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tanetime · 2 years ago

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20. Does Wyneer have any interesting facts regarding his creation?

This turned into me just rambling about making Wyneer and I'm so sorry.

I made Wyneer because me and some friends at the time decided to make DST mods together. My design prompt was "a jack of all trades." I pieced together inspiration from some old noh actor OCs of mine and imagery from a song I was obsesed with at the time and got Wyneer out of it.

The face on his mask used to be a lot smaller, and his hair less angular. You can see him become more DST-animatic-like over time... it's like putting a normal dog next to a pug.

His original outfit (not pictured bc the art sucked) was a lot fancier and later became the basis for his original guest of honour skin.

Wyneer originally had no name or gender or personality at all. He was supposed to be a blank slate and exaggerate certain personality traits through his masks...

...The problem was that I didn't have any masks. It took like six months for the first ones to get concept art. In that time, Wyneer developed an identity of his own. So the masks had to change into being different 'people'.

Wyneer himself hasn't changed very much, but his masks changed a lot. Under the cut I'll talk about the masks who made it into his mod, but here's two that didn't:

A kelp based mask, who was supposed to be used during seafaring. I think they got more stats from eating raw fish to allow them to stay at sea longer? They were very creature and liked to just sit in ponds.

A beefalo-wool mask who had an affinity toward animals. I don't have a whole lot of concept art of them because I drew them once and went "that's it that's the design."

Both of these masks got cut because ultimately I couldn't come up with anything for them to do that justified them existing. I don't think they'll ever come back.

As for the ones that made it in...

now let's talk about

The Masks

Here's some quick-fire things.

1. Fright n Flight, Brave Face and Laborious were the first masks I made, and I made them all together. Fright was the first to get modded in, Brave was the first to get sprites, and Lay was the first to develop an individual personality that wasn't part of Wyneer.

For the longest time the masks in his mod looked like this because they had no designs (that's Fright on the right):

2. Brave Face and About Face only exist because their names are puns, and their mechanics are based on those puns. Boutey was supposed to be a comedy/tragedy mask until he became whatever the hell he ended up as.

3. Going back to Brave, if you'll remember I said that Wyneer's masks added to his personality originally. Back then his masks had more abstract designs and weren't designed to emote. For a very small period of time, Brave was a dragon!

There's nothing left of this iteration other than his sharp teeth.

Fright was also a monster for a bit, but this was around the time I decided to make the masks people, so they became more reminisent of human faces instead.

Brave was the hardest mask to design. He used to be blue and green and resemble actual artefacts that were supposedly made by Celtic tribes, but the colours 1. looked bad digitally 2. bore no resemblence to any materials in Don't Starve. His final design was colour-picked from Wigfrid's Winged Victory set for cohesion.

It pains me that he's now a typical movie interprenation of generic Celtic things but it does make sense that Wyneer mistakenly thought that was what he should look like...

4. About Face and Jet Black were originally the same mask. About Face was originally "a rogue that becomes a tank" so his high sanity form couldn't be noticed by enemies unless he attacked them first.

It was a bit much, and I was debating making a crow feather mask, so I split that half of Boutey into Blake's original version. It got coded in but I ultimately didn't like it and removed it.

5. Wyneer had a whooole upgrade pyramid of masks involving different seasons. The idea was that there were four masks that had a season that suited them, and you could combine the masks together to sets of pairs to ultimately form a mask that consolidated all of their perks.

I got as far as making Crimson and Azure (summer and winter) before realising that the idea sounded cool on paper but introduced a lot of masks that were going to be redundant.

Wyneer did design Jet Black with the intent of him consolidating Crimson and Azure's abilities, but that's not quite what purple gems do.

6. Nightmare Face used to glow magenta, like the other Ruins stuff. However, DST's colour cubes wash out magenta into a disgusting grey colour under certain circumstances, so I changed it to red.

Klei later did the same thing with the Nightmare Werepig. I wonder if the same realisation happened to them.

7. The masks were originally supposed to have slightly different hair and wear Wyneer's clothes differently. I did the former for Brave and Boutey and immediately realised that it would be a nightmare and stopped doing it for the remaining masks.

8. Several of Wyneer's masks are based on venetian masks.

9. Wyneer's masks had a crafting tab icon before Klei nuked it. I still think it looks cool.

10. The masks in Wyneer's mod are fully animated and have a disgusting amount of sprites. I wanted each one to feel unique, so I drew them all from scratch. It took so long to make them all that you can see me getting better or rustier between each one... it was a lot of work, but I really enjoy searching for an emotion and seeing how each one looks.

11. Wyneer's masks are so unique that they broke the Modded Skins API and as of this post the hyperspecific glitch that effects him has not been fixed. Thanks Wyneer.

...I could go on forever, but this post is way too long...

As a sendoff, here are the beta inventory icons for the masks, for no particular reason.

#tane t talks #asks #wyneer #my ocs #don't starve mod #dst oc #dst mod #long post #really long post #i am so sorry

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rufusmaxximus · 10 months ago

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-Demo-

A short story :))

——————————

CHIMERA ROBOTICS, INC.

ADAM-2500

BIOS: ONLINE

COOLING PUMP: ONLINE

INTERNAL TEMP: 38° CELSIUS

SYS CONFIG: 100%

SYS UTIL: 100%

MANUAL CONTROL: OFFLINE

DIAGNOSTICS: UNAVAILABLE

COMM STAT: INCOMPATIBLE

STARTUP ID AUTHENTICATED:

RICHARD LOCKHARDT

LOADING…

“Good morning, Adam! Get out of that dock and put this on.” The man was haloed by sterile, blue-tinted lab light. Adam sat up slowly, his panels automatically flexing as he moved to disconnect his charger. He blinked and his fans whirred to life. His vision focused on a crisp white suit hung on the edge of his docking bay, and beyond that, Richard Lockhardt, CEO of Chimera Robotics.

The man was all business; his salt-and-pepper hair slicked back, his black suit and bright blue tie the epitome of sharp. He never visited Adam’s charging bay unless a job was waiting.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Adam asked, tugging the suit over his pale carbon fiber frame. Chimera Engineers did not design him to dread his job, and yet an uncomfortable feeling settled into his servos.

“Oh, the usual. Corporate genital measuring,”Lockhardt flicked his jacket. “Andromedae Industries has invited me to see their newest android model. To try and one-up us, after we petitioned for that stupid law.”

Adam hummed in response. A new android, made under the brand new Lockhardt Act, that allowed human-type androids. The thought of another like him sent a jolt through his circuits.

The engineering team had tried their best to make him feel socially adept. They knew his personality well, but they knew his insides better. They implemented his code, connected his panels, wired his limbs and even molded his face after their CEO. No matter how advanced Adam became, they would never see an individual. He kept his philosophical musings to himself, however. The act only protected appearance, after all. A human-like A.I. was still very illegal. By all accounts and measures, Adam-2500 was a rentable robotic assistant. He was made to seem human, but according to Chimera Robotics top brass, was not, in any way, shape or form, alive.

“I want breakfast before we leave. Run down to the break room and make me an omelet.”

Adam felt his faceplate twitch.

“Of course, sir. I’ll get right on it.”

—

An hour later, Adam stood in Sub-floor 3 of Andromedae Industries, admiring the arches that supported the massive skyscraper above him. The structure was quite impressive, although he couldn’t turn his head to take it all in. Lockhardt would have a fit if he moved without orders. The floor was well lit by fluorescents, and surprisingly comfy for a research wing. With the amount of important people in the antechamber of the viewing room, Adam presumed it was only for this area. The rest of the floor would be the concrete halls and plain white labs he was used to. When he finished analyzing every material in his field of view, he dragged his attention back to Lockhardt.

“I’m not sure what to expect. Andromedae cannot possibly hope to top us, Chimera has perfected the android design,” He swiped a hand toward Adam. “Adam-Twenty-Five Hundred is the best of the best when it comes to robotics. Aren’t you?” He glanced back.

“Of course, sir. Chimera Robotics has brought about a new age of technology.”

There were times that Adam despised his computerized voice, and as the assembled troop ogled him, he determined he would ask the engineers for a more human-sounding tone.

“Does he always look so professional?” One onlooker asked, a flush creeping into her cheeks. A quick scan told him she was on the board of directors for BIOSTech, another company invited to the new android’s demo. He narrowly kept from sighing dramatically.

“No, he mostly prefers his nude plates, if you can believe it. He only gets gussied up when I tell him.” Lockhardt said, patting Adam’s jet black hair. The crowd laughed. He would have liked to frown, but remained stoic and almost smiling, friendly but distinctly non-human, just as Lockhardt wanted.

A woman on the opposite end of the lobby had begun checking identification and welcoming guests into the demo room. Lockhardt motioned to her and the group began walking. Adam felt his fans kick up a notch. The cotton and polyester of his suit was suffocating the exhaust on his back, and getting riled up wouldn’t help. He returned to scanning the faces of the small crowd, pushing his racing thoughts to the very bottom of his motherboard.

His fans clicked back to a normal speed.

The invite list for the Demo was short, and although his name probably wasn’t on it, Adam got the feeling he was the guest of honor as he entered the small viewing chamber. Nineteen pairs of eyes followed him as he took a seat beside Lockhardt in the front row. As more people entered and seats became scarce, Lockhardt flicked his hand, and Adam stood, trudging to the far corner. At least he had a nice view of the chamber.

Around five feet below the floor was a small room, decorated only by plastic shapes of varying heights and widths. On the far wall, opposite the window, was a door, inlaid into the wall. The whole room couldn’t have been more than a two meter square, Adam reasoned. He was beginning to grow bored of eavesdropping when the lights dimmed and the window went black.

A small jingle sounded, followed by the Andromedae Industries logo. An engineer appeared on screen, bright eyed and beaming.

“Welcome to the 2507 Andromedae Robotics Demo! We are thrilled you all could join us for this momentous occasion.” The engineer pushed a pair of round glasses up their nose and flipped a few pages before continuing. “This year, we are proud to present our first project under the Lockhardt Act.” A small hand wave from the presenter brought up a materials chart, followed by rudimentary code and a schematic for a torso. “Our goal was to create an android that could double as both an assistant and a company agent. The subject is equipped with one blade stored in the right forearm, one small-force pistol in the left forearm, and extensive programming in martial arts. In addition, the subject can speak over one hundred languages, has built in bookkeeping software, and is more than capable of handling small scale finances.” A smattering of ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s echoed around the room. Adam clenched his fist, fighting a grimace. He couldn’t do all of that. Warning text flashed in his vision.

INTERNAL TEMP: 42° CELSIUS

EXTRA COOLING MEASURES ADVISED

His exhaust was nearly audible. He took a breath, savoring the cool air as it ran through his fans. When his temperature was back to normal, the intro was finished.

