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Harmonic Revelations

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  1. Harmonic Revelations
    Well, you might have heard, you might not have heard that I was planning on leaving the forums. These plans however, have changed. At the urging of several friends I have decided to stay on the forums for the time being. Their kindness and understanding was the driving force behind my decision to remain here, and I owe them my gratitude.
     
    Why did I say I was leaving? At the time of writing that blog post I did in fact legitimately want to and had been in the process of doing so, however, once I had actually stopped using the forums, it took no more than the support of our fellow users for me to see how much I would be losing by leaving.
     
    Coming back was no easy decision, I had to spend plenty of time thinking about it. But I was hard pressed to leave with so many users who legitimately cared about me and the things I do and say.
     
    This of course means I've reversed my prior decision to cancel all my current writing projects, and I shall resume working on them immediately, so that's good news, is it not? That should be wonderful news for those who are waiting for me to finish Harmonic's Equestrian Adventures 2, this should come as a sigh of relief for you to know that this project has not been abandoned.
     
    I'm going to go ahead and give a shout-out here to some of the awesome people who helped me out, although this by no means encompasses everybody who helped:
     
    -SCS
    -Dawn Rider
    -Nascarfan160
    -Red
    -Artemis
    -Those who commented on my status about leaving, your kind words really helped.
    -Anybody else who contacted me by Skype
     
    There were many more who's kind words have swayed me, but overall I'd just like to thank everybody on the forums for being there for me. You've all been very kind.
     
    On the subject of the death threats, I have for the most part taken care of this issue, which I couldn't have done alone, so I'd like to thank everybody for their assistance on this personal matter. I don't think I would have decided to come back were the issue not solved in a professional and reasonable manner. For those who helped me resolve this issue, you know who you are, and you have my thanks.
     
    Resolving this issue largely put away a lot of the stress that was compelling me to leave, and that has definitely helped me
     
    This forum's community is strong and overwhelmingly I felt like I am truly cared about by it's members, and I don't think that's a bond that should be broken. I love you guys. We're like a family, there are bonds in this community that simply cannot be broken, by way of disinterest, death threats, or otherwise, I have decided that standing my ground and staying here is both the right thing to do and the ultimate way to spite those who have been threatening and demeaning me.
     
    While many people have called me out for having flaws, I would like to say that many have opened my eyes to the fact that we all do, and that not letting these flaws define us or hold us back is the right way to go about things.
     
    Just know that if you legitimately cared about me leaving, you are part of the reason I decided to stay.
     
     
    Thank you for your time, and have a nice day. /)
  2. Harmonic Revelations
    Hello, friends, today I'm here to rant about the media. Specifically, about how they always blame things on violent video games.
     
    Let me start out by saying that the fact that they do this annoys me to no end. I put absolutely no effort into hiding that. For a variety of reasons, these media outlets all target violent video games, I'm going to analyze that a bit.
     
    Let's go to the most forefront example. When real tragedy strikes, the media loves to point a finger at the violent video game market as being the cause. I find this funny for several reasons. One of them being that the intolerance spread by the media is itself something that causes violence with the messages it spreads. A recent example of the media spreading intolerance is the new movie coming out called God's Not Dead. The reason this movie spreads intolerance is that it portrays Atheism in a hateful light. If the media is going to complain about the effects of negative messages in video games they could at least follow their own rules.
     
    To that end, good on the new Pope for his views on things such as homosexuality. I may not be religious but I can definitely see that this pope is a man of honor and deserves a great deal of respect from everybody of every religion (or non-religion) for the way he has exemplified tolerance. I tip my hat to him.
     
    Now, back on subject.
     
    I find it absolutely ridiculous how soft-skinned people are in this day and age. To put it simply, people today are easily offended and that's really annoying. Games that they target (I.e. GTA) are rated the way they are for a reason. The rating system is there to help parents guide their kids and stop them from seeing content that they shouldn't. A big problem is that many parents don't do anything at all, they ignore the ratings. To ignore the ratings and then to blame violent video games for your problems is incredibly immature and downright stupid.
     
    If parents aren't willing to put a teeny tiny bit of effort into being a good parent than no amount of censorship is going to solve the large amount of problems that they must have. People who buy games rated M or above for their kids who are very young and then complain about the content are the problem themselves, not the games they happen to buy.
     
    Even if you're not in North America I know for a fact that Europe has it's own rating system (Which is even MORE obvious than ERSB ratings because it specifies the exact age or over that it recommends) and even if you live some magical place that doesn't have a rating system, violent games usually have many visual clues on the cover that they are violent. A game that is violent isn't (Usually) going to have a meadow with bunnies hopping around on the cover, usually the title and boxart give away the content therein anyway, people should not complain.
    It comes down to this: If a game isn't meant for children it shouldn't be censored. You don't buy an M rated game and be offended by the mature themes for the same reason you don't walk into a shooting range and be offended by all of the guns lying around.
     
    Non-censored games do not create serial killers. What does create serial killers is intolerance, something that has long been created by media as a whole. Video games, much like the internet, are looked down upon by news groups and such that seem to be trapped in the 90s even today, even though TV and Newspapers are in the stage of simply being the dying breaths of an age old industry that is being replaced by bigger and better things.
     
    The fact of the matter is that the frequency of tragedy has actually gone down as video games have become more popular. After all, they express a front for releasing your stress that doesn't involve actually hurting anybody. It should make sense that somebody who is too busy leveling up their Dark Elf in Skyrim is too busy to go out and commit assault.
     
    If you don't want kids to play violent video games then don't let kids play the violent video games, after all, these games are not meant for children anyway. Games are usually very clear about their intended audience.
     
    All in all I guess what I'm trying to say is that to censor video games is censoring an art form, other art forms do not face this sort of censorship so why should video games? It simply doesn't make sense. It's time that video games got the respect they deserve, as they are an art form and nothing less. Nobody complains about movies, no matter what they're about, video games deserve the same (Or even more) respect when it comes to their content.
     
    The truth is, people who complain about video games just don't understand them, they're ignorant about the subject, maybe they're still stuck in the mindset of the NES days when only kids would play video games, but on the other hand, they also like to pick on video games because it's just what everybody else is doing.
     
    In short, they need to cut that shit out.
     
    Tell me your own thoughts on this issue in the comments.
  3. Harmonic Revelations
    Hello, I am here to rant about politics. If that bothers you, please, don't read this. Also, I'm from the US, so it only makes sense that I'll be talking about US politics.
     
     
    First you'd like to know my political party association, to which I'd respond none, but I mostly lean towards liberal. I don't agree with everything pure straight out liberals believe, for example, I'm very against restrictions on gun-owning, as I myself collect them, and there are some issues I really don't lean either way about.
     
    Anyways, I'm going to first talk about why I disagree with conservatives. Conservatives are interesting, really, because their basic political ideal is simple: Lessen the Power of the government over the people.
     
    This sounds really good on paper, but it would only work if people weren't so...what's the word....being a Fox News Pundit, which is also known by many other names. Welp, basically, what I'm saying is that you can't trust people enough to lessen the control of the government. In addition, I'd also like to say that Conservatives make me angry quite a bit. Mainly because of how judgmental they are to people of different religions and beliefs, I do know that this does not encompass all conservative people, but it sums up the conservative politicians in their entirety.
     
    What most angers me about the conservative party, well, more so the conservative associated news groups, is the way they overblow everything. Ever since one unfortunate event they've been tacking "gate" as a suffix onto everything that happens. They use fear to control their viewers, talking about how new ways will be the end of the old ways. I think that even if they're right, it's just about damn time that our foolish old ways came to an end, considering our old ways are filled with hatred and arrogance.
     
    I'm not going to name who the most hateful and arrogant politicans/businessmen/whatever were, though. *Cough* *Cough* (Also Fred Phelps, but at this point saying he is hateful is like saying that water is wet, I'd also list Mitt Romney if he didn't appear to have a terrible condition where his political position switches every time he enters a different room)
     
    This isn't to say I praise liberals either, I believe they have the right idea in general but are looking for the wrong method to bring this idea to fruition. I guess what I like about liberals is that they're as chill as Snoop dog in a blizzard confusing the snow for cocaine, you know? I don't like extremist politicans in general, it doesn't matter which side they're on, I tend to like poltiicans that fall more in the middle combining conservative and liberal ideas.
     
