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Rabbit of Ruin

Cream is one of those characters you don't mind or loathe entirely, which really doesn't say much, considering that's pretty much what you could say about an Sonic character post-Knuckles.

There really isn't much to say about her, aside from the fact that she's obnoxiously polite to everyone... aside from her Chao, Cheese, who she apparently absolutely refuses to share her ice cream with.

On the subject of Cheese, well... Cheese is what made Cream so hilariously overpowered in the Sonic Advance games. Cheese is a voracious monster that will savagely attack anything Cream wants him to, as long as it's visible and he gets a short rest between commands. He's essentially like Jake Slate's dog, Shadow, from Dead to Rights, except he can fly, and he doesn't need a 30 second rest and can't be stopped. EVER.

Everything is Great

Align: Center *aligns slightly off-center*

Here's more horrible doodles that I'm not in the mood to think up descriptions for. Not like it matters anyway. I'm not ever gonna use them.

Edit by Tof: Holy shit it's so annoying to align a couple of pictures together with the blogger interface!

Tof recomends: "Brutal Legend" LP by LeadingManAE

Brutal Legend was a game that look and sounded amazing when i first heard of it, but i could never play it seeing as I didn't own the system it was for.

When the game came out, I heard a lot of people were disapointed because it was actually a RTS, and that got me mad because that really made me want to play it, I really like strategy and puzzle games in my old age.

Time passed, years passed, and I completely forgot about it. Then I saw that LeadingManAE had made an LP of it, I liked his LP of the Soul Reaver Sub-series, so I decided to start watching it.

This game is mind blowing, the art direction is godly awesome, the characters style and facial expressions are really well done, Jack Black as the protagonist is really good.

But the thing that I really love is how the world and landscape is all based on Metal album covers, the story of the world is so imaginative I was very impressed. This is overall an extremely impressive game from a design point of view.


First episode of the LP

Again, LeadingManAE seems actually know what he's doing when playing the game and went for 100% completion, which is nice.

Link to the playlist

Yesterday I learned what "Bunny boiler" means

So Spoony has been very active on twitter lately, probably over the fact TGWTG suspended him for a month for making a joke on twitter and someone got butthurt over it.

I rarely respond to tweets, but I wanted to send a word encouragement to Spoony even if it'd get ignored. And this happened:

What the hell is wrong with that woman?

I'm assuming that's Spoony's ex. Not even going on why she monitors her ex's tweets and responses (that's kinda pathetic), but what the hell is her problem?

Never met anymore that was so rude towards a complete stranger.

I do like how she accused me of discrimination (I didn't, would had called her dumb even if she was a man) even though she discriminated towards me first and unprovoked.

Also, you can't call me a furry and expect it to sound like an insult, you'd only stating I like anthro art, big woop. That says nothing about me.

Like, overall, a really really dumb person.

Why biased people shouldn't run games

Have a seat, Gonna tell you whippersnappers a story.

Yesterday I played some TF2, I stumbled upon a server that mostly runs the same minecraft themed payload map over and over.

After 5 rounds, I haven't had a chance to play on offense once, and I felt like going pyro, because spies were out of control and the team wasn't checking for them nearly enough.

I select pyro, and I get booted back to the class selection screen.



I'm a lil confused by it, so I try again, and it kicks me back to the same screen. So I pick a random class just so i can use the chat, and this happens:

Note: Can't remember the dude's name, but I recall he had this Brony flair on him, so that's how I'll refer to him, these probably aren't the exact words, but it's as best as I can remember them.

K-ToF: This is a weird server...

Brony: How come?

K-ToF: 5th round in a row I'm defending, and won't allow pyros.

K-ToF: Doesn't seem to be setup all that well.

Brony: Owner doesn't like Pyros.

That kinda stroke me as the dumbest reason ever to exclude a class. Not for balance, but just because "the owner doesn't like them". It rubbed me the wrong way instantly, So I got a lil rude trying to spark a reaction.

K-ToF: Why? Is he a noob?

Brony: Ahem...

Brony: Pyros are for noobs.

Brony: W+M1

> W+M1 is as much of a noob excuse as it is a noob tactic.

> That's... actually very true.

K-ToF: That's even less of a reason then, Those are the easiest to deal with.