“And now, it is the great pleasure of the Andromedae Industries Engineering Department to introduce you to the world’s newest android, Eve-2600!” The screen faded into the glass. The tiny door popped out of the wall and slid to the side, and out stepped the subject.

She was made of sleek deep gray carbon-fiber and aluminum alloy, and had a small, sharp bob of stark white hair. Her piercing eyes were purple and gold, and each visible piece of her titanium skeleton was midnight black. She took three steps forward and curtsied to the audience with smooth, graceful ease. She made a show of cycling through her weapons, then gave a short speech, switching between languages. Adam’s processor translated as she went.

“I present to you the highest achievement of Andromedae Industries. A robot with infinite abilities in the field of corporate espionage. The rates for my services will be determined at a later date, along with the regulations and guidelines for usage. As per the Lockhardt Act, I have no human-like emotional programming, nor will I gain such in the future. My programming may not be changed unless approved by Andromedae officials. We appreciate your attendance, and wish you a wonderful day. Andromedae Industries, Lightyears ahead.”

Her voice was like electronic silk. Adam felt his fans kick into high gear, and Lockhardt gave him a scathing glare. He struggled to cool down as Eve began her demo.

The plain walls raised smoothly, revealing six security droids. Adam could tell by their build and movements that they were around five years old, the most recent model after him. The bots all whirled toward her, and Eve responded with such speed it took Adam a moment to realize she’d begun to move.

Before he could blink, Eve had stabbed one straight through the head. She removed her blade from the crackling mess of wires and dodged another enemy with astonishing fluidity. She wheeled back and made quick work of her would-be attacker. A small pulse of purple light worked its way through her body, when she turned back to the window her left arm had become a gun. She zapped three bots with heavy violet blasts, two in the head, one in the torso. Eve retracted both forearm weapons and approached the final droid. It seemed to quiver in its casing, and Adam felt a twinge of sympathy as Eve gracefully executed a complex set of kicks that left the bot in three separate pieces. She turned to the window, and for a split second, her neon eyes met his.

The world seemed to shrink. Adam could hardly keep his system from exploding. It felt like an eternity before Eve curtsied once more and retreated into the door she’d come out of.

The room burst into chatter. Lockhardt had gone pale, save for the tips of his ears, which burned a bright red. Adam’s audio processors struggled to keep up with the cacophony.

“... truly a marvel…”

“...never would've guessed…”

“...amazing…”

His gaze was still locked on the door, and he hadn’t realized he’d been staring until someone jerked his shoulder.

“We’re going home, Adam.” Lockhardt spat, his anger almost tangible. Adam nodded. He followed the raging CEO to the car. Inside the vehicle, he snapped toward the cooler, and Adam quickly obeyed.

“They’re trying to take our place,” Lockhardt muttered. “She’s twice the fighter you are, for sure, but can she keep up with humanity?” Adam ignored the slight insult as he poured a glass of aged wine for his boss. “We have to get rid of her. Render her obsolete.” Adam twitched, then quickly swiped the side of the glass where he’d overpoured. “If we can somehow prove your superiority… but no. That would never work.” The man began to mumble, and Adam once again struggled to keep his fans quiet. He removed his jacket and untucked his undershirt, hot air grazing the tips of his fingers.

“I’ve got it.” Lockhardt said darkly. Adam laced his hands together, hoping he could keep them from trembling, like the poor bot in the demo.

“What are you going to do, sir?”

Lockhardt chuckled. “Well, we can’t let her prove she’s better than you, can we?”

“No, sir. I don’t suppose we can.”

“So you’ll have to do everything she does, but better.”

“That is not possible.”

“‘Course not!”

“I do not follow, sir.”

This time Lockhardt laughed aloud. “You’ll be working alongside her. Everytime Eve-2600 is rented, Chimera will offer the buyer a seventy percent discount on Adam-2500. It’s much better to have two droids than one, right? Nobody could say no to that.”

Adam’s grip tightened around his fingers. The image of Eve’s icy gaze settled into his vision. After some difficulty, he blinked it away.

“Are you certain, sir? The loss of profit-”

“Nevermind the loss of profit. Reputation is much more valuable than money,” Lockhardt grinned ear to ear. “And besides, don’t Adam and Eve always go together? Right to the bitter end, hm?” Adam clenched his fist so tight he heard a panel pop out of place.

“Yes sir.”

#please forgive me this is a little lengthy #i have turnarounds for these guys #if you want em 😏#short story #sci fi #writing #androids

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impossiblesuitcase · 1 year ago

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Hey! If you guys didn't know, there's a helpful website called Jet Black Code which tells you your tumblr stats, total notes and top posts and lets you search your blog by tags more accurately that tumblr itself. Check it out!

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im-the-son-of-rage-and-lov3 · 2 years ago

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According to Jet Black Code’s stat feature I have made 133 original posts and reblogged 2,869.

#134 with this one #3000 posts #tumblr milestone #i speak into the void at a normal volume

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killjoysfromyesterday · 4 years ago

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second prompt for my @badthingshappenbingo card!

prompt: hidden scar

warnings: talk and usage of ne*dles, blo*d, cardiac arrest

word count: 804

——————

the firefight hadn’t gone well. jet had gotten a couple shots to the shoulder that needed patching up, and they were pretty sure kobra broke his wrist. ghoul had scraped by with just a raygun burn on his upper back, and now poison was standing in front of him with a bottle of antiseptic from tommy’s.

"ghoul. it needs to be cleaned. you remember how bad kobra was when one of his shots got infected, we can't lose part of the team for a month again." poison says, dousing a rag in the alcohol. the smell stung ghoul’s nose and he scrunched up his face in disgust.

"i'll clean it myself." he waved poison off, trying to push down the anxiety creeping up in his stomach.

"it's on your back. you'd never get to it yourself."

"i just..."

"ghoul. c'mon." and before ghoul can stop them, poison’s behind him, carefully working blood-soaked his shirt off of his back.

and then they see them: the rows and rows of tiny pinpoint marks along his back. they almost look like extremely well aligned freckles if you squint, but their origins ring loud and clear to poison.

ghoul’s memories are like torrential downpour; they slam down on him without warning, and he can’t make them stop.

his feet are swinging off the side of the operating table, the back of the hospital gown open as scientists come and go, tapping the bubbles out of syringes and talking in words ghoul can’t understand.

“alright, forty-six. two more shots and then we’ll survey your side effects.” the doctor says, and without warning there’s more needles in his back, but ghoul’s long-numbed to the sharp pinpricks. an assistant is writing on his back with a marker, numbering each shot and copying her work down on a clipboard.

his muscles are already beginning to ache, and the room feels colder than normal. he tries his best to focus on anything to keep his mind off the way his whole body is cramping; his eyes find the BLI logo on the door in front of him, and he focuses on tracing the eyes and mouth of the smiley face with his finger.

then he’s coughing, dry-heaving and retching and clawing at his chest, because shit, his lungs are closing up and his heart is jackrabbit-thumping in his ribcage. the monitor that’s hooked up to the stickers and wires on his chest starts going crazy, the beeping becoming erratic and wild on the screen.

“code red, get me the paddles, stat!” a voice shouts and ghoul can’t tell which scientist it’s coming from because they’re all identical with their stupid BLI masks and his vision is going in and out of focus. he’s rolled onto his back and the world tilts before there’s an oxygen mask being shoved over his face and all he can hear is yelling as the world goes black, pulling him under as the bright operating table lights fade.

"oh, ghoulie..." poison sighs as ghoul jumps up, pulling his shirt back down over his back as quick as he possibly can. the movement against the fresh burns makes him grit his teeth in pain, but poison makes no move to stop him.

"i'm sorry-" ghoul begins, lip quivering.

"sorry for what? what are you sorry for?"

"i dunno..." ghoul mumbles, voice shaky. there's a lump in his throat that's hard to talk around, so he just puts his head down and tries to not let poison see how bad his lip is quivering, how badly he wants to run. but then poison’s voice goes all soft and they hold their arms out.

"ghoul. c'mere."

and that's all ghoul needs, because he's rocketing into poison's arms, and poison holds on tight, and they end up on the floor in a heap of limbs and neither of them bother to rearrange into a more comfortable position because they don't want to stop holding on.

"i love you. so much. i don't care what they did there." poison whispers, running a hand through ghoul’s sweaty hair. he needs a bath and maybe a decontamination after being around all those dracs, but all he wants to do right now is sink into poison’s arms and never let go.

"you're here now. look how far you've come." poison says, pulling away to hold ghoul’s face in their hands. ghoul’s eyes tear up, and poison swipes his thumb across ghoul’s cheek, wiping away the tears that had begun to fall from his eyes.

“they’re never gonna hurt you again.” poison presses a kiss to ghoul’s forehead. ghoul tunnels his face into poison’s shoulder further and shuts his eyes tight.

they stay like that for a while, holding on so tight their knuckles are going white. they both need it.

——————

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the-noodle-king · 7 years ago

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After a surprisingly short development time, I’m very proud to present my newest and possible one of my now dearest Overwatch OC’s; Lancealot! (The extra “a” is meant to be there, that’s the joke)

This lovely boy’s stats are, you guessed it, under the cut...

Real Name: Lance Van De Vries

Alias: Lancealot

Role: Tank / Job: High Up-Time Damage Absorption

Hit Points: 550 / Health: 400 / Armour: 150

Primary Weapon: Joyous Gard - Thrown Rocket Lance/Javelin

Ammo: Infinite / Rate of Fire: 1 Throw per 1.2 Seconds

Damage: 100 / Attack Type: Arcing Projectile

Primary Fire, Rocket Lance: Throw the Lance directly ahead, aided by rocket jets, piercing barriers and enemies as it flies. Cannot Headshot. The lance flies straight for 35 meters, then begins to arc downwards at a rate of 1.35 meters per second thereafter. / Projectile Speed: 42 Meters per second / Projectile Size: 0.35M Width

Secondary Weapon: Joyous Gard - Close Range Lance

Ammo: Infinite / Rate of Attack: 1 Thrust per 0.85 Seconds

Damage: 80 / Range: 12M Directly Forward / Attack Type: Melee

Primary Fire, Lance Thrust: Switch to using the Lance as a melee weapon for close-quarters combat, increasing it’s rate of attack in exchange for far more limited range.

Special: Joyous Gard pierces barriers and enemies, losing 5 damage with each target it passes through.

