text:
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread
Welcome to the May/June 2014 SRB2 Official Level Design Contest voting topic!
To vote, play a few games of each stage in a division and create a list of all the maps in the division, arranging them from best to worst with no ties. If you are voting on a division that includes your own entry, you should list your own map as the best regardless of your opinion on the quality of your own map. Although it's not required for votes to count, it's very helpful to make comments about what you liked and didn't like about the map, so the author can improve for future attempts. Please separate your comments from your votes, though, to make it easier for us to tally the scores at the end.
Voting will end July 15, 2014 at 7 PM local time in the Eastern time zone of the United States. Like the entry deadline, this counts the United States's daylight savings time between March and November. Votes submitted after this time will not be counted in the tally, so if you want to be counted, don't vote at the last minute.
After the voting period ends, the votes will be tallied. For each vote, the map they ranked first gets n-1 points, second place gets n-2 points, third gets n-3, all the way down to n-n (zero) points for last, where n is the number of maps in the division. Each map's points are added together to create that map's final score, and the map with the highest score wins the division. Should there be a tie, the votes are calculated again with only the tied maps included. If this still fails to break the tie, the tie stands and both maps are winners.
The entries are as follows:
Single Player
Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'" - 176 points - 6th
Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX - 180 points - 5th
Glacier Gear Zone by toaster - 376 points - 2nd
Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac - 345 points - 3rd
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber - 65 points - 9th
Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother - 124 points - 7th
Sand Valley Zone by Chrome - 334 points - 4th
Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic - 100 points - 8th
Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic - 424 points - 1st
Crystal Coast Zone by Steel Titanium - 0 points - 3rd
Moonlit Precipice Zone by Knux576 - 31 points - 2nd
Climate Chaos Zone by EvilEnternity3000 - 32 points - 1st
Capture the Flag
Old Sport Zone Act 1922: New Money vs Old Money by Jellybones and Eblo - 40 points - 4th
Quicksand Caverns Zone by RedEnchilada - 48 points - 3rd
Forbidden Woods Zone by the cyan - 67 points - 1st
Wtf? Ctf by Root and CyanFox - 4 points - 5th
Techno Laser 4 by CoatRack - 61 points - 2nd
Last edited by Mystic; 07-16-2014 at 01:03 AM. Reason: Adding results
footure semen
Single Player
Glacier Gear Zone by toaster
Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac
Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic
Sand Valley Zone by Chrome
Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother
Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX
Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'"
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber
Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic
i see somebody finally took the wiki's suggestion of blending jungle and electricity
Last edited by Scizor300; 07-01-2014 at 07:09 AM.
Is anyone else having problems with the first single player zip?
It won't let me paste the files into my SRB2 folder.
The Daily Browser
ms reflec beat stan
I haven't had any problems with the SP archives. I opened them in Explorer and all of the ZIPs worked fine.
Anyway, VOTING TIME (I'll get to Match later)
Clock Towers Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac
Glacier Gear Zone by toaster
Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX
Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic
Sand Valley Zone by Chrome
Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'"
Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber
Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic
Spoiler: opinions
Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'" - B-
I don't understand the complaints about the extra ring monitor flavors and other changes to gameplay mechanics. The speed bar is a bit silly for a standalone level, but this looks like it's intended as part of a level pack, in which case they work well to give some variety to the gameplay.
It definitely has that "first level of a level pack" vibe. There's plenty of stuff to explore, which is pretty nice, and ultimately the level does what it sets out to do. I like that. A level of this type naturally won't be able to compete with some of the other maps in this contest, and my letter ranking is biased toward that, but I can't really come up with any flaws! Good jorb.
Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX - B+
It's pretty nice! I liked how the button hunt wasn't obnoxious. The aesthetics and the flaming arrow Robo Hoods were also pretty cool. Trapgoyles were used decently but not as well as they could have been.
There are too many jumps that Sonic can only barely make, though. Silent teleports are a cheap way to connect level sections together; please remove them and actually stitch the level together. The boss at the end was silly, even if the arena was well-designed otherwise.
Glacier Gear Zone by toaster - A
Actually amazing. When I tested the map before it had issues, but they've all been fixed for the contest. The only issue is the penguins being pretty bad, but otherwise I love this. The secret was amazing, too. I hesitate to only write what amounts to two lines in Notepad, but consider it a testament to how much I love this level I guess? It's really good.
Clock Towers mystic pls fix Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac - popeye
First things first, I apologize for some of the technical limitations players might run into during this level. Namely forcing the use of strafe keys. I explain why that is elsewhere in the topic, but for the cliffnotes here, suffice it to say Lua doesn't have the capabilities we needed to make movement with the turn keys happen. (That said, you people really should be using WASD+Mouse controls by default. Seriously. Arrow key turning is a horrible way to play SRB2 in general.)
Second things second, if it wasn't painfully obvious by the generally plain gameplay, this level was really designed more as an Axis2D showcase than anything else. I still tried to make a good level, of course - I'm not that dumb - but the general lack of gimmicks was... I'm not going to say it was intentional, but it was just a side effect of focusing on showing off my fancy script.
That said, I'm glad that the votes so far haven't been thrown off by the script, and that people have judged the level on its own merits and shortcomings instead. It's definitely not the best in the contest, but I'm proud of myself for getting a complete level done in a two-month period and having it not be a total pile of ass! I hope it at least does its job as a good demonstration of the script, and that people see this and are inspired to make their own. If people look back at this level and say "it wasn't terrible, but if it wasn't showing off a script it wouldn't be notable at all", I've accomplished my goal.
As for the collab, Pac's work was mostly in the skybox layout and in working on the script. (And moral support! I probably would've quit halfway through if we hadn't decided to make it a collab.) The work load is probably something like a 75-25 split, but I still really appreciate having someone to bounce ideas off of. I also wanna shout out everyone who played the alphas and betas on IRC!
That's a lot of text, so I'll make it up by posting some super-secret EMBLEM GUIDES as GIFs. Click through to each for the methods of acquisition of each emblem, as well as tips for record attacks if anyone actually cares enough to do those!
Spoiler: emblem hints
Go from a life box straight to the dorm room.
Above Robo-Hood does this emblem loom.
Use Facestabber to glide,
Jump from the windows' side,
And then soar past the exit to your doom.
Score Attack
There's an Armageddon Shield in the lower path after the first starpost. It's on the left side of the building after the spring, up high. You can just reach it with a spindash from the S platform as Sonic! Use it right there to get a bunch of points. Then just go for point boxes and ring attack.
Time Attack/Lightning Emblem
Top path at the first split, get the speed shoes. Bottom path at the second split (if done well, it's slightly faster than the top split). Grab the Whirlwind Shield, use it to skip most of the second-to-third starpost section, and get a few extra jumps. Enter PLAYDEMO DEVTIME in the console to see my best time!
Ring Attack/Perfect Bonus Emblem
Above the building to your left at the start are 24 rings. Otherwise, there aren't any hidden rings. It's theoretically possible to get a perfect bonus as Sonic if you're really really good at the game! I wanted to actually do it and stick the replay in the WAD, but I kept losing runs in stupid places because I'm bad.
On a last note, re: chains, it's kind of awkward but I considered it a worthwhile tradeoff to allow the player to correct not holding the jump button when they bounce on a spring without accidentally thokking into some hazard. It's probably not the best solution, though. (Maybe I should have considered the up and down keys for increasing bounce height? :x)
I do appreciate all of the comments, by the way. In the few hours the contest files have been up I've learned a valuable lesson not to ignore the little voice in my head telling me that something needs changed. (Some of the things that have been brought up occured to me during development, but I considered them minor issues and let them slide. Whoops?)
Also, for those who have been asking about the music, it's this track! I made it loop to a later point in the song than the MP3 does, though, since I didn't consider going back to the buildup very good for the level.
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber - C
I'm about to get lambasted by the rest of the community for saying this, but I enjoyed this level! Now, I'm not going to defend it as a good level, because objectively it's a pretty mediocre level, but I have a soft spot for simple, easy maps that just give you some level geometry to explore (whether or not there's even anything waiting - finding a neat perch to reach is fun!). I even went and got all the emblems. Including a "beta" was a stupid thing to do, though.
That said, I unfortunately can't really give any helpful criticism. The mediocrity of the level doesn't stem from anything being done wrong, but rather the lack of anything notable being done; it's a level with GFZ-tier difficulty and GFZ-tier plainness, but it's not quite as well-made. You've done exploration and such well, but for the level to be good there needs to be something captivating about the gameplay itself.
Also, please don't use fake stair-slopes for no good reason. Slope physics could probably be done in a pretty fun way if they used Lua to integrate actual physics that were then used for the level design, but weirdo conveyors just feel cheap.
Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother - C+
This has a very "first level" feel. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way! The level's perfectly spacious, there aren't any amateur mistakes like undeafed rings, and it's layed out well. It's just not cohesive - we go from cliffside to castle to caves to ruins and back again in the span of a single level, and a couple of those themes don't really work together. If the castle was replaced and the ruins retextured to not be DSZ textures, it'd really help the cohesiveness of the level.
Overall, as easy as it was, the level design was pretty nice too. The 2D section was cute, even (I liked how even blindly thokking through the first section never put me at risk of a cheap death, even if it looked like it would), and I liked the one cave room with the currents pushing you off of your platform, though maybe the death pit in there should be replaced. The arrow signs should definitely go, and I don't think anything needs to be done to replace them; the level design and ring placement do a good job of pointing the way anyway. That said, there are problems with empty space in certain places, so work on trimming or filling those bits in, and sometimes the direction is a bit confusing; at the start if you take the left path, it's easy to get turned around, and taking the right path at the waterslide section leads to a room with a slightly confusing exit (I died a couple of times looking for the right place to go).
Lastly, the level needs a gimmick to make it stand out. The currents are touched on, but aren't played with enough to feel like a central gimmick; consider expanding on the use of these.
Sand Valley Zone by Chrome - B-? B? idk really
This is a very polarizing level to me. While it does a lot of good things, it also does a lot of bad things. The overall result is still pretty good, but it's not very good. So let's start with the good:
I really like your attention to giving Knuckles something special to do. His path is highly interesting (putting the one in Clock Towers to shame, certainly!) and while it still suffers from many of the same flaws as the rest of the level, it's certainly a highlight. I like the concept of the spindash-raising blocks, even if they really need some explanation. (I wouldn't have known how to use them except for the GIF you posted right before the deadline.) Once I figured out how to operate the light quicksand, it was a pretty fun gimmick.
The light quicksand is difficult to operate. I feel like most of this is SRB2's fault so I'm not going to be too harsh about it, but putting difficult jumps over death pits with a glitchy mechanic is generally not the best of ideas. The dark quicksand as a whole should go; it's annoying and I've had multiple times where I jumped in a dark sand fall and could do nothing but inch slowly forward as I asphixiated to death. I'd actually prefer a damaging hazard in most of the places where it's used.
Fuck every single one of those detons. They work best in rooms where avoiding them is the point, not as surprise hazards that discourage exploration. Also, while most of the BASH placement was fine, there were some, mostly in the tunnels, that felt like they just flew at you for free points. My final issue is that crumbling platforms get used in some really infuriating ways. The big thing sticking out to me was one room where the player was expected to ignore the wide-open area to their right, make a 135-degree turn left from crumbling platform over a death pit to a few more, and dodge those damn dark sandfalls all the while. That left a bad impression.
Aesthetically, the level suffered from being a bit monotone and 1.09ish, but still looked good in spite of those qualities. The non-damaging glowing lava-rock-stuff at the beginning was weird, though. I'm guessing that's a transition from a prior level in a pack?
Also, use the Intangible to the Camera sector special on some of your FOFs. Especially the weird-ass crushing planks. There's nothing worse than the camera being stuck fifty feet away while I'm trying to keep from getting crushed.
Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic - D+
What is it with you people and shitty Deton placement? I swear it'd be nice to be able to see or hear them coming before taking an undeserved hit. Otherwise, every cool thing here is offset by bad execution. The dark cave was nice to look at at first, but once you started adding platforming and a confusing layout it became miserable. I liked the triggers that actually did something, but the one that crumbled the ceiling of the cave sent me into less than a frame per second. The wide area with the swinging chains is nice, but turning on lasers when a button is pressed was pretty dumb and the laser jumping challenge afterward hurt my eyes.
The level also has a badly-applied hybrid theme. Jungle/factory can work, but not by putting glass in the middle of a cave. Work on that a bit. The swinging chains are a bit out of place thematically, but they work well where they're used, so I can forgive it. The design as a whole has a weird habit of switching between fairly nice setpiece rooms and zero-effort hallways. Work on that a bit more.
P.S. float your rings and use a better music slot. Tunes 24 doesn't work for the jungle bits and I actually switched it to 6 on my first playthrough.
Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic - B+
Your graphic work is absolutely beautiful. I want to devour you and metamorphose into a good visual designer using your nutrients.
With that out of the way, I wanna talk about what I didn't like. The first room has a serious issue with frame lag, which makes a terrible first impression. I'm also not a fan of the vertical ascent leading to having to redo most of the room if you fall off, but it's short so it's not so bad. The next big outdoor room also has framerate issues to a lesser extent. I love the gust tube gimmick, but other gimmicks in the levels tend to be hit-and-miss; the spindash platforms in particular suffer the same issue as Sand Valley where they aren't obvious unless you know what to do beforehand.
I do wish there was a bit more challenge than the occasional spike. Some simple enemies would have been great to see. In general the level suffers from being a bit overfocused on visuals, and some rooms are rather devoid of gameplay. There's also that one confusing path merge with the gust tube room that hasn't really been fixed at all; it should probably be replaced.
Quicksand Caverns Zone by RedEnchilada
Forbidden Woods Zone by the cyan
Techno Laser 4 by CoatRack
Old Sport Zone Act 1922: New Money vs Old Money by Jellybones and Eblo
Wtf? Ctf by Root and CyanFox
Spoiler: opinions
Old Sport Zone Act 1922: New Money vs Old Money by Jellybones and Eblo - D
It's really large. Like, probably about three times as big as it should have been. And the opposite team rings in the bases is bad for gameplay, even if I still remember the nonsensical analogy you tried to make out of it when we tested it forever ago. That said, if those were fixed this would be a... passable map? Not great, but not bad either.
Quicksand Caverns Zone by RedEnchilada - butt
The layout is a bit confusing, and I apologize for that. I found out in our big OLDC netgame that the space countdown noise is played to other players and gives away your position, which is fantastic for thwarting sneak attacks to the attentive player and I wish I'd known that sooner so I could design more of the map around it.
Forbidden Woods Zone by the cyan - B
I quite enjoyed this map! It wasn't knock-out amazing, but it was pretty good, probably a pretty good competitor to mine! The only thing I didn't like is those FUCKING SPRINGS TO THE FLAG STAND. They're terrible and I got caught up by those ledges way too often.
Wtf? Ctf by Root and CyanFox - F
I got a chuckle out of the pancakes vs waffles thing, and I had a damn good chuckle when I got a nuke (as the Mumble group can attest to), but the map itself is just terrible. Asymmetry isn't necessarily bad, but I only saw an infinity ring on one side, which is pretty bad. The map is also pathetically small, to the point where a spin-jump can take you straight from one base to the other. The map itself is also really ugly, as a side note.
Techno Laser 4 by CoatRack - C
The layout is really obtuse and takes a long time to figure out where to go, which is just a given in large maps, but even once you figure it out it's very hard to navigate. It's not terrible otherwise, and it's very nice-looking, but it wasn't a ton of fun. We also had someone get stuck in the normal level as small, but I think he just got lost.
Last edited by fickleheart; 07-07-2014 at 06:52 PM. Reason: SINGRE PRAYER
STJr Team Representative
The following is my slightly edited stream-of-consciousness comments on the single player maps, in order from best to worst, including ratings out of 10:
Spoiler: Rantings on SP maps
Seraphic Skylands - 9/10
I love everything about this map, except for its lack of enemies. Also, some of the waterfalls here could do with currents. Props for using my favorite grass textures, though. Graphically superior in general. A map worthy of vanilla SRB2. Please make more SP maps so I can love you even more.
Clock Towers - 8/10
A good demonstration of the new Axis2D thingamajig (Though the script itself definitely needs work). Great graphics. Interesting secrets. Pretty easy to miss that last jump, though, and I'm not sure how I feel about the music choice. I was impressed that you included a demo. Nice title screen, by the way, it was...unexpected, to say the least.
Glacier Gear - 7/10
Nice title screen. Good music choice. Badniks seem a bit too harsh. Great gimmicks. Nice skybox. Love the earthquake effect. Great texture choices. Waterfall/stalagmite area should have slightly less frequent waterfalls, IMO. I got too frustrated and noclipped past it. Nice use of goo. 2D section was unexpected. I greatly appreciated that crusher button :P . Great scenery. Good overall, but those laser penguins get really frustrating really fast.
Floral Road 1 - 7/10
Nice music choice -- I'm partial to Door Into Summer. Cool sky. I like what you did to the red Crawlas, though I certainly wasn't expecting it. Interesting speed buff mechanic. A bit too easy to go in circles. Texture alignment issues. Nice scenery additions. Doesn't do anything particularly interesting, however.
Emerald Lake 2 - 7/10
I have to call you out for using an OGG version of that music instead of a VGM. You could've saved a lot of file size that way. Nice colormaps. I disapprove of the use of Jet Jaws here, mostly because they tend to blend in with the textures. You're missing a few grass borders here and there. Why are some of the triangle textures so pixellated? Flat alignment issues here and there. Why the fence at the end? Average gameplay overall. You must have hidden those emblems well, since I didn't find any on my first playthrough.
Sand Valley - 6/10
Nice scenery. Interesting music choice. Flat alignment issues. What is wrong with this space countdown quicksand? The quicksand in general feels too slippery for quicksand. Cool new textures. Good secrets. Texture alignment issues. Too many death pits. Too many Detons -- they seem to discourage exploration in the areas they dwell in, which is the last thing you want in a Sonic game. I liked the part where you jump in the sand-fall in order to go upwards. Why do a bunch of floors crumble beneath sonic's feet? They should be more obvious. Some areas have too much brown and not enough of other colors. Not great overall.
Midnight Caves - 6/10
Looks pretty. Reminds me of Mystic Realm a bit. Why are there teleports here? I liked the emerald token location. Way to hide stuff behind the exit :P . Too short and doesn't try anything interesting.
Sacred Woodland - 5/10
An overall strange level. Doesn't fit the mood of SRB2. The small button hunt is forgivable, but teleports and a Brak fight in the middle of a forest? Not so much. Also, texture alignment issues. Seems lacking in inspiration, really.
Egg Outposts - 4/10
The music doesn't really fit. Multiple texture alignment issues. Weird textures in general. The scenery isn't anything special, despite looking like some effort was put into it. Not a fan of all the collapsing floors. Needs more springs overall to help players get where they need to go without having to look for them. The hall with the crystals was cool, but much too dark. I quit playing after noclipping around there for a bit attempting to find the way out. I've been told there's a route near there that takes you to the finish, but the fact that I didn't find it the first time should tell you something.
FM synths forever.
My stuff: SeventhSentinel#4892 on Discord / Twitter / Primary YouTube / Secondary YouTube / SoundCloud / Twitch
Follow STJr on social media: YouTube / Twitter / Facebook
Follow Kart Krew on social media: YouTube / Twitter / Facebook
Chat on Discord: SRB2 / Kart Krew
Last edited by SeventhSentinel; 07-01-2014 at 02:40 AM.
I just tried downloading the zip again in IE and it worked fine, so I don't know what could have been the problem.
I'll edit this post with my SP votes once I finish playing the maps.
Emblem Radar Ready
half my motobugs are broken? how? All of them were working during my multiple tests.
Prismatic for real, now
Dammit Red, you broke the controls in Clock Towers again. I can't use my left and right keys like in a previous version so I was forced to use my strafe keys.
My YouTube
MOTHER 3 Dutch
Single Player (EDIT:Rerated Sand Valley):
Seraphic Skylands 10/10
seraphic skylands for vanilla please
Glacier Gear 9/10
Awesome level (from what i played) . But it was hard to find my way around (i went to an area thinking i was supposed to go there, but it turned out it was the end of a different path. I didn't beat it because the multiplayer pack came out and i wanted to be in servers soon as possible.
Clock Tower 8/10
Good level, and 2DAxis is awesome. It was a bit hard though, and WHY THE FUCK DO YOU USE STRAFE TO MOVE?!
Floral Road 8/10
I really like this level. But, it was sort of hard to find my way around. Also i like the gauge mechanic.
Sand Valley 7/10
Ok, after being called an idiot by Speedwagon The Douche, i decided to replay the level, and i realized its not actually that bad. I actually like the quicksand mechanic, also the scenery looks good. It is a bit hard though.
Emerald Lake Act 2 5/10
Ok level, but it looked cramped, and that emerald token was so easy to find i actually found it while looking for where i was supposed to go.
Midnight Caves 5/10
Also an ok level, but again, found emerald token while looking for the exit.
Sacred Woodland 4/10
I had no idea where i was supposed to be going. Eventually i got past an area, and then i quit. Looks good though.
Egg Outposts 3/10
The level is cramped, it looks like you exchanged actual quality for thing scenery, that cave looks cool but was so dark I HAD TO SWITCH TO FULL BRIGHTNESS TO SEE IT. Also, that cutscene lagged my SRB2, and then i got crushed by a random crusher that came from nowhere...AND GOT SENT BACK TO THE START? WTF?!
Last edited by Root; 07-01-2014 at 04:08 AM. Reason: Fixing a rating.
ms reflec beat stan
You can at least turn analog on and use the turn keys to move if you don't mind Knuckles' gliding being a bit buggy.
Emblem Radar Ready
There are 4 total tokens, 2 in regular ELZ, and 2 in Beta
How to access Beta will be revealed soon.
My work is never done yet
Single Player
Glacier Gear > Seraphic Skylands > Sand Valley > Clock Tower > Midnight Caves > Sacred Woodland > Floral Road 1 > Emerald Lake 2 > Egg Outposts
Floral Road Zone Act 1: 6.5/10. Not a bad introductory level, but it's a little too wide-open and devoid of interesting stage gimmicks. Also, why is that level-up system of yours here?
Sacred Woodland: 7/10. I like the atmosphere of this level, but the frequent teleports are kind of irritating, making this feel less like a coherent environment and more like a series of challenge rooms. The spikeballs in that one section with the flame gargoyles are also a bit hard to see and okay I'm fighting Brak Eggman now.
Glacier Gear Zone: 8.75/10. Besides some occasional obnoxious placement of those owl badniks, I can't think of any major issues I have with this level. The visuals are nicely detailed, the upper/lower path areas are well-implemented, and the bouncy blue walls make for a neat gimmick. There was one area of the 2D section where the slime was an unusually dark shade of purple, though, which led me to mistake it for 2.0 damaging slime. I also think a little more should be done to indicate that those blue lasers trigger traps rather than hurt you.
Clock Tower Zone: 7.75/10. The Lua work here is very impressive, as I'm sure everyone is going to say, and quite honestly I have no idea how half of this stuff was even programmed. However, I am judging the level itself, not the code behind it, so I have to deduct a few points because of its numerous insignificant problems that ended up making my playthrough significantly less fun. The most notable of these is the fact that the strafe keys are the only way to run left and right, so I had to reconfigure my controls just to move comfortably. In addition, the bouncy chains don't always play their sound effect correctly, Sonic's thok is way too powerful for a 2D level, most of the Egg Guards are obnoxiously placed, and the semicircular ramps that transition you to a different depth have an annoying tendency to stop you dead in your tracks if you don't switch which direction you're pressing at exactly the right moment.
Emerald Lake Zone Act 2: 6/10. Like Floral Road 1, it's fine in terms of gameplay for a grassy introductory stage. Those moving chunks of land bob up and down far too slowly, though, and I wound up having to play through the most tedious section of the level three times because I misjudged their timing and fell. Aesthetically, it could use some work, but swap out the music for something with a few more bits and that repetitive cave texture for something less... repetitive... and it'll barely be an issue. Cut back on the underwater grass while you're at it - that just looks strange most of the time.
Midnight Caves Zone: 7.5/10. For a level called Midnight Caves, there weren't a whole lot of underground areas - it seemed like equal parts grassy cliffs, castle, and cave to me, but maybe that's just because of the paths I took. My main complaints with this one are aesthetic - the F_SKY1 death pits are a bit strange-looking, the level geometry in the cave 2D section is unnaturally rectangular, and the arrow signs don't blend in very well with their surroundings. A gimmick or two might also be nice, but good job overall.
Sand Valley Zone: 8/10. Good visuals, good gimmicks, good difficulty progression. It's a little hard to distinguish between Space Countdown sand and the regular variety, though, but it didn't take me that long to catch on. There's a bit of sand sector lighting weirdness, but without it it'd probably be even harder to tell the sand types apart, so I can forgive it. One of the checkpoints seems to spawn in the air and fall down to its proper position, there's one hallway where the player isn't slowed down sufficiently before the deadly hazards appear, and it'd be nice if there were some indication that the player needs to spin to activate those lifts, but those are all relatively minor issues in a generally well-designed level. (Speaking of the spin-activated lifts, you should probably implement a feature where they raise automatically for non-spinning characters, but maybe you've already thought of that.)
Egg Outposts Zone: 5.75/10. If I had to name one major problem with this level, it'd probably be that there isn't much to do but run forward and jump for the first half or so before you reach the cave area. As for the less serious complaints I have, there's a lot of them, so here we go: The cave is too dark and easy to get lost in, the mushroom platforms don't bounce you high enough, the Detons are too hard to dodge, the music is unfitting, the name is only descriptive of a small part of the level, some of the rings don't float, the glass tunnel near the beginning doesn't look great, and the difficulty progresses from easy to irritating far too abruptly.
Seraphic Skylands Zone: 8.25/10. The visuals are impressive, and the scrolling clouds skybox is a nice touch, but the opening room was detailed enough to lag the game a bit for me. Like Egg Outposts' first half, there isn't a lot of the player to do in the absence of those wind currents, although maybe that's kind of fitting considering that this seems to be more focused on scenery than action. Also, it appears that one (and only one, from what I saw) of the spin lifts from Sand Valley found its way in here, and I doubt I'd have figured out how to use it if I hadn't played that level first.
EDIT: Nevermind, there were in fact multiple spin lifts. They still seem kind of pointless, though. It also appears that one of your spike FOFs has its ceiling set too high:
Also, a message to all of you because I'm too lazy to check which particular maps had this problem: Please check your MAINCFG for errors before packaging your level up and submitting it to the contest. It's really not that hard to notice those yellow WARNING lines in the console.
Last edited by 742mph; 07-01-2014 at 03:36 PM.
Single Player
Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic
I already spent some time talking to you about the beta, but I think this is an extremely high quality map and love it to death. The stage actively encourages exploration and the stage visuals are quite nice. The problems start arising because the stage visuals are TOO nice, generating some significant framerate drop, even all the way down at 640x400. The stage desperately needs some optimization, probably including the removal of some of the scenery and the reduction in some of the room sizes in order to get the level back up to a reasonable framerate. The fact that I'm voting it all the way at the top of the list really shows how good the level is otherwise. Just need that framerate fixed for a truly epic stage.
Glacier Gear Zone by toaster
This level was a complete surprise to me, and I quite loved it. While those penguins are a tad bit TOO mean in places, the whole stage is really well put together and filled with some gimmicks that work out great. I really liked the wall bounce gimmick in general and wished you did more with it. I especially loved the 2D section combining the slime and bouncy walls to do some awesome platforming. Some of the texture use could use a bit of cleaning up, but otherwise the level also looks quite good, combining two very different themes to good effect.
Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac
First off, this is an amazing technical accomplishment and you deserve massive props for the scripts involved here. The actual stage itself, however, has a lot of problems that prevent it from being all that it can be. In particular, the places where you reverse direction going around a corner are awful to control, especially the one with the off-center camera area right afterwards. There's also the terrible path merge right near the end where you have to actively reverse direction after seeing a blinking star post. Other than the main level gimmick, your usage of enemies is often rage-inducing, and the Robo Hood are incredibly irritating basically everywhere they're used. If you must have a projectile-firing enemy, slow the projectile speed to make it work better in 2D mode. Obviously I'm saying a lot of words, but ranking it third, so I do still really like it. Just completely redo that damn enemy layout.
Sand Valley Zone by Chrome
There's nothing wrong with this stage from a technical standpoint, but I really do not enjoy the quicksand gimmick, and REALLY hate the "fast" quicksand. I found myself just mashing jump through tons of quicksand falls and being irritated extensively with it and not having fun. The stage would work a LOT better if none of the quicksand was fast sinking and none of it was particularly wide so you don't get stuck in it. Other than hating the quicksand, the Deton usage is just incredibly rage-inducing. I probably got hit with every single one in the stage in my attempts to explore, and being punished for trying to see what's in the other direction isn't fun. I like the actual platforming involved in the stage, but for me, the gimmicks just don't work out.
Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother
This stage is probably the definition of average. No significant gimmicks to speak of; nothing unique or cool, but nothing objectionable. At this point I'd say you've mastered the basic art of level design and should try moving on to adding gimmicks and a unified theme to your stages instead of a mishmash of basic rooms and platforming.
Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'"
This stage is also average, but has weird Lua mechanics that serve no purpose to the stage design. Being suddenly faster for no reason provides no benefit to the stage design, and throws off my ability to control as I've long-since put Sonic stats into muscle memory. You also have weird ring boxes of varying values for no discernible reason, and they don't spin properly.
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber
Not wasting my time since you never listen anyways.
Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX
I kept expecting Skulltulas or something to jump out at me, but nothing happened. "Nothing happened" basically sums up all the problems with this map, as there's basically nothing involved in any of the rooms. Also, invisible walls, extremely prominent in the boss room, are a VERY bad idea. I'd take a look at Midnight Caves and Floral Road to look at how decent beginner maps work, and see how they differ from your map.
Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic
It's really obvious that a lot of work went into this map, and several of the gimmicks are actually really neat, with a dark room lit by crystals that you destroy the roof of, waterslide secret passages, and a really neat area with lasers in grassy platforming. The problem comes with the production values, which are sloppy at best, with random looking sectors and rings that aren't even deafed. There's no flow to the stage, making it basically impossible as a player to figure out where you're supposed to go. When I took the dark route I ended up coming back out to the factory with no clear way to open the door. When the route is clear, it's often very frustrating, such as the room where you have to climb really high and bounce off mushrooms. That room is really neat but falling wastes over half a minute, which is really irritating. Players should never have to repeat the same sections over and over and over again when they've already mastered that section but not the section after that.
Seeing as this is my first OLDC I've ever participated in as for voting, I was extremely excited for this. I only have my Single Player reviews and results and I've yet to actually play the Multiplayer Division but whenever I do, I'll just post something that redirects to this very post. So here we go!
Single Player Division
Spoiler: Reviews
Floral Road Zone Act 1 by "Lat'"
Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX
Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac
Glacier Gear Zone by toaster
Emerald Lake Zone Act 2 by glaber
Sand Valley Zone by Chrome
Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic
Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother
Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic
Spoiler: Single Player Division as of 7/3/14
1st. Seraphic Skylands Zone
2nd. Clock Towers Zone
3rd. Glacier Gear Zone
4th. Sand Valley Zone
5th. Sacred Woodland Zone
6th. Floral Road Zone
7th. Midnight Caves Zone
8th. Emerald Lake Zone
9th. Egg Outposts Zone
Spoiler: Multiplayer Division as of 7/9/14
1st. Moonlit Precipice Zone
2nd. Climate Chaos Zone
3rd. Crystal Coast Zone
1st. Techno Laser Act 4
2nd. Old Sport Zone Act 1922
3rd. Quicksand Caverns Zone
4th. Forbidden Woods Zone
5th. Wtf? CTF
Avatar art done by TehRealSalt
Last edited by Larz T; 07-09-2014 at 10:12 AM. Reason: Added Multiplayer Votes.
Lawful Neutral
Sand Valley Zone by Chrome
Glacier Gear Zone by toaster
Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic
Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX
Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac
Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'"
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber
Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother
Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic
Moonlit Precipice Zone by Knux576
Climate Chaos Zone by EvilEternity3000
Crystal Coast Zone by Steel Titanium
Old Sport Zone Act 1922: New Money vs Old Money by Jellybones and Eblo
Forbidden Woods Zone by the cyan
Techno Laser 4 by CoatRack
Quicksand Caverns Zone by RedEnchilada
Wtf? Ctf by Root and CyanFox
single player reviews:
Sand Valley Zone by Chrome
I loved this level. For one, since I know it will be mentioned- I don't think the camera, detons, or quick sand on the ground was a big deal. It didn't impede upon my enjoyment all that much. I liked the challenge presented a lot, and the scenery was great too. It isn't often you get a decent level with this theme, or unique gimmicks like the sand falls. My only real gripe was the platforms that required spinning. No way of knowing they did that. I only knew because I saw the gif you posted in the other thread. Otherwise..?
Glacier Gear Zone by toaster
Scenery is great here and so is the challenge. I thought the penguin enemies were super annoying, since the fire reaches across an entire room just to get to you. I enjoyed the unique gimmicks like the electricity in the slime and water, and the unique ice/base theme.
Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic
This was an alright map. Beyond the visuals I didn't feel like there was a whole lot to it, it was more about the experience and sight seeing rather than any gameplay. Still, what there was to see was gorgeous. The skybox looked great and you had fantastic use of scenery, even if it caused some lag.
Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX
You shouldn't use so much music for such short sections. The scenery was nice enough, and gameplay was there but really minimal. All in all, the most amount of time was spent in the boss fight, and that's not really what you want, is it? To add to that, the invisible barrier was annoying. If you want to block out the player at you could have put a wooden fence there. Brak Eggman is clearly suited to a simpler type of map, so he was just sort of a push over in an area that was really non-threatening without death pits and had as much cover as it did.
Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac
Seriously? At least post something brief about how regular moving doesn't work. It's sort of silly that it's the only way but I understand that SRB2 can be buggy and everything. Still, it seriously impeded upon my first impression because I thought this was a joke level disguised as a serious one- one where you could only jump and thok. That's not the case now, but it's still annoying to move with strafe. As for things I actually liked, the theme is pretty unique and there's challenge here that actually forces you to move along rather quickly, thanks to robo hoods. The turning is also novel.
Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'"
Really average. There wasn't a lot to say about it. The speed mechanic was interesting in itself but not used to great effect- it just made me zoom past large sections of your level or made me slip and fall and have to climb my way back up. However, it did make me want to keep my rings, and I was intrigued before I figured out what it was. It's not particularly standout, but it's solid enough.
Emerald Lake Zone, Act 2 by glaber
Honestly, there's not much to say about it. I don't even remember it well. Just sort of a normal, okay map. Your Jet Moto bugs worked fine for me however, and I did like them. The music also might have brought back a few memories of 3D Blast, blissful ones of enjoying the game before I realized it was ass.
Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother
Fine enough, but it wasn't very interesting and I got lost a good bit. It was just running straight through and getting lost. Also, why have a spring going straight to an emerald? I thought that was the main path, emeralds are supposed to be in hidden areas as rewards for exploration. And in the context of being in an OLDC where we're just testing out your map, its inclusion is pretty pointless especially where it is.
Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic
This map went from okay to bad. Everything was fine, but then you introduced that cave area- it's completely dark. Visually it's kind of nice, but in practice it's a bitch hitting my toe on every wall and crystal in the dark, going in circles because where am I going. In the outdoor area, it's annoying have to fall from those chains or high up places instead of dying. It must have happened to me three or so times. Wasting time is more annoying than losing a life.
I'd really like to say a few things about Old Sport Zone.
I wanted it to be all about symbolism, just like the novel. The sheer size of the map represents the seemingly infinite distance from the green light to Gatsby. The whirlwhind monitor on the ceiling represents how Daisy has turned both the lives of Gatsby and Tom upside down, and how the order in their lives were swept away, as if by a whirlwhind. The opposite team rings in the base are a metaphor for the cheating that went on- in both the house of Gatsby and Tom, and how it entangled their lives. The abnormally large body outline is a subtle way of mentioning how big of an impact Myrtle's death had on George, and how big Gatbsy's plans for the future with Daisy were. If you have any questions about the map, ask away. I assure you not a fracunit went unmade without some sort of intense philosophy behind it.
Last edited by Jellybones; 07-15-2014 at 03:03 AM. Reason: added in votes for mp division, arranged sp division votes to be more easily read. and didn't forget midnight caves
Avatar art done by TehRealSalt
Emblem Radar Ready
level rank post
1 Emerald Lake act 2
I have to say this level could have been worse if it wasn't for Charib convincing me to scrap the old level and start again. Unbfortunatly I couldn't get much feedback from him when I needed a tester.
anyway I said I'd reveal how to access the Beta version, to do this complete the level once, don't exit, when you start the level again, turn right and you'll see an out of place ring, head towards it and the wall behind it will open, enter the new cave and you'll be in Emerald Lake act 2 beta on the exact same map.
This works by use of line def actions 318 and 445, plus teleportation
The fish that don't move are actually from the base game under the Botanic Serenity category, so them not moving is not my fault.
2 Clock Tower Zone by RedEnchilada and Pac
I thought this level was one of the most creative. it made 2d mode much more dynamic, but there were a few spots that there were a bit of a problem and I had to switch directions while in motion.
3 Seraphic Skylands Zone by Spherallic
4 Glacier Gear Zone by toaster
5 Midnight Caves Zone by Chaobrother
6 Sand Valley Zone by Chrome
it was ok, but some of the objects were places higher than they should be, One checkpoint was also in the air when I respawned, another had me respawing in a wall.
ther were also a few missing textures including one that was an invisible wall. other than that, I didn't like the Quick mud.
7 Floral Road Zone, Act 1 by "Lat'"
It was decent, but felt a bit, bland. Might work as an early stage for a level pack.
8 Sacred Woodland by HAPPYFOX
Majora, we have a problem. The N64 Zelda music felt out of place here and having robohood shot everlasting flame arrows is a bad idea. Take too long and ou way is blocked by fire after repeated failuers.
The fire has to be able to go out.
Also using Mini Brack, it was ok, but why is that boss there?
9 Egg Outposts Zone by Tyrannic
Bad music choice, level feels over ambitious, and there's a button hunt.
Last edited by glaber; 07-02-2014 at 02:01 AM.
Climate Chaos 9/10
I really like this map, the weather changing mechanic is awesome. though i think the layout is a bit weird. I actually want this in vanilla SRB2.
Moonlit Precipice 8.5/10
I like this one too, it looks really cool, and some of it reminds me of jade valley. But...dose grass trim errors tho
Crystal Coast 1/10
1.You shouldn't submit babbys first SRB2 map to the OLDC
2.Theres like...no scenery at all.
3.5.Whats with the black textures at the sides of the lake?
4.If you jump into the spring (instead of landing and walking into the spring) on the intangible from bottom platform, you get glitched and you are unable to move.
WTF? CTF (My map)
This isn't at the top because it has to be, its there because its the best map in the contest. /sarcasm. Also, i know its really easy to get to a base, if i had more time i would have moved the bases farther, as well as maybe added a secret passage or two. Also, CyanFox gave me the idea to make it a disco.
Old Sport 8/10
The title made me laugh. Not much else i can say..
Quicksand Caverns 7/10
I like this map, but one thing:You can easily get to the other base by monitor bouncing.
Techno Laser 4 7/10
I like how the map looks, but as people said, the layout is confusing.
Forbidden Woods 6.5/10
Ok map, it reminds me of clockwork towers. (The CTF map, not to be confused with the SP map in this contest) Not much else to say either...
Last edited by Root; 07-01-2014 at 05:50 AM.
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread


text:
robertmitchell on Family Tree Circles
view: full | list
Journals and Posts
Looking for THOMAS Family of Fayette Co., WV
I would like to find the marriages of Raymond THOMAS born 20 Dec 1925 in Fayette Co., WV. and died 17 March 1981 in WV. He is the only child of Guy Raymond THOMAS and Kathleen MITCHELL. I believe he was married at least twice.
Any help would be appreciated.
The Thomas MITCHELL, I
My Mitchell family line starts with Thomas Mitchell,I of New Kent Co., VA. He was born abt 1635-1645 and died in 1690 in St. Peter's Parish, New Kent County. He was granted by Sir William Berkeley, Governor a large land patent of 1680 acres together with John Lewis on Jan 15, 1682 (See New Kent County, Virginia Patent Book 4, page 84, 1680 acres). By Feb 28, 1682, John Lewis has sold his title to Thomas Mitchell, the planter of New Kent Co. Thomas now has 2436 acres of land that he has been living on. (See New Kent County, Virginia, Patent Book 7, page 232, 2436 acres)
I do not know who his father and mother were or where he was born? Maybe England or Virginia? But, he was very active in New Kent County, serving in St. Peter's Parish Church as Vestryman and Church Warden. His son was Thomas Mitchell, II (JR.)of New Kent Co. who was born abt 1673 and died 6 July 1736 in St. Peter's Parish. He and his wife, Mary Gregory, are buried in St. Peter's Episcopal Cemetery, New Kent County. Thomas "the planter" may be buried there as well, but I have no proof of his burial.
Thomas Mitchell, II and Mary Gregory had a least 4 children all born in St. Peter's Parish, Martha, 22 Sept 1697, Thomas Mitchell, III, 3 Jan 1701, Archelaus, SR., 9 Feb 1703, and Rebecca, abt 1705.
My family line follows Archelaus Mitchell, Sr., Archelaus, Jr., Archelaus, III, Jordan D., John D., Robert D., John William, Robert Alexander Mitchell,SR. to me, Robert Alexander Mitchell,Jr.
Other surnames that I am researching are Alexander, Massey, Gore, Summerfield, Holland, Goodwin, White, etc.
Some day I hope to find the place of birth and parents of my Thomas Mitchell, "The Planter" of New Kent County, Virginia.
- Displaying 1-4 of 4 Journals
- 1
- of1

