Techwright

Sooo...how is it?

I agree, @Cancrusher. The creation should transcend the creator. I said that also about the MCU Black Panther, although there it was the sad loss of amazing Chadwick, rather than anything ugly he did. On the subject of STO, I've got an account but haven't touched it in a while. I'd taken a keen interest in the Romulans, but was put out by a lot of buggy issues that weren't being address over a long time.

It's been several years, but I played it a lot in its "Vanilla" format through its first expansion, and popped in periodically until about 4 years ago. It's one of the few games where I actually enjoyed playing the "villain", though the way I played would probably be classified as "rogue" in City of Heroes. I really enjoyed playing the Sith sorcerer (was that the name?) as a slave race member elevated due to his force ability. I took it a step further by pushing towards a pure "grey" morality. Essentially, he's forced into the Sith Academy where everyone hates him and expects him to die, and instead he fights ferociously not only to survive but thrive. His conversation were always chosen to be sassy. Essentially, he enjoys sticking it to "the man", in this case, the entrenched Sith regime, but realizes to do so he has to walk a balance between conformity and outright rebellion. It change much of his interactive conversations, and created a fascinating character capable of ruthless manipulation and aggression while also just as comfortable showing mercy if he felt like it. Likewise I found playing the Imperial Agent to be tons of fun when played as a gray morality, whatever-gets-the-job done character. I chose to play that character as Chiss and it seemed such a good fit. The trooper and bounty hunter characters were likewise quite entertaining. I probably enjoyed the trooper storyline more than any other blue side story in the "Vanilla" pathing, though I've heard others found it a bit too straightforward for their tastes. Of the Jedi, dual blades knight and double-blade staff Jedi consular were my favorites, the latter probably being my best design if I ever took up role playing (which I didn't). I did have some dislikes, one of which was enough for me to cancel my account: 1. Walking: @TheOtherTed was on-point about the walking problem. Even with hover segways, it is quite time consuming, especially when you have to go through a (usually unnecessary) orbital space station to land on a planet, followed by a large land-based spaceport. I suppose this was created originally to keep players in the game longer despite less material in the game, but when I left, this had not be reduced and it had reached a very annoying level at times. 2. Platform jumping - some improvements to your character can only be found by searching weird, hidden corners of the world. While I like Easter egg hunts in games, I don't like things that take you through an exceptionally long, convoluted path over tighter and more tricky elements where a slight misstep drops you and you have to start all over. Early in the game this was especially frustrating as my hardware just barely fit the game, and the level of precision needed on some secret pathing was just more than my old mouse and keyboard could perform at. 3. Known issues at key moments never repaired. This is the one that caused me to leave. I'd put a lot of time into all my characters and finally got the Jedi Knight up to his finally challenge and pulled through it. At that point, there should have been a story moment where he's awarded for his victory, sort of the award sequence at the end of the original Star Wars. Instead the game just ignored it and cut over to ordinary, meaningless stuff. I thought I must have misunderstood, that perhaps there was something left to do still, but researching it, I discovered it had been a known issue for years, and apparently the devs had no intention of addressing it, leaving a host of players without their reward for their hard work. Glitches happen, and I understand that. But that the players were denied their 15 minutes of fame after years of registered concerns was quite telling to me at how the players were viewed by the development team. It was not the only major glitch left unattended for years, I discovered. Just the one that hit home. 4. Removal of companion customization. It used to be that I could craft empowering gear and do other customizations to my companions to aid me in the storylines. This stopped and all the companions were stripped to what I (and several others) felt was a very blah version of them. Irritating, but okay: 1. One thing that actually started as good and got irritating over time was the story scene characters' pantomimes. At first I thought these were pretty good, but then I started seeing the same moves again, and again, and again. Some were even used in some weird situations that just didn't seem to fit them. I figured they'd get some fresh stuff when the expansion rolled out, but nope. 2. "Stolen" names. @TheOtherTed: actually there were name grabs. I had several of my characters names "stolen" during one brief time away. The crazy thing is I'd put a lot of thought into the names and felt I had some original stuff. I guess someone had seen the names and written them down with the idea of swiping them at first chance. Bit of a turn off for me since it happened in a relatively short time away.