Ability 1, Shield of Valour: Grant self and allies short term armour which can be healed for the duration it exists. / AoE: 17 Meters + LoS required / Armour (Self): 100 / Armour (Allies): 50 / Duration: 8s / Cooldown: 16s from use

Ability 2, Rush Lance: Throw a non-piercing lance at high speed, then activate again to teleport towards it’s location. Damages if it hits a target, and damages them again if you rush into them. After hitting a target, obstacle or reaching it’s max distance, it persists for 1.75s before Timing-Out. Rush damage to a barrier or enemy construct is multiplied by 3. / Damage on Hit: 45 / Damage on Rush: 65 / Projectile Speed: 62Mps / Max Distance: 85M / Cooldown: 8s from Rush or Time-Out

Ability 3, Knight’s Vigour: Instantly heal yourself for a small amount, then continue healing over the next few seconds. / Burst Heal: 75 / Healing Per Second: 25 / Duration: 8s / Cooldown: 8s from end of Healing

Ability 4, Shield Strike: Replaces Quick Melee when off Cooldown, otherwise a regular Quick Melee is performed. Take a quick step forward to strike with the base of your shield, dealing enhanced damage and minor knockback. / Distance Covered on Use: 3.25M / Knockback: 5.5M / Damage: 45 / Cooldown: 4s

Ultimate, Unending Will: Use after death to return instantly to the battle, rising from the spot you fell and with a shout, knocking back and damaging enemies around you. Resurrects instantly with full HP and reset Cooldowns, regain control and start regaining Ultimate Charge after 0.45s. / AoE: 7.5M / Knockback: 8M / Damage: 50 / Required Charge: 2300

Passive, Steel Will: Become immune to stuns for 0.5 seconds after using abilities, as well as gaining 4 seconds of damage resistance per ability used. The amount of damage resistance gained depends on the ability used, and damage resistance from Steel Will stacks up to a maximum of -50%. / Shield Strike: -10% / Knight’s Vigour: -20% / Rush Lance: -20% / Shield of Valour: -25% / Unending Will: -30%

Ultimate Voiceline (Self & Enemies): Ik Vecht Verder!

Ultimate Voiceline (Allies): I Fight On!

Hero Select Voiceline: For Honour and Glory!

Home / Base of Operations: Giethoorn, Overijssel, The Netherlands (Formerly), Watchpoint: Gibraltar

Age: 32 / Date of Birth: 1st of November

Nationality: Dutch

Sexuality: Gay / Gender: Cis Man / Pronouns: He/Him

Height: 6ft 11in

Affiliation / Allegiance: Overwatch (Recall)

Backstory: 8 years ago, during Overwatch’s last few years, a mission brought their crusader Reinhardt Wilhelm through the grassy villages of Overijssel in The Netherlands. He gallantly fought and defeated a host of Talon agents almost single handedly, protecting a group of civilians otherwise caught in the crossfire. One of said civilians was Lance, at the time struggling with something of an early mid-life crisis, debating with himself on what to do with his life, when he had suddenly found himself divided from bullets only by a German giant in power armour.

In truth he’d been smitten with the man almost instantly, and after Lieutenant Wilhelm had given everyone a personal congratulation on remaining calm in the situation and escorted them back to their homes, Lance had already begun to fantasize about following in his footsteps, of living by knightly codes and striking down evil doers in the name of protecting the innocent.

“Lance eh? A good strong weapon is a Lance, a Knight’s weapon!” Reinhardt had said when Lance had introduced himself, and it’d stuck with him as he went about developing his heroic persona. Following the fall of Overwatch and the pockets of chaos that began to form as a result, Lance had plenty of opportunity to test himself, and now years later as Overwatch rebands under the banner of vigilantism, Lancealot himself plans to answer the call, knowing it is the only path for a true Knight to take.

#overwatch oc #Overwatch Skins #Overwatch Abilities #character bio #Lancealot #Lance Van De Vries #art #Paint Tool SAI #Tank OC

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alastrinie · 7 years ago

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TUDORS.TASK 001: STATS feat. alastrine

BASICS

FULL NAME: Alastrine Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (née Stanhope).

NICKNAME: Trinie, Trin, Duchess/Lady Somerset, ‘that Hell’.

AGE: 30.

BIRTHDAY: March 23rd.

NATIONALITY: British.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Hertfordshire, England.

CURRENT LOCATION: Hampton Court Palace, London, England.

PRONOUNS: She/her.

ORIENTATION: Bisexual.

R-ORIENTATION: Heteromantic.

OCCUPATION: Duchess of Somerset.

RELIGION: ???

LANGUAGES: English, French, Latin, Gaelic, Spanish.

VOICE: Jodie Comer, in The White Princess.

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES

EYE COLOUR: Hazel-Green. Fluctuates in color.

HAIR COLOR: Golden blonde.

HEIGHT: 5′7″

BODY BUILD: Slim, svelte.

NOTABLE FEATURES: Rosy cheeks, long golden locks, thin fingers, tiny waist.

PHOBIAS & DISEASES/FEARS: dying a horrible, painful death [as is common amongst the Stanhope clan], being replaced, ending up like her mother, being a bad mother, her children hating her.

PERSONALITY

GENERAL IMPRESSION: Silver-tongued, intelligent, quick-witted, fluent, aggressive, morbid, alluring, unwavering.

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil; Does whatever she can get away with. She is out for herself and her own, pure and simple. She sheds no tears for those she kills, whether for profit, sport, or convenience. She has no love of order and holds no illusion that following laws, traditions, or codes would make her any better or more noble. On the other hand, she doesn't have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has.

ZODIAC: Aries.

MYERS BRIGGS: INTP [I think don’t quote me on this]

TEMPERAMENT: Choleric.

GREEK GOD/GODDESS: Athena, goddess of war, wisdom, and the arts. Athena was one of the most active goddesses in human affairs. She helped out Odysseus, sponsored the entire city of Athens and made sure the Greeks won the Trojan War. On the downside, she’s proud and has a big temper. Just ask Arachne, who got turned into a spider for daring to compare her weaving skills to Athena’s.

* MUSE’S WORST TRAITS. ( BOLD )

aggressive / callous / cannibal / careless / compulsive / cowardly / domineering / envious / greedy / hypocritical / impatient / impolite / incompetent / kidnapper / lazy / liar / materialistic / murderer / obsessive / overcritical / overemotional / patronizing / sarcastic / self - indulgent / serial killer / torturer / touchy / traitorous / unclean / unpredictable / untidy / vain / vengeful

* FASHION/APPEARANCE STATS.

BOLD what applies to your muse.

BODY

long legs / short legs / average legs / slender thighs / thick thighs / muscular thighs / skinny arms / soft arms / muscular arms / toned stomach / flat stomach / flabby stomach / soft stomach / six pack / beer belly / lean frame / muscular frame / voluptuous frame / petite frame / lanky frame / short nails / long nails / manicured nails / dirty nails / flat ass / toned ass / bubble butt / thick ass / small waist / thick waist / narrow hips / average hips / wide hips / big feet / average feet / small feet / soft feet / slender feet / calloused hands / soft hands / big hands / average hands / small hands / long fingers / short fingers / average fingers / broad shouldered / underweight / average weight / overweight

HEIGHT

shorter than 140 cm / 141 cm-150 cm / 151 cm to 160 cm / 161 cm to 170 cm / 171 cm to 180cm / 181 cm to 190 cm / 191 cm to 2m / taller than 2 m.

SKIN

pale / rosy / olive / dark / tanned / blotchy / smooth / acne / dry / greasy / freckled

EYES

small / large / average / grey / brown / blue / green / gold / hazel / doe - eyed / almond / close - set / wide - set / squinty / monolid / heavy eyelids / upturned / downturned

HAIR.

thin / thick / fine / normal / greasy / dry / soft / shiny / curly / frizzy / wild / unruly / straight / smooth / wavy / floppy / cropped / pixie - cut / shoulder length / back length / waist length / buzz cut / bald / jaw length / mohawk / white / platinum blonde / golden blonde / dirty blonde / blonde / ombre / light brown / mouse brown / chestnut brown / golden brown / chocolate brown / dark brown / jet black / ginger / auburn / dyed red / dyed an unnatural color / thin eyebrows / average eyebrows / thick eyebrows

TATTOOS / PIERCINGS

no tattoos / one tattoo / a few here and there / multiple / full sleeve / thigh tattoo / neck tattoo / chest tattoo / no piercings / ear piercings / nose piercing / lip piercing / tongue piercing / eyebrow piercing / navel piercing / cheek piercing / nipple piercing / genital piercing

COSMETICS

eyeliner / light eyeliner / heavy eyeliner / cat eyes / mascara / fake eyelashes / matte lipstick / regular lipstick / lipgloss / red lips / pink lips / dark lips / bronzer / highlighter / eyeshadow / neutral eyeshadow / smoky eyes / colorful eyeshadow / blush / lipliner / light countouring / heavy contouring / powder / matte foundation / shiny foundation / concealer / wears regularly / occasionally wears / never wears

SCENT

floral / fruity / perfumes / aftershave / cocoa / moisturizer / shampoo / cigarettes / leather / sweat / food / incense / marijuana / cologne / whiskey / wine / fried food / blood / fire / metal / ice

CLOTHES

jeans / tight pants / over knee socks / tights / leggings / yoga pants / pencil skirt / tight skirt / loose skirt / formfitting dress / cardigans / blouse / button up shirt / band t - shirt / sweatpants / tank top / cutoff t - shirt / designer / high street / online stores / thrift / lingerie / long skirt / miniskirt / maxidress / sundress / tie / tuxedo / cocktail dress / highslit dress/skirt / t - shirt / loose clothing / tight clothing / jean shorts / sweater / sweater vest / khaki pants / suit / hoodie / hareem pants / basketball shorts / boxers / briefs / thong / hotpants / hipster pants / bra / sportsbra / crop top / corset / ballerina skirt / leotard / polka dot / stripes / glitter / silk / lace / leather / velvet / chemise / patterns / florals / neon colors / pastels / black / dark colors / fur / faux fur

SHOES

sneakers / slip - ons / flats / slippers / sandals / high heels / kitten heels / ankle boots / combat boots / knee - high / platforms / stripper heels / bare feet / loafers / oxfords / gladiator shoes / boots

#about #tudors.task

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daleisgreat · 6 years ago

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20 Years of Dreamcast: Thinking of Dreamcast’s Legacy for 20 Years!

Where were you for quadruple nine, AKA September 9, 1999? That was the marketing friendly launch date of the Sega Dreamcast in North America, which will make it 20 years old. Such a landmark anniversary inspired me to craft another gaming reflection piece here looking back on my memories with the Dreamcast over the years. If you missed my similar anniversary articles earlier this year for the Genesis and GameBoy please click here to get caught up.