    Sometimes I like to believe that someday there will be a reasonable politican that actually understands what today's culture is like. Maybe somebody who understands that the world we live in is changing every day and we must adjust our way of thinking accordingly.
     
    So what I'm trying to say is that both political parties have no idea what they're going, but the liberal one kind of makes sense to me.
  4. Harmonic Revelations
    I, Harmonic Revelations, am leaving the forums. Whether this will be permanent or not depends on how things go. Anyways, I really wanted to tell you guys in a way that expresses how much the forums mean to me and why I decided to leave.
     
    When I signed up for the forums, I had no idea what I was getting in to. I thought I'd spend a week or so on here, tops. Oh how wrong I actually was. I very much enjoyed my time here, but things have changed, perhaps for the worse.
    The main reason is that I feel under appreciated. If people don't care what I say I shouldn't waste my time saying things, no? That is the main driving force behind my leaving. I don't have the same driving force behind the things I say that I used to. Nothing I say matters, because nobody really cares what Harmonic has to say. They cackle and roll their eyes, ignoring anything I actually do for and with the community.
     
    Then there's the fact that certain people from the forums that I will leave unnamed have been sending me death threats through my E-mail, this is something I don't appreciate, and it's definitely something that has a bit to do with my decision to leave. It's uncalled for and when you attack me everyday, it's not something I take lightly.
     
    It boils down to the fact that nobody here really cares about the things I say or do anymore so it doesn't feel like it's worth it to do or say these things anymore. I sit here for long periods of time running in circles and doing nothing meaningful. The way I spend my time helps nobody so I don't think I should bother.
     
    This may or may not be permanent, I may have a change of heart, but as it stands, that is my decision.
     
    Goodbye, my friends.
     
    ______________________
     
    EDIT: I'm not leaving, due to the assistance and kindness of no less than everybody. I had several long and thorough talks with various people (Especially @SCS) who have convinced me to stay on the forums. I would like to thank them for their continued support through this situation of a quite complicated nature. I'd like to thank everybody who commented and everybody who personally went out of their way to help me.
     
    On the subject of the death threats, it is being taken care of, and for that, I am grateful. Things were incredibly stressful last night and I honestly had no idea what I was doing, I appreciate all those who went out of their way to talk some sense into me.
     
    Thank you.
  5. Harmonic Revelations
    Some people have gotten confused about these "Nude scans" airports do. But I assure you it's not an invasion of privacy, here let me break it down.
     
    First, you step into a scanner.
     
    Then TSA agents look at you naked.
     
    Then the NSA looks at the TSA looking at you naked.
     
    Then the CIA looks at the NSA looking at the TSA looking at you naked.
     
    Then the DOD looks at CIA looking at the the NSA looking at the TSA looking at you naked.
     
    Then the Secretary of Defense looks at the DOD looking at the CIA looking at the NSA looking at the TSA looking at you naked.
     
    Then the president looks at the Secretary of Defense looking at the DOD looking at the CIA looking at the NSA looking at the TSA looking at you naked.
     
    Then you board the plane (Unless you're carrying the wrong amount of tooth paste in your luggage, then you get frisked, tased and arrested). So as you can see, absolutely no invasion of privacy is occurring, the scans are completely private and secure.

     
    Murica'

  6. Harmonic Revelations
    I was thinking about the quote "A group is only as strong as it's weakest member", I disagree. I believe the group is only as strong as it lets itself believe it is, regardless of what strength it may actually possess. After all, you could be the most powerful person in the world, and if you didn't believe you were, your power would not matter. Let yourself be as great as you wish yourself to be.
     
    A weak group that believes itself to be strong is much mightier than a strong group which believes itself to be weak. This same dynamic applies to the individual. A weak person who believes they are strong will fare much better than a strong person who believes they are weak
     
    If you believe you are weak, even if you are currently strong, you are dooming your belief to become a reality, but if you truly believe that you are awe-inspiring, that is a fate you are destining yourself for.
     
    For this reason, you should never second guess yourself, simply exist as you are and continue improving, there is no reason to believe you are not wonderful and unique, as you truly are a beautiful and unique person in your own right, it's just that everybody is beautiful in their own way.
     
    So let yourself blossom, the only weights you have tied to your ankle are the ones you put there yourself.
  7. Harmonic Revelations
    Pong is by far, the great Psychological Horror game of all time. It's a game about isolation. You are stuck with only one other person in a never-ending loop. You can't really go anywhere or do anything meaningful, you must sit there and endure your situation. In that sense, Pong is a good metaphor for life.
     
    Just like in the human psyche, your surroundings are black and white. When you're mostly alone, even your own opponent can be your greatest friend, which is why the background is faded out and black.
     
    It shows you must accept your differences, because somebody is always keeping score. Even if the score never manifests in a meaningful change in your life, you still must pay attention to it.
     
    In addition, the size of your character really shows how insignificant you are to the big and horrifying world around you. It's mind-bendingly scary. It shows how in life, everything is repetitive and your actions can never change that. Once you start you're immediately thrown into the cycle of knocking the ball back and forth, but you can never break the cycle, there's no option to quit, and no amount of score can make you advance, just like in life.
     
     
    The darkness is forever looming, it is always present. It could swallow up everything you've known, but it doesn't because it doesn't think you're important enough, or perhaps it just doesn't care. This is perhaps the scariest thing about it. Nothing you does makes a difference.
     
     
     
    Pong is for these reasons, the best Psychological Horror game of all time.
  8. Harmonic Revelations
    Name: Lack Luster
     

    Gender: Female
    Race: Pegasus (Broken-looking horn caused by genetic disorder)
    Age: Teenage
     
    Backstory:
    Lack Luster was born as a mostly normal (But blind) Pegasus to her father, mother, and two older sisters. However, as she grew older it was discovered that she has a rare disorder. The disorder has several effects on her, for example, she grew a partial (Non-functioning) horn, was born blind, and did not develop a cutie mark. Doctors estimated the disorder would kill her very early on, however, so far she has survived, against all odds.
     
    She is dependent on other ponies due to her inability to see, and cannot and will not develop a cutie mark. She currently lives with her family in a small house, where she is taken care of. She has gained a slight ability to know about her surroundings, and for this reason is able to navigate around with only minor difficulty.
     
    She has no idea what her true purpose is, and spends many nights simply wishing she could look up at the stars and see the beauty therein. She spends many nights trying to get her horn to function, even though the doctors told her that any attempts to do so would be completely futile.
     
    She often vents about her frustration to her family, but there's not really any way they know or feel they can help her.
     
    Personality:
     
    Lack Luster remains optimistic and hopeful, as those are the only two things that are impossible to be taken away from her. She tries to make other ponies smile, even if she is unsure what a smile actually looks like. She remains extroverted, or at least tries to, as most other ponies avoid her. Her circle of friends is rather small but she feels that it's enough.
     
    She does not like to meet new ponies as most ponies she meets shun her. If she does find a stranger that doesn't run away or poke fun at her, she is very open to becoming friends with them.
     
    She is very philosophical and often ponders about the meaning behind things that happen in life, such as why she is in such a predicament. She values beauty on the inside, as internal beauty is the only beauty she has ever known. For this reason, she does not judge other ponies based on anything other than their deeds and personality, as those are the only things she can really be certain about.
     
    She has confidence in herself, even if she really doesn't have (Or at least know if she has) any talents, she feels that the fact she has survived this long is a miraculous event in it's own right.
  9. Harmonic Revelations
    (I tried to keep this as non-technical in vocabulary as possible so that non-programmers also have the ability to read it, after all, there are enough "In depth" discussions of this code, plus my only experience with C is C#, not C++ which is what Doom 3's code consists of)
     
     
    So, as some of you are aware, id released id Tech 4's (Also commonly referred to as the Doom 3 Engine) source code a while back. I've been hearing from everybody about how amazingly beautiful it is for source code, easy to parse, sparing use of comments, and all that, so I did finally take a look at it. id Tech 4 is really useful, and has been used in many other newer games, the engine is so versatile you probably can't tell they're based on such an old engine.
     
