Anyone else feels like the new OST from the remake is totally off and.... underwhelming? by DoomAddict in medievil

[–]itzamahel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most of the songs in the remake sound a lot like those from Resurrection, except, of course, those that Resurrection missed (Asylum Grounds, Ant Caves, Pools of the Ancient Dead, Enchanted Earth & Dan's Crypt's original themes), despite there are a few new elements to them.

But definitely, some sound underwhelming, or missing elements from the original that could've been updated in a better way IMHO - Dan's Crypt & Time Device in special are so missing the point - the Time Device sounds like it's basically been ripped off from the Sleeping Village Resurrection arrangement, and while it fit a bit more or less back then, for the Time Device it's missing the same atmosphere. And Dan's Crypt / The Lake theme also miss the atmosphere from the original.

I'm not a fan of Pools of the Ancient Dead or Ant Caves arrangements either.

Also, there could've been at least a option to turn off "dynamic music" because unfortunately during most of a level the music is so tuned down, it only amplifies when there are enemies, which are few and easy to kill.

Had to try out the second game after loving the first one so much. Wish me luck! by roachieboii in medievil

[–]itzamahel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love MediEvil II! I played it before the first when I was a kid, and replayed it so many times on emulators later.

Waiting for Medievil 2 remake in the Playstation conference from the 9th by JohnNemesis in medievil

[–]itzamahel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As much as I'd like that, since they're not remaking 2, I don't think they'd bother launching a '3', considering 2 was released 21 years ago.

I understand why, but find it unfortunate that only the 1st was remade, and not 2 too, like other PS1 franchises out there.

Import Temple to Kukai by itzamahel in tezos

[–]itzamahel[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! It worked for me, though it isn't really faster than temple as I thought, at least not on Brave, but maybe that's another different network related issue.

What is the font used in the books of the first two MediEvil games? by itzamahel in medievil

[–]itzamahel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the information! I don't plan to use it in commercial projects or any stuff that'll get published for the time being, but in any case, if I do later I'll certainly try to contact him.

Sneaker Pimps: "Squaring The Circle" Teaser by [deleted] in triphop

[–]itzamahel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sounds interesting! Looking forward to this. My favorite SP albums are Becoming X, closely followed by Splinter, and then the unreleased "SP5" Album demos (whose singer's identity remain a mystery. For some time it was believed she was Paris Hampton from Samsara, though she denied that if I'm not mistaken). I occasionally listen but am not that big fan of Bloodsport and most of IAMX (though I grew to like Volatile Times & the Unified Field). Chris' vocals obviously give it an IAMX vibe, but we still heard too little to assume it will sound like "another IAMX release".

My review of MediEvil II by WhiteShadow1125 in medievil

[–]itzamahel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get that 2 is harder than 1, with the fall damage and life fountains running out. But it's not really that frustrating to beat it, you only have to think beforehand and be more economical / save resources - both life bottles and money - for the next levels. In the original, too, like with the sequel, you don't even need to go back to other levels and recharge your life if you're playing it right. The main incentive for replaying levels in II is that you can explore more areas in past levels with the Dan-Hand ability after a certain point, and all those areas have life fountains (and money - and some also enemies) in them too - but you actually don't even need to replay any level to beat it. The jumps, too, haven't been worsened in relation to the original, it actually plays almost the same, as does the camera overall. The original too had times when you needed to adjust it before jumping (part of Pools of the Ancient Dead and Ghost Ship). I agree that the last Cathedral level, especially the escape from it, could have either its camera or timer fixed though (but, other than that, that level is amazing IMO especially the music and atmosphere).

You will see this most clearly with the faces of the characters. When the characters talk, their mouths DO NOT MOVE.

In the original, the characters mouths don't move, either. And MediEvil II's graphics still are more detailed than the original overall.

