Recent posts

#61

Your Art / Recommended Art-uploading Site...

Last post by DrampardonMe - 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!

[Not saying that's a good idea]

#62

Games General / Re: My "Review" of Pokemon Sca...

Last post by DrampardonMe - 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.

#63

Games General / Re: My "Review" of Pokemon Sca...

Last post by Del - June 10, 2024, 22:47

awful performance aside, I thought S/V were pretty fun games. I have a few issues with it, mainly performance, but also the fairly rigid, fake open-world feeling (boss levels never scale based on you, so if you do stuff out of intended order, it's a breeze), and the grind required for fully unlocking the Terrarium in the DLC being truly insane unless you co-op it, but even then it takes a while.

I don't really know what people's beef with the designs are, a lot of them are really cool and I think it's a pretty nice dex overall. my full Paldea team might be one of my favourites I've used in ages, in fact? I didn't love the school setting, not because I particularly care about the school setting, but because they used it as an excuse to remove all the customisation and force you into ugly uniforms, which isn't great. Otherwise it was a fine setting, I suppose. It's not like you really engage with the setting beyond the first like, 20 minutes and then the ending anyway. Don't have any particular issues with any of the characters, and thought the story was pretty fun throughout base and DLC.

Think it was a massive shame that they introduced the Link Cable in Arceus, removed it here, and then doubled down on annoying mandatory-co-op-evo methods (Palafin), but at this point it is what it is I suppose. I also think some of the raids are just kind of Too Hard? I spent a lot of the 7 star raids trying to carry a friend through them and unless I basically give them a Pokémon and a set of instructions on what to press when, we were basically never duoing them, but I suppose this is what they wanted us to grind as a post-game now that they've removed basically everything else.

Fun games overall though, I enjoyed them. Fix performance, make boss levels scale, add real post-game content (Battle Tower/Frontier/whatever), make 7* raids a bit easier, and re-add real trainer customisation, and Gen 10 should be great I think.

[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]

#64

PKMN.NET / Re: Happy 20 years

Last post by DrampardonMe - 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!

#65

General Pokémon Discussion / Re: Snorlax best Pokemon

Last post by DrampardonMe - June 10, 2024, 18:13

I know it's years after the fact, but

HarryGreenboi

I think this poster is a real Snorlax who somehow got access to this forum. But don't say that too loud, he's trying to sleep!

Jokes aside, I keep telling myself I'll use a Snorlax some day, but I never do. I guess I'll never know the truth on how good it is...

i would be the best pokemon if i could sleep that much

Wouldn't we all?

[TIME PARADOX]

#66

TV and Movies / Vintage Anime Nostalgia (80s o...

Last post by DrampardonMe - June 10, 2024, 13:07

Anyone end up watching them Japanese cartoons at all? Maybe you grew up with some, or watched them after the fact? Discuss which older anime are on your mind!

Currently thinking about that one time I watched Yatterman. My favorite part is when Boyakky (Boyacky? However it's spelled...) screams his name in the villains' theme song. It's beyond comical.

Speaking of scoundrels, everyone loves a good Lupin III, right? I've only seen Part 2's infamous English dub ages ago, but I still think about "I hope this isn't one of those three-hour tours you hear about on Nick At Nite!" a lot more than I should. (wait, does that dub break the 80s-or-older rule??? TIME PARADOX) Oh, and uh, I feel like Speed Racer has had more adaptations than anime at this point. I'm still mad he wasn't even considered for Tatsunoko vs Capcom... which I've never played, so like, whatever. ;_;

I'd have mentioned more 80s anime, but, uh, slipped my mind. I still need to watch the English dub of Tank Police, out of principle. (I had to look it up to make sure, but it just barely clears being an 80s anime.)

Anyone else a weeb enough dude to post about ancient anime?

"But why not anything AFTER the 80s???"

It's not a hard rule or anything (and I updated the title to reflect that). I might accept a few "honorary" titles, but deep down, I feel there was a quality and/or style shift around the turn of the decade into the 90s. We got some good stuff even then, don't get me wrong. I just think older anime is underrated or even shunned these days.

(There are some stinkers even among "The Classics", though. Pretty much anything Devilman-related is 2edgy4me, except maybe the Toei one...  I guess the title should have tipped me off!)

Side note: When ARE we going to get a straight-up, beat-for-beat anime adaptation of the Getter Robo manga, no strings attached? Usually I don't mind spin-offs etc., because that's how a lot of adaptations did it back then, but it's kind of weird Getter seems to dance around the source material. Am I missing something? Funny because most Getter anime aren't even 80s or older, but I guess that's my point...