Well, this has been an interesting picture. Interesting as in, it sent me digging in research for a bit. Not knocking you, but I'm not convinced everything there is brass. Those pans on the bottom appear pure copper. But sure, why not? I did learn something myself, though. (Knowledge! Yay!) There is a "red brass", and yes, it does have a 10% to 20% higher copper content. So, yes, a darker color would be possible. However, several sites point out that the term "red brass" is a misnomer. It's technically a bronze because it has tin in it in addition to copper and zinc. So, curiously, everybody ends up right on this, just for different reasons. Nice. 😁

I've personally never seen this. Is "giant" the only thing in common? Can you suggest a bit more of what other features you're choosing, perhaps something slightly unusual like wings or backpacks?

Why them? Is it some association revealed in the arc? I'd have been interested in seeing BABs and Marauder hanging out.

Should it be a fresh, never frozen bio, or can we select the best from those of ours that are aging like fine wine? *Looks at the 5-hour full performance Richard III play* Ironic.

If I may suggest, the color scheme for Brass Jaw appears to be aged bronze rather than brass. Brass is closer to gold in color while bronze is closer to copper. In certain circumstances, a brass-like look can be achieved with our color chart. Case in point, my Brass Dragon. Depending on which piece of armor, the color scheme will look practically like shiny brass (Chest, legs, helmet), or perhaps more like dull brass (shoulders, gloves, boots). There's nothing to be done for the finish unfortunately, but it's a brass look regardless. I was able to achieve this with just two colors from our color chart. The gold highlighted, and the yellow just below it. I've experimented with each piece, sometimes swapping which is primary and which is secondary to achieve the strongest look possible for each piece. On a couple of pieces, I slightly deviated to another color on the same line, due to the finish of each piece, but generally it is just those two colors. Perhaps that will help you, if for nothing else than a second suit.

Well, true, if he's that old then technology probably is quite confusing. A "search" probably is perceived as involving villagers combing the cemetery with pitchforks and torches.

Sappers, definitely. Any energy drainer really, so tesla 'bots are on my early hit list as well. Night Widows, due to the fact that the blind treatment is set for too long a time (IMHO). And don't go quoting me the "pop that yellow" bit. I've had missions where all my yellow inspirations get used up and the jerks hit me with another blind. They've earned my seek-and-destroy-with-extreme-prejudice wrath. Master Illusionists are my first strike for carnies, though to be contrary, with the right team, it might be faster to take down all the other carnies in a group then turn on the MI as she takes a while to whittle down. Early in the OG game, I developed a habit of taking out Tsoo sorcerers first, since back then they roamed in packs and were ferocious about healing each other and wearing you down. They've been weakened enough over the years that although they're a priority, I don't see them as always a first target. With Sky Raiders its always Captain Castille. Nothing quite so satisfying in the game as a hard fist in the teeth and a fast drop of that popinjay.

Yep! I was even able to use the slider features on the lion head to give it a fuller more fitting appearance.

I love out-of-the-box thinking like this.

Hmm, interesting. I wonder what's happened. I've gone back and looked at articles written about it, and it looks like they were still announcing casting back in mid-October 2021. That pushes it back far enough that I'm wondering if they're holding off until after the release of The Batman, either to not get lost in the rage of interest surrounding the movie, or to ride its coat tails when the movie attendance begins to wayne, er, wane.

Batman Unburied: has anyone else heard about this? I just learned of it. I gather it was released last year as a Spotify podcast audio drama. The cast is impressive, and is headed by Winston Duke as Bruce Wayne, which I think (?) makes him the first black Batman. Jason Isaacs as Alfred, I hear Riddler's in the house (though I don't know who is voicing him), and there's a new villain: the Harvester, voiced by Sam Witwer (voice of Darth Maul and Starkiller in Star Wars lore). Anyone listened to it and can give a review?

I'm excited for the Megamind series, which is saying something because I'm not a Will Ferrell fan. I must admit, however, that he hit all the right notes in Megamind. In fact I recently re-watched the movie and lamented that there'd never been a follow-up.

