Messages

1301

Roleplay / Re: A HOENN NEW RPM POKEMON ADVENTURE!

« on: March 01, 2014, 07:41:10 AM »

"Ah there y'all are," Taylor said, getting up to greet her friends. "Hello Trak, my fellow Kalos Champion," she added with a grin.

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Forum Games / Re: Super "What Are You Thinking?" ReBirth

« on: March 01, 2014, 03:08:50 AM »

STATEWIDE STORM

but we need it. cause drought

[tornado fang]ing pokemon with drought chillin' in california

GO AWAY GROUDON WE DON'T WANT YOU HERE

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Roleplay / Re: General RP Discussion topic

« on: March 01, 2014, 12:02:08 AM »

I'm just resting with my head on Darunia in the Pokemon RP, waiting for y'all.

1304

Gaming / Re: Castlevania

« on: February 28, 2014, 11:38:37 PM »

Here's the rant properly translated.

(click to show/hide)

Well, I would like to shed some light over the development of this game... Working with Mercury Steam -and I would like to tell this anonymously- is about an everyday frustration. Here's to every guy that has experienced hell during the development of this game, but especially to those who have led this to the mess that Lords of Shadows 2 is:

- Kojima had little to nothing to do with the development of the first game, he came by, set a seal, visited the studio, signed some things and that was it. He had even less to do with Mirror of Fate and LoS2.

The vast majority of this team is aware that the game we've done is a real piece of [parasitic bomb] that has nothing to do with the first one's quality and production values... Nobody is surprised by the low reviews we've got.

- If there's someone to blame here, that's Enric Álvarez. He is the person who has led a broken development based on his personal criteria, completely overlooking programmers, designers and artists. Despite his nice look to the press, often considered as some sort of creative "visionary" in the looks of David Cage and Molyneux, this guy has serious problems. He is a mean and naughty guy, and since the "success Lords of Shadows 1" his ego has grown to the point of not even daring to say 'hello' when you meet him in the hallway.

His distrust to his own workers is enormous. Most of the development team often found out features of the game through press news, rather than from the studio's head - unbelievable. And there is no corporate culture here at all... this is just a handful of people working blindly and at the disposal of an alleged visionary.

- The studio's internal structure is archaic, still based on the old partners of the Scrapland days. I'll give you an example so you can see the full picture: the studio's signature engine (one with many flaws) was solely coded by two guys, one of them being a founder of the company and Enric's confident. Access for the new programmers to the source code to update or refurbish the engine is denied, so things are still done in a 10-year-old fashion.

- Many of the studio founders are people with zero abilities for running a studio. Often here newbie developers know more than their own bosses. This structure only leads to a slow, messy and absurd development process, with the end result of Lords of Shadows 2 being a perfect example of what happens due to that.

- Absolutely every design idea has to be monitored, taken away and mutilated by Enric Álvarez. Several game designers have grown tired of this and have abandoned the studio.

- The art direction for this project has been erratic and beheaded. After Enric dismissed every idea and core decission from our main art director for the previous projects, he decided to just leave. It was a battle of egos unleashed by Enric (something that he has carried over with since his times in Rebel Act). Our now former art director is still working in Madrid, now with the Tequila guys making RIME.

- Many others have just turned to other studios offers, sick of the situation here. Almost every month we see fellow devs packing up and getting out of here looking for a new job abroad -that's sad-. It's amazing how the biggest AAA game developer in Spain is not even willing to make its workers a counteroffer. This company does not think highly of its talented workers and their good work. There has never been any kind of salary bonus or anything that remotely resembles it. Not even a single "Good job team!" acknowledgement.

- The production management for this project has been terrible, way often the heads of each department dismissed every production deadline and imposed their own criteria. As a result, the development was delayed for six months, and that investment only came out of MercurySteam's pockets.

Many can't help comparing this situation to something similar that already happened in a company in which many of us worked: Pyro Studios (the team behind the Commandos saga). The QA department is treated like cattle, with shameful wages and almost everyday bullying.

- Expectations for our future are quite bad... with a publisher like Konami really upset after the mediocre game we've made.

- After completing Lords of Shadows 2 MercurySteam has fired 35 workers, and it's embarrasing that no website or journalist is talking about that. More firings are expected to come in the following days.

- And finally, because not everything is bad in here, I wanted to say that the real team behind this company is an incredible bunch of people. If all those guys who are not allowed to be promoted due to our Jurassic studio leads had the chance to set the course of the company, our future would be so bright. There's just so much passion and talent here, more than I've ever seen anywhere else, but it's completely held back. I really hope that those who read this understand what we've lived here. Someone has to say this so it is not lost in time after the game's launch.

Thank you for reading me.

Source 1
Source 2

I for one find it despicable that MercurySteam let go 35 workers after this, and that Alvarez forced everything to go through him. Basically a case of overinflated ego.

[parasitic bomb] he could learn something from PB in having an ego but still being damn cool

1305

Gaming / Re: Pokemon Generation VI: Pokemon X and Pokemon Y

« on: February 28, 2014, 06:23:45 AM »

Technically yes.

Quickie you'd just need to scratch off the back and give Wily the code there. He enters it in his 3DS eShop and BAM credit for Bank.