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Evans, Tejada give Bisons big hits
TO SUM IT UP: No-hit for the first six innings of a game one doubleheader, the Bisons roared back for a pair of victories over Rochester in their last at-bats. Nick Evans sent the Herd to a 4-2 walk-off win with a home run in the 10th inning of game one before Ruben Tejada's sixth-inning double snapped a 1-1 tie in a 4-1 game two triumph.
GAME 1 – Evans' blast wins it for Bisons
GAME 2 – Tejada comes through in clutch
POSTGAME REACTION: Ronnie Paulio's reaction following his two games of action
FAST FACTS: The victories snapped a six-game losing streak for Buffalo and exacted some revenge on a Red Wings club that swept a doubleheader at Coca-Cola Field on Tuesday…The afternoon didn't start out well for the Herd as Rochester starter Kyle Gibson took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of game one. The Bisons only had two base runners in the first six frames, both reaching on an error… Ruben Tejada provided the Bisons offense in game two… He homered in the second inning to give the Bisons the early lead and plated two more with a double in the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 1-1 tie… Evans's walk-off home run in the first game was his second in a Bisons uniform. Evans hit a two-run walk-off in the 15th inning of a 4-2 victory over Pawtucket on April 12, 2009…Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a hit in each game to extend his hit streak to 11-games. It's the longest active streak in the International League…Ronny Paulino joined the Bisons on a major league rehab assignment. The Mets catcher combined to go 0-6 with a walk in the two games…The lone no-hitter in Coca-Cola Field history was thrown by Buffalo's Bartolo Colon on June 20, 1997.


