#Plus I guess one of the two teaser posters

[zeemczed]

So I Finally Watched Goncharov (1973) - WHAT NOW?

First off, congratulations on breaking out the Laserdisc player. Or low-quality MP4 rip or whatever. I hope you enjoyed what is arguably one of the best (and low-key queerest) mafia thrillers of all time.

BUT RIGHT, what do you watch now that you’ve whetted your whistle for weird semi-gay mob violence? Well, here’s a list of eight recommendations (why 8? I couldn’t think of ten that were quite good enough, that’s why) to get you going.

8. AKAGI, 2015.

Underground gambling, incredible intensity, betting your own blood on mahjong... this one’s heavy on the gambling terminology, and can be a little hard to follow if you don’t know about the game, but it’s worth it.

7. UN ASONTO DE PLATA Y PLOMO, 1988

“An Affair of Silver and Lead” is one of the best proto-narcocorridas out there. A borderline rock opera (with a gloriously copyright-infringing soundtrack), Un Asonto took a look at Scarface and said “yeah, but what if we play how awesome being a gangster is straight?” Compared to Goncharov it’s devoid of nuance, but the cinematography and violence is beautiful, and the characters are brilliant. If you aren’t cheering after watching Fuego Caliente gets his ass handed to him by Diego De La Montoya, check your pulse.

6. WELCOME TO WABASH, 1992

Despite the small town Indiana setting, this gets very dark, very intense, and very weird very quickly. Interesting for many reasons, not the least of which is because it blew a hole in the “war on drugs” rhetoric of the era (one of many reasons it didn’t get a wide release). Wet Charlie’s story is a hell of a tearjerker, and the background “we can’t call it a romance but it’s totally a romance” between Jen and Big Linda is a remarkably heartwarming thread in a movie that ends with 80% of the cast dead.

(Jen and Big Linda survive. That’s not a spoiler, you find that out in the first scene, thank you nonlinear storytelling.)

5. BURIED IN MUD, BURIED IN BLOOD, 1960

If Goncharov had more beatniks... it wouldn’t be this, but it’d be kinda close. A knee-jerk gritty backhand-response to the stylish heist movies of the era, BIMBIB is a tale of desperate thieves trying to unload a stolen Renaissance painting before they get fingered - or worse, before the bill for everything they used to steal the painting comes due. Spoiler: SHIT GOES BAD QUICKLY. Might have been partial inspiration for Guy Ritchie’s later work. Fair warning: If you’re allergic to bongos, watch it with the subtitles on and sound off. And no, the title makes no sense, but the studio insisted on using it.

4. SHOOT THE SHAGGY DOG, 2002

A bargain-bin treasure, STSD was a direct to video release that should have at least gotten an arthouse release. Half the actors are wooden and overly stoic, the sets are obviously sub-zero-budget, the cinematography is a joke, but the plot will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the few good actors - notably Chaim Wallace’s turn as Frankie - have enough gravitas to pull the rest along. “Gang wars are always brutal, kid. When the other gang’s the police, that doesn’t change anything.” Goosebumps, every time.

3. THE GODFATHER, PART 2, 1974

I mean, if you’re gonna watch Goncharov, you might as well, right?

2. ÖFEKLI KAPLAN VE SONSUZ GüN, 1989

It’s TURKISH GONCHAROV! I’m not actually kidding. “The Furious Tiger and the Endless Day” started out as a remake of Goncharov, before the director took it hard in another direction. Hence why the Goncharov expy, Avci, dies halfway through the movie, and the equivalent of our favorite ice-pick wielding “little guy”, Demirci, is the one to tie up the loose ends with his own flavor of brutality. If you’re of a certain age, you might have seen part of it already - it got shared on Kazaa and Limewire a lot, usually with filenames that suggested it was porn. Not GOOD, but surreal as hell, especially if you’ve just watched the actual Goncharov.

1. FACE EATERS FROM DIMENSION X, 1990

Don’t let the B-movie title dissuade you. Once you get past the Troma-typical gorn and sex, you’re left with a remarkably tight crime story about warring families, the inevitable breakdown of diplomacy, and a stinging rebuke of the concept of the Nash Equilibrium. Also the titular Face Eaters are freaky as hell and I want one as a plush toy.

[pkmatrix]

The Order I Saw the Godzilla Movies In (Revised)

I recently revised my personal timeline of when and how I became a Godzilla fan when I realized that my “obviously wrong” memory of starting in January 1994 was, in fact, 100% correct.  So, considering that, here’s the (rough) order I saw the Godzilla movies, how, and briefly my initial reaction:

1. Godzilla vs. Megalon - Circa 1990. This was the first Godzilla movie I remember seeing, a VHS copy my aunt bought for my younger cousin in the bargain bin someplace (wild guess: a Bradlees department store in Saddle Brook, NJ) . She'd put it on TV while my cousin and I were playing, but I never gave much thought to it. 2. Godzilla 1985 - January 9, 1994.  My family was over at my grandmother's house for a family party on the day of the NFC Wild Card game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings.  I happened to catch a commercial for the 5 P.M. movie on WPIX-11 out of New York, which that day happened to be Godzilla 1985. I was going through a Dinosaur and Monster craze at the time (thanks to Jurassic Park and Power Rangers) and made a point of watching it because it looked like the COOLEST THING EVER.  It blew my mind!  I wouldn't shut up about it for weeks! 3. Terror of Mechagodzilla - January 15?, 1994.  Since I was talking nonstop about Godzilla everyday since seeing G85, my Dad took me to the local videostore a week or so later and rented this, the only Godzilla movie they had, for me to watch. I remember being confused by this movie and didn't care much for it. 4. - 7. Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, and Godzilla's Revenge - January 29 and 30, 1994. Shortly after watching ToMG, I found out that TNT’s MonsterVision was having a Godzilla night on January 29. I was SUPER-excited for it, and the marathon is really what cemented my fandom. I remember recognizing immediately that GKOTM was the original movie (and, for some reason, thought Goji's ears were horns).  The marathon started at 8 PM and I stayed up to watch that one, falling asleep some time during Mothra vs. Godzilla.  I watched the rest the next day on tape. That video was one of my most prized possessions as a kid, right up until I got the Simitar VHS set in 1998!  Interesting to note: this broadcast of Godzilla vs. Monster Zero cut the entire second Planet X sequence.  The characters leaving Earth with Godzilla and Rodan is cut off by a commercial break, and when the movie resumes is when Fuji and Glenn leave Planet X with the tape.  While I saw screenshots of the sequence in G-Fan, from 1994 until some time in 1999 when I finally sat to watch the Simitar release of the movie, I was completely unaware the Godzilla/Rodan v. Ghidorah fight, the Godzilla dancing scene, or the scene with Glenn and the multiple Kumi Mizunos were actually real scenes and not just promotional shots. 8. King Kong vs. Godzilla - April 3, 1994.  My family often merges my birthday party with Easter because the two fall so close to each other most years, and this was one of them.  I received the movie as a birthday gift from, I believe, one of my aunts. I remember being surprised the movie existed at all, the idea that King Kong and Godzilla COULD fight each other hadn't hit me yet. After this point my recollection is vague.  I'll give this in what I think is rough order. 9. Ebirah, Horror of the Deep - Spring/Summer 1994??? We got the 1992 Goodtimes release from a bargain bin, either in Kmart or Bradlees. I remember being disappointed by this one.