Brony: You haven't seen them on this server.

A fucking huge wide open area with little cover. Yes, I'm sure pyros are fucking terrifying here.

K-ToF: And yet, snipers are allowed.

Brony: Don't like it? Shame.

K-ToF: Without pyros there's no spy checking.

K-ToF: And that's why there's a horde of spies running around.

I seriously considered going into full detail on how removing pyros affects the game, but the setup time had ended and the match was underway.

Brony: Stop whinning.

K-ToF: Don't like it? Shame.

Needless to say, didn't stick around much after that. The server runs the same minecraft themed map over and over 24/7, and it's a very open map, makes it really hard for pyros to be effective, so again, not sure how bad these people are at this game.

However there is a giant tall ass tower specifically made for snipers to keep out of danger, but that's fine I guess.

---

Here's why banning pyros is a terrible idea.

• Lack of pyro chain reaction:
  > Way too much freedom for spies to operate.
  > Engies can't set up anything
  > Heavies just get killed as soon as they come out.
  > Scouts dominate the entire map unrestricted
  
• No pyros, no defense against ubers. Good pyros will airblast away ubered pairs and prevent a massacre.
  
• No pyros, 1 less class to target snipers at a distance. I'll admit that's not too common, but I do take out snipers as a pyro quite a lot, I have ridiculous accuracy with the flare gun.
  
• Really good pyros (I don't consider myself one) will reflect every single damn rocket and grenade back at the enemy fucking them up immensely, actually turning soldier and demo's strengths against them.

Bottom line: PYROS HAVE A ROLE.

And yet, they're the most nerfed class on TF2 because of morons like the one who ran that server.

Anyone with common sense understands that each class on TF2 has a role, strengths and weaknesses. and that some strengths are meant to counter some of the enemy's own strengths. (except snipers, they really don't factor into anything)

---

In a similar fashion, my all time favorite online game, Footman Frenzy, was ruined by DotA players who didn't understand how deep the game was and the roles of the heroes and armies involved into the game.

Footman was a 3vs3vs3vs3 game involving heroes and armies. DotA players couldn't quite grasp the concept of commanding more than 1 unit and would always focus on their hero, often just killing their own units so the enemy couldn't farm them, because that's what you do in DotA.

As a result, they'd often lose, even though according to them they were "doing everything right". So these poor losers made their own version of Footmen Frenzy, but did NOT change the name of it, Their map claimed to be the official one and to the average player, it was impossible to tell what was official or not.

Several of these fake versions popped out. Even though all of them had the official site URL on the loading screen, no one ever checks those.

Last loading screen the official version had, which was picked from a contest that I won.

The fake versions eventually became more popular, because people don't care about balance as long as they win. From the 50+ heroes in the game, only 3 or 4 were commonly used because the changes made all the other ones near useless. Most strategies just became too weak to work and "1 man army Hero" was the only one that remained.

---

Sometimes, there will be an asshole who hasn't looked into a game's mechanics much, hasn't considered how it's balanced, or just doesn't understand the game itself.

He plays the game, and something that's meant to counter him, counters him.

The idiot tells himself "These game developers didn't balance this, I shouldn't had died cause I'm infallible." And he changes the game. Either hosting a server with restrictions, or modding the game itself.

The problem is when these become popular and ruin a good game.

However, that is not to say that developers don't make mistakes. Heck sometimes developers will be the ones ruining their own game, or just make a bad game to begin with.

Where rock/paper/scissors type balance is involved, one must be very careful. Only thorough testing can tell you what to tweak.

> I put up a picture of Egon cause I like him.

> I approve of this!

Impressive robotic gripper

This video features an ingenious solution for a problem that puzzled robotics scientists for ages: how to pick up shit.

As the video goes on, you start being impressed how well it can pick up stuff, but later, it's stunning how damn accurate it can throw them as well.



This really isn't an obvious solution by any means, and you have to wonder how this would even occur to anyone.

Basilisk

A colorful monster known primarily for the reputation of it's potent venom, which cause petrification. Also slightly known for a rumor that it's stare will induce the same effect, similar to a Cockatrice or Gorgon. The rumor is slightly debunked in that Basilisks don't seem to be capable of staring at anything for very long... or at all, really. It fidgets and jerks it's body about constantly, appearing unstable or easily distracted.

