Techwright

Mender Chiron. True, we have a hospital called "Chiron" so perhaps an alternate spelling like "Kiron". In Greek mythology, Chiron was the wise centaur who trained a number of well-known Greek heroes.

Other than her hair looking like it was dyed (too consistent a color. Most redheads/gingers have multiple shades of red in their hair) this is a great A.I. piece. (I can get away with the redhead comment as I and several members of my family are natural auburn reds.) Which A.I. tool did you use with this?

Well, there was that time when someone put a portion of the game back into place. You couldn't fight anyone , but you could recreate your characters and move them around a zone or two. It was a synthetic fix, and I admit I utilized it once or twice, but yes, so much nicer to be back in the full game. From previous comments made, I know I was not alone in 2019 weeping real tears of joy when the CoH anthem rang out again on my computer for the first time in many years.

That may be the most coherent troll I've "heard" in the game.

Nasty? Nah, their cute!

Well, besides my level 50 AH/banker/crafter, the only other special purpose ones I have are two kinds of place-holder alts: 1. reserves the name for a character or characters whose name/concept came to me suddenly, but whom I do not currently have time to flesh out. Essentially placeholders for the next guys I intend to build properly and take to 50. 2. Placeholders which specifically reserve the name of one of my key characters, but on a different server. That way, if there's an event (admittedly rare these days) that I want to jump servers to participate in, I can just rename the alt temporarily, transfer the main character to the other server, and reverse everything when I'm done. There's only a few of these, and only for those characters whose names are mainstream enough that I feel the name might be taken by others otherwise. Obviously, a name like "Illinois Johnson" would likely not need a placeholder, while something like "Superbman" might.

Just took my 50 electrical corruptor and teamed over in Neutropolis to deal with Bladehook. I noticed I couldn't drain his endurance like I do all the time with the standard archvillains and monsters. On those, I at least make a notable dent, and on several I can eventually create a nearly full drain (they always keep a bare minimum endurance). On Bladehook, my efforts barely registered. At one point he disappeared entirely for me, while my teammates seemingly didn't have such problems and fought on. So apparently one or more of his minions may have a blind function? Bring yellow inspirations, just in case.

I've been watching additional players, including this one who is tackling the early access game rather than just the demo. This one shows that additional Skills are earned, and that sometimes "Achievements" rewards can offer abilities, so there appears to be some power customization of some sort, though on the lines of a Superman to whom writers just keep piling up new powers. I've seen, for example, two different ways of fighting building fires now. The demo version had the character using some sort of concussive energy to smother the fire, while the full version had the hero using what appears to be ice breath. I've also witnessed a supervillain boss fight, though not the slugfest I expected. It was instead a high speed chase through the city, where apparently the hero's job is to use super flight to keep pace with a super speedster through all his twists and turns to ditch you. Stay on top of the situation long enough, and you get close enough to 1-punch him. An additional supervillain fight late in the video had the player tackling a giant robot that utilized tracking missiles. There was also an interesting bit where the player has to defuse a bomb in a precision mini-game. It looks like new types of opportunities unlock as you advance in rank. For example, I started seeing hostage rescue situations after he crossed level 20. In the secret-identity part of the game, players seem to be gravitating to picking Taxi Driver as their job choice in order to pick up some fast cash to hold home eviction at bay. Taxi driving is a timed event, forcing the player to take great speed and crazy risks. You can crash without loss, except the loss of valuable time, leading to a demolition derby that makes you wonder if you truly are a hero or perhaps a delusional villain. This view is reinforced when you realize that in hero mode you can very, very easily tear through skyscrapers, apparently flinging whole floors of office interns to their deaths as the debris is sucked out of the building by the vortex in your wake.

