Sarrate

The one thing that seems to nag me a bit are the 'stubs' on the nemesis staff gear. Some of them look very firm and solid, others seem a bit cloudy and unsolid. Hmm, how do I specify which ones I mean... Pretend the gear is a clock, the stubs at 3, 7, and 9 o clock. Does that make sense?

Hmm... the right side of the cape seems a little smeared... actually the cape in general seems to be colored differently than the rest of TA. Because it's not all metal I'm guessing?


I'm not noticing anything but very minor things, which may very well be wrong anyways. I do like it though. The speed lines are a nice touch!

Me too... hmm...

*searches google images*

I think this image might show why. In the picture it's a little flat, where it should be kinda aimed out towards the viewer a bit.

I agree with Star. You need to get some meat on her bones! It was often a mistake of mine to try to make girls 'skinny' earlier and to have them turn out anorexic. What helps me sometimes is to look in the mirror (yes, even for female characters) and just get basic ratio ideas between different body parts. For example, I may look in the mirror and compare the width of my arm to my torso and think "okay, each arm should be about x% of my torso width" or something similar. I don't always follow that if they still look wrong though.

Hmm... I just noticed something odd with her legs. Her knees seem a little low. From her knee to her waist is about the length of my index finger. Her knee to her foot is about the top half of my index finger. (I *do* like the detail you put on her leg armor though. Very cool! Okay, looked again, the flowing cloth of her cape, skirt, etc is awesome as well.)

Something else I've experienced is the feeling of inadequecy when trying to draw a "good" picture for a friend. I can get intimidated and stop having 'fun.' I just slam into a mental barrier repeatedly. You may want to try to cool down and draw something else, even just random doodles to free up your mind and try to work out the stress. I draw a lot better when it's fun than when it becomes work. That may help you, I don't know.


Sorry, was getting sidetracked... Anyways, the big thing I'd change though is to widen up her arms, I think it'd make a nice difference.

I love the pose! I wish I understood more about piece composition, because the concept of the wings leading the eyes away and never back escapes me. (Granted, just proportions have a tendancy to elude me, but I digress!) Hmm, speaking of proportions, rest assured you have my envy in that respect as well.

I have a feeling this is going to turn out to be another killer piece. Can't wait to see the updates!

Heres my critique of the video:

1) When recording coh footage (unless it's a pvp video), the interface can be a distraction. I suggest trying to demorecord it, then record the playback. To record a demo, simply type /demorecord filename. To stop recording, type /demostop.. I think.. I've done it so many times I don't even think about it. Anyways, to play it back, create a shortcut to City of Heroes.exe, then edit the shortcut to add -demoplay at the end. Drag and drop the demofile onto the shortcut and voila! To end the demo, just hit escape.

2) Reusing footage is generally a bad idea. I saw several clips in the video that were reused from earlier in the video. NOTE: It can be done, and sometimes to very good effect. As a rule of thumb, however, I don't recommend this.

3) Err... this is a CoX video... so why add WoW dancing near the end?

4) I did like your intro to the video. The first minute or two were pretty good. After that, however, seeing the same thing over and over got a little repetitious. This is a problem with dance videos in general though.

5) I did like the song you chose! It fit the whole "heroes and villains are bored" type setting... time does seem to slow down when bored.


I hope you don't take this post as anything other than friendly advice as it was meant. I do envy the video makers out there who can actually sit down and make a video. I've been meaning to make one for ages, but I always end up putting it off / procrastinating. Maybe I should just buckle down and do it. Hmm... inspiration... *looks at time* Work tomorrow... Bah!

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3) the shadow shard AVs (ones from the TFs)

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I'll take this one. Well, most of it anyways.

Lanaru 1 - Mmm... nuclear!
Lanaru 2 - Front shot. Darned stormies!
Ruladak 1 - Conflic, eminent!
Ruladak 2 - Who needs foot stomp?
Ruladak 3 - Ruladak goes Nova!
Ruladak 4 - KrakBooom!
Faathim the Kind

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Looking really good LJ! Especially the flames (you do good flames! )

Ya know MarDun, they make all kinds of creams to get rid of those dark circles now a days. Or you could quit chasing female heroes around Paragon and get some SLEEP!

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LOL!

I will never stop! THe dark circles are worth the Female Hero chasing!

I would be careful Vine

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You'd have to catch me first, and that'll happen only when and if I let you.



Hmmm... you don't have flight do you?!?

