Merisa

Tabula Rasa

2007-10-08T05:19:50Z

I've been playing Tabula Rasa's semi-open beta recently and the game has caught me by surprise. I'll admit I hadn't paid it much attention. My first impressions were not favorable, either. The game plays a fair bit like Star Wars Galaxy's New Game Experience in that you have to aim at a target to select it, though once you've aimed, you can lock on with the tab key. That's not the best first impression to make. Once I got into the game, I found the gameplay to be slow, the graphics to be muddy, and the mechanics to be dull.

Then I gave it a few more levels. Tabula Rasa isn't a shooter and while it is definitely an MMORPG, approaching it the same way you would, say, WoW, will get you in trouble. A few hints for new players:

1) Crouching drastically increases the bead on most guns. Shooting a rifle from 40-60 meters while crouching will take out most enemies of your level in a few shots. Trying to run up and shoot them in the face with the same gun will likely needing to reload several times as your shots miss and do minimal damage. Which leads to...

2) If you find yourself in a melee confrontation... use the melee key, F. Most guns actually do a lot of damage melee and I can sometimes take out unsuspecting enemies in a few hits if I run up to them when they're not looking. You should never run out of ammo.

3) Use the right weapon for the right situation. Even if an enemy is not immune to a certain damage type, you'll fare a lot better to learn what he might be weak against.

4) In keeping, don't neglect your basic skills, particularly firearms. The more specialized weapons are, well, specialized and situational.

5) Special abilities are also situational. Unlike other MMOs where your primary damage comes from specials, in Tabula Rasa, specials are situational. Need to clear out the shields of a group of Bane? Toss out some lightning. Surrounded? Lay down shrapnel. Know you're up for a big fight? Start up Rage. You won't be able to spam them like in other games and that's ok. If you're using your weapons properly, you won't need to.

6) Also, higher pump levels for special abilities are not necessarily better. It is, again, situational. If a group of enemies is grouped around you, using a high pump Shrapnel is just wasting power.

Ok, so I gave tips, but I hope I also gave a bit of an impression about how the game isn't like your average MMORPG. Control point raids are a blast, missions are interesting, soloing is absolutely possible, even as you level, and levelling is quite fast, done primarily through missions with no real grinding. Oh, and did I mention the Clone system? Every time your character reaches a branch in the class tree, you gain a clone point. These points can be used to make a clone of the same level, allowing you to explore the various classes without having to start from scratch. You can also use this if you want to reroll your existing character (right now, I don't think you can clone in place, but I hope they let you just respec without making a new character using a clone point).

Ok, BUT... there are some nasty technical problems to be worked out, a lot of content is incomplete or buggy, and some systems are missing entirely. The game screams for PvP and it's just not there yet, other than dueling, there are no mounts and the high level content is simply not in the game. So is this Vanguard all over again? No... I don't think so, at least. The basic game is fun and playable, and content up to about level 30 or so is fine, though some missions are not itemized yet. If this week's update fixes some standing bugs and itemizes low level missions, they should be able to buy themselves enough time for a smooth launch.

If you're neck-deep in WoW or another MMO, there's probably nothing to draw you away, but if you're like me and like to hop around, TR offers action-oriented gameplay at a fast pace that can be soloed... nice if you don't want to lock yourself away just to play a game.

Apple, why is it so hard to love you?

2007-10-07T03:28:31Z

I like Apple. Quite a bit, actually. But I don't love Apple. I can't, you see. Apple's the bad boy, the cool rebel in the back of the class. And I'm the meek and quiet one who is actually really hot and it's obvious to everyone in the audience. Or not. The thing is, I think you're cool and all for doing your own thing, having your own style.. but it also makes you kind of a dick.

Early this year, I needed a new phone. Well, I didn't need one per se, but I was in the market to upgrade. The iPhone was a ways away, but I considered holding out. Until I saw the price. And no SDK! Apple, Apple... You have to be more open about these things. You can't keep them bottled up. I'm with BlackBerry now. Yeah, he's a bit of a nerd and not nearly as good looking, but he's very open and loves to read and chat...

I'll admit it. I'm a bit of a player. I love my games. Right now, though, you have nothing to offer me. Oh, I know, you've gone to Boot Camp, but that's not enough. See, the iMac lacks the flexibility I want to know I can be in a relationship for a long time. And the Radeon 2600 Pro? Please, I have an GeForce 8800 GTS right now! And don't even get me started on the Mac Pro. $2500? For 1GB of RAM? 250GB of hard drive space? A GeForce 7300?! I realize that this is outweighed by the quad Xeon cores, but... I just don't need those. If... if there was a Mac. Just a plain Mac. Not a Mac Pro. Not an iMac. A Mac. I could consider that. Right now, my little Mac Mini will keep chugging away when I feel like playing with it (it has some excellent software, I'll admit).

And you, iPod... you're being shown up by the Zune! THE ZUNE, for god's sake! Upgrades for older players, they say! WiFi synching! And the Touch.. is stripped down of features it rightly should have so it won't show up its big brother, the iPhone.

Apple, Apple... look, I know you have your own style, your own vision.. that's what makes you you... but... please.. if you could just warm up an play nice a little, I'm sure we could get along. Ok?

A Triple Threat - Computer Hardware Review Time

2006-10-21T08:47:53Z

Crossposted from my Vox Blog, I can always use more friends there.

This week, I got three pieces of hardware I'd been looking at for some time. I've been using them a few days, so I'll offer my first impressions. They are the Enermax Crystal Keyboard, Razer HP-1 Gaming Headphones, and, last but not least, a Mac mini.

Razer HP-1 Gaming Headphones

I read a bunch of reviews on these online, since I was torn on which I should buy.

I unwisely ignored my friend's recommendation of various Sennheiser models and went ahead and got these for a couple reasons. First, they had good reviews. They are true surround sound headphones, and that's pretty cool for gaming. The things that really set them apart for me was the included volume knob (something the Sennheisers lacked) and a mic ability.

For a long time, I had used my Labtec Elite 835s (and before them, 830s). I needed a headset, since desk mics are so passe. I got Koss SB/45s, which were pretty much crap. They sounded bad and were really uncomfortable. Really, I have an immeasurable fondness for those Labtecs. But it was time to trade up. The Razer headphones seemed like a good choice. Not cheap, but not audiophile expensive at around $100. I use my headphones exclusively, so it seemed worth it.

All the reviews I'd read said they were very comfortable to wear for hours at a time... well, no. Y'see, the pads on the cups themselves are great, a soft velvety material that's miles above the plastic crap on the Koss phones (well, duh, those are $20 headphones). Problem is up top... you see that sort of retention strap? That means that there isn't much pressure placed on the top of your head... instead, it's held in place by the headphones squeezing onto your head. Yeah, not as much fun. I get the feeling they'll get better as I wear them. The headset will give more and be more comfortable, which actually did happen with the Koss headset. Still, they're not comfortable right now and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone who doesn't have a ridiculously large head.

The volume box is the next problem. It's quite big, since it has dials for front, back, and center volume as well as bass. The problem is, there's only about a foot and a half of cord between the headset and the box, which means it'll weigh heavily on you... oh, but there's a clip, but guess what, it's facing the wrong way. I don't get this at all, where did they expect you to clip it? Your shirt pocket and have wires across your chest? Your pants pocket (but it barely reaches)? it's quite puzzling.

Oh, the sound? It sounds good, I guess. I mean, it does sound better than the Koss headphones, which is to be expected, but the surround sound isn't really stunning and it doesn't improve on things that are already poorly encoded, of course.

Recommend? No. Skip these, Razer has made some good products, and this isn't terrible, but for $100, I expect it to be great, not mediocre and serious usability issues cripple it.

Enermax Crystal Keyboard

I'd posted before that I wanted a new keyboard... I decided to take the plunge and get the Enermax Crystal Keyboard. Why? Because it's gorgeous. I needed a USB keyboard (or a PS2 adapter, but where's the fun in that?) for my Mac mini, so I decided it was time to swap out my Microsoft keyboard (regular, none of that ergonomic crap) for this. The first thing that anyone will notice upon seeing the Crystal is... Uo! Mabushi!

The diamond cut finish is truly... well, shiny. It helps that the layout is very compact and there are no superfluous keys (the only one I ever used was the Calculator key... seriously useful, that one). The layout is rather strange, though, it's more like a laptop than a full size keyboard... in fact, the keys themselves are low profile, like those on a laptop. Still, they feel very sharp and not mushy at all. The layout does take some getting used-to. I can deal with most of it except for the extra backslash key between the left Alt and the spacebar... I don't understand its purpose... do people really use the backslash key that much? There's a bit of an adjustment period for desktop users, since the low profile of the keys means you have to press harder on some of them (I'm looking at you, right shift key) and the layout is different, but I've gotten used to it in two days.

As a USB keyboard, it has two built-in USB ports, but really, they're useless since they're USB 1.1. That means using my thumb drive or iPod on them is out of the question. Besides, my PC has two USB 2.0 ports on the front of the case. It's also got microphone and headphone jacks, but, again, I'm not sure how useful they'd be... you'd have to ruin the simple elegance of the keyboard with wires running around your desk.

Recommend? Yes. At $60, you're not going to run out and buy this keyboard. If you're an ergonomic freak or love keyboards with lots of travel and clicky keys, you should pass this up. If it matches your decor and you're in the market, however, it's a good, solid (and very heavy) keyboard that looks great and works well.