#67

PKMN.NET / Re: All these guests, etc.

Last post by DrampardonMe - June 10, 2024, 11:58

^Good to hear it's fixable! Does it ever get more difficult to manage, or does it boil down to "code is code"? (Again, tech-illiterate here) Appreciate the work being done, at any rate.

[Hopes:]

#68

Gaming / Yacht Club Games Presents this...

Last post by DrampardonMe - June 10, 2024, 02:49

Anyone else looking forward to it? I am. If nothing else, now I have something to watch for twenty minutes that day, lol

Seriously, though, what are your hopes, expectations, etc.? It's celebrating ten years of Shovel Knight, so I assume that's going to be a bulk of the focus. For me, it's:

Hopes: Shovel Solstice, Shovel Kart, More Dirt (er, snow?) on Polar Knight and/or the Concept of Shovelry, and a PUBLIC APOLOGY from PERCY HIMSELF for that hay minigame* from Shovel Knight Showdown, a game I otherwise wanted to enjoy What Even IS Mole Knight's Deal, Anyway??? ...give or take a few, just to temper my hopes a smidge.
Expectations: More DLC for Shovel Knight Dig (Pretty much confirmed, anyway) and maybe something to do with Mina the Hollower. Probably a plushie or two. Speaking of 2... Nah. Unless...?

Side note: I still think the first four games (or "Treasure Trove", if you count it as just one) are great, flaws and all, but I have mixed feelings about every game after invoking a "Nintendo Hard" arcade feel. It's not that I think they shouldn't make games like that for people who want them, it's just that (for the MOST part) Treasure Trove seemed to strike a balance between tough and fair. Also, I'm stubborn and feel like they SHOULD be played at those difficulties even though I typically suck.

*You might be able to disable that minigame, but there's no disabling my SCARS. I get PTSD watching Percy prance about in Dig like nothing happened. He KNOWS.

What about the rest of you?

...

Okay, just got done watching it. Honestly not sure how to feel about most of it, but it's good to know Shovel Knight's getting a sequel of sorts! Dig's DLC might be cool, too...

That said, I think I'll wait until we have more info on Shovel of Hope DX. If they're boasting 20+ playable characters, but it's primarily following the Shovel of Hope timeline, I wonder how the dialogue changes accordingly, if at all? And uh, if anything else changes, for that matter (besides gameplay, I'd assume). I mean, wouldn't playing as Plague Knight effectively make it Plague of Shadows, seeing as how that was the whole point? Don't get me wrong, I'll go in mostly surprised if I have to, but boy does it feel weird considering I bought the original for the 3DS.... Heck, that might be enough incentive to buy the new one. my 3DS ain't what it used to be...

So yeah, I give this Yacht Club Presents a Some Interesting Stuff out of 5 Yachts.

[LET HIM!!]

#69

Games General / My "Review" of Pokemon Scarlet...

Last post by DrampardonMe - June 08, 2024, 01:50

You HAVE been warned:

[spoiler]


[/spoiler]

If anyone has any questions, I'm going to sleep. See you soon.

EDIT: Okay, I'm back. To address the main concern you all might have, don't worry! This game has a HAPPY ending:

[spoiler]
[/spoiler]

As for The Teal Mask, WELL...

[spoiler]
[/spoiler]

The only thing you need to know about The Indigo Disc is Crispin is a huge dork, but in like, the coolest way ever. Mere images cannot illustrate what was previously perceived to be the physically impossible.

And perhaps the BIGGEST spoiler of ALL...

[spoiler]Blatant jokes aside, while I do feel many parts of the game, especially its plot, were rushed and/or cut* (including the DLC, which I pretty much only got because I had spare eShop money), I enjoyed Scarlet a lot more than I thought I would. Some time around Gen 6, I was getting burnt out on the series, and I actually skipped on getting Shield (for better or worse). I tried Legends Arceus off a whim and enjoyed it for what it was, so I gave Scarlet a try, too.

*I mean, this isn't anything new. Why is a "DNA Splicer" a family heirloom, for example? There's no other reason I can think of.

Is it the perfect Pokemon game? Absolutely not, but then what is? Will I get the new Legends game? The first one was enough for me, but I'm interested to see the inevitable new Mega Evolutions (if we get a Bug/Ground Mega Pinsir Z with Arena Trap, I will forgive Game Freak for the abomination we actually got) more than I am playing it.

Here are a few more opinions I have:
1. Arven > Nemona > Fossilized Pokemon Manure >>> Mega Pinsir > most Gen 9 Pokemon >>>>>>> Penny.

