51

(2,068 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Yooooooo the Mrs and I just watched Klaus on Netflix on a whim and it's an actual gem. It's basically an alternative origin story of Santa Klaus, mixed with the Emperor's New Groove. And it's hilarious.

Seriously, watch it. It's 90 minutes long and you'll like it.

Candy, I can see that. I totally get why people enjoy this one for the crazy 1000% way it does things. And honestly I think I could enjoy it on that level if they'd just...not shit on the themes I mentioned man. I see how this could be fun, but I'm just bitter (albeit not remotely surprised) that they did it. Have Palpatine want Rey just because he sensed this immensely powerful 'nobody' being born, and have the jedi ghosts acknowledge that they were misguided in life, but now they see that Rey can be good without needing their dogma.

Still woulda been a mess, lol. But fun as hell smile

....yeah. Good on him. His character was as dumb as the rest of the movie though. Not his fault I'm sure.

54

(51 replies, posted in Movie Stuff)

Oh hey. Good star wars!

But yeah this was an intense episode! tongue

What I Liked:
Rey's and Ben's whole thread worked for me, that is their stuff together. Aside from agreeing that the kiss was completely unearned and unnecessary, there was some really cool stuff with the fighting-in-different-locations and teleportation. It got set up (some of it in TLJ) and paid off well.

What I Didn't Like:
Juuuust about everything else. It had some fun lines and good moments, but man was it a mess.

As a movie...this was not a movie. It felt like a thousand disjointed vignettes all clamoring for attention, with characters saying nothing but catchphrases, exposition, and platitudes to each other. Which, yeah Star Wars has always had dialogue problems but it really felt like 95% of the lines were like that. The scene where older General is kneeling before the Emperor (so we can see he serves him) and says, TO THE EMPEROR: 'I served you before, I serve you now'.....what? That was such an unnecessary thing to say. And it felt like that was most of the dialogue.
Mind you, this was not an especially bad movie. It was just bad. That's fine. It's about what I expected Abrams to do.

But as a story? Fuck this movie. For all its pacing issues, TLJ made an awesome theme that you don't have to be related to someone special to accomplish great things. AND, the Jedi have been arrogant to claim the 'force' or at least its 'light side' as their own. The force is everywhere and everyone. Rey claiming the Skywalker name would have even been fine if she really was nobody. She just wanted a family, and she got one. She didn't need to be related to anyone to matter. And Luke was right about the Jedi being prideful.
But this movie says, "NOPE. You have to be related to someone uber-powerful. AND, NOOOOOPE, the Jedi are literally all the embodiment of GOOD."

Fuck that.

56

(51 replies, posted in Movie Stuff)

Episode 6: The Mandal-Alien

Me again! With a sermon! About fighting BABIES! (It's a Christmas thing...) big_smile

Interested? https://crossroadsct.info/media/who-is- … e-humanity

This is the second time the audio didn't work for ME specifically, but our guy was able to make it much better even without the main channel.

58

(8 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Everything about the plotting and writing of The Hyacinth Disaster can be traced back to what I learned listening to DiF. I barely knew how stories worked prior to it. However well Hyacinth works is of course subjective, but I learned a lot from this podcast. So, DiF contributed to and directly motivated one of the things I'm most proud of in my life so far.

To say nothing of the direct involvement of these very forum members!

59

(51 replies, posted in Movie Stuff)

Regan wrote:

"I gotta get me one of those".  Okay. I'll allow it...

Lol I am SOO glad for that joke. Without it, the shot would have been the most ridiculous, self-indulgent bit I've seen in anything outside of wartime propaganda.

I was laughing *at* it until Mando said that line, then I was laughing with it. Me of little faith...

Also enjoyed the setup-payoff of the steel in the jacket pocket smile

60

(51 replies, posted in Movie Stuff)

Re: iris door...
No see, the Mandalorian knew that it was limited, so he shot the panel which fried the sensors and delimited its power! tongue

Hah but yeah you're probably right

61

(51 replies, posted in Movie Stuff)

Ep 1:
Good stuff. I like the vibe. Of course I'm commenting as a non-filmcraft person so...
I really liked how it looked, and that they just went ahead and had our main character cut a dude in half.

I liked how they took their time showing us around. Shoe-leather bits, really, but since this is a world they had to make, it's the opposite of laziness.

IG-11 (bounty droid) was a treat. They did an amazing job of playing with the way that droid could move. And the dark humor bit about him trying to self-destruct all the time was awesome.

