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Nico

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Everything posted by Nico

  1. The best game of 2012, you ask? Well, that sure is a heck of a question, as there are just a ton of great ones to choose from, really. My overall favorite game, though, would probably be Resident Evil 6. I know probably nobody will agree with me on that decision, but from a content standpoint, the game really offered more than I could reasonably ask for at a $60 price-point, and though it may not have done the series any great justice, it was one of the most intense and thrilling cinematic experiences I've played this year. The combination of having 4 different campaigns to play through as well as the riotous fun I had with my friends in going through them is enough to justify this for me, as I don't believe any other game over these past 12 months has really brought me and my friends together so much. Runners-up, however, would be great titles such as Borderlands 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Zombi U. Borderlands 2 is a simply fantastic shoot-'em-up with a ridiculous amount of loot to find and some uproarious humor at times. I definitely found myself chuckling more while playing that game than any other that came out this year. Meanwhile, Black Ops II won over me and my friends due to its fantastic local play support, allowing up to four players simultaneously while also having bots in the game to keep things more interesting. Local multiplayer has been falling by the wayside as of late, so I'm always happy when a game keeps it intact and makes it worthwhile. Finally, Zombi U is a game I've only had a few hours of play with since I just got it yesterday, but it is truly the best survival-horror game of the year. No other game in the past several years, actually, can claim to be as focused on the 'survival' aspect as this game is, as it provides very intimidating odds for the player to surmount and feels more akin to Dark Souls than any other games in its own genre. There were many other games I enjoyed this year, too, but those are just the few I have enjoyed the most really.
  2. Hmm... Let's see here. This is going to take some serious thought, really, and I'm not sure this is something I can choose something out of on a global console scale, so I think I'm going to pick the worst games that I've played from each generation of gaming, starting with the NES. On the NES, and I'm sure many will disagree with me on it, the worst game that I played was Zelda II: Adventure of Link. While a fairly decent game in its own right for the console, I couldn't help but be overwhelmingly disappointed in it compared to the amazing game that came before it. The combat was lackluster and poorly implemented, making for frequent frustration as I'd try to fight enemies who were above or below me but be completely unable to do anything to them, and worst of all, the game had absolutely no sense of direction, leaving me utterly confounded on where to go. Considering I was a child when first trying this game, that only made it all the more frustrating, though when I played it on the Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition years later it didn't seem much better, honestly. As for the Super NES, it's really hard for me to choose a terrible game, but I feel that Out of this World probably takes the cake for me. While I was enamored with it for a while, I simply could not ever get anything done because the game does absolutely nothing to tell you how to do anything at all, and it's ultimately a frustrating romp through a sci-fi world where everything can and will kill you instantly. All the damn time. These days I might be more appreciative of it, but I remember it at this point only as the SNES game that invoked every bit of my ire. Moving on to the N64/PSX era, I'd have to say that Superman 64 is the abysmal train wreck that may very well be the absolute worst game I have ever played on any console, ever. I can't say that for certain, obviously, or I wouldn't be listing this all by generation, but it was simply one of the least fun and most aggravatingly slow games I have ever played, with mechanics that may as well not even be in place at all, since the game was so god-awful you never got to a point where you needed to do more than fly through rings. In the next generation I'd have to say that Final Fantasy XII on the PS2 is the worst game I played, as it contained a lot to enjoy, but put mechanics in place to absolutely ensure that you couldn't get the maximum amount of enjoyment out of it without powering through a ton of boring gameplay. The Gambit game mechanic remains to this day one of my most loved ideas in gaming, and probably the sole reason I played FFXII as long as I did, but due to not being able to use most of the gambit options for most of the game, it just wasn't very enjoyable. I kept expecting to get new gambit options over the course of the game, yet they remained locked after hours and hours of play, so I eventually gave up, as it just was becoming nigh impossible to stand the slow combat. It's also insulting that the game tries to make you believe that movement on the battlefield in the game makes any difference when enemy attacks can still hit you when they miss by several feet. @_@ For this current generation I can say that, hands-down, the absolute worst game I've had the misfortune of playing was Perfect Dark Zero, available at the Xbox 360's launch. It promised a re-invigorated version of one of my most beloved N64 titles, but all it really ended up being was a painfully slow, clunky and utterly un-fun First Person Shooter that did nothing more than lower my expectations for any and all shooters to come. So, uh, there you have it, I suppose. That took a while.
  3. Nico

