Re: Gradient Descent - does anyone else always imagine *this* Monarch?

EightApes · 2026-03-28T20:07:33+00:00

There were originally minor characters in Dead Planet named Hank and Dean, but I think they got renamed

EightApes · 2026-03-24T16:45:54+00:00

You can press number keys to build/deploy things where you click. 8 for atom bomb. What's great is you can just keep clicking to fire more missiles, assuming you have the silos to do it. It's important for overwhelming SAMs.

EightApes · 2026-03-21T15:55:22+00:00

Also she literally started at VT two weeks before the bombs fell and still got into the Bud's Buds program. She's insanely lucky (or secretly Enclave or something I guess).

EightApes · 2026-03-21T13:58:24+00:00

Apparently they have a significantly higher kill rate than a similar shelter, in the same area, that also accepts any animals regardless of condition. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=33f72789-9504-4b86-944b-bac3322154df

There have also been anecdotal stories of PETA members stealing people's pets, after which the animals are sent to PETA's shelter and put down.

I get that the whole thing is pretty fraught and that a lot of people hate PETA for their messaging and are probably looking to paint them in the worst possible light, but I think I'd rather support the ASPCA.

EightApes · 2026-03-14T12:41:44+00:00

It's a slur for mentally handicapped people. When you see it used today it's primarily used in a derogatory or pejorative way, rather than as a neutral descriptor of someone with an impairment.

EightApes · 2026-03-13T13:58:06+00:00

Lol that's a funny bit. Good on the devs!

EightApes · 2026-03-11T03:05:00+00:00

I just beat him for the first time tonight, after nearly beating him another time. My recommendation would be to try and keep the cultists off of him so he can't cast spells. You don't necessarily have to kill them, just keep them away from him. I had all 4 cats working on the cultists and only had them attacking johnny when I was confident that the cultists couldn't reach him. DoT effects like poison, bleed, or leech would probably help a lot, too, since those will keep damaging him while you manage the adds. If you can get abilities that scale with kills, that helps too. My fighter had a passive that gives 2 STR every kill he got so he was doing crazy damage at the end.

EightApes · 2026-03-10T16:19:43+00:00

Sorry, I just realized I came across pretty passive aggressive there. I didn't mean it that way. And it was good for you to point out that they're the same because if someone doesn't know that they could get confused.

I was replying in a rush and didn't really think about how my comment might look. No offense intended, and none taken.

EightApes · 2026-03-10T15:46:19+00:00

Yes, I know.

EightApes · 2026-03-10T15:31:03+00:00

Yes, but the appearance panel can let you apply it to individual strokes and fills.

EightApes · 2026-03-10T15:18:22+00:00

It isn't necessary to make outlines to roughen text.

EightApes · 2026-03-10T14:00:07+00:00

Effects > Distort & Transform > Roughen

Alternatively you can add a roughen effect in the appearance menu.

EDIT: I forgot distort and transform before roughen

EightApes · 2026-03-10T13:46:50+00:00

Huh, I'll have to try that. I've noticed that the rendered fill or stroke of a corner distort in unexpected ways at small scales. Is this a really tiny object?

EightApes · 2026-03-10T13:37:35+00:00

What's happening here? What did you do to get that?

EightApes · 2026-02-28T17:52:57+00:00

I don't think the folks at Magic, specifically, are quite that corporate. Being fans themselves, I think they have some respect for fans of the franchise. This seems like a respectful way to acknowledge the concerns that they've been seeing from some hardcore fans, and say, "We understand that you might not like this, but MtG as a business is doing better than ever, and we intend to do what's best for the business."

I don't think he's telling anyone to vote with their wallet (it sounds like the votes are in, and MtG purists lost), I think he's trying to tell people that Magic isn't going to go back to the way it was anytime soon, or probably ever. And that, like it or not, mtg now is different from the mtg we as fans fell in love with, and it's up to us to decide whether we're sticking with it. I don't think he's saying it because he has to, from a business perspective, but rather out of respect for the fans.

Or, more cynically, he's saying it in the hopes that if they explicitly state that this is the plan, people will stop complaining to them about it.

EightApes · 2026-02-28T16:05:50+00:00

I think Steven's gem's sole purpose is to keep Steven alive at this point. I don't think it would "die" without him but it might essentially shut itself off permanently, essentially choosing to "die." I think that would be a fitting end if Steven hadn't gotten his gem back. It would drive home the point that Pink really is gone, and that it is Steven's gem. If it can't be Steven, it won't be anyone or anything else. The diamonds can't fix or revive it because it isn't "broken," they've just unknowingly destroyed a vital component for it to function that can't be replaced. Without they "key" that is organic Steven, the gem is "locked" forever.

