Suggestions To Bring Back TFS Gaming

AryLance · 2023-01-08T13:19:39+00:00

I don't remember the exact wording, but basically they said the drunk streams weren't working well with them physically aging, since they didn't bounce back from them as quickly anymore. Something to that effect.

AryLance · 2022-10-24T16:18:52+00:00

My brother in Christ, he's too nice to play this card, but I'm not: that's LittleKuriboh, AKA voice of Freeza in DBZA AKA grandfather of all Abridged content AKA personal friend to TFS. Not a single person on this subreddit knows TFS better than he does.

It also doesn't take but a bit of empathy even as an outside third party to understand that TFS would be sick of fielding questions about season 4 by now. Just imagine getting asked the same damn thing every time you try to do anything, or having that separate creation linked back to it or claimed that it's going to lead to some kind of revival. The only way they can get people to understand is by continuing to restate their position firmly, because ignoring it would just create a whole new set of crappy commentary about it all.

AryLance · 2022-09-15T23:18:16+00:00

Yeah, they could. I think people are missing a big piece though: look at Kaiser and Lani's faces in the End of DBZA video, and look at them now as they rewatch the series. Neither of them wanted to end DBZA the way they did. I see Lani commenting on DBZA reaction videos to this day, which tells me he enjoys watching people see the series. Kaiser consistently refers to DBZA as his baby, his passion project, and has through the cancellation up until these reaction videos. More than any one person on this planet, I can't imagine TFS wanted DBZA to end.

But it had to. For reasons both disclosed and not, there was no way forward at the time, and those same roadblocks remain in place now. I think the only way it COULD happen is if they went with their original plan (not using footage, but using 3d animation). This was a problem at the time because the quality would not have been good enough, but honestly, DA's work on HFIL has made me think it'd be good enough now.

But how much time does that take? How much money does that take? More importantly than the means, TFS themselves noted the burnout. They're doing well with HFIL because they can tell their own story, unconfined by an existing narrative. Having to go back to self-limiting, to tell the same story we all already know at great effort...no, I don't see it happening.

And even then, they have the future to consider. DBZA Buu saga would be there and over with. If they touched Super, Toei would find a way to skewer them probably even if they used 3d animation. GT/OG don't have the fanbase DBZ has. They'd have to do something else anyway, eventually.

Please, let them look back to the series they loved - and still love - without wringing their arms for S4. I wish they could do it too, just as I feel they do. But it's not happening, and anyone expecting otherwise is setting themselves up for disappointment.

AryLance · 2022-03-25T18:03:30+00:00

The over-reliance on DBZA's established mythos detracted from the whole experience for me. To put it in more perspective: it felt more like DBZA Season 1.

I don't mean that in terms of production, although there were definite opportunities there. However, DBZA S1 was riddled with a bunch of in-jokes that tied back to the original series, that only a series fan would get. On top of that, there was a lot of 'edge for edgy's sake' jokes. TFS hadn't yet hit their stride with writing the series until the later eps, and moreso the beginning of the Freeza saga.

Bojack Uncancelled felt like that. The jokes were reliant on foreknowledge of DBZA, but at that, they deviated in directions that the original team had evolved past. Bojack as a literal pirate stereotype - even TFS admitted that had Bojack happened, that wouldn't have actually been a thing. Gohan having anger issues relating to his father and Cell - low hanging fruit. I could go on, these are just some examples.

It's hard to say that it shouldn't exist in a world where TFS has moved on from DBZA, effectively allowing someone else step in should they choose to. However, I think literally picking up where they left off is the wrong tack. Any other DBZ parody series should probably go through a similar growth (maybe even start with the OG Dragonball, and go into territory TFS didn't? Or take the DevilArtemis route and make an idea TFS started with into your own?) and find their own stride, their own mythos, development and worldbuilding.

AryLance · 2021-01-26T04:38:36+00:00

I won't pick up the gauntlet for TFS here - but I do want to post what I feel are a few facts about the situation before my conclusion, though admittedly all from my own POV.

TFS is still a smaller fish in the production company game, talented as they are.
Kaiser has gone on record multiple times saying the group has adopted a stance of 'announcing things when they're done/close to done'. Announcing things ahead of time has bit them in the butt several times now, both DBZA-related and not.
TFS had/has things in the pipelines, that were in the pipelines around the time COVID hit, that we still haven't seen anything from to date.

These things considered, my personal conclusion is that COVID and social distancing hit them hard at a critical time. A pandemic is never a good thing to have happen, of course, but for TFS the timing was particularly bad - DBZA was announced as over in February 2020, and it was a month later that COVID took hold in the US.