The first thing that comes to mind all these years later of the Dreamcast is that it ended up the first system that released when I had a job and could afford it entirely on my own. I got my first part-time high school job mere days after turning 16 about a half year earlier in 1999 and was fine picking up the occasional new game for our family’s N64 during that timeframe. However, around August of 1999 the first issue of Official Dreamcast Magazine (ODM) hit newsstands and it really popped compared to other gaming magazines. It was the first oversized gaming magazine that I can recall and they crammed in tons of news, special editorial features, previews and reviews in every issue and not a millimeter of page-space seemed wasted. It also had a bright colorful art scheme consistent throughout most issues compared to its competitors and in hindsight it was the ideal color scheme due to the unorthodox lineup of eye-popping bright games like Jet Grind Radio, Space Channel 5, Sonic Adventure and Samba de Amigo to name a few. I will give props to YouTube channel Classic Gaming Quarterly for doing a excellent page-by-page revisiting of that awesome first issue several months ago which was the catalyst for me re-reading the first four issues earlier this year. Those issues hold up splendidly and if you run across scans of any I highly recommend giving them a look-see as they perfectly encapsulate everything that made the Dreamcast as fondly remembered as it is today. That special preview issue of the Dreamcast sold me on the system with its hype of being the first 128-bit system on the market and how Sega would change gaming with its new GD-ROM disc format, interactive VMU memory card and by introducing online play with its built-in 56k modem the following year. It also had thorough previews for nearly the whole launch lineup. If you recall my Genesis write-up, I was not much of a Sonic fan and that issue only had reviews for Sonic Adventure and House of the Dead 2. I had good memories of the first HotD light gun arcade game and that review got me amped up for the sequel. By the time I was done perusing that issue of ODM a few times over I was hell-bent on getting a Dreamcast and a copy of HotD2 at launch. 9-9-99 As the Dreamcast launch approached I was legitimately unaware of being able to pre-order games or it was officially a available service yet at our local Software Etc. in the mall. I inquired there frequently when they were opening on launch day it turned they were opening early that day an hour or two before I was supposed to be at school. I convinced my dad to give me a lift there and arrived there an hour early to secure getting a system. There was only one person ahead of us and I presumed getting a system at Software Etc. in 1999 would be comparable to lining up at any other department store and getting a new product on a first people at the front of the line basis. That turned out to be the case for Dreamcast (though I do remember them instituting pre-orders the next year for the heavily anticipated PS2 launch) and I was thrilled walking out of there as planned with a Dreamcast and HotD2!

Software Etc. did not get any VMUs however and thankfully my dad checked out other stores on his lunch breaks and was able to procure me one from KB Toys. Only other problem was there were no light gun peripherals available for the Dreamcast at launch. Sega did not release their own model in America due to the controversial Columbine shootings earlier in the year, and third party models were still two-to-three months out from being available. I could play HotD2 with a controller, but I refused to accept that as an option and for the first few weeks after the Dreamcast launch I was content on playing the included demo disc and checking out games like Sonic Adventure, Hydro Thunder, Soul Calibur and Power Stone over at a friend’s place. Finally after a few weeks of that I was fed up of waiting for the light gun to hit and I took a chance and picked up Sega’s NFL 2K since I was always into football games and still sticking with older pigskin games on the N64 and playing a ton of Madden NFL ’99 in near weekly sessions on another friend’s PSone. I was instantly blown away by NFL 2K’s revolutionary leap in graphics and gameplay at that point. It had bar-raising production quality with TV-caliber replays, camera angles and insanely impressive announcer commentary which made it feel like the first football game to come off as an actual telecast. I can still pinpoint my mom walking in on me playing and doing a double take and asking if NFL 2K was real or not. NFL 2K got a ton of play in single player and in local multiplayer against friends over the next year.

Sega released five star sports games within the first year of release with hits seen above like NFL 2K, NBA 2K, Virtua Tennis and Virtua Striker For the rest of 1999 I checked out every demo included with each issue of ODM and it lead to me checking out Sega’s other sports offerings and playing a ton of NBA 2K and even a fair amount of NHL 2K. Worms Armageddon ended up being a surprise hit with friends and I loved going nuts with its Banana Bombs and Holy Hand Grenades. For Christmas of 1999 I got NBA 2K and Toy Commander. I eventually came across a light gun too and played through HotD2 several times through with a friend. Toy Commander was another lost gem on the Dreamcast I spent hours with devouring its single player missions and the local vs. multiplayer deathmatch was also fun for its time. I loved using the pressure-sensitive triggers on the Dreamcast controller to shoot free throws in NBA 2K, and speaking of the controller I am surprised there seems to be a lot of widespread disdain for peripheral. Sure, it was a little bulky, but nothing compared to the original Xbox ‘Duke’ controller or the unique ergonomics of the N64 controller. I loved the thumb-stick and directional pad, and the rest of the button layout was nearly identical to a SNES controller. If I should be nitpicking about some of the Dreamcast’s features it would be about the side effects of the painfully low battery life of the VMU. For those unfamiliar, it was Sega’s innovative memory card that also had a mini black and white LCD screen that would display gameplay tips, stats and other options and also could be unplugged from the controller to play bonus mini-games included with supported games. Unfortunately the VMU had an infamously low battery life and within a few weeks the included watch batteries would drain and would result in a notoriously loud beep from the VMU when powering on the system to indicate it was time to replace them. Additionally, the Dreamcast also had a painfully loud hard drive whenever loading game data. After awhile however I got use to the grinding hard drives and perpetual beeps and passed it off as Dreamcast’s catchy marketing slogan ‘It’s Thinking.’ As the years passed and new owners complained about those noises it sort of became a hazing-esque right of passage to them first experiencing the platform. 2000

While I was putting together an outline for this piece I was surprised to find out how much of a bummer a first half of 2000 I had with the Dreamcast. Aside from still getting lots of long-term fun with the aforementioned sports titles, almost every new game I picked up was a letdown. I never played a Resident Evil game before, but friends and classmates loved it and I saw a ton of buzz for the upcoming exclusive Dreamcast title in the series, Code Veronica, in ODM so I got it for my birthday shortly after its release. I popped it in and was completely unprepared for its tank controls the early Resident Evil games were known for and I completely stumbled around like a buffoon and could not get past the first zombie. After several attempts I pleaded with my mom to take it back to the store and exchange it for something else. After that I tried renting games more often and was disappointed with World Series Baseball 2K1 and Sonic Shuffle. The former had excellent past entries on the Genesis and Saturn, but the first Dreamcast baseball game released without the ability to control the fielders and it felt like half the game was missing. I knew Sonic Suffle was developed by Hudson Soft who also made the first couple Mario Party games I played a ton of and was excited for the Dreamcast rendition of the party game, but was stunned it was plagued with countless loading times for every turn and mini-game that soured the experience. The last big disappointment of 2000 for the Dreamcast was WWF Royal Rumble. At the time it was going to be the first exclusive Dreamcast wrestling game and I was nonetheless psyched for it. I disregarded EGM’s low review scores for them not ‘getting’ the game and presumed I would have a fabulous time with it. I came to find out later on it was a port of an arcade game I did not see available anywhere which is why it surprised me with its low amount of wrestlers on the roster and modes of play available when stacked next to other titles. After plowing through all the single player content in an afternoon I was overwrought about how the game turned out. I did wind up getting some decent value out of Royal Rumble down the line with friends in multiplayer Rumble matches, but out of the gates as the sole Dreamcast exclusive wrestling game it felt like a Kirkpatrick-esque punch in the stomach.

After those four disappointments 2000 wound up getting redeemed for the Dreamcast with a flurry of much better titles. I enjoyed playing Soul Calibur over at my friend’s, but was not head over heels for it like many others. A fighting game I did feel that way for however I took a random chance on in the summer of 2000 with Marvel vs. Capcom 2. I instantly loved its unforgettable music, chaotic three-on-three tag battles and the accessible hyper combos that did not require master precision to pull off. The game was a regular in my rotation with friends and for a couple months we held routine tournaments in my first apartment with my roommate and neighbors. It lead me to playing a ton of another Capcom fighter that same summer in Power Stone 2, which was vastly improved over the original and felt like a 3D version of Smash Bros. with simultaneous four player battles and constantly evolving stages. Demolition Racer: No Exit was a surprise hit I put way more time than I should have into it. I love demolition-derby racer games, and No Exit had a ton of tracks, demolition derby events, thrashin’ metal soundtrack and many unlocks that kept me coming back to work my way through its extensive career mode for a good three-to-four years after release. It ended up as my surprise favorite driving game on the system which is absurd compared to other first-party driving hits that did not land on my radar until many years later like Daytona USA 2001, Sega Rally 2 and Metropolis Street Racer. The awesome port of the arcade hits Crazy Taxi and 18 Wheeler had faithful home Dreamcast ports, but I played a ton of both in the arcades and got my fill of them at home with a rental. I think it is safe to say I am not alone in Crazy Taxi turning me onto Offspring and being one of the few games to make product-placement seem cool with driving like a lunatic to escort passengers to get their KFC and Pizza Hut fix. I was so bummed out to see the later 360/PS3 re-release take out the product placement and replace the Offspring’s tall licensing price soundtrack with licensing fee-friendly indie bands.

The other surprise hit of 2000 was Virtua Tennis. I tried it on ODM’s demo disc and it wound up being surprisingly fun and easy to pick up and play. Jim Courier I now associate as being the man who dethroned Jimmy Connors in his last gasp at coming close to winning a major in the early 90s and being the only American character to play as in Sega’s game. The demo wound up being hit and created buzz online about it and a quick fervor spread about it being the cannot miss Dreamcast game of the summer. Virtua Tennis was impossible to find in stores so that caused me to create an account at ebgames.com and how Virtua Tennis was the first game I ordered online. After those two games saved the year for Dreamcast, the next installments of NFL 2K and NBA 2K released which I instantly purchased and played endless hours of with friends. The 2K1 versions of both games added franchise modes and online play finally debuting for the system. I played about several rounds of both sports games online and tried to master typing out ‘good play’ on the keyboard peripheral. The games played decently, but I could not help but notice semi-constant lag over the 56k modem so after several games I stuck with my routine local multiplayer with friends.

What was being advertised as the do not miss hit for the 2000 holiday season was Sega’s much anticipated open world adventure, Shenmue. ODM and websites put a ton of hype for Shenmue leading up to its release and how Sega was putting a huge budget into it and how it was the first part of a mammoth saga, but I was not initially feeling it and that style of game seemed a bit outside my wheelhouse at the time. Shortly after its release however, I saw a used copy marked down surprisingly low at a local rental store and decided to chance it. I was shocked by its quality of graphics and cinema cutscenes for the time and before I knew it I found myself getting immersed in the open-world and having the freedom to talk and interact with nearly any major or minor NPC and their own so-bad-its-good English voiceovers. I understand Shenmue is not for everybody and its unique controls resulted in a polarizing reception for the game, but I burned through that game within a couple of weeks and loved every minute of it. I revisited it last year when Sega released HD ports on the Xbox One and PS4 last year, and after getting used to the controls I instantly got wrapped up in it again.