Mac min (1.66Ghz Core 2 Duo, 1gig RAM)

So for the longest time, I've wanted a Mac. Probably because that guy from Dodgeball looked SO DAMN COOL. Actually, no, I hate Apple's smarmy attitude. I hate their lack of options when buying computers (hey Apple, I would've spent another $300 on a machine if you'd offered a standalone midrange system). No, what I like is Mac OS X. At work, I mainly work with OS 9, which is horrendous. Yes, worse than Windows 95. I did manage to install OS X on one machine in my lab and use it as a testbed. I liked what I saw, but I was running it on an iMac from 2002. I did think that, given that I wanted to develop games that are cross-platform and given that I wanted to write software for work, I should probably pick up a Mac. I looked carefully at the options... wait, no, I didn't. Apple doesn't give you options. Did I want to shell out money for an iMac that I don't have room on my desk for? No. The Mac Pro? Forget it. Drop ridiculous amounts of money on a system I may not like?

That left me with the Mac mini. Really, it's not a bad choice, since I don't need to do 3D work on it, I won't be playing games on it, and if I need more storage, I'll get an external drive that I can share between my computers. Cool. If I decide I really like it, I can upgrade in the future and use the mini as a media center or something.

As far as the computer itself, there's not much to review. It works, it's snappy enough, really. I'm having issues with wireless speeds, but that's probably due to poor reception... I'll have to dig out a hub and use it.

The biggest problem with my setup is the lack of DVI KVM options. There just aren't many, and the few that do exist are either ridiculously expensive, unreliable, and ugly as sin. My monitor accepts an analog and a digital signal, so I can use both... and use something like Synergy2 as a keyboard and mouse switch. Thing is, with the crappy wireless connection, it works very slowly on the Mac... fast enough for general clicking, but bad for things like, oh, coding. We'll see again, after I hook things up via a hub.

So what do I think of the Mac Experience? Well, I knew what to expect, but it's nice having it on my own system. QuickSilver is great and TextMate is just amazing. Is it worth switching for? Enh, no. If you've got a solid PC, there's no reason to switch to a Mac. Simple as that. Almost all the worthy software runs on both, PC's have tons of games and other software, and, well... the dirty little secret is.. it's just not all that different. Sure, the Mac 'just works', but truth is, so does most stuff on my PC. Macs are secure? Sure, but running behind a firewall using Firefox and staying patched, I haven't had a problem. Stability? Honestly, my system almost never crashes and the few times it does, it seems like a hardware issue (and anyone that thinks Macs don't have them is a moron).

Still, the architecture is nice, and I do appreciate it. I'd had high hopes for Vista, but it seems like it'll be more of the same, and Microsoft's WGA crap is ridiculous. I'm glad to have my mini, I'm going to do some Rails stuff on it and play around more, I actually do enjoy having it. I just wouldn't switch right now.

Recommend? Yes. Want to try using a Mac without the commitment? Here you go. Great form factor, nice software, and it's surprisingly snappy for something so tiny. I can't really say I'm going to switch, but I'll be using it. Only thing holding it back is the lack of a good KVM solution.

You didn't ask for it, but here it is... Anime Fall 2006

2006-10-18T22:36:53Z

So I've pretty much watched all of what I'm going to watch this season. A good season. Not phenomenal, but some fun shows. I'm going to try and focus on ones that haven't gotten much attention.

Big Name Shows:
Negima!?
It's not Negima!, it's Negima!? The sort-of sequel to last year's trainwreck is here! It's not really a sequel, more of a remake. It veers off course from the manga pretty substantially, but probably comes off all the better for it. Negima!, the manga, starts slow and has a lot of 'development' (tits and panty shots). Negima!? jumps right in and looks rather stylish doing it. Tons of in-jokes from Pani Poni Dash and Tsukuyomi can be found too, and references to everything from Musashi Gundoh to Azumanga Daioh. Good stuff.

Kanon
Freaking huge eyes. Sad girls in snow. Yeah, you know the drill. But man, the animation is pretty. And I'll admit to being suckered in by how cute Ayu is. The bitch.

Cool Stuff:
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
Probably my favorite show so far. And it's received no attention. Basically, it's My Fair Lady/Pygmalion, except with four bishie visual kei bois who are told that they can live in a mansion if they turn the owner's niece, Sunako, into an elegant lady. That's going to be tough since Sunako not only has no self esteem and looks like something out of a horror film, she's pretty much violently insane. Also, hilarious. It's a Nabeshin joint, so it's pretty much just gags one after another. Want to see Sunako drop kick a bunch of ganguro girls or try to strangle the boys? Yeah, it's good. Not a whole lot of groups subbing it (just one episode so far), but it's easy to follow with a little japanese.

Asatte no Houkou
Two girls, one 20, one 10, switch ages one summer. It's not a wacky comedy, it's actually pretty serious, slow moving, with some good music. Who knew? I'm glad some groups have picked this up.

Others:
Sumomomo Momomo: Martial arts lolis that want to fuck? Sounds good to me. Kind of funny.
Happiness!: Jun is adorable, but probably not enough to keep me interested in the series. Mainly because Haruhi (the female lead) is dull as dirt. More Jun plz.
Kujibiki Unbalance: It's a show based on a joke in another show! Meh.
Busou Renkin: Generic shounen action. Might MIGHT be ok, but I'm still watching Kiba, which is better.
Pumpkin Scissors: Decent. Didn't impress me. Too slow. Might pick up. Setting is interesting.
D.Gray-man: Meh.
Death Note: Good. Pretty much what you'd expect. I can't watch shows I've already read, though. Too many other things to follow.
Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru: Mizuho is adorable. I will watch this just for trap goodness. Do you like shows about cute traps? Watch this... because there's not much else.

Yet to Watch:
Red Garden, Bartender

Musashi Gundoh

2006-10-16T06:25:48Z

Seriously, best anime of the century.

Uo! Mabushi!
Awesome.
Musashi face is instant hilarity.
That horse is awesome.

And many, many, fun mashups.

Your Recommendations Mean Nothing

2006-10-14T18:20:07Z

Are you on Vox? Seriously, add me as a friend so I don't feel so lonely.

I usually read customer reviews when I'm shopping online... that's one of the great things about it. Does the product work as advertised? Is the content of that book useful? ~~Does that video game appeal to slobbering 12 year-olds with too much time on their hands?~~ The average reader at GameFAQs? It's nice to know, even if it doesn't sway my ultimate opinion. More professional reviews are nice, but represent limited use of the item. If I'm buying headphones, I get crazy statistics that I don't understand when what I really want to know is, are these comfortable after using them for hours?

The thing is, if you want people to take your opinion seriously, avoid rating things with the highest and lowest scores. I toss those out, mentally. Not entirely, mind you, but it's a red flag as far as credibility goes. There simply aren't that many products that fail so miserably as to deserve a one and while there are even fewer that manage to achieve perfection, I usually consider a perfect score to simply mean a satisfied customer.

I was looking at reviews for Joel Spolsky's User Interface Design for Programmers and noticed that there smatterings of ones among all those fives. That's kind of strange to me, since I really enjoy Joel's style of writing. It's a bad, bad, idea to start making comments about how bad Joel's writing is... because I enjoy it and feel a bit insulted when I hear that.

If I was 12, I might care that I'm not as cool as you because I like Joel Spolsky's writing. But right now, it just makes you sound like a jackass and sours any valid concerns that you might have about the product.

merisa @ 2006-10-08T20:40:00

2006-10-09T03:42:04Z

This was crossposted from my Vox blog, which looks better because it has pictures.

About a year ago, I had a grand plan. I have a lovely desk. It's huge, black, and, in the event of a nuclear attack I can hide underneath it and rule over the cockroaches. It's a pain to move, but I love it. When it came time to build a new computer (an adventure in and of itself), I decided that I should make my computer look nice. Nice, you know, like a grown-ups computer. No neon rims or flames. No strobe lights or disco balls. Like something a hip 20-something might have. I tried to call a hip 20-something, but, not having any of those available, I winged it.
I didn't get very far. See, you don't have many choices in the PC hardware field. There's beige, black, and black and silver. On rare occasions, you'll get the Apple White, which is what I went for for my case. Nice, something like an overgrown Mac Mini. And that's as far as I got. My mouse is a moderately attractive Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 6000, but it performs terrible and looks less attractive because the cheap rubberized coating has worn off. Not good. I have an Icemat mouse pad, which actually does look very, very nice. $40 for a mouse pad? No, I'm not insane, it's worth every penny. I had to abandon my plan when it came to my monitor, a Samsung SyncMaster 204T because, although it came in silver or black, the silver version was out of stock and the black version was on sale. Money trumps aesthetics. And my headphones are black and silver.
Ah, black and silver. I hate black and silver. With a passion. It doesn't look ugly on its own, mind. It looks ugly because it's cheap. See, at some point, the black was deep and glossy and the silver was brushed metal or chrome. Very chic. No longer. Now, black and silver is associated with cheap products that kind of want to look expensive.
So where am I now? Searching, in vain for a keyboard. The keyboard of my dreams. Let's start with the requirements. USB, please, since I would like to easily use it with a Mac and PC (I realize I can get an adapter if need be). Wireless is nice, but not necessary. It should look nice. What do I think looks nice? Well, the Logitech diNovo is nice (I know, it's silver and black), the trouble is, it's a set, takes lots of batteries, and is ridiculously expensive. I just want the keyboard. And I want the numeric keypad to be attached. So it fails.
Did I mention I wanted performance, too? Yeah, I'm picky like that. I do a lot of typing and it's important that I have a keyboard that I'm comfortable with.
So I'm looking at the Enermax Crystal keyboard. It's attractive, heavy and has a more standard layout compared to the Logitech. Though it's all relative. The laptop style low profile keys and tight spacing seem possibly problematic.
There just doesn't seem to be a lot of choices for high end computer peripherals. Oh, sure, there are ones aimed at 'professional gamers' (all three of them), like the very solid Saitek Eclipse keyboard. But those tend to look like, well, toys. Expensive toys, but toys. I want my toys to look like they're meant for grownups.
C'mon, how about color? No, not neon iMac colors, but a little here and there. Something classy.
Maybe burgundy? Copper? Earthtones that can still fit in with a bedroom or living room. I hope no one mentions buying a Mac keyboard, by the way. That is not an option. The iMac may be a lovely system, but it has one of my least favorite keyboards ever. It feels mushy and slow, I frequently miss keystrokes, and, worst of all, it's clear. Oh, it looks great out of the box, but keyboards will attract copious amounts of dirt. A clear case just shows it off. Bad, bad, bad. Ah well, that's how it goes, I suppose.