10. Destroy All Monsters - Summer 1994. My parents bought it from a shortlived kaiju/sentai/henshin stand my family discovered on the Boardwalk in Seaside Heights, NJ. It was by the Funtime Pier, nearish the Sawmill. The owner saw I was a wide-eyed kid who'd just discovered the fandom, and talked up the movie (I didn't need much convincing). 11. Godzilla vs. Mothra - Summer 1994. I don't remember buying this movie, but I know I saw it well before I saw Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla ‘93 because the tape had the early teaser trailer for it that mostly was showing off the poster, making the movie look way darker and more badass than it turned out to be. I’m certain I bought it from the same stand in Seaside Heights, and in fact it may have been the same day as DAM. I don't remember, though.  I'm only certain I saw it before the end of Summer 1994.

12. Godzilla vs. Gigan - 1994/1995??? Our family's favorite videostore was this place on Main Ave. in Lodi, NJ, across from the Kmart. It was AWESOME. It had EVERYTHING. It had a huge Sci-Fi/Horror section and was single-handedly the biggest reason why I was able to see as many Godzilla movies as I did as a kid (as well as many Gamera movies, plus a bunch of other genre films, PLUS the classic Universal Horror films).  The VHS was the the New World Video or '92 StarMaker release, I'm not entirely sure. The picture of Godzilla on the ground, appearing bloody and dead, was what caught my attention and made me rent it. I remember being surprised by how dark this one was.

13. Godzilla Raids Again - 1994/1995??? I spotted this one while browsing the videos in Lodi and was intrigued by the box art (it was the Video Treasures release). I've always liked this one a lot because it was a direct sequel to the first movie, because I liked both monsters' designs, and thought they had a really cool fight. 14. Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster - 1994/1995??? Honestly? I don't remember. Either I rented it from the store in Lodi or recorded it off the TV. I don't remember how I felt after seeing it, it didn't leave much of an impression on me at the time.  Now, it's one of my favorite Godzilla movies!

15 .Godzilla vs. Hedorah - Summer 1995. Rented the Orion Pictures VHS from the videostore in Lodi. I don't recall my initial reaction.

16. Godzilla vs. Biollante - Summer 1995. I went with my Dad to a supermarket in East Rutherford for groceries one afternoon, and while there we visited the videstore across the street. As had become my SOP by that point, I went to the Sci-Fi section and looked for Godzilla movies and I discovered it there. The cover caught me immediately, like GvMG2's cover it was SO COOL. We rented it, and I was doubly surprised to discover that this was a direct sequel to Godzilla 1985! AWESOME! Then, triply surprised by the violent opening sequence - so surprised that I actually ejected the tape to double-check that this was a Godzilla movie. By the time I finished watching it the first time, I had been permanently fixed as my favorite Godzilla movie. ^___^

17. Son of Godzilla - Summer 1995. Fairly certain we rented it from the videostore in Lodi. I liked this one and actually used to watch it a lot. 18. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - Summer 1995.  Rented the '92 StarMaker VHS from the videostore in Lodi. This quickly became one of my favorites! I later bought the GoodTimes "Godzilla vs. Cosmic Monster" version from a bargain bin in Kmart, thinking it was a different movie, only to discover that it was an edited down version of GvMG (I could tell since the StarMaker version had the opening scene with Anguirus, the Cosmic Monster version did not). 19. - 20. Godzilla vs. Super-Mechagodzilla and Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla - Summer 1995.  While on a day trip to Sandy Hook in South Jersey I convinced my parents to drive all the way down to Seaside Heights so I could buy these, as I’d spotted them when we were in Seaside Heights last time. I watched Space Godzilla that night - this would be the first Godzilla movie I ever watched in Japanese without subs (it was a theatrical camcorder bootleg, I remember hearing the audience and seeing people getting up and walking around), I ate it up anyway. ^_^ I watched GvMG2 the next day while at a family party in Pennsylvania and loved it. ^_^ From this point forward the order is accurate. 21. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah - Possibly 1996. I became aware of this movie when I walked into the Garden State Plaza's Starlog store in Summer 1994, I think, (long since closed) and spotted stills of Mecha King Ghidorah and Godzillasaurus. I ended up buying a subbed bootleg from The Outer Limits in Clifton, NJ in either late 1995 or some time in 1996. 22. Godzilla vs. Destroyah - Summer 1996 or 1997. I also bought this, subbed, from The Outer Limits in Clifton, NJ. I remember buying this one in the summer, and it having been a very long time after it came out, so I'm leaning toward it having been Summer of 1997. This was one of the last movies I saw before Zilla'98 came out. I remember liking it quite a lot, and eventually it became one of the most-watched Heisei films for me. 23. Godzilla (1998) - May 1998. Saw it at the Highway Theater in Fair Lawn, NJ. I remember liking it after walking out of the theater. I didn't "decide" that I "hated" it until I read the next issue of G-Fan and realized all the other fans had hated it, so I switched gears and claimed to hate it too. I didn't change my mind about it until I gave it a second chance in 2002. Today I'm mostly neutral toward it, my biggest criticism being that it’s really dull. 24. Godzilla 2000 - August 2000. Saw it at the Clifton Commons theater in Clifton, NJ. For some reason, I wasn't excited about seeing this one and ended up waiting a week before going. I remember walking away happy I saw it, but not crazy about it. It left little impression on me for years after, although more recently I’ve come around and nowadays like it quite a lot. :) 25. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus - Summer 2001. Bought this, subbed, from The Outer Limits in Clifton, NJ. I didn't care much for it (I also didn't find out about the after-credits sequence until it came out on video in the U.S. officially). 26. GMK - Summer 2002 or 2003. Bought this, subbed, from The Outer Limits in Clifton, NJ. Being a fan of the Heisei Gamera films by this point, I was pretty disappointed by this movie. I remember not liking much of anything about it. Since then, I've 100% reversed and its now one of my favorite Post-'80s Godzilla films. 27. Godzilla against Mechagodzilla - 2004 or 2005. Don't recall how I got this one, it might've been Christmas 2004. I liked it quite a lot at the time, and thus far has held up on repeat viewings. 28. Godzilla (1954) - Fall 2004. One of the last things I bought from the Outer Limits before the store closed. I watched it in my dorm room during my first semester of college and remember being amazed, it was like seeing the movie again for the first time. ^_^ 29. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS - 2005. Bought it from the FYE in the Paramus Park Mall, I think. I didn't like it at all. I thought it was a serious let down after GxMG, and felt that movie deserved better than a bad remake of Mothra vs. Godzilla.   I've since revised my opinion and like it more, but still think it should have been better. 30. Godzilla: Final Wars - 2005. Bought it from the FYE in the Paramus Park Mall, I think.  At the time I liked it and for years thought other fans were being too hard on it.   After rewatching it again around 2013 or so, though, it plummeted through the floor to me and my opinion wasn’t nearly so high.  I slowly warmed back up to it, eventually deciding to make my own fan edit which is now my preferred version to watch.

31. Godzilla (2014) - May 2014.  Saw it at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ on opening night.   Loved it!  One of the rare movies I went back and saw again in theaters, and has only gotten better after the many repeat viewings since.  ^_^

32. The Return of Godzilla - 2015???  Considering this was only a few years ago, I’m really sort of baffled that I can’t figure out when I bought this??  After years of waiting, I got impatient for an official U.S. release and imported a copy from Japan.  It was wonderful to see the movie that made me a fan again after so long, even if it wasn’t the G’85 version, but I found the Japanese version surprisingly lacking compared to the Americanized version (which I soon after found a bootleg to compare).  The lack of music and many of what I feel were poorer editing choices really hurt the Japanese cut for me, and to this day the pure Japanese cut of this film is my lead favorite version (my preferred, these days, is the Godzilla: Resurrection fan edit).

