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Messages - DrampardonMe
1
« on: December 01, 2024, 00:36 »
^I had no problem with the battle system in the context of the game itself, but... yeah, I feel like it only works when an age where "Pokemon are terrifying creatures!" and such. Plus, catching Pokemon without engaging in proper battle felt a bit overpowered after a point. I mean, you could still engage, but even battle is a tad more streamlined/simplified. I mean, battle styles are cool, but no abilities and such. Wait, do we even know when Z-A takes place yet? I'll have to look into it later. Thinking about it more myself, of course they should keep the shiny sound pre-shiny encounter. Some shinies you'd miss otherwise. Also, wasn't Frozen status replaced with a similar thing that reduced Sp.ATK? That was kind of, er, cool. Personally always wondered why we have Burn and Intimidate but not equivalents for Sp.ATK in the main games... besides, you know, stall being an annoying strategy in PvP. Mega Jellicent would be interesting, if only to see the impressive mustache get even more impressive/the frills get even frillier. Always wanted to try base Jellicent, but never got around it, so a mega would be a good excuse. Interestingly, the first and last time I seriously used a Xatu was one which ended up being my PokeStar Studios ace in White 2. I'm all for Xatu getting more bones thrown to it, since I always thought it was kind of cool. Speaking of... i'm looking forward to Z-A anyway, should be a fun experience, and it's interesting that we're going back to Kalos before Unova. hope we get some more info soon Makes me wonder if they're planning a proper "Black 3/White 3" with new protagonists or whatever, or if we're just getting remakes of the first one. Maybe, dare I say, a Pokemon Legends game which somehow works in the color Grey? Cautiously curious what they'll do there.
2
« on: November 24, 2024, 04:07 »
In terms of official information, there hasn't been a whole lot to go off of yet, has there? I won't say I've been under a rock on the issue, but I don't have my pulse on it, either.
At any rate, Legends Z-A isn't a priority purchase for me (I'm in the "wait and see" stage at the moment), but I am curious about which new Mega Evolutions will happen. Honestly, though, I've gotten burned out on playing Pokemon Scarlet, so I'd have to be in the right mood for a Pokemon game in general (and, at time of posting, I am not in said mood)
To anyone who's played the first Legends game: What did you like and/or dislike about it? What should be kept for Z-A, and what should be left in the first? And, for those interested, which Mega Evolutions do you most want?
Me? I'd have to dust off my copy of Legends because I never 100%'d it (even though that was the entire point of the game, lol) so I'm not really qualified on what mechanics to keep, ditch, improve, etc. As for Megas, I feel as though Mega Hariyama isn't happening since Iron Hands is a thing, but never say never, I suppose! Otherwise, I just want there to be an alternative to Mega Pinsir, a Bug/Ground-type with Arena Trap. Chances of that happening are low, but I do not like the one we have now. It'd be nice if they brought back Mega Swampert, too. I'm indifferent to Flygon, but the lack of a Mega for it is strange even to me. I've heard rumors as to why that is, but eh.
Anyone else want to weigh in?
3
« on: October 11, 2024, 19:42 »
Been thinking about this a bit more than I probably should, but it IS October, so no harm in asking, right?
I understand in a straight-forward fight that Team Dracula would most probably win, but it makes me wonder under which circumstances the pirates could claim victory. Keep in mind, the pirates in this scenario aren't magic/cursed/undead or whatever, but they ARE pirates, and there's a billion of 'em. All I've got at the moment is "Load the cannons with garlic!!"
(You can assess this seriously, or you can have fun with it. Mostly asking for research purposes.)
4
« on: September 22, 2024, 17:50 »
Between "Yawning Arcanine" and "Ear-Scratching Pikachu", I can't take the Grand Prize-winning entries of these TCG art contests seriously. Imagine Game Freak getting so much cool art, limiting it to just two or three of the pics actually making it onto cards while they get to own your efforts even if they never use those pictures ever again, and then the winners are the Pokemon being LAZY and/or TIRED*.