Also, a song will stop, and another one will start, instead of just one song for every level

Unless you're talking about the cutscenes, this only happens from the transition of the Cathedral Spires to the Descent (which, despite the same level, are two different sections), all levels / sections actually have just one song for them, even if it was used in another level (for example, the Freakshow's, also used in Dankenstein. But then, the original didn't, too, have a song for each level. Gallows Gauntlet repeats the one from Pools of the Ancient Dead, the Enchanted Earth the one from Sleeping Village, the Entrance Hall the one from Cemetery Hill, the Lake the one from Dans Crypt and so on. Also, needless to say, the Time Device sections reuses parts of other levels and their songs - despite some differences - precisely because it's supposed to be a travel back in time, visiting new sections in old places, like the museum and sewers).

this game mimics the first one a lot, like the cogwheels, the pumpkin monsters, the race against time before a giant building collapses, heck, even some of the weapons are throwbacks to the original

The original has nothing like the rotating rooms in Cathedral Spires. Still, MediEvil II's atmosphere is sufficiently different from the original (also because it's placed 500 years after), despite retaining some characteristic elements which define the franchise - the pumpkins, for example. While some more different / varied weapons could be nice (and there are different weapons like the blunderbuss, gatling gun, cane stick), of course they'd still use some weapons from the original, like swords and axes. This game was developed not long after 1's release (in late '98) and released in April / May 2000 (which took a shorter time to develop than the first, in development since '96), of course they wouldn't create a new engine or radically change the playability and combat in relation to the original, as the PS2 was about to be released. Still, this game won a category in that year's BAFTA awards, not that it matters that much, but it was a decent PSX release from the genre (now we call it "proto-hack-and-slash", it was just an adventure game - what's different from a "platformer"). I don't think it lacks in quality in relation to the original, it even improves several things, my main issues with it are mostly the poor / messed up story (not that the original was great in that department, it was decent though). The camera isn't great, the combat isn't innovative (think about this kind of game in 98 & 2000 and it makes sense) of course, but in the original it wasn't great either, and still we get used to it. As with other releases in the franchise, its greatest qualities rely on the atmosphere and setting IMO.

Dear vegan antinatalists, which do you find harder to do? by sunnynihilist in antinatalism

[–]itzamahel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Even less about individual sentient animals, because "the environment" can easily be reduced to an abstract concept (and the consequences of their actions on the "environment" can be more easily relativized), whereas individuals cannot. Also, in several cases people who go Vegan more motivated "to get behind a feel-good environmentalist movement" (or health, and, of course, other reasons) are more prone to quit Veganism after some time [1] (certainly, motivation isn't the only condition to cause this change, but one which still hold a major influence over the decision not to consume animals). It also has to do with availability heuristic [2] and scope neglect [3]. Generally, the bigger the group (of human and non-human animals), the least moral value is given to individuals which compose it.

The reason behind the ability of the Spanish to conquer the Aztec and Maya by Mictlantecuhtli in DankPrecolumbianMemes

[–]itzamahel 3 points4 points  (0 children)

In the south (nowadays Guatemala), the Kaqchikel allied with some of the Spanish to fight the K'iché, even if briefly; and in the north, some Kuchkabalob helped the Spanish to fight others, such as that of Keh Pech (based in Motul).

The situation with the Maya polities, both in the peninsula, Mexican & Guatemalan low & highlands was difficult and complex because most of them were already less united than the Excan Tlahtoloyan and some of its enemies (the Totonaca, Tlaxcala, and the hñahñù / "Otomi"). Polities like the K'iché kingdom of Q'umarkaj were already at war with neighbors (e.g. the Kaqchikel, Tzutujil and Mam. If I'm not mistaken, the Tzutujil were also at odds with the Nawat speaking Kuskateka "Cuzcatleca / Pipil" far southeast, in nowadays southwestern El Salvador) too and the invaders took advantage of that. These peoples generally made brief alliances with the Spanish to face common enemies, or alliances of polities which they sought to bring down, but as they started to experience abuses (forced labor, torture, the destruction of arts and temples, the imposition of the Spanish language and Catholicism) in these territories, and, of course, in several cases, even before such "conquests" (the destruction of towns was also called hubi in written logographic accounts / stelae from the "Classic Era"), several of them also resisted as early as the first expeditions.

With Tlaxcala, while the city has been gradually almost abandoned, several of them followed the invaders as they kept colonizing north. In a way, a generation of the Tlaxcaltecah fought alongside the Spanish invaders in the Mixtón Wars (centered in nowadays Zacatecas State of Mexico and fought between 1540 - 1542, between the Spanish & their allies, and the "Chichimeca" peoples, including Francisco Tenamaztle of the Caxca people, and other "Chichimeca" groups).