    Zamba

    Yakisoba
  4. If I might add in my opinion on all of this, I feel that the addition of another badge which would be simultaneously displayed with the current rank badge is something that would not only be utterly superfluous, but would also feel cluttered and disorganized. One badge is something that should surely be more than enough for a member, and it must always be remembered why badges were created in the first place: As fun decorations to discover and rise through, not trophies to display any sort of status amongst the other members. Administrators and Moderators have their own badges simply because, as it has been said before, they need to be easily recognized. No better way to do so than to give them truly unique badges. As Zoop has expressed, they may even desire to rise through the ranks normally as opposed to having a static rank. A Subscriber badge is something that seems like it would only foster an ego boost to anyone who subscribed for the sake of getting it, and would add literally no benefit to anyone who subscribed for their love of the site. I don't really feel it would be beneficial on the whole to put in the effort of creating a unique badge for Subscribers.
  5. Seeing the edited rendition of this OC, I must say I find myself quite impressed. Your art style is quite charming, I must say. Something about the sharp angles combined with round sections makes it almost mesmerizing to look at, and your shading is a phenomenal touch, I must say. The color scheme on Wood Chuck is excellent, with each complementing one another well, and his goatee is expertly executed. The expression on his face is quite well done, though I think that his right eye is raised a bit high to still have a slant rather than being rounded at the top. Placing a wrap on his tail and giving it the chopped style is very creative and lends a lot to making Wood Chuck unique. The black outline around him does as you want it, as well, making him pop while also being subtle enough not to detract from his actual design. Overall, I must say that he is an excellent OC. You did a great job creating him! I'd love to see more art from you in the future.
  6. My Little Pony vectors are almost always created with a base image of some sort. Using the Pen tool in Photoshop I create my vectors on top of still-frames from the show or sketches by artists. Any additions I make to images which aren't in the base image I add in with the Pen tool from my head. 'Vectoring' can also be done using Inkscape or Adobe Illustrator, and possibly other tools, but I have no personal experience with those tools. Most vector images are created in the same fashion as mine, with the vector being traced over the top of another piece of art. Some artists who are more talented at drawing than I am will sketch things out on their own, then create a vector on top of it.
  7. Hello there, everypony! Nico here! So, most of you won't remember me for squat from this place, but for those of you who do, hello again! This is my first new thread since I've come back to the forums, and I'd like to share a little Christmas cheer with you all by showing off the latest Christmas Fluttershy picture I've vectored up! I hope you all enjoy it, but first a bit of back-story on things. Many of you have probably seen my previous vector of a Christmas Fluttershy, which became absurdly popular despite only being one segment of an image of Pinkie Pie drawn by someone else turned into Fluttershy by me. If you aren't familiar with it, or are unsure if you've seen it, this is it: The original image for that was created by the same person who created the base I used for my newest Christmas Fluttershy, and he sadly got very little attention for having made it. You can see his original sketch of Pinkie Pie here, and I would appreciate anyone giving him the attention he deserves for making that. This year, having went through a bit of a spat with him due to my irresponsibly not asking his permission to post the previous year, I barely got his permission to publish the newest one, and I'm very grateful that he has allowed me to do so in the end. I am pushing very hard for people to give him attention for his work, as it's the only thing that makes my work possible in the first place on these two Christmas vectors! Now, without further ado, I present to you my latest offering of Christmas Fluttershy vector goodness! Though it is linked in the artist comments I have up on dA, you can also find his original image for that vector by going here, and I strongly urge you all to do so if you appreciate this picture. Regardless of whether you care about this picture or anything else in this post, I have one last thing to say to everypony: MERRY CHRISTMAS!
  8. 8/10 Adorable Christmas Luna is adorable. :3 4/10 Frightening red eyes. @_@
  9. You would not believe the trouble I went through to get this hat. It's made of the world's finest silk, you see!
  10. To hell with Pineapples! How could you like that vile fruit!?
  11. Known for liking pineapple. Which is a gross fruit. The texture is just so off-putting, really.
  12. Known for incessantly insulting that nose and making me feel sad.
  13. Known for enjoying Bonk cola just a bit too much. Seriously, man, that stuff addles your brain!
  14. Known for having an adorable Vanellope avatar, and enjoying Applejack.
  15. Known for not adequately defending Fluttershy's honor. Known for brashly insulting Fluttershy and displeasing me so.
  16. Known for being quite adequately ninja'd. Known for adequately ninja'ing me.
  17. Known for being bald, manly, and awesome. But mostly for being bald.
  18. Known for having an adorable Pinkie avatar. At least, to me. Ninja'd. Known for being the loneliest number.
  19. ... I have no memory of this place...

