#i can not WAIT for the full rendered versions to be posted

[pyrotechnicdarts]

PERCY ARTTTTT

[egg-emperor]

showing y'all the Eggman pages in this Sonic 2025 annual :D

the back uses the rare Eggman VS Sonic render!

for something that's been around a few years now, it's still hardly used. this is the first instance of it I'm aware of where it isn't cropped or with text in the way like when Sonic Official posted it once

now I can truly admire that gorgeous angry boy hehe 💜

the first page also uses the Eggman in Egg Mobile render in a higher quality than the common low quality JPEG

Eggman page and fact file yayyy

mostly correct except not his first appaerance if you wanna get technical with the TeraDrive puzzle construction game in May 1991 XD

known allies: anyone he's brainwashed and nobody else lol accurate. well hey that's one reliable way to have them! (please brainwash me hehe 🥰)

and there's another invent with Eggman page like they keep doing in the magazines I've been getting

but again it's such a high honor bestowed upon me to create somethig for the mighty Eggman and I'm hesitant because it must be absolutely perfect for him!

then there's this code cracking thing to find out the file name of Eggman's top secret file that Tails is hacking into his computer for

the answer is "EGGMAN'S EVIL SCHEMES AND PLANS" he's not very subtle with the naming lol

then you have Eggman trying to race to the Master Emerald

unfortunately he doesn't get there first but funnily enough Sonic doesn't either, Amy does lol

This page also uses the Eggman in Egg Mobile render in a pretty good quality again, cropped though

watch out because Eggman might come after me? 🤩 *gathers all sevene emeralds immediately and waits for him*

then there's something about Eggman and pipes but sadly it isn't about him laying pipe. I'm not telling Sonic the answer because I don't want him to defeat him, stay away from my man

they love using the Eggman Egg Mobile render and I am certaily not complaining. I only wish it'd get released in full HD digital quality somewhere!

Eggman locking up Sonic in the Death Egg, ah sweet memories

answer is Prison Hall of course

this is supposed to be matching the characters to their presents but I think Eggman should have ALL of them because he deserves everything and the world 😍

this spot the difference page looks really nice

and it uses the flats version of the new 2D Eggman in Egg Mobile art I showed the shaded version of a little while back! how beautiful 💕

it also has a few Mania Adventures comic pages where it adds some cute dialogue to the silent episodes but I'm not gonna put all of em here

and that's all the pages you can see Eggman on that isn't a couple of pages of a timeline of various releases in the series. he's mentioned without being seen on a Team Chaotix crossword about him being their client and also one that says he's heading to Marble Zone

I got this because I was curious to see the Eggman and it's pretty neat inside. will also look nice displayed from the back with my Eggman collection for the beautiful Eggman VS Sonic render!

[cryptid-artha]

Note that these commissions are creative freedom, meaning that I will complete your piece and send it to you once it is complete. These commissions are fullbody only. If you want simpler commissions, keep an eye open for my streams, which will happen regularly. Stream commissions will never involve backgrounds, or more than simple shading so if you want a background or my more complicated illustrations, my regular commission slots are the way to go. You can see my queue here on my Trello! https://trello.com/b/fr34HOv5 Read my TOS and Will/Won’t do here: https://artha-cryptid-commissions.weebly.com/ Max of 2 Characters. +50% of total of the entire commission minus the background for a second character. Form to Fill Out https://forms.gle/mn1VU3eaSEGKL7yp8 Base Price: $65 1 character, flat colored Example: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/57295174/ Character Design: $85 If you want me to design you a custom character. This comes with a front view and a back view. Comes with optional NSFW details. Reference Sheet $150 This comes with a front view, back view, optional NSFW details, color palettes and 5 different details (Headshots, closeups, weapons, or optionally the front and back view with an outfit shown instead of the additions. If NSFW details are added, you get a NSFW and SFW version of the ref sheet. Additions Edits +$15 per edit UNLESS it’s something I missed. Nitpicking or requesting major changes will cost you extra. Having to go back and change things and waiting for feedback instead of sitting and completing the piece while I am in the zone is what caused my massive burnout issue, so you will get your completed piece when I finish it. I will keep you updated on progress, however. Complexity Fee +$25-$75+ This is a sliding scale based on the character. The more complex the character, the more expensive this will be. Intricate markings, detailed scales, intricate wings, extra limbs, extra heads, things like that. Willing to discuss things. Shading +$25 This would be shading using 2-4 layers, with shadows and highlights and detailing. Fur and hair will have some detail to it. Example: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/56770996/ Rendering +$55 Fully rendered shading, several layers of lighting and shadow, detailed fur/hair. Example: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/54288996/ Background (Simple) +$35 This will be a background that is fairly simple. Basic outdoors, basic interior. The simple background can not be applied to rendering tier shading. Example: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/53339172/ Background (Rendered/Detailed) +$85 A full background, fully rendered and detailed. More detailed outdoors, more detailed interior. Can only be applied with shading or rendering. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/50552592/ NSFW/Fetish +$20 NSFW art is a lot harder for me and takes a lot more time to pose and make look good, so I charge extra for it. This isn’t for nudity (IE, a character standing with a boner does not charge extra, but a character in a pinup type of pose or two characters actively engaging in explicit activity does) This also counts if the image itself is not sexual, but the subject is fetish Heavy Fetish +$35 Heavy fetish content will not be posted onto my main account and I won’t do anything featuring underage characters or straight up animals in NSFW situations.

[crowcaws]

Btw this is what I mean when I say if you only watch anime, if you just wait for anime adaptations instead of giving Manga a chance, if you see Manga as just the beta version of something that would be better animated, you're absolutely missing out on some of the best art this planet has to offer.

(This post turned long as all hell so examples under the cut)

vs

(Yashahime)

The limitations of black and white make for some absolutely incredible artistic choices. Despite the lack of colour, the dramatised use of light and shadow is much more pronounced.

The colour versions are beautiful in their own way, but there's just something about black and white that evokes drama that a full colour piece of the same scene often takes for granted.

There is also a lot more care put into detail in individual panels, because you can stop to examine them. In an anime, details (like the legs on this centipede for instance) are often forsaken, understandably, because of time constraint. You're not going to over-detail something you only see for a few frames.

I'm going to use FMA as an example because people love to argue about which anime is better and my answer, for fifteen years, has been: The Manga.

Both scenes gorgeous, but in the manga version the artistic choice to make his eyes the brightest part of the page, even to the point of not shading his irises, draws the viewer's attention to Edwards eyes and his intense emotion, whereas the anime version kind of draws your eye to his hand and the motion of pointing. As yellow is the first colour the human eye tends to notice, I think the fact he's rendered in colour also serves to distract the eye from the most important part -- the determination and emotions in Ed's eye.

Same manga, different scene:

In the manga, a huge part of Lust's character design, and many of the sins in turn, is that they are an inky black blot on the page. They stand out as the darkest part of any given panel they're in. As such, I think their design when rendered in full colour feels markedly less inhuman when next to the rest of the cast.

In the anime, you get the Lust vs Roy scene as below. Good posing and composition, and by all means a great scene overall. This is two people in an arena who have just duked it out, and the dust is clearing:

The manga version looks like this:

There is no obligation to render a background and the scene is all the more intense for it: All it comes down to is these two characters, and the moment that one of them is about to die. The entire universe, for this panel, it just Lust and Roy. She emerges from the smoke like a tumour, like a parasite reaching for a host. She is not simply standing in front of him, she is emerging from obscurity, her strike sudden but his resolve unwavering. You can see from the way the smoke lingers around him that Roy stood stock still, as the smoke on her side whorls with the ferocity of her movement. He waited for her to pounce, knowing he'd kill her now or die trying. Even the sound effect is used as part of the visual experience.

Another FMA example:

This is a beautiful scene where Edward's arm is the focus, showing the way it, and the regret and heartache and loneliness and guilt that it represents, overshadow his life and his actions. Very nice, I like the way it's the shiniest part of the shot, if not necessarily the coldest.

