croaken-the-oaken - Tumblr blog

[croaken-the-oaken]

REEF-LUX 450 Deco Damage Combo Theory

C. = charged

T. = tap

{ } = someone else's (not part of your kit)

C. shot ×1 [45] + Reefslider splash [70]

T. shot ×1 [30] + Reefslider splash [70]

Splash Wall contact [30] + C. shot ×2 [90]

Splash Wall contact [30] + Reefslider splash [70]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {common bomb splash} [30]

C. shot ×1 [45] + {common bomb splash} [30] + T. shot [30]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Burst Bomb / Torpedo splash} [25-35]

C. shot ×1 [45] + {Burst Bomb / Torpedo direct} [60]

T. shot ×2 [60] + {Burst Bomb / Angle Shooter direct} [60, 40]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Torpedo pellet} [12]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Curling Bomb chip} [20]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Ink Mine} [35-45]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Tenta Missiles splash far} [30]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Wave Breaker} [45]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Zipcaster splash far} [35]

C. shot ×1 [45] + {Zipcaster splash close} [60]

C. shot ×1 [45] + {Zipcaster splash far} [35] + T. Shot [30]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Ultra Stamp throw splash far} [30]

C. shot ×1 [45] + {Ultra Stamp throw splash close} [60]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Ink Storm for 0.417 seconds} [10]

C. shot ×2 [90] + {Super Chump splash} [35]

C. shot ×1 [45] + {Super Chump direct} [70]

C. shot ×1 [45] + {common bomb splash} [30] + {Crab Tank cannon / Inkjet splash} [30]

Reefslider splash [70] + {bomb splash} [30-35]

Reefslider splash [70] + {special splash} [30-70] (eh, this one's technically okay, but still...)

[croaken-the-oaken]

Flingza will get Crab Tank, and then Sheldon will make a spiel about flexibility.

[croaken-the-oaken]

