Messages

I agree with those who mentioned capitalism as the rotten apple in our world: it is.

To be honest, I wonder why DO we live in capitalism yet: it's a legacy of upset British peasants from 17-18-th century who chopped their King's head off. And later, the French. With so much advance in modern world, why haven't we adapted more fair and effective way to rule world? Competition and man's greed pretty much killed communism, but I'd say that Soviet and Chinese communism was build on weak foundation also: to make something work, snitches and secret torture chambers, mass graves plus shitloads of propaganda/brainwash probably isn't most motivating way.

I do believe that socialism does come back. Probably along with heavy global catastrophe and poverty - as all major changes in world -- and humankind - without any bullshit - WILL work as one big family - or species of a planet. But it should be nothing like earlier attempts at socialism and way more advanced that earlier form - tribalism.

Looking at history, the farthest and most sci-fi moment for capitalism to expire is when technology completely makes worker class obsolete. Again, it has happened - so could happen again. Imagine a robot flipping burgers or checking out in supermarket. It's cheap enough to use in every western store. How many workplaces do you lose? How many pissed off cashiers would it generate?

I wonder if I live long enough to actually see this. Right now, the dark leaders of capitalist system have fortified themselves into hopelessly unbreakable fort and any individual freedom is simply a big pink lie.

[before]

All I can say in pure honesty is:

* Don't go anime style. It instantly makes bad art 500% worse.
* Practice ALOT with lines before drawing. I mean, sketch a body. No clothing, no details, nothing. Just very basic body outlines. Then look at some photos, see what you did wrong. Put photos away and try again. Once you get proportions good, pick different pose and try again...

After 10 poses or so - when you can drawn quite well female at any angle, add hair, eyes etc.

You have to get a feeling and knowledge of what you're doing before doing anything. Otherwise, you waste time -- what's the point of spending an hour on a dress if it's fitted onto something that looks like melt and disfigured barbie doll?

* And still, don't go anime style. Japanese artists are professionals - they can get away with alien eyes and no nose, because everything else is so damn perfect and fluid. You don't.

[irrationally]

Not enough off topic I must say I like Rachel McWhatever, would date her: she makes more money than me, but I don't like yours that much. Funny, the world, isn't it

Wiki:
Interpersonal antipathy is often irrationally ascribed to mannerisms or certain physical characteristics, which are perceived as signs for character traits (e.g. close together, deep set eyes as a sign for dullness or cruelty). Furthermore, the negative feeling sometimes takes place fast and without reasoning, functioning below the level of attention, thus resembling an automatic process.

Guess it's that what's between me and Rachel.

As for movie, I guess discussion would be easier when stated as simple points of personal opinion: Sherlock Holmes was cool. Setting was so-so. Watson was cool, but WRONG. Villain was stupid. Action was good. Detective stuff was average... movie was watchable but average, character/universe treatment was a bit below average (Watson, Rachel) etc

Sherlock Holmes - the movie was what happens when Jack the Ripper and Shoot'em'Up meet but director has no clue which way to go. It was dark and serious mostly, but incredibly stupid at times, especially final battle. Since Irene Adler character did major stupid stuff (like shooting randomly for comedic effect, ignoring threat, etc), I hated Rachel - even though she did what was written in the script.

Ouch.
For few Rachel Mcsomething's I don't like, there's ton of female actors I do
Plus, scandinavian girls are maybe simply too pretty thus global-scale beautiful is rather average here... my dream brunette looks like this. Rachel looks like she stopped at early teen age where girls get tall and skinny but don't have curves yet

But enough offtopic

[disciple]

You need to get your head examined, mate! Sure, it was a pretty weak part, but McAdams is both quite talented and ever so slightly gorgeous.

Beauty is in viewer's eyes, right. Maybe a matter of taste... I find her... average maybe? I wouldn't date her.

Acting I do not rate, ever: I'm not an actor and don't know technicalities of acting. I always wonder how film critics think they know anything about camera work or acting... What I can rate is how I feel towards character played -- and I didn't like a moment she was on screen.

Law's interpretation departs a bit from Conan-Doyle's stories, but no more than most film versions (who usually portray him as a clown, like you seem to have expected).

