] Havoc Salamander: But nearly always they are
[Help] Viridian Storm: I know a guy who waited for a real long time for the simple name of Joe.
[Help] Thing 0ne: I just used a zero in my name. ;) Find other ways to be creative and quit complaining, so what that someone stole the cookie you wanted oh well pick another. :-p
Sure, though you'd still want to do it with a little panache. "Thing 0ne" might pull that off, but "GodIike" doesn't work at all, because no one's going to look at that and not try to sound out "Gahd-eye-ike" first.
[Help] Kaliana: I had to settle for that because things like Shadow Spectre and even Ebon Eidolon were taken.
I rest my case.
08 August, 2012
so many little things that bothered me, because I am not your answer
More griping from the disenchanted forest.
[Help] Thunderbeard: I have a dumb question. Is there an in-game guide or encyclopedia that can inform or remind us who various characters, factions, etc. are?
[Help] Desert Ichor: Hmmm...
[Help] Amazingly Lame: Wikipedia.org
[Help] Thunderbeard: I mean in-game, so I don't have to log out to be reminded of who/what the Rikti are, etc.
[Help] Desert Ichor: I don't believe there is ingame, But the Titan wiki......
[Help] GodIike: wiki.cohtitan.com
[Help] Dragon Blessed: Another one is Paragon.wiki.com I believe
[Help] Desert Ichor: Paragon.wiki was the one with malware Dx)
[Help] GodIike: paragon wiki isn't being actively updated anymore I don't think
Not at this point, but there's also a specific City of Heroes wiki internally hosted by NCSoft, as well.
[Help] Thunderbeard: Right, I mean something in-game...
[Help] Desert Ichor: Then nope....
[Help] GodIike: you don't need to log out, just alt+tab
[Help] Desert Ichor: Unless you read What the contacts actually say...
A not-so-subtle jab at reminding Thunderbeard that much of the in-game information on the various gangs, groups, aliens, mystic powers, and zones come from NPCs and mission texts.
[Help] Night Lioness: the only thing i can think of ingame that is close to that is if u read the various clues when u go thru mish arcs, and if u can remember all those facts
As Night Lioness reinforced in this next line.
[Help] Thunderbeard: Whenever I opened a browser in WoW things would tend to crash...
[Help] GodIike: WoW is trash. CoH isn't.
And there it is. Listen, I profoundly disapprove of WoW on a lot of levels, but as a game itself I have never objected to it. The cultlike behavior of some adherents, the insistence that if I game, then I need a WoW account, is irritating to me, and I also blame Blizzard as a company for taking Diablo I and Diablo II--good, strong, dystopian games of sacrifice and challenge--and making them into DiabloWoW for the third iteration.
I think the thing I most blame on WoW is the proliferation of "toon" as a reference for in-game characters. In Runes of Magic, they were dolls, not "toons". In Second Life, they're avatars, not "toons". In City of Heroes, they're heroes, villains, alts or characters--again, not "toons".
How'ver, even with all my open contempt for WoW and for Blizzard's manipulative Diablo destruction, I wouldn't call the game itself trash. A lot of people like it, a lot of people still pay subscriptions, and go to the conventions, and make other media centered on WoW. Even though they've lost over a million players in the last quarter, weirdly they've lost them to Diablo III, so it's all still funds coming into Blizzard, itself. It is, by any standard definition, still a successful game.
[Help] Thunderbeard: Hey, I like WoW. But my computer isn't omnipotent in terms of running too many programs or windows at once.
[Help] Desert Ichor: In CoH it just lags a little.. or in my case epicly.
[Help] GodIike: WoW is where former AOL users get stuffed when everyone gets fed up with them.
And note the name--it's not "Godlike", which comes up later in the chat I'm excerpting here. It's actually "GodIike"--I guess the closest approximation to pronunciation, according to the spelling, would be "Gahd-Eye-Ike". He has enough limits on his imagination that he refuses to change "Godlike" into something else that's a near approximation, so he decides to misspell it deliberately so that, if we squint, we might see it as the "Godlike" he wants it to be?
Really?
[Help] Thunderbeard: That's not nice. I like WoW and CoH.