Sploosh-o-matic — Minimum Range Morton

Neo Sploosh-o-matic — I’ll Be Over Here Harold

Splattershot Jr. — Chuck Bomb Billy

Custom Splattershot Jr. — Dance for Me Dylan

Splash-o-matic — Do It All Dan

Neo Splash-o-matic — Please Step Away Sandy

Splattershot — Basics Barry

Tentatek Splattershot — Aggression Andy

Hero Shot Replica — Hipster Harry

.52 Gal — Staying Power Segal

N-Zap ‘85 — Gamer Juice Jerry

N-Zap ‘89 — Chump Up Chazz

Splattershot Pro — Extension Edmund

Forge Splattershot Pro — Lockout Larry

.96 Gal — Power Suck Pete

.96 Gal Deco — Intimidating Ingo

Jet Squelcher — Respectfully Far Ferdinand

Custom Jet Squelcher — Area Denial Alfred

Splattershot Nova — I See You Stanley

Annaki Splattershot Nova — Out of Reach Otto

Luna Blaster — Big Boom Bolson

Luna Blaster Neo — Poppin’ Boppin’ Pablo

Blaster — Sneaky Shot Shane

Range Blaster — Sudden Death Dalton

Clash Blaster — Danger Zone Zed

Clash Blaster Neo — Personal Space Piper

Rapid Blaster — Hold the Line Herbie

Rapid Blaster Deco — Weird Angle Wilson

Rapid Blaster Pro — Distant Poke Perry

Rapid Blaster Pro Deco — Global Range Gus

S-BLAST ‘92 — Certain Coverage Calvin

L-3 Nozzlenose — Run ‘n Gun Randy

L-3 Nozzlenose D — Dash ‘n Splash Sadie

H-3 Nozzlenose — Field Support Franky

H-3 Nozzlenose D — Defense Mode Dimitri

Squeezer — Arthritis Angelo

Carbon Roller — Close Range Cory

Carbon Roller Deco — Quick Kill Kendall

Splat Roller — Bonk Head Bekowsky

Krak-On Splat Roller — Shuffle Around Sidney

Dynamo Roller — Massive Maximilian

Flingza Roller — Passive Aggressive Paulie

Big Swig Roller — This is My Yard Yorick

Big Swig Roller Express — I Claim This Cortes

Inkbrush — Speedy Sal

Inkbrush Nouveau — Can’t Catch Me Cooper

Octobrush — Slap Silly Solomon

Painbrush — High Exertion Edison

Classic Squiffer — Don’t Miss Dorris

Splat Charger — Sniper Stu

Z+F Splat Charger — Snipe Stopper Stuart

Splatterscope — Scoped Sniper Stu

Z+F Splatterscope — Scoped Snipe Stopper Stuart

E-liter 4K — Long Snipe Louis

E-liter 4K Scope — Scoped Slightly Longer Snipe Louis

Bamboozler 14 Mk I — Tap Tap Ted

Goo Tuber — Missiles McGee

Snipewriter 5H — Five Tries Freddy

Slosher — Over the Shoulder Oakley

Slosher Deco — Plop Plip Peter

Tri-Slosher — Wide Wendell

Tri-Slosher Nouveau — Sugar Rush Rudy

Sloshing Machine — Safe Angle Abigail

Bloblobber — Hitbox Huey

Explosher — Clear Out Clarence

Mini Splatling — Pesky Pendleton

Zink Mini Splatling — Bridge Troll Bailey

Heavy Splatling — Barrage Benson

Heavy Splatling Deco — Thought Ya Had Me Theo

Hydra Splatling — Extreme Overkill Olson

Ballpoint Splatling — All Range Albus

Nautilus 47 — Decently Devious Devon

Dapple Dualies — Hello I’m Back Harlowe

Dapple Dualies Nouveau — I May Die Decker

Splat Dualies — Missed Me Maxwell

Glooga Dualies — Wall Turret Terry

Dualie Squelchers — Right Behind You Benjamin

Custom Dualie Squelchers — Reinforcement Ralphie

Dark Tetra Dualies — Distraction Dance Doyle

Light Tetra Dualies — Look at Me Lenny

Splat Brella — Survivor Simon

Tenta Brella — Mobile Bunker Bastian

Tenta Sorella Brella — Army March Muldoon

Undercover Brella — Slippery Saul

Tri-Stringer — Chip Away Chet

REEF-LUX 450 — Sky Assault Stevie

Splatana Stamper — Jumbo Cut Jayce

Splatana Wiper — Slice and Die Samuel

Splatana Wiper Deco — Heavenly Hello Hamish

[croaken-the-oaken]

I wish all you lovely Dynamo players a happy Sizzle Season and pray that you get your Golden kit as soon as possible, because I fervently want my new Flingza, and they sure as hell ain't gonna give it to me before you get yours.

[croaken-the-oaken]

Brella Rework Plan

[Current mechanics still apply unless specified.]

Splat Brella

Shield comes out first as firing input is held. On input release, lower shield and shoot ink. May shoot without raising shield if released fast enough. [It's a support-skirmisher weapon, right? Shielding should be prioritized. Should also drill in the idea to new players that this isn't strictly a fighting weapon.]

While without a canopy, holding up the empty brella will shorten the recharge timer, using up ink.

Canopy eject is like using a Fizzy Bomb. Once shaken enough, canopy ejects automatically. Canopy shield glows when close to ejecting. [Allow player to move around more with shield up without losing ability to eject canopy, giving the player more control over the weapon.]

Slow down velocity of ejected canopy. [So that it isn't too far away to be useful as a moving shield.]

Damage from full shotgun blast is 90. [More consistent damage without being overbearing, how it was in it's prime.]

Faster strafe speed, more ink efficiency, and faster frame data as needed.

Tenta Brella

Similar changes to shielding mechanics as Splat Brella.

Lowered threshold for shaking to eject canopy. Ejected canopy has the usual velocity.

Undercover Brella

Shield is raised before firing begins.

Increased firing rate. [Weapon's main use is to be annoying. It should be able to contribute something as long as it's present on the map. More shots, more turfing, more chipping away at enemy health.]

