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Turaga Dlakii

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  2. Turaga Dlakii

    Icarax...

    By Turaga Dlakii,

    I bought him today. And I'm reasonably impressed. Here's why. Obviously.
     
    His shield is good. It's a pretty neat design, making good use of the old Hordika arm. Though it's not the nicest-looking of parts, it can be easily hidden behind the shield.
     
    His legs are of a great design. I never thought the Visorak-foot thing would work, but it did. And of course, the joints are ingenious, fulfilling what was attempted on Ultimate Dume in 2004. (Now, I am the master.... ) The claws work well, too.
     
    The wings are attached nicely too; haven't seen that before. Simple but effective. WATCH N LERN VAMPRAH!!
     
    The downside? Everything else. From the waist up, he's just too unarmoured. His legs are nicely kitted out and protected, but everything else is too thin and unarmed. No wonder Ignika owned him. () ToM had the right idea with the spike shoulder armour (see this entry in his blog). The other main issue is his green eyes. He needs orange, to uniformify with the others. Was it too hard to reforge that eye style in orange?
     
    Those issues aside, I still like.
  3. Turaga Dlakii
    When I started reading stuff about Brawl, I got mildly excited by one thing. Lyndis, the first main character of the first Fire Emblem game I played (and potentially Roy's mother, I might add), was going to appear as an Assist Trophy. Because of this, I was slightly more inclined to buy the game. Then, I actually played.
     
    Sure, Lyndis is okay by Assist Trophy standards (she's better than the Nintendog), but she's still pretty bad. Just one relatively weak attack? I'd certainly prefer getting Waluigi (WAA WAA WAA) or Kat and Ana (the ninja girls). I'd even prefer to use some Poké Balls.
     
    Then, most offensively, is her voice. Given that she was from a GameBoy Advance game, they had nothing to go on, but they've well and truly fouled it up. Seriously, she is supposed to be 15 (or 17, if you're playing the English version), and they made her sound like an evil 40-year-old. They made her sound like the Goddess Ashera, the last boss in Radiant Dawn!
     
    Don't believe me? Summon Lyndis, then listen very carefully. You'll hear, in a malevolent female voice that clearly doesn't belong to anyone else in the field, "Prepare yourself". Then, find someone who's finished Radiant Dawn, and have them play the introductory film for Part Four of the game. You'll hear Ashera, in the exact same tone as Lyndis, say:

    See? Horrifyingly Ashera-like.
     
    Yes, there's nothing to be done about it now. But it still offends, more than Pohatu's orange colour scheme.
  4. Turaga Dlakii
    I would've given regular updates about these past few days, but that downtime got in the way...
     
    Anyway, as to the past few days with my grandparents...
     
    Tuesday: Went to a cinema, but missed out on Get Smart. Lai and I bought Brawl instead.
     
    Wednesday: Went to a different cinema, and actually saw Get Smart. It was pretty good.
     
    Thursday: Took a train to Sydney. There's not much as amazing as the New South Wales countryside; I loved the scenery of those tree-filled mountains and valleys, and the occasional river. More on that later.
     
    Friday: After a walk up to a nearby cliffside (which I took at a run ), my parents arrived.
     
    Saturday: Two of our cousins turned up for the day. The youngest one took to attacking me, while Lai traded stuff on my copy of Emerald to the elder one without my permission. I lost a Togepi that day.
     
    Sunday: Today; I'll be headed home in a few hours.
     
    There ya go. Comment away!
  6. Turaga Dlakii
    And that's the term over.
     
    Just for a change, I might as well explain what happened today.
     
    First was English. We didn't really do anything in the class, other than watch Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (which, coincidentally, I had done an assignment on last year). It was good, but it just doesn't compare to the books.
     
    Next came Japanese. We still didn't do anything (not that it mattered; there were only three of us). We were taught some Japanese card game, using a deck of playing cards with holes punched in them.
     
    During recess, in response to a plan from earlier, I had a Pokémon battle against my friend. As usual, he won, mostly because I made a few errors with my preparations. That Gengar of his is INSANE.
     
    After that was Maths. Some of us did a test regarding Microsoft Excel, while others of us bludged and did nearly nothing. Having done the test already, I resorted to searching the Internet for decent Photoshop tutorials, some of which I found. Meanwhile, one of my friends browsed the LEGO website, discussing the topic with the teacher and a number of my friends. Given that I've sworn never to mention my LEGO interest at school (a wise move, given the trouble I get about my Pokémon interest), I sort of struggled not to join in. From what I saw of the site, Shop @ Home has the Toa Mahri cheap.
     