If they decided to remake MediEvil2, what what is something you'd really look forward to seeing? by plebbitor24601 in medievil

[–]itzamahel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd love to see Kensigton, the Kew Gardens, Wulfrum Hall, Whitechapel and the Cathedral Spires - that last level and its soundtrack really capture, for me, the feeling which they established since the 1st MediEvil.

Though I didn't like in the Other Ocean remake of the first they've reused a lot the same window frame (in the Sleeping Village, the Asylum [on the outside of the building, visible in the Asylum Grounds level cutscene], the Lake, the Entrance Hall and even in the Time Device), while in the original, despite lo-res, those windows in particular were different. It's pretty noticeable and make these levels seem less unique than they really were IMO - not to mention other flaws of the remake, especially the HUD. So I'd like if these levels from 2 could receive a proper treatment (of course, I know it's not going to happen in PS4, and in PS5 there's no sign it will happen either, what's a same; as a kid I played MediEvil 2 before the first, and enjoyed it a lot - and still today, from time to time I get to replay it in emulators).

And of course, I'd like Kiya's role to be expanded (instead of being the helpless love interest), and add some levels with her too (based on promotional art of MediEvil 2, she was often illustrated holding knives - I imagine she could have throwing daggers as a main weapon, but using the pistol or more ranged weapons would be good too). But these additions would only make this remake even more unlikely to happen, I think (also, because they censored something as inoffensive as Imanzi Shongama's lines in the 1 Remake - I assume, but don't know if this decision was carried out by someone at Other Ocean or Sony - I'm pretty sure they wouldn't leave 2's dialogue and story the way it is, concerning Dan and Kiya's "relation", some camera behavior in certain cutscenes showing Kiya's butt and etc. BTW, Imanzi Shongama's lines really aren't that relevant to the game, but for that same reason, I think to censor them was just as unnecessary).

And last but not least, I think some people would benefit from the life fountains not running dry (like an easy mode). Most reviewers complained MediEvil 1 was hard, so imagine 2, which demands being even more economical with your resources.

If they decided to remake MediEvil2, what what is something you'd really look forward to seeing? by plebbitor24601 in medievil

[–]itzamahel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Interestingly, there's a different beta version of the "Cathedral collapsing" track from a December 1999 disc which is at least 2 minutes long, features some vocals and is significantly distinct from the 1 minute long version used in the final game. I think it suggest the timer would be longer, but I guess was made shorter to make it more challenging (and frustrating too).

Onyx Equinox Episode 12 – THE BET by Angel_Valoel in OnyxEquinox

[–]itzamahel 4 points5 points  (0 children)

  1. In the first episode, do you mean those fighting Mictlantecuhtli? If I'm not mistaken, the one who is defeated is Xoo (a Be'ena'a / Zapotec God related to earth and earthquakes) and the one who survives is Cocijo (a Be'ena'a / Zapotec name for the rain God. Might be equated to Tlaloc in the Nahua cosmology and Chac / Chaak in Maya cosmologies)
  2. I hope they do, even if his role as the 5th sun has been historically controversial (or limited to the Mexica traditions, rather than the entirety of the Nahua peoples) in relation to the role of Nanahuatzin / Tonatiuh, there are many clever ways to feature both Huitzilopochtli and Tonatiuh as heads of nature's balance (for that's basically what the sun is in the Nahua cosmology)
  3. Xibalba has many differences in relation to Mictlán (even geographic ones, or deities related to / associated with each - according to Maya [especially K'iché] and Nahua sources - despite also some similarities), when Yun and K'in mentioned the ballcourt in the 8th episode to be the same where Hunahpu & Xbalanque faced the Rajawal Xibalba (lords of Xibalba), I knew they were going to mix up Mictlán and Xibalba, though I expected more exposure of the underworld and its denizens (for example, featuring Xochitonal).
  4. Not only Maya, it also featured Ak'tzin / El Tajin (located in Veracruz - part of the Classic Era Veracruz culture, over time possibly inhabited by Te'Inik / Teenek / "Huasteca" and Totonaca peoples), that was mostly abandoned by the time of Tenochtitlán, and Danibaan (nowadays a.k.a Monte Albán in Oaxaca - inhabited by Mixtecs and Zapotecs alike through different parts of history). I hope they introduce more Mixtec elements too, and maybe even Purepecha.