33. Shin Godzilla - October 2016.  Saw this in, I believe, Fort Lee, NJ when it was having its theatrical run.  Loved it!  Second Godzilla movie I’d gotten my now brother-in-law to come see (I brought him to a screening of G’54 in New York City in 2014).

34. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters - 2018.  I saw this as soon as it hit Netflix and while I enjoyed it, my feelings have been mixed.  I love the creativity of it, but it’s a pretty slow movie and not one I see myself returning to much.  One of the only ones I don’t own a copy of.

35. Godzilla: Mechagodzilla City - 2018. Yeah, screw the official title of this, it’s Mechagodzilla City for me.  I liked this one MUCH more than PotM, a truly inspired take on the Godzilla and Mechagodzilla rivalry.  Very much enjoyed!  Also don’t own a copy, since Netflix has yet to give it a physical release.

36. Godzilla: King of the Monsters - May 2019.  Saw this one in theaters at least twice, once in I believe Secaucus and again in Holmdel.  I think I saw it once more in Paramus, too.  Unbelievably enjoyable movie, and easily one of my absolute favorites of this year.  ^_^

39. King Kong vs. Godzilla (Japanese Version) - December 2019.  Finally got a chance to sit and watch this recently thanks to the Criterion set.  Loved it!

38. Godzilla: The Planet Eater - 2019???  Okay, time to come clean: I technically haven’t actually seen this one yet.  ^^()

[littlemisssquiggles]

Imagine Cordo going down and everyone is happy but then sudden laser beam and Oscar is shot, which takes everyone by surprise. Ruby freaks out (everyone does) and that’s when Oscar sees Ozpin. Causing ep 13 (since ep 12 is probably gonna be fighting) to be focused on Oscar and Ozpin?

That’sone way of doing it. While I share your hunch on Oscar possibly being downed during the finale and ending up either in the Dreamscape(meaning his own mind) or the Realm between Realms to reunite with Ozpinand the God of Light, I don’t personally want Oscar to go down so soon meaningthat I’m actually hoping he survives the Cordo boss battle.

Apart of me hopes thatif Oscar is to go down, it’ll probably be during a daring moment of protecting Ruby.That’s why I’m waiting for the events of V6 C11 to playout because I’m curious to know if Neo and Cinder are going to show up for thefinale alongside Adam.

Ifwe’re getting the fated rematch boss fight between Adam versus Blake and Yangthen supposed we’ll get another parallel rematch battle between the Fire and Ice-creamduo and the Rosebuds.

IfNeo and Cinder show up then the hunch I have is that we’ll get to see a tag team rematchbattle of Cinder versus Oscar and Neo versus Ruby.

I want Neo to have her duel with Ruby basedon what Cinder promised her in V6 C7.

“…Help me getto Atlas. Help me find her and the rest is up to you…”

Cinder told Neo that if she helped her findRuby then she will be allowed to deal with her how she saw fit. I know she saidAtlas but…what if the Writers decide to retcon that detail and have Cinder andNeo change their plans to go to Argus instead especially when they meet up withAdam who informed them that the group are in Argus or something like that.

I want a Neo and Ruby confrontation because Ifeel like it can mirror the fight she had with Torchwick which is the fightthat made Neo have her vendetta in the first place. And Cinder vs Oscar sinceCinder was the one who fought Ozpin and killed him so a second go like thiswould be interesting to watch; albeit a little unfair on Oscar’s part since,though Oscar has improved as a fighter, I’m not sure if he’s ready to go upagainst a Maiden of Magic. But it is worth seeing him try and give it hisall especially if Oscar, on his own, uses his own wit to outsmart the cockyCinder and disarm her.

If Neo and Ruby have their dual, then mytheory is that at some point Neo willoverpower Ruby. Seeing Ruby down, this gives Cinder theopen window to deal her final blow to Ruby. Even though Cinder promised Neo shecan have her revenge, knowing Cinder’s personality, I feel like she’s morelikely to doublecross Neo and take a cheap shot at Ruby while Neodistracts and weakens the girl for her.

While Ruby is distracted with Neo, Cindertakes this as a chance to kill Ruby. Or…perhaps Cinder does surprisingly keep her word to let Neo kill Ruby but stilltakes a cheap shot at Ruby. Like imagine…Cinder directs her attention fromOscar to blindside Ruby with an attack from afar and as Ruby spins to counterCinder’s attack, Neo takes this distraction as a moment to deal the killingblow to Ruby.

I keep hearing word of Neo committing a heinous action that will upsetthe fandom .  So whatif…Neo ends up killingOscar? What if…Neo takes a stab at Ruby only for Oscar to jump in front of the SilverEyed Girl, shielding her from the blow as Neo’s weapon goes right through theboy’s chest. So instead of killing Ruby, whatif…Neo technicallykills Oscar who dies saving Ruby right in front of her very eyes. I say technically because I don’t think the CRWBY Writers will actively kill off Oscar.

I feel like if Oscar is going to reunite withOzpin, it’ll probably be in the Realm betweenRealms and why I want it to be that as opposed toOscar’s mind is because it’s a chance for Oscarto parallel Ozma’s experience and meet the God of Light (or God of Darkness)face to face.

And as shown by Ozma, the only way for one toend up in the Realm between Realms is through death so I’m slowly starting to think that everything that’s been subtly foreshadowed about Oscar since the V6 poster has been leading to him possibly dyingthis season and coming back from the dead.

I know a plot point like this could upset myfellow Pineheads however speaking as proud Pinehead myself; I actually would like to see this become canon if possible.

Oscar dyingto protect someone he cares about is something Ican definitely see him having the bravery to do. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Ruby that Oscar dies or gets seriously injured to the point of death tryingto protect. Though Ruby is the obvious firstchoice, I can also see Oscar dying to protect Jaune for one) thatnod to Pyrhha’s sacrifice at sending Jaune off to safety while she went off tofight Cinder alone and two) to establish a bond between Oscar and Jaune whichcould aid later when Jaune eventually asks Oscar to join JNR. There have been too many signs this season.

  Having Jaune have tension with Oscar so that he can learn to appreciate the value of having Oscar on the team.

“…Don’tworry. We’re not leaving for Atlas without him.”“This teamjust isn’t the same without you, Oscar.”

Bringing up Pyrhha so that JNR could finally have closure for their fallen friend and former teammate and move on anew. 

I know that Oscar’s justification for incorporating red into his combat outfit theme is different from JNR’s but I like that it’s in there not just to symbolize Oscar’s admiration for Ruby but to also give him a colour that connects him to JNR. Just look how good these four looking next to each other. Look how Oscar fits in with JNR. 

And of course, my favourite moment from C11 to signal JNPR’s potential revival with Oscar on the team---the fact that Oscar is making the same reaction to Jaune as Nora and Ren---that felt like such team moment. Like three team members being amused over their dorky leader. I’m just waiting for the show to make it official already.  

That JNPR revival is coming guys! It’s getting stronger with every new episode. Now all I need is for Oscar to fight alongside JNR for the finale and like a hacker, he’ll be in for sure.

Plus I like this idea because it couldpotentially lead into my theory on Oscarbecoming immortal---resetting the reincarnation cycle byasking the God of Light to grant him immortality so that he may carry out themission of stopping Salem without having to force Ozma, the Past Wizards or anyfuture Wizards from this curse.

I think something like this could be cool ifturned canon…but I dunno. Not sure if Writers would do something like this.