text:
A Cook County Circuit Court judge on Monday shot down a request to hold a same-day hearing for an injunction to immediately end Chicago's teacher strike.
During a short meeting, Judge Peter Flynn postponed the requested hearing until Wednesday, city law department spokesman Roderick Drew said. That comes after the Chicago Teachers Union's delegates are scheduled to meet and vote on a proposed contract.
Earlier in the day, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel made good on promised legal action to try and end the city's first teachers strike in 25 years, instructing his corporate counsel and the attorney for Chicago Public Schools to file an injunction to get kids and teachers back in class.
"I will not stand by while the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union," Emanuel said Sunday in a statement. "This was a strike of choice and now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children."
Emanuel added that the continued strike was illegal on two grounds: "It is over issues that are deemed by state law to be non-strikable, and it endangers the health and safety of our children."
Union delegates on Sunday deferred their vote to end the strike and asked for more time to review a proposed teachers' contract drafted last week by school officials and the Chicago Teachers Union.
"Our members are not happy, and they want to have the opportunity to talk to their members," union president Karen Lewis said. "They want to know is there still anything more they can get."
The union's chief of staff Jackson Potter told NBC Chicago that "if the agreement is not good, if the members reject it and think it won't improve conditions in their schools and classrooms, then we want the board to listen to those concerns before we would go back to school."
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
School board president David Vitale said Monday the two sides are done negotiating and CPS is waiting on the union.
"We've done as much as we know how to do," Vitale said. "We reached an agreement with their leadership, we think it's a good agreement. It's time for the teachers to get back in school."
Potter said it's worth the wait.
"People have to live for three years under the terms of this agreement, and so it has to be a good agreement, it has to reflect the concerns that we brought to the table all along."
Union delegates aren't scheduled to meet again until Tuesday out of respect for the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah, which began at sundown Sunday.
Emanuel has no scheduled events Monday.
More than 26,000 teachers and staff walked out last Monday, leaving more than 350,000 students unattended. For five days, thousands of teachers picketed outside schools and twice converged on the Board of Education headquarters downtown.
The strike follows months of slow, contentious negotiations over salary, health benefits and job security after the school board unanimously voted last year to cancel teachers' 4 percent pay hike in the final year of their contract.