    And I must say, the rumors are true, Doom 3's Source code is perhaps the most beautiful code I've ever seen. For a game about demons, this code seems heaven sent. Seriously, even expert programmers have things to learn from Doom 3's code, it's that great.
     
    It's so neat and easy to read for coders and easy to parse that it makes Unreal Engine cry itself to sleep.
     
    Let's go in more detail, even though many people have already done so before me. One of the first thing many will notice is that Doom 3 never skips the brace brackets, even when they could. This is a very good thing because if you do skip Brace brackets where possible your code looks ugly, to be frank. It's much easier to read if you use the brackets, trust me.
     
    Another great thing many have pointed out is it's unique/uncommon use of horizontal space. This is good because it allows more chunks of code to fit onto the same screen than if they used the most common method of spacing. But I kid you, I mean, it doesn't really matter if you use the conventional method and thus people can't read your code.
     
    Comments are used rarely, which is good because coders usually use a whole ton of them where unnecessary, what angers me most is perhaps the common method where coders put a comment even when the name of the line of code tells you what you need to know. If you can't tell what code does by it's name, then you've named in incorrectly. This is especially troublesome when you have a programmer working on a project who incorrectly names lines and then quits before the project is finished, this exponentially increases the amount of time it will take for any replacement coder to decipher what the hell each line of code is supposed to do.
     
    Another good thing is that in Doom 3, each function does just that, a single function, this makes it much easier to go back and change things. Companies who don't do this sometimes end up releasing games/ports of games that are broken beyond repair. Like, say, making the game so that it freezes instantly if it tries to use more than a set amount of RAM and making it so common and horrible that the community had to fix it, which is quite frankly the developers' job, and building this nifty little feature into the game engine itself, even if your previous great games didn't have such a bug.
     
    Games on id Tech 4 don't have this issue because all files are the same type, and all the functions perform only one action. This in combination means that parsing is easy and adjusting the code if a problem arises is an easy task. Something that isn't possible if the functions all perform complicated tasks with different types of files, if they are so clustered, it makes it almost impossible to correct any errors without creating new ones. Doom 3's Engine does not have this problem.
     
    I love it, it has so much to teach about how to format code professionally and easily. It is incredibly easy to build upon this engine and get a game licensed with it and it's well worth it because the engine has features that can compete with today's games. The only reason Unreal Engine 2 really took the glory away from id Tech 4 is that id did not want to release the engine's source code before they released Doom 3 itself. And that's when Unreal 2 Engine stole the spotlight, directly before Doom 3's release.
     
    An engine like this is built with great code and can be used to create greatly games. Even for those who don't work with programming games (Such as myself) it taught me a lot about easier methods to code.
    If you want to see this glorious code for yourself, as it does have a lot to teach about proper programming formatting, and once more, it's the most beautiful code that has ever existed, plus it's free, then Click Here to download it in it's entirety. It's well worth it whether you're a beginner in programming, just curious about code and not looking to program, or an expert programmer.
  10. Harmonic Revelations

    Dust (Poem)

    By Harmonic Revelations,

    My control of our life crumbles away slowly



    The silence overtaking us



    I think of all the time we spent together



    skipping through the fields, nary a worry or care


     

    When we first met, love at first sight



    she was all I had ever wanted



    Her words sweet like fresh berries, picked right from the bush



    her beauty unmatched by the greatest works of the greatest artists


     

    Her smile warm like the sun, on a cool clear day



    Her eyes shined green like the crisp forest, in the windy summer air



    Her love was all I ever needed



    All I ever wanted


     

    When we were together, nothing could tear us apart



    at least that's what we thought



    If only we knew then



    what we know now


     

    So now as I sit here on the cracked and dusty floor



    holding her with me, praying to every god there is



    That somehow we could pull through and make it past this



    But I knew the truth, I knew she would not make it


     

    I cry for her, tears of sadness at the cruelty of life



    As I feel her strength draining, it kills me inside



    I can only wish it would have been me instead that had to go



    as she coldly goes limp in my arms


     

    But I knew the truth, the cold harsh cutting truth



    Though we may live high as a mighty king, in the highest castle



    or as a lowly rat, scraping by day by day



    On what's left behind


     

    We may live our life as the most wicked evil to ever come to be



    Or we may live as the most kind and humble knight



    Helping all those who come our way, asking nothing in return



    In the end, we all turn to dust


  11. Harmonic Revelations
    Life is one of the oldest games on the market. It's the best free game IMO, but it's still received much critique over the years, and people are conflicted about the backtory. Today I shall be reviewing what is perhaps my favorite game.
     
    The genre of real life is unique, most people guess it's either an RPG or MMO, but nothing conclusive has been decided.
    _________________
    Graphics
     
    This is one of the strong points of real life. It literally has microscopic detail. I can't even see the pixelation, it's amazing. And yet, it doesn't sacrifice frame rate because of it's superb graphics like some games (I'm looking at you, Crysis). The graphics have aged well, so much so that it still has better graphics than all games on the market. However, the Xbox One or PS4 might change that, we'll have to wait and see.
     
    I love the variety of colors in the game, in addition, all of the characters have unique models and textures, it's really amazing and innovative for the time the game was released. The render distance is absolutely fantastic. Distant land actually renders quite clearly.
     
    New models, textures, and characters are being added all the time.
     
    Although I do have a problem with rendering, it's implied that this is an intentional part of gameplay and not a glitch.
    10/10
    _________________
    Gameplay
     
    The gameplay is one of the most heavily critiqued aspects of real life. It's a mixed bag, really. Some people say that the levels are fun and intuitive, some say it's boring and repetitive, and some say it's horrible. Despite this, life maintains a steady and huge player base. Player controlled characters are abundant, with some choosing good morale and some choosing bad. Life has many things to do, playing sports, playing video games, writing, reading, listening to music, it's really amazing. However, you have to look out for some actions that grant temporary stat boosts but lead to a game over later on (Smoking, being a hit man, etc..).
     
    In addition, sometimes Moderators have to step in and stop players from breaking the rules, by giving them a temporary or permanent ban.. Bans are unique in this game in that you still have the ability to interact with other banned players (Sometimes).
     
    That leads me to the next biggest problem with life. Once you reach the game over screen, you cannot replay. So far, nobody has found a way to get around this by glitching or hacking but people have been trying to find a way to do just that for the longest time. Nobody has been successful yet (As far as we know).
     
    The gameplay is really a swing and miss, tons of memorable and unique moments will occur. I think a great thing about life is that it's unique on each playthrough (Although you can only playthrough once).However, there are years of possible gameplay which makes up for the lack of a replay option.
     
    It does lack a save feature, which is kind of disappointing, as that's a huge dissappointment in and of itself. Especially since sometimes unfavorable events occur and it would be easier if we could revert our save data back to an earlier state.
     
    Some have claimed that most players are actually just in the loading screen for the real thing, I'm not too sure about that. I've tried to ask the developers but they have thus far been unresponsive. If this theory is true, than it is only reasonable to assume that life has the worst lag issue of any game ever created. However, since we cannot confirm this as of yet, I'm not going to hold it against the game.
     
    My character has high charisma, intelligence, and strength stats but also has a few negative traits here and there. This adds a good balance to the game.
     
     
    8.5/10
    __________________________
    Sound Effects
     
    The sound effects are varied, crisp, and clear. I only really take issue with two sounds, Nailsonachalkboard.OGG and CryingBaby.OGG, these two have been shown to agitate a large portion of the player base.
     
    7.5/10
    ____________________
    Controls
     
    Some players report completely (Such as myself) clear and easy to use controls, with a wide variety of features. However, some players have reported unresponsive controls for certain actions and some have reported that no controls work for anything, this either happens during or at the start of gameplay. I however have experienced some problems where the player controlled character fails to perform certain tasks even when instructed to complete them, this does however add a good bit of challenge to the game.
     
    8.5/10
    _______________
    Story
     
    The exact backstory of the game as a whole remains known, but many fan theories about the matter have arisen over the time the game has been released. The developers have not personally stepped in to confirm or deny any of these theories, so the truth is still unknown.
     
