CaNz

Do you feel loved and popular yet? | | | V

[quote name='Mistress Duck' timestamp='1297289774' post='704822'] THANKS A LOT for editing me out of your signature. D< I WAS THERE TOO, Y'KNOW. [/quote] I was too... but basement cat hath spoken.

I was very impressed by this first attempt. :] I see a lot of good artists here, but no matter what everyone has room to improve. Whenever I make something, I look for ways to do it better. It seems like you have plenty of potential if you wanted to take this further, and I would be glad to help.

I'd add you too... but I never really use my facebook.

I am sure you can watch it somewhere.. Really the whole thing was just a ton of hype and flashing lights... The sound was just off and the vocals were unenthusiastic.

The blink gave it away for me... stupid paying attention!

That's very pretty Anne! You applied the shadows quite well on both the dog/wolfs and the grass, and gave the two animals very realistic looking appendages such as the paws and ears. You also did a great job in capturing a rather adorable moment. Very good job! The spots that I see than can be improved upon are: background, because though the grass is pretty, the animals had no effect on it. no grass spots were bent and the dogs didn't cast shadows, and working on keeping the borders consistant. having a black outline is perfectly fine, but most of the time it's size doesn't have much variety. If you plan on taking more lengthy endeavors you can use more colors and cereate more textures, but what you have right now looks good too. It looks like you spent a chunk of time with this project, getting the small details like the furriness of the dog shadows and spikey outline. You did very well and should be proud of what you brought forward.