merisa @ 2006-10-08T20:02:00

2006-10-09T03:02:52Z

I just realized that my friends still post to this thing and I NEVER READ IT. All I ever post is anime blogs that nobody reads. Go me. I made a Vox blog and maybe I'll post to it. A little. I like how easy it is. They should set up crossposting, though. Then I could spam everyone with my shit. AWESOME.

Summer 06 Anime Impressions

2006-07-11T23:02:17Z

Yes, it's that time again. For my only posts I ever make. But hey, it's the new season, I can't help but do it. As usual, I'll have a new format this time.

New Shows

NHK ni Youkoso (Welcome to the NHK)
Synopsis:
Satou is a hikkikomori (shut-in) who hasn't left his room for four years. One day, a young girl, Misaki, visits him and invites him to join her 'project', claiming that she can cure him. The manga is a black comedy that explores the darker side of Japan's youth culture, the anime takes a decidedly more dramatic take on things.

Impressions:
This is the one I'd been looking forward to the most, but also fearing the most because I love the manga so much. The verdict is, it's quite good. And quite different from the manga. Sure, the events are mostly the same, though some of the racier elements (the drugs, for instance, probably the lolicon chapter) have been cut. I still suggest everyone read the manga, because it's probably one of the funniest and most twisted things I've read in a long time. And it's not weird in the normal "Wow, Japan is weird" sense. Anyone can relate, to some extent, to the sense of alienation and disaffectation that pervades this series.

Animation and Art:
Gonzo is known for blowing their animation wad on the first episode... luckily NHK isn't an action show, so it can pass with decent animation. Still, it was good this this time. My biggest problems are with the character designs. Particularly Misaki, who loses a lot of her charm with a cuter more anime-style design.

Sound, Music, and Voices:
Satou and Misaki's voices aren't what I expected. In particular, Satou sounds off, too old, too gruff, not the manic and uneasy Satou of the manga. The music is excellent, though. The opening is done by Round Table (think Chobits). It really seems more suited to another show, though... it almost makes it seem like a romance, which... well, it's not. Ending theme is a bizarre metal song about dancing baby humans. Pretty awesome and more along the lines of the manga.

Watch if:
You like the manga. You like shows that mix drama and black comedy.

Avoid if:
You like the manga. You dislike shows that are weird or lack action.

Coyote Ragtime Show
Synopsis:
Hot investigator, Angelica Barns, along with her plucky sidekick, Chelsea, chases the enigmatic Mister and his gang of thieves along the galaxy all the while the Criminal Guild and their 12 gothloli robot assassins come after them. In other words, pure awesome.

Impressions:
Pure awesome. Do you like explosions? Gothloli assassins? Explosions? Badass glasses-wearing mature babes? Explosions? Basically, it's not a show that takes itself seriously. Brought to you by UFOTable, known for Futakoi Alternative, Coyote Ragtime Show mixes action and intrigue and a general sense of fun. Don't expect a deep and moving plot, though.

Animation and Art:
UFOTable's quality animation shows itself here. The sequences with the 12 Sisters in partcular are quite good.

Sound, Music, and Voices:
Voices are decent, music is decent, but nothing is really standout.

Watch if:
You like having fun. You like gothloli assassins.

Avoid if:
You're a dour, humorless person.

Mini Impressions
Tsuyokiss coolxsweet
An all-tsundere harem show? Basically, it's stupid, the characters are dull and the animation is passable.

Watch if:
You like harem shows with tsunderes, I guess.

Avoid if:
You have other things to do.

Zero no Tsukaima
Louise, a girl attending Hogw-a magic school summons a boy from our world. Hijinx ensue. Louise is pretty cute, though. Imagine if Becky Miyamoto, Shana, and Hermione had a baby. Ok, that'd be pretty hot to watch, but Louise is the result.

Watch if:
You like non-harem shows with tsunderes.

Avoid if:
See above. But I'll probably keep watching because Louise is cute.

Chokotto Sister
Boy gets a little sister from Santa. She doesn't wear much as far as clothes go. I read some of the manga, the biggest problem is that Choko, the little sister, is cute, but dull and the story doesn't really go anywhere. I can stand the tons of 11-year-old crotch shots if it actually went somewhere. But it doesn't.

Watch if:
You like seeing 11-year-old crotches. A lot.

Avoid if:
You don't.

Continuing Shows
Ouran High School Host Club
You're not watching this? Why not? The quality hasn't let down, it's still funny and charming. Are you scared because it's based on a girl's manga? Because of the fake yaoi twincest? Don't be. It's funny. Watch it.

Honey and Clover II
You're not watching this? Why not? This is probably one of the best shows in years. Each episode packs sweet, funny, and sad moments into it with excellent production quality and an unmatched set of songs. Go back and watch the first season, then jump in. It doesn't get much better than this.

Finished
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
God dammit, go watch this one too. Now. I swear to god. Personally, I think this beat out Ouran for last season's best show. Sure, Ouran is funny, but Haruhi manages to be deeper, too while maintaining awesome production and tight direction.

Disgaea
Man. If the rest of the show had been like the last four episodes, which more closely followed the game, it would've been far better. Instead, let's just reflect on how cute Flonne is.

Princess Princess
How unexpected, here. It was cute and funny if pretty brainless. I actually hope for a second season since it never really went anywhere. The live action drama is just freakish, though. Couldn't they have gotten cuter boys?

Himawari!
I haven't finished watching it. Maybe it gets better in the last four episodes. Okama's character designs are pretty much the entire attraction. How come this got picked up for a second season?

Coming to US Shores
Pani Poni Dash!
A pretty bizarre choice due to the sheer number of japanese culture references it throws at you. Still, it's really funny, the character designs are cute, and the cast is great. I can't see how anyone could ever possibly watch this dubbed. How?

Law of Ueki
Sure, it's a kid's fighting show. But Ueki's got the magic factor called charm. Give it a rent, though, it's not for everyone.

Strawberry Marshmallow
HOLY GOD SO CUTE. Yeah, it's got the occasional bath scene, but you shouldn't feel like a perv for watching it, because it really is funny.

Kamichu!
Charming little show, good music, sweet stories, definitely check this out. It moves slow and there's no real plot, but that's ok. Yurie is adorable.

Mai-Hime
How do you make a show that features fighting schoolgirls, mecha, magic powers, and fanservice into something that actually works? Watch and see.

Yet To See
Bokura ga Ita
The absolutely minimal production values call to mine Kare Kano immediately. Unfortunately, my japanese is not so good that I can watch this unsubbed. Someone please sub this...

W/ii Sony

2006-06-01T21:16:26Z

I'll admit it. I'm a Wii fan. Just the concept, at least, since no one without an inordinate amount of patience has actually touched the thing. But Sony, man.

Now Sony has come out swinging. In this week's edition of German magazine Der Spiegel, Phil Harrison, president of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios, aggressively denied his company appropriated the motion-sensing idea from Nintendo. "In a certain way, I understand why people would say (such things), but it is stupid, if you'll forgive me saying so," said Harrison.Harrison went on to say that the PS3's motion-sensitive controller had been in the works for some time. "We have already worked on it a long time, and Nintendo almost certainly has done likewise with something similar," he said. "It is perfectly naturally for two companies to work on (nearly) identical devices. It's like that with technology." He reiterated that the PS2's Dual Shock controller is the "de facto-industry standard for video games. ... We define the standard for the man-machine interface for playing games."

Yeah, right. I actually do believe that they had the idea.. at least, in concept, for a while. If this was a planned feature, why did they wait so long to announce it? Oh, because it had to be at the 'right time' or something, I'm sure. It couldn't be that Sony, seeing the enthusiasm around Nintendo's (then) Revolution, decided that maybe they should get on the trolley. No way.

Dual Shock? Please. It's the de facto standard because of the Playstation's popularity. Analog stick, eh? Wonder where that came from.. oh, Nintendo. Rumble? I wonder... oh, Nintendo again. Tilt sensitivity? Well, that must be original, right?

Listen, Sony... you're not an innovator. Never have been. You're good at refining other people's ideas. Well, you were good. Not so much now. You're overpriced and bloated.

"We believe that the PS3 will be the place where our users play games, watch films, browse the Web, and use other (home) computer functions," said Harrison. "The PlayStation 3 is a computer. We do not need the PC."