    As for personal story lines, some players report heartwarming stories while others report heart breaking stories, it varies from person to person. Negative experiences are made up for the fact that each storyline is unique (Although they are all intertwined).
     
    Generally play-throughs last up to eighty or so years (It varies depending on the location you spend the most time at). Certain actions affect the length of your play-through but it is not known exactly what causes expanded play time. Players who have chosen the medical perk have long been trying to figure out exactly how to cheat and obtain infinite playtime, but so far nobody has succeeded. Each play-through is packed with emotional moments, and there is no exact balance, each player's play-through is guaranteed to be different.
     
    Personally my play-through had tons of bad experiences earlier on with a more balanced experience later on. I joined a very pleasant faction that increased my social stats considerably.
     
    9/10
    ________________
    Summary
     
    The game is a true classic. In a way, it is really a precursor to the Sims. It's not right for everybody, yet it maintains a huge player base with many things to do and many places to explore. New things to do and see are often being added. It's so much fun, life will make you laugh, life will make you cry. Life is by far my favorite game of all time.
     
    Overall Rating:10/10
  12. Harmonic Revelations

    CoD Review

    By Harmonic Revelations,

    (Somebody Requested that I review this game, I would not have normally done so)
     
    Today I'm going to be reviewing what is perhaps my favorite video game of all time (To use as an example of why people today will buy anything regardless of quality), Call of Duty. This is perhaps one of the worst games of all time. It's not a bad game in itself, what really makes it a bad game is how it's rereleased several times a year with minimum changes and people keep buying it.
     
    I'm going to go out and tell you that I dislike Call of Duty before you read any further, so if you're a major hardcore fan of it reading further may put you into fits or spasms that only otherwise happen when you're out of Ritalin, I'd recommend not reading it if you have a short temper and really like the game.
     
    If Call of Duty was released, say, once every three years it would probably actually be a very good game, but let's take a look at why it's not, shall we?
     
    __________________
    Graphics
     
    The graphics are at the same time, decent and horrible. They're decent in that they're up to par with what we'd probably expect, however, my problem with the graphics lies in how they barely change from year to year, in fact, the graphical difference is only noticeable if you use incredibly far away titles, it was hard to notice the difference until I started comparing Call of Duty 1 to World At War. That's how slight their graphical changes are.
     
    Even taking into consideration just one of the game's graphics, they're really nothing special. The graphics didn't really innovate anything and all of the newest titles look exactly the same.
     
    5/10
     
    _____________
    Gameplay
     
    The gameplay, don't even get me started. The multiplayer gameplay is as frustrating as trying to pack a rabbid racoon into a mini fridge with your bare hands while Hulk Hogan is giving you the Heimlich maneuver. The gameplay has perks, perks seem specifically designed to punish new players by giving old time players cheap tricks. Maybe the perks are the only good thing since they discourage you from buying this horribly frustrating game. If you don't buy it right when it comes out when nobody has those ultra-overpowered perks yet, don't bother, it's not worth it.
     
    This game frustrated me, it's impossible to enjoy. All my losses were soul-crushing, and when I did win it didn't even feel that satisfying. I'm not highly into competitive games as a whole so that may be a bit of bias.
     
    A huge problem the gameplay presents is it's abundance of glitches. Call of Duty has always been a breeding ground for gamebreaking bugs that annoy the hell out of all involved. Even when the game isn't glitching, the Single player is a frustrating and unsatisfying experience with all but a few exceptions (World At War and Modern Warfare 2 had decent singleplayer modes), when it comes to the rest of the series, I wouldn't even bother.
     
    If I had to say something nice about the gameplay it's that it has it's memorable moments, but once more, lots of the game is the exact opposite of memorable.
     
    Zombies are the only good thing about this game's gameplay, and even that could have been released as it's own separate game. When a gimmick is the best part of your game something is terribly wrong. However, in part, the zombies at least partially makes up for the lack of an enjoyable experience in most of the series.
     
    6.5/10
     
    _______________
    Story
     
    The main overlying story is based on real life. I could spend all day critiquing how shitty real life is, so I'm just going to skip this part of the review for the most part. I'll say that as far as character development goes it does okay, I didn't particularly feel attached to any of the characters but they did at least have a touch of personality.
     
    8/10
    ________________
    Controls
     
    Did not find any real problems with these, the game does what it says it does, that's enough for me. They're responsive, well-mapped out on the console, and well, I can't really review the PC controls since you can configure them.
     
    10/10
    _________________
    Soundtrack
     
    Pretty decent, actually. It fits with the over all theme of the games, and I really didn't have any problem with it. it was varied enough to keep me entertained. the easter egg songs on the zombie maps are a nice touch.
     
    8.5/10
     
    __________________
    Realism
     
    I wouldn't normally cover this but I have to because everybody says it's why the game is so good.
     
     
    No, just no. This game is less realistic than anything I've ever played. Let me explain in detail why.
     
    Besides the real guns and military maneuvers, this game is the most unrealistic portrayal of war I've ever encountered. The characters commit handfuls of war crimes every mission and barring that, if the game really did reflect real war most of the characters would have objectives like guarding the base while nothing happens or reading letters from their family and maybe getting into combat and killing a few people, not gigantic military assaults. Those are quite uncommon in war, that's kind of why when a huge military assault happens it's really big news.
     
    The whole inner workings of the games are unrealistic, but that's actually good in terms other than realism because games are supposed to be played. It's no fun if it's realistic, but people still continue to say that this game has realism.
     
    The guns' clips are too large, at least on the automatics. The full clip of the AK-47, for example, lasts maybe three seconds before needing to reload. I can of course see why they wouldn't make this realistic.
     
    I'm not even going to address the realism of the zombie or competitive modes, that would be a waste of time.
     
    1/10
     
    _________
    Summary
     
    Sorry if the review came off sounding too negative. It's not that I hate Call of Duty, wait, no, that's exactly what it is. I hate Call of Duty because it's an example of how the video game market is decaying. The game itself is not too bad, but it's only decent. It's nothing special. Which is to say it does not deserve to be half as successful as it is because it's not even the best war game there is (That honor goes to Medal of Honor, specifically Rising Sun), yet people throw their money at the game every year like it's some kind of currency black hole.
     
    I'd rather spend my time doing things that aren't playing Call of Duty, that's all I've gotta say. It takes the bad elements of realism and combines them with the bad elements of nonrealism. That's not exactly a formula for a fun game.
     
    It's a game people by and love, never-the-less, and I still don't understand why. If you feel like telling me why you like or don't like the game in the comment go ahead.
     
    It's not a horrible game but it's not a good game either.
     
    This isn't to say you won't enjoy it, this game might make you happier than Men Without Hats dancing if they want to and leaving your friends behind, playing it is really the only way for you to find out. This review is just my opinion.
     
     
     
    Overall Score: 5.5/10
     
    Edit: Somebody said I didn't give CoD enough credit. They're right.
     
    Overall Score: -15/10
  13. Harmonic Revelations
    NOTICE: SInce this is my first video game review as part of this series, I'd like to take a moment to tell you a few things you'll probably want to know. First of all, if I'm going to give away the ending or something I'll warn you and put it in Spoiler tags.
     
    The second thing is more obvious, which is that this series contains my opinion and thus I'm not claiming that you won't enjoy games I find bad, everybody's taste is different.
    ___________
     
     
    Alright, so today I'm going to be reviewing Mirror's Edge. For those who don't know what the game is about, basically it's a game about parkour and combat. Here is the E3 Demo, to help those who don't know understand what the game is like.
     

     
     
     
    __________________
    Gameplay:
     
    This is Mirror's Edge's strong point, the gameplay. The maneuvering is fun, the combat is intuitive and the game feels great. For example, the fact that enemies can actually block your attacks if you just button mash makes strategy required. Disarming an enemy is really satisfying.
     
    The movement fills me with adrenaline and the various ways to go through the levels give the game a high replay value.
     
    But it could have been better.
     
    Let me point out a few flaws.
     
    First of all, the game is too short. The game is WAYYY too short. I have beaten it two times (Once on Medium and once on Hard) in a matter of seven hours of gameplay. That is a hint that a game is too short. A better direction for the gameplay style would have been open-world. If the game was open world, with simply the option to do the missions, it would be perfect.
     