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Off The Wall / Re: The Avatar / Signature Changing Thread

« on: February 28, 2014, 06:12:19 AM »

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Forum Games / Re: Super "What Are You Thinking?" ReBirth

« on: February 28, 2014, 03:32:31 AM »

You can easily break it. Don't let it keep getting you down if you're able to make those improvements and have made them in the past.

WE BELIEVE IN YOU CLEFANT~

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Forum Games / Re: Super "What Are You Thinking?" ReBirth

« on: February 28, 2014, 03:14:55 AM »

Basically it's becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. You got yelled at for being late and you know that your procrastination is to blame, and you know that you have to make it 5 months without being late or absent. And yet the stress of having to do that coupled with the habit of procrastination makes you feel like no matter what you're not going to do that.

I'm not sure what help I could offer, aside from maybe relaxing and taking a deep breath. You can do it if you work on it. Maybe work on leaving earlier if you can.

I had a meltdown last year over something similar so I kinda know how it feels when you feel like your own worst enemy. But it doesn't have to be that way, not when the power you use to procrastinate can instead be redirected to not doing that.

Not sure if any of that will help, but I felt like giving some feedback on that. Hope you don't mind.

1309

Gaming / Re: Castlevania

« on: February 27, 2014, 10:28:35 AM »

By the way, Koji Igarashi is hosting a panel at GDC titled "There and Back Again: Koji Igarashi's Metroidvania Tale"

The fact that this was announced right after LoS2's release is... well, it's rather suspicious. Of course it could just as easily mean nothing at all, but we'll see.

1310

Off The Wall / Re: Reposted Picture Thread (56K Warning)

« on: February 27, 2014, 09:59:15 AM »

Yoshitaka Amano drew a portrait of David Bowie.

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Fan Creations / Re: Rebirth of the Rockman-Themed Stolen *Bleep* Thread!!

« on: February 27, 2014, 08:56:52 AM »

No idea of the source but I found it hilarious.

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Forum Games / Re: Super "What Are You Thinking?" ReBirth

« on: February 27, 2014, 03:24:34 AM »

Sleep or Frozen. Those are the two status effects most beneficial to catching a Pokemon.

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Off The Wall / Re: The Avatar / Signature Changing Thread

« on: February 26, 2014, 09:51:56 PM »

Too much hair under there to hide any sized guitar.

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Gaming / Re: The "What are you currently playing?" Thread

« on: February 26, 2014, 09:30:41 AM »

Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny

so fun

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Forum Games / Re: Super "What Are You Thinking?" ReBirth

« on: February 26, 2014, 09:28:02 AM »

Bah I think I'm getting sick. My throat's scratchy and dry and no matter how much I drink it's not helping.

I'm blaming Wily anyways.

1316

Roleplay / Re: A HOENN NEW RPM POKEMON ADVENTURE!

« on: February 26, 2014, 08:21:46 AM »

Taylor had called out Darunia and was laying in some nearby grass, using his considerable belly as a pillow as she waited.

1317

Roleplay / Re: A HOENN NEW RPM POKEMON ADVENTURE!

« on: February 26, 2014, 07:04:09 AM »

"Gotcha... Somehow I managed to find myself here already in the process so I guess I'll just wait for y'all!" Taylor said.

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Roleplay / Re: A HOENN NEW RPM POKEMON ADVENTURE!

« on: February 26, 2014, 06:28:12 AM »

"It's Taylor. I'm glad Devon Corp has some insanely fast jets to offer people, cause I'm back in Hoenn and just wonderin' where y'all are," Taylor replied.

(Really really really fast jets)

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Roleplay / Re: A HOENN NEW RPM POKEMON ADVENTURE!

« on: February 26, 2014, 06:16:33 AM »

Taylor called up Sakura to find out where they were so she could get back in on all the action.

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Roleplay / Re: A HOENN NEW RPM POKEMON ADVENTURE!

« on: February 26, 2014, 04:23:31 AM »

Taylor flew to Lilycove City after gathering her things to meet back up with everyone else. Problem was, she wasn't sure exactly where they were...

1321

Gaming / Re: The Megami Tensei Thread

« on: February 26, 2014, 04:07:22 AM »

Yeah, the official PR states nothing about it being digital-only. Usually if it is, it'll say "exclusively to the Nintendo eShop" or something in those PR announcements.

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Off The Wall / Re: The Avatar / Signature Changing Thread

« on: February 25, 2014, 10:38:04 PM »

I'm just smiling.

Forever.

I don't think I can be part of the band.

1323

Gaming / Re: The Megami Tensei Thread

« on: February 25, 2014, 10:25:12 PM »

Huzzah!

1324

Gaming / Re: The "What are you currently playing?" Thread

« on: February 24, 2014, 07:15:59 PM »

Yes. Chapter 5-7 you're doing the exact same thing over and over with almost no dialogue changes. Totally worth it, though.

To be fair you also get a bit of elaboration on a few characters's backstories through all this though.

(click to show/hide)

And also Holly and Barras totally gettin' it on

1325

Fan Creations / Re: Blue Valkyrie's Stuff

« on: February 24, 2014, 12:25:53 PM »

btw you do realize the top of the aqua star battle post reads "Terra Star battle" right?