Techwright

Manti, shmanti. I'm still trying to figure out how to pronounce Arakhn. I'd like to buy a vowel or two. Yep, one of the four members of the South Korean team W.I.S.D.O.M. intended for the original game, but their premier was aborted. He was added later as the trainer in The Hollows next to the Atlas Park gate. Mirror Spirit, the trainer in Faultline, is the only other member of that team to currently be in the game.

Mom and I both read mystery novels. Based on what info has been put out so far, I turned to her today and stated that this is the kind of mystery that writers would love to have thought up for their next novel. Sadly, it is real.

Large grain of salt taken. If Disney is selling Star Wars, I'd very much be surprised. They've sunk a lot into the theme park sections and merchandise, and are continuing to announce projects in the works. At very least I'd have expected a pause on the projects in anticipation of a sale. But to be fair, I'm not a market analyst, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Money doesn't necessarily equal "meh" or "not meh". In these specific cases, there are other variables at play. The Force Awakens at least partially justified its earnings by being the first film to feature the original cast in decades (with the exception of the voice actors). It had also been leaked that Solo was going down, and fans wanted one last look at their favorite grouchy smuggler. I thought The Last Jedi was rubbish of rubbish. I'd heard it would be that and I went anyway. Why? Like so many others, I'd heard it was Mark Hamil's last foray as Luke Skywalker (or so we thought) and I went to see him off. Carrie Fisher had died almost 1 year before the film's premier, and fans wanted to see their "princess" one last time. Regarding episode 9, the hype was all about the return of Ian McDiarmid to the role of emperor, and a curiosity as to whether the film could salvage the trilogy. I would also like to point out that just because a string of profitable films is out there doesn't mean one individual made that success. While it can happen, it's generally a group endeavor and some times it happens despite the top dogs, because the guys in the trenches know how to work around that to get things done. There's also the coat tails of the established franchise which can sometimes smooth over rough patches. Lots o' variables in play. (Oh, and I look forward to Galaxy's Edge. I've got a non-expiring park hopper pass, which, if I ever use, you'll likely learn who I really am because they'll probably put it in the national news due to how long I've held on to it. 😅 )

Did anyone even notice if Indom was down? Anyone?

Now that I actually focus on it, does that thing count for both shoulders and cape?

I've not worked in AE since the original game. Would the third-column power "Combat Teleport" at least help for a homage to this character?

Not to derail the OP, but I'd also be for some color and pattern possibilities for the "squid" and "lobster" forms as well as the powers. One of the things I find somewhat annoying is that the characters, of necessity, remain in these forms for long times without displaying the efforts the player made to craft the human form. Having a bit of creativity with these forms, instead of just blue-gray would be appreciated.

That's okay. There's another movie theater on the north side of the town. They can go watch it with the other two viewers, so long as they get in before March 6, which the theater has announced is the last showing.

I may not care for a person occupying a specific role, but I cannot argue with the foresight for a succession plan, especially with a multi-billion franchise. That's just good business. I've seen first hand the chaos that happens when a person dies in office or suddenly leaves, and there's no notes or person trained to replace them.

What a tragic turn of events. Hackman was one of those I'd have wished to see live beyond 100. There's two iconic Hackman films I've long been meaning to see: The French Connection, and Hoosiers. The latter is ironic as I lived in Indianapolis for 3 years in the 1990s, heard about the film constantly from friends and neighbors, yet to this day, I've never seen it. I guess I should set up a watching schedule. His wife, Betsy Arakawa passed away as well. The reports say she was a classical pianist. I went to YouTube to see if there was anything of her works, but I've yet to find any.

I'm good with the "as is" status, although...I'd be very much for receiving either a stuffed plesiosaur or a plesiosaur hide as a reward decor for my base. Entirely for proving Sally was real, of course. And by the way, no, no, no... spell check, "plesiosaur" is not "apatosaurus", nor is it "apple sauce"! (Seriously?) In what back alley was this spell check acquired?

Looks like they might be mothballing their Nemesis system as well. I've never played a game it was utilized in, but it sounds great. I'd love something similar added to our game (fully realizing it will never happen).

I'm game for more variety in AE

So...you type a full sentence instead? That's just...ridiculous, girl.

The idea of having something there has merit, but I should think that would require a review of the leveling first, specifically at what point the player can opt to exit gold side. Gold side is really there for the stories, and even without any bonuses, it levels too quickly, out-leveling those golden stories. In the meantime, Gold side does have an event or two, though these seem largely forgotten.

I suspect people who feel the 600,000 legitimately-good words in the Oxford dictionary are insufficient and possibly a waste of time to look up.