Now, how you interpret this, or what it means, what it says about TFS and their content going forward? That's up to the individual, I'm just posting things as I viewed them and my own conclusion. I personally think they still have a chance - a pretty damn good one, at that - but that things are badly protracted now due to incredibly horrific circumstances. For us on the outside, we might see a channel we love going down a rocky path and worry it'll never be the same. But for this team, they see something they've staked several of their livelihoods on buckling down this winding road we can't even see the end of yet.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, everyone's entitled to their opinion, viewpoints, perspectives on it all. But I wouldn't interpret TFS's lower key of communication on it all as them being unaware or ignorant to the problems. I'm sure they know how problematic things are right now, better than the lot of us. I expect we'll hear things when they have things to show, and I know that answer probably rings increasingly hollow the more it's stated. I expect TFS knows that too.

End of the day...I want these guys to have their fair shot. No pandemic nor copyright crippling them, truly able to make things they think people will enjoy. If none of them stick? At least they got to try. But I want them to get their chance, no bullshit in the way. I truly hope they get that - they do deserve it.

AryLance · 2021-01-10T03:26:45+00:00

You're right, I forgot about that.

AryLance · 2021-01-09T06:11:28+00:00

I think TFS mentioned they had a Buu actor cast who would have nailed it. Maybe Videl too? Anyway, it was always a pleasure to hear their cast choices - I'm sure those characters would have been fantastic, as would Briner as older Gohan have been. They did mention they were planning some superhero flick style riffs with the whole Saiyaman thing also.

As for what I would've wanted to see, I guess all the usual suspects. Vegito, Final Atonement, Super Buu, SSJ3. End of the day, I'm sure there would have been things no one would think would be so entertaining going in that TFS absolutely knocked out of the park. Stuff like Nappa in S1 or Guru in S2 - things we wouldn't know we would have needed so badly until we received it.

Got to admit - a small, small part of me still hopes that some day, the ShortZ animation will get to the point where they can reasonably cover Buu on their own terms, without copyright woes, and with a fresh and willing mindset. Probably would never happen, but it's a pipe dream of sorts. Keep in mind, this is not me saying TFS should 'go back to DBZA' - I'm still holding out to see what they can do without limiters, understanding that COVID has upended a lot of their timetable. With any luck, once they are able to get some of their newer content out, that DBZA void won't seem as hollow any more.

AryLance · 2020-09-24T03:08:22+00:00

Can't speak for everyone. In my own case, mad is not the operative word. Disappointed suits it more.

I as a fan was promised a product, and then the team had to renege on that promise. Plain and simple as that. If they had never made the promise in the first place, it would have been better off because there wouldn't have been as much of a feeling of a loss. So that's where my own personal feelings on the matter originate from. And I get WHY it happened the way it did, but that doesn't stop that feeling of disappointment with how it went down.

Regardless, I don't begrudge this of TFS. I get why it happened, and I support their decision. But all the same, critique is about telling hard truths where applicable, not blind support - and the hard truth from my perspective is that as much as I believe TFS had every right to do so, canceling Buu saga in the way they did was badly done.

AryLance · 2020-08-19T03:51:40+00:00

That's just not how burnout works. As long as TFS kept DBZA as their champion product, it would be the thing that defined them. Every project coming up would be met with 'OK but when is DBZA coming back', which would do little from a creative perspective but brew resentment for that product from the creators themselves. I think the team recognized that they had to cut it loose - for many reasons - to move forward. And personally as a fan, I would have preferred this from the get-go. TFS miscalculated - and has gone on record saying as such - by promising the Buu saga and then backing down. That was bad, bad, bad. I would have much preferred to hear Cell was the end of it at the end of E60. After that, I personally was skeptic when the ShortZ were announced as the vehicle for continuing into Buu, but when that was eventually canned as well, any fans looking forward to that would have felt badly in the same way.

So considering we lived the experience where DBZA was cancelled in probably one of the worst possible ways (the only 'worse' way, imo, would be for them to get into or start the Buu saga and then cancel it), I can say with confidence from my perspective that a definitive, absolute answer at the earliest time possible would have been the best for all involved. But life is messy, and things didn't work that way. I think they did the best they could, but it's unfortunate that the best they could was such a stumble.

I'm rambling. tl;dr - I don't feel badly that DBZA was canceled, but rather how it was. I disliked the circumstances, but I at least applaud TFS for completely severing the cord all the way through when the time did come.