text:
CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. - B.C.'s Independent Investigations Office is looking into a motorcycle crash near Campbell River early Sunday morning that involved RCMP.
The independent police watchdog says Mounties were trying to stop a motorcycle around 2 a.m. because the driver was allegedly not wearing a helmet.
During the incident the male motorcycle driver lost control at a high rate of speed and struck the RCMP cruiser, sustaining serious injuries.
He was taken to hospital for treatment.
Five investigators from the police oversight agency are involved.
The Campbell River RCMP are conducting the investigation into the actions of the motorcycle driver.
Also on HuffPost


text:
You are here: / Electrical / Light Bulbs / Halogen Lamps
Halogen Lamps clear and frosted low voltage and 240v mains
Money back guarantee Full refunds given
Over 5000 customers have written excellent reviews on Trustpilot!!
For all UK mainland orders over £75 ex VAT (Next day delivery)
Still can't find what your looking for? Try our search it rocks
Sign up to our mailing list below or follow us:
Sign up for Vouchers & Offers


text:
class Insecta
Dicyclodes hieroglyphica Warren 1906.
Initial species uploading to the site: Peter Khramov.
Note: you should have a Insecta.pro account to upload new topics and comments. Please, create an account or log in to add comments
* Our website is multilingual. Some comments have been translated from other languages.
There are no photos of this species on the website yet. You can offer your photo by logging into your account
Dicyclodes lissoscia Turner 1922
Dicyclodes turneri Lucas 1892
Stictoleptura variicornis Dalman 1817
Aloa lactinea (Cramer, [1777])
Nygmia icilia (Stoll, [1790])


text:
Going on a Word Hunt
build your word list for research success
Librarian's secret: the key to good research is having a good command of the words related to your topic. The more words you have, the more successful you'll be when you search for information.
Collecting keywords
Up to now we've been using the original words we started with as search terms. We added the ending variations by using the truncation symbol. As you learn about your topic, you'll find more words, perhaps better words, that can lead to more successful searches.
Next >>


text:
I loved this weapon. Great muzzle flash.
SMOD: Tactical is a modification of the single-player SMOD(Super Mod) for Half-Life 2. This mod takes advantage of SMOD's robust customization capabilities to offer players realistic, tactical gameplay with real-world equipment and firearms in the style of games and mods like Rainbow 6, Operation Flashpoint, Red Orchestra, and Infiltration.
I loved this weapon. Great muzzle flash.
so ugly and blurry
Get the **** out troll
Kinuhudai, have you ever shot a gun before?
The muzzle flash is smokey, and blurry.
The blurry post effects are due to rapid vibration and changes in light emitted by the muzzle flash, I guess...
In other news, if you don't have any good critique you wish to add or would just like to bag something. You should just throw your keyboard out the window.
Oh god just shut up Kinuhudai, your arguements are invalid. Just go outside Ok? If Smod Tactical is too awesome for you to handle... Then Gtfo.
awsome XD think you guys could use my sleeve skin in this? =D Fpsbanana.com
You can ad it completly by yourself, just do it the way you would ad sleeves to your CS:S
**** i forgot to press reply button
Get the **** out troll
does ur mom know that you are a ******?
Whats up troll?
Great stuff! Textures looking amazing. Really great post effects.
My only query is that the shell casing after being ejected looks larger then those being fed through.
That's default HL2 muzzleflash, just sayin'.
When will this version be available for download?
I think muzzleflash must be different due to the flashhider
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.
Screenshot of CS_Pariah. A map featured in the new version of SMOD: Tactical.


text:
Lucky Luke
Published by
Developed by
Not an American user?
DescriptionThis multi-genre game is based on the famous comics series about Lucky Luke, a good cowboy who draws his gun and shoots quicker than his shadow.
It was decided to construct a railway line to connect the East and West of the United States. Two companies argued about the establishment of this line. You were chosen to protect the quality of the line and to do not give it away to the competitor.
In the beginning, Lucky Luke should move around the town and find out the bandits preventing him from travel on the train. During arcade shooting he should shoot all of them on the streets and inside the saloon.
After train stops in front of the boulder on the rails, Lucky Luke has to find the way to this boulder to blow it up with a bomb collecting the useful items and using them in adventure mode. During these actions he'll encounter four Daltons and Apache's leader.
The next trial is a puzzle, where Lucky Luke has to connect the branch lines for the train switching the points on the railway.
And the last one is to solve the problem of water between Comanches and the Ranch owners in the place where quality will be checked finally.
Promo Images
There are no promo images for this game
Alternate Titles
- "Lucky Luke: Nitroglycérine" -- French title
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
There are no reviews for this game.
Critic Reviews
There are no critic reviews for this game.
There are currently no topics for this game.
Title screenThe image on the title screen of the ST version is actually the back cover of the Lucky Luke comics. That image was also used for Lucky Luke for DOS and SNES. In that game it was the language selection screen.
There are no game credits on file for this release of the game. Everything in MobyGames is contributable by users.