    There were several points where the movement was glitched/unpolished to the point that certain pipes would not be grabbable (Or even solid, with Faith flying right through them like some kind of Spooky finger puppet parkour ghost).
     
    Over all, I'm happy with the gameplay mechanics but I'm not happy with how little gameplay there actually is.
     
    Let's just say that the game looks way more interesting in the trailers than it is once you actually get your hands on it and play it.
     
    7/10
     
    ________
    Story (All Spoilers Contained within Red Lines)
     
    This game is truly lacking in story, it really is. That is perhaps the game's biggest weak point. It just throws characters at you and expects you to care about them even if you only interact with them for say, twenty seconds, In addition, the whole background abut why the city is totalitarian, what exactly the oppressive laws are, and other seemingly crucial details are left vague/not mentioned at all.
     
    The next part contains spoilers, but if you don't read it you won't quite understand how I'm going to rate this segment of the game.
     
    SPOILERS IN THE PARAGRAPHS BETWEEN THE RED LINES
    __________________________________
     
     
     
     
    ___________________
     
    2/10
     
    _______________________
    Graphics
     
    I'm torn on this one, the harsh colors are unique but bore me. I mean, the environments are not at all varied, to that extent that if I had mashed up a video of my playing experience it would be hard to tell which level is which.
     
    This game needs more varied graphics, I know the city is supposed to all look similar, but they at least could have had some unique-looking interiors. The laboratory-like place under PK was a great opportunity that they turned into a three minute long hallway.
     
     
    As for the quality of the graphics, meh, they're not the best, they're not the worst. I'd say they're fitting for the game.
     
    7.5/10
     
    ___________________
     
    Soundtrack
     
    Mostly just ambience, doesn't suit my tastes but on the other hand I can't just flat out call it bad because it achieves the ambience level it was meant to. I'd say that to improve the sound track it would need more variation, much like everything else in the game, the soundtrack is repetitive and by the end of the game it's just plain boring.
     
    The soundtrack isn't memorable at all, and once more, don't get me started on the ending song. If I had uploaded the ending video was "Mirror's Edge has a shitty ending while I play unfitting music" nobody would be any the wiser, if they hadn't played it, they might not realize I had not edited it at all.
     
    It's not at all memorable in any way, I don't think anybody would go out of their way to listen to this and I think that if the Mirror's Edge soundtrack was on DVD only Hipsters would buy it.
     
    4/10
     
    ______________________
    Controls
     
    The controls are responsive, the player moves at a good speed, I did not find myself having any trouble doing anything, there isn't much to say about these, except that the game is well-programmed. If I had one complaint it is that sometimes when trying to jump over a railing, you'll instead end up stepping over it and falling to your death. While you could back up and curl your legs up upon jumping, this is not always an option on smaller areas like say, a fire escape.
     
    8/10
     
    ______________________
    Summary
     
    This game was okay, that's all I can really say about it. Let's just say that it had potential but it really failed to reach that potential. The game looks way more interesting in the trailers than it is while actually playing it. While you will find that it can be a fun way to waste a few hours, I wouldn't recommend checking it out if repetitive gameplay and environments are something that really gets to you.
     
    If you're looking for something new and unique, this is a place to find it, but if you're looking for a game that will blow you away, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.
     
    Mirror's Edge is really a swing and miss game, I mean, somehow, they managed to take an incredibly unique concept, and make the game in such a way that even with unique gameplay, Mirror's Edge is nothing special. It has it's fun moments but the game was so repetitive that anything interesting was grinded out in favor of more copy and pasted environments.
     
    This is not to say that I dislike this game, in fact, quite the opposite is true. What I'm really getting at, is that Mirror's Edge could have been so much more than it ended up being. Let's hope that Mirror's Edge 2 fairs better.
     
    Don't buy this game if you're expecting it to be the best thing ever made.
     
    That isn't to say that you won't enjoy it if you're looking for something unique and adrenaline filled. This game might make you happier than Snoop Dog if it was raining Cocaine, nobody knows.
     
     
    Final Rating: 7.5/10
  14. Harmonic Revelations
    Alright, so I thought it was time I made this post, it needed to be done, I shall explain in detail why Celestia is so amazing. I mean, she really is.
     
     
    Alright, so let's start with her design. She is beautiful, she is simply beautiful. Her color scheme is great, the soft warm colors highly reflect her relationship with the sun,her royal attire is great, the crown is just amazing, everything about her design is great.
     
    Fanart has done her a lot of justice in this regard. She looks quite beautiful.
     
    Here are a few of my favorites:

     

     

     
    As you can see, she just looks beautiful. I especially love the colors of her mane and how they flow the way they do.
     
    I love her eye color as well, it's beautiful.
     
     
    _____________________________
     
    Now on to perhaps what will be the longest and most important section, aka the second half (But more like seven eighths) of the review, her personality.
     
    One of the things I like about her personality is her Innocence. People tend to say she is a "Mary Sue", I'd argue with that on the grounds that she has some negative traits (I'll talk about those later). In a way, she represents everything the show is about, benevolence, friendship, love, compassion. She encompasses these, not as a poor choice of character personality, but as a way to tie the entirety of the show together.
     
    Another thing about her is her good sense of humor (Seen several times, most noticeably in A Bird in The Hoof). She is very easy-going and shows a good trait for a ruler, she takes things in stride. Anybody could tell you that in real life, totalitarian rulers who take time to sit back and ask questions for before acting, and act in a benevolent and wise way, are not exactly too common. (See; Why there are not many Kingdoms around anymore).
     
    Her wisdom and forgiveness are showcased more than once, and are great traits for any ruler to have. First of all, I'm going to turn to the Canterlot Wedding and point out how she does not, say, arrest Twilight even when Twilight is basically threatening Chrysalis (Who everybody thought was Cadence at the time). Think about it, any ruler who saw somebody, even a close friend, threaten the royal family would probably do a little bit more than ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. But Celestia actually in a way, while not exactly believing Twilight, is seen to at least show a bit of faith or trust in Twilight. Another example of this is in the pilot episode, where Celestia accepts Luna back immediately, even after the trouble she caused as Nightmare Moon, which is not exactly what most would do when being kidnapped (Even by a sibling).
     
    She ends up making decisions that a lot would be reluctant to, and she does this all for the good of her ponies, for this reason, she is a great Princess/Ruler/Pony.
     
    One thing you might notice, relating to her sense of humor, is that at times she can be quite childish, but again, I feel that this is more a component of the innocence than anything. For example, the whole event with Philomena could have been handled better.
     
    I will now address some of the points people bring up when insulting Celestia;
     
    -"She is unwise/unfair because when Discord came back, she sent the Mane Six along, and did not go with them"
     
    There are several reasons she could not do this. One of them is that she kind of rules a kingdom that does not magically stop existing when she lives the Castle, she has politics to attend to, politics that her kingdom's existence relies upon. You can't risk your ruler getting captured or killed, no matter what's at stake, no different for Celestia. In addition, she could not fully comprehend the situation, but she did know that the Elements of Harmony could be used to seal him away. For Celestia to know that the Mane Six would get in trouble, she would need to have some kind of advanced foresight, which she doesn't have. Ironically, if she did have this trait, she would be a Mary Sue, something people arguing against her often call her, even in the arguments addressing her flaws.
     
    -"She was ignorant/arrogant about the Nightmare Moon situation"
     
    Okay, hypothetical person I'm arguing. Do you really expect that anyone would reasonably think that their sibling would turn into some kind of powerful evil being because they were not too popular? It's ridiculous to assume that she would have guessed this. In regard to the arrogance, that's kind of a core part of being a ruler, period.
     
    -"|Insert some Generic comment about how she's an inferior princess to Luna|"
     
    Luna has no character development. I tried to see what people liked about her, but other than her sweet character design, I failed. She was in like what, three episodes? At least Luna has more personality than Cadence, I suppose. But still, Celestia is supposed to be the exact opposite of Luna personality, just like the Sun and Moon, they're opposites, she fits the bill perfectly, and I just don't understand why people hate her for it.
     