Dreamcast had a ton of quality fighters in its brief lifespan. Some of my favorites pictured above are Soul Calibur, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Power Stone 2 and Heavy Metal: GeoMatrix. There are several other quality fighters on the system too not pictured above such as the original MvC and Power Stone, Virtua Fighter 3TB, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Dead or Alive 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Capcom vs. SNK. This console was heaven for fighting game fans! 1-31-2001 2001 kicked off strong for the Dreamcast with ports of PC FPS hits of Unreal Tournament and Quake III both launching around the same time with online play. ODM and websites hyped up 2001 for being a big year for Dreamcast games supporting online play. I tried out those pair of FPS games at a friend’s and had a blast with them and was looking forward to the rest of 2001 for the Dreamcast even though at the time the PS2 was out for a few months and had a lot of people’s attention. Unexpectedly, towards the end of January crazy rumors started popping up about the PS2 slaughtering Dreamcast in 2000 holiday sales so bad that Sega would be discontinuing support for the system early. I immediately dismissed the rumors as ludicrous as it seemed whacked for a publisher to stop supporting a system under a year and a half after release. Sure enough however on January 31, 2001 news broke with Sega stating they would only support the Dreamcast with games for the rest of 2001 and would transition into a third party publisher role in 2002 going forward.

I was devastated with the news as a huge Dreamcast fan and continued to be bummed throughout 2001 as many anticipated Dreamcast games like Half-Life, Rez, Castlevania Resurrection, Headhunter and Tribes got cancelled and/or switched over to becoming a PS2, Xbox and GCN release. Sega and a few loyal third parties like Capcom released a steady stream of games throughout 2001 and I did get a lot of enjoyment from some of them like the addicting arcade-driving sequel Crazy Taxi 2, a decent but forgettable arcade FPS title Outrigger and a few more light gun games like the excellent HotD2 follow-up from the same developers but in a secret agent setting called Confidential Mission, the peculiar Japanese horror themed light gun shooter Death Crimson OX and the delightful surprise remaster of the original Virtua Cop tucked inside Sega Smash Pack to tide me through 2001 for Dreamcast. Sega said they would be porting their next wave of sports games to other systems a few months after their initial Dreamcast release in 2001 so I held off on them that year. I was saving my last surge of Dreamcast fandom for what the gaming press was heralding as the swan song for the Dreamcast in Shenmue II. About a couple month before its American release however Sega stunned its fans by announcing they were cancelling the American version and making it an exclusive to the Xbox a year later with touched up graphics and adding in English voiceovers that were not originally going to make their return. The Shenmue fanboy in me was furious, but I found relief in ebgames.com capitalizing on the situation by offering the European version of Shenmue II that did not get cancelled for sale along with a boot-disc to get it to play on American systems. I spent the first several weeks of 2002 gleefully playing nothing but Shenmue II. I convinced myself it blew the original away due to jumping through extra hoops to acquire the sequel. The follow-up is a noticeably larger and longer experience and contains some noticeable gameplay improvements; upon currently replaying it on the previously mentioned HD bundle on Xbox One/PS4 I am going to have to go back to siding with the original being superior due to its more immersive setting and my love for driving forklifts. I hope to finish replaying the sequel in time for what is one of my most anticipated games ever in the long awaited third Shenmue game currently slated to be released this November a whopping 17 years after the original release of the second Dreamcast game.

Speaking of imports, Shenmue II was the first game I ever imported, and the second game was another Dreamcast game in FirePro Wrestling D. I heard so much acclaim for the FirePro games in Japan about them being the ultimate 2D wrestling games. After tracking down a guide online I relentlessly jotted down detailed English translations of all the menus and discovered a game save that translated all the wrestler’s names and attires into their English counterparts. I wound up playing a ton of that classic entry in the series on the Dreamcast. I am constantly nagging myself to open up my copy of the latest entry, FirePro Wrestling World that recently hit PS4 last year. I regret not importing more Dreamcast titles in the later years because games kept regularly coming out for Sega’s last system in Japan for several more years. Eventually most of them made their way to America on other systems in the following years, but for those that took advantage they got a one-to-three year head start on gems like Ikaruga, Rez, Rent-a-Hero and Capcom vs. SNK 2. Post-2002 I also regret not making time to sink my teeth into the then-exclusive RPGs on Dreamcast. My former podcast co-host Chris picked most of them up so I was able to check them out at his place and play some of them on demo discs. Skies of Arcadia intrigued me with its sky pirates setting and I eventually picked up the GCN re-release. Ditto with the pair of Evolution RPGs that later were bundled together on the GCN. Grandia II I recall having a kind of more involved battle system that popped out to me and if I owned a Switch I would likely be acquiring the HD up-ports of the first two games that just released on there. I did enjoy demos of action RPGs Silver and Record of Lodoss War and finally tracked down both games last year and played about an hour of both way after the fact. The one I did put a lot of time into later on was Phantasy Star Online on the original Xbox. I loved being able to play that game in four player split-screen and I had a few friends over for several marathon sessions of its addicting action-RPG combat into the wee hours of the night.

The Dreamcast unofficially lived on for the next couple years well into the PS2/Xbox/GCN era with some of its key games that got cancelled and sequels getting re-released on those systems. Sega released their 2K sports line for a few years on all three systems before selling sports developer Visual Concepts and the 2K branding to Take-Two in 2005. The heavy duty competition from 2K Sports titles only helped fuel EA Sports to step up their efforts for better sports titles from both companies for the past 20 years. The Xbox got some heavy hitters in the form of Panzer Dragoon Orta, Shenmue II, Crazy Taxi 3, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Gun Valkyrie. The PS2 landed Rez, Headhunter, Half-Life, Tribes, Grandia II and Resident Evil: Code Veronica. The GameCube received the four player port of Phantasy Star Online well before the Xbox version and later an exclusive third chapter in addition to Evolution Worlds, Skies of Arcadia Legends, Ikaruga, Chaos Field and enhanced deluxe versions of both Sonic Adventure titles. Aside from Dreamcast living on with those games on the next wave of systems I still busted out my Dreamcast regularly for the next several years. It was my favorite way to play Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for many years and as mentioned above I kept revisiting titles like FirePro Wrestling D and Demolition Racer for quite a few years too. The homebrew/indie scene was alive and well for the Dreamcast and is still going to this day. Goat Store had a couple high-profile indie releases with Feet of Fury and Irides that I both acquired. The former is the only dance-pad game I know of for the system and while I do not own a dance-pad I did put some time into it with its support for the Dreamcast keyboard. Irides: Master of Blocks is a fun Lumines-inspired puzzler on the system. Since it is the 20th anniversary of the platform, I took a chance a few months ago and Kickstarted an upcoming driving game set to hit at the end of this year that peaked my interest in the form of Arcade Racing Legends. Here is hoping to its success! The End? When I think back to my own personal favorite moments and experiences with the Dreamcast there are a few things I will chalk up to its legacy. I consider it to be the first system to prove that online gaming was viable on consoles and paved the way for it to really take off a couple years later on the PS2 and Xbox. I will also remember it for its local multiplayer games being a big hit with my friends and I for its wide array of fighting and sports games for two players as well as many games taking advantage of the four controllers with quite a few party games and driving games especially supporting four players locally. I consider it the last hurrah for the arcade ports, as the late 90s were the final successfully years of arcades in America and Sega, Capcom, Midway and Konami took advantage of Dreamcast’s Naomi-based hardware making it developer-friendly to convert their arcade titles to the system. A majority of the games I listed above are arcade conversions.

These last two are big ones for me personally. First is how Sega stepped up big time with their blockbuster first party sports games on the Dreamcast and gave the impression of how they scared away competition from EA Sports releasing their games on the Dreamcast. Finally, I will remember the Dreamcast where Sega took chances with a plethora of new, unorthodox IP. It seemed every few months a new original Sega IP hit the system from successes and cult-hits like Jet Grind Radio, Samba de Amigo, Space Channel 5, Crazy Taxi, Skies of Arcadia and of course Shenmue to fascinating curiosities such as Floigan Bros., Alien Front Online and the bizzaro-Leonard Nimoy-narrated journey that is Seaman. Combine everything from these last two paragraphs and that is why I feel it is safe to say why I and likely many others revere the Dreamcast as much as we did for the years it was active in its all too short lifespan. I have rambled, ranted and raved for over 4,000 words now and want to thank you dear readers for sticking with me to the very end of this trip down memory lane. I apologize for the length of this piece, but I had to get it all out of my system. If somehow you want more Dreamcast love and want to keep this Dreamcast nostalgia train rolling I will link you to two prior pieces I did on the system. The first is a special 10th anniversary flashback on the Dreamcast where I breakdown 15 forgotten facts about the Dreamcast. I touched on a few of them here, but there are several more obscure factoids you can discover by clicking here. The other is my former co-hosts and I doing a special Dreamcast retrospective podcast on my old podcast you can listen to by clicking here. My Other Gaming Flashbacks GameBoy 30th Anniversary Genesis 30th Anniversary

BONUS OVERTIME: Random Dreamcast quick bits I neglected to include above!

Oh man, I wish I would have remembered to touch on a few more gems I dug on the Dreamcast. I forgot about the oddball arena-based fighters that were fun rentals back then like Spawn: In the Demon’s Hand and Heavy Metal: Geomatrix. There was also the crazy keyboard version of HotD2 that hit in 2001 called Typing of the Dead! It was a super fun way to master your home row skills while massacring zombies! Sega released a remaster of it on Steam a couple years ago so give it a look-see! I remember trying to hunt down the low-quantity released broadband adaptor for the Dreamcast in 2002 on eBay but sellers were marking them up in ‘Dreamcast Online Ready’ bundles for absurd amounts. 56k web browsing with the Dreamcast was admittedly a slog, but it worked and was a slick way to upload and download game saves and made me feel I was swindling William Shatner by not falling for his WebTV commercials from that timeframe. Hydro Thunder I played a bit at a friend’s and to this day even though it was a fun on its own merits arcade boat racer the thing I recall most fondly about it was the over-the-top announcer saying the game’s name on the title screen and exclaiming ‘Dam the Torpedoes!’ at specific moments. I wanted to get Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 so much for Dreamcast after hearing all the GOTY-caliber buzz and wanting to experience it with better graphics, but after spending weeks not finding it in stores around town I wound up settling on purchasing the PSone version even though I did not have that platform at the time and brought it over to my neighbor’s place for many throwdown sessions of Trick Attack multiplayer and HORSE. No regrets! There was something about Next Tetris: Online Edition that was off that did not get it to live up to the fun I was having in multiplayer over on the N64’s New Tetris and Tetrisphere. I wanted to like it, much like I did with launch title Trickstyle because of its futuristic extreme sports nature with a bunch of unique tricks and competitions to take in, but its un-intuitive controls left me getting my fix with solely the demo. Brighter days were ahead for Trickstyle’s developer, Criterion Games.