But here's a very similar scene in the manga:

(All Fullmetal Alchemist and its adaptations)

I think again that the lack of obligation to render a background when it would not enhance the scene does so much heavy lifting here. The way his shirt is completely dark and the background is completely bright means that the grey that is Ed slices through the panel. You don't see his eyes, much like the anime example, but the way he's half in shadow and the way he stands in the void makes him feel so, so much more lonely here.

(I'm certain there's a more equivalent moment in the FMA manga but I couldn't find it for a whim post so here we are)

(Kagurabachi)

This one doesn't have an anime yet but the way this artist renders shadow dripping from a blade to form an inky black goldfish makes it difficult to imagine how you could render this in anime format and maintain the same feeling, or even improve on it. The lack of background makes the contrast bold, but anime often can't really leave the background perfectly black without making the scene confused.

Anyway this isn't to say anime can't look fucking awesome because it very often does. But if you're not reading the manga, well, you don't HAVE to. But you're missing out majorly and I'm sick of it being treated as this preliminary, inferior art form that needs a studio to pick it up and "improve" it to make it worthwhile.

[fizzzyz]

333 follower dtiys challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Tw: blood)

I was originally gonna do this at 400 followers but I’m too impatient and I felt like 333 was a good number to do it at..

If you’re unfamiliar with dtiys, it stands for ”draw this in your style”, and you’re supposed to redraw the drawing in your own style and version!

Rules:

You can change poses, facial expressions, color, lightning, composition etc. as long as it doesn’t look way too different.

The characters are alternate Gabriel and biblical Gabriel/Toonbriel (you can draw either or a combination like I did) you can’t include any other characters.

Don’t trace my or others art.

If I feel like your drawing breaks creator boundaries and/or contains inappropriate themes I will not include it in the challenge.

If you have a question about smth feel free to ask me!! :)

Prizes:

1st place - full rendered drawing and 1 doodle (of your oc or a character you’d like)

2nd place - half-body drawing and 1 doodle.

3rd place - 1 doodle

Deadline: 1st january

(Winners will be announced probably a few days after)

Use the fizzzyz dtiys tag when you post your entry. (And/or tag me)

I’m more than thankful for anyone that joins and I can’t wait to see what everyone does!! :D

[rassilon-imprimatur]

The "Missing Piece" of the Fire Walk With Me convenience store scene is my favorite "supernatural" sequence in all of Twin Peaks. I adore how it’s spliced and edited in the actual film, it’s so scary (robbed of logic, devoid of sense, spilling into the FBI office and interrupting David Bowie's ramblings, a sensory nightmare of TV static), but the full deleted scene is so rich, a real treasure trove of so much of The Return (specifically Part 8), where so many of those ideas were forming. And just like everything Lynch, it’s always just short of being straightforward or literal, especially compared to the full scripted scene. 

The Black Lodge spirits reflect and discuss, so much as they can with each other, the state of their current existence, transformed from electric currents in the air to "animal life" garmonbozia carnivores.

In the script, it’s apparent they are more blatantly talking about (what would later be specified to be) the Trinity Test. "The light of new discoveries." “Why not be composed of materials and combinations of atoms?” "This was no accident."

(Notice also, the Man from Another Place is credited as Mike. This is before Cooper and Sheriff Truman met Phillip Gerard, before Mike “saw the face of God” and tried to reform his ways and act against BOB, before severing his arm and forming the Arm as we know it. This is Mike as pure evil, Mike is the Man from Another Place). 

(“Mike IS the Man.”)

It’s also more clear in the script (”clear” is a term I use loosely, lmao) what exactly is meant by the Man From Another Place/Mike’s formica table bit, as the filmed version renders the Woodsmen (and their responses) silent. 

The focus on formica is lesser. These creatures, both brand new (”descended” from the Trinity test) and ancient (“Any everything will proceed cyclically.”/“Is it future? Or is it past?”) embrace images of modernity, images of mass production, totems and icons of post-war American industry. But green is the major focus. “Green, the color green. Our world.” 

Just like the later scenes of the convenience store in The Return, the place is merely a perceptual manifestation of the thick, dark, haunted, green forestry of nature. The “dark woods” of Romanticism and sinister folklore, now bordered and interwoven with cities, towns, and endless electrical wires. 

“With chrome. Any everything will proceed cyclically.” What is future. What is past. 

Mrs. Tremond’s line in response to the discussion about the Trinity test in the script being cut from the filmed version is interesting, because if anything her “Actually I Dunno, Maybe We Can Work With This? Being Animal Life” response seems... in tune with what we know about her and her grandson? 

In Fire Walk With Me, the pair appear to be disgusted or distraught by the garmonbozia harvesting of BOB and Mike (and as we know, Mike comes to agree with them, even as he still hungers for it). They help Laura, are benevolent to her, try to give her a way out in the only (uncomfortably scary) ways that they can. And as we know from Twin Peaks itself, by the time of Donna’s encounter, Mrs. Tremond was actively fasting from “creamed corn.” 

Mike once referred to BOB as his “familiar.” This moment, BOB declaring “I DO WHAT I WANT, I HAVE THE POWER!” is a moment of Mike faltering in his own trust in controlling BOB’s evil. 

“Find the middle place.” The waiting room. The Red Room. The momentum roars and begins, in proper, its path to Laura. 

“Fell a victim” in response to BOB’s prideful growl of his power. “He has murdered someone. He will murder again.” 

[voidedaurora]

Sorry if this isn’t the right place to ask ! How much are your custom oc commissions if you do them??

ITS OK!, would've been a bit better suited in my art blog but its ok i'll answer here just the same <3 I have a small post about general comms on ToyHouse an Twitter! https://toyhou.se/27831682.commissions-info-comms https://twitter.com/VoidedAurora/status/1795265429407219899 Heres a shortened comm post

Ranges are used together as a whole to help me personally decide the comm post when quoted Crop Ranges

Headshot -Icon - Bust: 10-45$+ Halfbody - thigh up's: 20-65$ Fullbody: 50-150$+

Quality Ranges

LowQ, Sketches, Doodles: 5-50$ Flat color + slightly shaded: 15-45$+ MedQ + Lightly rendered: 25-75$ HighQ + Rendered: 35-150$+

Extras

Backgrounds: 10-100$+ Extra characters: 10-100$ Alt versions: 10-40$+

ALL MY PRICES ARE IN USD! Payment methods -CashApp [preferred method!] -Paypal -Steam/Amazon/Nintendo/other gift cards -Nitro (only for comms that are 10-30$ and ones that are 100$)

Turnaround times are usually around 1-7 hours upon starting a commission with frequent updates Full renders or pieces with backgrounds may take 1-4 days! On rare occasions commissions can take longer. [If you are 1st in the queue this is the time you'll get! If you are waiting in line it'll be longer obviously] Custom characters/Oc's are around 35-90$ usually! prices mainly depend on how complicated the design you want is! anything super detailed or unique/extra will obviously make the price higher. After the first design is made if you want any further comms it'll go by the normal pricing guide :)

BLACKLIST: Bara/buff-males , Elderly, Extreme fetish centered art.

Feel free to shoot me a DM if you're interested, have questions, want to be quoted, or anything else of the sort :)

For commissions related to custom's you can look at my ToyHouse (Everything on there was made by me.)! https://toyhou.se/Voided_Aurora

[spuddy-buddy]

Client Beware: kitsunaluna(Tumblr)/cactusbasedcola(Discord)

Reasons for beware:

refusal to communicate

refusal to pay

ordering commissions while knowingly unable to pay

Sometime last year, kitsunaluna commissioned me to create a full reference sheet of one of her characters. For reasons outside my control I was not able to finish which I explained, and she accepted this and was willing to wait until I could finally finish. I was finally able to finish in April of this year, some time after a personal falling out in January that is neither relevant to this situation nor severe enough to warrant any kind of call-out on its own.

I sent her a watermarked version of the piece she commissioned on April 5 of this year, with no response. I messaged her again multiple times between June 4 and June 10, again hearing nothing back. On June 22 I finally threatened action in the form of setting a deadline for October 2023 and stating that I would be posting this very Client Beware if I did not receive payment for my work by then.