Pulling this thread back from the precipice of the Soul Stone to bring this humble thought for your consideration:

I'm surprised at your choice of CA:CW on the bottom of the list. I normally see it fairly high on people's lists. What drove it down on yours, if I may ask? By "Hulk 1", I assume you mean the Angst Ang Lee film? Did they even admit that one into the MCU? The storyline and tone don't seem to fit the MCU, at least not like the Ed Norton one.

Ha! Nah, it's Gurney Halleck. 😁

I've not read the Simarillion, but I stayed in a Holiday In...ah, have spent a good amount of time reading others' websites and watching videos documenting Tolkien's writings. I must agree, I don't recall ever hearing of Galadriel "decked out in full armor". That said, I've also never seen anything that says she can't be. While she was still in the Undying Lands, I'm told she was consider the second-most powerful elf, and what I do know of her Second Age experiences says she was the one elf that immediately cottoned to the idea that the Maia Annatar was not whom he claimed to be. Her warning was to prove vital to the elves carrying the rings of power. I think the point is that she had no need of armor and sword: she was among the most powerful spellcasters in Middle Earth. It would be reasonable, however, given all that she lived through in the First Age, that age when armies and dragons made the events of the Hobbit and LotR look like child's play, it would seem practical that she would be trained and skilled in warrior-style fighting. The possibility of the elves being overwhelmed was just too great. But she seems more content to move around every few hundred years and take over ruling seats vacated rather than train for war.

Ha! I accidentally posted another thread, somehow missing this one. I deleted it. The video in the OP is pretty much pretty pictures at this point but it did raise a couple of questions. To better understand Tolkien timings, I tried to put together a pretty large timeline last year, and I just referenced it to aid me in my questions: 1. When is the series set? I know it is the Second Age, but that was 3441 years (ending in Sauron having the ring cut from his hand in battle). The rings of power were forged circa S.A. 1500, but Sauron came to the elves in disguise around S.A. 1200 and began to teach them the craft that would lead to making the rings of power. So that's 3 potential time periods to select from, or perhaps span, but if so, that's 2241 years. True the elves and Sauron are pretty much immortal, but you'd have to be replacing dwarf and human characters regularly if doing the span story. 2. What is that port city in the early shot? It's clear from the statue that it is either Numenorian or that of their descendants. Numenor was settled in S.A. 0032, and settlers from Numenor began settling the coastline in S.A. 600. Numenor was sunk in S.A. 3319, so it could very well be a port city on the island. I also wondered if it might be Dol-Amroth which was settled in the Second Age, but as there's a single tall mountain in the background, I suspect the port city might be Romenna. Other possibilities? Other than that, I must say the elf who grabbed an arrow mid-flight seems just like I'd imagine an elf to be who'd had a thousand years or more to practice his craft. I'm guessing by his appearance that he's a wood elf.

I used to love hearing this theme song as a young kid. The parent units loved McCloud, and liked Columbo and McMillan & Wife. I don't remember ever hearing of Hec Ramsey, but as it was played by Richard Boone (of Paladin fame) it probably was good, though I suspect short-lived. Maybe two years ago I watched an episode of McMillan & Wife and was stunned to realize the episode was a solid 90-minutes. I'm guessing 30 minutes of commercials to accompany it. Pacing was a bit slower back then, it seems, though I didn't remember that. I suspect a good, modern editor could get a solid 60-minute cut that would keep things moving and not have to lose anything important. (Actually, I've wished this for classic Doctor Who as well. Cut out a lot of that dead space, and leave a pithy, snappy episode.)

I miss the days of seeing bovine superherds running around the City. There was always something lighthearted to see and enjoy.

I hardly consider my illusion/storm controller to be "support". More like "You poor goons are locked in in this instance with me. And me. And me. And me, me, me. STORM!" Oh, and here's my team as well. That said, I also love my ice controller, and while he IS support, and isn't so much chaos and destruction, it's terribly satisfying to freeze virtually every enemy, even the big ones, if slotted right, then let the team carve on the ice sculptures.