[quote name='James' timestamp='1297118958' post='704766'] [font="palatino linotype"]I guess that what I find is that each character begins with a couple of key biotic powers which you can then expand as they level up. I am finding that I have a tendency to choose squad member based on a) their biotic abilities and b) their weapon load out. You could definitely just use warp and push or singularity, but where's the fun in that? I love to combine multiple biotic powers strategically. I also find that I'm using way points a lot more than in the first game. I think this is because the AI seems a little smarter and combining this with the use of biotics seems to work really well.[/font] [/quote] I agree that in 2 characters are more personalized. you picked a group based on skill were in the first game it was based on class. I ca't say that this is worse or better, because even though they have less skills they are all individual and have many more recrutable characters to choose from. However because of the lack of characters, you had to carefully mold the ones you had in order to preform at your best. In ME2 you could easily just swap out characters. if you wanted a tough fighter use Grunt or Garrus or Jacob, If you wanted a versitile fighter use Morridon, or Tali or Thane orMiranda or Legion. If you want a Biotics powerhouse you have Jack or Sumara. their skills varied a bit but essentially they all did the same thing in combat. In ME the only two characters that were close to the same were Rex and Kaiden... and Rex had different skills because he was a battle toad. [quote] [font="palatino linotype"]I agree that the first game had way more customization in this regard. You're right there. I guess that I don't mind the relative limitations on weapons in Mass Effect 2 for two reasons: first, I like that some weapons can only belong to some characters (it gives characters are more distinctive feel and I think it also makes character selection more strategic) and secondly, I like that all ammo is essentially the same unless you use a biotic power for incendiary rounds or whatever. In the original game I didn't actually mind all the weapon and ammo options, but by the same token, if I had a choice...I'd prefer to emphasize strategy on the battlefield rather than in a menu screen beforehand. I like doing [i]some[/i] prep for missions, but not a lot. That's where I sometimes get bored with very complex RPGs, admittedly. [/quote] as far as the ammo that the individual characters use goes... it acts more like an ability. if you have the ammo type you will just always use it. The soldier classes can switch, but they don't use many other abilities so its not much different than other classes. as far as strategy on the battlefield is concerned, I don't really think either game had much... the teamates are always doing whatever they please unless you watch them like a hawk in ME. Enemys preform the same ways in almost every situation so if you see an enemy you ran into before, you will probably be prepared for them ahead of time. [quote] One thing I did like in the original was that you could have a couple of upgrades per weapon and per armor. You can still do it, but it's been simplified a great deal now. I don't prefer one system or the other though - I'm indifferent on this. I like both.[/font] [/quote] really its just another RPG element that got taken out to streamline the game. [quote] [font="palatino linotype"]There are a ton of weapon upgrades in Mass Effect 2, except that they function differently to the first game. I can see where you're coming from, in that there's a lack of per-weapon customization...but depending on what you find and how you use research, it's definitely still possible to upgrade weaponry. [/font][font="palatino linotype"]I can understand though that it's valuable for people who want to squeeze every inch out of the experience. But as I said earlier, I'd rather spend less time worrying about endless setup options and more time employing direct battlefield strategy.[/font] [font="palatino linotype"] You mentioned all of the different ammo types - that was the kind of thing that annoyed me about the first game. I felt at times that there were almost [i]too many[/i] options. A different ammo type for each type of enemy...I don't know, it wasn't really my thing. That's where the first game started to bore me a little. [/quote] the difference is the upgrades just made your weapon better... whatever you bought was probably better for your weapon. the upgrades in ME gave you one trait to make better, and you could choose between them. there is only one upgrade for each weapon/ Armor at a time. [/font]the system in ME2 more resembles leveling up of weaponry rather than modding them like in ME. [quote] [font="palatino linotype"]Yeah I think that's the crux of it. We have slightly different tastes in this regard. I don't agree though that the cover system, health recharge and "easy" abilities are examples of hand feeding though. I think these are direct improvements that the previous game lacked to a fault. The cover system adds an important dynamic to battles that just wasn't there before. And the health recharge feature feels like a godsend compared to the constant need for Omni-gel before (I much prefer the way health is deployed in ME2). [/quote] it isn't hand fed as in you can jump right in and master it., you have to get good at utilizing cover, however I think its hand fed because everyone has to use it. You can't do well in that game without using cover correctly implementing the abilities of teammates and paying attention to your health. but these things are all streamlined with a nice cover system,. a total of 6 skills to master with only four points each, the timed rechargeable health, and leveling up based on missions rather than individual xp. [quote] When I think back to the first game, I actually felt that combat was a lot less varied - and that's despite all the different ammo types and such. So I managed to play the original without taking huge amounts of time to modify my load outs. I guess that I like Mass Effect 2's variety of enemies and battle scenarios a little bit more. I like that the emphasis is on the physical action rather than the combat planning (while still allowing for a degree of preparation in advance). I see these changes as taking about some of the unnecessary busywork and replacing it with genuine action. But yeah, I guess that gets to the core of why we have different views on the game. :) [/quote] I will admit that without all the upgrades and slight intricacies I implored the game might not feel exciting.. It is a third person shooter at heart for the combat.. and traditionally they are just point and shoot. I just like it better because The RPG aspect made it feel different, where as ME2 feels more like a worse Gears of War to me. [quote] I'm wondering if they will try to reach some sort of middle-ground with Mass Effect 3. It'll be very interesting to see what happens there.[/font] [/quote] Noooo! count on it being like two... once you make things simple, you never go back to making things complex again.

[quote name='Allamorph' timestamp='1297123180' post='704767'] [font="Calibri"]If the regular posters in here are Lounge Lizards, would [color="DarkRed"]CaNz[/color] have e-reptile dysfunction?[/font] [/quote] I can get my reptile up just fine Mr. 1503 posts in the lounge. Someone might have a .....[b]Gecko[/b]ner! [i][sub]check with a zoologist if it lasts more than four hours. [/sub][/i]

You can laugh if you like... but I have gotten into [b]Harvest Moon 3[/b] for GameBoy color. Its not the prettiest game, but for its time it isn't too bad. In the slice of life video game genre I usualy will prefer Animal crossing... but this game is kinda cute too. Though most of the game is based on wooing the partner you have been forced to live with, the gameplay is kind of a Farmvile like motion, however you can skip almost all of it once you have enough money to buy a sprinkler (they cost more than almost anything else in the game, but they do 90% of your work for you. also when you get your partner to like you more they do better at their job, and eventually they become almost perfect. The greatest part of the game is the different movies every season. I don't think I have ever had as much fun watching a short in my life. Comedic genius in its truest form: Unintentional humor. I can play this game and feel like I havent done anything, yet look at the clock and realize five hours have gone by.

Like, maybe If your angel is selected you get to defeat(provide the finishing blow to) him yourself, winning cool points in the story?