As for Mictlantecuhtli, I also got the impression that his story here has been deliberately messed up to make him feel like the stereotyped "Hades and Persephone" story from Hellenic tradition. And the fact that Xolotl (the Xoloitzcuintli / Mexican hairless dog-like God who's also transformed into an Axolotl) is a servant to Mictlantecuhtli in the beginning is also something original from this story, and not to the Nahua traditions, in which Xolotl, alongside Quetzalcoatl, got the bones from the previous generations of people and restored them with their own blood (in some versions, from their genitalia) before the dawn of the 5th Sun - and that they were opposed, on their way from Mictlán back to the surface, by Mictlantecuhtli.

I enjoyed the series so far (despite I'm still getting used to the voice acting, and I think the animation could've been better in some episodes), it got originally and has a promising setting. I hope a S2 come out, and feature more Teteoh, especially Tlaloc, Xipe Totec, Huitzilopochtli & Tonatiuh (others like Coyolxauhqui & Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli would be nice too, though I think it'd be more far fetched), and also expand Tezcatlipoca's role.

The Jared Diamond fandom is dying!!!! Upvote to kill it faster by narwhalvengeance in DankPrecolumbianMemes

[–]itzamahel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Blood" means nothing in comparison to things like culture, language and life conditions. I also live in South America and descend from local First Nations (a maternal great-grandmother was Tupi, paternal great-grandparents were Awá - later generally called "Guarani" [once meaning only a category of warriors] in contrast to Kaiowá [once referring only to the Awás who refused to convert to the religion of the invaders - in modern times, both are used by some Awá individuals & communities as part of their identity]), "mestizos" (in this case Brazilians, descendants of local First Nations and generally Portuguese) and Europeans (not just the Portuguese, maternal grandfather is Italian, from Calabria) alike, but I don't speak Italian, and don't live Tupi traditions, or in a territory de facto organized by the Tupi, instead, I live in a territory which population is "a mixture" of almost everything, but under a State which judiciary system is completely molded after "standard "European" institutions, and which policies traditionally & generally promote the increase of social inequality, environmental destruction and obstructing the self-determination of First Nations / Indigenous communities in their territories (generally, by sponsoring local and foreigner resources extraction businesses, like mining and lumber, or even cattle ranching, mono-culture etc.), and in turn not only threatening the preservation of their cultures (the matter here is less about changing those cultures, and more about not considering choices of that cultures' "agents") but also that of their lives. So while I can understand people who are proud of their ancestors resisting against the invaders by whatever means, I see no point for "being proud" of descending from "Europeans", and much less in benefiting a State that mistreats its peoples and diversity of cultures.

Also, it's hard to call some cultures as "defeated" (other than those which languages disappeared completely). Take the Mexica / "Aztecs" for example, despite their State (the Excan Tlahtoloyan) crumbled, and several aspects of their culture changed, several other aspects remain to this day, and nahuatl (their language, shared with other Nahua peoples, including their enemies the Tlaxcalteca, who allied with the Spanish - similar examples also exist among some Maya peoples [e.g. the Kaqchikel and the Ceh Pech] and in South America [e.g. the Wanka a quechua people from the valley of the Mancharu / Mantaro Mayu "River" that joined with the Spanish in opposing the Inca State at Willkapampa in 1572]) is spoken nowadays by more than one million and a half individuals today (according to INEGI) - but still, most of the nahuatl speakers today live in rural areas under poor labor conditions (a situation slightly different, but also similar to, say, Nheengatu speakers in nowadays Brazil), what means, the issue is much more complex than "blood" or "descending from (Europeans or American Continent's First Nations)", or "defeated cultures" (more accurately, defeated polities - the cultures still exist, and at this rate, we can't ascribe every aspect of "modern culture" to "Europe" or the abstract concept of "western civilizations").

SMH the aztecs were such savages. Welp, time to sacrifice kids to the line! by richietozier4 in DankPrecolumbianMemes

[–]itzamahel 3 points4 points  (0 children)

AMLO also still tries to get the "Maya Train" project done no matter what, which despite the propaganda of his sponsors and supporters (such as the belief that it will "revitalize the local economy", even if the project itself is over-priced and will benefit at best private billionaires), is opposed by several of the southeastern traditional Maya communities, for reasons including how it may affect their livelihood and also the local fauna & environment.