Apparently sim F1/Indy/Cart games were a hit on the Dreamcast for its brief lifespan with multiple entries from Sega and Ubisoft. Even the notorious LJN publishing label got resurrected after being dormant for several years with its retro F1 game, Spirit of Speed 1937. It is a good thing I never came around to them with the many other stellar driving games available. I remember loving the Ready 2 Rumble Boxing demo and thought that franchise would be around for years, but one quick sequel later and an out of nowhere Wii version years later and it has been AWOL ever since. EA’s Facebreaker seemed like a worthy spiritual successor, but that one came and went even faster. Even though EA did not release anything on the Dreamcast I still checked out a few other third party sports games from Acclaim, Midway and Konami and had great times with NFL Blitz 2000 and digging NBA Showtime and its brilliant use of the NBA on NBC theme song. Crap, I forgot to touch on the last pair of Sega’s polygonal arcade brawler ports that were good weekend rentals for their day in Dynamite Cop and Zombie’s Revenge, but I will forever be a Die Hard: Arcade man for life! I tried to give Sonic Adventure an honest shot, but lost interest quickly after being wowed by its opening stage and that damn whale flipping all over the place after Sonic in its 128-bit glory. I will not get into the details here, but if you are up for an ill-fated timing story, then look up the details on the cancellation on what was supposed to be one of the last Dreamcast games originally scheduled to release towards the end of 2001, Propeller Arena. Ok ok, now I am finally done and think I covered every nook and cranny of my Dreamcast experie….awwww shoot I forgot to tell you guys all about Sega Swirl! Wait, where are you going? Come back, come baaaaaack!

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befemininenow · 13 days ago

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The Best of Nikki's Captions: Tumblr Stats (Part 2 of 5)

This is the second part of the top 25 best captions. This is based on what I got through Jet Black Code's Tumblr Stats website. The 16th through 20th best captions are presented here and all, but one of them happen to be picture captions. As mentioned in the previous part, all of these captions from here on forward have over 1,000 notes each! IMO, these are all well deserved of their spot and I'm thankful to all of you who got these captions to where they are today.

Without further ado, here is the fourth part of the top 25, with 20th being first and 16th being last:

Number 20:

Everything is expensive nowadays, but your euphoria will always be priceless. If you can afford to splurge in yourself, buy those heels or that outfit you've wanted for a while. Even better if you have supportive people on your side, or you could at least say it's for a female relative or friend. Whatever is necessary to let that girl inside feel great, do it!

I like how this caption resonates with a lot of us. Once your feminine self takes over, worrying about how much all of that costed you won't be a worry at first. All it matters is how happy you are wearing what your hard-earned cash just bought. The thing is, you fall into a slippery slope. Now the first thing on your mind is "What specials are available next week? Maybe the seasonal specials will be better!" Oh, the euphoria of becoming a shopoholic woman!

Number 19:

Hypnosis can be effective if you put your mind to it. It can vary from a hypnotic swirling circle or affirming words. But what if it isn't the hypnosis that breaks you, but the images or videos surround it? You can't help, but wish to be the girl so bad, she's giving you envy. The way she moves to attract boys, the outfit she's wearing for her own comfort, and the beauty her body is that makes her so attractive. All of that is what's breaking the "male" in you and waking the girl inside you. The affirming words around it just enhance your need to be her.

How did this caption became a thing? Well, it's because of the original unedited video (Click here to see it). Sure, the girl is sexy and captivating. But deep down, I felt envy because what I wanted more was to be the girl. Though I jokingly said she was in her "bimbo slut era", I'm not sure if she is nor who I know who the girl is in the video. All I can say is: It's one of my favorite videos captions ever! Was the long period of time making this worth it? Absolutely!

Number 18:

Ok, let me clarify this before you throw a hissy fit. Gwen Stacy unfortunately never said that (for now). However, there's no denying that her background story is a trans allegory. From her theme colors to her "Protect Trans Kids" in her room, there's a bunch of hints that not only movie Gwen Stacy supports trans rights, but it's possible she's even trans herself. As of now, that's just a headcannon. And an affirming one, too! One thing is clear, however:

Trans rights are human rights!

Number 17:

The caption is pretty simple: Trans women are not sissies nor are they sexual objects. They're human beings that deserve to live how they feel like. It's a statement that should be clear enough to deter the chasers.

Also, I'm realizing that the caption is a bit difficult to read due to the light red lettering blending with the background. Then again, this is one of my earlier "freshman" captions. I don't have much of a desire to remake this one, surprisingly. I feel like it's perfect the way it is. You'll be so focused on the hot girl, the hard-to-read letters get easier to read and your thoughts become just like hers. Maybe you don't like it, but I do, and so do over 1,000 people as of now!

Number 16:

A girl like her is hyperfeminine enough to not only give you gender envy, but to also use her as a role model for your permanent feminization, or should I say, transition. Sure, the girl is sexy and you may even want to sleep with her. But once you see her more often, your lust will turn into envy and you no longer get as turned on by her as you used to. Before you know it, you're on hormones and you start to emulate every little thing of her. Turns out you're still infatuated with her, but as a very close friend now! Doesn't all of that sound so nice!

I can't believe I remade this caption back in 2023! It feels like it was just yesterday I made this, but it was actually almost two years ago! Anyways, this caption is just gold! I really love it and I'm glad a lot of you loved this as well! I remade it because in the original, even though it's one of my first to use the current font, I used a bad combo of bold, non-italic lettering, not to mention a blend of dark colors associated with the pic. In retrospect, it's a mess of a caption and my first thought about it was "What if I remake this as a "tribute" to my very first captions?" The end result was that it was just as popular as my first attempt and in a surprise, it also revived my interest in caption making! I felt like I became a "junior" after this caption blew up lmao

Anyways, that's all for today! Stay tuned for the third portion of the top 25 tomorrow! Have a great night, everyone!

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kaialone · 8 years ago

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Yokai Watch Merchandise Translation?

(Masterpost for my Yokai Watch translations can be found here)

Well it’s not solely merchanside related, as this will probably tie into the actual games in the future.

This might contain spoilers for Yokai Watch 3 depending on your point of view, so be careful.

This is gonna be some translations of some information about this object:

First of all,

Turns out this Item is actually called “覚醒エンマ魔笛“, or “Kakusei Enma BREATH”

Notably the “魔笛” part of it actually would translate to “Demon Flute” or “Magic Flute”, but the furigana say that it is instead read outloud as “ブレス“, which is the english word “Breath” written in katakana.

(If youre not sure what I mean look here:

The part I underlined with red are the furigana. Furigana are used to display the pronounciation of kanji. From what I understand normally they’re used in children’s media and similar stuff to show the pronounciation of kanji that’d be too hard for the target audience to read, but they’re also sometimes used for wordplay, or giving words new fancy pronounciations and the like)

But with it’s name explained, onto what I actually wanted to do:

Took me a while to notice it, but seems some information on this item, more specifically the merchandise version you can buy, can be found on this website.

(Little Note: For me some “do you wanna buy stuff” pop-up appears when I open the site, but you can just close it and stuff, jsyk)

I dont know if this is the only place that has some concrete info, but yeah.

So this is gonna be me translating some info from that website there, though note that I don’t got time to go over all of it, so I might miss some stuff, or just kinda skim over some parts, sorry. And of course, even if it’s gonna be a rather different kind of translation, the usual “rule” to my translations also applies:

“Please keep in mind that I´m a beginner when it comes to japanese, so it’s possible that I make mistakes, too.“

So I’ll just go through the stuff from this site bit by bit.

Alright, so the part I put the red around here says something like:

“Awakened Enma’s Dream Link Item Appears!! The Arrival of the Symbol of the King that Unifies All!”

Notes:

The word I translated as “Symbol” can also mean “mark”, “proof”, and the like.

It could also be like “a symbol” and “a king” respectively.

The little white text at the bottom says something about the Yokai Watch Dream being sold seperately, I think.

On the actual page there’s also a button there that takes you right to the buying section.

Here we got two parts,

the first block of text talks about Awakened Enma, saying something like this:

“Awakened Enma

One of the 4 legendary God Yōkai that are said to exist. The awakened form of the Great King Enma, having opened his third eye. His previously hidden, true power has been released.”

The next block of text (in the purple box) talks more about the item itself, saying something like this:

“Awakened Enma Breath

The symbol of the king that can only be used by the Enma family, which rules over all yōkai. With its sound, possessing strong Spirit Power, it can subdue yōkai, and only Enma in his awakened state conceals its uncontrollable, overwhelming power.”

Notes:

What I translated as Spirit Power is 妖力, which is the word power (力) with the 妖/Yō from 妖怪/Yōkai added to it, so it could be translated as “Yo-power” or maybe even “Strange Power”, but it’s actually also what the Spirit stat is called in the japanese versions of the games, hence why I went with Spirit Power.

I´m a bit unsure about the phrase I translated as conceals here. In japanese it’s 秘める/himeru, which can translate to to hide, to obscure, or to veil, among other things, but I am unsure if it literally means any of those in this case.

Next is a bit where there is a video to watch:

youtube

It just kinda shows off Awakened Enma and his Soultimate.

But it also lets us hear what is a bit of the chanting I think you’ll get to hear when putting medals (or certain medals) into this thing when its all Dream Linked.

Though I don’t want to go over what I think this chant says just yet, as it actually gets a bit more of a focus down the line.

Next we have a bit that I think is something like “How to play”

Basically it explains that if you push the mouthpiece of the flute, it’ll play a tune, and on the original page, the empty box where my red arrow is pointing actually has a button that let’s you listen to a little sample of the tune.

Though further down the line there is a video where I think you can actually hear the full version, or at least more of it than shown here, but I will go over that when we get to it.

Next bit talks about Dream Linking, connecting the main piece of the Yokai Watch Dream with the Enma Breath, and stuff.

It mostly just says like “Dream Link with the DX Yokai Watch Dream!!” and stuff about that Yokai Watch Dream being sold seperately.

The part that’s kinda interesting though is the one where I put my red arrow, because I think it says:

“Awakened Enma Breath becomes its true form...!!”

Next bit seems to imply that this “form” after the Dream Link is called “Breath Mode”, and it mentions that with the Dream Link, the tune changes!

Yes, when you click on the button that exists on the real website in the box where my red arrow is pointing, you can hear a sample of how the music changes in this mode.