I agree, The Like button really shows how little people care about the articles message. Anyways if people can't ignore advertisements in this day and age you probably can't go outside. This is just another way to make a few more dollars off aadds from companies, but If you really aren't feeling secure because of a couple adds randomly poping up in your wall you gotta ease up a little. It's not like this new form of advertisment is going to be any more effective than the mind control they try to apply with every other form of advertisement they use. now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to Starbucks and by fifty dollars worth of coffee... my facebook friends are raving about it!

Biotics do make the game easier, but as for team selection and using the powers I think its less important. All the abilities are linked, sou a biotics user in 2 doesnt have to worry about leveling up multiple skills. if you want an offensive one choose warp, a defense choose push or singularity. There is nothing wrong with that, but if you tried a simple strategy like that you would have one power every thirty seconds. the Adept role could be used if you could protect it... the midway classes had had significance. Technicians (used to help with opening stuff to get free material... now.. they just have a power ability that works almost the same as biotics.) were smart to include and Biotics were able to establish dominance in shorter fights. Another thing I miss is the different weapons and armor. purchasing high quality specialty weapons or a balanced arsenal was up to you. You could pick who gets what gun and the better weapon might influence how you used them. Like, I bought tough heavy armor for Rex first. so that I could have a good tank. this bit of planning made my first few fights a breeze. Also, no weapon upgrades. you get two different types per weapon (other than the heavy weapons... which I admit are really fun, but don't take up a lot of game time) in ME2, were in ME you had tons of brands with different strengths, you had leveled guns, and most of all... weapon upgrades and Ammo (also leveled). With certain sets you could make difficult problems easy. like there are shredder and Tungsten rounds, Anti-personnel for living targets and Anti-synthetic targets (Geth). Most people could use two weapons so I used one kind of ammo on each, I would then switch there guns and my attack pattern based on the opponent. You can make tons of great combinations too, such as my shotgun with proton bullets and damage increases so that I could get quick kills, a near bottomless clip support assault rifle with the two cooling upgrades, and so many great combos with explosive rounds! I had a sniper that could punch a hole through a colossus... or take out any bunched up troops. Basically all the fun I was having came from strategies I came up with during the game, stuff that wasn't hand fed to me like the cover system, health recharge, and easy abilities. The weapon upgrades are all mostly increased damage.. and I can use any method I want to take out enemies without much of a change. As you can see... I like the intricacies far better than streamlined gameplay.

I agree! but right now I am just pissed that the packers have dropped two touchdown worthy passes. Luckily they have loads of turnovers in their favor EDIT: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO thanks to everyone who participated, congratz to: Mistress Duck , Morbo , Cat, Mage17, ME!

I am just here to escape this awful half time show. Glad Slash and Usher came in to make it suck less... but whatever.... Anyways keep it up GB. 21 to 10 at the half. Its closer than I hoped, but with Aaron Rodgers playing like he is I know they can do it. ~Hi Gome, enjoy the massive amounts of alien movies!

Whaaat? why say that to the poor Duck! Bad kitty!

[quote name='James' timestamp='1296429066' post='704552'] [font="Palatino Linotype"]The combat is what holds it together for me, even though it can feel a bit stilted at times (apparently the combat is a lot better in ME2, so we'll see how that goes). [/font] [/quote] I totally disagree with that claim. ME2 may be a better shooter, (they added good gun control, a self replenishing health system like most of the current brands, and a cover system) but they lost all the originality they once had. The strategy element in combat, finding the best team and set of powers for you becomes much less important (if it even exists... I submit that it does not) and you can punch Krogans to death!!! in the first game I was never more afraid than when a Krogan got close.

TODAY IS THE DAY! Get pumped and get routing! If I see anyone changing there post I will punch them in the head too!

Hey guys! On my last post I left Elena In the Craft powers training room. I had a few Ideas you guys can use if you want to continue directly from the end of my post, but I haven't thought of anything concrete yet so PM me and feel free to expand on it if you wish. Its not the only option though. If you want you guys can just time jump to the next portion. I described quite a bit of the training and got through most aspects of it, so you could simply state they had trained for days and moved on to the next target. If you do Time jump, I will go back to the training eventually myself. Anyways have fun and help keep this thing going!