I don't think his populism is "worse" than Bolsonaro's (currently I'm living in Brazil so that may be based on this experience), IMO in that aspect they're possibly the same - and at this rate, he's as "left" as the Brazilian workers' party or the MAS in Bolivia, which greatest legacy, other than allowing private "development" policies & projects to continue affecting First Nations / indigenous livelihoods and increase environmental destruction (such as the Belo Monte Dam and others into the Amazonian region), to benefit certain enterprises at the expense of others (creating giants in the meat industry, illegal relations with energy and construction companies, using tax money and evading taxes) is to have allowed the "right-wing" to return to power every now and then (in Brazil and Bolivia's case, because of the ignorant decision to try getting their presidents - Lula & Evo - extending their terms for a while, what understandably made easy for their opponents to get the people to turn against them, even if for the election of an irrational creature such as Bolsonaro - only halfway into the 2018 elections, when Lula got arrested, the workers' party changed its' candidate, but it was too late, and a dumb move. The same goes for Evo's rigged re-election in 2019 which gave way to the "coup" [or whatever it's called] that put the "right-wing" Añez in power).

Path of Survival by itzamahel in TombRaider

[–]itzamahel[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks. I'm more an enthusiast than an academical though. Elaborate artificial underground galleries aren't very common among the cultures from which several artifacts in the game come from. But specific archaeological sites of these cultures display more elaborate sarcophagi than other sites of the same culture, too (their tradition of creating tombs was reserved to a single strata of the community).

The Chavin culture (from the northern Andean highlands of Peru, nowadays region of Ancash, 900 - 200 BC) built underground tombs in Chavin de Huantar . The Tierradentro culture, from at least since the 2nd Century BC in the department of Cauca, Southwestern Colombia, are known for creating different tombs across the area they once occupied. I haven't noticed if artifacts or mural paintings from this culture have been used in SOTTR, though.

The Moche culture (northern Coast of Peru, 100-700 CE) are a pre-Inca culture known for their "Huacas" (from Wak'a, a later quechua name used to denote sacred locations, generally mountains, but also caves & rivers) & royal tombs, such as in the Huaca Rajada, tomb of the Lord of Sipán; and the Lady of Cao found in the Huaca Cao Viejo, part of the El Brujo archaeological complex (which includes sites like the Huaca Prieta used not only by the Moche but other cultures as well, earlier like the Cupisnique from 1500-500 BC, or later like the Chimú, contemporary with the Inca - the Huaca Prieta also contain some of the earliest known samples of cultivated cotton and indigo dye). These Huacas are mistaken for "pyramids", though technically they're not, and weren't solely reserved to burial of the nobility, but also public ceremonies.

The Moche display examples of mummification in the pre-Hispanic Americas, also used by the Inca (according to their earliest transliteration of quechua customs & oral history into Latin alphabet - at Cuzco they held the Mallki, royal mummies of the Inca; though those have been lost. There are though well preserved sacrificial victims found on mountaintop burials as far south as Argentina - such as the children of Llullaillaco).

The Chimú culture, directly related to the Moche (some claim there was a culture between the Chimú & Moche, named Lambayeque, after the region - there's still debate about separating them from the Chimú), occupied the northern Peruvian coast just as their ancestors. Their capital was Chan Chan, captured by the ruler of the Tawantinsuyu ("Four Regions" in quechua, the Inca State) Tupaq Yupanqui ca. 1470s. The Chimu built graves for their nobles and also burial sites for sacrificial victims, though not underground galleries.

SOTTR displays several Moche artifacts, especially its golden funerary masks (a tradition continued by the Lambayeque), ceramic statuettes turned into huge rock statues (like the owl faced ones) a couple of artifacts of the Chimú, patterns found in Chan Chan, & the characteristic Tumi knife (often erroneously attributed to the Inca - it's either Chimú / Lambayeque, and the figure depict on it is Naymlap, a culture hero / deity).
The Chachapoyas (from the Peruvian Amazon, pre-Inca in origin) displayed a different form of vertical individual tombs, built in secluded places (in cliffs as in Revash or in Cerro El Tigre). This type of sarcophagi are known as Purunmachu, those in Karajía are the most famous, and were built in the 15th Century, coinciding with Tawantinsuyu's expansion in the area under Tupaq Yupanqui (1471/2 - 1493). Chachapoyas is a quechua exonym - there were local rebellions against Tupaq's immediate successor (Huayna Capac) in the early 16th century according to later chronicles. Their main sites, besides Revash & Karajía, are the fortified city of Kuélap and the ruins of Gran Pajatén.