At this point she finally responded, saying that I had supposedly cancelled the commission. I had done no such thing and told her such, to which she said I had done so over voice chat. I know that was certainly not the case, as I have not spoken to her since mid-January. It also wasn't in my best interest to cancel a piece when A. I was in great need of the money I should have received, and B. I was rather far along and had put a lot of work into it up until I was rendered unable to finish.

Alas, I must admit that I don't have written proof of any of this in writing, as all of our discussion regarding her commission had occurred over voice chat(but even if I had, that evidence would be impossible to retrieve, as you will see in one of the below screenshots). I know it's easy to get burned when someone's source is "dude, just trust me", but further evidence should support my claims of her tying to lie to me.

Back when we still talked, she would often remark on how she wanted to commission artists but had no money to do so, or how she was stressed because she owed artists money for work they'd done for her even though she was struggling with bills.

I am aware of other artists she has commissioned, and have contacted them to ask about their experiences with her.

One artist has done work that went unpaid, and even refunded work that was partially paid for.

One artist was paid for a few pieces, then stopped being paid after a while. She continued to ask them for more commissions despite still owing them money.

One artist has not been paid, but was smart enough to not start yet.

One artist has done work that had been paid for, so credit where credit is due I suppose.

As of time of writing(July 13, 2023) I have received no further communications from her.

Here is proof of her purposefully ignoring my attempts to get in contact and trying to get out of paying me:

(Note the date of the screenshot I sent kitunaluna: January 14, 2023)

Here is proof that I was rather far along with the piece prior to my technical difficulties(this is a rather old message with no accompanying text, but I can assure that I would not have cancelled a commission this far in):

Here are testimonies from other artists she has commissioned/attempted to commission(with names, profiles, and avatars redacted + color coded for clarity):

(Note the mention of an entire channel in her Discord server being nuked; even if there was proof, I wouldn't be able to access it.)

In conclusion, I believe it is in the best interests of both any potential commissioner's and kitsunaluna herself that any artist denies any future commissions from her. She is evasive when confronted, has unhealthy spending practices, and has no respect for artists' time and work.

You're most likely to run into her if you're into Monster Hunter, Cookie Run Kingdom, or Don't Starve IIRC.

[lesser-mook]

Metro Exodus is a well made game, with an annoyingly unnecessary mechanic, the moral point system *Recommendation* (FPS, Action, Post-Apocalyptic, Story Driven, Horror Elements)

I took my time with this game, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Wish I had better hardware so I could record every moment of my first time with it in 4k, but-

the moral point system is garbage, pretentious, obnoxious, unnecessary. And not for the reasons you think.

It's not getting the bad ending that's the issue, you reap what you sow (I guess? Literally didn't put down anyone that wasn't tryna shoot me first), but more importantly, I got what I wanted, a certain characters survival.

I didn't give a fuck about what happened to me. I wanted them to fucking live, I smacked a Blind one in the face, killed another one with bullet spray, threw a can in another ones face, kicked one in the balls & Triangle choked out another (Because the stealth system is full of shit, you'll throw 5 cans in an opposite direction and these mfs will STILL go in your direction).

ALL so that this person would live.

So i was 100% content. And it was an ending fitting the games tone. But that was considered *Bad, not alternate ending but BAD lmfao. OK.

And it's funny, because I notice these "good" endings are littered with cheesy asspulls and plotarmor and the "BAD" endings have better storytelling because there's actual consequences and committed stakes that fit the situation more organically given what's actually going on.

So the non-canon versions are actually, unintentionally, better stories than the timeline that's actually canon. Almost as if "the point" is fucking irrelevant if the story isn't matching the energy of the set up and Or the narrative and messages gets in the way of a better story. And it usually does. No one wants to play a PREACH simulation.

Anyways, EXODUS is well produced, well acted, good stories, fun new mechanics, good level design, enemies are a threat, feels like a movie but not too much.

Most of the Characters are meh, but Anna is cool, Katya was useful, Olga was cool, Giul was cool, Yermak underrated.

But for the moral system, some of the characters and thus the game lowkey passive-aggressively throws digs at you throughout the rest of the game IF you didn't obey the narrative like a passive drone puppet- is the absolute WORST part about the game.

The game offers a different experience and then lowkey antagonizes you because you dared to waver from the canon narrative, super pretentious.

All these opportunities to spare NPCs, GREAT, but do they really matter? If in the end, killing the wrong Npc at the wrong time in the wrong mission, renders the ones you spared null and void anyway? That's the shit I'm talking about.

Why even offer an alternative, just make it one singular story/experience. It'd be a better execution, better experience. CONSISTENT with the previous 2 games.

I shit you not, Last Light I got the one where mc dies and Anna had his Son and she told the legend of his father. That shit would make an STier movie....buuut I find out that Exodus is a thing, and I'm like: Why is Artyom alive? Wheres my son? OH! that wasn't the canon ending?-- wait metro was multiple endings????? (Played Last Light first thinking it was the final game)

And because Artyom is silent, you just have to sit there and take this bullshit the others are vomiting when they do have something to say about your choices, meanwhile they're killing just the people they deemed as "bad" or the "right" people to slaughter. lmfao.

So It's not just the moral point system, that's the worst part about THE GAME itself: The post-op lecturing.

Because I repeat, WHO the fuck decides who's lives matter and who's doesn't in a post apocalypse where its literally anything goes.

Not Khan, that's for damn sure.

Kill the fanatics, that's a problem. Why? They're not trained soldiers, well neither are the bandits as far as i'm concerned, both parties had guns, thus a threat.

You do nothing, those fanatics will kill you, trust me, I tested it. So they're not helpless.(You kill the Volga fanatics that's a nono because they're not soldiers)

The fanatics who don't pose a threat, like the praying dudes on the shore, dozens of people I leave alone, they're spared because logically they're not a threat.

 But apparently that wasn't enough for the "good boy" points. Corny as fuck.

There's multiple times in the game where there's supply stashes, but to get to them, you have to kill the bandits who were literally just minding their business before you pulled up and massacred them unprovoked.

Buuut despite not being soldiers either, their lives somehow didnt matter to the message, soooo fuck them i guess =D Last Light, killing the bear was a no no. Which i didn't, she was beaten, and wasn't a threat anymore.

Buuuut the bear in Exodus, their life according to the plot apparently boiled down to a B movie monster, this bears life didnt register to the moral system, cause how that went down was definitely brutal enough for a bad ending.

But apparently not all Bear lives matter. We have a mountain of bandit, soldier, beast, regimen corpses behind us but those lives didn't matter.

Literally there's a demon nest in VOLGA , the thing was minding its business in its home, I burned it alive via molotov right? I GOT A TROPHY for it…..uhh message?

Burnt to a crisp. Soooo that didn't register to the moral point bullshit?

Why Not? Because Khans eternal wisdom said so? Writers want you to feel empathy for a bear that attacks you, but a Demon minding it's business is irrelevant???

Mercy for them didnt matter huh, we clearly see little baby Bats floating around later, what if that demon was a momma huh? Fuck off. PRE-TENTIOUS, no consistency, want to push this hippie shit, be consistent.

Only the lives the game vaguely hints matters, are the lives that actually matters. Thus defeating any legitimacy the games little message possessed.

PLAY Stealthily, kill the right people, or you're the bad guy, its a sandbox yet wants to put you in a box.

And its funny because the game doesn't really make anything clear, it vaguely pushes a direction but doesn't get blatant until AFTER you make up your own damn mind.

All these guns to kill, but there's only ONE main method to non-lethally k.o enemies, not even a sleep dart, or knockout gas, yeah thats not redundant.

FUCK I even tried just shooting knee-Caps & arms to see if that'd neutralize, to make em drop the guns. Nope. Gotta hug them from behind like a lover or punch em out EVERY SINGLE TIME. Same animation. Bioshock Infinite: Burial At Sea* gives the player more non-lethal options to fight.