[croaken-the-oaken]

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2023” Review: It Wasn’t Mid

***1 or 2 spoilers but not really***

Another video game movie. And this time, it’s starring Mario Mario, Mr. Video Game, himself. The Internet is shook. Nintendo, teaming with Illumination. It could very well set the standard for video game movies to follow. One thing is clear, all eyes are on this movie. 

My sister was especially excited for it. Me, I told myself I was watching out of obligation, since I didn’t want to miss out on the newest of the turbulent fancies of the Internet.

A number of doubts mixed with potential had settled in. Adapting movies from video games isn’t a terrible concept. It depends on the series. But this is Mario, what does he bring to the table? A colorful world and character list and, for two things. Then there’s the studio that infected the world with Minions. While Illumination falls back to safe tactics when it comes to storytelling and humor, they do have the talent in animation, and I knew the looming eyes of Shigeru Miyamoto-san would not allow the Mario movie to be less than amazing.

With all the factors to consider, my expectations were firmly set to “mid, at least.”

After watching, my conclusion is “Better than mid. Dare I say, good. Great, even.”.

It’s a movie. Actually, no, it’s a MOVIE! You got character arcs and motivations. You got worldbuilding. You got colorful graphics and settings. You got references sprinkled on like it’s a cupcake, even down to the background music. You get to see Mama Mia and Papa Pia!

It takes the loose bits and pieces of Mario canon, strings them together and retools them to make another thing, old but new, as is to be expected. Brooklynese Mario, brotherly bonds, Bowser’s love life, action Peach, power-ups as a power system, Kong society, etc. The narrative never strays far from its roots, and no one was asking it to.

On the off-chance someone has never heard of “the Super Mario Bros.” what are they left with? A quick romp through peculiar kingdoms and bright setpieces and nonsensical architecture, the adventure of a determined everyman searching for his bro, a corny yet actively threatening villain, a kart-racing monkey tribe, and a classic moral theme of not giving up so you can say your kid learned something from this experience.

Also, the more typical Illumination-esque quirks are few and far between, and it’s tolerable. The pop-music? Fine. Passable. They fit their moments well enough. The jokes land more often than not and don’t rely on cheap tactics. When the water started bubbling around Mario and Donkey Kong, I completely expected one of them to say “it wasn’t me”. But they didn’t, and I appreciate that. Nihilistic Luma was a bit forced, though.

The movie is fast-paced and doesn’t linger too long on characters’ low moments. It keeps the momentum going, but it doesn’t allow the more dramatic parts much time to sink in. I didn’t find it to be overwhelming, though I imagine this could be off-putting for some. I propose this kinetic pace is a byproduct of its source.

Miyamoto’s general philosophy of “gameplay-first, story-second” is a big contributor to Nintendo’s success—it makes good games. The problem is a lot of people mistake “second” for “last”. The neat part of the video game medium is that gameplay and story needn’t always grow at the other’s expense. One can reinforce the other. The man knows this, and this philosophy carries over into the Mario movie.

Rather than adapt a minimalistic-story game franchise into a movie, they adapted the movie into a game of how many secrets you can find in a given shot as the story progresses. We’re tugged along a guided tour of Mario legacy, and the world invites us over to be active participants and challenges us to eyeball every reference poking out from behind each corner.

It helps that it’s one of those good movies where the references and cameos have a reason to exist beyond being there. Is it a backdrop? That’s certified worldbuilding, baby. Is it at the forefront? It probably serves a primary purpose in the scene. It means the difference between respecting and insulting the viewer’s intelligence, and the film respects its viewers, whether a reference manifests as a generalized fun moment or as a reward for long-time fans.

They set out to create a lighthearted run through Mario’s world with emotional beats as checkpoints, and that’s what they made. It has its quirks, but I enjoyed myself, and it made my sister happy.

If one thing is true, it's that it is indeed the Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Rating: A Mario Time / 5

[croaken-the-oaken]

#BIGMANSWEEP

[croaken-the-oaken]

Very neat that they had to put Shiver on Team Grass just so she won't win every Splatfest.

*swims away*

[croaken-the-oaken]

I think I have a hearing problem.

