Ungod

Since i received no submissions, i close the quest this evening (with the answer).

didn't we all...at least, I did the same

not with me, no. what i'm interested in is everyone being on the same page i.e. we either have them, with all that entails, or we don't, and don't cry if your idea is 'stolen' there's also the situation of which idea you became enamored with first, there's also the situation of an idea being repeated so many times you *have to* believe it (or you go the antisocial route and life becomes a mess) etc this is why TV does have an influence, denying that has dangeours consequences (obviously, not only TV has an impact, but what i'm saying is you can become a moron because of watching TV - it really can happen) copyright laws exist because, as i've said, culture is a way to attract workforce. nobody really likes them or wants them, it's a pain to define them, so the current system is the best we can come up with confronted with something we'd rather forget about

Let's say I 'beat' Nepgear

was doing some clean-up and apparently, the oldest forum message i have (not deleted) is one on the Heat Wars organized 6 years ago; next in line is from 5 years ago, about a possible infiltration in KoB (when I was a knight) what is *your* oldest forum message?

I'll consider that...one of the disadvantage of copyrights is tons more lawsuits. You say that now (or we say that now), but when you're 10, those movies influence. How much that influence lasts, well...if nothing much changes in your life, those influences will stick to you for decades. Just like your 10 year old classmate's explanation for a concept (don't laugh, i've seen someone in his fifties explaining a concept by saying 'this is what my classmate told me, and i think it's correct'). What you hear, what you see, influences even if it's digital. Ok, now that's something I can't do. I mean, sure, we all tried that, but at some point, after n films that suck, there's rage coloring your eyes. It may pay to be patient, but you lose it sometimes, oh yes, you do. The thing with copies is like this: you get the Saga of the Volsungs, and you get Nibelungenring, and you get Lord of the rings. Now, Tolkien changes the meaning. He's delving into psychology (maybe he read too much Jung and Freud), making the ring a symbol for uncontrollable passion. The original story was simply saying greed is wrong; Tolkien is saying 'yea, we know it's wrong, but we can't help it'. Whatever. But Tolkien did think about it, and because he did, he's influenced half a century with his rendition/rehash/copy/insert-synonym-here. Here's a Hollywood script-writer: ''I saw this awesome Japanese film yesterday, so cool! I'd like to write something like that and give the world something amazing. But, wait, I don't have 10 years like Tolkien to write a script. Gotta pay the bills. Besides, Tolkien's audience was made up of readers, in a slower time, my audience is viewers in a faster life pace. Also, accounting for cultural differences, many things in there won't make sense for my Western audience. Not to mention we can't show all the gore stuff they put in...'' That writer...may even have been inspired fo' real. What do you get from him/her, though? You tell me. Sure, not everyone can be Tolkien, but if you're ordering pizza, you don't want a half-baked, expired meat on top, dripping tomato sauce, spoilt cheese, smelly oversize pizza, with the crooked smile of a waiter who's missing half his teeth. And after a number of such pizzas, you don't hope anymore. You change restaurant.

I'm thinking that with shards now, you have more control over your creature and you can customize the (up to a point) to your liking. Of course, abilities are going to be balancing each other, and there's an element of randomness to getting marks and all...but overall customizing your crits is now even more real. It would suck if you'd get a token which affects your creature in a way it's not beneficial; you'd have to use the token remover and try again (and again). I think tokens being randomly thrown on creatures was a way to make things more interesting/balance, but now there's no need for that anymore?

ya, that one, but with a slightly twisted meaning, maybe. 'Moonshining', as term, was invented during Prohibition era, if i'm not mistaken, and it refers to the illegal production and sale of alcohol. These guys do something similar - take someone's work, disguise it, and then sell it.

well, yea, but the way they do it, as I wrote earlier (and gave examples) is cut out key stuff (because otherwise it'd be obvious) and you get a soulless, 4kids film and this is why Hollywood advertising strikes a nerve: 'legendary director' 'critically acclaimed feature' 'unparalleled skills' 'world class actor' they're masters of BS, but since everyone is bs-ing, it should be ok, no? but put world class BS on top of 90% copy-paste and you get....me ranting