    In Science, we watched Mythbusters after doing some desk-cleaning which made me feel a bit ill. I took the opportunity, during the film, to alter my party to improve them, teaching the Earthquake TM to my Heracross.
     
    Then came lunch. I rematched my friend to a battle, and he won again. To make things easier, the third battle was a 3-on-3, and I actually won!
     
    Then as a finale, in SOSE, we watched a film. It was okay, but I was too concerned with what came next...
     
    At the end of the day, we got our mid-year reports. I think I did really well, though as usual, my father won't be happy. He is too obsessed with my maths results for his own good. :angry:
     
    Well, that was long. Don't expect that ever again!
  7. Turaga Dlakii

    Maths And Mew

    By Turaga Dlakii,

    News? Lai got a Mew.
     
    No, seriously. He got it from *clears throat* a friend of the sister of a friend, who happened to be at the home of one of Lai's friends at the same time as Lai. He sent a Bulbasaur and a Squirtle in exchange for a Mew and a Phione.
     
    Turns out, upon a cursory examination of the two Pokémon, both are hacks. The Mew was apparently caught at Level 29 on Route 209 or something, while the Phione was caught at Level 2 on Route 201. For each to be legitimate, the Mew would have to have been transferred from Hoenn or Kanto at Level 30 or above, while the Phione would have to be "hatched at Level 1" or else "Apparently met at Level 1", referencing where its egg came from.
     
    In other news, I've overcome the biggest obstacle of this term: the semester maths test. Arguably the hardest thing I've ever seen at this school, but at least it's over. And it probably also means that there won't be much more in maths this term. Yay for that.
     

  9. Turaga Dlakii
    ...For now.
     
    And yes, that means bye-bye to the Mudkip signoff.
     
    Anyway, for my next blog theme (I'm not going to re-do "Dlakii Industries HQ" for a while), I was thinking something to do with Ike and the Greil Mercenaries. Any other suggestions?
  10. Turaga Dlakii
    Remember what I was saying about Lai hijacking one of my latest MOCs? Well, that's been resolved very fairly, I think. B)
     
    You see, before I left for school today, I decided to get my work back. So, when he was in the kitchen, I snuck into his room and took it; he left it in a very obvious spot, a mistake I didn't repeat myself.
     
    Then, after school, I got to work reclaiming my work. To divert Lai's suspicion, I had to change the red-and-black colour scheme to red-and-silver silver and black, pardon the typo. Then I had to try to recreate the old torso, which took a lot of experimentation. The legs were somewhat Nivawk-based, yet different in a big way. The end result was, in my view, a very sleek and thin, yet mildly oversized, Toa of... something.
     
    I'll probably put him up on BZP sometime later. Then again, that's what I said about all my other MOCs... But this time I mean it!
  12. Turaga Dlakii

    Gah...

    By Turaga Dlakii,

    The following entry contains much anger. You have been warned.
     
    So, yesterday I was working on this absolutely winful MOC. It was absolutely brilliant; I made a set of custom upper arms which actually looked streamlined and heroic in my view. It was one of my better works.
     
    Then today, I came home from school, worked on it a bit more, then did some work on Chapter 4 of LIGHT for about an hour. (:wakeup2:) Then I headed back to continue work on the MOC. Guess what I found?
     
    Lai had hijacked the MOC!
     
    He'd destroyed my torso, reducing it to a lamebrained Inika design. He'd stolen MY PRIZED ARMS, and hacked them onto said torso. He'd added pathetic generic Piraka legs, and topped off the horrifying spectacle with a badly-done Vahki head.
     
    Needless to say, I was NOT HAPPY.
     
    When I interrogated him about it, he claimed to have built the whole shebang from scratch. Then he proceeded to throw every pillow in the room at me, scream, and bolt out the door, which I subsequently locked.
     
    Some justice was dealt in the end; I proceeded to mutilate a Matoran microphone he'd made.
     
    I'd like to stress that Lai is not seven years old. He's nearly thirteen.
     

  13. Turaga Dlakii

    It's Time...

    By Turaga Dlakii,

    It's time that I finally got the wheels of The Unknown Turaga: The Movie grinding!
     
    Anyway, I've pretty much got the script for the beginning sorted, and I'll now begin the long and arduous process of casting.
     