...Oh, right, there's a cash prize, too, isn't there? All the more reason to get judges with better taste than "I love it when Pokemon act like pets (and the background is cool, too)". Or at least give more than one theme to choose from?
*To be fair, wasn't the previous contest "Pokemon in their natural habitat"? I can't remember what the 2024 "theme" was...
Sorry if I'm worked up about it. It's just... as a fan, I'll never understand how these decisions are made, and as someone who draws casually, I'd be hard-pressed to think my own work would be able to hold a candle to the sky-high standards Game Freak don't even hold themselves to. More disappointed in myself for caring so much, honestly.
How about the rest of you? Did any of you try to enter? Do you think the winners earned their victories, or would you have rather seen someone else take home the prize(s)?
5
« on: September 07, 2024, 12:53 »
I skipped Sword and Shield, in equal part due to series burnout at the time (though I was struggling with it since the tail-end of Gen 5) and most of the new Pokemon not appealing to me.* Oh, and Dynamax was silly. Would have gotten Shield if I was a bit more optimistic.
In retrospect, Scarlet and Violet improved some things established in Sw/Sh (though please correct me if I'm wrong) so I have to assume I'm not missing much by skipping? Still, every new game in the series feels like wishing on a Monkey's Paw anymore. Not trying to be pessimistic here, just trying to temper myself for whenever Gen 10 comes out.
*Don't get me wrong, I usually find a handful of Pokemon I like every generation, even if they aren't my faves. Sword/Shield was the first game where I was honestly less impressed than usual. Cramorant was an insta-fave, and when I got Scarlet, I had fun with Appletun. Actually kind of sad Galarian Mr. Mime didn't make the cut, but I couldn't care less about Mr. Rime...
6
« on: June 30, 2024, 17:57 »
I'm skipping the fancy intro, 'cause I've got a headache:  Here are some Earthbound-style sprites of my character, The Cobalt Macaw. I know they need work, so I'm asking what could be fixed. I have other sprites I'd like to share, but they'll have to wait until I'm feeling better. Keep in mind I'm not very good at pixel-ing from scratch with anything past low-end SNES graphics, and even then there's room for improvement. The dream is to be able to make detailed NES/GBC/SNES-style pixels, but I've a ways to go before I can comfortably say I'm there. (If you count what I call "Frankenspriting", I haven't done that in years, mainly because I'm trying to improve drawing in general, and stitching together other people's stuff isn't conductive to making it from the ground up. Well, it helped my color sense, somewhat, but observation is the more vital skill there. And, well, actually drawing things!) EDIT: I've had a breakthrough!!  I was going for something like Chrono Trigger for these two, and borrowed some colors from actual Chrono Trigger sprites to that effect. All said, Hilda (the maid) came out rather nice, but I feel like Dustin (the butler) needs a bit of work. Anyone wanna lend an eye?
7
« on: June 22, 2024, 15:01 »
The recently-announced "Marvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection" has got me thinking about fighting game rosters in general, so I figured I'd make a (hopefully fun!) thread to that effect. The crossover (if any) doesn't have to be massive, nor does the roster itself, but if you like that sort of variety, more power to you! As for me, I personally have a lot of favorites from across different properties, so I'd probably end up stuffing the roster with them, without regard to balance, variety, or other fans' preferences. If that sounds even remotely interesting to you, well, uh, here's the bare minimum of what I'd want, in no particular order: 1. Blanka, Guile, Rose, Twelve, and Rufus from the Street Fighter series
2. Duck King from Fatal Fury, Tizoc and maybe B. Jenet from Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Defintely King Lion, specifically his appearance in the first Savage Reign. I also wouldn't mind seeing Jubei from Fatal Fury 2 again, but, uh, I think that bridge has since been demolished... Ooh! Maybe Galford and Nakoruru from Samurai Shodown?
