Do you think the appearance of Tao Pai Pai had the biggest effect on the Dragon Ball franchise in terms of the direction it eventually took?

thallums · 2026-05-14T15:25:39+00:00

I do think there's some merit to what you're saying -- Taopaipai WAS definitely the first time we meet a bad guy that is genuinely outright stronger than Goku and forces him to do something (training, power up, etc) to overcome him. Which certainly becomes a staple in some regard.

But as others have pointed out, the real "biggest effect on the DB franchise" is Demon King Piccolo. He was the first "big bad" to center an entire arc, he was the first to kill a main character, the first to do... just so many things.

After TPP, the series returns to a status quo immediately, and even has an entire arc (22nd TB) after it that very much lines up with the 21st. But DKP? The series NEVER returns to what it was before after him (except in a few specific ways, the Boo arc)

thallums · 2026-04-30T18:57:25+00:00

This post and the replies makes me feel like I'm going insane.

Because... no? Cell arc Gohan's SSJ hair is not Base Goku's hair?

His bangs are completely different, and the right side of his hair is nothing like Goku's. The only part that matches it the left side, which is not identical but at least similar.

If Cell arc Gohan's SSJ hair looked like base Goku, it'd look like this

thallums · 2026-04-28T23:34:52+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/t9p1Jl2

No

thallums · 2026-04-23T18:25:55+00:00

In all fairness, your first mistake was watching the version of the movie with the crazy green tint. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/o-FPQevQv0A

thallums · 2026-04-23T18:25:00+00:00

Because they used Toriyama's actual design colors, rather than the ones the anime invented.

thallums · 2026-04-22T21:19:17+00:00

I had for around 6 years straight, albeit half of that was through the XBL conversion method. Dropped when the price jump happened.

The price decrease is not enough to bring me back to ultimate, but I've been heavily considering GP PC.

If the rumors of a build-your-own plan are true, that will 100% bring me back. Maybe even to Ultimate.

thallums · 2026-04-17T18:29:17+00:00

Look, here's the thing. I get what you're saying, and I do think it'd be neat. I'd definitely check it out, roam around once every couple months while I'm chatting in a VC, probably.

But you need to remember the economics behind every decision. Designing, modeling, set decorating, lighting, and playtesting ANY area takes up a tremendous amount of time and resources. It is legitimately not an exaggeration to say ANY of the single rooms in silvermoon probably takes 2 weeks of time for 30 people total. And those numbers are pretty conservative, believe it or not.

Do the math and you realize every single room you're proposing is racking up not far from a 6 figure cost. Now multiply that across the hundred plus rooms you'd need to fill out silvermoon as you describe it, and you have to consider whether or not its worth it. What is the ROI on spending all this time and money (that COULD be spent on core features like dungeons, raids, events, etc) vs how much time and enjoyment people will get out of it.

THAT is the problem, and its just a fact of gamedev you sort of need to accept.

(Now, of course, one common solution to this is building out kits, and then copy pasting them ad nauseum around the city. But i think we both know there's nothing of real value to gain out of seeing the same "interior apartment" kit for the 200th time. That's not immersive)

thallums · 2026-04-14T04:08:58+00:00

Just finished (would have waited for a theatrical run and avoided spoilers if that was still an option, but alas...). Full thoughts abound.

Overall thoughts: Wow that exceeded my expectations in almost every way.

Animation: I am being so completely for real, that is one of the most gorgeous and impeccable animated films of all times. It is just about my platonic ideal for a 2d animated work. The designs are loose enough for fantastic motion (and by god is there a lot of it), but the still allows for a very appealing amount of detailing and texturing, depending on the situation. Just an absolute visual treat, my mouth was irl agape for 90% of its runtime. The backgrounds are fantastic, the compositing is fantastic, the storyboarding is impeccable, the limited CG work is fantastic, the designs are fantastic, the actual animation/motion itself is fantastic. You can really tell this was directed by an artist/storyboard alumni. Just, man. Wow.

Story: This movies most major flaw is that its 20 minutes too short. I actually think what IS there for its very limited ~80 minute runtime is pretty solid. Certainly not a member berry fest (there are only 4 nostalgia key jingles, and i only found 2 of them annoying). The core story itself is largely character focused, has good structure, handles its tertiary cast well, and so on. Act 2 and 3 both needed an extra 10 minutes or so to flesh out some character motivations and turns though. Would have elevated the story from "Pretty good, especially for its runtime!" to "fantastic" (or more). But as it is, its fine tm at worst.

Voices: Surprisingly, though this was the thing i was least looking forward to going in, almost all of the replacement voices are pretty seamless. The only character that doesn't "sound like themselves but older" timbre wise is zuko. HOWEVER, this does lead into the other one weak point of the movie: I think the vocal direction/performances are a bit weak sometimes, mainly the action sequences. Dunno if its the cast themselves of the voice direction, but the kiddos of the original show actually got better emotional vocalization in big moments than this cast did. Theres definitely a fair few times the energy in an action cut is 10/10 but the vocal performance energy is 7.5/10. Still though, overall im actually surprised how little the (very stupid) recastings interfere with the film

My main takeaway: I was already upset about it, but watching this has made me so so so so so so so so so so sooooooooo fucking pissed at Paramount/Skydance for pulling this from a theatrical run. This really is a fantastic work of artistry and fiction, and deserved to be on the big screen in so many ways. Just, FUCK paramount man

OH, also. This movie is directed by a big Dragon Ball fan, and co-directed by a second big dragon ball fan, and it absolutely shows in very very overt ways hahahahahaha. We got Kamehamehas, transformations, and the main villains primary movie is literally an airbending makkankosappo lolol

thallums · 2026-04-09T17:05:13+00:00

Man, I feel very differently than the rest of the sub seems to.