Fallout 3 doesn't pull this shit to this extent. Fallout knows what it is and what a post apocalypse is in reality. Gray.

You kill a vendor to steal, guess what? No lecture. But the consequence is NOW you one less person to trade with. One less person to provide you Stimpak.

One less friendly, sassy mf that you feel safe around.

That's fucking reality. You kill just to kill, you lose connections, you need people, thats reality.

Even my Lonewolf ass was HUMBLED by Fallout 3, because this game, even for an antisocial-- This game will MAKE YOU appreciate people, humans, human society, networking. In all the right ways.

All that time in creepy ass caves, ghosttowns, dungeons, mountains of corpses, mutants, demons, Vaults where horrible experiments were done, whispers in the walls etc. Horror Horror HORROR

When you see a person thats friendly in the desert? You run to that mf and see if they wanna trade or just say hi! You might even catch yourself sigh of relief that a mfing person was even around, not tryna shoot you, and alive.

Thats what Fallout 3 can do. Makes you grateful that you still have: People

Kill everyone in the wasteland? now you have no one to work with when you need it. No network. And sometimes regular, nice vendors are murdered by NPCs and you never see them again, ever = Cold hard REALITY, brilliant game design

At the wrong place wrong time, POW. Shot dead. Or eaten alive by beasts.

That's Karma done right, because it ISN'T a solely moral system, its just (cause and effect) in nature.

In Metro? Its obnoxious. Bioshocks karma system was leagues better because you could tell when and where the "moment of truth" was, it wasn't vague and the game didn't beat you over the head a million times about it like a naggy spouse.

I would've played Exodus immediately again after I finished it, and I WANTED to, but that passive-aggressive shit leaves a bad vibe. It nags & antagonizes you for making your own fucking choice.

And unlike Fallout 3, there's no option to speak back.

Again, NOT THE ENDING itself is the issue, because the bad ending is not even bad, it's bittersweet.

The characters being annoying saying slick shit a hundred times and you say nothing back is where I started tilting my head.

That doesn't smell right, the game gives you another path then penalizes you for exploring what it made available, sometimes accidentally, cause how tf would a normie know?

For THIS story? It was unnecessary. Especially for Exodus. Linear stories meant to be linear should be linear, for the continuity if anything else.

You want a certain narrative, then axe the bad ending and just make the ending you want to be the narrative. And yet something like Last of Us pt2 that should've had multiple endings, didnt get any lmfao Devs are sleeping man.

TL;DR yes Exodus moral system is laughably infantile, finished it last night (Jan 2024) and I WILL NOT be playing it again for a while just because its pretentious with the message bullshit, I binged the 3 games just to be lectured. Naaaah fuck you. I'll gladly take my blackass right back to Fallout, WAY more content anyway.

I understand the overtones, the "diamond in the rough/being the exception/", the Bioshock 2 "Mercy is victory" message, but in this game? It wasn't executed well at all. And seriously, at the end of the day, Fuck the writers, play your fucking way.

Otherwise, Metro Exodus is a good game, crashed once (chalking it up to my shit-ware), it's the best of the Metros, excellent production, buy it anyway. It's moral grandstanding is cringe, but don't rob yourself by not playing it at least once.

Its fun as shit mechanics wise, scout for all the loot, you'll need it, this game will punish you for being reckless, good.

[nathank77]

5/17/24

10:15 p.m

I got my hdcp bypasser to work yesterday.I did absolutely nothing special but fuck with wires for over 45 minutes and all of sudden eurica.

The only trick I learned was load the game up. It can bypass it but when you have the ps3 menu up and then load the game it goes to a black screen and then the Hdcp error gets thrown up bc it disconnects to the tv i guess..... but I can't tell you what I did special to get it to bypass it beyond that with the wires.....

Idk if I'm going to keep it. I took full advantage of it just bc I still may return it. Sure it bypasses it but only after 45 minutes of fucking with wires and the screen between the menu and the game loading breaks the handshake....rendering it useless unless you load the game first. Once I turned the game off it said no video lmfao

I have until May 30th to return it... I may just fuck with wires and enjoy it until then... as it should be plug and play... but I want to play my old silent hill games... so I mean idk... something smelled like it smoked... that's what bypassing hdcp is like despite it not being illegal.... thank you PS3! anyways I'm glad I got to record the greatest hits version of silent hill 2. Despite being all the clicks but one on each video I posted... I'm also the likes too.. I'm getting desperate bc click rate matters all my videos get filtered to invisible land bc I get hardly any views..

I took 1MG of Xanax, 25MG of Hydroxyzine and 2MG of Melatonin at 3:30 a.m... I passed out around 5:20 maybe. I woke up at 7:51 a.m needing to pee wayy too bad to ignore it... so I took Benadryl 25MG and fell back to sleep after eating a Think Protein Bar. I slept until 12:30 p.m. I kinda woke up a lot but kept falling back to sleep... I know I shouldn't have to drug myself so much just to sleep but this is my life now and I don't get the best quality sleep but I sleep.. so that's all that matters..

Anyways- I did my disability appt the close out letter was a error which infuriated me. I didn't show it to the representative though.. and now I am scheduled out into July... she told me to call every week and see if he got his final determination... I'm annoyed af. Cause like the drugs I got to take to sleep just to wake up at that fucking time.... anyways it won't happen again cause I'll call weekly.

I tried to get a hold of the licensure department to confirm they got my report. I can't get anyone to pick up after 30 minutes of waiting...so I emailed them tonight referencing my tracking number and when I shipped it and when It said delivered I provided the tracking number and everything asking for a confirmation from the department.

I also went to New Hampshire and got cigarettes. I cleaned out my car when I was there. When I get my oil change I'm getting a full car wash and detailing to clean up the leaves and dirt and shit and wipe down my dashboard and shit. I also have to figure out how to put freon in my car. It's coolish. The compressor is working and once I replaced the fuse the air started coming out of it but- it could be cooler and nicer...

So I already have freon I guess I'll figure it out. In June I've had Beauty for a decade. So I'm going to get that oil change and the car wash. I might do a tune up depending on the cost... if it's like 80$ and what they replace of course.. I got to call and ask but I'm looking to do that the 28th. Hopefully I can do the freon before that.

The drive was okay. Going home I cried hysterically about Nala. I ugly cried. Hardcore as I drove home. I guess I still got to cope with it. I don't want to say more I want to cry typing about it.

I also had some mental images of her dead. So that's great.

I'm starving. I still got to check my car. I made dinner, veggies burgers with vegan bacon its really good actually the bacon and the veggie burgers lol and then I'm going to do that and maybe shave my head. I got to set up my sleep pill too which is stressful with ocd and the hallucination....

So the rest of the night will be fun lol not really.. I'm worried about sleeping on the half MG of xanax bc I had to do the 1mg last night. I also had 2 Red Bulls to get me through the day.

I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow, and do laundry.. so that's cool but Sunday I can relax and hopefully use my HDCP bypasser and play silent hill something. Idk what yet.

I took some photos of myself in the bathroom bc I'm wearing this white shirt and I look good as fuck. I have like 9 or so and I like all them but they all look the same lol the self love and overconfidence is overflowing.

I had a weird mental picture on the car ride home of a naked trans guy who was buff but it was rather segmented. I knew what it was but- like it was very unclear..

It was psychosis trying to say no matter how buff I get I will never have a dick. Cause I'm hardcore considering working out and also fun fact I have no desire to get bottom surgery. At all.

What's so great about cis penis? The image made me horny a little of the naked buff transguy like I could look like that..of course there was some self hate but not really cause it's hot.. like 1 out of 10 for self hate and 9 out of 10 for horny lol

The only thing a cis penis is good for is babies and penetration.. I get it some girls like it, and the g spot and all that but the majority of cis gendered relationships the girl doesn't cum.... every person I've ever been with cums every single time and my next girlfriend will too if I ever find one..

I mean also what can't a dildo do that a cis penis can? Move and pulsate. So I get that that might be awesome but some fancy dildos can do that but I wouldn't wear anything like that anyways. You take my body as it is or you don't have to. I like my body.