Every time I see:

All I hear is:

[croaken-the-oaken]

Super Paper Mario's spicy lore: some stories from Garson

Taken from https://www.mariowiki.com/Garson

The Pure Hearts

So yeah, ever heard of the Pure Hearts? They're great treasures created by the ancients… Supposedly really powerful. Folks say that heroes will appear to collect them all and save the world.

The source of power in these Pure Hearts? The power of love itself! The love of a parent…The love of the smitten… Great power, indeed.

The Ancients researched this power, believing it to be the universe's only salvation. And these Pure Hearts were thus created… The shining embodiment of love itself. Their combined brilliance will negate the destruction born of the Chaos Heart… we hope.

The Ancients

So yeah, ever heard of an advanced civilization called the Tribe of Ancients? They were, like, a thousand times smarter than you or me.

There were four austere sages among them. You know one of these as Merlumina. But when it came to love, these sages were unreserved… Their passion burned HOT.

I've heard some pretty spicy legends about the love life of Merlumina, in particular… In fact, her love life threatened to destroy the world on a few occasions… I don't know if these stories are true or not. And I guess we'll never know.

Descendants of the Ancients

So yeah, you meet Merlon and Merlee yet? They're descendants of the Ancients and distantly related to each other, I hear.

The Ancients hid the Pure Hearts in various worlds to stop eventual destruction. Then the Ancients scattered to various world to pass the rest of their days.

Most of them were wise and kind like Merlumina. And like Merlumina, many of them would totally lose their cool when they fell in love. But it was this very passion that let them build the vessels of love, the Pure Hearts…

The Hero Legend

The Ancients traveled to many worlds to entrust people with Pure Hearts. It was to keep them safe from destruction or misuse by those with evil hearts.

The Pure Hearts were drawn by their own power toward those strong with love. The Ancients used this trait to find suitable guardians in each world.

And a few romances also began as a result of these little journeys… Many of the Ancients who found guardians fell in love with those they met. And so they lived their days happily in the world they'd visited out of duty. This is how the legend of the hero was passed down to future generations…

Merlon's Love Life

So yeah, those Ancients were passionate and romantic… Did I already tell you that? Even Merlon, their descendant, is wild for love, you know… Why, he had quite a thing for Saffron the cook. He went to her cooking shop every day and wooed her constantly.

He finally broke down and confessed his love for her… And here's what she said: 'If you can finish an entire serving of my Saffron Special Galactic Meal, I'll date you.' …And this is one of the biggest, most filling dishes anyone's ever seen, mind you. But he dug right in.

According to spectators, he finished all but a sprig of parsley left on the plate. Just then, some poor girl appeared in town who was severely injured. Merlon had to help her, so Saffron let him suspend the challenge.

I don't know what happened to that girl next… But then Merlon became engrossed in his studies, and he hasn't wooed since. Maybe he'll get back to it when the world is peaceful and safe again.

The End of the World

So yeah, ever heard of the Sammer Kingdom? The king there controls an army of 100 loyal soldiers. Each one has a different personality and unique skills.

King Sammer was entrusted with a Pure Heart by Merlumina's younger sister… She was madly in love with King Sammer I, so they married and had 100 kids.

The 100 princes and their royal parents ushered in an era of prosperity. Therefore, the number 100 became important to the current king. Imagine all the budding romances with 100 strapping princes around… The kingdom of that era would have had no problem fighting our current woes…

[croaken-the-oaken]

Did somebody say Anarchy?

[croaken-the-oaken]

They really had to do Giganotosauarus like that. He was just tryin' to live his best life. It ain't easy being at the top. He's a big boy, he needs big meats. His only crime was being the biggest target.

[croaken-the-oaken]

Secret Moves in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror

The Copy Abilities in Amazing Mirror were mostly simple to fit the Gameboy's compactness, but some of them had slightly obscure inputs that don't immediately come to mind. Since there's no full move lists, it's not impossible that you'd miss some maneuvers without looking them up, and when most enemies only take one or two hits, you can get by with whatever works. But I think they're pretty neat.

.

Bomb

Bomb bonk and Bomb slide

While holding a Bomb, headbonk or slide

Explodes on contact. The slide is like a regular slide, but explosive, and it sets the bomb down if you don't hit anything.