3. Bang Shishigami and Valkenhayn from Blazblue
4. Wallachia from Melty Blood
5. Hector from Fire Emblem. I don't care if he's a Nintendo-exclusive character, put him in a fighting game already!!
6. Either Propeller Knight, Mole Knight, or Polar Knight, because they're among my favorite characters from Shovel Knight. I wouldn't have a problem with King Knight, but he had his own campaign as it is, so...
7. Spider-Man from the Marvel vs. series, if only so I can indulge in having him on the same team as either Blanka or Guile (assuming it's a tag-team fighter)
8. THE STEEL SAMURAI. Not Will Powers in a suit, I mean the REAL one from the SHOW. I mean, if he's never going to appear in Samurai Shodown as a guest character, I might as well pretend he has a shot in... anything else!
I say "Bare Minimum", but I think I got a little greedy. On the other hand, I'm probably forgetting some characters I'd like to see. It'd be a much longer list if I could remember them all, lol! Anyway, I'd prefer 2D sprites if possible, but... Actually, I think the last time I tolerated a 3D-graphics, 2D fighter was probably Super Street Fighter 4, aaaaages ago! Unless Dragon Ball FighterZ counts? Man, I forgot I even bought that one... I guess I'm not picky as long as the game looks good/plays well! Of course, the REAL dream would be to get some of my OWN characters into a fighting game some time before I die, but I know how much work it takes to get just ONE (1) character made, from design to development to balancing to hitboxes, etc. It's more work than I'D be able to handle, at any rate. You can't buy love, either. It's all about establishing your characters to make people WANT them in a fighting game! ...but more realistically, you're probably looking at thousands of dollars down on crowdfunding. *shudder* Anyone else have a dream roster, or maybe just a character or two you want to see make a return/debut?
8
« on: June 12, 2024, 16:12 »
That one instrumental of the pirate theme from the DLC case of Ace Attorney 5.
All things considered, that case was actually pretty cool. Shame it cost extra...
Also, as of this most recent edit: "Wonderful Boy" from Melty Blood: Act Cadenza. Been feeling rather down, so I thought listening to a "chill" theme would help, but it's actually making me more melancholic, as well as nostalgic... but I don't wanna get too negative here.
9
« on: June 12, 2024, 12:49 »
A forum game? In 2024??? Let's see how far this goes!
Anyway, it's simple: line by line, spell out the plot/premise for the next Ace Attorney game! Make it as cheesy as possible! If you can, though, try to make it a plausible thing by recent games' standards. That way, when AA7/Investigations 3/Ema Skye's Scientific Table Tennis FINALLY releases, we can see how terribly accurate we are! Or aren't! It's all in good fun!
Anyway, I'll start:
They call themselves... the Disciples of Godot.
10
« on: June 12, 2024, 12:23 »
Let's put aside whether it's good for you or not. Fact is, my coffee addiction is a relatively recent phenomenon, and I'm curious who else is on the inside, for how long, etc.
Taking coffee straight-up black never ends well for me, so I need a bit of cream, bare minimum, to cut the acidity. Not really big on adding sugar, although I've recently started using this "Irish Creme" flavored creamer (Not sure what the UK equivalent is, but whatever it is, there's a hint of chocolate), which has sugar in it anyway... but the point is, spooning sugar directly into it makes it too sweet.
Anyway, I used to drink it a lot less frequently until about... last month, haha. I think it's only now starting to stabilize in my system, for better or worse. Though, some days...
11
« on: June 12, 2024, 04:53 »
Not necessarily that they "grew on you", more like you don't have as much disdain for them as you once did.
I used to pretty much dislike the entire Solosis line because I was trying to raise something in Pokemon White and wild Duosion kept making that difficult, and while I'm still not fond of Duosion or Reuniclus, I don't think I was being fair to Solosis. I like it, it's a cute lil' brain marble! Even the idea behind the line appeals to me, just not its execution. Caught a Solosis in Scarlet not long ago, and wanted to see how far I could get raising it without evolving it at all... before getting distracted by something else in-game. Probably just doing more Blueberry Quests, haha.