text:
Flexible spending accounts for health care are becoming a very common benefit that employers provide for their employees. These accounts can be a money-saver, but it can be a bit tricky to save money using them.
First of all, let's back up and explain exactly what a flexible spending account is.
A flexible spending account (or FSA for short) is an account (usually set up by your employer) into which you can put pre-tax money. In other words, the money is deposited before taxes are calculated on your income, which means that you're actually going to be paying less taxes than before.
For a simple example, let's say you earn $500 a week and have 20% of your check taken out for taxes (we'll ignore other expenses for simplicity's sake). That leaves you bringing home $400 a week. Now, let's say you decide to start putting $20 a week into a FSA. That means you're now effectively earning $480 per week. That same 20% is taken out, which means that you bring home $384 a week. You're putting $20 into your flexible spending account, but your paycheck only goes down by $16. You essentially get $20 to spend on health care costs, but you're only actually spending $16 out of your paycheck. It's like $4 in free money per week.
The only drawback is that the money deposited in your FSA must be spent on approved health care costs.
What's an approved health care cost? Pretty much anything you can realistically imagine qualifies. Doctor's visits, dental visits, surgery, chiropractic work, psychiatry, prescription drugs, lab fees, inpatient alcohol and drug treatment, "quit smoking" programs, birth control options, and may other treatments that fall under "alternative medicine" qualify under this plan. If you're unsure, check with the plan offered by your employer.
There is one big drawback to the FSA, though: you have to use that money or you forfeit it. You have three months after the end of the year to make claims on money saved during the previous year. If you don't, that money is forfeited. It doesn't build up.
Thankfully, many plans make this easier by offering a debit card for easy access to the FSA. When paying for one of the approved expenses, you simply use your debit card and then your FSA is billed for the expense. If the bill exceeds what's in your account, you're billed for the difference.
Even so, you've got to be sure that you're incurring enough regular medical expenses to make the FSA worthwhile. If you never go to the doctor and never use any sort of medical care, then your money in this account would likely be forfeited each year.
However, for people like me on a maintenance medication (I've been taking synthroid literally since birth), a FSA can be a real money saver. I can just use a FSA debit card to buy my prescription each month and that prescription is paid for with pre-tax money. The same goes for my routine blood work. Since we also take our children in for their yearly checkups (and, for our younger kids, the checkups were even more frequent) and we're fairly vigilant about getting illnesses and other concerns treated, we end up saving quite a lot thanks to the FSA.
The trick is to put in enough so that most of your expenses are covered, but not so much that you lose the money at the end of the year. We just try to cover the things we know we'll have to pay for and pay the rest purely out of pocket. After all, every dollar saved is a dollar put towards something else more useful in our life.
If your employer offers a FSA and you have any regular medical expenses in your life, give the account a serious inspection. You may find that it's a pretty easy way to save a bit more money. Learn more about leveraging health savings accounts and FSAs for your health care benefit.
This post is part of a yearlong series called "365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited)," in which I'm revisiting the entries from my book "365 Ways to Live Cheap," which is available at Amazon and at bookstores everywhere. Images courtesy of Brittany Lynne Photography, the proprietor of which is my "photography intern" for this project.


text:
Cede Dupont of Symphorce and Downspirit
Interview by EvilG
Cede Dupont will be most known to fans of Symphorce, and of course Freedom Call (a band he was a part of from 2001-2005). Cede is also launching a brand new band called Downspirit in which he explores his hard rock and blues roots a little deeper. In this interview we discuss his new band and get the latest from him on what's happening with Symphorce.
You have a new band called Downspirit whose sound may come as a surprise to people that know you from Symphorce and Freedom Call as this is more of a bluesy hard rock thing. What inspired you to start this band in this style of music?
It's something that I wanted to do for a longtime now. It's not like that I'm only into metal music, even though obviously it's what I have done for the last couple of years. But I just simply consider blues music as one of my main influences what concerns my guitar playing, so I just wanted to try to combine the two worlds. The heaviness of heavy metal and the feeling and emotions from blues. It never seemed that I had time to start a new band, but since Symphorce is on some kind of break now, the time was right to get the songs I'd had already written for Downspirit out of the boxes 🙂
Is Downspirit a "band" or a "side-project"? By that I mean, is one more of a priority than the other or do you have time to make both a priority?
It's really important that people know this is a real band and not just one more side project. I did a couple of side projects in the last couple of years, but those have just been some jobs on the spot. Downspirit is a real band, with all its ups and downs, all the fun, all the crap and the unity that will make our debut album a real kick in the face!
How did you find the players for Downspirit? As mentioned, since many know you for a slightly different style, how did you find people who were on the same page musically and wanted to play more bluesy hard rock?
Basically I'm lucky enough to have quite a big network with all the people I got to know through my other activities, so obviously some of the members in Downspirit I have known for years. And the ones that I haven't known before, and made it to the line up, they make me feel like we've been friends forever. It's important that we have quite a similar taste for music and work ethic, since we need to be able to pull on the same strings. So, we basically are just a bunch of guys who wanna go for the rock n' roll train and make Downspirit the next big thing, haha! Hell yeah!
Do you expect fans of Symphorce to be into Downspirit or do you think this music is aimed at an entirely different category of music fan?
I wouldn't consider it as a totally different thing, I think here and there you might hear some Symphorce influences (obviously as I am one of the main songwriters in SP), but in general it's a much more blues/hardrock oriented thing in Downspirit, combined with the heaviness of the metal kinda style we have in Symphorce too. It would be great if Symphorce fans would give Downspirit a listen as well, I'm sure they might like it too.
If you had to name a few bands that you think are in line with the downspirit style, who would you pick? I've only heard the one song sample and Badlands came to mind, but I was probably reaching since I don't listen to much bluesy hard rock. 🙂
That's a tricky one ;-), …..I think if you pick up a little Skid n' Roses with the Pantera Hendrix Phorce, then you'll probably have the main influences.
How many songs are written and will be recorded for the debut Downspirt album that you'll be recording this November?
I think at the end of the day there's gonna be something like 11-13 songs on the album. At the moment we are rehearsing a lot and started to play some smaller clubshows just to see how the material works, and the fact that we're jamming a lot on the songs will help us pick the right songs for a killer debut album. I have so many things on the side, since I'm writing music all the time, it's not that easy to pick the right ones, maybe we should do like a double album. "Use your Downspirit Illusion 1 & 2", hahaha
Where are you recording the album and do you have a producer or will you be doing this yourselves?
We'll be recording in southern germany at a smaller studio where we can take our time and make sure the album is going sound like we want it to. Since I wrote like 95% of all songs by myself I have a pretty clear vision of what this record should sound like, so I guess we're gonna produce it by ourselves. I'm saying "we" because everyone in the band is involved, has great ideas and surely can contribute in making this album unique sounding. Mostly, when you write a song you have a certain vision, but other cooks in the kitchen might bring some salt to your soup that makes it much tastier, although you think it's good enough to be served 🙂
Is there any label interest in Downspirit yet or do you expect that to rise once you have a CD available?
We have some smaller labels that might want to work with us, but at this point it's kinda early to say that we have a business partner that is right for Downspirit. I think we are going to make a great record, and then see which label is the best for this band.
Do you have any longer term plans for the band after the recording is done and the album is out – a tour in 2010 maybe?
Of course we'll be playing as many single shows as possible and some of the festivals around summer 2010. It depends when the record's finally going to be released, but I sure hope that we'll be able to get our feet on a real tour and do what we do best. Looking good on stage and convince people we're the best thing they have ever heard, haha!
Is Symphorce still signed with Metal Blade? If not, why, and do you have any news on what label might release your next album?
We're not with MetalBlade anymore and are currently in negotiations with a new partner that will release our album in 2010. Things are looking quite good as what I have been told, so let's cross fingers and get the machine get going again! ha!
Speaking of the next album, 2010 has been given at the release date. Originally it was mentioned it would be out in late 2009, what pushed the release off until 2010?
The situation on the business side of things is complicated at the moment, and we wanted to give ourselves a little more time to make sure the next album will be the best we can offer as a new release. You know we've been doing this for 10 years now, it's unbelievable! We experienced a lot of cool things together, shared a lifetime on the road, did a lot of great records and now, after the break, we feel like we need to come around the corner with a real burner! Of course we have had the goal to do so with every album so far, but this time there's something even more special about it. Maybe because we haven't had played together in a while now.
What more can you share about the new album: has recording started, do you have an album title, song titles, a release month?
We cannot come up with such details so far, I know it sucks, but on the other hand I can assure you that the next Symphorce album will be what you all think it was worth waiting for!
The songs have already been written, and we are very very excited about the material!
What are the new songs sounding like and what previous Symphorce material would you say it sounds most like?
Speaking for my own contributions to the new album, my songs, I think they obviously have the character of tunes like "Nowhere", "Inside the Cast" or "Towards the Light". More and more I'm coming back to the simple structured songs with strong hooklines and melodies. Catchy, groovy, melodic, …..well just frigging awesome in general, haha!
I thought your last album BECOME DEATH was your best. Do you think it's the best Symphorce or do you not have a fav Symphorce album?
Production-wise I like "GodSpeed" better I have to say. If I'd be able to pick out songs from every album, like doing a "best-of" then I'd probably have the best Symphorce album together. I like the heaviness of "Become Death" a lot though. I think it's good that we progressed with every album, tried out lots of different things, so it's kinda hard to pick just one album because all of them have something unique for me.
Sort of a touchy question here…ha
With members of Symphorce being in other bands, do you think this has been a factor in why Symphorce hasn't become HUGE? Would you all ever focus 100% of your musical energies on Symphorce or do you think that everyone giving 100% for 50% of the year (for example) is enough to do justice to the band, fans, and material?
I see where you wanna go with that question…ha! It's hard to say actually, but one thing I know for sure is that everyone in the band gave more than 100% for Symphorce. It depends on shedules of course whether it's a Symphorce-based-time or not. It wouldn't be fair to our loyal fans if we'd just released a record that was made heartless in between other band's shedules. If we're doing a band, we try to do it as good as possible.
I'm trying to recall…has Symphorce ever toured in North America? I know you played at a ProgPower, but I mean have you traveled around the USA and Canada playing a string of shows? If not, what barriers to such a tour has there been? Have you tried getting an opening slot on a North American tour? I'd really like to have a chance to see Symphorce live here in Canada!
We played in Atlanta for Progpower that is right, but unfortunately we never had the opportunity to do a real tour in the States. It's a big dream for everyone in the band, and I know that we have lot of fans over there who would want to see us come over. All we need is the right support and a promoter who wants to bring the band over. I'm still sure someday it's going to be possible for us to do a tour there, but unfortunately it's not just a band's decision.
Do you use different amps, guitars, settings etc for Downspirit as compared to Symphorce? Can you give us a rundown on what you prefer to use?
Basically it's more or less the same setup that I use except for guitars and some effects. In Downspirit I play a lot on my Gibson Les Pauls on a downtuned level, where in Symphorce we have used 7-string guitars so far. It's pretty cool to use some slide-guitars and dobros in Downspirit as well, here and there they give a good color to the songs. I might work with a talkbox in the studio too plus I have some vintage amps and effects that I want to use for the record.
How old were you when you picked up guitar and did you start out right away with lessons or just by emulating your heroes?
I started working on my posing when I was about 9 years old. I had this tennis racket and thought I'd be Slash, jumping around my room, going from bed to table and the other way around, hahaha First the posing, THEN the playing! Haha I took a couple of lessons, but soon found out I'd be better off learning it by myself instead of playing some creepy folk tunes…
How in depth into music theory did you go or are you strictly an ear player?
I'm not a real big fan of too much theory, but of course there are some things you just have to know for proper playing. Still to this day I'm picking up a theory book here and there but, I'm more into jamming and learning it by doing. Through the years of playing I found out that you're better off with a well trained ear, instead with the talent of reading sheets on stage. Besides, there's no blues if you don't have the right feeling and a good ear.
Who were your early guitar heroes and have they changed over the years?
Not so much, basically I was, still am, will be a fan of Slash, Paul Gilbert, Dimebag and Zakk.
Are there any players out there that you hear and wonder how in the hell they play the stuff they are playing?
Of course, there always are. I'm a big music fan, so whenever I see someone doing the impossible possible I just think I have to work more on my stuff, haha It's a normal thing, there's always someone who challenges you, but as long as you know that you have your own thing going on well then the challenge is welcome. It's good to hear other players, because you can learn from them. You just go out to youngsters and tell them it's your own lick after you're able to play it, hahahaha
Do you play guitar every day and follow any specific practice regime? If so, tell us a bit about it.
I try to play everyday. Basically I just have to because I'm a guitar addict. It doesn't really matter if it's 10 minutes or 5 hours, as long as I could touch it, haha Sometimes I work on some techniques, sometimes I just hang around and jam around with my fave albums. Both is good, both is important.
Bonus question (ha): You were in Freedom Call from 2001 – 2005. Can you recap the reasons why you left the band?
It just got too much for me at that point, I felt worn out, because the shedules were quite heavy for both bands back then, and I hated the decision to either let one band go or continue being stressed out, because I couldn't please both parties. In the end I listened to my heart and felt that Symphorce was more the sound I wanted to go on with in the future.
But there was absolutely no drama or fights about it. I'm still having a great memory of my time in Freedom Call, still talk to the guys now and then. It's been awesome what we experienced in that period of time, and still I think I learned a lot and had a lot of fun being on the road with them. Good girls come, good girls go. It's the same with a band sometimes 😉
Thanks man, any closing words?
Thanks a lot for this interview! And thanks to all people who took their time to read my crap.
Hey why don't you give us a visit at www.downspirit.com?
2010 is gonna be a busy year, for both bands…so get ready!