Yeah, ok. Did you invent the keyboard and stuff that in the controller too?

merisa @ 2006-05-22T00:53:00

2006-05-22T07:53:27Z

Dear EQ2 Dev Team(s),

Stop making caves. Seriously. Caves suck. No one likes caves. Or at least, I don't like caves. Look, they can be dark and scary, sure, but you have enough dark and scary caves already. Except they're not dark and scary. They suck. First of all, they don't really look very cave-like. They look like a brown room. That's not good. You use the same textures on the walls as on the floors and the ceilings and frankly, I'm sick of it. The Bloodline Chronicles adventure pack took place.. in some caves. The Splitpaw Saga adventure pack took place.. in some caves. And the only dungeon-looking area from your NEXT adventure pack is set, you guessed it, in a fucking cave. For fuck's sake. It uses the SAME FUCKING TEXTURE as the other caves! This is ridiculous. You have a game that has an excellent engine that is finally coming into its own. The outdoor areas have looked quite good recently. Good job. It's not enough. What REALLY pisses me off is that you seem to have a staple of textures and room types to build smaller areas. Why can't you use THOSE instead of the SAME FUCKING CAVE. STOP IT.

I swear to god, I WANT to like your game, but you seem to work VERY VERY HARD to make me want to go play WoW. Which I do. A lot. But they want me to quit in my mid 40s. Yes, I know WoW has caves. But the instances? Those caves have some differences. Also, they have instances that are--gasp! Not set in caves! Or Guild Wars! Guild Wars has NO CAVES. Hell, their expansion pack had an asian theme, just like your next adventure pack! Guess what! The caves that there ARE are actually pretty decent.

Seriously. Stop it.

Casual Gamers, Episodic Content, and the Ever-Continuing Struggle for Mass Appeal

2006-05-15T04:46:30Z

Modern video games are victims of their own success. When a game hits on a winning formula, it gets copied. And copied. And copied. But there's a reason it's copied: The gamers. They want more. And they're willing to pay to get it. What do you expect? Hardcore gamers don't want innovation, they want improvements to the genres they know and are comfortable with. Casual gamers? They don't want innovation. Because casual and non-gamers really aren't up on the news enough to know that XYZ features is really, really innovative.

In many cases, it seems as though studios come up with new features for the sole purpose of adding a bullet point. Another bullet on the back of the box that they think will sell their game. And it may. To a limited audience. Those who don't know any better. But it won't make your game the best it can be. "We want our game to be the best it can be." Really? Then why isn't it? Limited funds and time are certainly issues, but some things are just bad ideas to begin with.

What makes your game unique? It's been said that if you can't explain your game in one sentence, the design is too complex. This is true, to an extent, but as a corollary, if you can't describe your game without comparing it to other games, "It's like Sonic mixed with Mario and a little Jack and Daxter." or simply listing bullet points, "We have 12 weapons, 26 levels, and online play." your concept is weak. Great games have been made from weak concepts. But not many.

While everyone is clamoring about casual players, I really think only Nintendo actually understands them. Shorter games aren't necessarily a bad idea, but the problem is, they tend to run about $20. This is way too expensive. Take, for instance, SiN Episodes or Half Life 2 Episode 1, games that supposedly run about 5 hours. When the original Half Life 2 can be played by an average player, in, say, 20 hours and costs $50, I'm supposed to pay $20 (repeatedly) for a scant few hours of gameplay? I'm not of the mentality that more hours means more fun, but we're talking about games with the same fundamental gameplay and content, but you're paying more for less.

The further problem is that there is a muddle between casual gamers who don't play games much and hardcore gamers without much time to play. Both are significant markets. As hardcore gamers become more mature. They also spend a lot more money on what they do play. Games designed for people who rarely or never play games are entirely different.
These games need to take their audiences into consideration from the design up. You can't make a game that anyone can play with bullet points. But I'll give you all some guidelines, many of which (surprise, surprise) also apply to great games that hardcore gamers enjoy.

Intuitive Controls and Gameplay
Intuitive gameplay isn't simple gameplay, though it certainly can be. Gameplay revolves around choices. A game with simplistic gameplay will give its player fewer choices. A game with intuitive gameplay will present those choices in an easy to understand manner. RPGs, in particular tend to require arcane knowledge of statistics in order to be successful. Or in some cases, you can make it through the game entirely ignoring the stats, in which case, what's the point? Intuitive means that each action should do what you think it does. That things should be consistant within the game world. RPGs tend to be the worst offenders, throwing odd stats at you and often melding multiple systems that don't have an obvious connection. Stats are, after all, abstractions and abstractions shouldn't be used when the real thing would suffice.

Intuitive controls are related, but seperate. Many game types are simply too difficult for a non-gamer to pick up. A first-person shooter's controls are usually pretty obvious, but the actual control mechanism with a mouse and keyboard is rather difficult to learn. This can be overcome, but it requires the appropriate learning curve.

Appropriate Difficulty
Gamers that become frustrated with a game will usually drop it. This is particularly true if the source of frustration occurs early on, before they've mastered it. But even later in the game, developers must realize that 'mastery' will be different for every player. Clearly, this is one of the most difficult things to fine-tune, and there's no easy way to do it but test, test, test. Selectable skill levels help, but in some cases, the problem isn't simply numerical, but situational, and that requires modifying the gameplay.

All players like to be challenged, but the challenge should be one they can overcome. They'll feel good, happy, and excited. That's what you want. If they enjoy themselves, they'll come back next time. Whether it's a direct sequel or a new game building on what you've learned.

This becomes a problem with episodic content, since you only have a few hours during each episode to get players up to speed. As a strict sequel, this may be acceptable, but for games like Alone in the Dark (the new version) or SiN Episodes, this can be an issue.

Engaging Game World
This isn't universal. Tetris, for instance, is hardly the most interesting place. But this is the place where you stick characters, story, and all that nonsense. A deep story isn't necessary for all games, but people will remember and gravitate towards engaging settings, characters, and stories. Look at Mario, Sonic, or MegaMan. Or, more recently, look at Katamari Damacy. You don't need to tell an epic tale, but you do want your game world to be a place where people WANT to spend their time.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts at the moment.

Spring Season is Here

2006-04-13T05:02:10Z

So yeah, I'm bored, so here we go with the spring season of anime... there's a lot. Here we go, in no particular order!

Very minor spoilers may be included...

The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Two episodes in and this seems to be the best show of the season. Normally, I hate Kyoto animation's designs, though their animation is top-notch... however, Noizi Ito has done the original designs for the novels, which means that Haruhi herself looks more than a little like Shana's older sister.

Synopsis:
Suzumiya Haruhi is a girl that has no interest in speaking to anyone who isn't an alien, time traveller, has super powers, and so on. Kyon is our narrator, a sarcastic slacker who manages to become friends with Haruhi despite being a regular human. He get caught up as she creates her own club, the SOS Brigade, or: Suzumiya Haruhi's group to make the world a lot more fun. Along for the ride is the purple-haired, monosyllabic Nagato Yuki and Asahina Mikuru, who.. is small and cute, but has big breasts. Haruhi abudcted her to be their moe mascot.

Impressions:
The animation is slick, the music is catchy (though mostly j-pop with a bit of other things, namely ska accents) and Haruhi is... I can't say adorable, but she's definitely something. Few characters reach such levels of insanity in a fairly realistic show. Kyon's quick sarcasm compliments Haruhi's manic energy well. I'm curious to see where all this goes. The very first episode, by the way, is actually Haruhi's own creation as Super Director of the SOS Brigade: The Adventures of Asahina Mikuru: Episode 00. About a combat bunny girl waitress from the future defending a boy with super powers against an evil magician from space. Credit must be given to Kyoto Animation for making it look so believably bad.

Conclusion: Watch subbed. a.f.k. is doing the subbing and they're on top of this so far doing a reasonably good job. Kyon and Haruhi talk so fast it's nearly impossible for me to figure out what's going on except by context.

Ouran High School Host Club

Not only is Bones doing a comedy, but it's a SHOUJO comedy with tons of bishounen? What the hell? I'm as surprised as anyone, Ouran Host Club is funny and tightly directed with a cast of interesting characters. Also, the main character here is also Haruhi.

Synopsis:
Ouran High School is a school for those with money and privilege. One student has entered the school based on grades alone, however. Fujioka Haruhi bears more than a little resemblance to Jin from Rozen Maiden. At least at first. The Host Club is full of beautiful boys that entertain beautiful girls with a lot of free time. Haruhi stumbles into the Host Club's room one day and accidentally breaks an 8 million yen vase. Haruhi can't even afford the school uniform, much less the vase, so is put to work as the Host Club's dog. Soon, however, they make a startling discovery. Underneath the baggy clothes, thick glasses and horrible, horrible haircut, Haruhi is actually very cute. So they offer Haruhi a deal: Attract 100 customers and the debt is off. Well, Haruhi may seem antisocial, but it turns out, she's actually rather charming. Oh, yes. Haruhi is a girl, and a cute one at that.

Impressions:
Haruhi is cute! A cute boy or girl, it doesn't matter to me. She's actually rather mysterious in some ways... she's very nonchalant, pays no attention to things like gender or appearance, and is at times insultingly blunt. Bone's animation makes the opulence of Ouran stand out. The animation is great, the music is good, and the direction is very nice. Also, Maaya Sakamoto plays Haruhi. I had no idea, really. The Host Club themselves may be obnoxious snobs, but they're endearing, too. It's definitely one to check out this season, even if you don't normally like shoujo. The direction has actually taken things more mainstream than the manga, but that's not really something I'm complaining about. Most of the changes are minor and work to make it something that boys can enjoy, too.

