Zaxvo

I've got a list like this myself, and I must warn you, this will explode, fast. But anyways, here are my suggestions: Cloud Atlas Inception Ex Machina Under the Skin Her John Wick Battle Royale

I didn't play any of them, but just from the reading the game rules it looks like Maze of the Dark Hunters, Matoran's Court, and Cavern Challenge were most conducive to creative posts. Went with Maze, IMO that looked the most fun.

So I've been a member for...wow, I don't even know anymore. It's been a while. Anyways, I have fond memories of the absolutely legendary BZP April Fools pranks...and yet I forgot to check the site yesterday. I've poked around a few of the subforums today and nothing immediately jumps out me; can anyone catch me up on what happened?

Oh man I remember seeing this in the original 01-08 form...but that 09-10 extension really works well. "I think I'm going to take over the world today." "Splat."

To clarify, the MOC we submit does not have to be made with Gen2 pieces (ie CCBS), it just has to look similar to the Gen2 sets, correct? So if mine was, say, 90% Gen1 pieces, but it looked enough like the Gen2 sets, that would be fine? Edit: If LDD isn't allowed, what's the point of that line I highlighted? Check with the mods, but I'd guess that might be referring to picture quality? eg. "He used a 10 megapixel image, I don't have enough space on my hard drive for that, etc."

Well, that's a color you don't see everyday. I like it. I love the general theme at hand here -- all of the gears really play up the mechanical part of this guy, and the orange works very well as wood. I might have gone for brown or tan, to be honest, but then you're looking at an entirely different pool of pieces. The pink looks good as eyes, although I'd prefer something brighter and/or less close to the orange you used.

Wow. Loving the head design on this guy, those eyes are too perfect. Colour scheme works really well too. The white rubber on the alternate hip/hand pieces stands out, but there isn't really much you can do with that. I'm also not a huge fan of the arms -- they seem a little stubby and almost half complete to me. Maybe if the claws at the ends were rotated 90 degrees, so they rotated in the same direction as the elbow does?

The headdress is great and I love the old rahkshi staff. I'm not a big fan of the thighs, however. The color stands out and they're too thin.

Soooo...I haven't MOCed in years now but this is just what I needed to get back in the game. Good luck all. Also: I don't have any pieces newer than 2011 BIONICLE -- never actually bought any HF sets. It's ok if my entry is restricted to those parts, right?

I can see two new elements and there are a bunch of missing/removed ones. Besides the hot topics and member spotlight...I feel like there are other stuff that got removed, I just don't remember what. Neither of those was really integral to front page, I don't really mind their absence. The tweets sidebar is nice, I like it. I don't, however, like the placement and layout of the social connections buttons. They just stand out, and not in a good way. Hopefully they can be reworked/redesigned to fit in better with the rest of the page.

I'm actually very tempted to enter -- I'm pretty certain I won't make it to the final round, but if I do and I can't ship my MOC, what happens? Do I just have to bow out?

That first Miru Nuva isn't anything spectacularly new, but wow it looks great. And those two Hau Nuvas are spectacular, the hollowed out one in particular is gorgeous. And that pakari with the plate on it looks great too. Recolored it would fit really with on a Deathstroke moc haha And I'm a particular fan of the third armor set, the R-7 one. I'm not, however, a fan of that custom mask -- I'm not entirely sure how to describe it lol, I can't identify the base pieces it came from, but tbh it looks crooked and a tad sloppy. :S I think it would be interesting to see an Akaku or Akaku Nuva that's totally symmetric -- ie with the scope removed. Not sure how possible that would be though.

The collection of items you've built and the sheer obsession (no pun intended haha) with detail just blows my mind. Link is gloriously well done, and I particularly like the detail on the hookshot. With that said, there's something off about Ganondorf. He's not quite bulky/muscular enough and the level of detail, while good, just doesn't match up to same level as Link.

This is a tough call...narrowed it down to Halo and Zelda, but the Halo just was a tiny bit better.

Wow. Simply wow. I really like your technique here, the use of the lime spiked inika feet on the legs parallels the use of the lime nuva armor on the torso and it's a really interesting use of the parts. Overall very slick and well put together. I like it.

I really like it: it's a great idea and done quite well. I think you need to even out the glowing on the thighs, right now only one thigh glows and the other doesn't... That being said, I really love what you've done here, and it would be great to see more.

Oh my that is simply gorgeous. I actually really dig the background: it's simple and effective and yet subtle enough that it supplements the actual art without detracting from it and without making me realize that it was really just the art all over again, haha. I love the dynamic pose you've got him in and I also am a huge fan of the few additions you've made the actual set. You managed to stay pretty true to the original and so the one addition that stands out to me is the gold trim on his staff, and you know what? I like this better than the original set. It makes more sense, in my mind, and it looks fantastic. The one thing I'm not a huge fan of is his torso...to me it looks a little flat. Those old nuva chest pieces liked to protrude out a fair bit and you've flattened it out a bit too much, IMO. But to each his own, and quite honestly this is some of the most gorgeous art I've seen in a long time. Well done. PS if you want to, y'know, post up that similarly-styled Antroz, I don't think anyone would complain...