No. The impression I got from novels was that Watson acts like a disciple and friend, yet is manly enough by himself also. Fascinated and cooperative is not what film showed - an arrogant cyborg buddy from the future (he really goes T-800 at places).

Sure. I've always wanted a monitor in my pocket.

Ah just sat through the whole thing.

Starting with good part - I liked the power in the movie, Holmes itsself and well... when movie ended, credits graphics/stuff was more awesome than anything else during last 2,5 hours.

Bad parts... First, I hated the broad. Rachel McWhatever is horrible character to see just anywhere IMO. She falls faaaar from my definition of "eye candy" aswell. Other girl was very nice though.

Second, character of Watson... was NOTHING like one from novels. At times, he felt more arrogant sh*thead that Holmes himself. I wonder WHY did director replace chubby-friendly-always-amazed doctor with something so... opposite.

Movie being so dark (in terms of overall atmosphere) was yes and no for me. I'm not quite sure. But dumbing it down heavily, mystifying with voodoo and/of plotholes, speaking in riddles cutting out vital chunks of data is not how you tell an interesting story.  At times, I had no clue what's going on. But it wasn't "it all gets explained at the end"-kind of unknown, but simply leaving viewer short of story data. That was worst thing aside from Rachel. Dumbing story down is stupid too. Okay, clever chemistry and tricks behind everything but if the motive of main villain is so purely idiotic, what's the point?

I'm not sure if late 19th century London really looked like an endless ghetto but I doubt that industrial advances killed WHOLE sense of beauty in people. It was disgusting to look at. Novels created me a mental image of simple time with comfortable little apartments with fancy furnishings and pretty horses on streets. This movie reduces everything into endless smoke stacks and a live dirt tunnel a.k.a "street". Also, I wish steampunk comebacks would end already. It wasn't cool in movies in 80's, it's not now. We saw Dune, we played Bioshock, enough.

So, I'm glad I didn't pay â,¬7 and froze my ass off in what appears to be -27°C weather to see this  :

Got a bit long, but if -
* Watson's character were returned to proper one
* Rachel would not play any part ever again
* Holmes would be cold-blooded, clear-minded genius instead of tragedic-comedy star (atleast MAJORITY of time)
* Scenery would be a living thing instead of simply a backdrop to the story (I mean, city & people)
* Story weren't so dumbed down and fogged with missing data & voodoo for cover

I would watch sequel. It's coming anyway

P.S. Also, I was wrong earlier about the trailer. The real movie indeed *did* mistell Sherlock Holmes story but *did not* move towards Indiana Jones (which would have been good way to fail) with this

First frame sticks out like a sore thumb.

Pants and shoes just disappear at frame 2 and that's not very good.

Also, instead of shrinking into neck, cape could break into pieces (or long strips) and float away.
If you could do this part right, nobody would notice much else - problems included.

But CJ told me off last time I wrote on his garden wall. It'll teach me to keep my distance next time... :

Joking of course. Although I love what you've done with your bedroom interior CJ.

That's because you were naked. 

Just now the forums were down for me. It soon picked up again, but I was just wondering whether there is a back-up plan if, for some reason, the forums went down permanently?

Yes, the wall on CJ's house. We gather there and write onto it. Moderators carry bucket of water and a soap.

Bleh ok, Let me fix this for everyone in firefox 3.6

THANK YOU!

I get error "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" when trying to save GIF.
Also, preview... or whatever that second window shows nothing... base image was 600x232

EDIT: Ah got it to work. Apparently, I had to press right button.
Definitely make a manual some kind.
And it wouldn't bad to make a status/message bar somewhere that shows tips and progress. Like "generating strip" or something, because this thing takes time and fogs the window, I almost thought it hanged at one point!

+1...

Someone Conan O whatever is so irrelevant in thread titled with words "world" and "tragedy"

"We don't want people coming in and grabbing a controller with 16 buttons and sitting down to read a manual. We just want people to come in, pick up a controller and have a play. It's not a LAN cafe or a cyber lounge. It won't have PCs or World of Warcraft. We're trying to make something for everyone."

console faggots!

I don't know if I've written about it already (dream threads pop up once or twice a year) but

When I was in early teen age, I spent summers at my grandma's apartment, mainly since I didn't want to go to our country home with rest of the family due drunk and abusive dad of mine.

