Techwright

I pop in at times to see developments. What, in your opinion, is currently the best A.I. tool for taking a screenshot of a character and converting it into something realistic, or interpreting it in a different style? I'm still trying to get an A.I. to figure out Major Ray Gunn's helmet with the fury wings, and figure if it can work from a picture, that might achieve something the others don't.

I'm not really sure where they are going with this movie. They keep saying that it is not really a sequel, and the ways that I've read its been said are confusing, especially when revealing "force ghost" Flynn. I'm hoping they reveal that they've been sitting on a surprise and that Sam Flynn and Quorra are in this, otherwise that's a massive plot hole to handwave. As to Boxleitner, depending on how much of a sequel this is, it might be an opportunity to recast Tron, with an explanation that his visuals have been altered, possibly in the explosion. Bruce at age 75, even willing, can't keep playing the character, and even with technology advances, it remains expensive to show another actor with Boxleitner's face. Human character Allen will age and die, and Tron will be on its own afterwards. That's assuming they ever want to work with the character again, which would be weird seeing how even the third movie is called TRON: Ares and not The World of TRON: Ares. Early on, I harbored a thought that perhaps Ares was a retooling of Tron, one in which his memory is still suppressed. Not so sure of that now.

First: you're right. Filoni would have turned in a greatly improved Sequel Trilogy, and probably much more closely aligned to Lucas' vision, likely incorporating many parts of the legacy books. I'll say no more as the Sequel Trilogy gets my dander up easily. Regarding the Specter crew and the last battle: That's a thought I'd not previously had, and I searched for a list of Jedi voices heard by Rey in The Rise of Skywalker. Ezra was not among them. That strongly suggests to me that he's not dead at that point, as every other Jedi in that voice list is, apparently including... Regarding Brainy Smurf: the idea of swapping Grand Admiral Brainy Smurf for Sith Lord Snoke is interesting. We've now confirmed in Star Wars that force breakthroughs are possible, even in beings with the most underwhelming potential. Considering how utterly loyal Old Red Eyes is to Old Yellow Eyes, I could have seen Palpatine taking the unusual step of seeking a force breakthrough in the Grand Admiral to forge a brilliant Sith Apprentice that is completely loyal, save for the necessity of testing his master periodically by trying to kill him. Well, in my opinion, that is what the World Between Worlds was created for. One day, we may go all Thanos on the Sequel Trilogy, and begin again.

What I discuss next is from material that's been out for a couple of years, but may still be spoilers to some. Use caution. Your concept is an interesting spin, and Mando would certainly act in at least an avenger's role were Greef to die in conflict. That said, I think the movie is intended to end the Mando & Grogu storyline, although I strongly suspect Grogu will be a major character in Star Wars lore going forward. They've explained how Grogu is not in Luke's academy, thereby likely sparing him from destruction. They've hinted that his dual upbringing of Jedi and Mandalorian is both incredibly rare and incredibly important, and with a projected lifespan of another 850 years, he's got a lot of time to influence the Star Wars universe. That said, it does leave a question of where Grogo is during the Sequel Trilogy (something I hate, but it is canon for now.) Also, the pirates, save one, were wiped out in the battle with the Mandalorians. That one showed up in the Jude Law series, which I've not seen the latter half of, so I cannot comment on what happens to that one and the pirates he gravitated to. We've a few variables that could influence the Grogu storyline. One of these is Ezra Bridger. As he's a field-trained Jedi, and has experienced the Dark Side, without falling to it, Ezra may be in a position to at least coach Grogu further in his training, especially in resisting the Dark Side. Ezra has also developed a force-driven melee "fighting monk" style which may be more appropriate for a Mandalorian than wielding a light saber. The big question is whether Ezra will survive further clashes with Thrawn, and if so, why is Ezra not in the Sequel Trilogy?