I'm only doing highlights because I'm reserving judgement until a couple episodes in, but I do want more of this: I'm intrigued, loving the vibe (a lot like Rogue One), liking the characters (Nick Nolte's alien was an amazing piece of work). The world touches are great (I love the idea that post-ESB, bounty hunters are like "oh hey, carbon freezing is awfully handy" and go bananas with it).

And oh yeah, baby Yoda species. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

62

(169 replies, posted in Episodes)

I was about to start one

63

(25 replies, posted in Episodes)

....you just blew my mind, Marty

64

(449 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Wasn't that bet time-based? Like, it was a "by star wars 8" thing. But if 9 pulls another turn, I'll happily pay back the $20 you sent me tongue

65

(449 replies, posted in Off Topic)

I'm beginning to get a little more confident that they won't retcon Rey's parentage. Thank goodness.
I *think* that Rey will be handed (by all the force ghosts) the mantle of "Skywalker" which will serve as an open caretaker of Force knowledge, rather than an exclusive "we're the only good guys" vibe of the Jedi order.

Here's hopin'

Also I'm looking forward to this, one way or another.

66

(169 replies, posted in Episodes)

Random side-thought, forgive me if it's been said already:

Anyone think that maybe an earlier version of TLJ didn't have Holdo, and Leia did all that? On one hand, it would have been hella hard to justify *anyone* pulling a mutiny against Leia (probably why they would have added Holdo as a character), but on the other hand...if they could have played the desperation enough, it might've worked. That would have consolidated the character pool a bit, would have required some tighter writing, but the structure is already there and (like others have definitely said) would have allowed Leia to go out in a kickass way.

I'm not trying to start another debate (I like TLJ a lot as is), I'm just wondering if it might have originally *been* Leia instead of Holdo, and someone was like "nah, that's too hard." If you squint at the movie, it would almost work as is.

EDIT: I think for it to work, Leia would have had to be waaaaaay angrier at Dameron after the dreadnought battle. Like maybe he actually failed, and she straight-up arrests him. She'd be fully justified in doing so. So yeah if she was less motherly and more angry general then it would work.

67

(169 replies, posted in Episodes)

So far TFA is the only one I haven't liked. Rogue One remains the best IMO. Loved TLJ's themes and execution. Solo was rockin' fun with a story/atmosphere/vibe that felt like Solo himself was telling it.

68

(74 replies, posted in Creations)

This is so badass! All of this draws me in! Can't wait for updates!

69

(38 replies, posted in Creations)

Update #11
Hey, this is actually still going! Turns out that finagling a board game with many part abilities/bonuses takes a long time. Not that I'm surprised, just enjoying the process. Oh, also I can't focus on it all the time because programming!

Ok, so where we at? Well, it's adorable that I said "I don't expect the rules to change *much* before sending out test kits" because...wow. But a lot of the changes have been very gradual. For the most part, the core mechanics (asteroid, ship-building, combat cards) are the same.
On that note, the cards (I started with dice remember?) work amazingly well. They've felt random *enough* and had a good ratio of Hits to Critical Hits in every game. That part has not ever felt like it needed adjustments since they were first introduced. Using the cards as damage counters (and secondarily as collection bonuses) has turned out to be an inspired move, though I say it myself. They seriously add to the game by giving a player who's getting pummeled a chance to come back. Basically, the more times you're hit, the more likely you are to get a good bonus. It's a built-in balancing mechanic that has allowed for some serious comebacks without ever feeling unfair to the almost-winner. I really freaking love this mechanic, and if I ever finish this game, it will probably find its way to future games in some form.

As for the asteroid, it's basically the same, just with more varied tiles: instead of just resource tiles with a scattering of Hyacinth wreckage (bonus tiles) and dead exosuit guys (increase asteroid aggro), there are now Grit tiles (resource tiles that build up dangerous levels of foreign material), Shuttle wreckage tiles (tiles that grant a nice bonus *and* a drawback as long as you hold them), Void tiles (causing mass-discard of a whole asteroid pile), and a couple of others.

Just recently I've changed the function of asteroid attack tokens. Whereas before - if a player drew them - they would immediately attack both ships, now they build up and then unleash one giant attack before resetting. This helped the early-game breathe a bit more before things started getting out of hand. Plus, it feels *different* from just any ordinary attack, so that's a plus. This also allows players to see the odds of an incoming attack and prepare for it within reason.