And there, I always saw similar nightmares -- most common was this: I'm in a car, doors are locked, and car goes toward river. Our country home has river flowing through lower end and house is on a hill. Car always started from hill and went downwards. I was afraid, yelling and thinking what the hell could I do to stop the car.

Sometimes I wasn't in the car, simply sat on trunk or stood beside. Sometimes I even wasn't that much afraid, but practical and had seconds to think of something. I never did figure out anything that would stop the car, even though I tried. And I always woke up before car actually reached river. Over 4 summer breaks, I saw variations of same dream dozens of times. And few times I saw a tiger chasing me. Yes - a tiger - and I've seen tigers only once or twice in my whole life - at a zoo.

Over years I've been thought why this car dream and I guess I see where it came from.
Grandma lives in north-easternmost province of Estonia, heavy mining area - stone throw from Russian border so majority of local folk are Russians and area is very poor - ghetto-like - and crime is high.

Especially was back then. So quite often there were all kinds of criminals lurking around house, break ins were daily thing and I couldn't understand how grandma sleeps with windows open on first floor if more than once someone crawled in at night and lifted something for quick drug cash. Tenement also had private cellar area for tenants - where everyone had a little storage with a door and lock - and even those were often lifted at night, with old bicycle as good and few jars of homemade strawberry jam as shittier "loot".

There was case where someone ringed doorbell, when grandma opened the door, started to push door open. She asked me to help push the door back and thug fled hearing male voice - he probably counted on elderly lone female as easy target and was surprised to hear anyone else in apartment.

I even used put a knife under pillow... But were always afraid that if mugger came into apartment, I was too weak to protect grandma. Probably that fear of being defenseless transferred into my dreams.

In conclusion, I'm not quite sure which one was the nightmare - they way I felt at day or the stuff I saw in dreams at that time... Kids afraid of scary monster under bed? Pfff... Those monsters were very real.

But I guess that either way, it does classify as primal fear.

Quite mediocre background, I'd say, but apparently you DO have talent to make much better one.

* Clouds look bad. First, they contrast horribly in sense of contrast -- I'd make them much more subtle.
* Second, the insane amount of detail on contrast and almost none on everything else makes player look at clouds and looking away is somewhat irritating since clouds are where detail is. I'd cut detail on clouds and transfer it to ground instead. Also, I'm not so sure about the way you did clouds: It's looks more like cotton stuck onto picture of sky. Also, clouds should be alot higher

So, keep the amount of detail balanced, don't overdo it anywhere. That's biggest issue here.
For lesser things:

* The green ooze really doesn't fit. Again, extreme contrast issue here. I know that such suggestions on clear pixel art are met with negativity, but I say it anyway: Try a soft green brush to add more light-like glow around hole. That's what I would do.

* Fill frontal areas (closer to the camera/viewer) with stuff

* Also, what andail did

EDIT: Edit over Andail's edit.
This is direction I'd go--

--maybe not this much though

Thanksss!! Reverse Reverb it is!

Yeah, it's quite simple to do with FL Studio I see.
I tried and it worked just like I wanted.

Plus, it's helluva awesome effect.

Since it's quite specific and hard to describe, I skipped "ask something" thread and made a new one.

There's a sound effect/filter I'm trying to find/replicate. What I don't know is how it's called or made.
And, I cannot provide anything to show it.

It sounds like reverb/echo, but when echo comes AFTER spoken words, here it comes BEFORE, gets louder and louder and has this ethereal-phasing-in-futuristic feel. Like someone's repeating some words on radio and you turn volume up while tuning in to a better reception also...
It's heard rarely on horror/sci-fi movies (ghosts speaking!) and more in some games, like alien woman briefing in Supreme Commander, and a bit in briefings in Metal Fatigue and so on. Also, it sounds somewhat robotic/mechanized/vocoded.

I hope anyone has a clue what I'm talking about! If you think you might have an idea, post a youtube link/sound clip/whatever for verification

Also, if so, does anyone know how to reproduce this? Is it some tedious technique using usual reverb/delay/flanger/vocoder mix or simply a VSTi plugin/vodocer preset I could use? Even correct technical name for this would help!

*facepalm*