It's definitely early days. I know from one of the critiques, for example, that the early access didn't launch with a female form, though the vid below shows evidence that it is coming. Here's a video with 18 minutes of gameplay. You'll notice some costume customization in the first 2 1/2 minutes. Nothing to the level of CoH of course, but there's at least some customization. Power customization: yeah, I'm not sure that's added yet. The demo gameplay seems to show a Shazam-type character: powers rivaling superman, but with some sort of destructive energy blasts which can shatter a car or concussively knock the air defueling a fire. Now what it did show was an Achievements rewards panel at the 5:22 mark, though I'm not clear what's involved in that. Is it how players get more costume parts, tweak the powers, other? Travel and combat demonstration begin at the 2:45 mark. I must say, I'm impressed with the flight ability, and really wish CoH resembled it. There's some interesting speedster bits, too. Street combat shows blood, and knockback is, at times, significant here. The latter half of the demo dips into the troubled secret identity side of things.

Superhero Simulator This came up in my Steam daily queue today. Anyone ever played it? Thoughts? It's early access and on sale at USA$9 today. From what I've read, the game challenges you to not only survive your superhero life, but also your secret identity life. Reading the reviews so far, I'm seeing expressions like "very fun and promising game". Even the two negatives I found in English expressed their excitement at the "potential" of the game. One commented in the positive about the developers being quite active in listening to player feedback. Reading these two, it seems they're just hung up on the early development. (I've never understood why people insist on an early access game being practically finished.)

Was Girl Mercury's creation influenced, by any chance, by the name and intense white glow of the eponymous characters from The Mercury Men, a YouTube homage to old black & white sci-fi serials?

The Natural. That one was up-front-and-center in all the mid-1980s grocery store VHS rental racks for years, not because they couldn't unload it but because it was highly marketable. (The Mission was another.) I just got done re-watching the star-packed movie A Bridge Too Far, and although he had a secondary role, Redford had one of the most memorable moments, recreating the real Major Cook's tense, repetitious cry of "Hail Mary, full of grace" while paddling furiously across river into a curtain of Nazi lead flying past him, mauling Cliff the mailman in the process.

List: https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Base_Control_Items List: https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Base_Energy_Items Control and Energy items were more or less present to add strategy to the original concept of having bases that could be damaged during supergroup PvP taking place in the bases. That aged as well as milk on a hot tarmac.

One consistent hobby of mine is chasing regional history. I've had to curtail this over the last year, due to the needs of caring for an elderly relative with medical issues, but I'm hoping to get back into it after such time as we're able to place the relative with a good assisted living program. Each Independence Day week, I've a habit of trying to visit someplace with a national historical significance, preferably a first-time visit, and all the better if it is not well-known or understood in my circle of friends. I don't only travel around July 4, but actually visit many historical places year round. Here's just a few of them: Star Fort (earthen remains) at Ninety-Six National Historical Park - The town of Ninety-Six, South Carolina (the 1700s SC backwoods had towns, roads, rivers, and hills named for their mileage distance from the Cherokee town of Keowee, roughly where Clemson, SC sits today) was the critical village in western SC, and was protected by a star-shaped fort. Multiple battles were fought here during the American Revolution. Only the earthen base of the fort remains ( the grass edge before the tree line), though reconstructions of the siege towers and artillery locations have been erected. Other features related to the town and reconstructions can be seen elsewhere on the grounds. Carl Sandburg Home National Historical Site - Connemara, the last home and death site of the famous poet and Lincoln biographer, Carl Sandburg. The house can be toured, and the grounds are fairly large and are covered in flowers in spring and summer. An international, award-winning milking goat farm, founded by Sandburg's wife, resides on the property and descendants of the original herd still reside there. Burt-Stark House, Abbeville, South Carolina - it was here that the leadership of the Confederacy ended. On May 2, 1865, Jefferson Davis and the remaining leaders of the Confederacy, on the run, met at this house for the last formal meeting. The next day, they separated, each trying to flee to Florida and escape the Union from there. It was here that Davis finally acknowledged the end of the Confederacy. Legend says that, with the dissolution of the government, the Great Seal of the Confederacy was destroyed or cast down a well somewhere nearby, though it has never been found. Ironically, the leaders of the town of Abbeville are credited with being the driving force at meetings in the state capital for South Carolina to be the first to separate from the Union, so there is a certain symmetry that Abbeville would be the site of the last meeting of the Confederate president and his remaining cabinet.

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.