I’d like to add Krita as a Photoshop alternative, it’s DEFINITELY got its quirks but as a free alternative to a very (overly?) expensive program it’s great
free software alternatives
i never stop talking about some of these so i might as well banish them to a single post! you might know about a lot of them already, but feel free to look anyway
Adobe Animate (Flash) → OpenToonz, Synfig Studio, or Pencil2D
Adobe Audition → Audacity
Adobe Illustrator → Inkscape
Adobe Photoshop → GNU Image Manipulation Program or Paint.NET
Clip Studio Paint/Paint Tool SAI → Krita, FireAlpaca, (both also include animation tools!) or MediBang Paint
FL Studio → LMMS
Microsoft Office → LibreOffice or Calligra Suite
Scrivener → Celtx (sort of?) or Evernote
VLC media player → VLC media player lol
freeware can be a great opportunity to get a feel for something and learn a new skill. and in some cases, the free versions are almost as powerful, so you might find that you saved a lot of money but made work that was just about equal to what you might have done with paid software!
I loved Infinite’s design, theme and powers, but for me the thing that holds him back is his reason for becoming Infinite in the first place. IMO it (ironically) comes off as kind of weak, and it really dragged his evil presence down for me. So, here’s what I’d do to change it, with the goal being that all you’d need to do to implement it is re-dub that one cutscene. In other words, in theory this could be modded in.
~Spoilers After The Break!~
Now, say we’re able to make an “Episode Jackal” DLC. Set up that the “Ultimate Mercenary” (UM) secretly saves some money from each job because he wants to build a home for himself and his squad one day.
As Jackal Squad do more and more jobs for Eggman during his takeover and each member is defeated (presumably this is what happens as we don’t see any other Jackal Squad members in-game?), UM is slowly falling into despair, as his dream is slowly crumbling. The desire for a home “away from it all” starts to become a necessity, soon blossoming into a want for his very own world as his disillusion grows. After effortlessly making short work of Eggman’s enemies for so long, the confrontation with Shadow happens. UM is beaten down, and something snaps within him.
The dialogue after Shadow’s exit becomes something like this instead:
“What...? I’m... I’m shaking... He beat me...
My squad... I’m sorry, I-I’ve failed you all... Our world...
No...
No more...
No more! I thank you, Hedgehog! You’ve brought me to my worst, but now I can only get better!
And I will get better, and I will pay you and your comrades back a thousandfold! For Jackal Squad! I will Have! My! Wooorld!”
That’s my idea - he still becomes Infinite after losing to Shadow, but in my view this gives him a better setup for why this took him over the edge, beyond just “I AM NOT WEEEEAK!” and maybe gives a little bit of insight into why he’d be so attracted to the Phantom Ruby’s reality-bending powers.
Granted I think you’d need to include the Jackal Squad stuff in-game somehow to get the full effect, but hey.
What do you guys think? Shoot me a comment on this post with your thoughts on this concept and your ideas for how you would’ve handled this (if you would’ve done it differently at all) if you’d like!
(I’d give Sonic Forces a solid 6.5/10, big step back from Generations in terms of physics, stage complexity and controls in my opinion but I loved nearly all of the Avatar and Modern Sonic stages, I liked Infinite (even if he REALLY could’ve used a better reason to take the path he did), I found the sheer over-seriousness of the story semi-ironically enjoyable and despite my gripes with it I was having fun most of the time. Grab it once it goes on sale/if it ever gets a modding community!)
yeah mang I’d be so much manlier screaming my last from a gut wound right now ain’t conflict just the best really a great thing to happen to anyone so very character building
Joe Scarborough criticized young people for choosing video games over war. It didn’t go over well.
[A freakin’ AMAZING piece commissioned from the marvelous HowlingVoice! @howlingvoice]
Big Mac & Applebloom sads inspired by this piece by Danjiisthmus, which I’ve loved for ages.
Story behind this pic:
"As the revived King Sombra's army of enslaved Crystal Ponies gradually spreads across Equestria, Celestia and Luna find themselves regretfully forced to enact one of their most harrowing orders ever - to draft every stallion in the major Equestrian towns and cities - including those from Ponyville - to help defend against the Sombrans.
Big Macintosh receives his summons, and having already shared a mournful goodbye with Applejack, now faces the unenviable task of telling Applebloom that he's about to leave Sweet Apple Acres, possibly forever."
Equine explorer & sociologist Professor Velvet Oakwood of the recently founded Ponyville College has gained a reputation as one of the college’s more eccentric and beloved educators, thanks in no small part to the lengths she goes to support her favorite students.
Pictured above is the result of a famous incident in which the professor planned an expedition into the Everfree Forest specifically so she could visit the numerous stallions in her class drafted for Everfree Duty during term time*, who -somehow- also ended up being assigned to protect her during that expedition.
While the gesture was greatly appreciated by the stallions in question* (even though she gave them all the semester’s reading material and homework at once), Velvet was given a stern warning reminding her of the purpose of her students’ duty and why it should not be disrupted, narrowly avoiding further punishment.
* From left to right - Caramel, Goldenglow, Thunder Road, Duke Sprint
Totally not setting up an OC for a future piece (and giving an old one a name OOH), why would you think that?