I would not be for Kevin Feige getting involved. The MCU post-Endgame has not been resume-worthy material for such a role. Additionally, I found his handling of the TV "MCU" projects to be underhanded, and at times downright rude. Admittedly, there's been a bit of a make up for that, by reintroducing characters and actors from the Daredevil TV show. While I love Dave Filoni's devotion to Star Wars, I have to wonder if placing him in the executive seat would necessitate curtailing what he contributes best: story writing. In equal measure, he's the go-to resource, admitted by the other directors, for lore knowledge. That admittedly would serve him well in the executive seat. Dave is also untapped in regards to the other Lucasfilms works, especially the Indiana Jones franchise. While I realize Harrison Ford's days are done, and Spielberg believes in not recasting, I think there can be a future for the franchise even if it is in something like animated works for a while, or a reboot of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. I'm fine if it turns out to be Dave, I only hope his writing doesn't suffer, and that he's up to the challenge of the full Lucasfilms. Admittedly, I don't think that mark was met with the previous leadership. I find it curious that another name wasn't bandied around: Jon Favreau. The man has been on-target with most things he's done since the original Iron-Man. His name is right up there beside Dave Filoni in regards to Star Wars, and he's gold in the MCU, which to me means he could handle the rest of Lucasfilms well. Additionally, I've seen evidence that Favreau has a heart for giving people a chance to develop their directorial skills, and for freely giving guidance. That speaks to me of one who will see beyond their own position and towards the future generation.

☝️ This far more than the lore, and that is what I find disappointing. He's basically creating a sci-fi story that could be told in any universe just by renaming a few concepts, like the Empire and the Rebellion. It needs a tweak using the formula set up by George Lucas. Consider the original six movies. Aliens are everywhere, except on Imperial properties (with very few exceptions, such as Thrawn). Imps are very racis species-ist, to probably coin a phrase, but that's part of their fascist "charm". But in common folk areas, even in core worlds (recall the Coruscant diner scene from the Prequel Trilogy) , you'll still find aliens milling about. There were, eventually, a few background aliens in Andor season 1, but even then, they were all new inventions for the show. Previous Star Wars works had the pattern of introducing a few new alien types, but largely using those types introduced in the Original Trilogy. Even other modern Star Wars works are doing that, such as the Shistavanen pirate captain Brutus in the very recent Skeleton Crew. If I recall correctly, the wolf-like model for that first appeared in the famous cantina scene in A New Hope. It would be one thing to tell a human-centric story on a single world colonized only by humans and their droids, say something on the edge of Wild Space where tens of thousands of years of settlement has yet to take place. It's another to use many, many worlds and blatantly refuse the Star Wars design. Please don't get me wrong. Andor season 1 was nothing short of amazing, it's just that it left me actually desiring Lucas to come do a special edition and put a lot of aliens (or even a few) into the background shots to act as balance for the SW formula. Just that. The foregrounds can remain that human-centric story.

"I is a ninja blade/super reflexes stalker"

Saw all that and... ....and...not an alien in sight. I even freeze framed all the group scenes: no aliens. This, I think, is the one disingenuous bit. Humans are the dominant species, yes, but Star Wars is chock full of alien species, many of them, like the Twi'lek, are quite common. It's one point that makes me feel at times like Andor isn't really Star Wars, but a really great sci-fi story nonetheless.

I would point out that @JKCarrier begins his Bond description with the phrase "book-accurate". Now I've not read the books, but I gather there's a difference. It sounds like everything JKC is describing comes from that viewpoint, and JKC was hoping they'd bring that to the screen. Your perspective seems completely centered on the movies, which appear to have a different interpretation of the character.

So, apparently, RDJ and Chris Evans are not the only original MCU Avengers to stay in the game. I'm not familiar with the comic book character Blonde Phantom, but apparently ScarJo has been tied to a future MCU project associated with it. For now, it is reported that she's in the production team. No word on whether she'll star or not. Though I linked just one report on this connection, there are others dating back a year or so. As I said, I've no knowledge of the character. The basic description sounds similar, at least on the surface, to the Agent Carter TV series, which I believe is the one ABC Marvel series Kevin Feige has permitted to remain an MCU property. Regardless, it sounds like 1940s Noir, and I'd be down for that. Does anyone else think the Wikipedia picture of Blonde Phantom looks similar to Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?

While I realize this is a bind issue, it seems to be failing due to the unique nature of the Kheldians. Perhaps you can get help by posting this over in the Peacebringer & Warshade forum? That, or you might try calling @Laucianna's name three times. 🙃

Mom

What's your take on the Green Lantern Corp, then? Not trying to dig at you, just genuinely curious.