Techwright

Your description sounds a lot like my experiences with the paid version of Bitdefender 15 years ago. At the time I was paying for it, the review sites were touting it as the top dog. When I finally started seeing reports that freeware anti-malware was worth having, I tried to drop the paid version at time of renewal, to switch to the free version. The mess of fighting over removal, and the cleanup of residuals where its "roots" weren't removed with it, was extensive and soured my opinion on Bitdefender. I switched, first to free AVG, then later to free Avast, and have been satisfied every since. (Though admittedly, recently, free Avast has become a bit annoying flagging "major problems" that actually are irrelevant to the anti-malware core, then pitching paid solutions to fix these.) I can't speak for elsewhere, but in my region for many years, IT departments and individuals touted Malwarebytes as the backup anti-malware. Anytime a malware question came up, they'd run the main anti-malware program, then, just to be certain it wasn't compromised and giving false readings, they'd pop in Malwarebytes and run it as well. Contracting in several of those IT departments, I followed suit, and although I've not heard this tactic in many years now, probably due to changes in corporate A/V design, I personally still maintain a free copy of MB ready to audit Avast's results, should I feel it necessary.

That and the "I want to stop and heal every scratch" witch that we have to rescue on the Katie Hannon TF.

I think it would be based on two things: 1.) Whatever was in the agreement between the Homecoming leaders and NCSoft. If there are limits on how the game can be developed, this might not even be a possibility. 2.) If the first hurdle is crossed, then it falls to volunteer development team's interest in pursuing that direction, and having the time and resources to develop it. I suspect the level of A.I. you describe would ultimately prove a distraction to the core game, though some of the Role Players might like it. If it were to ever happen, it likely would be the use of A.I. to improve the combat "skills" of the NPC opponents. That would maintain the core game while providing an interesting new challenge. Of course, if that were to happen, probably every NPC that can travel an elevator would be summoned at the first attack, and we'd be up against an "intelligent" flood of doom rushing the ground floor entrance.

Are they calling Hester Frump "Grandmama"? Hester was the role inhabited by the iconic Margaret Hamilton in the 1960s version. There, she was referred to as "Granny Frump". In that series, "Grandmama" was played by Marie Blake, and, though I'm not sure they ever stated it, was presumed to be Gomez's mum. That role was played by Judith Malina, then Carol Kane in the two early 1990s movies, where the character was simply called "Granny".

Freedom Corp Jetpack does show a flame graphic, as does Rogers Rocket Pack (also RRP with Rings), the AB7 Afterburn, and the Cosmic Rocket Pack. Major Ray Gunn demonstrating the Rogers Rocket Pack with Rings:

This is unfortunately the case. You'd think with both a Vanguard backpack and a Vanguard backpack with Jetpack, that the latter, specifically named with "jetpack" would have a working one. Demo with Brass Dragon:

This one sounds like it, potentially. That is, the Addams family has always had 2 types of darkness in their lives: What everyone else shuns and calls dark, but the Addams embrace, and then what everyone else sees as light and bright, but which the Addams find horrifying. As I've not seen season 1 yet, tell me, have they shown or spoken about Morticia's sister, Ophelia Frump yet? Ophelia, though possessing that oddness that the Addams family, the Frumps, and all their friends and cousins possess, is bright and cheerful, basically the black white sheep of the family. If they've not revealed her in this series, she may be the relative no one talks about. Or perhaps they buried her in the lawn. She does grow daisies from her scalp after all.

There's another thing they should consider as well: Live-action F4 films do not have a good track record. The 1990s one was done strictly for legal reasons, and was on half a shoestring budget. Most have never seen it. The early 2000s ones are generally considered tepid, and the last one has generally been labeled utter rubbish. It's vital they hit this one out of the park, or the audience will begin passing on seeing any future F4 works, feeling that Marvel simply has no idea how to bring the team to live action in a manner the audience craves. We've already got potential viewers in a "wait and see" mode. IMHO, the best way to fix this is to not mess with the comic formula this time around. Once a few films have been established as "good" by the audience, experimentation might be possible. But first they must convince the audience that things are on track this time.

I think Snarky's asking about SG name length, is he not? 'Cause I just checked with the Super Group Registrar and there's some SG with names significantly longer than 20 characters. In fact, some of the top 100 exceed 30 characters, based on their unfinished title. (The registrar's display cuts off at 30 characters)