    -"Celestia is emotionless'
     
    No, she's not. She is full of pride and has good posture, but she shows quite a bit of emotion, like her concern during A Bird in the Hoof that the guests are treating her too royally, to the end where she is legitimately laughing at Philomena's joke that she pulled on Fluttershy.
     
    In addition, Celestia has quite a close relationship with Twilight, not something an "emotionless" character would have.
     
    -"Celestia is a Mary Sue"
     
    Really? Celestia has actually made more bad decisions and displayed more negative traits than Luna has.
     
    Let's list them,
     
    Celestia:
     
    -Lack of foresight (Negative according to Anti-Celestia bronies, usually)
    -Childish
    -Stubborn
    -Arrogant
     
     
    Luna:
    -Envious
    -Vengeful
     
    I'm not saying that these traits make either character bad, they don't, I'm just trying to point out that in actual episodes of the show, Luna is actually more perfect than Celestia, so the argument that she is a Mary Sue does not make sense.
     
    As for Luna's list of flaws, I was only trying to list ones that people actually view as negative, I can't list things like social awkwardness because that's a LIKABLE trait.
     
    -"Cadence is a better Princess"
     

    ___________________________
     
    Celestia, like any ruler, has made bad decisions from time-to-time. But overall, I'd say that she is a pretty wise ruler, and a great character overall. I just really really like her a lot. And for this reason, she is best Princess and best pony in general.
     
     
    Thank you for your time. I know that some parts of this were repetitive but the amazingness of Celestia was distracting and I got carried away.
  15. Harmonic Revelations
    So, for anybody expecting something funny/witty/clever/random, turn back. This blog post is not what you're looking for.
     
    So, let me start out by saying that I love these forums, these forums have one of the most varied and lovely communities out there, but now let me continue and say that it has some serious problems. Problems that need to be addressed.
     
    Let me also start out by saying that I will never give up on this community, I will continue participating in and helping this community until I have been put in the ground. So don't worry about this by thinking that it is that type of blog posts. This is more like a long string of feedback.
     
    The first thing I'd like to mention is that for the longevity of the forums, the "Address problems when we feel like it" model of operation will not work out in the long run. Don't laugh or think that's some kind of joke or poking fun at the forums, that kind of thing actually works on a small scale, but as the forum grows, more systematic moderation will be required to simply keep up with the amount of content being produced. I would recommend making some kind of system where there is at least one moderator always online, maybe by hiring moderator from varied time zones this will work out.
     
    Another thing I've noticed is that the Administration does not seem to take the recent problems with the forums' public image very seriously. That is unfortunate, because unless we take steps to enhance that public image, the forums will simply become more and more hated, and users will keep leaving. I recommend we fix this by hiring some kind of section of site-staff meant specifically to address problems with public image. They could do trivial things that in the long run will make the forums look better publicity wise.
     
    This solution might not seem necessary, but think about it, do you know how many more users, would, for example, stay on the website if we had staff members that helped them at home by doing things like replying to their welcoming plaza posts, handling issues with name changing so that the Admins do not have to. I would think they'd be a step from between Poniverse staff and moderation. You might think of this as trivial but keep in mind that this would help the mods and Admins by freeing up their time that they would have spent on trivial things like this.
     
    Some recommended titles might be things like "Community Representative" or something similar that gives people the idea that these users represent the things that the forums are really about.
     
    On to the next problem, inconsistencies in rule enforcement. It should not be set up in such a way that several minor infractions could lead to permanent bans. An example would be making it so that the most ban time a minor offense like backseat moderation or pointless/off topic could only add up to a week ban maximum, while excessive vulgarity could add up to a month maximum, and so on. You might say that users could abuse this, but here's the thing, I don't mean that it could never end up perma banning a user, I simply mean that the severity and intent of an action should be considered. Somebody well-intentioned should not be banned permanently for the site because they simply don't understand what they're doing.
     
    In addition,this would help silence those who say things like "It's so easy to get permabanned here", and again, this would help the forums' public image. We should only be perma-banning long time-repeat offenders if they commit minor violations and permabanning extreme things like those who post NSFW content or trolls, etc.
     
     
    The last problem I would like to address is the staff-selection process. The problem is that only staff have a say on somebody's promotion into the staff. The reason this system will fail in the long run is that it means that if it gets to a point where there are a lot of bad mods/admins, no good mods/admins will get added. In the long run, a better alternative would be user-nomination by other members, and then the staff would vote on these nominations.
     
    That way, the public could express their support for a user's promotion, but the staff would still have the ultimate say in the matter. There should be some kind of fail-safe in case of staff corruption where if the general user consent is that this user should be promoted, they will at least have to be considered.
     
    For example, the staff will receive a notification about it so that they know it would be a good time to make a final decision about it.
     
    That way, the staff will not become a completely totalitarian 'Cool kids table' type high school-clique like it would if the staff can only grow by it's own will to do so.
     
    I mean, if a user isn't cut out for the job, they can always be demoted at any time. But we should at least give them a shot if the community in general believes they deserve a chance. I mean, the forums needs to put at least some trust in the judgement of it's own members, otherwise, the staff team will seem detached and distant, thus further decaying the public's perspective of said staff team.
     
    -----------
     
     
    In closure, I would like to say that these steps would ultimately help the forums and continue to help it grow and prosper, as opposed to stagnate (Even if the start of Season 4 makes the forums become more active, unless steps are taken, our increasing negative reputation will do much harm) like it is currently starting to do.
     
    I am very passionate about this community, and am just worried about it, I want to see it continue to grow and expand it's horizons. I remain cautious but optimistic that the forum can become even better if only we set it on the right path.
     
    I love you guys, and want nothing more than to have this forum continue to succeed for years to come.
     
     
    -Harmonic
  18. Harmonic Revelations
    Hello there, you fine folks on the forums, today I'm going to be reviewing sleep.
    Graphics:
    Sleep's graphics have aged well, especially considering how old it really is. I mean, sleep does usually have blurry graphics, and for some reason, clocks and mirrors never seem to render properly, but other than that, it's very realistic graphic-wise. I'd say that if sleep were to come out today, it's graphics would receive much praise from critics and everyday people alike.
     
    Sometimes while moving fast during dreams, your surroundings become blurry. I hope this is something that sleep's developers look into fixing sometime in the future, as the motion blur can get kind of annoying.
     
    A major issue that might be related to graphics is that for some reason my dreams appear to be unable to be recorded with my capture card, however, this might be some kind of technical problem with my brain and not with sleep or the recording software.
     
    Gameplay:
     
    Sleep's gameplay can be confusing. Especially since sometimes, when entering sleep, the gameplay does not start at all. This usually indicates a sleep disorder, and sadly, most people have not bought sleep recently and thus cannot use their warranty.
     
    Once you are in gameplay, it becomes very confusing. Who the protagonist of sleep is is often unclear as they usually do not speak. In addition, enemies may vary (If there are any at all) depending on which level you are playing. Oddly enough, levels appear to play anachronistically, with some players being unable to reach certain levels, and others end up replaying the same levels over and over.
     
    One odd thing about sleep is that it's genre is quite unclear, while I'd guess it's some kind of platforming game, the jump function does not appear to always work and the game often appears to crash when you fall long distances.
     
    Some have reported that it is some kind of horror adventure game, and to some extent this appears accurate, however, not all levels are like this. When asking the programmers what they were going for, they had no comment. All we know is that whatever it is, it often succeeds in it's goal of either being scary, pleasant, or something in between. So kudos to the development team for developing something so entertaining for free.
     
    I would say that sleep has a high replay value, although it is rare to find somebody who has beaten it. For some reason, many people do not save their progress, Maybe they don't know how, so here's a guide.
     
    I did notice a glitch in sleep where Light switches do not usually work.
     
    Story:
     
    This is one area where sleep really appears to be lacking, sadly. Many people have reported inconsistencies in their dreams and the plot appears to be really incoherent. However, this unique and random style of story telling has it's upside, as the ending is not as predictable as those in some other examples of entertainment with a confusing story but obvious ending.
     
    Sound Effects:
    For some reason, many of the sound effects in sleep appear to be muffled or unpleasant. Very often during gameplay I experienced loud screams, and worse still, upon triggering these, the game usually crashes, returning me to my bed. The sound effects can, however, be very memorable, and for that, I am grateful.
     