text:
Senior is Finalist in Grand Concours de Chant Vocal Competition
February 27, 2013
Tenor Lucas Wassmer, a senior voice student in the DePauw University School of Music, will perform this weekend as a finalist in the prestigious 2013 Grand Concours de Chant competition. Selected through a taped adjudication process -- which included blind judging by a distinguished international French panel of vocalists and pedagogues -- Wassmer and nine other student musicians from around the nation will travel to Austin for the live performance round of the finals at the University of Texas at Austin Butler School of Music on Saturday, March 2.
Other competitors will represent schools such as the Curtis Institute, Lawrence University, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and Northwestern University. The program includes an opportunity for individuals to select their favorite vocalist online, with the winner receiving scholarship funds.
Listen to Wassmer's interpretation of Georges Bizet's "Je crois entendre encoure" from the opera Les pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) and vote online, via this link.
Wassmer, 22, is a native of Poseyville, Indiana, and a fourth-year senior in the five-year double degree program, with majors in vocal performance and economics.
"Lucas is such a talented young performer and has repeatedly distinguished himself while a student here at DePauw," said Caroline B. Smith, Wassmer's applied voice teacher and DePauw University Cassel Grubb Professor of Music. "To be selected as one of the finalists for the Grand Concours de Chant competition is a significant achievement indeed."
The Grand Concours competition is sponsored by the Franco-American Vocal Academy with support from the French Embassy and the Consulate General of France in Houston, Texas.Back


text:
Flight & car pp
Max. Occupancy 6
Bedrooms 3
Bathrooms 2
Distance to resort 10 mins walk
Distance to beach 10 mins drive
Pool Size 8m x 4m
HOLIDAYS WITH FLIGHTS: Please click the tab below that corresponds to the no. of persons in your party for per person prices including flights & car hire or transfers as specified.
VILLA ONLY PRICE: If this property offers a 'Villa Only' option, please click on the Villa Only tab below. No 'Villa Only' tab means this property can only be booked as part of a package.
Pricing information is not currently available for this property.
Please contact us for more information.
Prices displayed are per person based on maximum occupancy of the property when flights & car hire or transfers are included (except for Special Offers). Accommodation only prices are per property. All properties can be sold for less than maximum occupancy - contact us for prices. Price display does not guarantee property availability, as this website does not have a live search facility.
Tour operator ATOL number: 848


text:
The MAX3232 enables true RS232 performance from a 3.0V to 5.5V operating range. It is guaranteed to run at data rates of 250 kbit/s while maintaining RS232 output levels. The board is compact and barely bigger than the DB9 connector. It has high-quality SMD components and prototyping connection pads which enable easy connectivity with your device. This MAX3232 Board has a female DB9 connector for RS232 devices (typically a PC), and a row of six pads to install an interface for connection to a microcontroller system's UART. Nothing is soldered into the pads, so you can add whatever kind of connector you need. A strip of male header pins is included.
The MAX3232 Board can be used in RS232 communication with modems, printers, PC applications, and other devices that use UART communication protocol.