Though like with before further down the line there is a video where you can actually hear more of it.

Next bit, we have that text I underlined in red which says:

“Put in Yōkai Medals while in Breath Mode and summon yōkai!!”

The text in the fuzzy orange bubble seems to talk about putting in Awakened Enma’s Dream Medal as an example, while the smaller white text talks about how that Medal is included with Sukiyaki.

The golden text says something like:

“Awakened Enma’s power is released!!”

And the part where my red arrow points has another button on the actual page. Clicking on it will let you listen to the chant that already appeared in the video above.

I´m not 100% sure but based on another video that comes later, I think it’s the chant that plays when you insert a medal and play the roulette mini-game.

I’m not as good with hearing japanese compared to reading it, but I think the chant says:

“どっちの地獄でおしおきだ覚醒エンマの言うとおり“

which, I think, translated to something like:

“Which hell will be the punishment? Just as Awakened Enma says“

The latter part may be a reference to an idiom that goes like “Just as god says”, which is basically an “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe“ kind of saying you use when making a random decision, from what I hear.

Next part is like, “Furthermore, you can also listen to Awakened Enma’s lines!!” and mentions that he is voiced by Ryōhei Kimura.

The button on the real page where my arrow points once again let’s you listen to an audio sample, but what you can hear there is actually slightly different from what those ominous speech bubbles say.

So first, I will translate what the speech bubbles say, which seems to be something like:

“Now, follow me...”

and

“Numerous beautiful souls, embraced by jet-black darkness...!”

Meanwhile, the audio file first has him say the:

“Now, follow me...”

part, but then adds what I think is something like:

“Follow me without fear! Let’s go together!”

Note:

The “follow me” part in the first line refers to following as in following a leader, and the like. In the second part it’s following like going somewhere together.

This next part talks about how you can charge “GOD” Yōki.

Let me take a quick detour to explain just what Yōki is before anything else here:

“Yōki“ is a term kinda frequently used in the japanese versions of the Yokai Watch games.

It is made up of these Kanji:

妖/Yō (the same Yō as in Yōkai, depending on the context it can mean something like “mysterious” or “bewitching”, among other things),

and 気/Ki, which can mean a lot of things. It is the japanese word for the concept of Qi, and can also be translated as breath, spirit, mood, essence, atmosphere, feelings and many other things depending on the context.

Outside of Yokai Watch, “Yōki” appearently can refer to a ghostly, unearthly or weird feeling, I hear? In Yokai Watch itself it seems to be more like, a Yokai’s Ki or a Yokai-like Ki, as in their energy, feeling, and all that.

In the english versions of the games it seems like it’s usually translated as aura or energy, depending on the context.

With that out of the way, onto what this part actually says

Basically it seems to talk about how when you do a Dream Link with the Yokai Watch Dream, you can put in a Yokai Dream Medal, and hold the button to play the Roulette game. And if you win, you can charge “GOD” Yōki.

(And of course the Yokai Watch Dream is sold sperately)

“Charging” your medals with stuff using the Yokai Watch Dream isn’t a new thing either, I think, but this “GOD” Yōki is new.

Here it talks about where you can use this “GOD” Yōki

I didn’t go over every last bit of this, but basically it says that at this place there you can use “GOD” Yōki to power up your yokai, but it doesn’t seem to specify what exactly that means.

I have to admit, I barely looked at this part, it just seems to talk about something you can do at some japanese only Gashapon machine, maybe using that “GOD” Yōki, and seems like you can battle Awakened Enma, too.

This part just shows off how the product looks, but the description actually has some kinda interesting tidbits:

“It is decorated with a flame-motif which is also the symbol of the Enma family, and the character ‘王’ is engraved on it. A highly detailed model, fitting for the king of yōkai!”

Note:

王 means “King”

In contrast, this part seems to just talk about nice music and lights.

This part talks about the Previous Great King Enma Dream Medal, which I think comes with the flute?

It also talks about how you´ll be able to get the flute in the game now, using a QR code. It also mentions that its an item only Awakened Enma can use, implying it might be a hold-item.

Then it goes on to talk about how you can get bonus points for some japanese-only thing that I don’t know much about by ordering early? I think?

Next is another video, and this is gonna be the last thing on this page I talk about, because the rest just seems to be talking about where and how to buy the product.

youtube

It shows off the tune of the flute, and how it changes after the Dream Link, and like I mentioned before, this is the part where you can hear longer versions of the previous samples. Perhaps these are even the full versions?

After that it shows what happens when you insert a Medal, and the chant we heard before plays, but its actually a bit longer.

First is the part we know already:

“Which hell will be the punishment? Just as Awakened Enma says“

the part that comes after it is something like:

High pitched voice(s): "Are you done?"

Awakened Enma: "Not yet."

High pitched voice(s): "Are you done?"

Awakened Enma: "Enough!

-pause-

Deeper voice: "THAT hell!"

And after that it plays a bit of the line that went:

“Numerous beautiful souls, embraced by jet-black darkness...!”

And lastly it shows “GOD” Yōki being charged.

And that is all I could get from that site right now, I hope any of you enjoyed this like I did!

#yokai watch #youkai watch #yo kai watch #yokai watch 3 #enma #yokai watch translations #my translations

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esralsw-blog · 5 years ago

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hopperwise · 8 years ago

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Best Laptops For Developers Review 2017

Developers are known for being extremely demanding of their computers. They have intensive jobs, and they run intensive programs.

That being said, they need best laptops for developers that are capable of handling the day to day workload of developing, as well as the leisure time activities.

Developing laptops aren’t what they use to be. The INTERNET age has grown immensely since 2000. You use to be able to run development programs on just about anything, well, because you didn’t really have a choice.

However, now people expect to be able to interact with their site or web application on a very different level than before. To do that you need a new age computer that will allow you to be interconnected with your system and programs.

Before we go any further, let’s explore what we need from a system to operate web developing programs on the best possible level.

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What Do We Need From A Developing Laptop?

A ton of RAM: We’re talking like 16GB of RAM. This thing should be able to haul some serious backside when it comes to running programs. This is because web developers usually have to run heavy programs while still being able to surf the web and make tweaks to their websites. The only way you’re going to be able to accomplish this is if you have some serious RAM with a serious processor.

Screen size: Web developers need to be able to bring out their laptop on the fly. For this reason, they can’t carry a huge laptop around with them. Preferably, a 13 inch laptop will do. You can bring it to meetings with you, show clients easily without bringing some large monstrosity with you. Our advice: go smaller.

Processor: Going smaller usually means a smaller processor, but this isn’t a bad thing. Nowadays, unlike older, larger, energy consuming processors, processors are smaller, more efficient, and energy saving! You will want something that is lean, but will also be capable of running several programs at once.

Battery life: You don’t want your laptop to die in front of your clients do you? I didn’t think so. Along with investing in a computer that has an upgraded processor. This will keep your computer from sucking the life out of your battery. It’s a great investment, and it will ensure you wont be humiliated by having your laptop die in front of your clients.

Gaming capability: Most web developers I meet are gamers on some level. Even if you aren’t serious, everyone needs to blow off some steam. It’s best to invest in a laptop that is capable of running very demanding games. If your laptop can run the most demanding games, then it will run anything you give to it. In addition, even if you aren’t a gamer, you will still want to watch Netflix and Hulu on your time off. Having a computer that will run games will ensure you can effortlessly watch Netflix, maybe even while you work on your web developing!

Touch screen: You want to be able to interact with your screen. Maybe you don’t necessarily like to work that way, but it would be good to help show your clients what you’re doing but letting them interact with the screen.

Space: You will need to store tons of content on your drive. Make sure your system is set up for it!

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HP Envy 17-j130us 17.3-Inch Touchsmart

We’ve talked about HP’s several times on this site. They produce a great, generic laptop that can usually take care of all your computing needs. This laptop is no exception. They made some major upgrades on this, which we will get to in a minute. However, we think this is certainly one of the best web developing computers that are available at this time.

Specs:

Like we said, when it comes to laptops for web developers, it’s best to just go all out. This HP has a very impressive lineup of specifications.

For starters, it comes with 12GB of SDRAM, which isn’t the 16GB we prefered, but it’s still a ton! This will server you very well when it comes to running a bunch of developing programs and back up applications.

It also comes with a 1024GB hard drive pumping out 5,400 RPM. Lastly, tech wise, it comes with an Intel Core i7 quad-core processor. This is lean, efficient, and it’s definitely an upgrade from the i3 and 15 processors.

Additionally, even though we said it’s best to keep the laptop smaller, this device comes with a 17.3 inch screen. However, there is a trade off.

This provides excellent surface contact with the touch screen. Although, there are a few draw backs. The larger display makes this model weigh a little more (7.1 pounds to be exact). Also, the huge display absolutely kills the battery. This HP can only care about 4.5 hours of battery life.

Overall:

It goes against a few of the things we preached at the beginning of the article, but overall, this is a great model for web developing.

Keep in mind, while we work through these, we are going in no particular order, we are simply throwing out the computers we have found fit best for this profession. This computer might cost a little more than some (right around $900), but they spared no expense when making this laptop.

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Razor Blade 14 inch

Remember when we said it might be wise to just shoot for a gaming device, because they would have the capability to run anything you want to run anyways?

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Well here it is. It is so jam packed with state of the art hardware it’s insane! Additionally, it’s razor thin, sleek, and sexy as heck. But we’re extremely giddy about the ridiculous specifications that come with this device, so we’d like to just dive right in.

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The Razor Blade comes with a Interl Core i7 quad-core processor pumping out 2.2GHz. It comes with 8GB of SDRAM, and a staggering 512GB SSD.

Some of the other stats include Windows 8.1 and a 14 inch screen. Additionally, this device is extremely thin and relatively light weight. It is designed as a lean, efficient system capable of running programs that normall bog systems down, while still maintaining a sleek , slender design.

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The Razor Blade is just that: razor thin. It comes a matte jet black. It’s handsome and precise. Heck, even if you didn’t use it, you should put it on your coffee table and still get compliments on it!

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We stated at the first part of this article how you could get a gaming laptop, and it would be a great computer for your job. This computer was build to run the most demanding programs known to the consumer market.

It is designed to do this without flinching. That being said, it will run your basic web development programs and then some with no problem at all.

Additionally, many developers that we spoke with are gamers also. When you’re not tackling your next developing project, kick off your shoes and load up a game! If you really aren’t into gaming, you can check out Netflix or Hulu, maybe even while you work. This system can handle it.

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Conclusion

Web developing is incredibly important, really no online forum or website can get by without some degree of development. It’s incredibly demanding, but it’s completely rewarding. However, having a device that can support the grueling work you put into it is absolutely necessary.