    Sometimes the sound quality varies but for the most part the integrity of the sound effects in Sleep are solid.
     
     
     
     
     
    Summary:
    Sleep is quite an interesting thing, it's very exclusive. Some people can sit there for hours and hours trying to get it and just not get it all. Of course, once you do go to sleep, your mileage may vary, some people wake up feeling just as tired as when they fell asleep.
     
    However, some of the positive features of sleep include good dreams, the fact that it's a nice way to kill time, the relatively good graphics, nice varied gameplay, and the fact that it restores energy. These features combined make sleep for the most part an enjoyable experience.
     
    On the flip side, sleep can make you miss out on things, be late, you can have nightmares, sometimes it takes more effort than it is worth to sleep, the confusing storyline etc..these make sleeping into a very mixed experience.
     
    My personal experience with sleep is that while it's sometimes hard to attain, it is almost always worth it. I have had many positive dreams in my life and I really only have sleep to thank for that.
     
    Overall, I would say that sleep is one of those odd things that can be a mixed experience quality wise, but one that is enjoyed by almost all demographics.
     
    Sleep is a true classic.
     
    Sleep receives 8.2/10 stars.
  19. Harmonic Revelations
    In the past, I had started doing some LPs of some games, but I didn't really finish most of these because I didn't know if anybody would actually watch them.
     
    Would anybody be interested in my LP/commentary of games? I might also branch off and do some reviews as well if that's something you would be interested in.
     
    Tell me in the comments below, you can also recommend some games for me if I do end up doing this (Although I already have a few in mind that I know I'll be doing if I end up going through with this)
  20. Harmonic Revelations
    So, I thought it would be kind of nice if I left it up to you fine people what I would be doing next, so I made a poll. Just because I figured that letting you guys decide what you wanted me to do next would be a bit more interesting than me just picking something off the top of my head.
     
    Basically it works like this, whatever has the most votes by the first of September wins, and is what I'll start working on.
  21. Harmonic Revelations
    I had a dream last night that was pretty horrifying yet vivid so I decided to write it down.
     
    Me and three friends were bored and driving by this huge building, it must have had at least twenty floors, and it had a sign saying it was some kind of museum , so we decided` we might as well stop there, considering no other buildings were nearby.
     
    So we got out of the car and headed into the front door, the building appeared to be empty of people except for us, but we shrugged it off. We found what appeared to be a spiral staircase. We walked up the staircase until stumbling upon a door that had a sign that said 'No Entry", next to it the word EVER was written sloppily in some kind of ink. The door appeared locked, so the three of us backed up, and rammed it full force, the door came right off of it's hinges. We walked into a huge rectangular room.
     
    Inside, there were tanks full of fish, octopuses, that kind of thing. In addition, there were shelves stacked with supplies, such as herbs in various crates, vials of different kinds of liquids, the like. In the back there appeared to be another door, so we headed towards it. Once we were about half way through the room, the lights flickered out and some kind of bubbling noise transpired. Once the lights came back on, I could see that the fish were all suffocating on something, the tanks now appeared rusty and the glass was glowing a kind of eerie white, and one of my friends was missing from the group, the door on the other side of the room, the one we were heading to, now some kind of whispering was coming from behind it. The whispering was too ambiguous to fully understand, but I could have swore it kept saying my name and urging me to come closer.
     
    I ran up to the door, and slowly flung it open. Behind it there was nothing but blackness, like this room literally did not exist, like it was the end of existence, just a void., I was about to close it when some kind of white face with glowing eyes flew up to me and started screeching incredibly loud, at that point, I flung the door closed and turned around. I saw yellow eyes that appeared flat and painted all over the walls, except the pupils were following my movements. I heard a growling and the shelves started falling over as if something invisible was knocking into them, so those of us remaining started sprinting towards the door, shelves falling over right behind us. However, only I made it, as I did a jump right out of the door of the room before a shelf slammed in front of it, blocking it. I heard screaming from behind the door, and I wasn't thinking so I just ran down the stairs for what seemed like 10 minutes, and then I busted the entrance door open, looking up and seeing some kind of black and purple smoke coming out of the top of the building, then I woke up.
     
     
    That dream scared me, I'm still a bit shaken, actually.
     
    In case you were wondering why I even bothered writing this, I'm doing a kind of dream journal thing.
     
    On the other hand, I'm thinking I could base some kind of story on it, since I think it has potential.
  22. Harmonic Revelations
    I like to think of Religion this way.
     
    If the Bible was released, today, as opposed to quite a long time ago, people would mark it's author a madman and ignore it. Just because nobody was going to mark the author some kind of madman in his day and age doesn't make the Bible less insane.
     
    It's a book that literally changes it's mind from verse to verse. Reading this feels like trying to walk up a down escalator, it takes the progress you thought you had understanding it, and throws it away every time you read a new sentence. If we taught people syntax and writing structure with the Bible everybody would speak in tongues.
     
    There are a TON of inconsistencies in the Bible, people say:
     
    "But those were God's beliefs at a different time"
     
    To which I reply
     
    "If a being is Omniscient, Omnipotent, and perfect, it cannot, by definition, change it's mind without violating one or all of those traits"
     
    Like this:
     
     
    1. God is satisfied with his works
    Gen 1:31
    God is dissatisfied with his works.
    Gen 6:6
     
    2. God dwells in chosen temples
    2 Chron 7:12,16
    God dwells not in temples
    Acts 7:48
     
    3. God dwells in light
    Tim 6:16
    God dwells in darkness
    1 Kings 8:12/ Ps 18:11/ Ps 97:2
     
    4. God is seen and heard
    Ex 33:23/ Ex 33:11/ Gen 3:9,10/ Gen 32:30/ Is 6:1/
    Ex 24:9-11
    God is invisible and cannot be heard
    John 1:18/ John 5:37/ Ex 33:20/ 1 Tim 6:16
     
    5. God is tired and rests
    Ex 31:17
    God is never tired and never rests
    Is 40:28
     
     
    ___________
     
    The Existence of a God/Deity is an
     
    extremely weak argument
     
    It's taken for granted that a "Universal negative" cannot be proven, so the religious say I can't prove God doesn't exist. They treat it like anybody who denies the existence of such a God is insane, and that the existence of such a God is a given.
     
    I disagree.
     
    I can disprove God the same way I can disprove that there are cubical spheres, because his own nature is contradictory. Namely, that he is perfect, Omnipotent, and Omniscient.
     
    For example, they say that God is perfect, before us, they say he is all that existed, perfection. But that can't be.. because that would mean there is no reason to create. In fact, creating disproves that he is perfect because implying that he is perfect implies that he is completely free of the need or will to do anything.
     
    If he is perfect, there is nothing he needs or desires, he would not want to create, he would not need to create, he would not create. He would simply be content with what he had, otherwise, he would be imperfect by definition.
     
    Alright, but let's take this for granted, let's say that God is perfect. Next the Bible says that he creates humanity and that they are the crown of his creation, but that they disobey him and become imperfect.
     
    That's not possible, nothing imperfect can come from something perfect, there's a saying that goes
     
    "Bad fruit can't come from a good tree".
     
    Which is to say, something perfect cannot make something imperfect, that would mean that the original perfect thing is not in fact perfect.
     
    Tl;DR The existence of imperfections in the universe proves that if it has a creator, said creator cannot be perfect, thus the Bible is not true.
     
    ____________
     
    Free Will Argument Debunked
     
    Lets look at another argument. Some Christians say that God did not make humans imperfect, but that he gave us free will because a being needs free will to be happy.
     
    But if God was really omnipotent as they claim, than could he not simply make it a rule that those without freewill would be the happy ones? After all, according to the religious, he CREATED us. Would it be such a hassle for him to make it so that we're happy when not disobeying him? It just does not make one ounce of sense for him to behave this way.
     
    He clearly could have chosen our lack of freewill, why wouldn't he? He had nothing to lose at the time and if he really did have time to ponder our creation before actually doing it, neither did we.
     
    __________________
     
    Hell is Unfair
     
     
     
    Also on that subject, doesn't having Hell kind of make God a jerk? I mean, sins are finite, they are limited evil, so he punishes humans by sending them to infinite torture in Hell. My biggest problem with this is that the reason these humans would be imperfect, and thus able to sin, would be the fault of the God in the first place.
     