The whole biological children thing sucks but I mean- if I wanted to go through procedures technically I could get a girl pregnant and or carry myself but I'd never do either especially carry.. but both never ever. And I've thought about it- my genetics are broken. Idk if we need anymore of us. There are so many kids in broken homes and orphaned and they need love and I have a lot to give.

I'd love to see my eyes or my nose but depending on my partner I'd love to see her eyes. Like Elise for example if somehow she could carry a child that is biologically mine I'd be disappointed if they had my eyes.... something I love about her children despite the fact that I may never meet them is they have her eyes and they look like her. And yea. So I don't need a child to be biologically mine although if I end up with Stacey I mean- one of the only pluses is my name being on the birth certificate. Skin cell babies aren't really a thing but being involved in the whole pregnancy would be cool although it doesn't matter. I just want kids to love me as much as I love them and be seen as a father figure.

I feel like when I wrote that about Stacey It made it sound like I wouldn't be happy if I ended up with a mother who didn't want more kids. That is not even remotely true. It would be a plus to be on the birth certificate/be apart of the pregnancy. I can't lie. It would be great to have a skin cell baby or to help pick a donar who looks a little like me, a short Italian with glasses lol I feel like the glasses at a young age are required but yea. Idc honestly.

All I want is to be apart of a family to be needed and loved and receive a father day card and be depended on and loved. I would like to be called dad but it is not required the father's day card would be a dream. I tear up thinking about it. Nathan is good enough I never get tired of hearing it.

Anyways I just wanted to clear that up. As when I think about being with Stacey I try to see the very few, "positives." And when I imagine a mystery girl it's like tbh idc if she wanted to get pregnant or already has kids. I JUST WANT KIDS. That's all.

Whelp I got to check my car and then take a shower at least. I hope I fall asleep easily. I am truly worried. Tomorrow I'm going to have a red bull day with silent hill if I can get home from the stop and shop quickly enough.

When I go to the dentist I'm going to get an estimate for the teeth sealant regardless of back pay since it still isn't a thing. I'm hoping it's affordable enough cause I'd go through with one of them to start at least and the second a few months later... although I likely won't get a 6 month cleaning... but I won't need it as badly if that stupid groove wasn't plaque central. The other one isn't too bad...but one is brown and it drives me crazy with all the stuff I do to take care of my teeth...

I'm also worried about getting to my bloodwork/t shot on Wednesday but I guess I'll worry about that later...

Erin can see me until at least the end of May. She doesn't know if she can after due to her losing her license. At that point I may just go to two days a week with Mike so I don't have to look for another therapist and get rejected by so many therapists due to being trans and having auditory hallucinations...

I'm probably going to join planet fitness the 1st of the month, the start up is expensive but I'm going to hit my super prime. 👌

June I only have the cardiologist minus my biweekly t shot. So yea. I hope the complaint for Kristen is taken seriously and isn't thrown out bc I'm "crazy."

[jcmarchi]

The Grumpy Designer’s Guide to 2024

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/the-grumpy-designers-guide-to-2024/

The Grumpy Designer’s Guide to 2024

Are you curious about the future? Do you wonder how artificial intelligence (AI) will impact web design? Or if you’ll ever get that elusive Bluesky invite? You’ve come to the right place, my friends.

It’s time for my annual look at the year ahead. This satirical report is chock-full of useless facts and mindless predictions. That makes it just as good as any year-ahead article on the internet.

How do I do it? Like most internet companies, I use a proprietary algorithm. I prefer to keep it a secret. But it involves looking at the past and employing an overactive imagination. It can be yours for a small fee, by the way.

So, what does 2024 have in store for us? Here are some things that absolutely will (or probably won’t) happen.

The Web Designer’s Toolbox

Unlimited Downloads: HTML & Bootstrap Templates, WordPress Themes & Plugins, and much, much more!

WordPress.com to Offer Tweet Rebuttals

2023 was an eventful year for WordPress – and not all of it was positive. Then again, a little #WPDrama is a fine spectator sport.

The divide between co-founder Matt Mullenweg’s commercial venture (Automattic) and the open-source project once again raised some eyebrows. The (supposed) problem? Automattic’s WordPress.com replicated plugin listings from the WordPress.org repository on its site.

Plugin developers expressed concern that the commercial site’s listings showed up first in search results. Mullenweg was personally called out regarding the issue. The criticism was harsh and accusatory.

He responded aggressively – even banning a member of the open-source project’s marketing team on Twitter/X.

Right or wrong, these events got the WordPress community talking. The level of discourse was palpable.

It also got my predictive senses tingling. There must be a way to capitalize on this phenomenon – right?

Mullenweg responded to many critics – but certainly not all. Were you left out? Don’t worry! You’ll have a chance to get in on the action.

WordPress.com will soon unveil its “I Beg Your Pardon?” service. For a $20 fee, Mullenweg will personally respond to a critical tweet of your choice.

No worries if you’re short on cash. A free version from WordPress.org will get you an automated response from a bot.

Happy to take your listing down and redirect to another plugin page, which do you recommend as a good alternative?

— Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) September 13, 2023

Apple Will Thrill Fans with AI

Rumors abound that Apple is working on an artificial intelligence platform. How might it work? What are its capabilities? I have a few predictions.

A Stiff Barrier to Entry

Apple loves to sell us premium products. And they also enjoy exercising tight control of them. Don’t expect their AI offering to be any different.

Thus, their platform will only be available to those using Apple devices. But that’s not all. Adding Apple’s AI to your workflow will also require a proprietary cable. No, not the one you already have.

We’re talking about a completely new connector type. The good news is that it’s currently hidden on your device. It will reveal itself upon sensing the cable’s presence.

The bad news? The dongle costs $500. And customers will have to wait at least six months for delivery. As usual, a large number of preorders will be the culprit.

An AI Powered Website Testing Suite

Web designers will be thrilled to see Apple’s AI testing suite. Enter your URL and watch the magic happen.

The tool emulates multiple devices. For example, you can troubleshoot your client’s buggy site on their 8-year-old Android phone. Or figure out why your responsive styles aren’t working on a brand of tablet no one has heard of.

You can also test your sites on classic Apple devices. How would an Apple IIe render your home page? What about a Newton handheld? You’re a dongle away from finding out.

It Will Be a Roller-Coaster Year for Elon Musk

Perhaps you don’t need a crystal ball to predict some things. Elon Musk and chaos are the perfect couple (sorry, Grimes). It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

I believe Mr. Musk will have a busy year. Seriously, there will be something wild happening every day. Here are just a few examples:

Musk will reveal (unprompted) that he ingested dozens of “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” cartridges. You know, the ones that Atari buried back in the 1980s. He may still have a stash in his basement.

Musk will invent an implantable microchip that allows chickens to speak. Ironically, he’ll call it “Twitter“.

What about the service formerly known as Twitter? Musk hasn’t forgotten about it. He’ll continue to reinstate banned accounts. Next up: Napolean. Watch out for a rant hundreds of years in the making.

We hear the Tesla Cybertruck will finally start deliveries in 2024. What’s the catch? It only includes models that come equipped with a Musk-approved flamethrower.

Tesla’s Autopilot feature is having issues. Musk will replace it with an “Autonag” option. A virtual Elon will criticize your driving skills and shout them through the car’s audio system. Transport will never be the same.

Best Wishes for 2024!

Yes, the predictions above are silly. But they underscore that we’re in a time of change. AI is disrupting our industry. The tools we use are evolving. Somehow, we’ll need to adapt. For instance, I may have ChatGPT write this article for me next year.

None of this will be easy. Web designers have weathered plenty of shifts, though. I’m still here – and so are you!

So, take a deep breath. Find something to laugh about. And do your best to make 2024 a great year.

Related Topics

Top

[cleolinda]

I have been trying to write (as promised) something about my idea of Liminal Christmas

I’m loopy on muscle relaxers for my back and it’s not working. The writing does not logic

Like there’s a draft but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So my ideas are:

-- You know what “the liminal” is, right? It’s not just the Backrooms and the “liminal internet aesthetic”?

