James

[color=#335062]Well, this is obviously very disappointing news. This is the first I've heard about it. We have moved OtakuBoards to theOtaku.com's server, because theOtaku.com has been consistently stable...whereas OB has encountered many problems due specifically to its hosts. Having said that, I haven't spoken to Adam yet. It's possible that the downtime was due to work on Version Next, because what we're adding is quite fundamentally new...and it's all database driven. I don't know if that's the right explanation, but it's just a possibility. Hopefully this will be a very rare problem. OtakuBoards should be as stable as theOtaku.com (and if theOtaku went down too, then this is a bit more understandable). But, given that theOtaku is usually highly stable, I'm hoping that this problem won't occur regularly. At the moment I only know as much as you guys do, so I don't really have any answers. I'll talk to Adam though, and get him to view this thread. He might know what the situation is.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Sephiroth [/i] [B] I have been on OB for a very long time, I know how things work, it is you guys who are in the wrong And while I'm at it K.K.C, your signature is far too long and I recommend that you shorten it Thank You [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#335062]I'm sorry Seph, but the other member is correct. You should have used a spoiler tag, as you revealed a major plot element in the series. People should be using spoiler tags in ALL anime forums on OtakuBoards, whenever they're revealing something significant (especially if it's known that the thread is being written by people who haven't seen the entire series, which is obvious based on the discussion here). So, that's just something that everyone should be cautious about, basically. And I would really appreciate no "playing mod" on the part of members. I respectfully remind you, as a friend, of the policies that OB has indeed had for a long time. ^_^ Anyway, regarding the thread... [spoiler]There was some suggestion that Subaru and Tsukasa are "lovers" in real life, or something of the sort. At least, in the Japanese series. I have no way to substantiate this, because I've not seen the entire series...but there are a few scenes that point to this possibility, in my opinion. Weird, eh?[/spoiler][/color]

[color=#335062]Wow, Samurai Pizza Cats. ^_^;; It's the favourite anime series that I know nothing about! Seriously, I've forgotten just about everything. But I remember that I loved it. And I remember the cool character designs, too. *sighs* Ahh, the good ol' days. It would be great to buy the full set of episodes on DVD...[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by The Majin [/i] [B]My first ever anime was Samurai Pizza cats doesn't anyone remember this show??? man i loved those cats so much but now the only thing i got of them is their theme song whateva happened to them they like disappeared hardley a trace of them. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#335062]Was that even an anime? Hm, my memories of it are very vague. But I remember that it was one of my favourites years ago. It's hard to say what my first experience with anime was. Maybe Transformers or Teknoman. *shrug*[/color]

[color=#335062]Hm...well, apart from the total ignorance I've seen in some posts (ie: removal of gay rights and the US being imperalist), I'll throw my imaginery policies into the pot. ~_^ If I were President, I would... 1) Wipe clean all debt from poor countries. 2) Take the amount of money spent on AIDS medication in Africa, and increase it ten fold or more. 3) Increase all money spent on medical research by significant amounts. 4) Inject thousands of construction workers and infrastructure specialists into Iraq to get that country back on its feet sooner rather than later. 5) Slap some kind of economic sanctions on Japan for its continual and offensive abuse of anti-whaling treaties. Or at the very least, I'd call a spade a spade and reveal Japan's activities infront of the UN. That's all I can think of at the moment. Not much, I guess. ~_^ Just a few things I thought of when I read this thread. Oh and...those of you who think that the President has god-like powers are way off the mark. It shows you don't know much about US politics or politics in general. If the President had the kind of power that some suggest, America would be a dictatorship and not a democracy. As it stands, there are [i]many[/i] checks and balances, designed to "filter" Administration policy.[/color]