Some would say it's impossible, but it's not so much about being original as it's about not being a 90% copy (the 10% left is simply you trying to disguise stuff). It's like you're given an assignment in biology class, you take a paper from some site, modify it a bit and read it to the entire class. Nobody's asking you to be original, how could you, you're effin 15 and your interests lie elsewhere...but what you're doing is moonshining. Yes, the Bible was written under Buddhist influence, or rather, the Bible is a retelling of Buddhism, mixed with the local creeds. But the thing is, the folks who wrote both testaments did it to empower themselves. They weren't paid to come up with good entertainment, they were seeking to replace the old priests. Inspiration is one thing, moonshining is another. Thing is, you either have intellectual property, or you don't. You either have 'we copy from them, they copy from us' or you have 'the Chinese stole OUR intellectual property, they're a bunch of liars and thieves'. Oh, but when Hollywood steals from others? Nah, that's ok. Oh, it's just arts, it's fine. No, it isn't. Arts and culture stay at the basis of a state's allure. Like the nectar of flowers, culture can attract a number of youth to a state, where they'll be exploited for little money, thus ensuring a constant supply of energetic and bright workforce. Just like city lights attract so many peasants to the big city, where all their dreams will be fulfilled. This is why you have intellectual property and this is why artists are paid and are struggling to come up with something good etc. You can't have both. Also, inspiration should be something you receive when walking through your neighbourhood, not walking the digital plains of a country far away. Why? Because you're selling your product to the people around you, so you'd better know them, what they want, what their problems are etc. Sure, knowing stuff beyond your neighbourhood is useful, is inspiring, but pay attention to what surrounds you as well. I just can't agree with what Hollywood is doing, when what it's doing is taking an entire script, changing some elements so as to not look suspicious and come forth with an 'original production from the legendary director X'. How can I? (btw, i set myself in a special way when commenting on this topic, I really don't care about Hollywood, for me it's a dead thing, just like cable TV; thank F I got wind of pirated sites for films, else I would've been doomed to develop a brain tumor)

I was thinking of holding the last games at fixed hours, as to give the ones in the race for highest total score a fair chance to solve their duel for supremacy. Demonic and Kaya, what hour is most convenient for you to attend the game at? (it can be any, before fyrd's event, in the morning etc)

-- Mur: this is different logic. Later i will add ability templates that will support it, but not this one 4leafclover Desc: gives the 4leafclover mark to those surviving a hit with less than 10% vitality (don't know how to write the param, it gives a 50% chance of ignoring damage from attackers for the next 5 rounds; a, e)

That's very true, the way these things operate is revolving around money only, and that's why things will change only when people like me and you will say 'we want some good stuff, we're not gonna pay a cent anymore for crap. i can do crap myself, tyvm'. the way is boycott and i'm doing it already (i'm also spreading hate, so i'm doing a little more). i don't think too big to fail businesses should exist, i think often you have to burn the grass to get better produce next year burn hollywood? nah, let it freefall

Rehash for money, copy plots for money, either way it's 'not sweating for money'. Also, if I don't care about the Star wars franchise, i won't be giving them any money. They're mooching off their long-life host. And why do people want a rehash, anyway? It's like trying to chase back that feeling you had soo long ago - you'll never have that again. Try something new, don't delve deeper into the nostalgic past. Haven't seen any of those two, they sound interesting, but not my cup of tea.

same here. you can get a revelation in the dumbest of places or talking to the dumbest of people. read a book on Greek culture written for kids, got three revelations just by thinking about it. BUT! what a frickin' pain also, at some point, if you value yourself, you will limit contact with idiots

