![]() ![]() Some of these would reduce the cooldown, lower the stamina cost, or increase the damage and intensity (among other things). Instead of sporting different armor pieces with stats attached, superheroes equipped “enhancements” to modify specific powers. To understand what ED was, you have to have a passing familiarity with how City of Heroes’ gear worked. It was called “Enhancement Diversification.” Coming alongside the launch of City of Villains (see below), Issue 6 introduced a major balance feature that instantly became one of the most despised the game ever saw. This led to a lot of nerfs until 2006, when the team downsized by 75% and was forced to focus on improving its current content and pleasing its existing playerbase.īefore City of Heroes came to that, however, it had to go through its darkest hour ever with October 2005’s Issue 6. ![]() This wasn’t just in their minds Cryptic (read: Jack Emmert) was fanatical about character balance and making sure that everyone was progressing more or less the same through the game. One point of contention between the players and the developers in those early years is that the community felt that Cryptic continued to nerf things that everyone loved or wanted to get better, such as Issue 5’s Global Defense Reduction. A little over a year after the game launched, a decision was made to course-correct what the devs saw as a problem and the players saw as an essential part of their happy fun time. So naturally City of Heroes was due for at least one of these bad calls to come along, and that it surely did. It’s your New Game Enhancements, your Trammels, your Monoclegates, and your Real IDs. ![]() Like most MMOs, City of Heroes exuded a mixed bag of quality - and its passionate fans certainly did not hold back on letting Cryptic know what they felt about the current state of the game and the choices that the studio made.Įvery MMO, as part of its rite of passage, seems like it has to trigger at least one major controversy that sparks major nerdrage and gives fans a reason to grouse about it years later. City of Heroes is easily my favorite MMO of all time, but I’m not sure that trying to recreate that magic is the correct thing to do.It’s always easy to look back at the making of City of Heroes and its first year with a memory tinted toward the good and away from the bad. The game itself is still in its early stages and I’m continuing to remain cautiously optimistic. According to the Kickstarter, there will be a traditional subscription model, or you can “ play as a free player and purchase from the cash shop a la carte.” Naturally, there will be bonuses to subscribing, but those details aren’t solidified quite yet. Buying the game for $50 will award three months of play time, and from there it gets a bit fuzzy. The City of Heroes community was the best of any game I’ve ever played, so it’s not terribly surprising.īut I’m sure most people are concerned with one big thing: what business model it will use. It’s pretty heartwarming to see a development team that consists of fans, creating an MMO that fans can fund and then play. City of Titans, or “The Phoenix Project,” has just launched its Kickstarter campaign to make that dream a reality.Ĭreated entirely by fans (though some do have a decent pedigree), the Kickstarter has already raised $118,000 of its $320,000 goal in under 12 hours. Some of those people were evidently so bummed that they began a long journey towards resurrecting the game. The financially successful superhero MMO closed down last year making a whole lot of people totally bummed. I’m eager to talk about City of Heroes at any opportunity I get.