-- It can refer to thresholds (Latin: līmen) of both time (the sun rising or setting; midnight on New Year’s Eve; birthdays, graduations, even death itself) and space (doorways, crossroads, intersections, international borders; the wardrobe to Narnia, the rabbit hole to Wonderland--you see a lot of these in fantasy media).

-- And not just specific threshold points but more general times (adolescence/coming of age; long journeys; periods of social instability) and spaces (hallways, lobbies, waiting rooms, airports, bus stations, parking lots, streets, abandoned buildings, ruins). Travel itself, a state of being between one place and another, is liminal. Anything temporary has a liminal quality. A parking lot is liminal in a way that a garage is not, you get me? The liminal is a place you're not staying permanently, and the time you're Not Staying in it.

-- The "internet aesthetic" version also highlights the emptiness of things that may or may not have already been liminal (office hallways, closed buildings, abandoned malls), where an additional aspect is the the explicit unease, the uncanny quality, that the emptiness creates. Emptiness is not requisite, however, and an airport is liminal whether it's full of people or not.

-- So we have both specific points of crossing and broader states of between-ness. 

-- Christmas is extremely liminal

-- The winter solstice (generally December 21 or 22, Northern Hemisphere) is by definition liminal: it is the longest/darkest night of the year, the threshold between The Days Shorten and The Days Lengthen (Midsummer is the same, in reverse).

-- There is a lot of Germanic Yule/Wild Hunt and Roman Saturnalia in the liminality of Christmas Eve that I can't wade into right now

-- (I had a whole thing about Twelfth Night antics and the Lord of Misrule being liminal that I couldn't quite work into the flow of the post)

-- I cannot speak for other winter holidays, cultural celebrations, or hemispheres

-- In fact that’s where my post draft breaks down because I have a tendency to bite off more topic than I can chew, this is all So Much and I am So Flexeril’d

-- But basically I realized last year that I really don’t like Christmas Day much as an adult. Santa does not visit me anymore; I am a Santa. I value Christmas Day as a family holiday, but I don’t look forward to it the way I did as a kid. There is nothing I am waiting on, there is no lying awake in giddy hope all night while listening to Christmas music on the radio.

-- (That particular Christmas, I think I woke up to a My Little Pony Paradise Estate circa 1986)

-- It’s Christmas Eve that I love

-- It’s the liminal, i.e., the spooky part

-- The part where everything stands still, anything is possible, the night that expands in every dark direction beyond the actual time it occupies. Any miracle, any terror, chill and sparkling between-ness.

-- Santa himself: extremely liminal. We watch NORAD track the sleigh around the world. The night is as long as it needs to be, the gift sack is as big as billions of presents require. Santa arrives through the impossible between-ness of the chimney. And he can be at a thousand malls simultaneously and, so we're told as kids, bring anything you wish for (if you're on the Nice List), whether you ask for it aloud or not. HE KNOWS 

-- Is this concept honestly kind of creepy? YES

-- And you see the limitless spooky magic of Christmas Eve over and over in media (anything where Santa renders some miracle gift on a night without the limits of time or physical distance; the Grinch becoming the Antisanta; Clara’s nutcracker coming to life at midnight; George Bailey being shown [by an angel who will cross the threshold of earning his wings] across time what could have been so he will understand his Wonderful Life)

-- (SCROOGE)

-- A Christmas Carol is like THE most liminal Christmas work; it involves three ghosts (beings between life and death) taking a man through various stages of his life in the space of one expansive night, ultimately to a threshold of total personality change (or else).

-- You will probably have a ton more examples; I'll let someone else take on The Nightmare Before Christmas and, uh, all other cultural winter traditions.

-- Like I said, my drafting broke down around the time that I realized that the proper cultural scope of this post was more suited to a graduate thesis.

-- (I am really very secular about Christmas, but it would be remiss not to point out that the story of the Nativity for which “Christmas” is named is also extremely liminal, with the traveling and the looking for a place to stay and settling on one that isn’t actually meant for humans, only a temporary shelter, and the night and the Three Magi journeying towards a star.)

-- As a kid, though, I was most struck by The Nutcracker and the story of the Christmas spider.

-- In the storybook I had, the spider wasn’t trying to whip up some precious metals for a family in poverty. It just really wanted to help decorate a Christmas tree, and all it had to offer were its webs, but the Christmas Eve Miracle was that they turned to silver tinsel.

-- Man, tinsel is so bad for pets and almost as persistent as glitter, but I sure do love some tinsel.

-- Decorating the tree IS Christmas to me, and we used to use both tinsel and real candy canes, which we don't anymore. In fact, this year, I wasn't able to help with the tree at all because of my back injury, which is how you know I was bad off. It was the source of all magic to me. I used to peer into our Christmas tree in the dark living room, looking deep between the colored lights and fresh pine, and imagine being a tiny elf jumping from branch to branch, talking to the various ornaments, wooden animals and hanging dolls and Wish Bear and Mountain Climbing Santa.

-- (One time when I was seven, the tree fell over on me [I DIDN’T TOUCH IT!!] but I lived)

-- My point is: that pleasantly spooky sense that anything could happen, any magic could be wrought, anything I hoped for might be under the tree on Christmas morning. But also, kind of scary and full of spiders. That feeling was what hooked me.

-- One year I was lying awake (in the dark, through hours that felt like years to a five-year-old) and I swore I could hear hooves on the roof.

-- Anything can happen on Christmas Eve

When I was a kid, I used to love to stare deep into the Christmas tree. I imagined an elf or maybe a very small me, idk, living in the branches, climbing up through them as if it were not a treehouse, but a house made of tree.

I have always preferred a “spooky” Christmas vibe: the dark and quiet liminal hours of Christmas Eve, or maybe just after you were supposed to be in bed in the nights leading up into. (I was really into The Nutcracker, which might explain some of this.) Just the dark and the Christmas lights and the decorated tree, and all the things that might come into being in that shadowy window of possibility.

Anyway, this is an ominous Wish Bear.

[tommeraas-cc]

A warning about high polycount custom content - for downloaders and creators

I don't claim to be an expert on custom content, but I've been making CC for nearly 4 years now and I think I've learned a thing or two about how to spot custom content that might not be best for your computer/game. I only recently got a computer that can handle some of the CC out there, so I wanted to make a guide on how to spot CC that might not be right for you if you want fast loading times, minimal overheating, or your computer isn't as powerful. This guide will mostly be about clothing, but I'm sure most of these things can be applied to other types of CC.

Disclaimer: Absolutely no hate to anyone who makes CC that is high polycount -- I am guilty of doing this without disclosing it earlier in my CC making journey. We are all learning and improving every day and we all have different preferences for our own CC making which is the fun part of this community :) If you are a CC creator who needs help avoiding high polycount please message me and I would 100% be willing to you help you 

High polycounts 

3D content is made up of vertices that connect to each other to create a 3D model that can be molded into different shapes (the small segments that make up these larger shapes are called polygons). The more little dots you have, the more detailed the item can be. However, there are ways to include detail without using a high number of these vertices and polygons, it just takes time and practice.

Why should I be wary of downloading CC with a high polycount? 

There is a reason that clothing made by EA/Maxis has a limit to the number of polygons they can use in their meshes. If an item of CC has too high of a polycount, it could drastically slow down your game, overheat your computer, cause your game to crash, or even permanently damage the hardware of your computer. Of course, there are different tolerances for high polycounts based on the specs of your computer, so be aware of this before downloading. If your computer cannot run smoothly on the ultra graphics setting without CC installed, you should probably be proactive about the kind of CC you download to avoid these issues. 

However, even those with high end computers can run into issues when trying to play with a lot of this kind of CC, so it is up to the individual player to decide what they want for their game. I permanently damaged my last computer by busting a fan due to graphics rendering in the Sims 4. Please do not make the same (very expensive) mistakes I have.