Seems like a good place to ask a question: From time to time, I've seen characters that appear to be blatantly ripping off the trademarked character, no homage or parody about it. This will usually be in a combinations of ways: name, costume, power sets, and/or biography. But the first paragraph of the biography will state something like: "This has been approved", "This is an homage, so you can't report it" or something crazy like that. Obviously, the person could just type in lines like that in hopes of not getting dinged. Since there is a potential legal issues, and we've been instructed to report any who appear to be violating the rule on this matter, leaving it with the GMs, how do we tell if a character has legitimately been cleared by the GMs? It seems a shame for you good folks to constantly be pestered about something you've already cleared, but I've never heard of a mark applied that would demonstrate formal approval. Perhaps one should be designed? Even so, if a character has been approved as "homage", what's to stop that player from abusing that approval, and altering the character afterwards to full copy, or adding costumes that do violate the license rule?

I've been thinking this one over and I think of all the changes, upgrades, etc., there is really just one change that matters. In the first two movies, humans (users) were the equivalent of Greco-Roman gods or demi-gods once they entered the digital world. They could potentially be killed, but it would be very hard (once they fully realized their situation), and while they lived there, they could develop remarkable abilities. Even by the end of the second film (and I suspect the animated series, though I've only seen small bits of that), it was clear that humans were dominant. This film changes that. Now it appears that they're saying that it is the crossing over into the alternate realm that makes the top predator: humans in the digital world, programs in the real world.

There is a way, I've been told, though it might be a bit of a challenge, at least, that's what I gathered. A discussion of this came up briefly back in April, I think it was, over on the Discord channel for base builders. I think @Easter Bunnyprovided some of the info. I never pursued it as there were options already in play in my base design that allowed me to work around this.

"Lists" would be more like it. They can be found under "Item Type" in the unofficial wiki here: https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Base_Items We probably should compile a modern list as some items with functions no longer can exercise that function. I refer to the Base Defense Items which were designed for PvP competition between supergroups, but that concept has long ended. They do make nice kinetic decor, though, even if they no longer are fed targets. Several of the Base Control Items also fall into this category, though something like the Pillar of Ice and Flame do still function. Base Energy Items tend to fall in this category as well, though I think it is still necessary to have a few to power a few items? I don't recall that clearly, and I know the wiki says they're not necessary, but I seem to recall having issues with a couple of items while I didn't have a generator. Your experience may vary.

Look at it this way: which offers you a mess hall instead of a nutrient-rich infusion? Go with that one. They might even have coffee and dessert.

Pretty sure David Dastmalchian was in that trailer. Expect Baba Yaga. 😉 Is that yellow track suit a reference to Kill Bill?

No longer a fan of 2D platformers. I left that behind when I exited the arcade scene in the early 1990s. I simply lost all taste for that style when 3D became a possibility. That said, I did watch the game trailer and for a 2D platformer, it does look quite polished. I've no doubt that had it dropped with this quality into the 1985 arcades, I'd have been playing it, rather than, say, Super Mario Brothers.

As I continue to read of confusing bits, half-baked concepts, etc. from the original game, I've lately been leaning into the idea of a retcon, not on the scale of say, a DC Comics "Crisis" arc, but more like a "Flashpoint": much stays the same, but those troublesome things the Homecoming team doesn't have the time or resources to craft (or worse, fix) get pruned, freeing the Homecoming team to lay down a neater, tighter future on a scale they can work with, and that still advances the game in a satisfying way.

I should have realized you'd pipe up. 😁

Yes, and let me tell you, for such a quiet little game, the chess professionals I spoke with got seriously violent.

"A really tiny character": see Circus Ringmaster, head of the Flea Circus SG, below. All FCSG characters are built at the smallest scalable size. I, unfortunately, do not have a max-sized character with mini mode to compare it to, but maybe someone can place theirs next to Matthew in Atlas Park for comparison. @smnolimits41, you may want to take the entirety of your avatar creation into account before going with the mini mode. Some parts may NOT scale. Now, if you'll excuse me... Serge! You got some 'splainin' to do!