Going back on your point anon,C13 is the seasonfinale episode. It’s the verylast episode of V6. Waiting to have Oscar meet Ozpin at thevery end. Giving everyone their development throughout the season while waitingto drop Oscar’s at the very end---I dunno. That might not sit well with somePineheads who were hoping it would’ve come sooner y’know. I know it’s just yourtheory anon-chan but I actually think you could be correct in that assumption.

If I were to interpret the narrative of thenext three episodes, I could assume that all three episodes will involve big fightsso I’m expecting C11-13 to be very action and combat heavy. We already got a taste of it fromthe C11 teaser clips.

If I had to guess, I feel like C11 will focusheavily on the Adam vs Bumblebee fight while cutting back and forth between the Cordo boss fight with JNR_QROW.I actually don’t think the mecha battle is the main fight. By the end of C11,we’ll probably get some reveal of a major twistto suggest that Adam was only the decoyto a much bigger scheme.

In C8, Ruby brought up Cinder Fall after Maria mentioned her ‘trial by fire’. Thisis why I’m waiting to see if Cinder and Neo show up. An interesting way to end C11is on a cliff-hanger where Grimm arrive to attack Argus along with Fire and Ice-cream.

By the end of C11, it would be cool if Neo andCinder were revealed to be working with Adam again and arrive with an army of Grimm to rain down on the unsuspectingcitizens of Argus---perhaps an army comprised of the Grimm we’ve seen all volume like the Manticoreand the Sphinx, maybe even some Apathy or just the generic cannon fodder Grimmlike the traditional Ursas and Beowolves.

Then in C12, we get the heroes splitting up to tackle the enemy while evacuating thecitizens to the Argus Atlesian Military Base since it’s probably the mostwell-protected safe haven in the entire city. This is why I don’t want Cordo tobe defeated because I’d like to see a temporarycease fire as Cordo redirects her attention to helping the heroes protect the citizens.

Maybe we can even have Maria assist from the air by evacuating people with her ship?

One thing I’ve been hoping to see for thefinale is Oscar fighting with JNR. Like we get to see Oscar, Jaune, Nora and Ren work together and pulloff team attacks coordinated by Jaune to take down an enemy horde to furtherhint at Oscar potentially joining up with them to revive Team JNPR. If C12 is along episode then we could get to see the Neo versus Ruby and Cinder versusOscar rematch go down and since the CRWBY like to toss in cliff-hangers…imagine if the episodeends with my theory of Neo killing Oscar while he tried protecting Ruby andthat’s how the episode just ends.

Then in C13, we get the reunion of Oscar and Ozpin. The only way I’ll accept itbeing like this is if the 90% of the episode is focused on just Oscar and Ozpinreuniting in the Realm between Realms or the Dreamscape or where the Writersdecide to toss their reunion.

No offense to the writers but they have skimpedon Oscar’s development this season which is disappointing since the posteralluded to it so…I’m hoping C11-C13 will make up for it and be our freckled farm boy’s crowning moments toshine like the golden boy he is.

But we shall see. In the meantime, these are justmy thoughts and theories and I hope they answered your question anon-chan. I plan ongoing more in depth in some of the stuff I talked about like Oscar’s potentialimmortality or even my ideas for how V6 could end in upcoming RWBY Musings. But asI said, I’m waiting to see how C11 goes because for me that will determine thekind of finale we’re going to get. So let’s see tomorrow!

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019)

[neverwatchedonepiece]

517-519: "The Beginning of the New Chapter! The Straw Hats Reunited!", "An Explosive Situation! Luffy vs. Fake Luffy!" and "The Navy Has Set Out! The Straw Hats in Danger!"

The hat is back on!

I was excited about this. Was also oddly excited to click on the “Fishman Island” arc on CR, finally, after so long on Marineford.

These episodes were another curve ball for me. I thought the timeskip would go one of two ways: either they’d all meet straight away at Sabaody, group hug, then sail off into the New World, or we’d get a training montage for each Strawhat before the meeting.

Then I remembered you guys mentioned there would be a mini-arc and I cursed myself for being dense.

There’s not much plot to it. Some fake Strawhats are blighting the real ones’ good name and reputation. Unfortunately for them, 3D2Y is kicking off and the real Strawhats are gathering on Sabaody like the Avengers Assemble. Plus, pretending to be an infamous pirate crew isn’t a great idea when the Marines and World Government are after them.

I think I can see what’s coming. The fake Strawhats are light-hearted fodder, there only to show off their real counterparts’ training. And bring some lulz. No idea how it’ll unfold, though. That’s half the fun of watching One Piece, to be honest.

Luffy

It was good to see Oda hasn’t tinkered with Luffy’s design too much. (Saying that, I liked the Strong World outfit).  He still has those flip flops and cut offs, but now the red vest has sleeves and is open at the chest. (Gotta expose dat 8 pack and scars, right?) 

Of course, the iconic straw hat was picked up at the beginning of the episode. He was ready! Hancock and the Kuja pirates were there to see him off. Hancock packed Luffy half a year’s worth of supplies in a massive pack and gave him a handy-dandy Groucho Marx disguise in case any Marines spotted him prior to sailing out.

(Is it me, or does Luffy finally realise Hancock likes him? He kept saying, “I’m not getting married.” Though I did like the part when he refused to say goodbye because he wanted to see her again. That was nice of him. He acknowledges just how much Hancock helped him - and she helped A LOT. You could argue Luffy is as indebted to Hancock as to Rayleigh, Jimbei and Ivankov.)

Then, he set off! The next time we saw him, his massive backpack nudged Fake Luffy. There was an altercation. 

Of course, Luffy couldn’t retaliate. Drawing attention to himself and bringing the Marines down on his head before he reunited with his crew would be a Bad Idea.

He did get his own back. Just not in a way that would draw attention.

When Fake Luffy fired the gun, I cheered because Real Luffy gave us a teaser of his new power. Observational Haki! Armament Haki! Conqueror’s Haki! He deflected the bullet, dodged it, then floored the Fakers without lifting a finger.

Honestly, I cannot wait until Luffy’s next big fight. Sentomaru has returned with some Pacifistas. I hope the Strawhats get their rematch. Oooh, maybe the Pacifistas will be fodder now....

Nami and Usopp

Look at them.

Look at how beautiful Nami and Usopp are. 

It seems that over the course of two years, certain Strawhats have ended up with less clothes than they started with.

Nami has lost her t-shirt, but at least she has that bikini, right? Like Luffy, Usopp has buffed up and has a shirtless look to show off his gainz. They both have longer hair too - and it looks good on them.

Not sure about this comment from Usopp, "I don't belong to the weak trio with you and Chopper. I became a warrior who is not fazed by anything!" I guess (or I hope) it was acknowledged by all three that they were the weakest members of the crew, but it’s a bit much saying he’s graduated to a higher tier. Especially since he doesn’t know what Nami and Chopper have been doing. I like that Usopp has found some more confidence, but don’t find it at the expense of your friends.

Or, it’s classic Usopp overcompensating because he’s underconfident. Or he’s just joking. 

Nami must have quiet confidence in her fighting ability because she sat at that bar in Sabaody on her own and talked back to Fake Luffy who had just shot someone. She can control the weather and summon thunderclouds indoors. That is not someone you’d mess with.

Usopp has some new weapons in his arsenal too. He’s weaponised the plants from Bowin Island and I’ll bet he has much more than carnivorous plants up his sleeve. 

I love how casually they walked out of the bar, talking about their training, “Yeah, so I was studying new weather tech on a Sky Island...” while thunderclouds tore the bar apart in the background.

And Nami was driving a hard bargain for a discount. Never change, Nami. Never change...