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![]() ![]() ![]() This will drop down more options, including the transform parameters, which we’ll cover in-depth below. To take things further, you can edit the layers by clicking the arrow next to the layer’s number and color square. Clicking the eyeball icon at the far left turns that layer on and off. Bringing a file towards the top pulls it to the front of the composition, and moving it towards the bottom pushes it to the back. You can alter the order of files by dragging them up and down. This could be images, text, files, shapes, compositions, and so on. When you add various items to your project they show up as layers. In our example, we have two: “Name Banner” and “Title Banner.” Once the example is open, you’ll see the various layers associated with the composition. These areas are going to be where you’ll be doing the bulk of your work to manipulate your files to create an animation. We will be using the ‘Lower Thirds Animation’ first double click that option to open it. If you are working with our example, you can choose a composition from the project panel. Full HD resolution, 1920×1080 resolution, 23.98 frames per second, and five seconds for duration. Since our project is just an example and not being created for a particular video, we left the settings as the standard. Overestimating is encouraged since you can always trim the project at the end before you export it. As for the duration, you’ll have to make an educated guess as to how long you think you need it to be. You’ll want to match the resolution, aspect ratio, and frame rate to the video that you’re building the graphics for. When creating a new composition, click ‘New Composition’ in the main window, and you’ll be prompted to select a number of options as seen below. This is where you’ll be creating the visuals for your project. Your composition in After Effects is similar to a sequence in Premiere Pro. And on the right is a long list of effects, presets, and more (D). Along the bottom are the layers and timeline viewer (C) we’ll spend a good amount of time here. This is where you’ll view what you’re working on. The composition window is in the center (B). On the top left is the project panel (A), with all the footage, elements, folders, and compositions. Once your project is open, your workspace should look very similar to the image below. If you’re following along with the Example Project, open it side-by-side with this blog post to follow along. When you first open After Effects, you’ll be prompted to open a project or create a new one. We’ll use these as examples throughout the rest of the post. In the video above we focus on creating a lower third and animating an object. Most motion designers tend to use it for titles, lower thirds, or opening title sequences. It is used in the post-production process for a variety of mediums including videos, video games, and many different types of film production. With this particular program, you can create digital visual effects, motion graphics, animation, and compositions. Download File: Adobe After Effects Example Project What is Adobe After Effects?Īfter Effects is one of the many tools provided by Adobe to help you creatively express your vision. By following along with the example project, you’ll get a better understanding of how the various elements of After Effects work, and be one step closer to creating animations in After Effects on your own. Since this program is a bit more complicated than other creative programs, we included an Example Project you can download to follow along with. In the video below, SproutVideo Creative Director, Nick LaClair, will walk you through the basics of Adobe After Effects. By the end of this post, you’ll have a basic understanding of After Effects and the ability to create simple animations. We’ll go over what After Effects is used for, creating compositions, important functions, and how to export a project. Learning how to create motion graphics, multi-layered compositions, and digital visual effects to add to your videos will help your videos stand out from the competition.Īfter Effects can be extremely complex, so this post will be the first in a series of tutorials. Harnessing the power of Adobe After Effects is a crucial tool for taking your videos to the next level. This free example project includes everything you need to follow along with this tutorial and learn the basics of Adobe After Effects. Get our Adobe After Effects Example Project ![]() With Kiryu and his friends making another debut on the PlayStation 4, we now have a chance to see Kiryu bring his street fights, family-to-family battles, and heartfelt moments on a bigger screen and more realistic look than ever before. Now with Yakuza Kiwami 2, I’ve had a chance to explore a richer, more lived-in world that has plenty to offer compared to the limitations of its original version of the game. Since I didn’t get the chance to dive in on the PlayStation 2 versions of the games as I would have anticipated, I am not sure what to expect until the release of Yakuza Kiwami had hit the shelves. With extremely improved graphics and mechanics, it seems that Yakuza Kiwami 2 isn’t just an attempt to cash-in on nostalgia, but rather, improve upon those past experiences while offering something entirely new compared to that of before. Using the engine from Yakuza 6, there seems to be a lot of potential for one such game and because of it, this means new graphics, new gameplay elements, better animations and a more responsive combat system that feels fluid-like and quite enjoyable. With a remastering of the second installment in the franchise by the name of Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Kiwami meaning Ultimate or Extreme in Japanese). Now, here we are, seeing the franchise seeing a rebirthing of sorts, one that involves bringing a new generation of fans into the lives of Goro Majima, Kiryu Kazuma, and the families they will encounter over the span of the franchise. Since 2015, I’ve become a fan of the franchise, one that’s steadily growing into a much bigger place than what it had been when the series established itself in the West back on the PlayStation 2 nearly 13 years ago this year. Over the past few years, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with the Yakuza franchise, a series I’d somehow managed to bypass in previous years. For newcomers, the massive world will be overwhelming and – at times – hard to take in at first +Yakuza Kiwami 2’s combat systems and the saving system makes the game a little less hassle free and quite enjoyable +The sound design remains flawless, giving fans a chance to enjoy a series unlike anything they’d experienced before +The graphical upgrade is a delight to be seen and offers eye candy to fans both new and old to enjoy. With all of its classic elements and new implementations put into place, we now have a reason to enjoy Yakuza 2 in its ultimate and more definitive edition with its latest release. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the second remastering in the Yakuza franchise, allowing for a highly upgraded version of the game that is more visually, audibly, and even more enjoyable than ever before. ![]() The reality-bending AI of Luminar has become the stuff of legend, starting with Skylum’s AI sky replacement (still arguably the best) and progressing to portrait enhancement, portrait bokeh, AI subject masking, sun rays, power line removal and more. But with customisable panels, tons of tonal tools, selective edits and layer functionality, there’s still a good level of depth for those who want a finer degree of control over their images. There’s an emphasis on presets and beginner-friendly, one-click ‘looks’ that take seconds to apply. luminar, £179 (lifetime license)Īs well as being one of the simplest photo editors, Luminar AI is also one of the most fun. Skylum is continuing with its software updates What’s more, some features arguably surpass their Photoshop forebears, such as the powerful Brush tool that gives you a preview of your strokes, or the dedicated Frequency Separation tool for retouching portraits, or the HDR tone-mapping tools.Īffinity Photo’s real strength is in more involved photo edits, like compositing, making cut-outs, adding effects or exposure blending – the sort of things that a while back could only have been done in Photoshop. Features such as Layers, Adjustment Layers, Masks and Filters are all here. Anybody who is familiar with Photoshop will feel at home in moments, so those ex-Adobe Creative Cloud subscribers who are looking for a subscription-free alternative can jump straight in.Īffinity Photo borrows heavily from Photoshop. It’s based strongly on the Photoshop mould, which is no bad thing considering that Photoshop is still the gold standard in image-editing. Recently released as version 2, Affinity Photo is the best Photoshop alternative. ![]() So, let’s take a look at some of the best photo-editing software out there – with no subscription required. We’ve included all these in our guide, along with plenty more. This might be a paid-for option like Skylum’s Luminar or Affinity Photo, a free browser-based app like Fotor, or an open-source package like GIMP. However, if you want to add custom effects, blend exposures, or create HDRs and panoramas, then you’ll certainly need a more involved photo editor. In fact, you might be able to get by with the free software bundled with your camera, and we’ve included a run-down of these programs at the bottom of this guide, to give you an idea of what your options are. If your priority is for raw processing and basic tonal enhancements, then you may not necessarily need an editor with more advanced functions such as layers and selections. These include premium packages, cheap alternatives, and even some options that cost nothing at all, being completely free! How to choose the best photo-editing softwareīefore you make your choice, it’s worth considering what you really need out of your photo editor. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the best photo-editing software with no subscription required.ĭrawing on the experience of our expert technical team – who have used all sorts of image-editing software – we’ve picked a range of options. However, with monthly outlays starting at £10 for the photography plan, it can be an annoying ongoing expense. Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop software have long been considered the best choice for pros and amateurs – with good reason. Post processing is a huge part of shaping the final image in digital photography, and there are loads of programs out there. Next, learn how to view PDF documents in Firefox. Visit to reinstall the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Reader.Follow the steps from the section above to uninstall all versions of these programs.Uninstall and Reinstall Adobe Reader or Acrobat Remove ugin from the Library > Internet Plug-Ins folder. ![]()
