Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

Title:Tremulous

Genre: First Person Shooter with RTS elements

Description:

taken from their website

Tremulous is a free, open source game that blends a team based FPS with elements of an RTS. Players can choose from 2 unique races, aliens and humans. Players on both teams are able to build working structures in-game like an RTS.
As a human, players are rewarded with credits for each alien kill which may be used to purchase new weapons and armour from the "Armoury". Upon killing a human foe, the alien is able to evolve into a newer, meaner class.
The overall objective behind Tremulous is to eliminate the opposing team.

Why you should download it:It's an enjoyable and unique game which combines tactics with good aim and teamwork. Plus, you get to pounce on people. Nuff said

Link to game: http://tremulous.net/

Note - the gameis not very easy to understand so if you download it, spend some time playing in the Newbie server ;)

Pretty much every indoors level in Far Cry. It's annoying enough to be stripped of your normal freedom of movement, but indoor levels are mostly populated by those bullshit trigens that hop at you from a mile away and kill you in two hits >_<

RAVEN

Raven is Aviary's complimentary vector program. It is most likely the first vector program online and for that I tip my hat to them, but....well....if I was to give Raven a one-word review, I'd say it was "frustrating". For a while I was unaware of what exactly made it frustrating. Then I ran a small test and realized that Raven has a very slow and error-prone workflow. Working with Aviary was like running through a pit of glue - you stumble and you fall, yet you never seem to make it anywhere. I suspect that it's due to a simple reason - unlike other vector programs that allow you to just grab the middle of a path and drag it to bend it, Aviary users can only work directly with Bezier curves (EDUCATE - http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/glossar y/l/blbezier.htm). This is much more difficult, especially if you made a shape that alternates between straight lines and curves.
Of course, there's a myriad of different issues _{(open tool tabs using too much room, scrolling creating unwanted lines, text editor barely reacting, selecting paths very insensitive, this goofy path hierarchy thing)} that didn't really improve my opinion about Raven. But working with vertex points is the main method of interacting with vectors and if that's busted then the whole program is busted.
Still, assuming you can finally learn all the tricks on how to tame Raven you might find it to be a moderately fine application. It certainly has enough basic functionality to be a respectable vector program, it just doesn't have the usability to show it.

Disclaimer - I'm sure that somebody enjoys the Raven workflow. Well good for you, I'd switch places with you any time.
All my Raven vectors in my Aviary gallery

Usability- 4/10
Why is a program trying to actively slow me down?

Ease of learning - 6/10
....Well, that depends if you're new to vectors or not. And if you can learn to deal with Raven's funky way of doing stuff :/

Powerfulness- 6/10
Although the power is difficult to harness, Raven still has quite some. I guess

UI - 6/10
A wee bit crammed, plus occasionally doesn't detect keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+Z, Nuff said).

Overall - 5/10
A wild mustang, that can give proper results...assuming you can domesticate it

PEACOCK

Saved the best for the last.
Peacock used to be their pattern generator in early versions, but now they refer to it as "image laboratory". It's the most unique of the tools Aviary offers right now - both Phoenix and Raven already have bigger, meaner, leaner brothers. But Peacock is one-of-a-kind. Correct me if I'm wrong, but very few programs offer a similar toolset, and even fewer have it as their "bread and butter". So Peacock already has a big advantage in the form of very little competition.

With that established, I must say that Peacock is one fun bastard. The workflow consists out of dragging nodes from the left tab to the centre workspace and connecting them. The nodes process your image ("glow" node adds glow, "blur" node blurs etc.) and give you the final result in the "canvas" node. Basically, you can think of it as Photoshop filters of steroids. Now, now, don't run away because I said a bad word. I can assure you that Peacock images are NOT generic filter-fuckages. Just see the "Best of" gallery for Peacock and I DARE you to come back and tell me that "it's just filters, that's n00bish".
Since Peacock is all about composing you images, organizing your tools is important.
Of course, node-based system has it's weaknesses - it is entirely based on composing your image out of building blocks. I can gladly say that Peacock is very comfortable in usability and has a very well-organized look which makes this composing enjoyable. However, Peacock is limited in what it can do. As with Apophysis, Peacock is excellent for creating abstract images, but cubersome for attempting to go at least semi-realistic with your final work. Not that it can't be done (see mpeutz's apple) it just requires much more time and energy.
All my Peacock creations

Usability- 9/10
While somewhat strange at first, node-based system is surprisingly logical and easy to use.