Zoro and Sanji

Never realised how much I missed these guys and their bickering until I had a genuine laugh-out-loud moment (in 519, I think?)

I love Zoro’s new design. I think it’s my favourite out of the new outfits. The green robe looks great. It gives him more gravitas, as though he has now graduated from Sword Training School and is allowed to wear the academic gown. Not sure what kind of garment it is, but it’s definitely more traditional.

Sanji is still in a suit. I liked his previous style, so I’m kind of glad Oda didn’t mess with it too much. Sanji and suits are like Luffy and flip-flops, you know? He’s changed his shirt, has grown a goatee (which, of course Zoro noticed and roasted Sanji for it) and maybe his hair’s a bit longer?

Zoro arrived at Shakky’s bar first. This was a source of woe for poor Sanji, who arrived seventh after Franky, Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Brook. (Robin was eighth because she had to shake some CP goons off her tail.)

The fact that Zoro arrived first was nothing short of a miracle. I’m still not sure how he managed it. Maybe Perona dropped him off right at the door. When Sanji arrived, he was overcome with emotion at the sight of women to the point his enthusiasm freaked out a couple of innocent ladies. Then Sanji met Duval (I love how they’re friends now) checked out the kitchen and went food shopping.

On the way, he met Zoro.

Zoro wanted to go fishing. Rayleigh and Shakky shouldn’t have let him out of their sight. Instead of getting on a fishing boat, he boarded a pirate galleon and fell asleep. Sure enough, the ship set sail with him on it. “THAT IDIOT!” Sanji yelled. But it was okay. Of course Zoro would do something like that. At least the ship was headed for Fishman Island and they knew where Zoro would be.

I was annoyed for a half a second (rob Zoro of the big reunion? How dare you!) But then he showed off some of his new skills. Mihawk-esque skills. He sliced an entire pirate galleon in half. It was awesome. He still has great lines too. “I ruined your New World dream? No. It was your fault for allowing a plague on your ship.”

Has Zoro taken a Mihawk level in edginess? I think so.

Then they started arguing on the way back and I honestly laughed out loud at their shit-flinging contest. 

“Stay with me, or you’ll get lost!”

“Who’re you talking to, moustache eyebrow!”

“Shut up, lost moss!”

“How could number seven talk bossily to number one?”

“SHUT UP, I TRAINED MY LEGS IN HELL FOR TWO YEARS!”

“BRING IT ON, I’LL CUT YOU IN HALF!!”

They love to pretend they hate each other, don’t they?

Chopper

Aw, Chopper. He has definitely take an level in cuteness.  Chopper is a rare example of more clothes. He has acquired a cute, stripey shirt and red shorts. The hat is okay. It’s huge. Maybe to accommodate his massive brain (because he has absorbed the contents of all those medical books, right?) Must say I prefer his old hat. Mainly because Dr Hiluluk gave it to him and it’s a huge part of his identity. Parts of it are still there, but I guess it’s difficult to change Chopper a lot, so the hat is an obvious target.

Haven’t seen any of his new abilities yet, so Chopper hasn’t changed at all personality wise. He still loves cotton candy and, like Luffy, is still absolutely hopeless at seeing through lies and bad disguises. The part when Chopper was running after the Fake Strawhats and crying out at them to rescue Fake Robin was a bit daft. I mean Chopper did admit later on to Nami that the Fake Robin, “didn’t smell familiar.” But then, that’s the gag. It goes all the way back to Sogeking, so I’ll let it slide. :)

He really thought the Strawhats had changed so much, though. It was  interesting to see that he’d stick to his principles and go rescue Robin himself: a real marker of Chopper’s new determination and confidence in his own abilities!

After that stressful moment, it was nice to see how glad Nami and Usopp were to see him, hugging him and telling him how much softer his fur was, how much bigger he’d grown. And Chopper’s outrage once he realised there were impostors about: “WAIT, NOW I’M MAD!”

Even though he’s stronger, kind, innocent Chopper hasn’t changed that much.

Robin and Franky

Again, how good do these two look? Robin is the most drastic change out of all the Strawhats. Could you believe I actually didn’t recognise her at first? (Only the eyes and the voice acting finally gave it away.) The blunt bangs/fringe/whatever you call them were iconic to her look, so it’s a definite departure. She looks great, though. Similar to Boa Hancock.

I’m 100% being Franky’s new look. The colour scheme is the same (red/blue) and he has his loud fashion sense, but the chunky cybernetic enhancements, the sharp shades and the buzz really add an intimidating edge to Franky that he was missing pre-timeskip. And apparently, the Sunny has some new weapons as well as a Full Underwater Coating courtesy of Rayleigh. Can’t wait to see what nightmarish destroyers of ships Franky has constructed! >:D

Franky injected some tension into the narrative, which was cool, even though I am 99% certain it will turn out fine in the end. While losing the CP9 goons trailing her, Robin picked up a poster for Brook’s concert. Quite rightly, she WTF’d over it and asked Franky if he knew what was going on.

“Brook's quite the star now. From the lonely shadows to a place where everyone cheers for him. He might not come back to pirating again.”

Surely Brook would not be so ungrateful to abandon the friends who lifted him out of loneliness into the spotlight again?

Nah. Brook’s not like that. I’d bet money it.

Soul King?

Brook has now graduated from garage band Slash-wannabe to issuing health and well-being advice via the genre of soul and the medium of arena tours. 

He has acquired a manager. Before the gig, Brook had something to tell him and I’ll bet it was about quitting. 

I’m still wondering how Brook got away with becoming so famous. Wasn’t he identified at Sabaody when Kizaru kicked their asses two years ago? Hasn’t his bounty poster been updated since? Did not a single Marine think, “Hey, there was a talking skeleton in the Strawhats’ company at Sabaody. Here is another one on TV. Coincidence?”

Love that we got to hear most of the song, though. Brook hasn’t changed that much, either. He still loves those skeleton puns.

(I am very behind on replies, btw. I know. I will reply to every single one tomorrow. ^_^)

“Move, bitch. Get out the way. Get out the way, bitch. Get out the way!” - Ludacris

[that-thing-that-feeling]

Re: ST, well we still have the first trailer and poster (plus release date) and the final trailer and poster to go. S3’s teaser poster was released abt 6 months before the season, so I think we can expect to see it in Feb/March. And the first trailer typically comes out about 3 months before the season, so probably around April/May. Hopefully we’ll get some crumbs for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas, like bts pics or a zoom reunion or smth.

Re: Charlie, I think it’s just hard bc being an actor is one of those jobs where unless you’re an A-lister you don’t have steady work. And bc it’s all so private there’s no way to know what an actor is up to until an announcement comes out. Charlie could v well be going to auditions and just not getting them - both he and Nat have spoken abt how they still don’t always get the roles they audition for even now - or he could just be taking a well deserved break to spend time with his family, or he could be secretly filming something rn. That’s the frustrating thing abt being a stan sometimes; you don’t always know what they’re up to, you just gotta trust that they know what they’re doing. Speaking of, I hope Sp2 will have some kind of event/premiere in January. Anyway Charlie has just given us the great gift of two great movies that came out p much at the same time, so I’m content with giving him a break for now 😂 And at least Nat has a movie allegedly coming out within the next few months, but I have heard rumors that the plot might be a tad bit biphobic, so I guess we’ll see.

Okay ugh it better not be that they are going so far into summer that the first trailer won’t be until April/May 😔. I hope it at least comes out in June, so that would be like March for the trailer (even that…smh). But, at the same time, they can’t wait that long to drop new material, so right prob a poster and maybe actual release date will release earlier—like January or February. Also, could see them using the super bowl or something for some content.