[color=#335062]I don't know what to say about this, really. I don't have any problem with sex in music. And I'm the last person to tell you that music is problematic based on that. But we do have to bear in mind that groups like S-Club 7 are based [i]entirely[/i] on entertaining kids. That's what their whole image and music is based around. Having said that, it's possible that most kids simply won't get the message of what they're saying. I think it's fair to say that generally, these songs are about a melody...not really about a particular lyrical message, if that makes sense. Kids listen to this so they can dance; they mostly don't care about or notice the sexual aspects to the songs. Even if they hear "I want your sexuality", I doubt they really think about what it means. They just say it because it rhymes or whatever.[/color]

[color=#335062]mirai_torankusu, I have to applaud you. This is one of [i]the[/i] most intelligent and well-conceived gaming threads we've ever had. I'm so pleased that you've stuck around and added so much to the variety in these forums. You're now one of my favourite newbies. lol Basically, yes, competition is good. Competition is what brought about the GameCube. It's what taught Nintendo a few valuable lessons -- not about making games, but about how the business of games is changing. And I think we're now seeing the benefits of that. Competition is what killed Sega's hardware business, also. But perhaps they're in a better place now. More financially viable (though admittedly clawing their way back) and now making games on a broad array of consoles. Surely that's a win-win situation. I could go on, but I have a fever right now...so I'll stop here. lol[/color]