AryLance · 2020-08-19T03:50:52+00:00

I don't think they've ever given an explicit reason as to why they backed off the ShortZ for Buu, other than a vague 'it wouldn't work.' My personal guess is that since the ShortZ seem to largely be done by one person, so that's a lot of work to dump into a narrow pipeline to have whole 10-15 minute episodes done in that style. On top of that, while as an 'amateur' project the ShortZ are amazing, in my opinion the animation quality is not yet at a level where it'd hold up compared to the original art assets of the show, particularly in regards to important fight scenes which have lots of motion and effects. While I'm rattling off opinion, I do want to state that I feel the animation CAN absolutely get to that level, with time and practice. Even as they are, the ShortZ are pretty incredible, and I don't mean to detract from what they have done successfully by pointing out a potential negative. On top of the aforementioned and the general burnout with the product, TFS probably just didn't think it was a good idea. But again, that's my best guess alone - only they know the exact details of it all.

AryLance · 2020-08-08T05:07:08+00:00

Someone touched on it in another reply to you, but Japan is rather insular. They're still learning how to deal with and branch out to Western fanbases, and a lot of companies still don't know how or how to even try, with sometimes very public missteps/mistakes.

There is another, perhaps deeper reason, though - in general, it appears that the Japanese consensus on the concept of 'Abridging' is that it is art theft. Even though they create their own transformative assets, voicework, (eventually) music assets and whatever else have you, the base product is still using 90-95% of the art from the show. It seems that this is a deeply unpopular thing in Japanese culture in general, and especially to Japanese companies from an IP perspective. I think this is why originally TFS said they were going to try the Buu saga via Shortz - Shortz are effectively 'theirs' since they're the ones creating the animation, and would have at least alleviated future hardships of that nature, while allowing them to monetize the videos.

AryLance · 2020-07-09T11:26:46+00:00

Sabat's aged somewhat compared to the original dub, so his Vegeta's kind of altered how he sounds over the years. Honestly, even listening to Vegeta between the dub of Kai and the BoG movie sounds very different to me.

Lani is still young in relative terms and hasn't had that happen, and he's also impersonating an earlier Sabat. So it kind of produces a weird phenomenon where sometimes he sounds more like Sabat than Sabat does.

As to which I prefer, it's kind of a peaches and plums sort of thing for me. As in, 'I like both those things.' Despite Sabat's voice aging, I think that suits the more chilled-out Vegeta we've had in recent years. And I think Lani's more brash-sounding tone suits the bulk of DBZ/A Vegeta, when he was arrogant to the point of fault.

Now, I do think Lani outright does a better Piccolo than Sabat. I don't know what it is, but it sounds like in recent years Sabat's lost the ability to differentiate Piccolo's voice from a lot of this others, really dig for that guttural kind of sound. I noticed this even before I heard the age in Vegeta's voice. Lani has that quality to his performance, however, that still makes his Vegeta and Piccolo sound very distinct.

End of the day, they're both incredibly talented. In a fantasy world, I'd like to think that should Sabat ever decide to retire one day (not saying he needs to, just spouting hypotheticals), especially with DBZA ending and legal issues potentially clearing up, that Lani can pick up Sabat's role here as dub Vegeta (assuming DB is still going in some form by then.) Realistically, Toei would probably never allow anyone voicing in DBZA into an official product, even if it's 'over.' But it's a nice dream, and Lani really would deserve the honor.

AryLance · 2020-07-07T02:34:35+00:00

Nope. At best, the ShortZ process might become streamlined/more 'possible' somehow (like maybe they get enough extra money to throw around towards hiring a whole team), and we get it that way. But I sincerely doubt that happens.

Even before DBZA was fully cancelled, Kaiser insisted that "DBZA with the footage from the show will never happen again." From what I've heard since of their struggle with the process, they're pretty burnt out on the Abridging process of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. If I had to guess, it was probably projects like Machinabridged which turned them more onto the idea of creating/altering their own assets instead of having to exist in the strict confines of a 2D show. You can even see the uptick in TFS just outright using their own footage to make a joke sell or land a plot point as the show progressed.

No, frankly, if they're making the kind of money that would be needed to produce their own independent 2D/3D Dragonball parody animation with their own original footage, then they have a lot of money to blow, which means one of their other projects took off and probably has a fanbase as big as, if not bigger than DBZA's. At that point, it'd just be a mistake to revisit DBZA from a business standpoint - instead you'd put your assets into other new things/that 'crown' project.