[Help] Arbiter Smythe: Godlike you're without a doubt a complete neckbeard take your hate elsewhere no one cares
Yeah, I had to look this one up. That's actually a pretty devastating insult, all things considered.
[Help] Imperial Templar: Now that's we've compared our E-Peenz, let's play some CoH.....
[Help] GodIike: it's not hate. just fact.
[Help] Thunderbeard: No, it's being rude to other players.
[Help] Arbiter Smythe: No it's pointless unwarrented hate
[Help] GodIike: when AOLers get tossed, and miss landing in the woodchipper, WoW is where they end up.
And yes, I have also made jests at AOL's expense, but those same jests can be made towards Hotmail users (those that spam, anyway), Gmail users (again, those that spam) and gold spammers in any MMO game at large (and City of Heroes has 'em too). (Also of morbid amusement: "gold spammer" was a term originated in WoW, and that term's gone global, too.)
[Help] komodai: just ignore him, it's going to end up gumming up help channel
[Help] Arbiter Smythe: Oh yeah ignore that's where morons go, I forgot sorry fixing that problem now
Indeed.
For reasons I can't adequately figure out, there's a LOT of WoW hatred in City of Heroes. Not just dislike, or to make this personal, not just my hard-coded twitch against the "toons" references--that proliferate through a lot of online games, not just WoW--but active, acid-spewing hate. What I can't figure out is why.
Seriously, think about it--WoW's main competition are similiarly-designed fantasy games: so things like Runes of Magic, TERA, Diablo III and similar console games, those are the ones directly abutting WoW's market share. City of Heroes is anything but fantasy-based, and so far, City of Heroes' only real competition is from Champions Online and DCUO--both superhero/supervillain-based games. So why all the hatred directed towards WoW? Don't like WoW, don't play it. And hey, if you're in City of Heroes, guess what--you're not playing WoW, are you?
It's a perpetual confusion, but this bit (from a much longer, rambling conversation) painted the controversy in exacerbatingly vivid colors. But making it brighter didn't make it any easier to understand.
[Help] Thunderbeard: I have a dumb question. Is there an in-game guide or encyclopedia that can inform or remind us who various characters, factions, etc. are?
[Help] Desert Ichor: Hmmm...
[Help] Amazingly Lame: Wikipedia.org
[Help] Thunderbeard: I mean in-game, so I don't have to log out to be reminded of who/what the Rikti are, etc.
[Help] Desert Ichor: I don't believe there is ingame, But the Titan wiki......
[Help] GodIike: wiki.cohtitan.com
[Help] Dragon Blessed: Another one is Paragon.wiki.com I believe
[Help] Desert Ichor: Paragon.wiki was the one with malware Dx)
[Help] GodIike: paragon wiki isn't being actively updated anymore I don't think
Not at this point, but there's also a specific City of Heroes wiki internally hosted by NCSoft, as well.
[Help] Thunderbeard: Right, I mean something in-game...
[Help] Desert Ichor: Then nope....
[Help] GodIike: you don't need to log out, just alt+tab
[Help] Desert Ichor: Unless you read What the contacts actually say...
A not-so-subtle jab at reminding Thunderbeard that much of the in-game information on the various gangs, groups, aliens, mystic powers, and zones come from NPCs and mission texts.
[Help] Night Lioness: the only thing i can think of ingame that is close to that is if u read the various clues when u go thru mish arcs, and if u can remember all those facts
As Night Lioness reinforced in this next line.
[Help] Thunderbeard: Whenever I opened a browser in WoW things would tend to crash...
[Help] GodIike: WoW is trash. CoH isn't.
And there it is. Listen, I profoundly disapprove of WoW on a lot of levels, but as a game itself I have never objected to it. The cultlike behavior of some adherents, the insistence that if I game, then I need a WoW account, is irritating to me, and I also blame Blizzard as a company for taking Diablo I and Diablo II--good, strong, dystopian games of sacrifice and challenge--and making them into DiabloWoW for the third iteration.