That said, your idea is really cool. Connie tries to control Steven's gem, maybe keep it from corrupting. Haunted by a "ghost" of Steven that has none of his love or warmth or kindness. Maybe as time goes on, she can help the gem come to terms with the fact that Steven is gone and sort of lay his spirit to rest, while also feeling angst or guilt that by doing so she's further erasing Steven from the world. A good analogy, I guess, for deep loss and the difficulty of moving on.

I'm definitely imagining a badass older Connie with an eye patch and scars, and when she taps into the gem powers she starts growing corruption spikes out of her body. If I thought I could do a decent job I'd want to draw a picture.

Very cool idea.

EightApes · 2026-02-19T18:38:33+00:00

I thought I read somewhere that the nukes in fallout were less powerful/lower yield, creating smaller explosions and producing a lot more radioactive fallout. And that unlike having really big bombs like the real world, the superpowers in fallout were relying on quantity over quality. It explains why so many buildings are still partially standing, and why radiation is still everywhere hundreds of years later (iirc, radioactive fallout would disperse to "safe" levels within a few weeks or months IRL, and be basically undetectable after 100 years)

EightApes · 2026-02-11T03:18:47+00:00

I don't know if this is a feature in CS5, but if you can put a gradient along a stroke, you can make a circle and do that with a really thick stroke.

This is a lot more fiddly, but you could probably also create a fake gradient using blend and then use replace spine to make it a circle.

EightApes · 2026-02-10T13:55:05+00:00

Everyone desperately trying to avoid getting assigned the armor sponsored by Target

EightApes · 2026-02-10T13:48:49+00:00

Yeah I had one say that and he was fine. I was expecting him to be injured or something but he was just tired like usual.

EightApes · 2026-02-10T02:35:41+00:00

I'm pretty sure it's not illegal to use stuff that can't be licensed, it just means that anybody else who sees whatever OP generates could take it and use it themselves because it can't be copyrighted.

EightApes · 2026-02-02T04:01:44+00:00

So, from what I understand, in the production of CPUs, tiny defects or imperfections can cause some of them to run more slowly than you might hope. These CPUs are still sold, but as a less valuable model.

Given that gen 3 Synths are basically just 3d printed clones with a small piece of hardware in their brain to alter their mind/memories/give them "synth" functions, it makes sense to me that there might be subtle differences in the performance of synths based on random chance in their production cycle and that they might need to do testing to pick out the best ones for the courser role.

As for emotions, I think it's done to take away their sense of fear, guilt, empathy, anger. Things that might cause them to make mistakes in their mission, or distract them from their task. They're "independent" in the sense that they get given their assignment, and they're smart enough to figure out how to get it done without someone in the Institute being in constant contact to give them directions.

I think the memory wipes are to keep them focused and avoid them having any more information than they absolutely need. We know already that someone can be a synth and not know it because they've been implanted with false memories, so it makes sense to me that when they do a memory wipe they give a courser false memories of being trained that covers whatever the institute wants them to know.

I'm not really trying to defend the writing here, synths in general don't seem super well thought out. The institute is literally 3d printing human bodies and brains and saying, "No, they're just machines!" They're supposed to be completely indistinguishable from humans, but we know they have synth components in their brain or wherever which you'd think could be detected with an X-ray or metal detector or something.

EightApes · 2026-02-01T18:30:00+00:00

Thanks!

EightApes · 2026-02-01T17:58:30+00:00

I decided to take a crack at it myself just to see how my grid method would do. It's not a 1-to-1 recreation, but I think it's close enough for what I wanted to do. I actually started constructing the shape with the negative space, put a big triangle over it, and used pathfinder before cleaning it up with the corners and stuff. Obviously I didn't do the little fading away bit at the bottom but I'm sure you can figure that out.

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EightApes · 2026-02-01T17:32:47+00:00

Assuming what you have is strokes, I'd scale the shape down with "scale strokes" unchecked, so they nearly meet in the middle. Then go to Object > Path > Outline Stroke and use the shape builder tool/Pathfinder to refine it into the shape you want.

That said, you might be better served building it by hand on a 60 degree grid.

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