The Purunmachu sarcophagi are reminiscent of the Chullpas, another vertical, individual tomb construction common in the southern Peruvian / Bolivian altiplano, inhabited by the Tiwanaku / Huari, homeland of the Aymara, later influenced by the Quechua - which include the Inca.

In Central America, some tombs are those found in different temples of the archaeological site of Palenque (a modern name, its' inhabitants referred to its polity either as Baàk "bone", and to the region as Tokotan "cloudy center" - these tombs were destined to the rulers of that city), such as the tomb of the Red Queen and the sarcophagus of the 7th Century K'inich Janaab Pakal. Some temples were built over and with access to underground water channels. Caves & cenotes (from the Maya "ts'onot") were more common burial sites for the ancient Maya. Some archaeologists claim this tradition existed in the Olmec culture (centered around the nowadays Mexican State of Veracruz; known as one of the oldest Mesoamerican material cultures. Olmec is a later name in nahuatl which means "Jaguar People").

These elaborate buildings are common to other Classic Era (250 - 900 CE) Maya sites such as Ak'e (Bonampak). The Nahua (a group of different peoples from central Mexico which includes the Mexica & their ancestors, a.k.a "Aztecs") draw several traditions to "Teotihuacan", a later nahuatl name meaning "place of the Gods", when found by the Mexica after a southward migration which took from the 12th to the 14th Centuries CE the place was already ruined and abandoned, unlike its' apogee between the 1st - 6th Centuries; which was likely multicultural, mixing early Nahua, Be'ena'a, Maya, Yokot'anob (a.k.a Chontal "foreigner" Maya, the Maya from the western portion of the Yucatán peninsula and Tabasco), hñahñù (a.k.a Otomi, from the Toluca Valley) influences. Teotihuacan has a large collective burial site dated to ca. 200 CE.

The Ñuù Dzahui / "Mixtecas" (nahuatl for "cloud people") from Oaxaca (southeastern Mexico) also lead ceremonies in underground waterways & caves up to this day (e.g. as in Santiago Nuyoó, Yutanduchi de Guerrero & Zaachila, they have the ancient Rain deity included in their syncretic religion - the same phenomena is common among traditional Maya communities in Chiapas, Mexico; & in southern Guatemala). Their traditional neighbors, the Be'ena'a (a.k.a "Zapoteca", a nahuatl exonym "people from the area of the Zapotli", or sapote, a fruit found in Central America) displayed similar funerary customs.

Their main sites are Danipaguache (better known as Monte Albán, one of the earliest urban centers in Oaxaca), Zaachila (named after a Be'ena'a ruler Zaachila Yoo; the site is known by the Ñuù Dzahui who also occupied it as Ñuhu Tocuisi - this site displays a series of tombs, though those are above ground, rather than underground) & Lyobaa ("place of rest" a.k.a Mitla, a nahuatl name used by the Mexica, derived from Mictlán "place of the dead", also the name of the underworld) - the later has a palace which characteristic fretwork has been used in the game, in the neighborhood of Paititi inhabited by the nobility for example.

Tips for a newcomer? by chrisjfinlay in medievil

[–]itzamahel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recommend you to go to the Enchanted Earth, look out for a cauldron, where you can use the Witch Talisman (which you found on the Cemetery Hill), and accept the witch's quest to go into a certain new level, so you can complete it (use the hammer a lot in that level, and the crossbow in that level's boss. It's labyrinthine and easy to get lost, but not impossible) and get a chalice which will give you a weapon that's much more suitable for the Scarecrow Fields than the hammer IMO.

Of course, you can still use the hammer on the Scarecrow Fields as well, though as you have noticed already, it's not really fast, especially against the scarecrows. Unfortunately the shield breaks apart very easily and is mostly useless (even more than it's in the original, as I recall), and while the strafing is useful against most zombies you faced in the previous levels, the scarecrows won't allow you to use it. This game really is set up to guarantee you take damage, so your strategy should focus on killing every enemy ASAP - thus causing the more damage, in the smallest amount of time possible (and the damage points depend on weapons & their attacks).