As for Charlie, yeah, I wouldn’t have expected him to shoot something right now, but to be in the UK, see fam, etc. I hope he’s auditioning tho. I’m just surprised by how much more reclusive he’s become really since NM press or tribeca, and missing the tsp2 premiere (idk tbh that it will have another uk premiere), and now disguising himself in london? That’s just a kinda big change for him that makes me wonder what caused such a change. And also makes me think he’s also prob avoiding events too. I just rlly hope he films something new before ST comes out. And hopefully attends an event, like any signs of career life would be good to see. It’s just weird imo. Agreed tho it’s great his two films came out!

And re: Natalia, I’m really looking forward to chestnut and hope it gets that fest premiere early next year—they seem very on top of things and it has good producers. I don’t think the film should be judged at all until seen—we don’t know Annie’s journey with her sexuality yet or like how she as a character thinks about it, and feel like they didn’t drop a lot abt the plot. Curious if Natalia will also shoot an additional new project and attend any events.

[refractstudios]

Booting Up 2017

Hi everyone! It’s been quite a while since I’ve done one of these long form devlogs (compared to shorter ones), so now that 2017 is in full swing I figured it was time to bring it back. There’s a lot to discuss, so for those that don't have all day to read the whole thing let's cover some highlights.

We recently released our most ambitious update to Distance yet: The Ghost Update. It features ghost racing, a replay viewer, official HTC Vive support, an increased online player limit, a new stats system, and tons of other improvements! It's now available via Steam Early Access and Humble Bundle. Check out the trailer for a quick overview, plus your first teaser for the final release of Adventure mode!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Before I continue with more detailed thoughts on the development, I'd like to cover some frequently asked questions. For a full FAQ (covering release timing, Kickstarter rewards, PlayStation VR, etc.) check out this new page that I put together.

Read more: Frequently Asked Questions (full list)

When is the game coming out of Steam early access?

When it’s ready, mostly likely in late 2017. We don’t have a massive number of tasks to complete before the game can be released, but being realistic we still have some big promises to fulfill and we can’t release the game until those promises are met. There will be a huge announcement when we’re ready to commit to a date. See “When will Refract know that it’s ready?” to see what’s left to do before then.

When is Distance coming to PS4?

The goal right now is to launch on PS4 at the same time as exiting Steam Early Access. That way everyone can play Adventure mode and everything else reserved for the final launch simultaneously. Aside from needing to finish the core game, we also have to complete a few PS4 technical certification requirements (specific rules Sony has for any game before it can ship on PS4), though we have made great progress on the majority of them. See “When is the game coming out of early access?” for thoughts on the launch window.

When will Refract know that Distance is ready?

Distance, as it is released on Steam early access, is quite far along. It’s a reasonably stable beta release with tons of single player and multiplayer features, 30+ Refract-created levels, Steam Workshop integration (with 1,800+ levels uploaded to Workshop), a powerful level editor, etc. The biggest things blocking us from a final release are a few features we promised during the Kickstarter, as well as a few features we feel are required for a 1.0 launch. As of writing this, Distance includes a complete Adventure mode (our short story/tutorial mode), a unique car for Kickstarter backers (or more accurately a system for multiple cars, plus a new model for backers), a stunt announcer, an attempted rework of Stunt mode, Steam/PS4 achievements, improvements to multiplayer accessibility, various multiplayer mode adjustments, PS4 technical certification requirements, an in-game Founding Modders designation, and a few other features.

We’ve already started work on each item listed above, so we truly are entering the final stage of Distance’s development. Some tasks are proving to be especially tricky, so we’re doing our best to keep scope in check while still living up to the original promises we made. Once we feel that each feature is complete, the last step is adding polish and doing additional testing with our early access community. We’ll be able to select a release timeframe and finally announce it to the world.

When are the physical rewards for Kickstarter backers shipping?

All backer rewards are planned to be released when the game is released, which is when it’s ready. This includes posters, shirts, physical copy of the game, etc. We know that it’ll take at least one dedicated month of work to prepare and ship the rewards, so we figured it would be smarter to work on them as the game is wrapping up instead of pausing game development for a month or more. Admittedly we didn’t originally plan for development to continue into 2017, but we still are committed to shipping high quality rewards as best we can alongside the final release. Non-physical rewards are also aiming to release at the same time. This includes the backer-exclusive car, the soundtrack, artbook, etc. See “When is the game coming out of early access?” for thoughts on the launch window.

PS4 DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS

While Distance is already released on PC in beta, we have yet to release any version of the game on PS4. Behind the scenes we’ve been doing our best to keep the PC and PS4 versions relatively the same feature-wise. Andrew continually does his best to keep the PS4 version in check with the PC build as new feature and content are added, as well as ensuring that framerate is acceptable. We have had to do quite a bit of optimization for PS4 to hit our target of 1080p at 60fps, but at the moment we're doing well.

Visually, audibly, and gameplay-wise Distance on PS4 is nearly identical on PC, except for a few minor changes. For example, profiles on PS4 have been replaced by the PS4's user account system, so you can use your PS4 accounts to enter into split-screen. We also simplified a few menus such as the graphics options so that we can focus on one version of the game looking and running great on all PS4s.

One major feature that is currently missing and may continue that way for the 1.0 launch is the level editor and equivalent Steam Workshop support. Andrew spent time porting the level editor to the controller, but it's an enormous endeavor. There are also file system concerns, lack of a Steam Workshop equivalent, and other technical issues, so right now we're operating under the assumption that PS4 version won't have level editor support. We do have some ideas as to how the PS4 could support user-generated content down the road, but we’re not yet able to make any promises one way or another.

Finally, I did want to make a brief mention about PlayStation VR. You probably noticed that we support the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, so PlayStation VR is a logical next step. Well we’re already ahead of you in that we announced support a ways back and showed the game running on PS VR during PlayStation Experience 2015. While Distance works well on PS VR (for the most part) we are concerned about hitting the required framerate designated by Sony in the final product. A big part of the limitation there comes down to our engine, Unity3D. We are continually talking with the PS4 port team for Unity3D in the effort to maximize framerate, but it’s been quite a handful managing that and PS4 simultaneously. Long story short, we are still doing our best to release on PlayStation VR, but it might not be available alongside the primary PS4 launch. We’ll obviously post more as we make decisions about it down the road.

LOOKING BACK ON 2016

Last year was quite a year. Not to speak for all of Refract, but 2016 was easily the most all-consuming year of Distance’s development for me. My personal focus for much of the year was on our short “story” campaign (a.k.a. Adventure mode 2.0), but for the most part the team has been focused on developing new features for early access players.

I've been doing my best to keep people apprised of development progress on Twitter, blog posts on Steam, experimental branch changelogs, etc., but I had been pushing off this massive devlog until we could announce the release date. Throughout the first half 2016 it felt like we were close to it locking down, but as time went on my blind optimism became clear. We realized that we just wouldn’t be happy if we started hacking off features to reach an earlier deadline.

We clearly had some lofty ambitions heading into 2016. At the start of the year we felt that it would be no problem to wrap up Distance by Q1/Q2. Obviously we’re continuing on with development into 2017, so that (like most of our predictions) was way off. In reality I feel like I blinked twice and last year just flew by.

Of course some may assume that if we’re continuing into 2017, something terrible must have happened to cause such a delay. As you’re probably able to gather, we’re just bad at predicting how long it takes to do stuff we’ve never done before. At this point of development, everything we create is the first time we’ve ever done it. It’s an endless sea of massive guesses. We could just decide one day to call it bad and cancel some of the features we promised, but we’re quite stubborn and determined to finish Distance on our terms.

