Semjaza

It's looking really nice, actually. I'm kind of saddened because you beat me to the punch, so to speak. I had an idea for something surprisingly similar to this months back, but it was to be more about music, movies and games than actual anime. Your seems more along the lines of something that would work in PDFs though, where as mine was more of a magazine made in HTML heh. I know there are so called online magazines now, but the idea was rather different. It's hard to explain I guess. James showed interest, but it never got off the ground. Too many other things happened lol. So, my point is that I'm glad to see that someone has the motivation to go through with such a time consuming idea. I think, in the end, it could be rather rewarding despite the heavy involvement. Good luck.

Well, they only have like one real available CD (and a bunch of demos and EPs, as I know they were around for years prior to that) so that's kind of expected. I'm not a fan... but you might want to check out Lacuna Coil or Curve. They're somewhat similar bands that have been doing a variation of that sound for years and years.

I'm a Leo... you should redo that one until you like it and send it to me. Yes. Unlike the others, that one just doesn't have anything to it that makes me think of Leo or lions. Anyway, these are are lovely. I quite like a few of them. Aries in particular. They all are obviously your work too. I think if I saw these anywhere I'd know you did them thanks to your style heh.

I was playing this in my car a week or so back... I was in a parking lot waiting for my girlfriend to get off of work so I could drive her home. Well, when she came to open the door, I pretty much instinctively was in a rush to turn the GBA SP off. Unforunately I turned it off in the middle of a save. The next time I started the game up, all my saves were gone. So I restarted... I'm just past the Bean Bean Sewers again lol.

I'm not sure what you're meaning by this "So, after a while, the worst happens. The school loses it's accreditation and shuts down. When that happens, I will most likely have graduated. So that means that my mother, brother, and I will have to re-earn our high-school diploma." If you graduate before this minimum thing happens, your diploma isn't suddenly void. When you graduate, the school will most likely still be accredited. It isn't repealed for the entire history of the school. It's not retroactive. The same with your mother. I'm assuming she went to the same highschool as a teenager as you are currently? She graduated before this idea/law even existed. She wouldn't legally, from what I understand (because it seems like the Grandfather Clause would apply to this), even be held under that.

Not as far as I know, but I was just curious heh. That's all. I think the knives would look quite a bit better if you did get that reflection to work, personally. I don't think they're as much of an issue as the blood, however.

Well, my father died at a rather early point in my life. I was around seven or eight years old, I'd say. The idea of it all was rather strange. Yeah, you expect your parents to generally die before you do, but not at that stage in your life. I was first told of my dad's death by a family friend who was staying over at the time. I think his name was John, but we all just called him "Low Rider". I've been in a biker family all my life, so nicknames were really commonplace... as odd as they may sound to others. I think this kind of added to the surreal quality it all had. A guy I basically see once every few years is telling me my dad is gone. My mom left the house to talk to the police or whomever was involved, so there was really no one else who could have told me. I wound up sitting in the bathroom. I just sat there. I didn't cry. I didn't really think about anything other than "How could this even be true?" Obviously it was. I guess I was in some sort of denial, but I couldn't have realized it at the time. The funeral didn't help either. It, in and of itself, really offered nothing for me. I walked up to the casket and touched my dad's face... my hand was pulled away rather quickly though. That was basically the end of it. I sat there, yet again. What I've never understood is the banquet that followed. It was either after the funeral or the wake, but I cannot remember. We were in a massive hall with a huge amount of people. In retrospect, I guess it's supposed to signify moving on and celebrating his life, even after death. At the time, it just seemed like a big party and I just didn't like the idea of it. As for the graves, Chicago no longer allows impressive ones. I don't know about the rest of the world, but here you're basically forced to get these flat, stone "plaques". The reason is because the groundskeeper can basically just run the lawnmower over them instead of having to dodge huge monuments. It's all about the money, as usual. As for death itself, I don't concern myself over it. I figure that when I go, I go. I'm not going to concern myself over something that is inevitable... especially when I'm having a hard enough time with my actual life. That's not to say I want to die or anything, I'm just not scared or worried about it. I know this opinion bothers a lot of people. Specifically those who really care about you. However, I think that when someone dies, there really should be some sort of service. No, it's not about dying or caskets or embalming or what have you. It's about remembering this person with a group of people who also felt strongly about the deceased... something you most likely won't have a chance to do again. You can always think about it yourself or talk to some close people in your life about it... but you're not really going to have that sense of community around it all. You're not going to see this person in this state ever again either. After this day, the body will be in the ground and you'll never again be able to see the finality of it all. The fact that this is real and irreversible. I think this is rather important in ending things for people. I think that in and of itself can help you get over it more than people realize. The idea that others cared for this person enough to come and that they're all also striken by this. Sure, the funeral itself may not help some people, but the people there sure can. I think that you may realize more about this person thanks to this than you would have simply moping in a corner alone. You're thinking too logically about this. It also seems like more of an attempt to close yourself off from actual emotions and feelings. I know you like to think you're the definition of apathetic sometimes, but you're not heh. Nothing good results from that.