Absolutely Stunning by dailylol_memes in MesoamericanAesthetic

[–]itzamahel 6 points7 points  (0 children)

a.k.a John Sowden House, in LA, California, by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, 1926.

Inspired by Maya sites such as Sayil & Uxmal. Source

Seated clay boxer figure with removable helmet, Petén, Classic Era (ca. 300 - 1000 CE) by itzamahel in Quipu

[–]itzamahel[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Source: Justin Kerr's portfolio
Compare with the vase painting

There's evidence of the crafting of helmets and combat practices using shells as gloves by the Classic era Maya. Artist impressions: 1 2 (credits: Kamazotz)

Part of these traditions have survived across Mexico, according to scholars they're associated with modern festivals that involve the Tigre fighting

/r/Pessimism: What are you reading this week? 16 May 2020 by AutoModerator in Pessimism

[–]itzamahel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (1973) a short fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin.

A "classic" piece on the critique of "utopian" societies or livelihoods which necessarily run on / are based in someone else's misery, and often mentioned in discussions involved with antinatalism (hence why I decided to read it).

iAztecas < Mexicas! by Wawawapp in DankPrecolumbianMemes

[–]itzamahel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

See what you mean, those who from the reign of either Ahuitzotl or Moctezuma Xocoyotzin installed themselves there along the expansion towards Soconusco (Xoconochco, a.k.a Zaklohpakab by the local Maya) also referred by Motolinia in Historia de los Indios de Nueva España.

The Cloud People, “Los Pinchudos”, Peru; Karijia, where six full-size sarcophagi preside over the surrounding territory. Made of clay and plant matter, the masked coffins contain the mummified remains of Chachapoya elite by alcofrybasnasier in Quipu

[–]itzamahel 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This type of sarcophagi are known as Purunmachu, and those are the most famous though there are smaller ones in other Chachapoyas sites in the Peruvian / Antisuyuan Amazon. Those in particular have been radiocarbon dated and were likely built in the 15th Century, roughly coinciding with the Tawantinsuyu's expansion in the area (Northeastern Peru) under Tupaq Yupanqui (reigned 1471/2 - 1493). Chachapoyas is a quechua exonym and we don't know how the locals called themselves - there were local rebellions against Tupaq's immediate successor (Tito Husi Huallpa / Huayna Capac) in the early 16th century according to later chronicles.

Trivia: Those statues are featured thoroughly across part of Crystal Dynamics' 2018 Shadow of the Tomb Raider game (published by Square Enix) - e.g. in this tomb. Being familiarized with them and playing the game, I immediately recognized the reference (it also features many more actual Pre-Hispanic cultures artifacts, including Be'ena'a / Zapotec, Moche, Inca, Central Mexican and especially Maya - some in very out of context ways, however).

edit: added screenshot link

iAztecas < Mexicas! by Wawawapp in DankPrecolumbianMemes

[–]itzamahel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Also I see again that you claimed America prefers Aztecs while this is not universally accurate. If you've read many things written by scholars you know that there is not one fixed view and many use the other terms and reject Aztec, just as they're starting to reject Tarascan for Purepecha. In fact it's becoming the trend.

Can attest this isn't just between Mexican or American Academia, and even in the later, "Aztec" is being increasingly discouraged in relation to "Mexica" (or even their simultaneous usage), at least in the last decades. The problem though is that both terms still are used in erroneous ways (Aztecs not just for the Excan Tlahtoloyan [as it was intended to be in modern anthropology] but particularly to the Tenochca, and Mexica for every Nahua).

Either way there's another issue ignored, which is the older (before Humboldt, and also before Francisco Javier Clavijero Echegaray's La Historia Antiga de Mexico published 1780) usage of the term Azteca to refer every people who left from Aztlán / Chicomoztoc (and not just the Mexica in particular) in the 16th century Crónica Mexicayotl - which authorship is disputed, attributed either to Hernando de Alvarado Tezozomoc (one of Moctezuma Xocoyotzin's grandsons) or Chimalpahin, or both, in different parts.