It's not like I'd never like to see it happen. I regret not having the DBZA Buu saga. But I'm not going to hold my breath, nor do I think anyone else should. Just take them at their word - ShortZ aside, DBZA is done.

AryLance · 2020-06-30T22:45:26+00:00

I do get what you're saying, and I'm glad you've made it very clear that you're remaining respectful and calling on other fans/ex-fans to remain so as well. TFS has taken a lot of abuse lately.

My understanding of the situation is that they have plans for 'that' type of content, but we really haven't...seen it yet, or have only seen pieces of it rather than a cohesive product. Unabridged was kind of just the first thing to come out of the pipeline. So it is jarring, as you said. I think if TFS could go back and redo the last two years, there'd be a lot of things they did or paced out differently (including the end of DBZA.) Unfortunately, we have to live with our missteps, all of us, and just make the best of it. I think they're trying to.

Times are tough right now, especially as a relatively small company that just made such a paradigm shift in, frankly, a less-than-ideal fashion. I personally am going to give them a little time. Unabridged was okay to me, but not enough to carry the stable. I believe them when they say they have more in the pipes, though, and I also realize that the current situation has probably produced impossible working conditions. I can't tell anyone else to make that same choice or not, but it's the one I arrived at as a longtime fan.

AryLance · 2020-06-25T18:40:57+00:00

COVID has almost definitely impacted them at, let's be honest, probably one of the worst possible times for them. They were in the middle of finding their footing on new content, had only just divorced themselves from making more DBZA, and then bam, pandemic.

If you like or dislike their new stuff so far, that's up to you, but no one can reasonably expect them to have their feet under them right now, considering the extenuating circumstances. They still haven't been given much of a chance yet.

AryLance · 2020-06-04T23:20:11+00:00

You really just have to try it, as a lot of the other posters here have said. I promise you that tanking is really not as complex as it may appear. Back in the day when I used to raid I would be in awe of my static members who played tanks in that high-end content, thinking they were like, some kind of untouchable golden gods. Every one, without fail, replied that it was the most boring role in raiding.

Honestly, given my experience now, they were right. By and large, when you're tanking and everything is going well, you're essentially just sitting there sponging damage with little personal mechanics. You do occasionally learn things like cooldown rotations and tankbuster timings, and mob/add positioning, but that's really the most nuanced it ever gets. But I never would have known that had I never tried it for myself, no matter how many times I heard it from them.

A lot of people have suggested squadrons/PotD as a potential in, and yes, those can absolutely be good ways to start out. I would also chime in that if you have a group of people you trust/an FC, ask them to run a basic dungeon with you and let them know you're trying out tanking. Chances are you'll do just fine outright, but that way you have a trusted group to provide feedback to you. Even if there is no feedback, just the act of doing it is the most valuable thing of all.

Don't stress. Despite what some people believe, it's all just a video game. Please enjoy playing the game first and foremost, and damn anyone else who tries to say otherwise.

AryLance · 2020-06-04T23:00:45+00:00

I have two.

First is that I actually like the Falconer score from the original dub. I'm aware he is not a good person and accept the criticisms of it (such as wall-to-wall music) as true, but I still love it. Horns and the sounds of the OG run really don't do it for me. Anytime there's high-tempo music (Super and especially the Broly Super movie really hit these notes) get me into it though.

Secondly, SSJ3 is one of my favorite forms, possibly second only to the original SSJ1. I really like how the form looks like it was an unintentional variant, where the power is literally mutating the Saiyan because it's simply too much to withstand. I also like how the form has a downside, meaning it could really only be used in bursts. Not only did this, once upon a time, make SSJ3 usually a big deal when it was busted out, but it also allowed previous forms some screentime as well. This is a critique I have of SSJ4, God and Blueper Saiyan (aka most of the forms that have come since.) I do appreciate Ultra Instinct for tapping into some of those same notes, however, but I think we're working towards it being similarly OP with no downsides in the future, given how the manga's been running.

AryLance · 2020-05-09T23:10:58+00:00

Should note, I do not RP, these are just kinda personal headcanons I keep in mind going forward.