“The Little Mermaid” is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. Gorogoa's puzzles never feel like obstacles to overcome one at a time – they are the means by which the story is told. Between and even during the process of solving a puzzle I often found myself reading Gorogoa like a book or admiring it like you would a painting, allowing its collection of detailed landscapes, cluttered homes, and ancient artifacts to take on new meanings over time until its story became a living, breathing thing rather than just a serviceable plot. Lavish palaces stand tall over the crumbling ruins of a city. Images of war and destruction juxtapose scenes of great wealth and royalty. It is Gorogoa’s biggest, most fulfilling puzzle to piece together: you help guide a young boy on his quest to collect fruits for a majestic yet terrifying beast, but for what purpose is not immediately known. “Like nearly all puzzle games Gorogoa’s imaginative puzzles sadly lose that initial spark of excitement after you learn their tricks, but its ambiguous and somber story warrants more than one playthrough, as late-game revelations lend insightful new context to its early moments. ![]() In this way, every exciting step in my journey also became a startling revelation about Gorogoa’s captivating mythology - small moments that play towards a larger, more intricate whole. I found myself reaching far into the past and out into distant lands to enact change on the present - a clever mechanism that fuels the fresh and magical interactions behind each puzzle and acts as a bittersweet meditation on memory and loss. ![]() ![]() In these puzzles time and space aren’t bound by the laws of physics, allowing old and new to merge into a singular moment. In another, I guided a character through a series of framed photographs by stacking doorways, rotating ancient ruins, and slotting the patterns of a porcelain plate into a floating cog. In one sequence, I stole the glow of a distant star to light a lantern. But as you explore, rearrange, and stack its panels - sometimes stripping layers off one image to create two distinct ones - its disjointed vignettes, symbols, and scenes start to come together in increasingly surprising ways. ![]() For with only a staff as your weapon, the world is surely damned. With luck, some of your peoples' ancient artifacts can be found hidden amongst the dark passages beyond. Beyond these gates the dead and the creatures of the night writhe in dark corners, their bodies aching for your blood. Your hate drives you to see these creatures oozing their heart's ichor before you. Now you stand before the City of the Damned, its air thick with the stench of rot. While the other Sidhe had hid, their spirit broken, you thirsted for vengeance and rode East into the wilderness, in search of D'Sparil. The Elders' destruction of the seven armies had gone for naught. Alone, without weapons, the surviving Sidhe would surely perish at the hands of the Order of the Triad. The Abyss had taken the tomes and artifacts of your people as spoils of their victory. When the day was done, the few remaining Sidhe were scattered throughout the land. As each Sidhe fell several beasts would gather to chew into their bellies like pigs into slop, their heads often deeply submerged into the gut with the victim's intestines slung half-eaten upon their own squirming bodies. They attacked in hordes like packs of dogs, first surrounding the weakest and biting and clawing their victims to the ground. Too, pouring forth from the earth like squirming maggots, came the forces of evil both beast and undead. Suddenly the foul odor of death came and the earth opened to engulf the Elders in flames the white-bright fire clinging to their flesh, knowingly and eagerly eating each layer of skin. The ether had quaked with the Elders' magic effort, and the curse of the Order followed the trail unerringly to the Elders' conventicle. Drained by their efforts, the Elders fell to the floor, listening to the single painful scream echoing from the now-scorched battlefield.īut then the forces of the Abyss took their vengeance. At that silent instant, a brilliant flash of light came from the east and the armies that had gathered against you were no more. When all voices had spoke against the Order, the seven Elders extinguished the seven candles flames simultaneously. And while the armies of the seven nations gathered to destroy the Sidhe, the Elders convened to discuss the fate of your people. ![]() The disciples of D'Sparil conspired with the kings of the earth to remove the last lands of apostasy. The Sidhe are now considered the Heretics, the unclean, fit only to be wiped from the face of the Earth. Scorned by the other people of Earth, the Sidhe possessing powers of their own, remained unaffected by the spell of the Riders. Only D'Sparil, the weakest of them remained while his disciples traveled the Earth cleansing it in preparation for its descent. And after they controlled the great nations two Riders left the world. As the power of the Order grew, even the seven kings of the Earth followed like cattle behind them. Their worshipers were the Order of the Sign blind followers, without will, void of spirit. Those who believed in the sign created a temple in their honor and it bore the mark of the crossed trident. As a sign of power they brought peace to the Eastern provinces. Only their eyes were revealed sunken with evil, dreadful intensity. Circling the candles stood the Elders of the Sidhe, leaders of an ancient elf race adept in arcane sorcery and keepers of the Tome of Power.įrom the East came the evil foretold by your forefathers: the three Serpent Riders, guardians of death everlasting. You knew - but any Sidhe would have known in the magic of the reflections pulsing across the ceiling of the Elder's chamber: each flame with its own power to burn, each flame tied irrevocably to the flow of the Earth's breath - the seven flames were the armies of the seven kings of Earth. When you first saw the seven candles, you knew. |
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