I think the thing I most blame on WoW is the proliferation of "toon" as a reference for in-game characters. In Runes of Magic, they were dolls, not "toons". In Second Life, they're avatars, not "toons". In City of Heroes, they're heroes, villains, alts or characters--again, not "toons".
How'ver, even with all my open contempt for WoW and for Blizzard's manipulative Diablo destruction, I wouldn't call the game itself trash. A lot of people like it, a lot of people still pay subscriptions, and go to the conventions, and make other media centered on WoW. Even though they've lost over a million players in the last quarter, weirdly they've lost them to Diablo III, so it's all still funds coming into Blizzard, itself. It is, by any standard definition, still a successful game.
[Help] Thunderbeard: Hey, I like WoW. But my computer isn't omnipotent in terms of running too many programs or windows at once.
[Help] Desert Ichor: In CoH it just lags a little.. or in my case epicly.
[Help] GodIike: WoW is where former AOL users get stuffed when everyone gets fed up with them.
And note the name--it's not "Godlike", which comes up later in the chat I'm excerpting here. It's actually "GodIike"--I guess the closest approximation to pronunciation, according to the spelling, would be "Gahd-Eye-Ike". He has enough limits on his imagination that he refuses to change "Godlike" into something else that's a near approximation, so he decides to misspell it deliberately so that, if we squint, we might see it as the "Godlike" he wants it to be?
Really?
[Help] Thunderbeard: That's not nice. I like WoW and CoH.
[Help] Arbiter Smythe: Godlike you're without a doubt a complete neckbeard take your hate elsewhere no one cares
Yeah, I had to look this one up. That's actually a pretty devastating insult, all things considered.
[Help] Imperial Templar: Now that's we've compared our E-Peenz, let's play some CoH.....
[Help] GodIike: it's not hate. just fact.
[Help] Thunderbeard: No, it's being rude to other players.
[Help] Arbiter Smythe: No it's pointless unwarrented hate
[Help] GodIike: when AOLers get tossed, and miss landing in the woodchipper, WoW is where they end up.
And yes, I have also made jests at AOL's expense, but those same jests can be made towards Hotmail users (those that spam, anyway), Gmail users (again, those that spam) and gold spammers in any MMO game at large (and City of Heroes has 'em too). (Also of morbid amusement: "gold spammer" was a term originated in WoW, and that term's gone global, too.)
[Help] komodai: just ignore him, it's going to end up gumming up help channel
[Help] Arbiter Smythe: Oh yeah ignore that's where morons go, I forgot sorry fixing that problem now
Indeed.
For reasons I can't adequately figure out, there's a LOT of WoW hatred in City of Heroes. Not just dislike, or to make this personal, not just my hard-coded twitch against the "toons" references--that proliferate through a lot of online games, not just WoW--but active, acid-spewing hate. What I can't figure out is why.
Seriously, think about it--WoW's main competition are similiarly-designed fantasy games: so things like Runes of Magic, TERA, Diablo III and similar console games, those are the ones directly abutting WoW's market share. City of Heroes is anything but fantasy-based, and so far, City of Heroes' only real competition is from Champions Online and DCUO--both superhero/supervillain-based games. So why all the hatred directed towards WoW? Don't like WoW, don't play it. And hey, if you're in City of Heroes, guess what--you're not playing WoW, are you?
It's a perpetual confusion, but this bit (from a much longer, rambling conversation) painted the controversy in exacerbatingly vivid colors. But making it brighter didn't make it any easier to understand.
25 March, 2012
I can't be trusted to wait on hard times
Cxxxxxx Pxxxxxxxxxxxx: Linden Lab has some very poor business strategy. Oskar Linden, head of quality assurance, publicly stated that he's not allowed to do his job. All he can do is advise. He has no power to stop or delay a release, due to quality issues.
So...listen, I know jobs are hard to find and all, but I have a couple questions that spring urgently to mind:
1. Why work for a company who devalues your efforts like this? And
2. Why hire someone and then refuse to let him do his job for you?
Also, I'd love to know where he said this. A search on (my assumption of) common terms on Google turned up no public statements to this effect, but, to be fair, there's a lot of office hours transcripts I didn't read.
My first reaction to this next one: "Hey, guess who's back?"