I'm not stroking mine either... I mean, it's cool that it worked for you. I'm just trying to make the point that it simply doesn't work for every last case. I am assuming that you originally read this at Techtv.com since you now say you got it off a website (although originally you said it was from your friend who used this dozens of times...?), and even they don't claim it will always work. I have a feeling the issue with my brothers' PS2 can be addressed by fixing those voltage screws I mentioned earlier. However, that doesn't mean my PS2 is simply "broken"... it still gets that lame Disc Read Error in the Browser. So obviously, there can be other issues. Anyway, I'm done. I apologize for what was here earlier, but I guess we're both allowed our time to be annoyed heh. Since I know you read it, I figured I might as well just take it down and forget it. The past is history, so they say.

What in the world are you talking about? This is a forum where people talk about other people's posts. If anyone came in here and said MS could teach any company about taking care of costumers, I'd say the same thing. Should I just ignore your posts so you can feel better about yourself? They have no history of it... from Xbox or their history in the PC world. Nevermind the fact that the PS2 has been around longer than the Xbox or that it's userbase is several times larger. Of course there would be more complaints. Do you even know what bias is? I'm biased because I don't agree with you? Give me a break. Get over yourself. It's not like you comparing your PS2 to your Xbox reflects the entire market as a whole and covers all of MS's business practices and customer relations.

You're being really full of yourself over this. Stop stroking your ego with your apparent exact knowledge of the problem. DREs are caused by many issues, how much more must I say to prove it? There isn't one catch-all answer like you seem to think. My brothers' PS2 has been screwing up for about two weeks now. Eventually it stopped reading DVD discs altogether, but it still reads CDs no problem. I've tried every one of the stupid tricks in here to get those discs to work, even ones not listed like that tape trick. I've not bothered with adjusting the voltage via the screws, as I don't want to burn the laser out and screw their chances of a free repair. Since you posted your idea, I figured what the hell. I unscrewed it, dug out a tiny screwdriver to undo the DVD/CD box and did as you said. I closed it all up and put in Disgaea, Rachet and Clank 2 and Jak II. Guess what? None of them worked. What did I get? A Disc Read Error. Forgive me for wanting to check it out considering how adamant you are about it supposedly working. Since I bothered, I must be a liar... nevermind the fact that I run this section, have a good reputation here and have no history of lying in the past. You are being ridiculous. The issues I've brought up are directly related to a DRE considering they [i]make the message come up in the Browser in the first place[/i]. Whether or not that was the problem with the apparently infinite number of PS2s your friend has fixed is one thing, but it obviously doesn't cover every last DRE error. I don't know why you seem to think I'm just coming after you to prove you wrong. Maybe your fix does work in some cases, but it definitely doesn't in all of them. If it doesn't work for me, that means my PS2 is just "broken" and my the DRE text I'm getting is just in my imagination? Same with Heaven's Cloud? Apparently we're just liars.

It looks good. I like the way it kind of looks like a cheap, grainy camera shot. The blood is definitely an issue though. It stands out so much, I think mostly because it's just one solid color. The knife looks a little odd too. And is it just me, or are you posting this elsewhere too? There seems to be an inordinate amount of Guests viewing this picture at any given time lol.

Sara, I notice you always totally ignore fingers on hands... Is this just a style decision or are you just not good at drawing full hands? I know I definitely stink at it, takes me a lot of work heh. I'm just curious. Anyway, I like the ideas presented by the black and white girl. Particularly the faux-angelic elements. I think that was pulled off really well. The feet do look out of place though heh.