Usually throwing the bomb from a distance is a better idea, but slamming bombs into people's faces is pretty intense, don't cha think?

.

Cupid

Arrow jump

Regular jump height vs Jump with arrow charge

Not really a move, but I thought it was interesting: Arrows keep your air momentum pretty well, which lets your jump go higher if you start charging with quick timing.

It makes Cupid feel more acrobatic than it is. If it ever made a comeback, something like this could set it apart from just being the predecessor to Archer.

.

Fighter

Canceling moves

You can cancel the non-directional 3-attack string into UpB, SideB, and ChargeB (Rising Break, Spin Kick, Power Shot)

Cancelling out of Vulcan Jab is a thing in Superstar and other games with Fighter, so maybe this isn't too surprising, but the attack string doesn't entirely look cancellable. The second attack kick puts you in the air, meaning you're using grounded moves in the air.

.

Fighter Slide

Sliding with the Fighter ability does a bit more damage and can damage big enemies/mid-bosses/bosses. It basically powers up your kick.

.

Mega Power Shot

ChargeB with one unit of health

The rare "peril" move of Kirby's legacy of abilities.

If you were in the situation of having one unit of health, were currently using Fighter, and decided to use ChargeB as opposed to your other moves, then you discovered the Mega Power Shot.

It's bigger, it charges instantly, it travels a bit farther and it does some more damage.

It's pretty easy to get hit in this game. Not worth the risk, I say.

It turned into an Ability Scroll for Squeak Squad, one that doesn't require you to be at low health.

.

Master

Final Sword

While sliding, Up + B

If you messed around with Amazing Mirror's ultimate weapon, you would have seen it has a number of moves for the usual inputs, directional, dashing, charging.

Did you find it weird that the stronger version of Sword didn't have its impressive uppercut-ground slam? Turns out, it had one this whole time.

Unlike with regular sword, the sword slide even pops the enemy upward with multiple hits so it can connect right into the uppercut. Using UpB during a slide is kind of unusual, so I don't see how you'd think of this without prior knowledge, since the sword slide is usually enough to finish an enemy.

This also means sword sliding into an uppercut didn't originate in Forgotten Land. (Even though it was most definitely inspired from the dashing stab-uppercut combo in the recent games)

[croaken-the-oaken]

Slightly Amusing Fact: "New egg" in Spanish is "huevo nuevo." So in Super Mario Galaxy, the New Egg Galaxy is called "Galaxia de Huevo Nuevo" in Spanish.

[croaken-the-oaken]

Title: Restart

circle: Lampcat

vocal: うくな

arrange: sasakusa

illust/movie: たま。

[croaken-the-oaken]

The Floren Experience: An Accurate Retelling

A simple story, of which some may relate to.

(Xenoblade Chronicles 2 spoilers ahead)

One day in Indol, my party has recently been graced with the addition of Zeke von Genbu, Bringer of Chaos. To bolster him up to speed, I see it apt to roll him some new blades.

Aha! A rare blade appears. A flowery dancer, cute in appearance. She turns away from the camera and giggles while scheming. Oho, I see. Her gimmick is a deceitful streak. A welcome enough addition.

And she was even summoned to Zeke. An amusing juxtaposition. Perhaps I will make it my goal to assign him a team of youthful female blades in the future. But that's neither here nor there.

Onward, the adventure continues. She's useful enough in battle and pleasant enough to have around. We even scrounged free stuff out of some gullible saps with no resistance to cuteness and feminine charm. Pitiable, but such is life.

At no moment in particular, I decide it's a good time to give a little boost to some blades with the Merc Group.

A canteen job. Certainly, a plain and easy mission. Simple requirements—only 2 females—then plenty of room for whoever else. Now, who to send?

With my speedy selection skills, I pick the flower girl for no reason and hastily pick the local goth nearby before considering who else to send. In the middle of my thoughts, a peculiar detail is detected. The dispatch button, it's not aglow. And the number, it reads 1 out of 2.

The number, what does it mean? Was Vale hiding something from me? Wait.

I consult Google with the dreaded question.

