Questioning the Power of the Dark Crystal

So I finish reading issue 2 (of 12 it says) and already I have a few problems with this series. First up, was this suppose to be a comic version of the sequel movie script? Cause if it is, then I probably would have had issues with the movie then too.

This comes down to a few major story plot problems (apart from, who are most of these people? These races have never been mentioned before). It all comes down to the Crystal and its connections. In this comic, we have some flame girl crack the crystal and on the last page we have the Skeksis and Mystics return. First off (and perhaps I missed it), I don't recall any mention of the Great Conjunction. Why is this important? Well, when it comes to major events, the Great Conjunction was the catalyst for three major events in the lore of the Dark Crystal; the coming of the urSkeks, the splitting of the urSkeks into the Skeksis and the urRu (a.k.a The Mystics) and then the healing of the crystal and the reunification of the Skeksis and urRu back into the urSkeks. This event seems to have nothing in common with the Great Conjunction and much of the mystic and scientific (well, astrology anyway) stuff seems to be missing from this whole thing too. Aughra seems to serve no purpose in this too, other then to predict what is basically happening as it happens, which defeats the purpose of a prediction to begin with.

Second is the actual Crystal and its effect. It brings back the Skeksis and Mystics when it is shattered, but this makes little to no sense. First up, the shattering of the Crystal was never the reason for the splitting of the urSkeks, they used the Great Conjunction and the Crystals power to split themselves and when the Skeksis emerged, they began fighting and the Crystal was shattered as a result. As such, another shattering should not have done this. Not only that, but the urSkeks left the world at the end of the movie, so if they weren't there then how did the Skeksis and Mystics appear. I guess I should wait for future releases to explain this, but I don't see what explanation could be used to justify there return. It feels like bringing things back for the sake of bringing them back instead of expanding or creating something new.

That's the problem with being a fan, you constantly find flaws with new work when it conflicts with established lore. It feels like The Dark Crystal never needed a sequel, but would be better expanded upon with prequel stories instead.

Or maybe I'm just grumpy.

Upload Delays

There will be around close to a week delay for uploads as for some reason the picture quality from my shooting session turned out rather bad and I won't get another chance to do it again till around Tuesday next week and then I won't know when I'll have the chance to edit those shots as study starts again that week (plus medical appointments all day Friday, joy of joys).

Those to be uploaded will be Queen Judith (the necromancer conversion), a Helstorm Rocket Battery and the Lucky Effigy for my Gremlins. As such, my next things to work on will be completing the last two Ronin and Vanessa so I can start uploading the Outcasts, Assassin and Thief Mouslings (from the Bones casting range, probably throw my thoughts into them soon), McTavish and the Gators (It's been a nightmare fixing them so I'm just going to stop trying and just finish the painting and be done with them) and my two Vampires (two years untouched, now finishing them up and naming them after my two OC's to go with the naming theme of my current Undead heroes Nicholas and Judith). I also planned to work on Aionus, but until I can figure out what I can do to fix his base after my original plan failed, I may leave that one on hold.

I expect them to be done around May/June depending on what happens with life (cause life is now a day by day thing for me), but with luck I should get things rolling.

Total War: Warhammer 2 Trailer

So we got the announcement trailer for the latest Total War: Warhammer game and it sounds much like what we were wanting. We know there are Lizardmen, Dark Elves, High Elves (so my Bro will be happy) and a fourth mysterious race, though it's quite clear that it's Skaven (Yes-Yes!).

They have also stated that after release they will implement a combined world map, giving us one hell of a war. So far, it sounds exciting, though many of us are predicting full retail price for this, which sadly means it will be well out of my grasp. Still, will keep my eye on this one.

The Zootopia Lawsuit

Oh boy, talk about taking something great and putting a negative twist on it. As a big fan of Zootopia, I feel I should say something.

In this case I have mixed feelings. On one hand, from what is being accused there may be a case here, but without the original documents that Goldman supposed to have supply them with it is difficult to see the similarities. In regards to the characters, there clearly is enough of a difference to not count in the copyright (I've done research on character copyright in the past, both to do an old post but also for anything I do in the future). The story of it being Goldman's 'An animator creating the story through an animated world' vs Disney's 'It is its own world' is also enough of a distinction to avoid it, but given we have yet to see the documents of Goldman's original story, the finer details mean I can't come to a complete view of it (on a side note in some countries it was called Zootropolis, so if Goldman did claim the name Zootopia, why was it not just called Zootropolis altogether to avoid that part?). Then again, I'm also a person who knows how big business rips people off from experience and am very firm on the stance of creators protecting what is theirs, so a bit split here (though from what I've seen so far, I'm siding with Disney at this point in time). After all, this is a lawsuit over the story as a whole, which is very difficult to prove and given how the legal system and lawyers work, it will be as messy and confusing as all hell (which is entirely the point).