THE GHOST UPDATE

One final thing before I dive into general thoughts on the development. We recently released The Ghost Update, an update that (for better or worse) took 7+ months and an incredible amount of support from the community to release. At its core it contains a complex replay system that's aimed at improving the arcade experience, but it also included dozens (if not hundreds) of tweaks based on community feedback. I just want to discuss a few highlights.

Ghost racing

While we have frequently described Distance as you vs. the track, the track can only offer so much. With ghost racing you can take on your friends, other racers around your skill level, or the world’s best (assuming you’re not yet up there). I know I’ve encountered a few occasions while testing something and suddenly the urge to beat a friend’s ghost overtakes me.

While creating a full featured and intuitive ghost/replay system was tricky enough, we weren’t able to release it until we knew the framework for saving, uploading, and downloading online ghosts was finalized. There’s obviously room to tweak things, but it would be a colossal waste of time to release the replay system and then a month or two later invalidate all replays because we had to change something under the hood. Fortunately, Jason thought ahead and created a fancy system for replay versioning in the worst case where something big needs changed.

Viewing Replays

For viewing replays the tech was really only half of the battle. Those who follow our team closely are probably well aware of the fact that we collectively struggle a bit with creating intuitive menus, and the replay viewer was no exception. The final result is hopefully something that isn’t confusing yet, allows for tons of flexibility when pausing, adjusting play speed, jumping forward and backward, etc.

Jason added some special functionality to drag along progress bars and essentially achieve scrubbing. This was especially tricky since we needed to be able to rapidly jump around the replay, which in reality is just a linear series of events. As the replay plays forward we fire off the inputs events as they’re happening alongside the movement and rotation of the car, so several things aren’t easily reversed like exploding, opening your wings, etc. When scrubbing backward he had to figure out how to walk backwards into the replay and find which events had conspired to lead to your present moment. I’m sure he can explain it better, but I found the whole process fascinating.

Increased Online Player Limit

Increasing the player limit wasn’t hard at all, but supporting everything around it was challenging. For both viewing replays and racing online Jason had to spend a significant amount of time optimizing car performance. Rendering the graphics/physics for each car quickly adds up, and as I’m sure those who modded the game to support 12+ players surely felt the pain when you had a ton of players right next to you. Jason did some general optimizations to car performance, but the biggest help was adding a LOD (level of detail) system that smartly adjusts the quality of each car as it gets farther away from you.

We also decided that since it seems online car collisions are currently outside this project’s scope, it makes the most sense to spawn online cars all in the same spot. In theory this wasn’t too complicated, but rendering 12 cars on top of each other looked really messy. To get around this we had to adjust our shaders to support a sort of proximity-based fade. When you’re right on top of another car it’s invisible, when it’s close but not directly on you it’s an outline, and as it gets farther away we use a modified version of our laser shader to “fade” it into existence. It’s not perfect visually, but on a functional level it gets the job done for now.

Improve Medal, Level Unlocking

Adding an unlock system might seem counter-intuitive to existing early access players, but in reality it wasn’t added for veterans. It was added to help give a sense of progression and achievement to the arcade portion of the game as well as show which levels you’ve played/not played in a logical way. After finishing a map you can now much more clearly see how you did compared to the bronze, silver, and gold medal times. Using leaderboard times as a point of reference can be quite intimidating since many of the top players have been put in 500+ hours. Instead you get a better baseline for what Refract expects from players.

Stats System (Achievements)

Finally I wanted to mention the stats system and attempt to explain why it exists. Certainly it’s fun to see the juicy details of a match and your general play style, but the core reason it was added was as a prerequisite to achievements/trophies (on Steam and PSN). We haven’t yet announced which achievements will be released, but a few are already in development for eventual release. You even might be able to guess which are coming based on what stats we added.

IMPROVING THE BETA (everything but Adventure mode)

Last year was an insane year of learning for me. Not only did I get to experiment with every nearly area of narrative development, but I also exposed myself to many new interesting concepts tech and design-wise. I was (surprisingly) quite involved with the design-side of controls adjustments that took place in our Creativity Update, usability of ghost racing and the replay viewer, the arcade mode medal progression system, the stats system, etc.; basically a lot of menu design.

(simple primitives on display in the level Uncanny Valley)

We released two huge updates last year, one of which was not really in the plans at all from the beginning, and one was essentially trying to live up to a promise we made during the Kickstarter. The Creativity Update was focused around new tools we added to the level editor, new levels we created using those tools, and a large refactor of the game’s controls. None of this was specifically intended from the start, but as amazing feedback kept pouring in we realized how important it was to adapt to these new ideas.

Early on we had users creating sculptures using buildings and obstacles, which prompted us to add “Simples,” primitive building blocks for creating untextured sculptures in the game. Eventually in the Creative Update Andrew became incredibly passionate about improving that system to add more flexibility while keeping performance in check. He also added an entire particle system that we could finally offer to level creators, throw out Unity’s system, and use it ourselves in Adventure mode. These two things became real game changers in terms of what’s possible in Distance, so seizing the moment and pursuing them was an incredibly logical choice.

(showing off Andrew’s new particle system in Amusement)

On the controls side we mostly sought to ensure that before we 100% commit to a replay system, we know exactly how the car works controls-wise. As the result of extensive testing with new players, early access feedback, and tons of experiments, we ended up simplifying the core rotation controls while adding a new ability, grip. We’ve had fun adding it as a requirement for sections in Adventure mode while also seeing community creators push it as far as they can.

(new level Friction designed to teach the Grip ability)

As for the Ghost Update, the replay system was 90% of the challenge. I’ve already covered most of that in the Ghost Update section above, but it was such an intense learning experience. It was basically Jason doing his best to continually improve functionality and usability while battling the seemingly endless list of incoming bugs cropping up in our experimental builds. I certainly applaud his persistence in powering through that featureset.

The only major expo we attended was PAX West, and it was in a largely reduced capacity compared to the previous year. In general, last year was all about trying to stay focused. We really just wanted to keep our nose to the grindstone and attempt to live up to the quality bar we set ahead of ourselves.

As bonus, here are a few other cool miscellaneous things we created in our free time (mostly as weekend projects) last year:

Special VR “copter camera” mode

Upgraded skybox using real data from 170,000+ stars

New visuals for our smaller booth at PAX West

Custom car “skin” released on Halloween

Integrated eye tracking into replays to help with playtesting

3D print your own Distance car

ADVENTURE MODE

It’s probably no surprise, but Adventure mode was my baby throughout 2016. It’s also one of big ticket items preventing Distance from exiting beta and releasing on PS4. There are plenty of arcade features and PS4 tech requirements to finish, but the Adventure mode remains a top priority for hitting gold. For better or worse, we only get one chance to impress with linear narrative content.

We’ve always attempted to keep scope low in Adventure mode, though as experiments unfolded it’s been challenging to keep everything in perspective. At the moment the campaign only lasts about an hour, and it really flies by. With how long it took to just get to this point, I don’t expect that to change much before launch. We’re still pursuing quality over quantity; a sharp and focused experience rather than something long and meandering.

Looking back, 2015 was largely driven by community events, expos, and arcade features in the form of early access updates. We improved upon some of the weakest parts of the game and put a ton of effort in making level editing easier. Despite all of that, going into 2016 I felt that we didn’t have the momentum in Adventure mode to achieve our original goals. We had a core gameplay progression and several interesting story ideas in place, but the underlying substance was still missing.