Basilisk venom is infamous for the rate at which it petrifies just about anything. It works merely by touch, not even requiring injection, and activates almost instantly. Why the creature has this venom is unknown, as it doesn't consume stone, and creatures that would hunt it, like weasels or mongooses, are immune to it. It will however, not hesitate to use it if it feels threatened, and avoiding it's spit is difficult due to the Basilisk's unpredictable movement.

It's venom and feathers are reasonably valuable magic items. The horn "crown" is much more highly sought after, but they're difficult to obtain in good condition, since they turn to stone if the Basilisk is killed, and it's really not okay with people trying to hack it off while it can still move.

Calista Byrne

Callie is an old friend of Shotty's who helps run her shop. As opposed to her preference to ranged weapons, Callie sings the praises of various blades and cudgels meant for a more "personal" approach. In fact, in her youth, Callie was quite an accomplished swordsman herself, until puberty hit and her ability was severely impaired by the "gifts" it bestowed upon her...

Callie originally freelanced as a mercenary like many a goblin does, for a slightly longer period of time than Shotty. When "they" appeared, she sadly gave it up in favor of working with Shotty in an effort to fund reducing the problem. Over time, though, she found she had an even better talent towards salesmanship, due to her approachable, upbeat personality. Since then, she hardly looks back.

In addition to some small blades she can still handle effectively, she carries a custom pistol Shotty modified for her. Despite not being a fan of guns, it's Callie's most prized possession.

Solatorobo: Opera Kranz

From Bitten:

Someone sure loves Solatorobo.

GarGal

A playful trickster female gargoyle monster, though their standards of playful may tend to differ from yours. As they are gargoyles, they can assume a stone form to recover, rest, or hide, though any sort of damage incurred in this state will become permanent. In their organic form, they're able to move very freely, much to the chagrin of adventurers or knights with flimsy armor that happen to come across one that's openly hostile for it's own amusement.

Instead of belching bursts of flame like higher level, true demonic-type gargoyles, GarGal's can rapidly salivate spring water, which they employ in a number of amusing ways, in both of their forms. It's difficult to weaponize, so it's mostly employed in a manner meant to frustrate and annoy.

GarGals are classified as monsters, but they're among the more civilized types, able to speak and reason, or even go so far as to integrate into society. Most just choose not to do so. They're skewed to the friendly, if mischievous end of the spectrum, and like fellow female stone monster Morabus, aren't truly malicious. Usually.

Possibly the best Hitler parody video ever

We've all seen those videos that put on fake subtitles to that scene where Hitler is losing his shit. They're all basically the same and only the subtitles change.

This is one of those videos but with way more scenes, editing and an actual "plot" to it. Basically the generals bring Hitler a Nazi game console and he plays the games. However the games are basically specifically made to troll Hitler.


This shit is brilliant, the trap in SMB1 was just gold.

My stance on "Bronies"

First, here's a somewhat relevant video about the subject from foreverpandering:


Now, here's my thoughts on the subject.

I for one am glad there's such a label as Bronies. Why? because there's finally something out there with a worse reputation and way more annoying than Furries. It's very ironic when you think about it.

The irony about Bronies, is that whatever they like it or not, they're actually "furrier" than Furries. Simply because the ponies ARE anthro characters:

"Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics (or characteristics assumed to belong only to humans) to other animals."

Even though physically they only look like ponies, they can talk, read, have personalities, etc.

You could had watched the above video and replaced every instance of the word Pony with Furry, and it wouldn't had changed it's meaning in the least, except for one part: In general Furries don't rub on other people's faces the fact that they're Furries.

The average Furry is between 2 and 3, Bronies are easily a 5

Memes, which are by definition one of the lowest forms of humor, have been pointlessly mass converted into ponies, making them even less amusing. It's like telling the same joke again, but with the word "pony" instead of "man".

The fact that they spam their versions of existing memes increases the "shoving it in" feel that a lot of people get from Bronies. Not to mention how lame and unoriginal remaking memes is.

Yes, it's harmless, but seeing it everywhere all the time is rather irritating.