    And seriously, this God thinks that belief is more important than action. If you don't believe in him, you go to Hell, even if you die never having had a chance to believe in him, it's ridiculous.
     
    Take this quote, for example:
     
     
    " Consider all of the people who live in the remote regions of the world who have never even heard the "gospel" of Jesus Christ. Consider the people who have naturally adhered to the religion of their parents and nation as they had been taught to do since birth. If we are to believe the Christians, all of these people will perish in the eternal fire for not believing in Jesus. It does not matter how just, kind, and generous they have been with their fellow humans during their lifetime: if they do not accept the gospel of Jesus, they are condemned. No just God would ever judge a man by his beliefs rather than his actions."
     
    Does that not make this "God" incredibly unfair and unjust? Don't say I'm evil for believing that is unfair or unjust because according to the religious, the only reason I'm able to believe that is because this "God" lets me. It's ridiculous.
     
    They act like such an Omnipotent being would not interfere in an observable, do they even know how ridiculous it is to believe such a being is playing an eternal game of "I'm not touching you" with the goddamned UNIVERSE?
     
     
     
    __________________________
    Jesus Lied
     
    Jesus says, undoubtedly, in the Bible, that ANYTHING you pray will be granted. He does not say that God will think about your prayers, he clearly says, in the Bible, that all of your prayers will be granted. I could pray right now that I would become a cactus and unless that happens right now (It isn't, by the way, I'm still typing) it won't happen, which means Jesus lied. Even try praying for something outlandish if you're faithful, go ahead, try it, nothing will happen.
     
    Here are some direct quotes from the Bible for you to prove that Jesus does in fact say that literally goddamned ANYTHING you ask will be granted, and since that isn't the case, he lied.:
     
     
    1) And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, `Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen. "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:21-22 NAS)
     
    2) Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8 NAB)
     
    3) Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst. (Matthew 18:19-20 NAS)
     
    4) Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him. Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. (Mark 11:24-25 NAB)
     
    5) And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-13 NAB)
     
    6) And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14 NAB)
     
    7) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. (John 15:7 NAB)
     
    8) It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. (John 15:16 NAB)
     
    9) On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. (John 16:23-24 NAB)
    ___________________________
    Religion has NOTHING to do with morality
     
    People have argued with me that without religion, we'd all be murdering each other. That is as ridiculous as saying that without the internet, people would stop communicating.
     
    Believe it or not, people don't need some kind of magical being to tell them not to murder each other, it's actually kind of a thing we just learn from our peers. Same with most morals, and once we can sustain ourselves logically, we decide our own morals.
     
    I rarely ever do something that the Bible considers "Evil" (Except not believing in God) even though I hate the Bible. You know why? Because the Bible's "morals" are just common sense packed to look divine. It would be like if I convinced you that cereal granted you immortality by putting a first aid kit in the box. It would be like me writing that Octopuses are planning to take over the world but you praising it for it's morality because I inserted "Brush your teeth everyday" somewhere in the middle.
     
    I've seen evil fanatical religious people (I.E. Extremists), I've seen evil fanatical non-religious people (Insert Joseph Stalin here), it really doesn't matter, your morality and whether you believe in some kind of perfect being that created you has nothing to do with whether or not you know that stealing something is wrong.
     
    If you honestly believe that eternal punishment is necessary to make people act civilized than you'd be shocked to find that is not the case in the slightest.
     
    _______________________________
     
    Epilogue
     
    I think I said most, if not all of the things I needed to say. I just needed to vent a bit because I'm particularly strongly opinionated. Of course, you're always free to make your own decisions about this and draw your own conclusions about this, in fact, I encourage it, because the more closely you look at religion, the less sense it will make to somebody, simply because Religion is impossibilities stacked upon layer and layer of impossible.
     
    I'm not trying to disrespect your beliefs, I'm strictly analyzying the claims of the (Christian) Bible (Which is to say I did not read for example the Qu'ran so I did not address it's claims) from a scientific and logical perspective, as I just really needed to say how I feel about this. I do in fact acknowledge that not everybody views things the same way I do (A trait I wish was more common in humans) so it's always up for debate, if you want to contact me and have a (Civil, I don't want a yelling match) discussion about the subject, you can always contact me.
     
    Remember, in the end, this is my opinion, I am simply stating what I believe, and backing it up with evidence. I'm not forcing you to believe what I'm saying, I'm just kind of highly recommending it.
     
     
     
    Thank you for your time, and have a nice day.

    Harmonic out.
     
    P.S. INB4 People barge in with sites like Religionandyouaguidetodenial.com and TotesLegitScience.com and Theoreticallythiscouldbeaccuratebutprobablynot.org
  23. Harmonic Revelations
    Somebody was having a conversation with me about this over Skype and I decided to put my view on this subject into this blog.
     
    I should start off by saying that I don't believe there is an afterlife, and then I'm going to delve into why I'm okay with that.
     
    The way most people describe an afterlife is some kind of realm/world you go to once you die and live in forever. Personally, that sounds like a punishment to me, no matter how comforting.
     
    You know why?
     
    Because that would mean that even in death there is simply no escape from unhappiness. It would make my existence feel more like a prison than like my greatest gift.
     
    It would mean that life never ends. At first that might sound great, but, after enough time, everybody wants to die, I mean, there is only so much time before you start going insane due to the repetitiveness that would be eternal existence, it sounds kind of torturous.
     
    He brought up an interesting point saying to me:
     
    "But you'd be dead, wouldn't that mean that the human psyche is no longer in effect?"
     
    To which I replied:
     
    "But, your personality is in large part caused by said human psyche, so without it, you wouldn't really be 'you'."
     
    Some people go crazy after a DAY of repetitiveness, forever can't really be that different.
     
    And on top of that, this after life would either
     
    A.) Feature no other people (Go crazy by isolation)
     
    B.) Feature no Real People (Matrix-type scenario, probably drive you crazy)
     
    Or
     
    C.) Everybody else who's ever died (Feels like a horrible public pool type place until you go crazy)
     
    And that just sounds absolutely horrible no matter what way you slice it.
     
    An After life would mean that even death is meaningless, and that there is never a way out. I don't want that, seriously, who would?
     
    That's why I take heart in the fact that once I die, I'm gone. I just don't exist anymore. In a way, it's quite a bit more merciful than an afterlife actually, because it makes my life that much more meaningful and special, rather than it being like some kind of goddamned loading screen for the real thing (AKA an afterlife).
     
    Thank you for your time.
  24. Harmonic Revelations
    Ermehgehrd they're argewing about owlthingalicious. This is the greatest fan art ever. It has finally been completed after over three quintillion years in development and billions of tax payer dollars down the drain for this project.
     

    such tenshun, such beauty.
     
    I capture this in my warks of art.
  25. Harmonic Revelations
    Put this either as your signature or just put it at the top of your About me page if you support the right of the wonderful artists of the community to post whatever they want.
     
    The threats that the artist behind the Molestia blog has been getting are ridiculous and childish on the part of those sending them and I think we should push back. We can't let this censorship stand, it isn't right, it just isn't, and so, we must show the disdain it makes us feel.
     
    The blog is hilarious and nobody is making anybody else read it by force so taking it down is morally wrong and we just can't stand for that kind of thing. We can't allow the death threats the artist keeps getting to continue.
     
     
    There's no better way to do this than to show your support for the free speech in the fandom than with this banner I made, it can double as a signature or as an image you just put at the top of your "About me"
     
    Just leave a comment so I can add you to the list of supporters of free speech.
     
     

     
    And if you're more the gamer Luna type..

     
    Both Images made by yours truly.
     
     
    Molestia/Gamer Luna Supporters Supporters:
     
    Harmonic Revelations
    Dusty Soul
    Snowy Storm
    Scootalove
    Sir Lunashy
    Togetic
    Shoboni
    Psyche Clops
    Nature of Fluttershy
    Discordia
    HandMan
    Yes-Man
    Roman Bellic
    StatestheOblivious
    Friendship_Cannon
    Repsol Rave
    Handsome Jack
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