    1. Show previous comments  12 more
    2. Twilight Sparkle ✨

      Twilight Sparkle ✨

      You're back, Nico? =O

       

      Hi! I still remember you. ^_^

    3. Jonke

      Jonke

      *How could i miss this one* Either way, Glad to see you here too. :)

    4. Apple      Bloom

      Apple Bloom

      Nico! Nice to see you around again!

  20. Okay, I'm going to make this short, because I'm honestly not in a very good mood as I type this. Barring some kind of total change of heart on my part, I'm finished here at the forums. I have no more interest in it, I'm afraid. It's something that can't be helped, either as I cannot exactly force myself to like something if I just don't 'feel' anything anymore. I've had good times here. Made great friends. Some of the best friends of my entire, life, really. I've had interesting experiences, made plenty of art for the site and that was fun, and got to take the reins of a moderator position for a while, though I only made use of that during my first run in the seat, really. This place has changed a lot since I first arrived. Something has changed that made it lose its magic with me. I'll pop back in to see any replies to this thread, but other than that, I'm finished. At least, for the moment. Most members don't actually know me at all, and those that do haven't seen me do anything in a while, so I don't know what they'll have to say. But if you offer me a farewell, I'll try to match it with a good reply to each and every person individually. It's the least I can do before I leave, right? For now, whether anyone cares or not, farewell.
  21. "Nico? Why woul-" He stopped talking mid-sentence as Artsy turned around and talked to the white pony, no longer paying attention to him. Furrowing his brows, Nicolas waited on her to finish speaking to him before trying to get her attention again. "Why would you call me Nico if my..." he tried to think of what word to use, "My 'rear end' says Nicolas? Doesn't that seem representative of who I'd be?" He inquired, his facial expression becoming a bit perplexed. Then, remembering what she had said before reading his flank, it switched from confused to pained in appearance. "Also, just so you know, I haven't forgotten you. I remembered you were my sister, didn't I? I just don't remember much for details, I'm afraid. Such as your name. Though I do recall you calling me... brobro, I think? I'm not completely certain, but I think you called me that. Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?" @, Looking over at the white pony she was talking to, he couldn't help but feel that he was quite a silly fellow due to his recent shenanigans. "Hey there," he addressed the pegasus, "My name's Nicolas, apparently. Though you can call me Nico, too, since it seems she'll be doing that. What's you're name, if you don't mind my asking?"
  22. Listening to her talk for a while, he noticed that she seemed to be fluctuating between being extremely uncomfortable and relatively easygoing in her speech, though she seemed to always lean more towards the former. She mentioned a crack, and he spaced out for a moment, staring blankly at her, though his gaze wasn't necessarily focused on her so much as he was lost in thought. He could remember a glowing crack faintly, but it was mostly a hazy memory. Seems like he couldn't properly remember things that had happened to him in his human form whatsoever. He was going somewhere... to visit someone. He couldn't recall who, and he wasn't surprised by that at this point. Noticing something glowing on the side of the road as he went along, he took just a moment to investigate it and... he couldn't remember what happened at that point. Next thing he knew, he was here, as a pony. Realizing that for several moments he had simply been staring at Artsy without saying a word, he shook his head a bit and finally replied to her. "Uh, yeah. A crack. I do remember that vaguely, but to be honest I can't seem to remember anything clearly from before... ponyland here." A confused expression developed on his face after he spoke. Looking back at his flank, Nicolas eyed the marking of quill, inkwell and scroll upon it. Something was written on the scroll, but he couldn't read it from where he was. The angle was just too sharp. "There's something written on my side here, but I can't read it. Could you perhaps read that for me? I know it's a strange thing to ask, but it's been bothering me for a while. I'm not even sure if we can still properly read as ponies, but I'd surmise that, as we are able to speak English properly, we should certainly be able to read, no? Oh, sorry, I'm starting to ramble now, aren't I?" Craning his neck, Nicolas tried his best to read his own flank, impatient to await his sister's reply. "I'm sorry if I seem rude and abrupt, but this has just been really bothering me. Not like we can exactly reminisce on good old times we can't even remember, now, can we?" He became worried that he was seeming more and more rude sounding as he spoke, so at this point Nicolas decided to simply quit speaking and await her reply.