I also remember not liking Unown all that much, until I caught a J-shaped one and put it in my PokeWalker so I could "J-walk". It was so perfect for my Pokewalker, besides. I mean, it's still not winning any battles, but HG/SS gave it its true calling, as far as I'm concerned!
For a more recent example, Tadbulb is pretty cute, but I'm not a big fan of Bellibolt. I guess I don't loathe Bellibolt as much as I could, but I'd be hard-pressed to actually use one, and it's definitely up there on the list of my "Least Favorite Pokemon", in terms of design. Maybe in gen 10, we'll get a cooler evo with Electric Surge, like the Politoed to Bellibolt's Poliwrath. We'll see. In the meantime, like I said, Tadbulb is cute and I like it.
Anyone else have any mercy to show for your not-so-favorites?
12
« on: June 12, 2024, 00:42 »
Fufufu... Fools, ALL of you! There is only ONE way to cut a sandwich! Observe:
STEP 1: Unsheathe your Katana
The Katana is the perfect cutting implement. It has been folded a thousand times to ensure it can slice through anything. Compared to a tank, cleaving a sandwich is child's play.
STEP 2: Teleport behind the sandwich
This step is, perhaps, the most important of all. Any sandwich worth devouring oozes with sinister intent. You must strike preemptively, before it strikes you.
PRO TIP: Discerning what, exactly, constitutes "behind the sandwich" takes years of indigestion and dark meditation in the Akashic Realm. No two sandwiches are created equal.
STEP 3: Assert your superiority
Sandwiches are frail creatures, their egos frailer. All it takes is a witty retort, such as, "nothin personnel, kid", to disarm it, to fill it with despair.
STEP 4: Sever it into 17 pieces. No more. No Less.
Should you have successfully pulled it off, the Final Fantasy victory theme shall echo through your soul. You will obtain precisely 1 GP, 1 EXP, and, of course, newly acquired sustenance. (AKA Sandwich Chunks, their TRUE name. Because seriously, what were they thinking localizing it as SandBits?!)
STEP 5: Tip your fedora
As if there is any other ritual worthy of congratulating oneself for a job well done.
May this forbidden knowledge serve you all well!
[/cringe]
Seriously, though, I'm trying to avoid carbs these days (kind of, sort of) so I don't really buy bread if I can help it. Bread crumbs, on the other hand... I like a little crunch on my meat, so sue me. But yeah, uncut bread for uncut eating, typically.
13
« on: June 11, 2024, 11:44 »
[If this topic goes elsewhere, please move it accordingly]
Might be a weird question, but I can't help but ask: what are the best sites these days for hosting comics? Are some of the old ones still good to use? Would some of the new ones be better?
Mind you, I'm waiting on a new computer, which should (hopefully) open my options a bit. I currently browse the Internet on a zombie-potato device, so some of the fancier sites don't seem to want to so much as load (I mean, I get it, but it's annoying for a caveman like me.) Also, if you've seen my stuff, it ain't exactly high-tier art. I figured I'd mention that because I'm not sure how many sites have high standards, and I'd like to respect those standards instead of watering down the pool.
It doesn't have to be a "webcomic-hosting site" either, but then I've never used that format before. It's not like I'd be updating frequently, anyway (I'd rather upload on a chapter-by chapter basis); it's really more for posterity's sake and/or ease of sharing. All I know is, I'd rather avoid using Webtoons. There are a few other sites I wouldn't use, too, but less "out of principle" and more because they'd be a last resort.
Thanks in advance!
14
« on: June 10, 2024, 23:34 »
^The lack of scaling was disappointing, to be sure. It wasn't a deal-breaker for me, but it would have personalized people's experience/choices that much more if it did, right? And yeah, I only recently got all the terrarium buffs. Found out the hard way wild Torchic were in the very last biome I decided to enhance-- and even then, not out in the open!