No...

NOOOOOOOOOO!

...And that's the end of it.

I'd been shamboozled. Me, a genius.

And you know what? I don't mind.

The crafty lad hid his gimmick behind another gimmick—that gimmick itself being trickery. I have to respect it.

After recovering from this psychological face slapping, he grew on me even more. Sharp tongue, moderately sadistic, yet still possessing a genuine love for nature. Also still cute. A treat to my simple tastes.

As if it couldn't get any better, Bitballs let Zeke attack with a laughably drawn-out throw that does twice the damage from behind, which made killing Mayne Driver twice as funny.

Thus, I became part of the Floren fan club.

[croaken-the-oaken]

Custom Mouse Cursors in Linux (Mint and Ubuntu), Quick 'N Easy, Comprehensive

Skippable Intro: Plunging into Linux Mint from Windows, I found that my adorable custom animated cursors wouldn't come with me so gracefully. Information on this extremely important stylistic task just wasn't specific enough for my tastes, and it took me like 4 days to figure out from lack of direct information, when it probably should have been a lot simpler. I'm not a Linux expert, and I really don't think I should have to be to enjoy the wonder of fashion. However, what I am is amazing, good-hearted, genius, and especially, modest, so this exists now, for the goodness and convenience of the common people.

Applies to Linux Mint, maybe applies to other Ubuntu distributions

Option 1: Using a cursor theme (easier)

Themes by other people who know more than you and me. This can also prepare you for Option 2 when setting up your own theme.

You can find themes for Linux on gnome-look.org or pling.com (or wandering around on Github). Select the cursors and take your pick.

Download the set and extract it somewhere convenient. By the way, if it's a .tar.gz file and it won't unzip, maybe try deleting the ".gz" at the end, it might be a .tar file in disguise.

Navigate to "/home/User/.icons" From what I hear, it might possibly be hidden or not exist, in that case find it or make it.

Put the file in it. Now go to Appearances > Customize > Pointers, and your theme name should be there to select and use.

Gnome-tweak tool might be needed to accomplish it for other distros, but I dunno.

Option 2: Setting up your own cursors (cooler)

When you have a select few special cursors you care about, and not enough time or patience to make a whole set. Odds are you got them from a site like rw-designer.com. You can also get started making them yourself.

About cursors in Windows vs. Linux .cur and .ani are the cursor file types specific to Windows; .cur is static and has one image, .ani is animated and has multiple images in one.

In my understanding, Linux doesn't like them because Linux systems have closer ties to X11 (X Window System, version 11) which is more of a framework for graphics, whereas Windows is higher on the hierarchy of exclusivity. For our purposes, this means it works differently from Windows.

Windows has the Pointers option menu that lets you replace cursors by browsing the file directories for a .cur or .ani cursor. With Linux Mint's Pointer options, you need to have a theme in the "~/.icons" directory, and the cursors are recognized from there.

Real reason for this tutorial: no Kirby cursors on Linux

[Step 1 Alt 1] X11 cursor from .cur or .ani

If you have .cur or .ani files, download ani2ico cursor-converter, save it somewhere convenient. Glance at the ReadMe.

Have the ImageMagick dependency installed (you might have it already).

You are instructed to go to the "~/ani2ico" directory and make the files...but it functioned fine for me without it, so do what you will.

Have open the directory "~/cursor-converter-master" and...

Remove the pre-packaged files in the "inputs" folder and insert your own desired .cur and .ani files

(Make sure there are NO SPACES in the names)

Create a folder called "outputs" else there might be slightly odd results

In the directory terminal run: ./convert.sh

In "outputs," it should have created a folder for each input that contains in the case of...

.cur -> an X11 cursor, xcg, cur, png

.ani -> an X11 cursor, xcg, multiple numbered ico and png images

You only need the X11 cursor files, but if you want to adjust something, you can recreate it with the xcg file and xcursorgen command like in the following step.

[Step 1 Alt 2] Making them yourself with xcursorgen

Explained similarly here.

Have xcursorgen installed (you might have it already).

Make a png image 32x32 px that you want to use as a cursor. If animated, have multiple layers, first frame on the bottom.