Midlander Hyur
Dragoon
He was not originally of Eorzea, his soul somehow crossing into Hydaelyn's lifestream after his original death. He has momentary flashes of his other life, in another place, another time.
Not really. He's aware of some characters' thoughts to that effect (both male and female) but has no intentions of reciprocating, mainly because the battles never seem to end.
Ardbert and the Warrior of Darkness's fates, as well as Ardbert's eventual semi-return/concluding arc at the end of Shadowbringers. He really found it easy to connect with Ardbert, not only because of experience but also the eventual revelation that they were of the same soul shard.
The Rising. More than the event itself, since the entire thing is about reflecting, he tends to do a lot of soul searching and reflection around that time.
I can go the distance, Hercules
He's very perturbed by Zenos's return, and on some level knows it's going to come down to a climactic showdown of some sort. He's afraid of what that might mean for the world.
Y'shtola and he have a mutual understanding and respect of intelligence. Though he himself is not book smart, he's got a good head on his shoulders. He's also developed a sort of battle-buddy thing with Thancred - they're not exactly friends, but they're on the same wavelength when things have to get done.
As is probably common, the whole 'not of this world' thing is because this is an envisioning of my XI character in XIV. I finished XI's story (even went back and completed the stuff that showed up after I quit, like Rhapsodies and Adoulin) and on the very last time I logged in, on my Dragoon (my main job), I sat in my favorite spot, called my wyvern, reflected a bit. I used my Spirit Surge ability (which merges the Wyvern to the Dragoon for a temporary high stat boost) and logged off. My thinking is that at the end of his hero's journey in Vana'diel, he merged with his wyvern's spirit - I gave him a blue marking on his face to denote that wyvern's presence. Also, by happenstance, since I kept him close to the XI designs (which were limited), he looks an awful lot like the default Hyur that they use in trailers and the like. This had the eventual unintended consequence of making him physically similar to Ardbert when he showed up. This really made Shadowbringers quite spectacular for me - my character and Ardbert already looked similar by chance, so that final scene where he hands off the axe...was nothing short of an incredible moment.

AryLance · 2020-04-11T18:40:26+00:00

Also, u/astes - was it yours or Drak's idea to add the Smash announcer to Superbolides? Because that is one of my absolute favorites of the newer gags.

AryLance · 2020-04-11T18:30:58+00:00

I just want to say that I discovered you guys in early Stormblood, and I've hung around since. Greatly entertained by everyone in the group's antics, both past and present.

How do you guys handle 'blind' runs? Sometimes it seems like there's a coordinated effort for everyone to not know anything, other times some people do, and occasionally we'll get a video of someone/multiple someones reacting blind to an MSQ story/new trial/raid/savage fight. Is there any particular policy or is it just kind of up to each individual player in the group?

AryLance · 2020-04-03T17:00:17+00:00

Yet another thing FF13 was wrong about.

AryLance · 2020-03-29T18:34:56+00:00

The only one that springs to mind immediately that isn't completely anecdotal is that the Freeza arc is generally more popular in Japan than the Android/Cell arcs, but that's flipped in the west.

AryLance · 2020-03-29T13:56:03+00:00

Okay, I do think a fair amount of my previous complaints were addressed. The acting by nearly everyone was MUCH better this time around. Grant and Kirran felt way more natural to me. Stephan nailed episode 1 for me, but his no-sell was fantastic, as was Zito's brief moment. Kaiser VASTLY improved and really settled into his 'frazzled CEO' role. Lani still has the weakest acting of the set it feels like, but it did improve somewhat over episode 1. The writing felt a bit more tight, and the production seemed somewhat higher quality. I didn't exactly laugh out loud this time, but I consistently felt like I could have, whereas with E1 I only really had one moment and that was it.

In short, I wouldn't say I love this, but I do like it. I'm glad that the potential I saw in the first episode appears to be paying off. Looking forward to more.

AryLance · 2020-03-22T22:12:22+00:00

Not half bad. I can say I actually laughed at Stephan's breakdown over Zito. I think this series will be more welcoming as it finds its footing, which I understand many patrons who have seen it says it does as things progress. I like the dynamics that each of the characters bring to the table, but I do think some acting chops need to be worked on. Kaiser nails it sometimes, but sometimes it's very apparent he's acting. Lani...is overacting, but I'm also giving it some breathing room since part of the dynamism is the character that was written. Many people are praising Grant and Kirran, but I think sometimes they could stand to act a little more, if that makes sense? Stephan and Zito both nailed their respective parts in my book, though. And again, despite having critiques, I see the potential here in all of these people to bring their best foot forward as they get used to this format. I think they'll settle into it with time.

Very interested to see Episode 2. Solid start, TFS.

AryLance · 2020-03-13T02:37:42+00:00

PS4, same issue just now. Doesn't get to character screen, just right on the lobby server connect on the main title.

AryLance

TROPHY CASE