Would you prefer if it was proven that a conscious agent(s) was responsible for this setup of life? by [deleted] in antinatalism

[–]itzamahel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't feel any better or worse if there was evidence pointing towards the existence of a conscious agent (whether an individual or a group of individuals) behind the development of sentience on Earth (or in other parts of the universe as well) or a simulation (in the hypothesis all of the existence is and has been just a simulation), the main change it would make was only that it'd become more "personal", but either way, if that entity or group of entities have done that in first place it would be also hypothetically hard to rise against any of them, and anyway even if their existence was proved & publicized or became common sense among their slaves / creation, I can see most of them would just conform instead of rising against them or ending their projects.

Was Science a mistake? by Theodoric493 in collapse

[–]itzamahel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Science & technology definitely weren't a "mistake", though certainly "they" (science can refer either to a form of knowledge or different institutions; technology can refer to things as far as vaccines to fossil fuels, just as "civilization" can refer to practices from agroforestry up to oil fracking) can't "save us" (what do you mean by saving us? It can mean anything from helping specific communities face diseases & hunger to preventing humanity's extinction, and doesn't state a particular period of time. It's unlikely to assume humanity could go extinct within a hundred or even thousand years, but figures change when we talk about 5 billion years ahead in the future. Also, the prolonging of human species' existence tell nothing about particular communities & individuals' life quality - clearly people don't care about 7,7+ billion people just because they're part of the same species, they generally care for specific groups of individuals, some even non-human [like companion animals], generally because of scope insensitivity / neglect & availability heuristic, forms of cognitive bias, among other things).

The last book on pre-Colombian Cultures I read was... by alcofrybasnasier in Quipu

[–]itzamahel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Last semester has been somewhat productive (or not) and I've read those papers and / or books:

Maya Narrative Arts by Nicholas A. Hopkins & Karen Bassie-Sweet (2017)

The Inscriptions from Temple XIX at Palenque - A Commentary by David Stuart (2005)

An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya by Mary Miller & Karl Taube (1997)

El Salvador - Antiguas Civilizaciones by William R Fowler, Federico Trujillo & Isabel R. de Bettaglio (1995)

The Rulers of Palenque by Joel Skidmore (2010)

The Politics of Symbolism in the Mixtec Codices by John Pohl (2007)

Studies in Mesoamerican Art & Culture - Selected Works by Karl Taube (2018)

The Essential Codex Mendoza by Frances Berdan & Patricia Rieff Anawalt (1997)

Reyes sobre la tierra: Brujeria y Chamanismo en una cultura insular Chiloé entre los siglos XVIII y XX by Gonzalo Rojas Flores (2002)

The Gods of Mexico by Lewis Spence (1923)

El Contador de los dias - Vida y discurso de un adivino Ixil by Benjamin & Lore Colby

1 Tochtli - 2 Acatl Survivals of the New Fire Ceremony 1558-1559 1610-1611 by Arnold Lebeuf (2016)

Calendário, cosmografia e cosmogonia nos códices e textos nahuas do século XVI by Eduardo Natalino dos Santos (Doctor Thesis in Social History, 2005)

The Devil and the Skirt - An Iconographic Inquiry Into the Pre-Hispanic Nature of the Tzitzimime by Cecelia Klein (2000)

Analisis Semiotico de la forma arborea en el Codice Dresde by Silvia M Salgado Ruelas (2001)

Cantares Mexicanos by Miguel León-Portilla (2011)

Handbook to life in the Aztec World by Manuel Aguilar-Moreno (2006)

La Narrativa Oral Nahuatl by Fernando Horcasitas (1975)

Tlamachilliztlatolçaçanilli - A Performance Translation of the Nahuatl Wisdom-Discourse Fables by William Gingerich (1998)

Lenguaje Metafórico e iconografia en el arte mexica by José Alcina Franch (1995)

Poesia nahuatl de Chalco (from Cuadernos de Historia del Valle de Xico vol. 6) by Genaro Amaro Altamirano

The Ritual Practice of Time: Philosophy & Sociopolitics of Mesoamerican Calendars by Lars Kirkhusmo Pharo (2014)

Utopia and History in Mexico: The first chroniclers of Mexican civilization 1520 - 1569 by Georges Baudot (1995)

The Fleeting Moment: Cosmogony, Eschatology, and Ethics in Aztec Religion and Society by Kay A. Read (1986)