I find some of the ideas presented in here rather strange. How can someone complain about "new" members posting a new topic for each piece of art, when I see so many others who have been here for awhile do the same? I'm not one to name names in general, but many established members posted threads that contain nothing but a single piece of art. I can understand it getting out of control in some cases with other members, but I've never noticed it being that much of a problem. I've seen very few cases (if any) where a new person makes like ten threads in a row for each piece of their work, so I don't know what this is referring to anyway. The thread wouldn't even be pushed off the page by that point... although I do admit that some people seemingly only look at the top 10 or so threads and that's it. Most people here at OB cannot even really manage to make a great piece of graphics work, and they know it. Some people are also far better at critiqueing than others. I mean, I may see a piece of art in here... but unless I find it incredibly bad or incredibly good, what am I going to say? "Keep practicing!"? Really, I don't think a bunch of spammy posts with little value to them would make anyone feel any better about people looking at their graphics. I generally only post in graphics threads where I feel something new or interesting has been done. Quite frankly, I have [i]zero[/i] interest in threads that deal with abstract pieces that generally just look like a 3D mess with a photo placed over it. So why would I post in these threads? There's really no reason for me to. I look at a graphic and if it doesn't appeal to me, I'm not going to bother saying something. Really, what would I say anyway? That I am just not into the style? I can't say this in every other thread lol. By the same token, should I and everyone post in every other thread we look at just so the original poster feels better about their topic creating ability? I only post in threads that interest me and I'll only know that they interest me if I [i]view[/i] them in the first place. I've done threads on websites I've done and I barely got any replies either. I think wrist cutter and baron samedi were the only ones that ever bothered on a semi-regular basis. I wasn't about to get upset over it all though. It seemed more like people just didn't want to go to another site to view my stuff when they're already on OB. Laziness, I guess. I valued the few really thoughtful posts I've gotten moreso than I would have valued 10 posts kissing my ***. I mean, maybe the fact that people aren't replying is not a sign that they're dumb or rude. Maybe it's a sign that people are tiring of all this similar art work (as good as it may be, the same idea being refined isn't appealing after awhile). I don't want to sound like a jerk by saying that, but I think that's a good portion of the problem. For example, I think hittokiri's web site designs are far more worth commenting on than more banners... or that kenji's (kaisuke) graffiti style banners are more worth a comment than his past 3D-ish abstract ones. People just need a change, I guess. Edit -- I added in some extra stuff for clarification.

Well, considering you figured out how to post a New Topic, I'd have to say you could figure out how to reply to one as well. There is already a thread on The Last Samurai. Humorously, it's right below yours. If you can't manage to see it still, just click on this: [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34339]The Last Samurai[/url]. Also, I suggest you read the rules and posting FAQ by clicking [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=69]here[/url]. So, that said, this thread is dead.

I'm bored, so I'm going to make a list of games. I mentioned a couple before, so I'm sorry... but I'll add more detail to them. [B]Clash at Demonhead (NES) -- [/B]This is one of my favorite, if not the favorite, NES games I've ever had the pleasure of owning. I liked it so much that the character I played in Shy's Don't Shoot the Goombas was Bang. He just happens to be the main character. It was put out by the now largely forgotten Vik Tokai (which was never known for great games as it was). It just had a great mix of action, RPG elements and adventure. You had to go around a map visiting different locales, sometimes a few times to get all the information you needed. You learned magic, you could buy all sorts of weapon and equipment, etc. The game looked great and sounded great too. The story was beyond absurd, really. That's what made it so fun. People died, others were posessed by demons and who knows what else. I absolutely loved it. [B]Battle of Olympus (NES) -- [/B]This was a Zelda II clone. From what I can tell, it was actually put out in the time between the US and Japanese releases of Zelda II. There are many graphics that are incredibly similar. I just feel this is the better game out of the two. It took Zelda II's item management ideas to a whole new level. The idea of towns was more evolved, the battles were far more tough and the game just seemed bigger. I had a great time with it. [B]Gitaroo Man (PS2) -- [/B]Considering how fast this dropped to $20, I have to assume it didn't do so hot. It got average to great reviews, depending on the publication though. What you have here is really the best music game there is outside of the Frequency and Amplitude games. I don't even really know how to explain how to play it, but it's definitely like nothing else out there right now. What makes it so cool is the vast array of music genres in the game and its quirkiness. The game is very, very Japanese, that's for sure. [B]Frequency (PS2) --[/B] I guess to a less extent Amplitude as well. From what I can tell, neither of these did very well. I got Frequency for like $20 three weeks after it came out. It never enjoyed the level of success it deserved. Best music game there is, in my opinion. [B]Bomberman Generations (GameCube)[/B] -- The single player mode in this game is decent, but not the greatest. I still had fun with it, as it was well done and surprisingly clever. The multiplayer modes rock though. If you can find this super cheap, I'd pick it up for those alone. [B]F-Zero GX (GC) --[/B] I don't know how "underrated" this game is, but I do know for a fact that it is not selling so well compared to most Nintendo games. I don't think it really even made a dent in the charts. It deserves far more because, in my opinion, it's one of the best games on the system. The amount of new ideas added to this game is pretty substantial... and while the Story Mode is rather ridiculous, it's still fun. I played this game to death. [B]Skygunner (PS2) --[/B] I think a lot of people at OB would love this game. It was made by a Sony team, but published in the US by Atlus. Atlus being cool even allows you to choose between English and Japanese music and dialogue. Yay. Anyway, it's really cool anime-influenced airplane shooter. It's somewhere between a realistic approach and an arcade game. Worth picking up if you see it for cheap somewhere. I'll add more later heh.