So what's next? More experimenting! Of course.
1) Different system for asteroid aggro: instead of Saniss 130991 attacking both players at the same time, the aggro build-up can be *somewhat* directed by the players. Certain actions will influence the asteroid's attention to the other player, allowing for some strategy other than "Build guns and blast 'em!"
2) a pretty big shift in part-inventory: right now, each player starts with a set, equal number of parts in their inventory which they build with resources they obtain. I want to *try* giving each player only a few of the basic parts, and shifting the rest of the parts into an orbital "debris field" that players can scavenge as a separate action. This would allow for different strategies relying on attrition and force players to adapt if the parts they wanted have been taken.
This would be a significant change, but it will be fun to try out. It also gives a whole new set of options for part abilities/bonuses.

So, that's To Smithereens right now! Still iterating.

The main rules are here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aA5 … sp=sharing

The player handbook (parts, bonuses, etc) is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ttV4pz … sp=sharing

Why is one a docx and the other a google doc? *shrug* Don't @ me, bro.

70

(5 replies, posted in Movie Stuff)

Also, favorite line in the show, by far:

SPOILER Show

Aughra, in 3rd-person: "You dare try to control Aughra?? Aughra can barely control Aughra!!"

71

(5 replies, posted in Movie Stuff)

I was hooked by the end of the 2nd Ep, so YMMV.

Anyway, just finished the series last night. My opinion hasn't changed re: Gelfling face puppetry, but man I enjoyed the storytelling. There were lots of opportunities for things to happen that would have been nice, neat, pat, and sappy, but no. The show was like "how about MURDER INSTEAD??"

Really enjoyed it. They did a great job of setting up the world of the movie, giving greater context for it, and leaving some stuff open for another season if they can make it. In other words: how you do a prequel tongue
I would not be upset if the series just kept going and remade the movie as another short season. Maybe that makes me a Heretic, but it would be awesome to see the original fleshed out a bit more. A lot of the story beats in it were overly-simplistic and often unjustified. And since this ain't a show for little kids anyway, I'd love to see the show remake the movie.

SPOILER Show
I liked the movie fine, but I wasn't crazy about it. When this series, though, showed bits of the movie in a vision, I got really excited. Or when the General crumbles into dust, it blew my mind. And when the Garthim shows up at the very end, it made me want to watch the movie again right away. And the bits that I recognized as "fan-service" (like, say, when Scientist loses and replaces his eye) really flowed from the story as a natural occurrence, and didn't feel forced at all.

Also, it won't surprise me at all if the show ends with a whole bunch of Gelfling secretly going underground, implying they'll pop up after the movie ends. In fact the show makes a point of saying that the cave-dwelling clan was assumed to have died off by most of the others. This would 1) allow for the movie's setup of "these are the last two Gelfling!! (that they know of)" while 2) helping solve the genetic problem of the new age starting with just two gelfling tongue

Just finished the first episode. Obviously a lot of opinion will have to wait until the last episode, but I do want to watch more, so that's good.
The world is very well realized, the VFX are a mixed bag but when they're not working it's more charming than annoying. Probably because of the obvious efforts that went into the physical effects. Wow.

SPOILER Show
It's really weird seeing the Skeksis being nice, even if it is an act tongue but they are amazing puppets. The myriad little critters are also fun. The Mystics (Urdu, I believe, for those who read the Dark Crystal novel) have not shown up yet.

The Gelfling are interesting. Very good culture building, and I will say they do an amazing job of varying faces such that I can tell them apart instantly, even if I don't remember their names yet. But, man their facial *movement*....aren't working for me. At all. I imagine it's the same problem as in the OG movie, but I was hoping for some kind of update. Part of me wishes they had just cgi'd the faces a little bit. Or gone with a different method. It's extremely lacking in emotional articulation, except for when they clearly sculpted the face to look like a feeling.

The rest of the production so far is great (and it gets hella dark, even in the first episode), but the Gelfling are the main characters, and they're making it hard to get sucked in hmm

73

(169 replies, posted in Episodes)

Oh shoot what if that's a *feature*?

What if the face being a bad reproduction is just a hint that

SPOILER Show
This movie's resurrected Palpatine is actually two Ewoks in a trenchcoat (and a bad mask) that are angry about their planet being devastated by the Rebels destroying the Death Star overhead?? What if Palpatine has been two Ewoks in a trenchcoat THE WHOLE TIME???

74

(169 replies, posted in Episodes)

I think those eyes and brows are still killing it for me. I *did* like that Last Jedi poster.

75

(169 replies, posted in Episodes)

That's what I'm saying!!!!