  23. Nicolas noticed this pony, Artsy, seemed to be shying away as she spoke to him. This only further stirred up thoughts in his head that he surely knew her. And she seemed to think that she knew him, that's for sure. Maybe some relatedness, she said, too. It's strange to think that he might have a hard time recognizing someone he was related to. His thoughts were fuzzy, but he was sure he knew her. Absolutely sure of it. But how did he know her, and where did they meet before...? "That's it!" Nicolas exclaimed suddenly in response to his own thoughts. "I've never met you before, have I?" He looked straight at Artsy's flushed face, tilting his head. "We know each other, and we've spoken before, but we've never met. Obviously, you're-" He stood there with his mouth agape, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to think of her name. After a moment, he felt sharp pain in his head just as he did when trying to remember his own name. "I'm sorry, but I can't seem to recall your name, either. But I'm certain I know you! In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you're my sister! Somehow, Artsy seems to fit you quite well, though I can't for the life of me figure out why!" Nicolas began to get excited a bit at meeting her for the first time, should it actually be who he thought it was. But his thoughts quickly crashed and burned in his mind as he came to the realization that he was meeting her, and they were ponies. "You know, I hate to throw this off course, really. But you see, you're right. I'm not a pony. Yet, at the same time, I am. Do you perhaps have any kind of insight as to why that is? I would be very happy if you did, because I'm very confused about this, and a bit panicked, too! This isn't natural, and I'm getting the vibe that none of you here were naturally like this anymore than I was, especially you, seeing as how you said so and such." Nicolas awaited her reply, flopping his wet mane from one side of his head over to the other repeatedly in attempts to readjust it, becoming rather distracted from what he was saying to begin with.
  24. @, @, @, @ Nicolas noticed a pony with a mustache laughing behind him, and couldn't help but think to himself that the mustache looked rather ridiculous on a pony. Muttering some kind of mumbo jumbo about binary, the tan pony, who was already laughing at him, burst into even more laughter. After just a moment, though, it seemed as though the cupid of seriousness shot her in the heart with an arrow of super seriousity, as her tone quickly changed and she spoke to him, ""You... you... is it really you? You're... taller than I expected," He couldn't quite put his finger, or hoof, or whatever on where he knew her from, but he knew for sure that he recognized her voice. Then, taking a closer look at her, he remembered the face of someone he knew, yet had never met in person. If she reminded him so much of her, does that mean it really is her? "I'm not sure if I'm who you think I am, but you sound very familiar. Do I-" He cut himself short as the white pegasus, now accompanied in the water by the magenta looking pony, suddenly started glowing and floated out of the lake. A moment later, he spread his wings and soared off into the sky, before plunging back down into the water, creating a mighty splash which soaked Nicolas' mane. Just seconds later, he was out of the water again, carrying the unicorn with him high into the sky, and as last time, he began plummeting back down at high speed. Nicolas couldn't quite make out what happened in detail, but he knew that the pegasus had just crashed into him and sent him flying into the lake. Kicking his feet wildly in the water, Nicolas simply flailed around for a moment. After gathering his bearings, however, he began to kick his feet in an orderly fashion, much like he does to trot after teaching himself, and swam with surprising grace back to the shore, soaking wet, his mane draped heavily with water over one half of his face. "Okay, okay. I said I was sorry. You didn't have to go through an elaborate ruse together to get back at me, you know!" Nicolas stated, shaking the water off of his coat. Turning back to the tan pony, he attempted to resume his sentence from before. "Sorry about that. Apparently knocking each other in the lake is pretty common around here. Anyway, do I know you from somewhere, perhaps? You seem familiar, but I'm sure I don't know any... ponies."
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