Upon starting 2016 I set out to solidify the framework on which the story was built. At the time that meant locking down a compelling backstory for our world. We had far too many logic holes in our previous iterations. I figured that the key to great world design is getting everyone at Refract on the same page when it comes to the “what, where, when, and why” details of the world. From that perspective, we would check new art assets and story moments against the world’s “rules” to see if everything is in check.

As a side project while working on early access features, I re-worked the backstory over and over again. There were so many parameters to accommodate. It needed to rely on a lot of previously created art assets since we didn’t have time to recreate everything. It also needed to work within the spectrum of gameplay we had already refined. We could add stuff to the gameplay, but we really didn’t want to change or remove anything if it wasn’t necessary.

After a few months of iteration I finally felt a bit more confident in the world’s backstory. The logic gaps were starting to close, but at the same time I also started to realize how complex and detailed it had become. If we had the time/skills to pull off elaborate cutscenes, perhaps we could figure out how to cram this much exposition into the world, but it really didn’t seem feasible. So once again I had to simplify the story to service the short timeframe for the campaign. For a point of reference this was around the time we shipped the Creativity Update in early May, and after this point I (mostly) moved to working on Adventure mode as my primary task.

All along the way I had been iterating on levels and experimenting with various forms of storytelling. The tools we have available obviously define how we’d effectively convey any information, so I wanted to explore all possibilities. For example, since I’m audio focused I started by exploring voice overs, ambient SFX, sequenced audio in “cinematic” moments, etc. I also experimented with ways to make the level feel more dynamic by having lights and other decorations subtly animate as you drive near them. Since we unfortunately don’t have the ability to create elaborate animations for every important moment, I also attempted to create dynamic animations by doing live audio analysis.

Around June I started to rethink environmental storytelling and how the world could better be used to convey information. Since I’m not much of a 3D artist, I started by taking Eddie and Laura’s 3D art and tweaking 2D elements and/or adding new game logic. I didn’t want to eat up all of their time with experiments, so I figured I could just experiment on my own and ask for a “final” version once the design was well tested.

While Eddie and Laura usually work remotely from another state, we had the ultimate pleasure of having them for a few weeks in person at the end of June and beginning of July. In preparation I did my best to get as much story stuff ready as possible so we weren’t spinning our wheels unnecessarily. It was a really productive time for us all, and it helped a lot leading into the madness that is PAX.

From July to August I kept pushing ahead with Adventure mode with the intent of solidifying the first several levels with the new backstory, visual design, and storytelling elements. Seemed logical for creating a PAX demo, and we’d also be creating sort of a new vertical slice for the rest of the game to follow. During this time I picked a few experimental story elements to commit to and followed them as far as I could in that time. Let’s just say there was a lot of vocal recording done in August.

PAX West finally took place in Seattle right at the start of September. While in 2015 we went all out as somewhat of a marketing experiment, last year we largely used it as a playtesting milestone. It definitely helped to gather some press interest and remind several PAX goers (and other devs) that we’re still going strong, but the real focus was on testing our latest content. All in all we learned a lot from players, and I was able to practice several new pitches for the updated story. There were some clear gameplay issues to address in the first few levels, but interest in the story progression had never been higher.

Following PAX, we set out a plan to finish Adventure mode. We now understood the tools at our disposal and the time it takes to create new content, so now we needed to just form a plan and stick to it. Unfortunately being aware of our limitations doesn’t make us that much more efficient. It just allows us to see a theoretical path towards a completable campaign.

Leading up to IGF submissions near the end of October, I tweaked a thousand things, added tons of new audio, improved some of the major progression pieces, and Eddie, Laura, and Kyle all added new level content. It was exciting to see all of these new ideas and experiments in one new flow, and in general I felt good about the submission. Not because I felt that it was a polished and complete product, but because so many of our ambitious ideas over the past couple years came together in this build.

After IGF I decided to take a bit of a step back and attempt to reflect on where we were. When everything’s getting thrown in at the last minute for a big deadline it can be easy (at least for me) to lose that sense of perspective since it’s all in the moment. I got swept up in Ghost Update stuff and decided to make that my primary focus in wrapping up 2016.

In starting up this year I had probably too many thoughts on what’s left to do Adventure-wise, especially after allowing my mind a break during the holidays. Regardless of how many cool ideas we have at this point for expanding the campaign, I’m pushing for simplification and refinement as our primary focus. Creating a cool looking, fun level is already quite time consuming, but adding a consistent layer of compelling narrative to each level is a whole different animal. Pacing is another struggle we’ve run into over and over again. You have to keep track how often story stuff happens to keep things interesting, but not make it so detailed that you’re experiencing stimulus overload. We’re currently facing the later in many areas, so one of my current tasks is to create more breathing room for important moments. It’s too easy to cram in a ton of data and assume players will be able to digest it all while playing what is frequently a challenging game.

One of the biggest weakness I see right now in the campaign is simply a lack of cohesion due to a wide array of incomplete experiments making up of the cool moments. As we push forward we’ll need to keep scope in check, achieve a consistent level of polish through the experience, and focus on landing our few major storytelling moments.

To wrap up this I’ll say the biggest surprise is how tough it’s been to balance public arcade feature releases with internal private development of narrative content. At many points it feels like we’re developing two entirely separate games, though their intersection is essentially the most critical part of the game to nail (in my opinion). We have to ensure that adding/tweaking Adventure mode 2.0 isn’t breaking the publicly available Adventure mode preview, as well as any other arcade features and content, and vice versa.

Mentality-wise it’s been an impressive struggle to rapidly jump between private and public development. If I dive deep into Adventure writing/design I tend to get disconnected from social media and the early access community (and most people think I probably died). If I take too much of a break from early access features it’s easy to lose my programming edge and lose track of what’s important to the community.

Being able to jump between these areas keeps things continually fresh and exciting. Not that I mean to complain, it's just a surprising struggle that I wish someone had potentially warned me about years ago.

NEW MUSIC

While I’m not excited to give out too many Adventure mode teasers just yet, I’ve decided to share some of the latest work in progress music I’ve been creating for Adventure 2.0. I’ve made one new track, Scratch, available to the public! It started as a weird mashup of a few different styles I found intriguing and quickly evolved into its own thing. Check it out here:

On top of that, for those that pre-ordered Distance Deluxe or backed at the Soundtrack Tier I’ve uploaded an additional 6 new unreleased tracks for you to check out! Simply use the soundtrack preview link at the top of your Humble Bundle download page to hear them. As always I’m curious to hear what you think!

GOING FORWARD

Making Distance has been hard. It’s been a long road. Working to complete a long unwavering list of predetermined features is tiring, all while attempting to cycle in great suggestions and requests from current players. At this point of development I am a bit glad that we aren’t seeking to expand dramatically, we just want to finish strong.

There are plenty of promised features to finish, but we’re doing our best to have fun and keep things interesting every week. The next few months will be some of our most challenging yet, but I have faith in our team to follow through to the end. I’m not quite prepared to dive into what exactly is being developed at the moment, but I can say that we are essentially planning for two more major releases: an Arcade-focused update (basically everything feature-wise not related to Adventure mode), and then a final, gold, Adventure 2.0, “the game is done” update. It’ll be largely content focused and be released on PC and PS4 simultaneously if we continue down our current path.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! As always, thank you to our phenomenal Steam early access community for providing insightful feedback weekly, and thanks for our earliest backers for continuing to cheer us on throughout the entire development. Your encouragement is continually the fuel that keeps us afloat in the toughest times.

- Jordan (with everyone at Refract)