Ease of learning - 7/10
Memorizing what each node does might is a bit tricky, but Peacock offers an excellent user wiki to support it.

Powerfulness- 7/10
Peacock can do so many wonderful things, but shares the weakness of Apophysis - it's more suited for abstract art than illustrations.

UI - 8/10
Rough around the corners, but conceptually great.

Overall - 9/10
A very solid web-program. Unique and fun...in it's own element

NOTE - Since introducing the basic framework of Aviary created a big text-o-wall, I cropped the program reviews a bit.

Aviary is aims to bring you the applications of the future and make the most out of Web 2.0 with their software kit. They have successfully created a 5-program kit that is meant to be used entirely online. You go to the website(aviary.com), click the "Create" button and choose the program to create your masterpiece with.

At the time of writing this, Aviary has got 5 programs released to public (they all wear the lime green "Beta" tag though) and many more are on the way. The ones released so far are Phoenix, an image editor, Raven, a vector editor, Toucan, a palette editor, Falcon, an image mark up thingy, and Peacock, something the creators refer to as a "Visual Laboratory". As of now Myna, a sound editor, is in alpha stage. Many others are on the way including a 3D-modeler, a painting program and a font creator.

All those functions are free of charge. You don't even have to log in to use the tools, though you need to do so in order to save. You see, the files are NOT saved on your computer, they are saved onto Aviary cloud server system. This is also one of the unique things about Aviary - being able to access your files off any computer that has Internet and Flash 9 installed (10 reccomended). Even better, you can access anyone else's files (this is where the copyright junkies go "OMGWTFBBQ"). Not just their image galleries, but you can open their file in the program it was made, take it apart, study it and even rebuild your own version of it.
Some people will feel very disturbed by the pure idea of their creation not only being free for all to see but also free for all to edit and modify. However, I found it to be delightfully useful for learning. Ever wondered how that artist created that nifty effect? Aviary gives you that chance, plus the tutorial files are very handy in studying the webkit. Some of the my favourite Peacock tutorials were built so that you could construct the final image by connecting the nodes yourself, seeing what each node did to the final image. You know what they say, it's easiest to learn by doing.
I would, though, have liked to have an option to "publish" our images once we feel we are done. As of now, your images (or palettes) are automatically saved and published the moment you save your first WIP, which is kinda lame. The newest section inevitably resembles the Art portal's unscouted section on a bad day. :/

You can buy a subscription (referred to as "Pro" or "Blue plan"), which gives you several nifty extras. The main one is being able to save images privately, without publishing them to the world, but you can also alpha test the newer applications before the masses, change or remove the watermark Aviary automatically places on your image and have unlimited storage (I got no clue what the limitations are though). Also, you get a badge to show off =P

Since all the programs are web-based and the programs are redownloaded every time, the developers are able to release updates frequently. Think Steam, only the updates are even less noticeable. The devs keep a close eye on the community - all of the applications have a feedback sheet you can fill and the devs frequently post on the forums in response to ideas on how to improve the programs.
By the way, you can easily push images back and forth between programs instead of copy-pasting them. That way, if you want to open Peacock's image in Phoenix, you don't have to wait for Peacock to load and render the whole image again. Just click "Open in Phoenix".

I left Toucan, Falcon and Talon untouched though, because....well, quite frankly, I got no clue what to do with them. I've never missed a colour palette editor, I don't use Firefox and I don't do marking up images.

----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
----------------

PHOENIX

Phoenix is their version of an online image editor. Think of a smaller sibling for GIMP.

Making such a suite that works on Flash platform is an impressive feat. However, this sadly means that Aviary will be held back by technical limitations. All Aviary's programs have one common problem - responsiveness. In Phoenix this is most noticeable when you perform fast, frequent strokes with any of the brush tools. Then you will notice that the program only recognizes every second stroke you make. Bare in mind though that it is a photo manipulator, not a painter. They have planned to release a painting program later, though.