text:
Confessions From Studio Dave
The Hard Parts
I hate hardware. Sometimes I hate Linux too, but more often I just hate the hardware. Boxes, wires, connectors, keyboards, mice, the works. Some days I just want all of it to disappear.
Hmm, did I perhaps have a bad time building my new machine ? That's putting it lightly.
New readers should check out my earlier entries to catch up on current events here at Studio Dave. After collecting and assembling the parts for a new and more powerful box I was disappointed to discover that the machine was dead on arrival. When I pushed the power-on switch nothing happened. I opened the box and tried to start it again. I got just about zip, zero, nothing, nada. Actually, the cool blue front panel lights flashed once, the CPU fan made a weak little spin and died, and that was all.
My brother checked the power supply and concluded that it was blown, but he admitted that he wasn't sure he had tested it correctly (many PSUs require a load before they'll operate). So I trundled off to a local repair shop where it was determined that the power supply was fine, but the motherboard was hopelessly burnt. The repairman suggested it was probably DOA when I installed it. Fortunately the good fellow who had supplied the board was willing to give me a complete refund, and I'm now awaiting the arrival of a new motherboard, complete with pre-installed CPU. I'm still going with the AMD64, so you'll still get to hear about Studio Dave's transition to the 64-bit world. It's just going to take longer than I planned.
Once again I must send props and thanks to the members of the Linux Audio Users mail list. Their technical advice is invaluable, as are their supportive attitudes and generosity of spirit. I don't think I could handle this project without their help.
While waiting for the new motherboard I decided to try out one of the new components. I swapped out the GeForce2 MX/MX 400 video card from my current desktop machine and installed the GeForce FX 5200 intended for the new machine. Both boards are build around an nVidia chipset, both are AGP-compliant, and both are supported by the kernel's own nv driver as well as by nVidia's proprietary driver. With this much compatibility I expected a straightforward swap & play experience. Foolish Dave.
The card itself performed well, as long as it ran under the kernel driver. nVidia's own driver failed, and yes, I used the latest version. That's okay, I wasn't planning on any 3D use anyway. However, a greater problem came up, resulting directly from the new video hardware.
A digression: I had pulled my M-Audio digital audio board from the current desktop box, leaving only an SBLive Value soundcard, because I wasn't planning to use that machine for recording anymore. The SBLive is not exactly contemporary hardware, but it's well-supported by ALSA and works as advertised. I used it extensively before acquiring the M-Audio board, and I recommend it as an inexpensive solution for consumer-grade desktop audio services. I even used it for some multitrack recording with JACK and had no problems. "Problems" here equate to the dreaded xruns, buffer over/underflow conditions that can create audible and very undesirable gaps in your recordings. JACK and the SBLive have got along famously in the past, and I expected them to get along famously now. As I said: Foolish Dave.
No matter how I adjusted JACK's settings in QJackCtl I got xruns. Sometimes a lot, sometimes not so many, but always more than were tolerable. I decided to investigate the phenomenon because I had no such troubles in my previous work with the SBLive on the same box and I wanted to find out what was causing the problem.
One common xrun-producing culprit is a bad IRQ number. User Mark Knecht has addressed this situation in his excellent contribution to the Low-latency HOWTO. I ran diagnostics with lspci and cat /proc/interrupts and learned that the SBLive was sitting on IRQ 5. According to the HOWTO, the preferred IRQs for audio hardware are 9, 10, and 11. IRQ 10 is already owned by the AGP slot, IRQ 11 was taken by my Ethernet card. Since my machine doesn't have programmable interrupts (APIC) I had to open the box and swap card slots. Alas, the xrun problem persisted unabated, and at that point I suspected that the video card was the likely perpetrator. I put the old card back in the AGP slot, and the problem disappeared.
I hate hardware.
I did find some silver lining to the whole cloudy experience. While researching IRQs and Linux I discovered Powertweak, a handy utility for probing your system and reporting its hardware and kernel capabilities. Figure 1 shows off Powertweak in its GTK user interface, hard at work exploring the depths of my crappy desktop box. I haven't used Powertweak to change anything yet (I don't understand everything it shows), but it's clearly a cool tool. It's also rather dated. Can anyone out there recommend a similar program of more recent vintage ?
Figure 1: Powertweak Linux
Movens Bene Protinus
It's all good now. I've restored the desktop to its original audio and video hardware configuration, including the M-Audio board. JACK is happy, and I'm into a new project, recording readings of Latin poetry that you can hear (in OGG format) on my Latin Audio Examples page. These readings are probably of limited interest to Linux audio people, but the folks on the Textkit Latin forum might have some fun with them.
The project details are uncomplicated. I used ecasound from an xterm prompt to record a simple stereo WAV file. JACK was active, so I connected the microphone input to ecasound via the Audio Connections panel in QJackCtl. I set my input level with the Envy24Control mixer interface for my M-Audio card and recorded the readings (Figure 2). The resulting files weren't perfect, but I figured I could polish them in a soundfile editor.
Figure 2: Recording with ecasound and JACK
My soundfile editor of choice is usually the all-singing all-dancing Snd, but I wanted to try Davy Durham's ReZound for this project (Figure 3). My necessary edits were common operations, such as normalization, trimming dead space, muting extraneous noises, adding reverberation with a LADSPA plugin, and making incidental adjustments to amplitudes. I needed only a few routines, but I was going to use them repeatedly, so I also wanted them to be simple and easy to employ. The short review: ReZound rocks. The program is loaded with helpful functions and routines for common and uncommon audio editing, and I quickly learned how to expedite my required operations. Then I kept discovering other neat controls for viewing and playback, very helpful for my immediate work, along with many features I simply didn't have time to test.
Figure 3: ReZound
For example, ReZound provides an interface for cdrdao so you can burn your work to disc directly from the editor. Of course, first you should treat your work with the tools commonly associated with an audio mastering suite, i.e. equalization, compression, balance, gain adjustment, and so forth. ReZound doesn't pretend to be another JAMin but it does supply a Remaster menu filled with helpful items that just might save the session on a JAMin-less system.
ReZound's GUI is based on the FOX graphics toolkit. Personally I find its appearance attractive and easy on the eyes. And I must admit, the thumb-wheels are just too cool.
Documentation is sparse but adequate. The docs directory of the source package contains some text files regarding installation details and the interface conventions. Other useful information can found by following the Documentation link on the program's Web site. Judging from my experience I'd say you'll learn the most about ReZound just by playing around with it, consulting the documentation as needed.
I don't know what Davy Durham's been up to lately, but it looks as though development on ReZound is on hiatus (the last public release dates from late 2005). I hope it picks up again, ReZound is truly worthy Linux audio software. Davy, if you're out there let us know what you're doing these days.
Music To My Ears
Two rather different pieces of music came my way recently, one by way of a Csound mail list and one via the Linus Audio Users list. The Csound piece is an extraordinary work by Thorin Kerr titled Diving I (rendering and link to the OGG file courtesy fellow Csounder Dave Seidel). I don't know what operating system Thorin uses, but he notes that this work was created in part with his own Python code. Csound doesn't lack for impressive works (Rick Boulanger's Trapped In Convert and Michael Jude Bergeman's The Face On Mars come to mind), and if you'd like to hear what the latest & greatest new Csound can do, check out Diving I.
The second sonic delight came from Johannes Mario Ringheim. He just popped on to the LAU mail list one day and announced that his Kanskje No was on-line, leaving the rest of us in wonder and amazement. It's a neat piece filled with creative uses for a suite of Linux audio software that includes Ardour, Hydrogen, seq24, and the awesome (and abandoned, alas) ALSA Modular Synthesizer.
Recently the LAU list has seen new music links from Steve Doonan, James Shuttleworth, Carlos Pino, Aaron Trumm, Folderol, Esa Linna, and many others. Not all of this music makes it to the awesome LAM so be sure to check out the LAU archives to ensure that you're getting your full dose of music made with Linux.
Hopefully I'll be 64-bit-savvy by next entry. If not, have no fear, there's plenty of worthy activity in the world of Linux audio software. Look forward to a review of the new crop of multitrack recorders for Linux, a survey of recent music and sound programming languages, maybe an interview or two. Who knows what will show up here next ? You'll just have to tune in to find out.


text:
Registration is free and easy!
If you have an account with us, please log in.
* Required Fields
Checking "Remember Me" will let you access your shopping cart on this computer when you are logged out
If you would like to provide us with your details, we will call you at the time you choose.


text:
This common skin infection can be stubborn to treat.
Tinea versicolor is a common skin infection that develops from a type of fungus.
Everyone's skin has this fungus — it occurs naturally, even on healthy skin.
Only when the fungus grows excessively does it cause a tinea versicolor infection.
The patches of different-colored skin the infection causes aren't painful or contagious, though they may cause itching or irritation.
Tinea versicolor is also known as pityriasis versicolor. ("Pityriasis" is a term used to describe any skin condition in which the scales look grainy, like bran.)
"Versicolor" refers to the many skin colors that can occur with the infection: white, tan, brown, pink, or other colors.
Tinea versicolor is caused by a fungus known as Malassezia.
Of all the known species of the Malassezia, one known as M. globosa is thought to cause most cases of tinea versicolor.
The fungus disrupts the normal pigmentation of the skin, and this results in discolored, scaly patches.
The skin pigment changes in the patches because the Malassezia fungus produces an acid that inhibits the production of melanin, a natural pigment that gives skin its color.
Poor hygiene is not related to the infection at all, nor does it make tinea versicolor more likely to occur.
Signs and Symptoms of Tinea Versicolor
The primary symptom of tinea versicolor is scaly spots or patches on the skin. These patches are lighter, or sometimes darker, than the skin around them.
Tinea versicolor patches occur most often on the shoulders and trunk, but can appear anywhere on the body. Sometimes patches show up on the neck, abdomen, or face.
The patches often have sharp borders or edges, and they don't darken in the sun.
That explains why the patches may be more visible if you have had recent sun exposure. As the rest of your skin tans and darkens, the patches show up more.
These spots can come and go, especially as seasons change and outside temperatures fluctuate. The spots may be more noticeable when the weather is hot and humid (as in summer), and less noticeable or even disappear in fall and winter.
Other symptoms may include:
- Itching
- Scaling of the skin
- Increased sweating
Who Is at Risk?
The tinea versicolor fungus is more likely to overgrow on your skin if you live in a humid or hot climate, such as a tropical region.
Up to 50 percent of people living in certain tropical countries have reported the skin infection.
However, in cooler areas like Scandinavia, only about 1 percent of residents are affected.
Teens and young adults are more likely than others to get a tinea versicolor infection, but it can occur in anyone, including children and infants. Both genders can be affected.
The condition is more likely to be a problem if you:
- sweat excessively
- have a compromised immune system
- have oily skin
- have very poor nutrition
- are on birth control pills
- are pregnant
- have diabetes
- are using corticosteroid medicines
Treatment and Medication Options for Tinea Versicolor
Many treatments for tinea versicolor are available. Your doctor may suggest over-the-counter (OTC) antifungal creams, lotions, ointment, or shampoos.
Among the choices:
- Clotrimazole (Lotrimin AF, Mycelex) cream or lotion
- Miconazole (Monistat, M-Zole) cream
- Selenium sulfide (Selsun Blue) 1 percent shampoo
- Terbinafine (Lamisil) gel or cream
If they don't work, you may need prescription-strength topical remedies, such as:
- Ciclopirox (Loprox, Penlac), gel, lotion, or cream
- Ketoconazole (Extina, Nizoral, others) foam, cream, gel, shampoo
- Selenium sulfide (Selsun Blue) in 2.5 percent lotion or shampoo
Many people with tinea versicolor prefer oral medicines, as they are not messy and can be more convenient.
Sometimes a doctor will prescribe both topical and oral medicines to achieve better results.
Commonly used oral medicines are:
- Fluconazole (Diflucan) tablets
- Itraconazole (Onmel, Sporanox) capsules or tablets
- Ketoconazole (Extina Nizoral, others) tablets
Photodynamic therapy, also called light therapy, may also help with tinea versicolor, some research shows.
Home Remedies
Applying over-the-counter dandruff shampoos to the skin, for about 10 minutes a day while in the shower, can be a useful home remedy. Ask your doctor if this might help you.
Other home remedies are sometimes suggested, such as aloe vera, tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, olive oil, and beeswax. Ask your doctor or dermatologist before trying any of them.
In one small study, published in 2004, an application of honey, olive oil, and beeswax helped a majority of patients. They applied the mixture (made of equal parts honey, olive oil, and beeswax) three times a day for about a month.
Prevention of Tinea Versicolor
Even when the treatment for tinea versicolor is working, the skin color changes may persist for several months. The condition can come back, and it commonly does.
To reduce the chances that a tinea versicolor infection will recur, your doctor may recommend using a topical or oral treatment once a month or more often.
Some doctors also suggest using a medicated cleanser once or twice a month — especially if you live in a warm, humid location — to prevent the yeast from growing excessively again.
Your doctor may advise you to avoid excessive heat or sweating, if possible, to help prevent the return of a tinea versicolor infection.
Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking
- Tinea versicolor: Mayo Clinic.
- Tinea versicolor: American Academy of Dermatology.
- Tinea versicolor: MedlinePlus.
- Al-Waili. An alternative treatment for pityriasis versicolor, tinea cruris, tinea corporis and tinea faciei with topical application of honey, olive oil and beeswax mixture: an open pilot study. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2004.
- Kallini et. al. Tinea versicolor in dark-skinned individuals. International Journal of Dermatology. 2014.