I feel my biggest concern will be how the community will react to this. One of the first arguments I expect to see will be whether or not Goldman's version would have beeen as good as Disney's, particularly since Disney has won two major awards for their Zootopia. This would also lead to another point as to how well Goldman's version would have been vs Disney's over the future of the franchise and how marketable it is or how much it could have made in merchandise (I feel people would have still chosen Disney's over Goldman's as the Rabbit/Fox combo works a lot better compared to Goldman's Squirrel/Hyena one in my opinion). I also suspect we'll get a variety of nasty messages and fan art directed against Goldman and his characters for this and I'd rather avoid that. It would just be a great shame if we undid all the good the movie gave us by acting like beasts ourselves. While I too worry for the future of this franchise (I've made it quite clear in previous posts how much I love Disney's 'Zootopia' world and it's characters), I can only hope this can be resolved quickly and moved on (cause, you know, sequel and all that).

Appologies

So you'll have to forgive me for the lack of uploads as of late. I had planned to spend more time getting some of them done and out of the way, but a situation has occurred over the last few weeks and its been rather nasty. As such, it has put me behind in both working on the projects and on posts. As such, this problem looks like it'll drag out for some time as I need to put together some documentation thanks to some legal advice and it will most likely go back and forth for some time.

As such, I still plan to get some things out over the next few weeks. I'm already well ahead with getting the Helstorm Rocket Battery done, I have already converted up my Necromancer Queen Judith and am slowly working on getting her Bowmen guard done. I am looking at spending some time working on getting a few more Outcast models finished too. Decided to put the Neverborn on hold as I will now most likely purchase bases for them as converting them has proven to be more difficult then I had hoped and I have just given up on it now. We'll see what happens leading into April as to where I am going from here.

This recent event has harmed my mental health badly and it has effected my ability to do much lately. Trying to focus on study has been hard and these miniatures are meant to help me, but the stress is really hindering that. Getting them done and uploaded helps a little, but things are hard. Here's hoping things improve.

A Message to 3D Animators

Simply put, you guys are amazing. In my latest assessment we have to create a 4-5 second 3D character animation and damn is it difficult. While it's easy to just use a few Mixamo animations, I went ahead and tried to do a guy jump stepping off a block onto a fallen pillar to pull out an axe. The problems of doing such an animation using bones is unbelievable, not to mention the fact there are few tutorials on dealing with the issues I've had when it comes to animating bones compared to the usual simple biped design.

It only makes me appreciate the time and effort those who work in the animation industry put in and I feel these people don't get the kind of credit they deserve. I mean, just look at the amazing movies we've had over the last few years, most running around the 90 minute mark. Given the time and effort it's taking to put together a basic (very, very basic) 4-5 sec animation, the amount needed for one of those movies seems beyond comprehension. Yet somehow, these amazing people pull it together with such breath taking results.

I applaud their great work and hope that in the future we can give the recognition that these fantastic people deserve.

Total War: Warhammer - Isabella Bites Back

So finally got around to playing the new Von Carstein faction and I'm actually enjoying it. Playing the new lord Isabella Von Carstein, I finally have a lord character I can get behind. Not only is she a nice melee fighter, but she has a serious focus on bat creatures. Indeed, things like Vargheists, Varghulf and Terrorgheist get some nice boots from her troop buffing charts. Bonus like leadership and melee combat, along with charge bonuses for the flying ones makes them far more effective in combat.

Not only that, but she buffs vampires in her army and should she join her beloved Vlad in combined combat, they both get a buff. Speaking of which, you do get access to Vlad very early in the game, making it easier for you to crush Mannfred and reclaim the vampire lands for your own. From there it goes back to the normal 'vampire campaign', but this time you probably have both Vlad and Isabella up a few levels and with a decent size force. That said, these two are the only legendary lords for this faction, though I would love to see Konrad come in as another dlc character later on.

Admittedly, I'm still no expert with her. Hell, when the old Lord of End Times himself came along with his pet Greater Daemon and their armies, Vlad and Isabella still could not stop such a force (though they did do quite a bit of damage). Still was able to finish Chaos off quickly as I still had two armies (though not as high a level or the best of troops) nearby to remove those remaining forces.

Her chalice quests aren't too hard, though I admit I was not prepared for the first combat scenario versing Beastmen. Minotaur groups got the best of me the first time around, too many bats was what my problem was.

Overall, Isabella is probably my favourite character so far in this game (Skarsnik is second, that sneaky little git) and it certainly has renewed my interest in this game. Also wants me to run my two Vamp characters in AoS in the same way as Vlad and Isabella, probably the most romantic couple in the Warhammer universe.