    If you wish to express interest in voicing a character in the film, post it here. I'll consider all candidates, but you're more likely to get the part if:
     
    1) You've posted at least twice in any of my comic topics (not counting those which I've co-authored on)
    2) You happen to be someone whose work I've seen previously, such as SPIRIT or Phyoohrii (whoa... nearly screwed up the spelling)
    3) You have a microphone. Seriously, do you really think I'll hire you if you don't have a microphone? That's why Lai is going to voice Dreiken.
     
    I'll post a list of roles to be filled eventually. I just need Phy to get back to me about that role offer I sent via PM...
     
    Oh yes, and PLEASE BE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS. I've been planning this for years, and now that I'm finally making progress with it, I don't want it screwed up, nor do I want you lot to spam up this entry.
     

  14. Turaga Dlakii

    Ehehehehe...

    By Turaga Dlakii,

    Yeah. Blame this guy for this. We were discussing Mudkip in my profile, and he directed me to his Maj, where I found this...
     

     
    I actually find this funny, probably because it makes Ash and Pikachu look better than they really are.
     
    (Yes, I liek mudkipz. Get over it. )
     

  16. Turaga Dlakii
    To begin, I've finally finished some sprites for SPIRIT's next PSA, which SPIRIT requested from me. And no, I didn't mention this earlier; I thought that it might be a secret project, only to be widely acknowledged after its release had been sprung upon an unsuspecting BZPower. But SPIRIT himself did, so for the day-old details, read here.
     
    Funnily enough, it was somewhat easy, which made me wonder (given that I'd put it off for a week or two), "Why didn't I do this earlier?"
     
    In other spriting news, I've finished Chapter 3 of LIGHT. Someone (other than Xaeraz) read and review... please?
     
    And in other other spriting news, I'm working on yet another sprite kit of my own. Yes, after the disastrous flop of the first one, I'll be trying again. Strange, that.
     

  17. Turaga Dlakii
    Ooh, ooh, I love these games! Now, I'm looking for krana, right? Hey, there's one! A Pahrak Ca, eh? Come here, little krana. I won't hurt you- - -
     
    GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! ZOMG IT'S GOT ME GAAAAAAAAAH!!!
     
    Cleanitallitmustblecleanedcleanitallitmustbecleaned...
     
    (Yup, 754 posts does this to people. )
     

  18. Turaga Dlakii
    Holy Gadunka... look at those krana. There's SO MANY OF THEM!
     
    (Before you asked, I just reached 750 posts. Sure, to most that's nothing, but given that I didn't use this account for about two years... To this day, I will never understand how DudeNuva has over double my posts in under half the time. )
     

  19. Turaga Dlakii
    I said I was going to refurbish this blog entirely, right? True, I'm about six months overdue with said refurbishment, but better late than never!
     
    And now, I give you... my refreshed and Mudkippified blog!
     
    Having said that, today (at least, in MY timezone) happens to be my 15th birthday. Even better, tomorrow I will be receiving Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, the ONE game that I've been happily anticipating for the past two years! Fire Emblem for the Wii... it can't get better than that!

     
    More details as the event unfolds.
  20. Turaga Dlakii
    As some of you may remember, last year I tried converting The Unknown Turaga into an epic. I think it went okay, but I simply lost interest in it. Now I plan to try it again, but this time, I'll start the story further back... about 1,300 years, to be exact.
     
    I plan to release it when I release LIGHT, at the start of 2008. By some amazing coincidence, the epic will start with LIGHT. I've already finished the first chapter, and I'm working on the second at the moment. Here's a preview of the first chapter of The Dlakii Chronicles.
     
    CHAPTER 1: DUSK GUARD
     
    300 years before the Great Cataclysm
     
    Midnight. Six small figures slowly crept down an icy mountainside. Unerringly, they traversed the crumbly rock. At a cliff edge, they halted at the signal of a green-hued Matoran in the lead.
    “Is this it?” inquired the rear Matoran, clad in red armour, a hint of impatience creeping into his loud voice.
    “Yup,” replied the leader, never looking back. “If Makuta’s information is correct - -”
    “Which it is!” a brown Matoran indignantly interjected.
    “…then there is a nest of Nui-Jaga down on that monument. Think you can hit’em from here, Dlakii?” the leader continued, turning to address a pearl-white Matoran.
    Dlakii, the Ko-Matoran, paused before slowly answering “I’ll try.”
    Dlakii strode to the edge of the cliff, pulled out a weathered bow and strung it. He placed an arrow into the bow, as he had countless times before. As he pulled back the string, a black-armoured Matoran cautioned him, “Remember, Dlakii, you don’t need to actually hit them. You just need to scare them out of their nest.”
    Aiming the bow, Dlakii impatiently told him in a cold, quiet voice, “No need to rush me, Harkha.” He pulled the string back, sweat beading from his Kanohi Kakama. Confident he had one targeted, Dlakii let the arrow fly.
     