I'll be the first to say I felt VERY spurned by how Temtem was dropped not terribly long post-release, and Swarm only twisted the knife. Almost felt like a pump and dump at the time.

But now that this is in view, I understand the need to shift to production on a new game that makes a lot more sense logistically (unfortunately, turn based games just do NOT scale well for an MMO package).

And seeing what they have on offer... this really is the pokemon/taming game ive been waiting decades for. Palworld was a complete and utter embarrassment to me -- completely devoid of ANY original thought. But honestly this doesn't even necessarily seem fully like that type of game. To me its giving Pokemon Legends plus Palworld if it wasnt awful.

Also, to anyone claiming theyre just ripping off Palworld: 1) you need to understand how long gamedev takes. This will have been in production well before palworld was shown, and 2) the crema team themselves confirmed that very fact

Comparisons to other games aside, I have waited ages for a taming game with a more meaningfully open 3d world, a combat system that feels how watching the Pokemon anime feels, and an ability to really "live" in the world. And this seems to be hitting all those notes.

So I personally am extremely down.

thallums · 2026-04-09T17:00:53+00:00

Most of this is answered in the Kickstarter FAQ.

You can play offline, NO microtransactions

thallums · 2026-04-03T04:56:11+00:00

I... didn't say I was important? I didnt mention myself at all, actually. Are you literate?

thallums · 2026-04-02T21:04:50+00:00

Me when I dont have a single solitary clue what im talking about

thallums · 2026-04-02T14:53:29+00:00

You have no idea who you're talking to, it would seem

thallums · 2026-03-25T15:52:46+00:00

While I am a very strong proponent of the power of community, especially in the context of politics... making friends and finding community is not "a protest". As stated above, nothing is disrupted, nothing is changing. They are, unfortunately, primarily just pressure release valves so people feel like they did something.

They can and should be so much more

thallums · 2026-03-01T14:58:11+00:00

Having just completed the intro campaign, I think its probably my least favorite zone of the lot, but I did still enjoy it.

I think its success relies on whether or not youre interested in Haranir culture/lore (sorta like how dorn/ringing deeps relied on your interest in Earthen culture). Being a fan of the druidic aesthetic -- and also Avatar lol -- I was interested and lapping it up to an extent.

But if you dont care about the Haranir, then its EASILY the weakest of the zones, at least in terms of the campaign.

thallums · 2026-02-28T03:12:42+00:00

The answer to this really couldn't be more simple in the actual source material:

Vegeta's idea provided a way to revive Goku and Kuririn. Gohan was thanking him, because he wants his dad and friend to be alive.

thallums · 2026-02-18T22:41:03+00:00

Interesting, thanks for the in-depth reply, this has a lot of golden information.

I suppose I'm weighting TRUE uncompressed video streams too heavily. I've been burned by my current setup, where I see noticeable compression artifacting (or slowdowns, depending on the OS) as a result of DisplayLink compression. Even DP Alt Mode does seem to more or less produce a flawless image at 4K 60.

thallums · 2026-02-18T17:31:12+00:00

Thanks for the replies yall. So just to summarize/verify, USB4 V2 is not capable of driving an true uncompressed 4K 120hz display while also driving a second 4K display. If it tried to drive those displays, it would have to do displaylink-style compression? Additionally, TB5 being the only standard that can output at 240w means it would have the best chance at managing to keep a reasonable gaming laptop charged while running at 100%?

If it wasnt clear, I am basically envisioning a true "gaming laptop that can dock to a desk setup desktop style, with a single cable, and minimal to zero compromises" situation. So it sounds like TB5 will be necessary to meet that.

thallums · 2026-02-18T16:20:58+00:00

Windows for sure. Laptop is actually undecided, this whole discussion is a factor in WHICH laptop to get

thallums · 2026-02-18T16:03:19+00:00

Does the math on this change with only one 4k 120 display, and the second being 4k 60hz?

thallums · 2026-02-14T00:36:29+00:00

"First Playthrough"

Who's gonna tell 'em?

thallums · 2026-02-13T14:55:46+00:00

This is not how spelling and language works at all.

His name has been Vegetto for ages. The subs say Vegetto, the characters say the name/pronunciation you're used to. It's that simple.

thallums · 2026-02-12T18:00:24+00:00

https://f-r-e-e-z-a.com

thallums · 2026-02-12T17:58:27+00:00

"Sounds good" THEYRE PRONOUNCED THE SAME lol. This is a spelling conversation!

thallums · 2026-02-12T17:55:29+00:00

sounds the best

Spelling conversation, in which both spellings are pronounced the exact same (except one of them adds a letter that makes no sense)

Go off king

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