With Phoenix I'd like to bring also out a UI complaint that goes towards both Raven and Phoenix - space! Since it's browser-based, we already lose some space to the browser's tabs and address bar. Now, that limitation I understand, but what confuses me is the lavish usage of space by Aviary's developers. By default, you have a top bar with only zoom bar, undo/redo and autobackup button and tons of empty space inbetween. Each toolgroup spawns its own menu which bites a healthy amount of space and all buttons float some distance away both from each other and the side, leaving empty gaps inbetween.

But in the end, how good is Phoenix as a photo editor? Surpisingly capable. Even if it doesn't have the fancy and ultra-easy interface of Photoshop Express, it has plenty of functions AND integration with all other Aviary applications. It has pretty much everything you'd expect to see in a basic desktop photo manipulator, only Phoenix resides online.

For a full list of all my Pheonix creations, see my Aviary gallery.

Usability- 7/10
Somewhat hindered by technical issues.

Ease of learning - 8/10
Very straightforward program. Some oddities, but nothing cataclysmic

Powerfulness- 8/10
A smaller sibling of Photoshop should be enough of a description here.

UI - 7/10
Suffers from clutter issues, but holds it's own.

Overall - 7/10
A cut-down but capable photo editor.

At 8/17/09 02:19 PM, TurkeyOnAStick wrote: Reginald Deemer the 2nd.

oop sp. I mean Re2deemer

Saw that one coming. Miles away. Worst of all, I don't know if I should laugh or call you a wanker.

It's strange how both COW72 winners look like candles.

Dalenbourg gets my vote this time.
Also loved idiot-monarch's piece.

Bleh, started this in the middle of the wekk and remember only today that I had yet to finish it. So it looks quite sketchy. On the other hand, everything I do looks sketchy....</rant>

"Respirus Vitticeps"

These big lizaard-ish creatures were first spotted at the time of the famous London smog. It soon appeared that these creatures feed by inhaling the particles and microorganisms that exist in polluted air (much like whales feed on plankton) and were attracted to the polluted city due to the abundance of food. By now every self-respecting metropolis has one of those walking air-cleaners.
Why do they have yaws? Well, they can't drink air, now can they?

Oh and TurkeyOnAStick, stop misspelling my name, damnit >:(

At 8/14/09 10:03 AM, Halosheep wrote: I like the second one much better.

Dare to elaborate?

Bumpage for great justice.
Come on, it isn't so hard to try out two games and tell which is better. :3

I already have something along those lines owrking in here. ALL enemies share a single onEnterFrame.

So, I have two prototypes here that are based on the same engine but yield different gameplay.
I'm curious to know which one you consider more FUN to play.

Prototype #1 - War Orb

***NOTE - might crash unexpectedly***

WASD move, Mouse aims & shoots.
Q and E switch weapons.
1-3 spawn enemies at the mouse.

Play it HERE
ALSO, I'd like you to say how many enemies you could spawn before the FPS (in the upper-right corner) dropped

Protoype #2 - Fractal Storm
Mouse moves and shoots
Q/E switch weapons
1-4 spawn enemies at the top edge of the screen

Play it HERE

And the question is a code-related one -
I want to know which is faster - Giving each movieclip a dozen variables and reading them OR giving each movieclip two variables and moving all other variables into an array from which they will be read from.
I'm asking this because I have used the latter in my games and suspect that it's the reason why the first prototype starts lagging after you spawn 5 or enemies. On the other hand, it could also be my pathfinding or collision detection...

At 8/11/09 05:28 PM, idiot-monarch wrote: Every art forum user must spend 2 hours of the day watching these TV shows: Spongebob Squarepants, Chowder, Flapjack and Telletubbies. Breaking this rule will result in death by firing squad.

Bu-but.....Our Great And Benevolent Leader, these shows are not shown here! Should I send a shooting squad over to the TV station?

I like J-qb's.
I liked the feeling of warmth in his image - something I felt was essential for a fire starter and was a tad disappointed when I didn't see it in other images.

And if the challenge to find that thread becomes overbearing, I have the link right here - http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/9352 39

The HellHounds

Contrary to what people may thing, Hellhounds are actually highly intelligent pack creatures. They are omnivores that hunt rarely, but when they do hunt, they do it in a highly spectacular way. Two of the pack will run around a forest patch, creating a burning half moon shape. The whole pack will then hunt down and kill all creatures that flee from the fire, as demonstrated by the diagram.
Hunting the Hellhounds has always ended with 2nd and third degree burns, but it never stops the forest keepers from attempting to protect their property.