I won't ask you to elucidate. I appreciate that you were willing to post your concern. There are character revisions I've enjoyed (Nick Fury) and character revisions I've hated (Karlie Morgenthau, the Flag-Smasher). The latter for the overbearing pathos surrounding the MCU character, rather than the gender-swap. There's also character re-interpretations I'm concerned about (MCU Sharon Carter, aka Agent 13), because it appears they're going morally polar opposite of their comic counterpart. I was initially opposed to all of it at the start of the MCU, until I got the word that Marvel was not so much tampering with the comics as they were creating a new universe within their multiverse. As the very definition of a Marvel multiverse is infinite variation, I was more accepting of any "variation" going forward, no longer seeing it as "change". In specific regard to this film, one revision that comes up in discussions elsewhere of late is the Silver Surfer. In my opinion, having a female Silver Surfer fits the situation named in the first paragraph, but I'm told that this isn't a gender swap like Karl/Karli Morgenthau. This is a "What If...?" situation where Norrin Radd doesn't become the Surfer but Shala-Bal, Norrin's love interest does. Apparently, in the comics, she actually is a second Silver Surfer, and at least for a time, both Surfers were active. So in that sense, they've not strayed too far from the comics. (This also gives me the thought that perhaps they might yet have Norrin Radd appear as a second Surfer.)

Too soon, too soon. 🙃

NPCs do this occasionally. Something about the mechanics of the player transition leaves the door open, so to speak, for an extended moment, and a locked-on NPC, or more, will follow. I see it most often in City Hall, though that still leaves questions about how they got up the steps without the police bots transporting them to the Zig. I do wonder at times if the effect might be related to the planned effect of certain NPCs traveling the mission elevators to continue harassing players.

Give me an example of that, if you would please. I know Gatiss only via his work with Dr. Who and Sherlock. I'm aquainted with the episodes he wrote of course, most of which are bogeyman-type works, but I'm not aquainted with Shearsmith or Pemberton, at least, not that I know.

Actor/writer/producer Mark Gatiss in the TV show host Ted Gilbert role. 1:58 - looks like there might be a notable amount of time playing out in this film. While here it looks like the team is looking up at either Silver Surfer or Galactus, if you look at Sue, she's got a trim waistline, while with her conversation with Silver Surfer she's already showing signs of carrying their child. So at least a few months are involved in this tale. 1:51 - SUSPECTED SPOILER - I'm guessing someone goofed and revealed a key moment in this MCU-alternate world's story. Unless the F4 found a way to warp travel to another world the Surfer found.

Why do I feel like I'm going to be seeing a lethal Vulcan wedding fight with lirpas and ahn-woons?

This is the first I've heard of that would-be game.

If Ares proves a hit, there's always the possibility of Disney revisiting the idea of season 2. They already released the long-delayed season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and X-men '97, both to critical and popular acclaim.

Interesting. They're showing work being done to resurrect Tabula Rasa (under the name Infinite Rasa) and WildSTAR, two games I enjoyed. While it sounds like I'll be dead before Tabula Rasa is reborn, I do hope I'll get to play it again some day.

Unfortunately, it was sold to Chinese company The9, which began rolling out patches and "updates" that broke the system further with each patch. It almost seemed a deliberate act of sabotage. Then they fired every last employee that was associated with the game, hiring what appeared to be a lone foreign language community manager who kept telling any who came to the forums that it was all okay, they were going to build back better than ever. They didn't, and the game became a glitchy ghost town. At the time, I began to wonder if The9 was a front for Chinese spycraft. There had been rumors and discussion about 15 years back of empty, but still active, virtual world games being used for private communications outside the normal monitored grid. Stray visitors might observe two player characters facing each other for hours, apparently in conversation. Whatever reason, or lack thereof, that The9 wrecked the game, it finally closed in 2017. As to "that guy", that would be Mark Kern. Kern tried to buy back Firefall when it became quite obvious The9 was ruining it (far more than he did), but was rejected. So he started indie game Em8er, pronounced "Ember", which supposedly will be a spiritual descendant of Firefall. It's been most of a decade, and while there's progress, there's not much to show in a polished game.

I'd very much like to see this. My state is so far south that there has only been one sighting of the lights in my lifetime (to my knowledge). That occurred last year, and those who saw it (I didn't) took shots of an ethereal red glow in the sky.

Well, I feel this weekend like I'm giving away all my hard-earned secrets before I submit my contest base (LOL), but I've found that Floor Lamp and Large Floor Lamp make nice looking sconce lights and highlight letters pretty well if you're into soft lighting of the kind fancy restaurants like to use at night. The trick is to hide the rest of the light, especially the base, in the wall, which is sometimes easier said than done. I've learned to subtly angle the light foreword in conditions where the base gets annoying otherwise. Angling also needs to be done at times because apparently, whomever constructed these two put the trigger to display light towards the back near the stem of the light. Items a bit thicker than a normal wall might cover this spot. A slight angle does not disfigure the "sconce" and should bring the "trigger" out where it is useful. The Large Floor Lamp puts out more lumens than the standard version, though it's not going to be a beacon in the night. The letter color might make a difference as well. Here I've found a yellow that in the soft light of a standard floor lamp simulates brushed gold or brass.

Nah, It's not bad at all. Looks fine. I just saw opportunity for a little humor. I'm weird like that. Too much time spent tweaking the ol' gears will make one go barmy. Oh, uh, well...yeah...see, um...