[color=#335062]The Impact continued along the broken, cracked highway. The traffic wasn't very heavy, though the odd hovercar hurtled past every few minutes. Most of the civilians cars that passed appeared to slip around the Impact quickly -- perhaps the people inside were guilty, and felt uncomfortable being so close to a Maverick Hunter vehicle. And certainly, the Impact was hard to miss. Its enormous shape and imposing gun emplacements gave it significant presence. And of course, the Maverick Hunters seal was visible on its outer panels. The weather outside was getting very warm. The Impact's environment sensors indicated a temperature of over 45 degrees celsius. But the hunters didn't feel a thing, thanks to their climate controlled blood. And thankfully, the interior cabins of the Impact were serene -- clean, cool and quiet. Even when large trade convoys passed by in the next lane, it was difficult to hear their great fusion engines from inside the Impact. Demos began to relax. He'd been on edge since they'd exited Hunter HQ. He was worried about something going wrong, no doubt. And although they were not in a squad now, and therefore had no designated squad leader, Demos still felt a sense of responsibility. He had been asked by a human commander to have that responsibility and he had taken that seriously, despite the apparent betrayal at the hands of Duke and others. Even Demos, a highly emotional reploid, was still fundamentally a machine. He was highly developed, but like Proteus, he couldn't escape his most basic thoughts and feelings. The speakers crackled to life once more, a little louder than last time. [i]"I'm close by! Stop the vehicle so I can get in!"[/i] The voice was that of Havoc. It sounded like he was running, but Proteus couldn't be sure. Demos adjusted his headset and spoke into the microphone. "Yeah, sure. We'll stop on the service lane here...if we can fit," he said. And with that, Demos tilted the Impact's twin flight sticks to the left. The vehicle's massive bulk effortlessly floated across the highway and settled in the service lane. But it continued to hover. Demos wasn't confident enough to disengage the engines. Proteus and Iota both stood up from their chairs and walked down the Impact's central hallway, toward the rear storage cabin. The rear storage cabin ended at the Impact's rear, where two giant hydraulic doors were positioned. Proteus pressed a red button on the wall nearby and with a loud whirring sound, the entire rear wall opened up. The highway outside was slightly difficult to see, due to the continual sandy gusts of wind. But it didn't take long for Proteus and Iota to see movement nearby. It definitely looked like a moving figure, but neither could be sure. "Hm, better be prepared," said Proteus as he briefly glanced in Iota's direction. Iota reached into her holsters and pulled out both guns. She aimed at the open space toward the highway, concentrating intently on the movement ahead. But sure enough, they had nothing to worry about. A slightly tattered-looking reploid dashed through the dusty gale and clanked his way along the metallic ramp at the rear of the Impact. He paused for a moment and then suddenly fell forward, hitting the ground with a loud "clunk". "Quick, close the door," said Proteus. Iota nodded and re-holstered her weapons. She ran over to the button and pushed it, causing the doors to fold shut once more. Proteus knelt down by Havoc's side and held an open palm just over his titanium skin. He ran his palm up and down over Havoc's body, his eyes closed...[/color] [color=blue] [b]Vital Signs:[/b] Positive [b]Heart Rate:[/b] Stable [b]Outer Structural Damage:[/b] 18.7% Scanning INN (Inner Neural Network)... ...done. Network stable, but protoneurone levels are dangerously low. Scanning... ...Protoneurone levels at 12%. A 15% protoneurone level is considered unacceptable for combat functions. Please repleneish protoneurone levels at the nearest Maverick Hunter HQ repair station. [/color] [color=#335062]Proteus sighed. Iota walked over to him and knelt down beside Havoc. "Is he alright?" Proteus nodded slowly. "Yes, he's alive. His body has taken a beating, but it's okay. The main problem is that his protoneurone levels are running low. Perhaps there was a leak at some point, if any parts of his body were punctured by something. I can't see a puncture wound, but I need more time to check him out." Proteus carefully slid an arm around Havoc and lifted him to his feet. Iota walked around to his other side and held him up. "What are his protoneurone levels?" she asked. "They're at 12%. Critically low. It means that his brain is unable to communicate effectively with his synthetic muscles. His blood also seems to be slightly contaminated with iron. We'll have to remove it, cleanse it, and then reinsert it. It shouldn't be a big job though," said Proteus. Iota and Proteus carefully walked Havoc down the hallway and into a small white room near the command center. The room was filled with various medical tools, though none were suitable for human beings. They were all reploid-based tools. An odd robot sat in the corner of the room. It looked somewhat like the robots that are used to build cars, but smaller. It consisted of a single arm with several pincers on the end, of various sizes. Some were tiny and delicate; they were used for keyhole surgery. And others were larger, used for titanium cutting operations and neural network restoration. Proteus took Havoc in both arms and lay him on the surgical table in the center of the room. As soon as he did so, the medic robot's plasma screen blinked to life, as a small face appeared on it. "Hello," it said in a monotone mechanical voice. "Hello," replied Proteus. "Do you require my assistance?" asked the medic. Proteus nodded. "Yes, I need to replace this model's protoneurone liquid," he said. The medic approached the surgical table. It was suspended from the ceiling by several cords, which were also used to position it in precise locations around the room. The ceiling itself contained a very tight metallic grid, which allowed the medic to position itself in any location and at any elevation. This was particularly useful for delicate reploid surgery. The medic robot's rear plate opened up and another three hydraulic arms with various sized pincers emerged. They curled around over the robot's body and began running their way along Havoc's titanium skin. At several points, they paused and began to glow. They then emitted tiny bolts of plasma energy directly into the skin, which was used to receive more detailed technical analysis of the subject. "You will be okay to do this on your own?" asked Proteus. The face on the plasma screen smiled. "Yes, these operations are all part of my function. But I do request that you check on my progress every fifteen minutes, to ensure that the procedure is being performed to your specifications," said the medic. Proteus smiled and exited the room. He re-entered the command center, where Iota and Demos were running their fingers over various plasma touch screens, as the Impact began to navigate its way toward Xen. "How close are we?" asked Proteus, as he sat down. "Pretty close," replied Demos," only another half hour before we exit the highway and reach the city limits." Demos continued to focus his attention on the screen in front. "How's Havoc?" he asked in quieter tone. "Havoc is okay. The medic is performing some work on him now; just replenishing his protoneurone and repairing structural damage. He'll be up and around by the time we reach Xen," said Proteus confidently. Demos felt reassured. "Oh...that's good news," he said.[/color]