    What happens next, you may ask? You'll have to wait until January 2008!
     
    Dlakii
  21. Turaga Dlakii
    Yeah, so I recently bought Hydraxon. He was very reasonably priced, too, at about AU $30. The only cheaper big sets I've seen were the Nui-Rama, back in 2001. Ah yes, good times...
     
    Anyway, I'd like to do a proper review, but I can't since Hydraxon's been here for days now, and the review just wouldn't work with an already-opened set. Ah well, there's always Maxilos and Spinax...
     
    I'll say this though: Hydraxon's one innovative set, using several pieces in ways I certainly didn't think of. His hands are incredible! The only drawback would be his mask. It looks far too plain. He's still value for money, though. As I said earlier, he sells for about AU $30. I think that's about US $21, going from my experiences with signing up for Premier Membership.
     
    Dlakii
  22. Turaga Dlakii
    Ladies, gentlemen, small blue furry things...
     
    What? That's the way to start an entry.
     
    Anyway, I place this blog entry in commemoration of a milestone, one long in production. After one year and eleven months of comic making (possibly more or less), I have finally made exactly one hundred and fifty (150) comics!
     
    Don't believe me? Look at this tally.
     
    As at Thursday November 1 2007, 4:50 PM
     
    +76 comics in The Newsroom
    +25 comics in The Unknown Turaga
    +15 comics in Land of Dragons
    +12 comics made for Silver Jaller’s Comics
    +11 published fan comics
    +9 comics made for Serasha’s Comics
    +6 comics made for Mission: Server Downtime
    +4 comics made for Froops
    +2 comics in Happy Snaps
    ___________________________________________
    = 150 published sprite comics made by Turaga Dlakii
     
    Still don't believe me? Read 'em yourself, in this topic.
     
    In other news, I intend to give this bloggy of mine a bit of an overhaul later this month. It won't remain boring forever.
     
    Dlakii
  23. Turaga Dlakii
    Well, the supposedly eventful week passed. Nothing exciting really happened, not even on my 14th birthday. Ah well. For the record, I didn't get anything, nor did I ask for anything. I bought all the Barraki beforehand. But the day wasn't so bad. I finally finished building my old AT-AT (from Christmas 2003), so I'm happy for a while, except when it falls apart, which is often. My advice: LEGO AT-ATs and acting out the Battle of Hoth don't mix. Do you know how awkward they are to rebuild?
     
    I only got one thing for my birthday (contrary to above): the first in a manga series called Death Note from a friend. It's one of the most interesting things I've read in a while. If you're looking for an entertaining manga comic, I suggest it.
     
    Dlakii
     
    It's time for... Random Quote Of The Week (or so)
     

     
    -Liz, Dilbert
  24. Turaga Dlakii
    About a few weeks ago, we got a new computer, loaded with Microsoft's Windows Vista Home Edition. Over last year, there seemed to be plenty of hype surrounding Windows Vista. Microsoft simply wouldn't keep quiet about it, even offering a downloadable demo of the operating system. So, now that Vista has been made widely available, the big question is: Is Windows Vista all it's cracked up to be?
     
    Short answer: No.
     
    Of course, I've had a fair amount of experience with Windows, dating back to my first computer in 1999 (Windows 98 Second Edition, which my father wants to get rid of in favour of the new computer with Vista). They've all had their fair share of problems (Our Windows XP laptop refuses to download anything anymore). Yet I say that Vista is the worst of the lot. I don't care what Microsoft says. Windows Vista is really very pathetic.
     
    Why, I hear you ask? Well, I'll start with security. Microsoft claims that Windows Vista is THE most secure version of Windows ever. It says that you'll have greater peace of mind with Vista around. And yet, just days after Vista's release, I checked a newspaper's website and found about a half-dozen reports of Vista's security leaks and weaknesses. Thus I stand by my statement that Vista has more holes in it than Swiss cheese. If you thought that XP was bad (I think that it is, but at least it's better than Vista), you ain't seen nothing yet.
     