In a directory, have the .png and open the terminal there. Run:

xcursorgen fileWithCommands newCursorName

...where fileWithCommands contains a line like:

32 1 1 sword.png

...with the order being:

resolution of new cursor in pixels

hotspot-x (going right from top-left corner)

hotspot-y (going down from top-left corner)

name of picture

(Hotspot being where the click happens)

For animated cursors, you'd have multiple pngs in the directory and multiple commands like

32 1 1 hourglass1.png 200 32 1 1 hourglass2.png 200 32 1 1 hourglass3.png 200 32 1 1 hourglass4.png 200 32 1 1 hourglass5.png 200

...where the last number is how long the frame lingers in milliseconds. Increasing that number makes that frame last longer.

Notes About Making Your Own in GIMP 32px by 32px is a common resolution If you want it to change size respectably in the settings, have resolutions for multiples of 8 as layers in the same image file. Specify it per layer by naming the layers like (48px)thing (50ms) (replace) (32px)thing (50ms) (replace) (24px)thing (50ms) (replace) For making animated cursors, put the first frame at the bottom. It's just like making a GIF. If you're aiming for changeable size, you'll also need to specify multiple resolutions for each frame. GIMP can import and export X11 cursors, letting you skip xcursorgen.

[Step 2] Making the theme

Create a folder somewhere convenient with the theme name you want. The rest of the work will happen in here.

In the theme directory, create a text file named "index.theme" structured like so:

[Icon Theme] Name = ThemeName Comment = This is a comment about the cursor theme Inherits = NameOfDifferentTheme

Only [Icon Theme] and Name are required

Inherits lets you use cursors from another theme you have installed where you don't have cursors specified for use. Neat. If you don't inherit, it'll use the default cursors where unspecified.

Next, create a folder named "cursors" and move all your X11 cursors into it.

The system will look for specific names when deciding which cursor to display, so you can use symlinks. To output a symlink in the same directory, open the terminal there and type:

ln -s nameOfCursor nameOfNewLink

For example:

ln -s sword left_ptr

But why does it work. Symlinks (aka Symbolic Link or Soft Link) are shortcuts with paths. You can check what they lead to in their properties. Inside "~/.icons/yourThemeName/cursors" the system will look for the name of the cursor or symlink to a cursor, with the symlink being prioritized. This way you can link to the same cursor using different names.

e.g. If you have a cursor named "sword" you could have the system recognize it as the neutral cursor by either (1) renaming it "left_ptr" or (2) creating a symlink to it called "left_ptr"

In your daily practical use, here are some names you want to pay attention to (with some examples):

Most common: left_ptr -> neutral state of cursor (pointer) left_ptr_watch -> processing but can still click (pointer + hourglass) watch -> processing something (hourglass) hand2 -> actionable item, hovering over link (pointing hand) xterm -> text selecting (capital I) fleur -> moving a window (four cardinal direction arrows) top_side -> adjusting window size from top edge bottom_side left_side right_side top_left_corner -> adjusting window size from top-left corner top_right_corner bottom_left_corner bottom_right_corner

Slightly less common: dnd_copy -> drag and drop copy (hand gripping with plus sign) dnd_move -> (hand gripping with arrow) help -> hovering a helpful thing (pointer + ?) crosshair -> selecting area of screen (symmetrical cross) sb_h_double_arrow -> adjusting size horizontally (<-->) sb_v_double_arrow

If you want a complete set, you'll need a list or to figure them out by analyzing another theme. Some cursors are app specific, I think. If you look in the cursors of other themes, you may notice long strings of messy numbers in the file names. Those are also link names used to recognize cursors. When the system uses them, you'd best find out on your own. Because I haven't a clue.

At last, move that folder with your theme in it into "~/.icons" and it's ready to use in the Appearance options.

[Step Final] (optional but encouraged) make fun of everyone who doesn't have custom cursors

---Other Resources---

Pretty good tutorial: TechToryAnderson.com.

Helpful: KDE Create your own mouse cursor theme How-to

Other tutorial: sole/xcursor-theme-tutorial