The button layout is exactly the same in both games. They didn't change it. I only use the C-stick downward motion for bows and slingshots... it's kind of like you're pulling it back. Of course, since it doesn't know how far you pulled it, it is hard to get used to heh.

The last company that can teach Sony (or anyone for that matter) about consumer respect is Microsoft lol. There's been so many problems with Xboxes on the consumer level and MS isn't any more quick or nice about fixing them than Sony is.

If you think that's is the ONLY reason a PS2 will not play a disc, you're really mistaken. Obviously I read your post or I wouldn't even have been able to mention your wheel idea like I did. What did I say that shows I didn't read your post anyway? The fact that I don't totally agree with it? lol Okay, fine, this may be a problem a good deal of the time. But what about the people who have the voltage in their PS2 screwed up causing the lens not to function properly? What about the people whose lens got unfocused a slight bit, causing them not to read certain types of discs (or even any discs)? This would do literally nothing to help. There's a hell of a lot more to it than you're willing to believe and I don't believe for a second that you've somehow stumbled on a miracle cure that fixes every last issue a PS2 DRE can have. There's probably people here who still turn their PS2 off every time they're done with a game by flicking that switch in the back... I doubt those people could be trusted to open the PS2, then open the box around the DVD/CD drive and so forth. Edit -- By the way I tried this on my brother's PS2 which stopped reading DVDs about a week ago (several OB people can back me up on that, so I'm not just trying to prove you wrong here lol)... and this did absolutely nothing.

Yeah, I'd say the main issue here is simply that the head is the size of an adult's while the body is the size of a toddler's. They don't correspond at all. I also think the angle the body is at is extremely strange. It's the angle someone would be at if they were shot out of a cannon or something.

Well you can either take the quick and dirty route that will only temporarily fix your problem, or you can be smart and mail your PS2 off to Sony. I mean, obviously it's your choice. People have to keep in mind that there is literally ten different things that can be causing these DRE problems... it's not just dust on a lens or a wheel problem. It can be things like unfocused lasers and voltage problems that you simply cannot fix yourself (usually anyway). The thing would cost maybe $15 (with insurance, mind you) to send to Sony in the first place, and they rarely keep them for more than 2 weeks (3 to 4 is the max). I honestly think people could live without their PS2 for that long lol.

All I know about Noir is that I saw it at Target (they have a fully marked Anime DVD section now, surprisingly) and I thought the cover art was cool. I'm glad I didn't bother with it after these comments heh.

I think the main idea in the past was that if any of the Lord of the Rings pictures were to win best picture, it would have to be the last one. It made really no sense to give it to the first two when a third would be coming so soon. This is the only one that even has a chance. Personally, I feel Big Fish is the best movie I saw this year... However, fantasy movies in the vein of these films very, very rarely win Best Picture oscars (which is another problem against Lord of the Rings in general).

There shouldn't be a campaign in my opinion. That stuff with Rocky Horror simply just happened... It wasn't forced out like this concept is. Plus the idea of a "cult" following by Rocky Horro standards for Pirates of the Carribean just makes no sense to me. The idea of a cult classic is something that was largely unsuccessful but has a rabid, yet small fanbase. That movie doesn't fit into either of those categories lol. Oh well. If they want to try, whatever. I can't say what I'm typing here matters to them heh.

It really doesn't look all that bad in Mozilla, but there is a difference. I am sure that's something you could probably adjust rather easily. I've had a million issues with layers (I've not checked your source, but I'm assuming that's what you've used heh), so I know how that can be. Sometimes things just do not want to display right lol. Still, I think they were pulled off well.

Don't bother with any of this, honestly. Sony will fix DRE problems for free. It's not because they love us, it's because they got sued and this is part of the settlement. Obviously they don't speak of it much and will tell you to try other things to fix it first, but they will do it. As long as the DRE isn't a result of your own abuse to the system, you should be fine. Contact them and find out.