Conclusion: Watch raw and/or subbed. Having read the manga, or some of it anyway, I can pick up the jokes easily enough. Still, it's popular enough to get some subs, so I might watch those.

Minis:
Simoun: Fighter planes powered by lesbian kisses. That's all I need to say. Simoun is actually interesting, but the jargon in the first episode left me confused. The designs are very pretty and the backgrounds are nice watercolors. Music is great. Voice acting is... well, everyone in this world is born a woman and the entire cast is female. That makes the older men sound very odd. Still, it's interesting enough to warrant a watch for a while. The danger with a show like this is not just that it's absurd, it's that it's absurd and entirely serious about it. Subbed is a must, but it still doesn't make much sense. What's a Rimersion? What the hell is Tempus Patiem? Who knows...?

Princess Princess: Cute boys in gothloli outfits. Boy transfers to a new all-boys school. Everyone is in love with his bishie looks. Turns out, to keep the boys from going nuts, the pretty ones are selected to be 'Princess' and dressed as girls to improve morale. Well, any show centered around crossdressing would catch my interest and there's enough funny bits to be mildly amusing. I'd say anyone who isn't prepared for that sort of thing should give it a pass, though. I may watch it subbed.

Strawberry Panic: Cute girls in gothloli outfits. Girl transfers to a new all-girls school. Everyone is in love with her kawaii looks. Wait, huh? Yeah, it's the same sort of premise, only with girls. Think MariMite but with more explicit yuri.. I was kind of looking forward to this one, but the production quality is rather low. Sern's sub is terrible, too. Timing errors and they can't decide on names for the places and chacters. If someone else subs it, I'll try watching more. Character designs are fine, but what's with the nasty live action ending? Bleh.

Himawari!: What if Naruto had been born a girl? Himawari was rescued from a plane crash by a ninja. Since then, she's wanted to be one. Our male lead, whose name I can't recall, is a new teacher hired to teach at the ninja school at the hidden village. He's a normal guy, but his job is to teach them about the regular world, since they'll have to go out there. And, strangely enough, he's got the same mark as the ninja that saved Himawari! How mysterious. The animation is decent, but Himawari's voice is rough. She's a new idol so... ganbare! But the delivery is rather flat. She could get better, so that's ok.

Still, you've got Okama's character designs and they're fucking adorable. It may be enough to watch the show just for the character designs. Maybe. No one seems to have picked it up yet, but I'd prefer to watch it subbed. Still, I could basically follow it raw.

Inukami!: Naked men and cute dog girls. Basically, Youko is an inukami, a dog spirit that fights evil. She owns Keita, a human inukamitsukai. Keita seems to get in trouble with men alot, despite him wanting to go after girls pretty much constantly. He's a jerk, she tortures him. Animation is by the guys that did Nanoha, so the action bits are pretty good. It's mainly just zany comedy, though. If you enjoyed He is My Master or Magikano, it's one to check out.

Magical Pokaan: Magical tits is more like it. A witch, vampire, android, and wolf girl come to the human world. They don't know much about it (and aren't very smart) but are all very, very cute. Lots of panties, tits and... even no panties. Combined with bits that are just cute. It's ok, but not enough that I'll keep watching, really.

Glass no Kantai: Frogs in space. And I don't mean Keroro Gunso. What would you get if you had the french revolution, opera, space opera, and Captain Harlock all in a big, sweaty orgy? Something like this. Aristocrats battle in the future with swords on asteroids. It's rather confusing and absurd (during one fight scene, the protagonist's maid wheels out his tea). If it's subbed, I may watch. Gonzo's animation is as expected and Okama does the designs for this as well.

Yumetsukai: It's creepy and all, but where's the tentacle rape? The anime version of Yumetsukai apparently is an alternate telling of the manga. Apparently because the manga has things like loli tentacle rape and such. It's not meant to be erotic, though, but psychological. The anime mixes bright and sunny character designs with vaguely creepy stories about dreams that become nightmares and encroach on reality. The characters are intriguing and the music is great. My concern, however, is that it'll end up like Jigoku Shoujo. Without each story being really good (like, say, Paranoia Agent) this type of show can become stale fast.

Nana: Nanas are doing it for themselves. What, you don't know Nana already? Well, it's a manga by Ai Yazawa about two girls named Nana. One's a punk, one's a ditz. By chance or fate they end up living together and become friends. It's a soap opera, really, but the characters are interesting and Ai Yazawa's art is great. Nana takes a more faithful approach to the direction and character designs than Paradise Kiss did. That's a good and bad thing, since it looks great, but doesn't feel that much different from the manga. The story has been slightly shifted to fit better as an anime, but the plot points are intact. I... probably won't watch it. Because I've read the manga. If you haven't, definitely give it a shot, it's nicely written, funny, and cute and one of the few shows other than, say, Honey and Clover, to deal with characters OUT of school.

Yoshinaga-san'chi no Gargoyle: Loli but not. It's not loli like Ichigo Mashimaro. Rather, it's a light adventure show about a little girl, Futaba (voiced perfectly by Chiwa Saito) and her family's gargoyle, Gar-kun, who they won in a raffle and can shoot laser beams out of his eyes. Still, when you have Chiwa Saito and Mamiko Noto playing little girls, something magically cute happens. Futaba's a violent tomboy, but cute and her older brother's damn cute as well. And Iyo's hot. I really hope someone subs this, but if not, it's easy enough to watch raw. The animation is crisp and music is decent.

Makai Senki Disgaea: Mid-season is good enough for you. I'm a little disappointed. I knew the quality wouldn't be like the promo video, but it's still sad. Voices are great, Flonne is adorable and Etna is.. well, would it be wrong to say she's hot? She is a demoness. The story's been changed around, but that's to be expected. I just think the makai looks a little too sunny. Oh well, I'll watch, if, for nothing else, Flonne.

Continuing:
School Rumble Ni Gakki: If you haven't seen the first season, watch that or read the manga. You'll have no idea what's going on otherwise. School Rumble's character relationship chart looks like a spider web, or at least a subway map. But yeah, it's funny, it's still funny, and so if you liked it before, keep watching.

Fushigiboshi no Futagohime Gyu!: Gyu! GOD FUCK THIS IS CUTE. Gyu! is still adorable. You don't really need to have seen the first season, but it helps since a lot of the characters have carried over onto this one. Now, Fine and Rein are going to school at the Royal Wonder Academy. They've got a new set of powers, new costume, and are still adorable. No subs out, but it's a good one to watch raw since it's made for kids. Fine for the win.

Fate/stay night: Can we see some tits yet? I'm still watching this, but the pacing problems really weigh this show down. By episode 14, very little has actually HAPPENED. I'll finish watching because I'm a masochist and everyone else fucking loves it so there must be something good about it.

Old subs:
Law of Ueki: I love this show. It's been licensed, but it's going to get mangled with the 4Kids style treatment. I can see why, but it makes me sad. The characters are wacky and lovable and the battles are absurb but somehow compelling. I really wish that there will be a Law of Ueki Plus anime, but apparently the mangaka is sick and hasn't been drawing recently. Get well soon, this is one of my favorites.

Keroro Gunso: Frogs from space. Keroro gunso's funny and I'm glad SOMEONE has actually started subbing it. I gotta say, with Keroro Gunso, Suzumiya Haruhi, and NHK ni Youkoso, Shounen Ace seems like quite the magazine.

Manga:
NHK ni Youkoso: Loli porn, MMORPG addiction, drug abuse and suicide has never been so funny. You haven't read this yet? Read it now. While Genshiken is a fond look at otaku culture that sort of holds your hand as says it's ok, NHK ni Youkoso ties you to a rack and whips you. It's brutally honest and darkly funny with great art. Yoshitoshi ABe did the character designs for the book, too, and that can't be bad.

Yubisaki Milk Tea: Boys dressing as girls for fun. I was pretty surprised when Tokyopop licensed this. But happy. I haven't seen anything before that has such an understanding of crossdressing and gender identity. It's not all that nice, either. Romance? Comedy? Please. This is something darker and more honest.

Boku no Futatsu no Tsubasa: Fun with hermaphrodites. This is one of... well, no, the only manga I know of that's about futanari that isn't porn. But it is ecchi. There's plenty of tits and sex, but ultimately, this is a comedy. It's funny and the characters are cute.

So there you go. Long, yeah? Imagine how much time I've seen watching all this stuff.

France and iTunes

2006-03-22T08:58:01Z

I got an iPod this Christmas and I use iTunes, myself. While I'm not a big DRM fan (well, who is?), I find that the restrictions imposed by the store aren't that big a deal for me. Of course, if they become an issue, I'll bypass it with no problems. After all, it's my music, I paid for it.

But for some reason, the rumblings from France that Apple will be forced to open its iTunes music store to competing players bothered me. Not because I have an issue with competition, of course. I want competition. And not because it's France doing it. Though I do believe that if it were Vivendi, for instance, in Apple's position, they would be less hasty to force it open. But for a while, it was this nebulous feeling that I couldn't put my finger on. WHY is it bad?