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Yes...

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Was definately fun! I didn't realize so many of the forum regulars here also played on Victory! A few that I recognized (that I currently remember) are Mardun, Mistress Vine, Mr. Majesty... I know there were more, but I can't recall them at the moment.

Mr. North Korea (two to the left of Mardun) was standing next to me, and I knew he was going to be picked. Judges kept pausing in front of him. (Note to self: Don't stand next to good costumes )


Thanks Gil / Lush, and all those who helped make this happen. /bow

[edit: D'oh! Didn't realize Mistress Vine was a lvl1 Dominator on Victory. Definately not her home server then.]

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I didnt realize that was you? Should have said hi?

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I'm not surprised. I'm one of the few freaks here that has a different handle on the forums than I do in game. While I do have a character named Sarrate, I never play her.

Yeah, I should have said hi, but I'm not always the best at introductions. :\


...okay okay, I'll redeem myself. Hi Mardun!

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Don't come any closer or TA gets a tutu for real! Stop! Oh gawd, he's gonna kill me now... I DON'T WANNA DIE! *curls up and sobs*

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The real TA in a tutu? This I must see!
*inches closer*

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Mr. North Korea (two to the left of Mardun) was standing next to me, and I knew he was going to be picked. Judges kept pausing in front of him. (Note to self: Don't stand next to good costumes )
Thanks Gil / Lush, and all those who helped make this happen. /bow

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Actually, sometimes we were standing in front of people trying to pick up all the details. Often times we might be standing in front of one person discussing another.

I tried really hard not to linger around anyone, and if I was it was more than likely because I was typing a reply.

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True true. I know I would've been a baad lingerer. I like really lookin at costumes, especially those I like... doesn't help I've spend literal hours in the character creator trying to get a look right. Bah!
[edit: The "bah" is because generally I want to get in game in play, but I can't ignore the asthetics/name aspect of the character. A curse I say! Especially when I really like costumes other people come up with.]


Anyways, here are a few screenshots I took from the Victory contest:

Me and those around me. Mr. North Korea is to my right.
Line of people to one side
Kid Cut'Em (I took it because I didn't realize that stalker claws looked different than hero claws. Villains' look cooler :P)
Semi-Finalists

Again, lotta fun! I noticed in broadcast you were calling it the first *annual* costume contest. This mean we get to look foreward to more in the future?

Was definately fun! I didn't realize so many of the forum regulars here also played on Victory! A few that I recognized (that I currently remember) are Mardun, Mistress Vine, Mr. Majesty... I know there were more, but I can't recall them at the moment.

Mr. North Korea (two to the left of Mardun) was standing next to me, and I knew he was going to be picked. Judges kept pausing in front of him. (Note to self: Don't stand next to good costumes )


Thanks Gil / Lush, and all those who helped make this happen. /bow

[edit: D'oh! Didn't realize Mistress Vine was a lvl1 Dominator on Victory. Definately not her home server then.]

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Who knows how to do Ascii Art?

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(disclaimer: I didn't make it.)

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I guess this is the perfect time to present the updated and improved: TA inks!!!

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Bwahahah!!

I feel ya. When I first moved out here for my job, I was stuck without a computer for almost two weeks. After than, I was stuck without internet access (at home) for a month or two after that. Sucked the big one.

Hang in there!

Wow, you did an awesome job on that gun. I've tried to draw them several times in the past and they've come out... well... not so much like guns.

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Ummm....

....

I'll be in my bunk....

(Nice!)

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Firefly ftw.

As for the art, it's coming along very well Celsia! I can't wait to see it's next evolution.

Wait a second... after I "fixed" the shortcut to target the newer version of CoX, I haven't tried it, so I bet it'd still bomb out... The reason it was working via the shortcut before is because they were loading the old version of CoX. Wow...

I used to have a *really* old version of CoX on this old computer (5 years old), but I got rid of it. D'oh!

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(in case your wondering, no monkey won't be postinga pictures...this teh intraweb...scary people live here. <.< >.&gt

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But we don't bite... correction, I don't bite, I can't speak for the others.


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Well, not that I like the idea of busty women in bikinis and heals kicking butt (you won't see any of my characters in a suit") I will say I have more fun playing a female character rather than a male...

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So true.
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Gack!

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This thread is now tainted!

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Tainted in such a good way <^,~>

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I'm not sure which to be more scared of, the fact you said "too sexy for X" was a "good way," or the fact you winked at me. o_ô

This thread is now tainted!