If you think that's harsh, it probably is, but I can't stand Penny's attitude, particularly her bizarre trust issues towards her friends (which, by the way, all of them except Ortega are awesome) Her only redeeming quality is having a Palafin poster in her room. I guess you could argue her whole "DAAAAAAD!!" issue is funny if you get who's being referenced in that one DLC arc, but I didn't when I first played it. Turns out it's a Sword/Shield reference.

Arven strikes me as the Gen 5-appeal character, and Nemona the Gen 1-appeal character (or Gen 3, I guess, since she's a "friendly" rival). I have no major issues with either of them.

2. I didn't care for the whole school setting, especially in the base game. The school trip and Blueberry Academy weren't terrible overall (though regarding Kieran, it felt like they were clearly leading up to something between him and Pecharunt, but I guess that was dropped because brainwashed children/possessed antagonists was overdone at this point? That, uh, didn't stop Pecharunt from trying, I suppose...) but that was in spite of the school context. Probably silly to complain about for a children's monster-collecting game, but I would assume there was a reason it was never done before. Director Clavell and Cyrano are both super cool, though.

3. Dendra is Best Girl with Best Taste in Second-Best Type. Her only flaw is substituting her Falinks for Hitmontop (but then I just don't like Hitmontop)

[Points 4 and 5 redacted because I was complaining about pokemon designs and we don't need two paragraphs dedicated to THAT, even if the criticisms were legit. It's been said everywhere else!]

6. As stated above, Crispin is the best dork. He's gonna be a great chef some day, and when he gets older he'll be as cool as Steven Stone. Just you wait!

The young man just wants to fly on his Magmortar. LET HIM!![/spoiler]

(Spoilered the "actual" review after the fact of posting it. It's gotten a bit long, lol)

I don't suppose anyone else has any hands-on experience/opinions to share regarding Scarlet/Violet?

And yeah, I should probably address the Koraidon in the room-- the game is buggy and slows down at parts, but I think I got off relatively easy there. Other than when my LIZARD STEED decides to take a nosedive into some polygons, get stuck, and teleport me somewhere else, I haven't had too many major problems (except early on in the game's life, like a Pokeball inexplicably being in almost all the Arven cutscenes, or this one time when I couldn't pick up two items relatively close to each other in a cave. Oh, and the Elite Four music glitch, which was apparently so bad they didn't bother reusing it for the DLC...I don't think that constitutes a major spoiler at this point?).

Some of the bugs were pretty cool, though-- I'll never forget the time I saw a sleeping Makuhita by a tree, and right next to it, a SHINY one emerged from the ground. Long before that, I got lost in one area when a Yungoos encounter got me to somewhere I don't think I should have been yet, which helped me progress elsewhere, haha.

I assume it's worse when you play with friends online? Or is it even terrible connecting in person? Or is it really down to a coin toss?

[THIS HOLIDAY SEASON]

#70

Random Randomness / Re: first world problems

Last post by DrampardonMe - June 08, 2024, 01:03

I'm pretty sure my body's trying to fight off a summer cold. Either way, between sleeping my afternoon away yesterday, and general artist's block besides, I've had a crummy week. Or at least, it feels crummy. I wouldn't say it's been objectively bad, but I just can't muster too much energy lately.

(The highlight of the week was that one huge rainbow I saw, but this is the First World PROBLEMS thread. Also, I think I saw it last week, so, whatever...)

Fast-forward to THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, and, bonehead that I am, I waited too long to set up anything to do with anyone, so there's a very real chance not much is happening for me on Christmas Day this year. Ah well, there's always New Year's... Hang on, it's almost 2025 already?! I feel old...

Also, guess who just ordered a French manga despite not knowing French. 2025 is already off to an "interesting" start!
...Apparently, the English localization is coming out this year, so I done goofed!

EDIT: Consider the following:

This anime is COMPLETELY INACCURATE regarding [thing]!!

And water is wet. Details at 11.

EDIT2: Amazing how a lack of sleep can kill my enthusiasm for starting the next chapter of one of my comics. Oh, and ruin my plans for the day in general. As of EDIT3, I have yet to get back on the comic-making horse. (Still drawing a healthy amount, though)

Speaking of EDIT3: May or may not have corrupted one of my USB sticks with some of my art files on it. Absolutely livid... even though I have spare sticks I could be using, and the data is still elsewhere, so it's not like I can't make more backups at all, but sheesh. So far, it seems to still work, but it's not a matter of "if it's corrupted," but "where and which files". Despite all my talk, I am NOT an expert on this kind of technology!

Either way, I'm thinking of investing in an external hard drive, but I hear those things are even more sensitive, so I don't know what the procedures for those are.