Well, because it's a government forcing it. France or otherwise, that bugs me. Since when does any government know anything about business? Will this actually help competition? Most likely, Apple will simply pull out of France. I suppose that's good for the competing companies, but it's not so good for existing iTunes and iPod owners. Beyond that, I think it's entirely unnecessary. I believe companies should be free to form whatever restrictive DRM they may wish. But I believe that other companies should be free to provide products that can offer additional services. That is, in the absence of DMCA-style laws, I think someone else should take advantage of this and create a product that allows iTunes music to be ported over to other players.

I have no fundamental problem with companies attempting to protect their investment. What this tends to do, however, is create a cottage industry devoted to breaking that protection. And it will be broken. Is it good for the consumer to have this? Well, no, of course not. But I don't believe that we, as consumers necessarily have the RIGHT to use materials in means other than what is intended by the copyright holders. I think people WILL, however, and that this is entirely understandable. My problem comes in when the industry buys out the government and puts things into law. At this point, you've essentially said that any actual competition and innovation must be stifled to protect the existing industry. That's not good for anyone, except the industry... but even then, it's not, really.

I download a lot of copyrighted material, though it is almost entirely Japanese anime. Things that are simply unavailable here. Of course, I also buy DVDs and manga and products which ARE available. My old Lunixpalz would ramble about how information wants to be free. But really, it's less that it wants to be free as much as that it wants to find an equilibrium. People still download music illegally, sure, but providing a convenient and reasonably-priced source means that the balance has shifted.

There will always be people using things illegally (or at least, without permission, depending on your local laws), but the more restrictive and expensive companies make their products, the more people will want to find ways to get around them. You can't legislate that out of existence. Governments should be about protecting our freedoms, not forcing actions that they believe are in the best interest. Leave out the laws and let the consumers decide.

Office

2006-03-13T01:26:33Z

A friend of mine was talking about how they need to learn to use Office to get more jobs. I disagreed. Not because it's not widely-used. It is. But because when people say that you must 'be proficient with Microsoft Office' they usually mean that you need to know some basic word processing and maybe a bit of spreadsheets and email. Oh, and PowerPoint, but I'll get into that. Access? Ha. Formulas? No way.

It's not necessarily their fault, either. Office is one of the most convoluted, poorly laid out pieces of software I've had the displeasure to use. Word especially irritates me because it manages to take the seemingly simple job of word processing and make it more painful than you thought it could be.

Word does far too many things automatically and far too few things easily. For instance, at a previous company I needed to write evaluations of certain trainees. I chose to format the conversations between the CSR and the customer so that it was color-coded and easier to read. Simple, right? I set up a style and set to work. In theory, once you've set up a style, any time you select text and assign it a style, it'll make the text that style. SIMPLE, RIGHT? Well, no, Word often decided that instead of setting the text TO that style, it would set the STYLE to whatever the current text was. Which, of course, would change all my PREVIOUS selections. The insidious thing is that I wouldn't always know it. I'd go back and check it over only to find that it had modified all my previous style settings, but not the latest one! Lovely.

I've been doing an assignment with the kids at school. Take a picture, put it in a Word document and write words on it. This is the most basic of page layout tasks, but picture wrapping is hidden within a Format Picture function that either requires a right-click (Command-Click, since this are Macs!) or non-default toolbar to access! Not only that, but if I insert the picture by using the Insert function, it will NOT LET ME MODIFY THE WRAPPING. But if I copy and paste it into the document, THEN it will work.

As far as PowerPoint goes, I do loathe it. But not because the program is necessarily bad (though things like animation are unnecessarily convoluted) but because it encourages bad speech-writing. People think that by using a pretty PowerPoint, they can basically just read off a list. I can read your damn presentation, if all you're going to talk about is what's on it, I can just read the notes you handed out (which, of course, have the exact same information). Lame.

Excel... I actually do like Excel. Using the functions and forms, you can build miniature applications very quickly. I've used it to format and parse through thousands of lines of log data or calculate currency exchanges.

Of course, that only makes me wish for a good scripting tool that could do that kind of thing. Any of you techies out there... see if you can find me a scripting tool that:
a) Is GUI and visual in nature.
b) Handles data as transparently as possible.
c) Can build interfaces very quickly.

I don't really want a full-blown language. I want something that I can use to quickly automate tasks and sift through data. But I want to be able to set it up visually and not write lines of code. To me, that'd be a great office tool.

Yeah...

2006-03-12T07:00:38Z

So I restarted my blog, this time as an anime blog. We'll see how long it keeps up.

You'll find it at www.missdatura.com

Microsoft and Apple

2006-03-10T02:35:45Z

I'm not a Microsoft fan. Mainly because, well, who IS? Is there anyone who can truly call themselves a fan of any large, monolithic corporation? Boy, I sure love that Monsanto. Enron? Man, they're great! But I do give credit where it's due. I don't spell Microsoft with an $. I don't call Windows 'Windoze' or 'Winblows'. And personally, I'm looking forward to Vista.

I think using our hulking, overpowered (and often unused) graphics cards to help run the GUI is a long overdue. I've lamented Windows' terrible search capabilities. With my media sprawling across multiple hard drives, the ability to create virtual folders that are essentially search settings is very compelling. Plus, I think it looks nice. Not in the lickable candy-like way of OSX, but in a clean professional manner.

I like that Microsoft finally provides support for individual enthusiast developers via their Express versions of their Visual Studio applications. Even if they are only free for the first year. I like that their Office UI has been overhauled (though personally, I'll probably stick to OpenOffice for a while). I don't care about the XBox, 360 or otherwise. Origami is rather underwhelming. Media Player 10 is a joke and don't even get me started on Internet Explorer. The point is, I like to look at each product for what it is.

Moving on to Apple. I've got a love/hate thing going with them. I think they make some excellent products. Beautifully designed and easy to use (for the most part). And then I want to kill them. Upgrading a lab environment is a massive headache. I can't count on the software we've been using for years to continue to work (in fact, most of it won't). My choices as far as what I can buy are: the Mac Mini (oh, but I need to buy a keyboard, mouse, and monitor for 21 computers). The eMac (reasonable, but hardly a speed demon and not particularly future-proof, since it uses the G4 chip). The Intel iMac (expensive. For a school. And now none of our software runs on it!). The G5 iMac (oh wait, no, they're only selling the 20" ones and none to schools, making it even more expensive for us if we wanted both power and the ability to use our software). Doesn't help that educational software vendors aren't particularly cutting-edge.

Apple is great, as long as you want to do what Apple says.

I think I'm lost

2006-02-23T22:27:01Z

Gamasutra - Soapbox - "World of Warcraft Teaches the Wrong Things"

Hey man, I think you got lost on the way to GameFAQs. Please take your rambling, incoherent rant to a site that isn't respected.

Why EQ2 Sucks

2006-02-22T08:46:19Z

And it's not because of the graphics. Honestly, the graphics can often look quite good. Not always, though. Caves, for instance, are ass. It's not about a realistic style, it's because they use the same damn texture on the walls, the ceilings, and the floors. That's lame and lazy, it's not stylistic. Many of the mobs, however, do look quite good and some of the outdoor landscapes look excellent, particularly with graphics options turned up.

No, the problem is typical SOE. While a great deal of development time was spent on art assets and the engine itself, the game's actual combat system, by most accounts, it's most important part, was severely rushed. In fact, not more than a week before launch, the ENTIRE spell catalog was scrapped and replaced. Granted, most of the changes were minor, but such drastic changes simply should not be going in at the last minute. The company has continually pushed an EXTREMELY aggressive expansion cycle which never leaves enough time for testing and polish. Things generally do WORK, but working and being fun are different matters entirely.

For instance, the combat revamp. Prior to the combat revamp, I had focused my Mystic character on being able to put out rapid melee hits. See, with bear form and certain buffs, I would gain procs. By focusing on speedy attacks, I would proc more often and that would result in a damage boost. Not enough to be overbalancing, but I could solo quite well. The combat revamp purported to offer more tactical gameplay. It didn't. While my healing ability was increased, my damage output was DRASTICALLY undercut. Not only that, but bear in mind that I have essentially three spells: Miasma, a damage over time that does extra damage to shadows, Cold Fire, a damage over time that doesn't do anything else, and Touch of the Grey, a direct damage spells that does extra damage to shadows. Note that I have never once fought a shadow, so essentially, I have three choices in combat. Nuke, dot, and dot. Prior to the combat revamp, I could maintain both dots and a debuff or two. The combat revamp made my dots last so much less that I struggle to just keep them up.

My complaint, however, isn't that my character got weaker (though I was rather puzzled that they would take an already weak soloing class and make it weaker), it's that there's no POINT to fighting. I can nuke, or dot, or heal. That's it. I could debuff, but it's essentially meaningless now. This is NOT tactical combat. This is weak spammy combat that increased its paced to cover up for the lack of options. They figured that if I was hitting buttons more often, it must be more engaging. It's not. Each button press should be a conscious CHOICE.

It would be simple to tell SOE how to change. Ease up on your development cycles, first of all. You don't need to get it perfect the first time, but you should get it RIGHT. Isn't it telling when Star Wars Galaxies, EQ2, Planetside, and The Matrix Online (which, to be fair, was NOT developed by SOE) ALL have had substantial combat revamps long after release. SWG had TWO, both of them riddled with bugs and plagued by balance issues. Not only that, but they went and laid off most of their (American) support staff shortly after the revamp.