[color=#335062]I don't want to regulate discussion to that point. In my view, that's going a bit too far. Complaining about this is a bit ridiculous, really. It's a question being free to choose what you want to discuss. If you don't want to discuss/read about love threads or love advice stuff, you don't have to click on those threads. Ignore them. If you think there are too many, make your own thread that is about something [i]you[/i] are interested in. I don't want to get [i]too[/i] restrictive in terms of how we go about discussing every single subject and such. As far as having its own forum...I don't think it's necessary. Most of these threads tend to run themselves into the ground pretty soon anyway -- the person gets the advice they are looking for and that's that. So I'd basically say, don't worry about it. If you want alternative discussions, I encourage you to make your own threads.[/color]

[color=#335062]Given that OtakuBoards adheres to the law (and to certain guidelines of our own), I don't think it's appropriate to discuss downloading software illegally. I'm just saying that as a general rule, rather than specifically to anyone here. [/color]

[color=#335062]Don't listen to anyone when they talk about "fancy graphics programs". They aren't talking as a designer. MS Paint is fine, depending on what you want to do. Based on this work you've shown here, you're pretty darn good at MS Paint. Better than most people. So don't worry about other programs. Do what you're comfortable with. And then, when you can afford it, maybe you can buy something like Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop and you can expand your skills further. Very nice banner. ^_^[/color]

[color=#335062]Well, I've approved a couple of people, but they haven't gotten back to me yet. I still have to check through my mail messages, which I'll probably do tomorrow (you wouldn't believe how much crap I receive...blah). So yeah, hopefully I can get on top of it when I've got the time.[/color]

[color=#335062]Okay, come on guys...keep this on topic. Let's simply address the points brought up by the thread creator, rather than moving off onto unrelated tangents.[/color]

[color=#335062]After approximately an hour of travel, the Impact began to reach the city outskirts. The outskirts of Novus Concordia ended abruptly and, unlike most of the world's large cities, it didn't consist of ghettos and dark alleyways. Rather, the outer edge of Novus Concordia's "center gap" (as it was known, due to the fact that it was essentially a large desert in the [i]middle[/i] of the continent-sized city) contained an impressive series of stone walls. At the top of the walls, some of the most expensive housing estates could be seen. This area was prime land -- a great view of the massive desert beyond and the city behind. Several roadways snaked their way past these enormous stone walls and criss-crossed through the desert, to other sides of Novus Concordia. Of course, unless one owned a plasma-engined vehicle, the massive distance (thousands of kilometers) between each entry gate was significant. And it took over a week for poorer classes to travel, which is why the vast bulk of travellers were middle-class and rich. This is also why the Desert Highways were known for one thing; highway robbery. It was rampant in the desert, as the ALED had no presence there. Novus Concordia officials deemed the area "too hostile" to "waste money" on. The desert was also home to a large city (though small by Novus Concordia standards), called [i]Xen[/i]. Xen was a city with more than twice the number of jails than Novus Concordia itself. There was one good reason for this; the desert was Novus Concordia's dumping ground. Prisoners and even ex-prisoners were often sent to Xen. As a result, Xen became little more than a run-down industrial wasteland. Still, for many it was a peaceful place -- very little authority to restrict one's life. This was probably why Warlock was so attracted to it. He certainly wasn't a criminal, though he'd been labeled one before (due to the historical airstrike incident in years past). Nonetheless, he was a good natured reploid who lived a very human existence. As the Impact began to sail its way over the desert highway, Proteus sat back in his chair and pondered what life in Xen must be like. Proteus himself had always been one to follow orders. And he'd always done so obediently, without ever questioning the humans who were often responsible for commanding him. Even now, that was still a part of his design. And he couldn't escape it. Yet, for the first time ever, he had strong doubts about humanity in general. Dr. Karman's betrayal and the problems surrounding Duke. Proteus could never understand why Warlock would be satisfied with a life of exile, but now Proteus himself began to see things from Warlock's eyes, to some extent. Betrayal at the hand of man. A small, pulsating dot appeared on the wrap-around navigation screen that Demos was staring into intently. And soon, a soft static echoed throughout the cabin. "It's Havoc," said Demos, "Iota, can you lock onto his position and open a connection from here?" Iota fiddled with various buttons on the communications display and turned to Demos. "Yeah, go ahead. You can talk now," she said. "Havoc, this is Demos. I'm going to send you our location; we'll slow down and let you catch up," said Demos. The audio crackled momentarily and then a voice was heard. [i]"Yeah, sure. I'm on my way."[/i] Proteus stood up and walked toward the cabin's exit hatch. "Demos, I'm just going to prepare the Service Center out back, incase Havoc needs any repairs," he said. Demos didn't turn around, but nodded in approval, his attention still focused on the holographic screen in front of him.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Shy [/i] [B][size=1]I'm both relieved and distraught by lack of appearances in this thread...[color=white][i]worst post ever![/i][/color] -Shy[/size] [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#335062]If I wasn't in a relationship, I'd ask you out on a date. There you go. Now you've got Sara, Asuki and Jeh all in the same boat. That's not too bad. ~_^ As far as other couples go... I want to see Juu and Mei go on a date. Why? Because the idea of putting two cookie-stealers together is interesting. There aren't enough cookies in the entire world for one date between those two. :smirk: [/color]