For me, it's less that the designs are outright terrible and more that most of them don't stand out. The ones that do really are cool (Armarouge, Dachsbun and especially shiny Cetitan are some of my new favorites, and I kinda liked Espathra after trying Flittle off a whim), but for every one of those, there's a few which look like cheap 3d models-- which, in all fairness, CAN be better than being just plain bad. Either way, I WANT to like Spidops, but it looks... artificial. My current team was mostly Pokemon from previous gens, though... I personally think they started to develop designs with 3D first and foremost in mind around Gen 7, but that wouldn't exactly explain the ones from this gen (and I suppose it doesn't apply to stuff like cross-gen evos or others based off previous Pokemon)
As for characters/setting, I guess I forgot some of the cooler parts, to be fair. I hinted at Team Star's bosses being cool (and Clive!!) and it's hard for me to pick my favorite gym leader between Katy, Kofu and Brassius, and some of them even grew on me over time (When I realized Ryme's design was a skeleton-arm for hair, it just clicked, you know?) but I still think Arven's route is my favorite, base-game-wise. If I didn't say already, I like Kieran, too. Was invested enough I kept calling him "friend" when prompted, haha.
I was fortunate to get a Palafin in a Tera Raid, and to be fair, a lot of trade-only evos are available that way, too, but I do get it's quite annoying. (I haven't paid for Nintendo Switch online at all, so I'm making things harder for myself, I guess!) And yeah, the harder Raids almost killed my enthusiasm for the game entirely. I found myself using EXP Candies on some Pokemon I'd have rather raised naturally, just to try and get the Mighty Cinderace I deep down only wanted for the novelty of it. Not fun. I ended up catching Scorbunny later at Blueberry Academy, anyway. I almost feel dirty just thinking about it...
Overall, definitely fun. A step in the right direction in some ways, needs polishing in others. I've been dying for the PWT to make a proper return, but I miss the Frontier(s) too, and none of what they do these days is a(n excellent) replacement for those. I'm so desperate for a new Frontier, I'd pay for amiibo based on the corresponding Frontier Brain. (Not saying that's a good idea, but I think Game Freak is allergic to amiibo anyway, so whatever). Re-battling previous Trainers from the current game is nice, but you still have to grind for it. In paid DLC. And you can only summon two at a time because there are three others by default (and lately I haven't seen Crispin... Rotten RNG, I guess?) I miss the Vs Seeker/Trainers' Eyes...
Customization is/was always cool, but I'd be happy if I could just BE the Blackbelt instead of, say, the Protagonist merely dressed as one. (One of the cool Blackbelts, though, some of their designs are weird) Considering all the Trainer classes/designs over the years, I'm surprised customization for the MC has been pretty limited overall, even when there ARE more options (Custom battle quotes like in Battle Revolution would be neat too, but I'm asking for a miracle there). I'm hoping Gen 10 is good, too, whether I play it or not.
15
« on: June 10, 2024, 22:21 »
It's crazy that this forum is still up, since nearly every other forum I went on in the 00s-10s has been gone for quite some time. I made this account two decades ago when Ruby and Sapphire came out when I was 10 years old! It definitely felt like a sanctuary back then when kids my age were already moving onto other stuff, and the internet and the world was a very different place. I feel that! I can't remember when I first joined (this is a newer account), but I wasn't really active until the year after, just shy of Diamond and Pearl's release, if I recall correctly. I think I was in high school when Ruby/Sapphire came out, so imagine how it was for me, haha. Boy, do I miss the simpler times! Now I'm married with a daughter, and haven't touched a pokemon game since HG/SS, but I guess I'm sort of on a vision quest these days to try and track my origins. I'm really grateful this place has been kept going for as long as it has. We did most of our communication back then on Instant Messengers so a lot of it isn't archived. Luckily I have 1 or 2 messages from 2003-2005 still in my inbox! Congratulations on the marriage and kid! It makes me happy to know this forum is/has affected people in a positive way, too!
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