Well, I've never played a stalker, but I understand their basics. I also understand that they're all about burst damage. I can't really help you with how to play your stalker to make good videos. I can only give you advice on what makes a good pvp video and what does not.

Heres a page with a couple of the 'stalker legends.' Elernet's first two movies are pretty good, but the third is 'meh,' clips just like yours. (Though I dig the music in the third one.) Slyfe, while a spines scrapper, is pretty neat too. I've only seen his first one, but it's just him running around for 10 minutes. No breaks, no cuts. Pretty neat. (I haven't checked out his other videos, though I plan on it now.)

Check them out here. They might give you some ideas.

I believe thats what Squirrel was trying to say. Not necessarily do the impossible, but do something other than stealth AS or tp, stun, placate, as. Right now, all your opponents may as well be target dummies, because they almost never do anything besides get beat on. Thats the problem. Your clips aren't really 'fights', rarely does anyone fight back (unless it's in a group and you've already fled at that point).

You need more fights that last more than two seconds, where you actually have to work for your kill. This involves being attacked and actually being in danger.As I said in my first post, all your fights are executed the exact same without any deviation. After the second/third clip, we get it.

By the way, some of the better PvP videos take weeks/months to aquire enough footage for. The good footage is not all shot in one day. Not trying to scare you, just telling the truth.

Okay, I lied! I forgot I made a daoc pvp video a looong time ago. Feel free to check it out. See how I was in danger for a few of the clips? It makes you think "will he make it?" I wasn't fighting exclusively in the same area, so theres variety in scenery, as well as opponents

Few critiques of my own video (so you don't think I'm ignoring my own advice ):
1) This video wasn't supposed to be an "I rule" video. Supposed to be fun and entertaining to watch. I die, I show it, I admit it.
2) The first few fights are a little on the dull side (/stick and fight), but it gets a little better after the first two/three.
3) My computer wasn't that hot, so I couldn't record as much as I wanted to, or I'd have better clips to choose from.
4) I used Windows Movie Maker version 1. It was horribly imprecise and I couldn't get the timings down as well as I wanted. I tried though.
5) I've gotten a more critical eye since I made this. So I wasn't as critical as I am now.

It's a 158mb file with about 15 minutes run time, so beware!


[edit: Something else, always, always list the songs/artists used in your videos. Yes, I didn't do that in my own video. /sepuku]
[edit: Dangit, I keep thinking of new things. I screwed up in that video bad. You put some of your best stuff at the beginning of the video to catch the viewer's attention. I botched it by putting the worst first. If they snore through those, they may not finish watching the video.]
[edit: Okay, this is getting rediculous. The big black pause after the second song is also a nono. :P]

Apart from video quality (which could be youtube's fault for all I know), the biggest complaint I have is that the movie is on the boring side. Every fight is either stealth->AS->follow up, or stealth->tp foe->Stun->Placate->AS->follow up. There is very little variety in the fights. Another problem is you're never in danger. It's just a bunch of clips of you just owning people over and over.

Of any game PvP videos I've seen (and I have seen waay more than a healthy share, over 40 gigs of WoW vids alone), there are fights where the star is in danger doing very complex and original things. For example, fighting off several foes at the same time, or one very good one. (They don't fold over like paper in 2 seconds and give you a good run for your money.) Perhaps doing things teh class isn't supposed to do, perhaps defeat people outside of stealth. The more outrageous the action, the better.

Those are just some suggestions off the top of my head to make the video more enjoyable. Theres also video editing, timing clips with the music (say a killing blow with a big bass hit), but those come later after the basics. No, I haven't made any videos msyelf (keep getting sidetracked), but I'd like to think I have a decent eye for them.

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3. Music has 0 to do with the vid.

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Just want to point out that most 'pvp vids' rarely do. PvP vids are generally more about the action in the video, which was lacking here. Depending on my mood, I don't mind music such as that in the video, but it's quite harsh/rough/screamy for most people. Music selection is another big thing about PvP videos. Good clips with bad music makes for just as poor a movie as great music with bad clips.

PvP videos are a very complex type of video to make. Hopefully what I'm saying makes sense/helps.


[edit: Oh, something else I forgot to mention, having a clip or two of "ownage" isn't a bad thing. If I crit a brute 5 times in a row, you bet that'd be going into a video. Just needs a little variety, y'know? ]