Disagree with both. The fact that samurai Jack is the best action cartoon just shows you how pathetic the industry is. Don't get me wrong, but can't we make action productions that are not based on manga written 30 years ago? As for plagiarism in other countries, I'll make my point in a jiffy. My problem with Hollywood copying the Japanese is the fact that they're dooming you to be forever 12 (mentally). Let's take Mononoke (series). In it, this guy is roaming the land, killing these evils that are born from human emotions. To do that, he has to determine the form, the origin, the facts, and the whole show is kinda like a detective film, or problem-solving task, whatever, watch the show. The point of it is, where there is this great evil, you have to look at all the aspects, and when you've weighted everything, then you can cut at the root of the problem. The various tasks are not that important, the plot is interesting, but overarching is this idea of problem solving. We've got an issue, let's see how to fix the issue. Here comes a lazy script-writer from Hollywood. Wow, they've got monsters in here. Cool! And this badass guy cuts them with the sword. Cool! And then everybody's happy, there's a damsel crying at the end, they probably did naughty stuff after the show (which means that no, we keep it PG on the cutting, but yes, we insert erotic stuff into the film. Then we call the Japanese kinky for showing breasts). And he takes the plot, disguises it and turns it into a light vs dark thing, Luke, I am your father. Used to be light attribute, now I'm dark. That's it. Day vs night, light vs dark, god vs satan, whatever. What, is that not enough? You're looking for some hidden meaning? Stop trying to think this much! It's just entertainment. I mean, whatever they copy, it's always light vs dark and the hero vanquishes evil, happy ending, go home, 12 year-old audience. How did the monster appear? Who knows, it's an ancient evil that cannot be defeated and keeps appearing every 2 years for a movie. What are the motivations of the hero? Who knows, he likes getting the girl, probably. Let's also accessorize him with a talking sword - it's there in the Jap version, and it looks cool. Is there something else behind this whole thing, like maybe some moral, some idea? Nope, we don't want to stress your (few) neurons, you won't be able to sleep tonight, thinking that maybe when we've got issues, we're supposed to do some thinking and we're supposed to cut at the root of the problem with determination. It's just entertainment; you want education, you go elsewhere (maybe school, maybe). And then they wonder the Japanese anime conquers the world. How could it NOT do that when scrap budget production has more depth than a Hollywood blockbuster with millions of dollars budget? And, well, that blockbuster would've had the depth if the hadn't cut it when copying the plot, but whatever. Besides, it's a blockbuster because of the advertising machine which brought people into the cinema after they've heard about this film 30 times a day, each day of the week, and they gave in. Also, there's nothing else to watch, since you don't speak other languages. You could go watch an Ozu or Tarkovsky, but... And of course nowadays you get a lot of crappy animations, because it did conquer the world and it's more and more of a business. How did it happen, though? Well, they made stuff that had some meaning beyond light vs dark. Can we get a beige vs grey, perhaps? I know this is how artistic ideas and influences work, but there's a difference between copying (badly) something and taking inside a concept, thinking hard about it and delivering something good at the end of the process. What, we've got no social issues around us? No human condition thoughts to ponder? But you see, it's much easier to copy something than to look around yourself, see what the people around you feel, think, to sympathize with them...After all, that is work, and we prefer stealing. That's why Hollywood sucks. It's lazy, as I said. And if you don't want to hit a wall at the mental age of 12 and find yourself scared when night comes ('cuz dark vs light, it's dark now, Darth Vader is coming), well...you don't watch these crappy movies. Why, why watch any Hollywood movie made since the 70's that is half (or much less) of what you'd get if you watched the original film? And my issues is primarily this: if the ratio of original vs copies is 7:3, like it may be, that means I get to watch 7 bad movies that are killing my brains for 3 passable ones ('cuz original does not necessarily mean good). Also, when a studio is known for remaking loads of films (without giving any attribution...or maybe after 50 years, when the income has dried out), how much trust do I put in it? Trust to make an original, that is. I don't have that kind of time. I'm already getting bored of films altogether, imagine how I feel about that crappy american ''powerhouse'' that lost the creative power when I wasn't even born.