Bronies are no different from other Furries. There's sick fucks in the Furry community and there's perfectly decent people in it. But the same could be said about people who like soccer, or cheeseburgers.

What people like has never been an indicator of the kind of person they are.

However, Bronies detached themselves from the Furry stereotype somehow, even though in essence they're Furry++. And seem to strive to prove there's nothing wrong with them, and in cases, they seek to "convert" others into the fandom, like it's some fucking cult.

That's why I dislike them: Bronies are just regular Furries that want special treatment and think they're entitled to it.

I think that's the only explanation that documentary got so much funding. They desperately want to show people that they're all normal decent people who just happen to like a cartoon. about horses. for lil girls. and get an erection while watching it.

The fact that they try so hard is what makes it so weird though.

Ever heard "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."? It feels like it applies here.

---

Society loves labels.

I make a distinction between fans of the show, and Bronies. The fans just like the show and don't feel the need to annoy others with it. Bronies keep waving their flags on other people's faces.

Much like for Furries though, both will be labeled the same regardless

With that said, if I meet a brony, I'll judge him as an individual like I do with everyone else (except Brazilians, god damn).

Spiral Knight concept - Chuck

From Bitten:

>I've always wondered about the possibilty of changing character sizes. Rather happy they added the option to change heights for now

Paying money for polygons, sure, but for a stat?

I rarely play TF2 nowadays, it's more like, I have phases where I play it a lot for a few days, and then forget about it for weeks.

By doing that, I detach myself from the community and "value" of the items that are introduced in the game, and when I'm confronted with those items I have a more objective view of them.

I was looking up price for some random items on TF2, and I've found some really outrageous trades. However before that here's some facts:

• 1 key can be bought from valve for 2.50 dollars.
• 1 key is generally traded for 2.50 refined metal.
• Thus, 1 refined metal is worth 1 dollar.

---

So here's what I found out earlier:

This hat is called the Holiday Headcase, looking at it, it looks rather crappy. It's indeed an all class hat, but still, doesn't look good on anyone.

It's being traded for 90+ keys. Yes, more than 90. That's 225+ dollars for a mediocre hat. I'm sure there's a rarity factor in there, but, for a cosmetic item, shouldn't looks actually factor in a little bit?


Here's a Strange Scattergun, this is a gun that does absolutely nothing ingame that the default scattergun didn't already do.

The only thing difference is that it keeps track of kills, which doesn't matter because anyone could farm kills so whatever value is on it will never be impressive.

So how much do you guys think such a useless item is worth? surely it's less than a dollar, right? No, it's traded between 6.3 and 7.5 dollars.

---

The lesson here? I don't really know, maybe that all player driven economies are doomed to become very unbalanced and randomly priced for no valid reasons.

Although the cosmetic item seems way overpriced for what it is, I somehow feels that the Strange Scattergun is the biggest waste of money, because the entire point of it is keeping track of a stat. I can't imagine a person sad enough to brag about how many people their Scattergun killed, it'd be too pathetic.

Maybe it's just me.

Shotgun Napalm

A vertically-challenged goblin arms dealer, alias "Shotgun Napalm", less commonly referred to with her real name, Nadine Palmer...because she generally reacts negatively to it, to put it simply.

Shotty prefers ranged weapons. Especially if it's needlessly oversized, is loud, puts giant holes in things, and requires more than five permits to legally own. In particular, she fawns over "The Hot Gun", a weapon so dangerously even it's extremely volatile ammunition requires signed wavers in order to purchase it. Her fondness of carnage aside, Shotty is very strict about her business, and always makes absolutely sure any transactions she does are legal. It was hard enough to get the permit to run her shop in the first place, and she'd rather not lose it, which factors into...

Shotty, thanks to her build and stature, is often mistaken for a child, which she's very, very sensitive about. Some people claim that part of the reason she decided to open a gun shop is so she could throw the papers in their faces and flash her ID to prove she wasn't. It was still a nightmare for her obtaining them, and putting up with it probably lead to her fondness for paperwork.

Well, this is rather tasteless...

Seriously, wtf?

GET SHEAREEASH

K-ToF and I really love these types of videos. It's even better when SNK sound effects/voices are used.

TERRY VERSUS RYU



And how the horrible live action KoF should have been done sound-wise.