Second, you need to consider your design STYLE before developing. EQ2's problem is not bad art. It's not even bad concepts. If you look at the concept art, there's some great stuff there. The problem is, it didn't make it from concept to development. The style of the art was sort of washed away until it became a bland nothing. That's bad. The same goes for combat, by the way. Attention was not made to being able to make tactical choices and the flow of combat. Some ideas, like the heroic opportunities, were tossed in but never really went anywhere. This happens over and over with SOE's products. There are good ideas in there, but they're never finished, never polished, and so get tucked away, largely irrelevant to the final experience but a nice check mark on an expansion package. Or so a more cynical person would say. I don't believe that they intentionally disregard existing products to add half-baked features to sell expansions. Rather, I think that neato-keen stuff gets thought up, but never fleshed out and polished (how could it, when testing for entire expansions takes place in a matter of weeks?).

It's sad, too, because I loved EverQuest for such a long time. In a lot of ways, it's still SOE's most polished product with some of the most innovative and interesting ideas. It's true that being out for so long helps, but EQ2 should be learning from it, not stumbling around in the dark as it has been doing since release.

Hand Jobs for Justice!

2006-02-14T09:46:20Z

Spotsylvania Deputies Receive Sex Services in Prostitution Cases

Well, if it's for the greater good.

merisa @ 2006-02-13T22:45:00

2006-02-14T06:45:03Z

So like, I got a new LJ client. Finally. So I'll try to update my LJ more. Just don't expect it to be anything useful or important. Just random bullshit. Ok? Yeah...

More Anime? Yeah. That's all I ever feel like updating.

2006-01-27T21:14:16Z

So it's the new season, so it's time for my anime update. Because I'm bored.

New Shows

Fate/stay night
I'm not sure I really 'get' this one. It's ok. The animation is nice, but the story is slow. It needs more tits. Or action. Or SOMETHING. God. To hear other people flip out over it... I'll watch to give it a fair chance, but... I'm just not all that impressed.

In a nutshell...
It's about this Holy Grail War that happens in secret. Seven mages fight using their Servants. The main character unwittingly summons the most powerful Servant, Saber and hilarity ensures. Ok, no hilarity.

Magikano
It's a harem girl show with magical girls. For some reason, though, I find it highly amusing. Mainly because it ditches the awkward romance and dials the comedy meter to 11. It's not particularly novel or intriguing, but it makes me chuckle and that's enough.

In a nutshell...
Haruo is your normal, everyday harem girl protagonist. One day, he meets a beautiful girl named Ayumi, who disappears. It turns out, she's moving in with him and his three sisters to be their maid. In secret, she's a magical girl! And so are his sisters. In fact, he's the only one with no magical power, and so he is oblivious to everything. Ayumi, however, is pure evil. Well, maybe not evil, but she's a scheming manipulative bitch... and it's funny.

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora (Looking Up at the Half-Moon, Hantsuki)
Just seen one episode so far, but I've been enjoying it quite a bit. Sad, dramatic, and you know it can't have a good ending. Only six episodes long, apparently, then Shinigami no Ballad starts.

In a nutshell...
It's a romance between a boy and a dying girl. What else do I need to say?

Kashimashi ~girl meets girl~
So.. cute... I want to eat Hazumu for breakfast. While the gender-bending thing has been done in past shows, Hazumu just sort of accepts it and goes on. Also, she's adorable. What it does do is turn her relationships upside down and set things in motion. The thing to remember is that this isn't really yuri drama like, say, Maria-sama ga Miteru, this is more of a yuri harem show. The comedy is pretty mild. While Hazumu is my favorite, followed by Ayuki, Tomari comes close. Poor Yasuna, I just don't like her. She has her reasons and I think comes across as more sympathetic in the anime than in the manga, but I just don't like her.

In a nutshell...
Hazumu is your average boy, who happens to enjoy flowers and looks and acts like a girl. He has a crush on his classmate, Yasuna and a best friend, Tomari. When he confesses to Yasuna, though, she rejects him. He goes for a walk and gets hit by a UFO. And killed. They rebuild him, but make him female. Now, everyone's true feelings about Hazumu are brought out.

Just Finished

Rozen Maiden Traumend
A show about living dolls that fight each other. The balance between drama, fighting, and cuteness is what makes an otherwise unoriginal concept a lot more interesting. Suiseiseki is my favorite, of course. A third season? It sure looks like it.

Magial Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's
Sequel to Magial Girl Lyrical Nanoha, "The Magical Girl Show for Boys". And lolicons. But seriously, lots of action, Fate being cute, though the final battle was pretty lackluster, the ending was good. A third season? Unlikely, but not impossible. The ending sort of wrapped things up, but that's not to say it couldn't be done.

Pani Poni Dash
While it was on, this was my favorite. Think of it as a cross between Azumanga Daioh and Excel Saga with way more pop culture references. A second season? Unlikely, but I REALLY REALLY hope so. I just don't think it's the sort of show that GETS another season.

Continuing
Mai Otome
I like this show more than Mai Hime. It's heresy, I know, but Arika is adorable, and I think the various story threads and intrigue are more interesting. The second half looks ready to kick the action side up a notch, which, considering its parallels to Mai Hime, is understandable.

Fushigiboshi no Futagohime
Yes, this is the cutest show ever. A year ago, I think I wrote that I was embarassed to say I watched this. Well, fuck you all. It's cute. And it's not just cute, it's CHARMING. The first season of 52 episodes is wrapping up, with a second season confirmed! My favorite, by the way, is Fine.

Law of Ueki
This is a show, like Magikano, that I can't explain WHY I like it. It's an action adventure show, like, say, Shaman King (or hell, Yu Gi Oh or Dragonball or Yu Yu Hakusho or One Piece, all those). It's the sheer wackiness that keeps things interesting, though. An epic battle atop a giant cake! The power to turn puns into reality! There's some serious crack being smoked. I think it's been licensed by 4Kids or someshit, but really, it's not one you could screw up the intricate storyline on. Favorite character must be Mori. If you knew her power, you'd understand.

Summer? Time for anime!

2005-07-22T10:28:18Z

Yes, yes, this is all I ever post. I thought about starting an anime blog, but.. why? So much dedication, and who really cares? Some such blogs are funny or provide detailed summaries that I find useful, but really.. there's too many. Still, it's time to let people know my picks for this season, continuing shows, and some manga stuff! Oh yeah.

New Shows

Kamichu! (3 Episodes)

My pick for the best of the summer season. One day, average middle schooler Yurie becomes a god. What kind? She doesn't know. What powers does she have? Well... she doesn't know that either. This isn't a magical girl show. Yeah, it's about a girl with special powers, but really, it's more of a slice of life show with some magic mixed in. The animation, music, and themes definitely have a Miyazaki feel to them. Totally original? Not really. But if you're going to pick someone to emulate, you can't really go wrong there.

Animation wise, the quality is generally excellent (especially in HD resolutions). A few shots have characters off model, but, thinking about it, it's only because the rest is so nicely done that those really stand out. The backgrounds, however, are gorgeous. As for the show itself? Think moe. Very very moe. Yurie is downright adorable. I suppose that might turn some off, but hey. Fuck you.

Ichigo Mashimaro (1 Episode)

Cute. Cute cute cute. And loli. But cute. The prologue/trailer intrigued me, so I got ahold of the manga. Lolimanga Daioh. It's less joke-y than Azumanga, but much of the character's interaction and humor is similar. Also, any manga that has Aphex Twin and Radiohead references scattered among it is cool. The anime translates the manga's style as well as it can and does a good job of it. The animation quality is good, but really, this isn't an animation-driven show. It's about the characters being cute and doing cute things.

I do find it annoying that they made Nobue 20 years old (instead of 16 in the manga, though they reference that with a bit of a joke). Like in Azumanga, there's no particular plot. It's just the characters playing off each other. Did I mention it's cute? Since Geneon USA was involved in the production, this has been considered pre-licensed by fansub groups. Still, it is possible to find it around.

PetoPeto-san (2 Episodes)

Again with the cute? Yeah. No fansub groups have picked this one up yet, which annoys me for reasons I'll get into later. Anyway. PetoPeto-san, like Kamichu! is set in a world slightly more magical than our own. Hatoko is a petopeto-san. She's a kind of monster.. I mean.. special race... that sticks to people (she also squeaks when she walks). As you can imagine, this gets her in some sti-- difficult situations. There's a kappa girl, a nurikabe girl, a zombie samurai, and other sorts in her class. Um. The plot? I'm not sure yet, but actually, in addition to light comedy, the various special races are discriminated against by the humans, so there's bound to be a bit more of a story to this one. Only two episodes in, you're still mainly doing introductions.

The animation is decent, if a bit static at times and the character designs are cute. I don't particularly like them, but they work alright. I've been watching this one raw, but my limited vocabulary combined with some good synopses online means it's still pretty enjoyable to watch.

PaniPoni Dash (2 Episodes)

This is sort of like.. Azumanga Daioh, Sensei no Ojikan, Excel Saga, and Di Gi Charat got together and had an orgy with some serious psychadelic substances. This was the result. 11 year old genius Rebecca Miyamoto (half american, half japanese, all sass) comes to Japan teach a first year high school class. I guess the premise sounds a bit like Negima. But this is not Negima. This is.. something else. SD, non sequiturs and random mayhem abound here. It's random. Extremely so. Since nobody is subbing this one either, I have to watch it raw. I don't get half the jokes! I don't like this! But I do enjoy the show. The intro is very groovy. Rebecca's VA is excellent (as are a number of others). I want someone to pick this show up and sub it so I can actually FOLLOW it, dammit.