But I was wrong. This is not an Evony ad. This is...an ad for the new Godfather MMO? Seriously?
Yeah, seriously. Clicked the ad and everything. I would have sworn this was the latest iteration on Evony. And I was thinking even as I clicked it--to prove that it was from the Evony lot--"My gods, guys, why don't you just give up and start a porn company?"
So now I'm trying to figure out how the waiflet figures into the Five Families game. Is she someone's daughter who went astray? Is she a standard-issue gun moll waiting for her 1920s update? Did the Godfather production team get together with the Evony ad people, and this is what they came up with?
Because let me tell you, while I clicked the ad, I clicked it knowing I wouldn't play a game whose main initial goal seems to be getting girls undressed as quickly as possible. Not that that can't be fun now and again, but seriously, day in and day out that's kind of wearing on the player.
This is the weirdest thing I've seen this week (and yeah, that counts the trailer for Cabin in the Woods, but on reflection does not include watching The Oregonian--and if you think that's a recommendation for The Oregonian, you'd be wrong). Apparently this is a coming series? If so...and I'm wary of saying this, but...when?! Because this is the women of DC on fast forward through the spin cycle. I have to know what comes next.
And I found a new music blog. Titled The Right Side of a Good Thing, it weighs in heavy on alt-country (as well as traditional country), but there's enough good early pop and early rock (think late 1950s to mid 1870s, overall) to make the doses of twangy mournful country tolerable.
Finally, there's been some discussion of the fast and superfast where superheroes are concerned. The fellow behind Nodwick, of course, puts it in the most amusing light. But he's got a serious point--when we're already being told that someone locked into a human frame can travel twice the speed of light with no signs of injury, why even both factoring in how normal human frames would react, realistically? It blurs so deeply into the realm of the impossible that we generally choose to shrug it off and go on, because we all have bigger things to worry about.
So...listen, I know jobs are hard to find and all, but I have a couple questions that spring urgently to mind:
1. Why work for a company who devalues your efforts like this? And
2. Why hire someone and then refuse to let him do his job for you?
Also, I'd love to know where he said this. A search on (my assumption of) common terms on Google turned up no public statements to this effect, but, to be fair, there's a lot of office hours transcripts I didn't read.
My first reaction to this next one: "Hey, guess who's back?"
 |
| (from the Games album) |
But I was wrong. This is not an Evony ad. This is...an ad for the new Godfather MMO? Seriously?
Yeah, seriously. Clicked the ad and everything. I would have sworn this was the latest iteration on Evony. And I was thinking even as I clicked it--to prove that it was from the Evony lot--"My gods, guys, why don't you just give up and start a porn company?"
So now I'm trying to figure out how the waiflet figures into the Five Families game. Is she someone's daughter who went astray? Is she a standard-issue gun moll waiting for her 1920s update? Did the Godfather production team get together with the Evony ad people, and this is what they came up with?
Because let me tell you, while I clicked the ad, I clicked it knowing I wouldn't play a game whose main initial goal seems to be getting girls undressed as quickly as possible. Not that that can't be fun now and again, but seriously, day in and day out that's kind of wearing on the player.
This is the weirdest thing I've seen this week (and yeah, that counts the trailer for Cabin in the Woods, but on reflection does not include watching The Oregonian--and if you think that's a recommendation for The Oregonian, you'd be wrong). Apparently this is a coming series? If so...and I'm wary of saying this, but...when?! Because this is the women of DC on fast forward through the spin cycle. I have to know what comes next.
And I found a new music blog. Titled The Right Side of a Good Thing, it weighs in heavy on alt-country (as well as traditional country), but there's enough good early pop and early rock (think late 1950s to mid 1870s, overall) to make the doses of twangy mournful country tolerable.
Finally, there's been some discussion of the fast and superfast where superheroes are concerned. The fellow behind Nodwick, of course, puts it in the most amusing light. But he's got a serious point--when we're already being told that someone locked into a human frame can travel twice the speed of light with no signs of injury, why even both factoring in how normal human frames would react, realistically? It blurs so deeply into the realm of the impossible that we generally choose to shrug it off and go on, because we all have bigger things to worry about.
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