For the Glory of the Arena is reviewed.

Hey, it's Zaxvo from the SSCC.It's an interesting take on the Glatorian concept, making them slaves and such. I have to say though, I'm not a fan of the intro. I feel like having the "good" character initially win the fight and then turn their back on a treacherous guy with no honor get up and stab them in the back is far too cliched.The ending, however, is good. It's a tragic ending, clearly, what with Gresh being forced to fight, etc. on the pain of death, but there's optimism there. There's some hope that he can work along slowly and make things better.All in all, it's a fitting kick off to a very promising story. You've set up a variety of plot lines and I look forward to seeing them all woven together.

Woah, this took me a while, but here're the reviews for Climbing the Tree of Life and Rock, Paper, Scissors. And with that, I believe the charity reviews are completely concluded.

Hey, its Zaxvo here from the SSCC. Your story has been selected for a free review!Woah. Woah woah woah. Before we get into the review proper, that first of yours is far to wordy and awkward. first of all, its not relevant at all to the rest of the story...and if it is, youre not making the connection between that first line and the rest of the tale clear enough. Was there another mysterious hooded guy that our three musketeers were hunting? Where did he go? How did he die? Which one of them killed him? The only suggestion to that is the recurring use of the word moribund which, I must admit, I hadnt heard before.Now as for that first sentence, I feel it would be much easier to simply say, The piercing scream of what was quite possibly the last male orc [or goblin, or elf, or whatever. Name the species. Dont be so vague!] shattered the frozen, paralytic silence of the Nindortham Pass and was suddenly cut short by his [or her death, for that matter] death.My point is, the sentence is far far to vague. So vague that we dont even know if this individual is male or female.Now, as you yourself acknowledge at the end, this isnt a grand story with some plot twist or message. In my opinion, its good that you have acknowledged that. Writing for writings sake is an excellent practice, and its great to see the results of that practice. Youve created an incredible world here and populated it with people of potentially many secrets and possible futures. The only thing I can provide you is more encouragement, because honestly, Im intrigued. Its a rich setting, full of possibilities. Write more.With that being said, as I touched upon above, your writing is far too vague. for example, the cloaked figure is never given a gender or species, or a reason to be killed. Was he/she/it a criminal? What did they do? Why are they the last of their species? Or, going in another direction, how did the three meet? Why are they working together? You touch upon their end goal, but how realistic is that goal? Why is Tara, obviously the youngest (and least experienced?) seemingly in charge?You leave me with more questions than I have answers. In some cases thats good; it can prime the readers or keep them in suspense, but in this quantity there are just not enough details.Overall, a brilliant example of world/setting creation, but it could use a little more flesh on the characters bones, so to speak. Keep writing :)And lastly, I couldnt help but notice a distinct D&D influence: the classic trio of a warrior, mage, and rogue, the elves having extra bonuses when it came to agility, etc. Just thought Id point that out; its an interesting allusion to make, although it is fitting in a fantasy story such as this.

Climbing the tree of lifeHey, its Zaxvo, from the SSCC. Your story has been selected for a free review.I have to say, you do a lot of things right here. In particular, I want to highlight Calvins first long bit of dialogue, beginning with Its a metaphor, and ending with youll fall behind.That there is a perfect example of showing, not telling. That classic principle of good storytelling. You accept that your readers are smart enough to put things into context (yes hes climbing a tree, yes itll take some effort) that you dont need to hammer that point home with description: your dialogue is all the proof you need.I would argue that you dont even need the phrase, With a puff, because the dialogue renders that phrase redundant and pointless.But regardless, your dialogue -- not just the words they say, but how you write those words -- is pitch perfect.I also want to pause to marvel at the fact that this is one of a few stories that unabashedly admit to having a point to get across, shove that point in the readers face, and still not be boring or high-minded or heavy handed. Conveying that point is, in this case, as simple as stating it, and yet where that comes off as dull or arrogant in other stories, here it works. And it works well.Finally, I love the ending. Its everything a good ending should be: an actual conclusion to the tale, a reinforcement of the theme of the story, and its funny, too. And it promises more adventures to come.Overall, this is an excellent adaptation of a comic strip. A story with a message and yet it doesnt suffer for that, nor does that message waver in its presentation. Top marks.Oh, and on a side note, I love the strip in your sig.

And here's the review for The Legend of time and Light.

Hey, it's Zaxvo from the SSCC!It's an interesting tale you're spinning here. My only criticism is in the entire style of writing: it's too distant. For example, near the end you say that they "battled fiercely". How fiercely? Did one trick the other? Tell us more about it. There's a distinct lack of detail -- a sort of summarizing style -- that gives the readers a rundown of the main points and yet fails to immerse us in the story.We're given this bird's eye view of the action: we're far away from it such that we only get the big picture. What about the little details? How did he get that fatal wound? What kinds of alterations to creation was Temporus making?In short, tell the readers more. We want to be captivated: you just need to open the door a bit wider and give us more.

Well...I'm late for this. My apologies. Here's the review for Rinse Cycle.