Yea, these are the thoughts that don't let me sleep in peace, but...i watched a film yesterday and was left with one question: how much of Hollywood is American and how much Japanese? I just have to know, because it seems they've copied the Japanese for over half a century, since the conquering of Japan, and I've arriving at that conclusion only now. This is how grand is the deception. When I first saw some impressionist paintings, I thought 'da F is this?'. Made no sense. Then it was explained with big words and I believed it. Then, much later, I heard they've been seeing Japanese art (when the country was opening in the 19th century) and wanted to copy that or something. And they did an awful job, but hey! Europe's got a new artistic current. Close that door! No biggie, it's just paintings. But then comes Star Wars (haven't seen any movie, btw). Huge hit, fans everywhere, even I know of Darth Vader and 'Luke, I am your father'. To later see Kakushi toride no san akunin, make no connection whatsoever (because change the background to space meteors), but read how the plot is the same. Even that creepy Yoda who's putting verbs at the end of the sentence is copying the Japanese language. I acknowledge the fact I got duped. Lucas brothers, what geniuses! At stealing, I guess. Next thing I'll hear is how Matrix trilogy was made in China (first). But it's ok, because look! Kurosawa was reading Shakespeare when he made Ran or Kumonosu Jo, so it's ok. He's no innocent chick. Ok, what about Clint Eastwood? Makes Gran Torino, who looks a bit too much like Ikiru (1962!). Well, since it's Kurosawa again, let's just drop it, right? Clint simply arrived later at the party, but that's how showbusiness is, time is aging films like wine. What about Kill Bill? I swear I didn't get anything when watching that. Nothing. I don't even like Uma Thurman (with that name, that face). Ok, I'm being mean here, but what the F was that supposed to be? To later see there's this manga written in the 80's (or 70's, who cares) that served as inspiration for this film. Why you couldn't make that connection, you ask? Well, because the 'Muricans cut key plot paragraphs. I know why now (making a baby in prison to avenge you; kinda disturbing), but to think I wondered for years why some people aren't fired... But is that all? Nope, same manga creator writes a little story called 'lone wolf and cub' that some guy sees. Somewhere in USA. Once again, let's dumb down the Japanese content, because God forbid you see people cut on screen with a katana. Aaaand...replace it with futuristic robots and a samurai lost in time. It worked for the Lucas Brothers, why not here? The result is a cartoon called Samurai Jack. Because Jack is a great name for a samurai. No snickering in the back, please. Seriously, I know there are original films made now and then. I've seen a few, but overall, it seems like the writers in USA are suffering from atrocious writer's block. Atrocious and lengthy, since they can rarely come up with something original. It may be better to copy the Japanese than vilify the native Americans in cheap westerns, but is it, really? Impressionism, Kill Bill? Kill me now... I hope the Japanese become dull, very dull, and make nothing of interest anymore, so that Hollywood starts using those brains, if any are left. In the meantime, any film you know that has been plagia...I mean, used as inspiration for the wonderful, brilliant, genius American script writers? (it can be a copyrighted work that's not necessarily Japanese) P.S. I now get it why they gave Kurosawa an Oscar award.

...ok... (don't wanna say something dst would say)

The riddle is (in) the poem itself. It's often that when reading something, you discover it means something else than you thought of, if you read between the lines.

can't edit, so: notobullies - enemy gets no xp if kills you in one blow cinnabar pill - restores all vitality lost this round for all ritual (or all vit lost until now, for creature) vaevictus - lower's nearby creatures' initiative if it died in previous fight coliva - gives defence boon to all ritual if comprises 6 different types of creatures inbreeding - gives susceptibility to steallife ability if all creatures are of same family thetribe - gives extra initiative if all creatures are of same family

craneinflight - gives winged creautre chance to escape killing blow rainafterfire - gives tree creature double regen for next fight ballandchain - gives attacks with multiple to become all chainmechanism - gives normal attack or random attack a chance to affect the nearby enemy creature bowtocrossbow - gives archer's attacks, for this fight, double damage, at the price at firing every 2 turns frytheknight - gives drachorns a chance to ignite mellee units, if in first row arrowsrain - gives archers extra damage against drachorns, if said archer is in the second row flipcoin - at the start of the battle, first row gets exchanged with second row disguise - all attacks the first 2 rounds against this crit are healing it superstitious - does increased damage against creature in slot X (or takes increase damage from creature in slot X) criticalthinking - does critical damage against enemies with armor lowered with at least 25%

silvercross - makes you immune to lifestealing hatchery - gives lvl 1/2 creature double exp from fights silverbullet - gives more damage to attakcs vs lifestealers holyward - gives immunity against lifesteal for 3 rounds for the whole ritual at the expense of attack (no attacks from your side) armored turtle - disperses all defence from the crit equally among the other crits in ritual forestinbud - for plant type creatures, gives all crits in the ritual regen skill fixed % (or variable) axeandfire - reduces regeneration skill of enemy creature by % chains - immobilizes creature in same slot, and one random action from another crit in enemy ritual will set it free (therefore that turn, the action is lost) defenselessmonks - if ritual is healers only (set on heal), the healing they do lowers gradually, to 0

mosquito - gives the creatures to the left and to the right vampiricaura shareadrink - (percentage chance) convincing enemy creature to not fight drumsofwar - increase initiative of allies every 3 turns thebishop - attack creature with lowest health after 2 rounds if original target was random the queen - attack multiple, even if the craeture doesnt have that ability, all enemy units under 50% vit

retreattoshell - creature refuses to fight after x rounds woodentargaid - healer unit loses its heal ability for x rounds, getting extra vitality (or def) for same nr of rounds lonelygetstronger - singlecrit rituals get some boon drachornscare - lowers the initiative of drachorns meatcleaver - reduces the boon gained by opponent's ritual from pairing crits of same family (archer, drachs etc) cerebellumslap - slightly damages crit if inactive for this round goodlucktotheliving - gives alive creatures a boon until the end of the battle if more than 3 crits died