The case for high polycounts:

There are certain clothing items that would not be possible to model in the sims without a high polycount. The creators who make these very detailed meshes are super talented and have my utmost respect, but my old computer just couldn’t handle them! My rule of thumb for my own personal game is that if I’m going to download something with a crazy high poly count, it better be something special. In my opinion, there’s no reason a simple tank top should be 3x the polycount of an average EA mesh. A handful of high polycount items aren’t going to crash your game (probably-- know your own computer’s limits), but considering most people will download many items from the same creator, the collection of all of those items may cause issues.

CC creators make their meshes for fun and creativity, and many don’t create for the express purpose of having many people use a bunch of their meshes in their games at once. It’s totally fine to make high polycount custom content, but if you’re a CC creator it would be respectful to people who download your items and support you to be warned of these possible issues (especially if they are paying for them!!!). Most CC creators have high-end computers, but downloaders might not, which is something to keep in mind :)

How high is too high?

This is honestly a personal preference. For me, anything with more than double the average polycount is “unacceptable without disclosing” and must include a disclaimer when I post it. For toddler full body outfits, which is what I normally make, I would consider this to be around 10-12K as the max acceptable polycount to post without a disclaimer. This number varies based on the type of CC, with adult polycounts being higher usually (given that items are quite literally larger than toddler items). For adult full-body outfits, I try to stay under 15K, and anything over 20k I would consider needing a disclaimer. But, again, this is up for personal debate, and there are a lot of factors that go into this. I am just basing this information on EA’s limits and my personal experience from playing this game on lower end computers.

How to spot high poly-count CC 

So, you’ve decided that for your personal game, you want to avoid high polycount CC. Unfortunately, many creators do not disclose when their CC has an high polycount, so it’s up to you to figure out which is which.

Before you download the item: for clothing, the easiest way to spot high polycount CC from preview photos is to look for folding in the fabrics. I don't have a high polycount CC of my own that is completed to show you, and I don’t want to put another creators CC here out of respect, so here is an example of an unfinished mesh that can get the point across. 

As you can see, the folds in the sleeves look like they are mostly physically present, and that the folds aren't a result of the texture. This often results in sort of a "bumpy" look to the CC. If you're seeing clothing that has this tell-tale bumpy look with many folds that you can tell are 3-dimensional, you should probably avoid this CC (if you have decided to avoid high polycount CC). A small amount of bumps is normal but as you can tell by this skirt it's a little more extreme. 

Below you can see the low polycount version of this cc item where the folds look much smoother and are not as 3 dimensional. I added details like the folds in the sweater and at the top of the skirt with textures and mapping rather than a high polycounts as you might be able to tell by the fact that there are smooth edges rather than 3D folds. I have a small section of ruffles on the sleeves that have maintained a higher polycount which you can see by the physical ruffles. Details like this are impossible to do with just textures.

There are many CC creators much more talented than I that are very good at using texture images to give off the illusion of detail without high polycounts. Look at the edges of the item where folds appear and if there’s a smooth line there, the creator might be using textures and mapping to give the illusion of folding!

After you download the item: Of course, you can always download Sims4Studio, the program CC creators use to import their meshes into the sims format, to check polycounts. If you open CC in this program and click the meshes tab, the polycount will be displayed here. I only do this for items that I think might be insane polycounts (like 100k+ or something ridiculous for clothing, which is about ten times higher than I would recommend) that might crash my game, otherwise, I usually just go by how the item looks in the previews with the tips I just told you.

There are some CC items that are pretty much guaranteed to have high polycounts. The vast majority of alpha hair will have high polycounts -- this is unavoidable and does not mean the CC is not high quality, it is just a necessity for that kind of CC. Just be aware that having many alpha CC hairs in your game might cause slowdown/overheating. 

I am a CC creator who wants to start making lower polycount stuff that still has detail. How do I get started?

I started figuring out how to do detail via textures and normal mapping about two years ago. The main resource that helped me was this fantastic tutorial by SLYD. The main thing you need for this method is a lowpoly AND highpoly version of your mesh. It takes more time to do this versus making a highpoly mesh but I think the payoff is worth it to make good quality cc that everyone can enjoy :) (Also, another benefit is you won’t have to spend so long waiting for sims4studio to import your mesh) If you would like some tips on how to do this or have questions from that tutorial feel free to message me anytime! I also have a discord server where you can get help with CC making. Again, I am not the best expert around but I might know enough to help you.

Here is another discussion on this topic that I think is a really good read if you are interested :)

TL;DR if you’re a creator who makes high polycount stuff, please put a disclaimer on your downloads. If you’re a downloader, be aware of what your own personal game and computer can handle.

[asiandra-dash]

Characters: Childe, Kamisato Ayato

Words: 946

Time Taken: 91 minutes / 1 hour 31 minutes

Proofread: No

Notes: This is an alternate version to another thing I wrote before Christmas similar to this. I was gonna post it, but I decided to completely rewrite it for some reason! I gave up about halfway in since my mom interrupted me and made me forget my original idea, that's where the Fatui came in lmao.

Btw I hate writing apologies so if it sounds badly written, cliché, or anything of the sort you know why. Also because I did not bother to edit this after writing.

"Don't you get it? I never loved you, I used you!"

His laughs filled the air, nearly drowning out the rain as the words finally sank in. Everything they had done together wasn't real. It was an act. It was fake. It was a lie. It was all a lie.

Ayato dropped his sword and fell to his knees as tears formed in his eyes. This whole time, Childe had been planning to stab him in the back. He had been blinded by love, placing his full trust in him. He knew he was the villain, he always had been. So why had he trusted him? Why had he loved him?

A long silence lasted between the two. One waiting for a reaction, the other unable to react The only sound was the pouring rain, the strikes of lightning, and the wind howling around them.

Finally, Ayato slowly closed his hand around the hilt of his sword and stood up, taking a few shaking steps forward. Unable to handle the pain anymore, he fell back down, his sword rolling off the cliff. The feeling of heartbreak and betrayal was more than he had ever experienced. It was overwhelming. He threw his head back as all the emotions he had suppressed for years came out in a sick, twisted laugh. It was the most hysteric sound that had ever come out of his mouth. He couldn't do anything but laugh maniacally as he broke. Childe took a step back, unsure of what to do. Ayato slowly raised his hand and closed it as if he was holding something. Childe felt something wrap around his neck and began to squeeze. He reached up in an attempt to remove it, but his hand phased right through it. Reaching again, he realized what it was.

Water. Ayato was using his hydrokinesis against him. This wasn't fair. He absolutely hated it when he used it against him, rendering him almost powerless, as his was weaker.

He couldn't do anything as he felt himself slowly being lifted into the air. Ayato looked at him as he struggled, his breath shallow, heavy, and unstable.

"You... You BITCH." he spat out, trying to stand back up. Childe looked down, knowing that struggling wouldn't do anything except kill him faster. Though he has just left the ground, he was drained from fighting Ayato earlier, and it was getting increasingly hard to breathe, with the rain making it even more difficult.

He suddenly drop back to the ground, coughing as he tried to catch his breath, he looked up to see that one of the Geochanter Bracers had knocked Ayato down, a Pyroslinger Bracer aiming their gun at his head. Once Childe could breathe again, he stood up and walked over.

"Let him go."

"But he just tried to kill you-"

"Let him go. Leave."

The two Fatui nodded and left. Childe looked down at Ayato, who refused to look up at him.

"Hey."

The rain continued to hammer down, getting harder each second.

"Ayato..."

Lightning struck near them. Childe looked away, unsure of what to say. He sat down next to him and pulled him close, knowing that he could lash out at him at any moment. But instead of trying to get away from him, Ayato leaned towards him. Even after everything that just happened, he couldn't help himself. His touch was just so... Comforting.

Childe moved him into a position that allowed him to hug Ayato, to hold onto him as he cried into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry I used you. I'm so sorry. No words can describe how sorry I really am." He felt his own tears begin to form. "I love you, Ayato. I really do. I love you more than I can ever express. I wish there was a way for me to take back everything I had said. I wish there was a way for me to fix this. I wish I could-"

His voice broke as his tears began to fall.