[color=#335062]Well, I think that this Ki/Chi is something that is just another explanation/word for what might already exist. I mean, I read an article in the Reader's Digest about monks in Tibet who get into very deep prayer. Doctors studied their brain activity when they were in prayer and found that very deep prayer induced a state of semi-hypnosis, which brought about an increased chemical activity in certain portions of the brain (the portions that govern perception and whatnot). And so, there is the theory that when people are in a very deep state of prayer or meditation, they can simply be very relaxed...or they can even hallucinate imgery or sounds. So, I think this might be something similar. I can't say I've experienced something exactly like this, but I definitely know that different levels of stress/relief affect my perception on the world around me.[/color]

[color=#335062]My advice to you is going to be simple. Do what you think is best for you personally. If you can't decide, don't. Nobody should be forcing you to decide on something as personal as religion. Explore your options. And if you find nothing at all that interests you, maybe you should consider not being "religious" but still "spiritual", if that makes sense. I don't know. I'm not religious for a large number of reasons (ie: social, political, ideological, factual, and so on). But that's me. And everybody is a unique individual. In my view, choosing religion is like choosing a political party or something akin to that. You aren't necessarily just choosing something because everyone else is...or choosing it for some other purpose (though many do). You're choosing it because it speaks to you in a meaningful and profound way. You're choosing it because, as its very core, you are in-line with the philosophies that it is based upon. So before you do anything, understand [i]what[/i] your exact problem is and work out [i]why[/i] you even want to choose a religion at all. Is it just because you want to belong, or is it because you really have a heartfelt desire for a philosophical guidance in your life? These are things you must consider before you take the plunge, so to speak. And even if you do take the plunge and decide that it's not right for you...nobody is forcing you to stay in one position. You can always change your mind. I know I'm not saying anything that you probably haven't heard before, but I'm not going to sit here and advertise my belief system...I'm not going to throw a poster on the wall and say "vote for this!" Rather, I'm putting the decision in your hands. I guess I'm just trying to bring up some ideas that you might want to consider before you make [i]any[/i] decision of this kind. EDIT: Regarding your story about how you became interested in Wicca...it sounds to me like you were doing it as a "fun" thing between friends. That's fine, but I think it's important to understand the difference between something that is "cool" and something that is a lifelong philosophy. So, it seems to me that maybe you're just wanting to choose a religion for similar reasons to choosing Wicca...not necessarily because it speaks to you on a deeper level, but because it's a desire to belong to a religion or something. In my view, you won't find any satisfaction from religion if this is your guide to making the choice. Maybe you shouldn't actively seek out any religious enlightenment. Maybe you should wait until it comes to you -- until you really notice something that grabs you like nothing has before. If you force it, maybe it won't be right. *shrug*[/color]