    Microsoft made a major song and dance about Vista's graphics being the best computer graphics in existence. Of course, they forgot to mention that you need to use any version of Vista other than Home Basic (For the record, I use Home Premium) AND you need a fancy graphics card. Something expensive such as nVidia will do nicely. Yet another way to get people to pay more! Microsoft's done it again! Then there's the little matter of Flip-3D: Vista's new way of seeing everything that's open (See one of the pictures below). Big deal. Any nit with Microsoft Paint can skew things like that. (I know. I tried.) For Flip-3D, you again need the aforementined nVidia or ATI graphics card, not to mention Home Premium, Business, Enterprise or Ultimate versions of Vista. Capitalism alert.
     
    Then of course, we get to the fact that Microsoft has taken everything we Windows 95 - Windows XP users know and love, and have decided to hide it to make Vista look 'better'. Menu toolbars (File, Edit, etc.) have been hidden away, and I had to buy one of those For Dummies books to fish it out of Vista's bushes. The Off button on the Start Menu has been changed to a button that makes your computer sleep, while the Shut Down button has been hidden away in an extra menu that few people will ever notice. Media Player has become perhaps the most confusing program ever made, because the Menu toolbar has again been hidden away and replaced with a whole heap of ebon buttons marked "Now Playing", "Sync", "Rip", "Burn" and other cryptic media stuff that no-one will ever use. Outlook Express, the e-mail program, has been pointlessly named "Windows Mail". The Control Panel has been completely reorganised in a way that still leaves me confused, and considering that I'm the one that fiddles with computer settings around here, that's a really bad thing. I don't want to know what went through Microsoft's head when they were designing Vista. Maybe they were thinking "Hey, how about we mess up everything that Windows users have grown to use for years, and lose all our long-serving customers?"
     
    The Internet is my next big complaint. I've got nothing against the Internet, obviously. But every so often, I can be heard complaining about broadband. Broadband is always connected, which can make your computer a sitting duck for spyware. At least with dial-up, you can disconnect it whenever you like. You've just seen five paragraphs of complaints about Vista. So what do you get if you combine Vista and broadband? A whole heap of pain, that's what. You'll have to buy a really good antivirus program if you plan to use broadband Internet on Vista. (You should get an antivirus program even if you're not using broadband or Vista.)
     
    For all you comic and sprite makers, breathe easy: Vista still has Microsoft Paint in it. I find it a little bit blurry. It could just be my graphics, but I viewed comics on it and they blurred something shocking. My suggestion is that you stick to whatever you're used to for spriting. I won't do my comics on Vista. Additionally, you'll find that Paint has been reorganised so that the pallette we're all used to is changed and that it's been glued permanently to the top of your window. It's pretty minor as complaints go, but still a bit annoying.
     
    Finally, my biggest complaint, one that won't affect many of you: Vista refuses to play LEGO Rock Raiders, and probably any older LEGO games as well. I installed it twice and it kept complaining that there was a DLL file missing. I'm going to look into it closer later on, and I'll update here to tell you what to do. It handles the LEGO Star Wars games perfectly, though.
     
    ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~
     
    So there you have it. Windows Vista reviewed in all its uselessness. My advice to you is: Don't buy Windows Vista, no matter how much Microsoft stamps its feet. Stick with you tried-and-true Windows XP. But if you have no choice and you do end up with Windows Vista, I suggest that you buy the book Windows Vista for Dummies (2007, Wiley Publishing). It will help you deal with Vista's whinging and whining. Screenshots coming soon!
     
    Dlakii
  25. Turaga Dlakii

    Ho Hum.

    By Turaga Dlakii,

    Once again comes that really long time of year. The time when BZP traffic slows down something scary. The time when the influx of reviews for us comic-makers drops drastically, especially for those of us who barely get posts anyway. The time when the admins don't have to kick the server or anything they say in those "Server Busy" messages (not that I know).
     
    Needless to say, there's a very good reason for me to be blabbing as above, which is because I don't have a very good reason to update or anything. But from my limited experience in this bloggy field, the best blogs are full of blab. OK, maybe not full, but the idea gets across. Oh, doesn't it? OK, then, this is what I'm trying to say: Life. Is. Slowing. Down. And. In. Blogs. Waffle. Is. Good.
     
    This is not a bad thing, nor is it simply limited to BZP. Anyways, I should take this opportunity to stop whinging to people several thousand kilometres* away who can't do anything about it anyway. And to end, I wish to advise to the world the presence of a new Newsroom.
     
    Dlakii
     
    *It could be really true, or I could be measuring all the world's modem cables.
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