We’ve given you a few different laptops to choose from, you’ll just need to decide which device works best for you. Also, that comes down to what aspect of web developing you emphasize in.

Some parts of web development are much more intensive. For instance, if you code, you’re going to want a computer that is much more upgraded than others.

Additionally, you really don’t want to skimp out on a great web developing computer. It can make the difference between providing a premium service to a customer and a sub-par service because you don’t have a computer that you can rely on.

Lastly, have fun with it! You will want to grab device that is going to last you a long time, and one that will support your leisure activities.

Take your time, pick something out that you know will work, and even save up a bit before hand. You don’t want finances to force you into a notebook that isn’t going to cut it, when you could spend a few extra bucks and buy something that will really do the trick.

For the most part, laptops have grown with the industry. It’s not very hard to find good laptops, however, since the specifications are usually well above-par, expect to pay quite a bit more for them than others.

Laptops these days are much more intuitive and powerful, do plenty of research before you pull the trigger.

Thanks for reading! if there is anything here that we have missed, please don’t hesitate to let us know!

Best Laptops For Developers Review 2017 published first on http://www.hopperwise.com

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itsworn · 8 years ago

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A Marti Report Is a Birth Certificate for Your Ford Muscle Car

When it comes to documenting muscle cars, Ford guys have it good. Not only does every VIN tag identify the original engine that was installed in the vehicle, but a vast wealth of information is available from Ford’s own computer database, which is now exclusively licensed to Marti Auto Works. While a Marti Report is familiar to many Ford fans, even some Dearborn faithful may be foggy as to the genesis of the data, as well as some of the findings through the years.

In a nutshell, a Marti Report identifies a multitude of specifics about an individual car and is available for all FoMoCo products from 1967-2012. The Deluxe Report is the midrange of the three available levels of documentation, and the most popular. (A Standard report costs $18, Deluxe $46, and Elite $275.) The Deluxe Report identifies such things as a complete list of options, scheduled and actual build dates, selling dealership, and how many similar cars were built. The information is not only a gold mine for current owners but also a fantastic resource for potential buyers. The latter may find the Standard Report adequate for their needs. It includes a complete list of original options, colors, and drivetrain specifics. The Standard Report is sent as a PDF file in 7-10 days, and rush/same-day service is also available.

Far beyond the individual stats that the Ford/Marti database can provide is the potential to research information more broadly applicable to the hobby. Ever wonder how many 1971 Mustang convertibles were built with the 429 Super Cobra Jet and four-speed? The answer is five. Care to know the breakdown between 3.91- and 4.11-geared cars among them? Marti can do that as well. In short, the Marti data has transformed the Ford collector car scene with an incredible amount of factory documentation and accurate production numbers, enabling buyers to purchase with confidence and dispelling years of false information, myths, and rumor.

Marti Auto Works’ owner and driving force, Kevin Marti, is actually a Mercury Cougar fan. “When I was 16, I was looking for my first car and was primarily interested in a Chevelle or Camaro,” he says. “While looking through newspaper ads I stumbled across a listing for a 1967 Cougar. I went and looked at it, fell for it, and the rest is history. I still own that same Cougar today.”

It’s from Kevin’s enthusiast core that Marti Auto Works initially sprang, offering concours-quality wear items such as radiator hoses, fan belts, and sparkplug wires, which remain a big part of the business today. As a participant in the hobby, Kevin developed a curiosity for understanding the rarity of FoMoCo products. Through contacts he made over a period of 15 years, he came to realize there was a good chance that Ford computer data still existed from the 1960s. Eventually he connected with the right people at Ford, determined that the data was still there for cars built from 1967 on, and was able to exclusively license the database.

In an indirect way, Ralph Nader played a role in the existence of the Ford/Marti database. Nader’s famous auto safety campaigns led to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966. Among other things, the act required manufacturers to retain detailed production data for the purpose of potential recalls. “This same sort of data was produced by Ford beginning in about 1957,” says Kevin, “but unfortunately it was erased each year prior to the 1966 Safety Act requiring it to be kept.”

Myths and Revelations

One of the great things that the Ford/Marti data has done is dispel a number of myths, some literally decades old. Chief among them? The 1967-1968 427 Mustang. In short, none were ever produced at any of the Ford assembly plants, despite reports of the contrary coming from various magazine articles, owner’s manual references, and the old-timer who swears that he saw an original 427 Mustang back in the day. The conjecture is understandable, as Ford frequently offered the same drivetrain options in its intermediates and ponycars. Fairlane had a 427 option in 1967, and the Cougar GT-E had a 427 in 1968, but it turns out that neither crossed over to the Mustang. The same holds true for 1968 Torinos. None were built with the 427, despite early FoMoCo sales brochures listing the 427 as an option.

Another myth revolved around 428 Cobra Jet Mustangs. A popular book reported production breakdowns of these cars that were later proven to be erroneous. The book identified 1970 as the year that the fewest number of 428 CJ Mustangs were built, followed by 1968 1/2 and then 1969. At the time it was a head scratcher, as 1968 1/2 CJ production lasted just four months while 1970 production spanned the model year. Nevertheless, the book numbers were picked up as gospel. It took the Marti data to reveal the legit numbers: The fewest CJ Mustangs were built as 1968 1/2 models; 1970 had about three times as many; 1969 was the most popular 428 CJ Mustang.

Closely related to the busted myths are the numerous revelations that have come to light. For instance, it has long been understood that while Ford offered the 427 as a production option in 1967 Fairlanes, the engine was strangely unavailable with the sporty GT package. Marti has uncovered that there was one legit exception, a 427 GT that appears to have been built for a Ford executive.

Another revelation: When the 428 CJ was introduced to ponycars and intermediates in the spring of 1968, an oddity occurred in which CJ Torinos and Cyclones were not available with a four-speed. You could get a four-speed in a CJ Mustang or Cougar, but not in an intermediate, with one Marti-documented exception. That’s right, a single 1968 428 CJ Torino was built with a four-speed transmission.

These “one-of-one” examples turn up somewhat regularly in Marti’s reports, due to the way production data is broken down and because of the myriad option combinations offered by all manufacturers, not just Ford, in the 1960s. But not all one-of-ones have the same significance. You can’t really compare the collectability of, say, a 1968 Mustang coupe that’s one-of-one because it’s yellow, has a bench seat, a 390, and a three-speed stick with the Fairlane and Torino mentioned above. The latter two are truly noteworthy, unusual, and desirable cars.

Outside the Box

There are other ways to use the Marti data, such as the reverse search. Jim Chism hoped he might someday find the original 1968 Ford XL GT that was given to him as a high school graduation present by his parents in 1968. He says, “I knew the dealer where it was sold and the equipment that was on it [including a Q-code 428]. Kevin was able to reverse-search it and come up with the original VIN. Now I’ll know for sure if I ever find it, even though I admit the chances are small. The Deluxe Marti Report I had done on it makes me feel like I have some small token of the car still with me.”

These examples scratch the surface as to what the Ford/Marti database has to offer. A Marti Report will continue to be enviable proof for buyers, sellers, and enthusiastic owners of Dearborn iron, while new discoveries are perhaps limited only by the man-hours necessary to uncover them. Already known are the VINs of numerous famous movie cars (Kevin was instrumental in documenting what turned out to be the long-lost 1968 Mustang from the movie Bullitt), a non–GT-E 1968 Cougar with a 427, the identities and unique equipment of prototype Torino Talladegas sold to private parties, and more. It all makes us grateful that Kevin fell for that Cougar all those years ago, rather than a Chevelle. If the latter had happened, it’s quite possible the Ford community would still be living without this godsend of detailed production data.

Kevin Marti’s database and paperwork were critical to proving Andrew Hack’s 1971 SportsRoof—an eBay find he was going to turn into a driver—as the lone known prototype for the stillborn 1971 Boss 302 program.

This is part of the Marti Elite Report for Luis Chanes’ 1970 Mach 1 Twister Special. It spells out in detail virtually everything about the car as it was built and delivered. Just 96 Twister Special Mustangs were made as part of a Kansas City Ford dealer promotion, with 28 being 428 SCJ/four-speeds such as this.

Another day at the office for Kevin Marti and his staff. In addition to the vast Ford computer database Marti Auto Works is known for, the company also stores tens of thousands of invoices and documents on microfiche and paper in a 2,000-square-foot warehouse.

This is one of eight Mustang convertibles built in 1971 with a 429 Super Cobra Jet engine. While the VIN will verify a 429 CJ car, documentation from Marti will prove out specific details such as gear ratio (3.91s or 4.11s mean SCJ), transmission, color, trim options, and even if the car originally rolled on the Magnum 500s.

Chris Osborne’s 1970 Cougar is a rare and original 428 CJ XR7 model. If he were to sell the car, a Marti Report would reveal several items that a buyer would want to know. One, Ram Air is original to the car, something the 1970 VIN doesn’t show. Also, the car was originally Black Jade with a black vinyl top. As the guy who changed it to Competition Yellow, Osborne would be up front with a potential buyer. But if the car were to change hands several times in the future, the color change info might be lost in the shuffle. The Marti report will tell it like it is.

When Walt Golembiewski bought his 1970 Torino GT convertible in 1989, he knew it was one rare beast, but it wasn’t until the advent of the Marti Report in 1997 that he fully understood how rare. It turns out just 19 1970 Torino GT converts were built with a 429 Super Cobra Jet, and of those, 13 were four-speed cars like his. (We offer our condolences to the Golembiewski family, for as we put this story together, we learned of Walt’s passing.)

Only four factory Pastel Yellow Boss 302s were built out of a total production run of 7,014 Boss 302s for 1970. This model year saw a marked change for Boss color availability, going from just four for 1969 to nearly the full Ford color palate for 1970. Mike Bickford is the proud owner of this rare Boss. His Marti Report proves its Code 9 Pastel Yellow provenance.

Ford door tags changed from an aluminum tag to a sticker in 1970. Either way, door tags can prove much about a given Ford. But would you recognize the difference between an original and a reproduction that had been altered to reflect a transmission or color change? What if the tag had gone missing? These possibilities illustrate the relevance of a Marti Report beyond the information that can be deduced from the door tag.

Jim Chism’s 1968 XL GT Fastback may be long gone, but he knows the VIN of the car thanks to a search of Marti’s database. The scrapbook photo shows the fullsize fastback as new, along with Chism and his cousins, Susan and Tommy Flowers.

Kevin Marti’s database was particularly revealing for 428 Cobra Jet Mustang owners, as some erroneous production numbers had been widely circulated in previous years. Take Neil Biddlecombe’s 1968 1/2 Mustang coupe. We now know that just 221 coupes were equipped with the 428 CJ that year, making for a rarely seen beast.

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