Any show that starts out by crushing Charleton Heston is a plus, too.

Continuing Shows

Zettai Shounen (8 Episodes)

Something strange is happening in a small country town in Japan. Strange lights can be seen in the sky, electrical disturbances stop everything from cell phones to cars. What does it mean for slacker Ayumu Aizawa, taking the summer off to visit his father? Maybe everything. Maybe nothing. We'll find out eventually, I guess. This show does take its time. While not as dramatic as Haibane Renmei, fans of that series will still find something to like in Zettai Shounen. The pacing is deliberate as Zettai Shounen mixes slice of life drama with.. aliens and UFOs... probably. The music is a mix of soothing acoustic guitar pieces and harpsichord and choir arrangements. The latter of which definitely bring to mind Haibane Renmei. Probably because Masumi Itou does the vocals. I hate the opening, a graphic, poppy bit that doesn't jive at all with the rest of the show. If you're the sort who can watch shows with this kind of pacing (like I am), Zettai Shounen is worth checking out.

Honey and Clover (13 Episodes)

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is 26 episodes long, instead of the 13 I originally thought. The level of detail in the animation in backgrounds gave me that impression. That's a good thing. I am sad that this means that it'll be another 12 weeks before we get Paradise Kiss, but I'll live. Honey and Clover is a shoujo story of a group of college students and the two love triangles that develop among them. Don't expect shoujo trash style melodrama and sex, though. Honey and Clover is a character driven show that is as much about finding yourself and what it means to become an adult as it is about love. The older characters, focus as much on the male characters as on the female ones, and more mature themes make it fairly unique among shoujo shows. I hate the character designs. I've grown to love the characters, but initially I found some of them (Hagu) downright disturbing due entirely to their design. Don't be turned off. This is the only show where I decided I must have the OST in the first episode. Extremely catchy pop rock.

Naruto (God only knows)

I like Naruto. I still do. For god's sake, though, please make the filler episodes STOP. I do appreciate some more screen time being given to certain characters and fleshing out some backstories, but.. they just don't FIT. My only consolation is that Kakashi Gaiden and the next major story arc are coming up. And those are both good.

Bleach (41 Episodes)

Soul Society story arc chugs along. The anime makes it move at a faster pace than the manga. That's a good thing.

Gokujou Seitokai (8 Episodes, I think)

It's still funny.. I don't get too into it (I think I did last time), but I like it. Subs are coming slow.

Mahoraba, Heartful Days (22 Episodes or so)

I like this show a lot. It's actually DONE, but the subs haven't been coming. It's funny and cute and sweet. If you like stuff like that, go for it. I'm reading the manga as well, which is rather similar (a few things were cut, though).

He Is My Master (5 Episodes, wtf?)

Ok, as the manga notes, this is not a romantic comedy or harem show. It's a gag show. It's about generally abusing the main characters and giving service to the audience. It's funny. What the hell happened with the subs? The manga has been licensed, but the anime has NOT. So... let's go! Any show with a groping middle school lesbian girl gets bonus points.

Futakoi Alternative (8 Episodes)

What a disappointment. It started strong. But now that it's in the middle of all this drama, I realize that I don't really care about the characters. I mean, when you get right down to it, there are only three main characters and while I sort of like them, I don't care about them enough to, you know, feel their pain. I want to watch the rest of this show for closure, but subs seem to have lagged.

Tsubasa Chronicle (15 Episodes)

Hmm. This show is going to end up on Toonami someday. Mark my words. It's not BAD, but it's nothing special either. The show adds more filler in over the manga's story. With CLAMP, that can be a good thing since their manga ALWAYS seem to be paced too fast.

What is wrong with people

As I mentioned above, two of the shows I'm watching are not being subbed yet. This season is also seeing a glut of harem girl shows. I tried to watch Shuffle and Suzuka, but the former was just lame and the latter bored me by the first half of the first episode. Okusama wa Joshikosei is just painfully dull. I guess it's SUPPOSED to be service, but it isn't much of THAT. Please, please, someone pick up PetoPeto-san and PaniPoni Dash. I'd rather have comedies or dramas over lame harem stuff any day.

Manga Corner

Naruto

The new story arc keeps moving. I'm glad to see Sakura finally kicking some ass. Some people seem to be complaining about it, and it does seem to break with the previous format of mixing character oriented arcs with action ones. This is an all action arc that follows a lengthy action arc. Still, I'd rather see the older kids showing off their new skills in action rather than talking about it.

Bleach

Soul Society arc was too long. I'm so glad they finally got back to the real world, I missed a lot of characters like Ichigo's family and classmates (again, bonus points for groping lesbian girls). These last few chapters, too. Can we say plot twists?

Death Note

Ok, first story arc was pure awesome. A tense cat and mouse thriller with paranormal bits added. The second lacked the intensity of the first, but was still entertaining. The third just lost me. Sorry, but it has entirely left the realm of plausibility and gone into fantasy. A 747 landing in the middle of the fucking desert? You've gotta be kidding me.

Mahou Sensei Negima

I really like this manga. The art is nice and detailed, it's cute, it's funny, it has action and magic and no less than 31 girls for you to choose from. The anime is painful. Not only is the art bad (characters are regularly off model) but it mangles the plot and comes out with nothing good. The point of Negima is that you've got fantasy action with a lot of cute girls. It's NOT a romantic comedy. It just can't be. Negi is 10 years old. He's cute, he's nice, but he's still a kid. If you've watched the anime but not read the manga, PLEASE read the manga before deciding that it's crap. I will say, the ONE episode about the ghost girl was quite good. That's it. I mean, jeez. The kyoto story arc goes over 20 chapters in the manga, introduces a number of VERY important plot points and some characters that appear later. And it's 2 episodes in the anime. TWO. God. I mean, honestly. They could have taken the manga up THROUGH the kyoto arc and just LEFT it at the end. Boom, that's the climax, the anime is over. Another season? Sure. Instead they chose to strip out everything that makes the manga enjoyable and do a crappy job of it too.

Yotsubato

From Azuma Kiyohiko comes Yotsubato (or Yotsuba& or.. Yotsuba and...). Utterly charming. Yotsubato follows the strange nonadventures of a strange 6 year old girl, the titular Yotsuba. Yostuba approaches everything in the world with wonder and delight. She's got no inhibition and rarely stops to think about anything too deeply. However, instead of making her annoying, her enthusiasm for life is simply infectious. Like Azumanga Daioh, the characters are fleshed out through subtle traits and actions. Yotsubato is somewhat less of a comedy than Azumanga Daioh, though. There are still funny bits, but that's not really what it's about. It's about enjoying everything.

Ichigo Mashimaro

I talked about the anime above. The first few chapters of the manga are a bit .. off. It takes a while before Barasui finds the characters and humor that make the later ones so enjoyable. Still, his art is extremely cute and there are some genuinely funny moments to be found.

Spong thinks outside the mold, or tries to.

2005-06-09T08:40:19Z

Spong's article on 'E3 Game Critics’ Awards Show Usual Line Toeing' is really reaching for it. Honestly, looking down the list, I can agree with or understand most of the picks. Let's see...

Best of Show/Original Game/PC Game
Spore
(Maxis/Electronic Arts for PC)

It'd be very difficult to call Spore your typical hype machine. The basic idea has been done before, but never to the level that Spore does. The GDC demo was extremely impressive and, out of all the games that I've seen coming out of e3 this year, Spore gives me the most hope for what can be done with the PC.

Best Handheld Game:
Nintendogs

Nintendogs has single-handedly propelled DS sales past PSP and PS2 sales in Japan. It also looks extremely cute. How dare critics recognize that!

Best Puzzle/Trivia/Parlor Game:
We Love Katamari

Ok, this is a little weird, in that it's a sequel that's mostly like the original. But puzzle games are rarely original to begin with and Katamari Damacy isn't exactly your typical game either. It snuck under the radar to become a sleeper hit. Perhaps we should go with Tetris or Bejeweled clone #40?

I do agree that certain awards, like Killzone 2 (yes, it looked very impressive, but it was a prerendered scripted sequence...), Madden (geez, isn't there ANYthing else?), and the PS3 (nothing but a set of specs). Going by that rule, Spong's complaint that the XBox 360's campaign wasn't recognized falls flat too, as 360 games were all running emulated.

But really, expecting that the game media find something in the rough of Kentia hall is just.. it's not going to happen. Deal with it. I'm actually fairly pleased by the selections, as most are, in fact, games I'd like to play. Seriously Spong, get a grip.

I love CNN

2005-06-02T11:41:59Z

So I read CNN.com sometimes. Sometimes for new, sometimes for hilarity. I saw the rather disturbing headline on the front page stating, "Government wants to prevent fat kids". Not a very pleasant-sounding notion. Prevent? How? Well, the actual article headline was "Plan to train kids about eating healthy". A pretty normal plan, with decent notions such as not forbidding kids from eating unhealthy foods, but limiting them as well as expanding good choices. My sister having just gotten her master's in public health, I hear a fair amount about this. It all seems pretty reasonable and normal.

Of course, me being me, I wonder "Yeah, but what's the price tag?" $2.6 million. That's nothing. Nothing at all. That's a tiny budget for a nationwide program. Other government programs bleed that much from their collective rectum during every brain fart they have. In a previous article a few months back, Hilary Clinton had proposed a $90 million study on the effects of video game violence. Jesus. All that doesn't warrant such a scary headline.