"I wish I could've just told you everything from the beginning."

He hugged Ayato tightly and felt him slowly begin to lift his arms to return it. He buried his face into the crook of his neck as his sobs combined with hiccups.

"I'm so, so sorry for hurting you. I'm sorry for using you. I'm sorry for everything I've done. I won't ask for forgiveness. After all that, I don't think you can forgive me."

The two stayed there for what seemed like forever until Ayato finally pulled away, looking at Childe as he spoke.

"I would say it's okay, but it's not. It's not okay. But... If your apology is truly sincere, there might be a way to show me if you really mean it."

"...How?"

"Promise me you won't lie to me anymore. Promise me you'll tell me everything. Promise me you'll stay with me from now on."

Childe stared at him. Was it that simple?

After a moment, he nodded. If it meant they could stay together, he would do anything.

They continued to stare at each other until Ayato smiled. He chuckled a little, earning a small smile back. Childe stood up, helping Ayato to his feet. He was still shaking from earlier, so he had to use Childe as a support. Ayato turned to him, giving him a small peck on his cheek, causing a small blush to form on his face. The rain slowed down.

"We should head back to the city, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah. But what about the wounds I gave you?"

"We got ambushed."

That's a stupid excuse."

"I know."

They laughed.

"Let's go."

Also what is with the floor they are all so attached to the floor holy shit I love making characters that seem very stable lose their shit.

[kaisertheadvisor]

CONTINUED FROM LAST POST

#6 Highest Quality Sprites.

Not only does this mean we could get uncropped sprites...

But also the full body sprites used during the menus and the credits...

Some rare expressions (like Aigis's All Out Attack window face)

And maybe the eliusive "Clipboard Chihiro"...

#7 Renders of Kaneko Persona designs

Since P3 reused lots of Kaneko's established Demon Designs, they were bound to have their art featured in the game. However, they mostly seem to differ from their released renders, primarily in the shading department. While some have their highest quality renders uncropped, others do.

And of course, let's not forget that the 4 Devas have art EXCLUSIVE to the original versions of P3 and only those versions (P3, P3FES, P3P) before Devil Survivor redesigned them, with those designs carrying over to Reload.

Again, Portable has really good sprite rips so far, but we'll have to wait and see if there's more.

#8 Atlus West Press Kits

Around the time P3, P3FES and P3P would release in the US, Atlus West put out these sales kits for any website to use so they can market the game.

So far, many press materials seem to not be on the Internet Archive. If someone did download them back then, I would like to see all those materials online again.

#9 Audio Messages on P3 FES site

In order to help drum up hype for P3 FES, Atlus would put out these developer messages to Japanese fans. So far, they exist as broken .swf files that I can't seem to get to work properly. If anyone could fix them and/or provide good quality versions of them, I'd be more than happy to.

#10 The Mobile/Promotional Games.

Good news! Aigis The First Mission is thankfully getting a rerelease after being lost for so many years! So far, the only P3 related promotional games that are still lost are: -Persona 3: The Night Before -Persona Ain Soph -Persona 3 Social -Persona 3 Escape -Persona 3 Illust Puzzle -Persona 3 Broken Shadow -Persona 3 Qix -Persona 3 Chaining Soul -Persona 3 Em

G-Mode Archives, you better do your thing.

#11 Novel Translations So far, a fan translation exists for Velvet Blue, but we still don't have translations for Shadow Cry, Fragment Of The End and Alternative Heart.

That's all I can say so far, but again, who knows? Maybe someone may have all these high quality assets on a DVD or hard drive somewhere? It's too early to tell. What other lost Persona 3 holy grails would you like to see? Let me know if given the chance.

Alright, I'd thought I'd share with you all my "Persona 3 Holy Grails" of media that I'd like to see show up someday. Who knows? Maybe one day we'll get some of these high quality assets. But for now, we'll have to rely on scans, Internet Archive, upscales, and various social media posts till then. But let's get started!

#1. The high quality, uncompressed cutscenes.

While fan upscales do exist for the OG cutscenes, and people were generous enough to extract many of the Reload cutscenes and post them in high quality (thank you PC version), I would like to see the original masters for many of these cutscenes. We know they do exist, since Atlus has used them in promotional material, but when we will see them, is unknown. (If they ever do an English release of the P3 Movies, they better include these cutscenes as a bonus feature, just saying.)

#2. Highest quality character renders.

In order to promote Persona 3 on various material, Atlus would use various renders of the characters that I'm sure many P3 fans are familiar with.

However, there are some characters that don't currently have such high quality versions of their character renders. So far, high quality scans of Elizabeth's render and a rare Ikutsuki render (used on the original version of the P3 website, the games OST booklet, the manual, several trading cards, magazine articles, print ads and the booklet for "A Certain Day Of Summer") have been preserved for example, but I'd kill for the high quality assets to be found one day.

However, the most notorious case of characters not having high quality render assets are the entirety of Strega. The renders do exist online, it's just that, their quality is much to be desired.

Again, would kill to see high quality assets release someday.

#3. Unreleased character sheets for cutscenes.

If you have the P3 Artbook, they have the model sheets for the Protagonist, Yukari, Junpei, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Fuuka, Aigis, Koromaru, Ken, Shinjiro, Ikutsuki, Takaya, Pharos and Ryoji used in the anime cutscenes.

However, we don't have the model sheets for the characters casual wear (used in the Yakushima trip cutscene and several scenes in The Answer), Kotone (for the P3P opening as well as several in game CG's), Aigis's Answer armor, blue dress, and school uniform, Elizabeth and Theodore, Metis, Igor, Natsuki (used during Fuuka's awakening, albeit VERY brief), and Takeharu (used during 11/4's events). Granted, since those characters were sparingly used in the anime cutscenes, they may have not had their model sheets published, but again, who knows?

It should be noted that some frames and drawings from the anime cutscenes were used in some promotional material (for example, the P3 website used silhouettes of Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru and Fuuka taken straight from the opening), so we'll have to wait and see what comes forth.

#4. Original Persona Assets

So far, Atlus managed to give us the high quality assets for the initial Persona's that were used in FES and were reused again for Reload's promo's.

Not only that, but many of the high quality assets for the ultimate Persona's were also preserved online, thankfully.

However, there is also the "original shading" versions of the Persona's, which last I checked, were used in the 2023 port of Persona 3 Portable, and so far, the high quailty rips of them are cropped.

I'm also hoping we can get even higher quality versions of the renders of Polydeuces (promotional pose), Juno, Messiah and Psyche. (though I am betting we're gonna get a high quality Psyche render for The Answer DLC, mark my words)

And of course, we still need the high quality official art for Strega's Personas as well.

#5 Ad Scans (or even better, high quailty digital versions of this material)

If anyone has some Japanese magazines, I'd love to see high quality scans of many a Persona 3 Ad.

CONTINUED IN REBLOG

[nattikay]

so I actually really like the art style of the new pony movie so I wanted to try converting my old oc/ponysona into it...decided to try making it lineless to better match the 3D style buuuut it’s been a loooong time since I’ve done fully lineless art....I experimented with a few things but after a few hours of being dissatisfied with the progress but still wanting to see the full design I just said “hecc screw it” and just “finished” it up in EXTREMELY LAZY MODE

I saved a version of the .psd preserving all the data from before I went Lazy™ so I can finish it properly later if I so desire. but whatever for now cuz I have other higher-priority stuff I need to work on atm ^^;

Also made a quick lil concept diagram for her wing design. I wanted her wing shape to be more similar to Pipp’s because it’s more owl-like (a reference to my regular fursona who is an owlcat), but the feathers themselves should have a texture more similar to those of the standard pegasi rather than Pipp’s super-poofy ones. Also threw in the fetlock feathers from some of the concept renders cuz I thought they were a neat detail even though they didn't make it into the film.

edit: found some better reference material so instead of revising this specific piece to finish it properly I’m just scrapping it and starting over. gonna wait till I’m done to post but I assure you that so far it already looks looooooads better lol. keep ur eyes peeled i guess~