[color=#335062]Amibasuki is right. It's better to just bite the bullet sometimes and ask directly. I know it's hard. I've done it before myself. But if you're honest...and approachable...you can do it without embarassing yourself (even if he says no). So, good luck. ^_^[/color]

[color=#335062]Yeah, it's interesting that Captain Falcon is a relatively old character (at least compared to characters like Yoshi and such), yet he's never really been explored. It might set a catalyst, to actually take a look into his persona a little more and such. [/color]

[color=#335062]The character designs aren't too different to what they've had before. They've always been weird/colorful/varied. Interestingly, if you watch the E3 video, you'll notice an FMV where Captain Falcon gets out of his car and tries to attack another guy who comes up beside him. So it seems like there's more of a story going on here, which may or may not add to the overall game. Either way, it looks gorgeous. Track designs are amazing and the game overall is looking pretty polished. I can't wait for its release.[/color]

[color=#335062]The font is called "Aston F1".[/color]

[color=#335062]Okay, I'm bumping this up and making it sticky. I am in need of contributors. Let me give you a list of details. [b]Requirements[/b] You'll need to submit an email application to [email][email protected][/email] and in it, you will need to include some sort of writing sample (it can even be an RPG post of yours at OtakuBoards). The sample can be about anything and it can be of any length (but not too long, please). The aim is simply to demonstrate your English skills. And that's another point; English skills. They have to be very, very good. They need to match (or come close to) the quality that the site currently maintains. [b]Work Requirements[/b] The contributor will be writing various articles, including episode summaries, general articles (such as analysis pieces) and other articles (like character profiles, environment descriptions and stuff like that -- some of it will be short fact finding, etc). I would expect the contributor to submit around one article per week. Maybe more if the articles are small. And that's about it. If there are any further questions, please use the thread here.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by juna [/i] [B]So, one's control over one's life runs to the extent of the riches one hold's? O_o I don't know if I would agree with that or not, but I can see where you are coming from. However, I believe the thread is posing the question; "Free will, Is there such a thing?" [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#335062]Well, I guess I should explain my thought process on it. Yeah, we're talking about free will. And I'm saying that yes, humans have free will. So when you are able to make choices, the next question is to what extent those choices affect your own life and the life of others. Your financial freedom plays a major role in terms of what choices you are able to make in the first place. Thus, we're still talking about control of one's life and control that influences others. ;) [/color]

[color=#335062]Hehe, Engel is somewhat slow...but I think it's pretty heavy. It's certainly heavy if you read the lyrics. ~_^ Du Haste was really the popular song. It was the track that the most people liked. I didn't mind it, but I found it a bit repetitive. Not bad, but not a favorite. Engel is just more edgy and experimental, which I like. It's got a really distinctive and unique sound. But yeah, Rammstein is generally a pretty unique band. There is a [i]lot[/i] of recycled junk out there, when it comes to rock. I like the fact that Rammstein have embraced the computer, rather than cynically reject it.[/color]

[color=#335062]I didn't like MGS2 either. Well, that's not entirely true...I liked the actual game for the most part, but some story elements in MGS2 were a bit silly (ie: the love story situation). It was too overplayed. But the actual game was pretty good, though nothing particularly unique came up. The thing I am most concerned about is variety. I liked the atmosphere of MGS as compared to MGS2. There was more variety in the levels (if you take the game's environments in their entirety) and generally speaking, I think that there was a greater intensity to the design in MGS. The jungle has the potential to be highly repetitive and confusing. So, that's my concern with a jungle setting. But having said that, I'm reserving judgement until I play the game for myself. I honestly have no doubt that Konami will do justice to a jungle scenario, I'm just pointing out a potential concern (and the fact that, no matter how good the game, it might be possible that I prefer the environments on one of the other MGS games).[/color]