This is the thread you might be looking for.
Also, the art forum rules say that you MUST start a thread with an image of your own work.

Minerva: Metastasis
Research and Development
Neotokyo
Zombie Panic

I've played others too but these are my favourite.

Durr, a hard one. Lost of entries to choose inbetween.
This is the kind of topic that makes me wish we could give multiple votes 'cause I'm stuck somewhere inbetween jagundo and kurofelis.
One has a wacky yet awesome looking creature with little connection to arctic environment but excellent feeling of movement in the image.
In the other corner is a creature with dull design and illustration, but very interesting back story.

.....

fuck

Jagundo it is.

for once I give the crowds favourite my vote.

The art forum has officially hijacked your thread...

At 7/27/09 12:54 AM, Winned wrote: Quick question, not sure if it should be posted here but it's worth a shot.

With my scanner, when I scan images they come out OK, but are there any suggestions as to how to make the lines more visible without having to change the settings to the page changes color and the lines look like pen.

And the more important question how should I reduce the file size of a scanned image?

I could probably get rid of excess space in the file with Paint, but are there any other suggestions?

I'm not sure I 100% understand #1, but from what I can tell, you should try importing it into some photo editing program and then open the curves editor. That will allow you to change how visible certain tones of black and white (or hell, even colour) are.

As for #2, you could just open it in a photo editing program (once again) and then resave it. They typically ask you how high the quality of the final image should be so you can just change that setting and save. The lower the quality, the smaller the image.

Every time you are killed with a single shot. Now, I understand if it's some giant mallet or a hyper-laser but when you're sneaking around, an enemy sees you and then puts a single bullet through your head.....REALLY gets on your nerves. Esspecially multiple times.

TWILIGHT. I'm afraid to read it, I don't wanna become a twilight-tard.
Also, Firefox

J-qb. For making a believeable creature out of the OMGWTFBBQ topic we had this week. :D

At 7/19/09 11:09 PM, ButzboPrud wrote: if so, i will do another 'session' if i get a better camera..

Yes plz. It looks interesting, but I can't really understand the patterns because of the blurryness.

At 7/19/09 06:34 PM, allycole wrote: This thing took like ALL morning! Like 3 or 4 hours!!! i wanted ice cream......so i made something resemble what i really want........and so on and on.

This looks quite interesting, but I'd appreciate a close-up of it, especially the side with Nene, Pico, Tom aaaannndd....well, I can't really read out who the others are.

At 7/19/09 05:21 PM, jakex09 wrote: Found my camera! I took pictures of my drawn one. That other one was an expeirement i guess. So here it is!

*cringe* You are supposed to have the papercraft in focus, not the background!

As much of an ass I felt like when telling others to make better pictures, I can't help but wonder why so few newgrounders seem to know how to use the focus function.

At 7/18/09 10:03 AM, Curlyboy8 wrote: This took WAY too long for how bad it is. I might make it through the week.

I KNEW somebody would do this.

Think of them as sequels. It's that easy

At 7/13/09 05:41 PM, btriangle wrote:
Oh ok thanks a lot, ill check that out. I was asking about Free 3D models though for maya.

Sorry, only Google can help you here :(
I got no clue where to find 'em

Uh-oh, you broke Rules #2 and #3....TWICE.

And as a quick note, since Mindchamber was quick to lock the other thread, I wouldn't suggest Blender 3D. Instead, if you want a simple scene, try Anim8or. Sure, it's weaker, doesn't have as much fancy features, but it's easier to get into. With Blender you'll be spending quite some time trying to understand how what works.

At 7/12/09 07:36 AM, SirNightOwl wrote: It is said that when the moon turns red, a dwarf badger has just had it's face kicked off. I think we should all bare this in mind. Mew.

......Was this a bump? 'cause if it was, it's the strangest I've seen.

Anyway, finished mine

GWORG

Gworg no understand.
Why everybody hate Gworg?
Gworg just want friends.
Everybody run away, everybody scream "Monster!"
People throw rocks at Gworg, people mean.
...
Trees no run away.
Gworg like trees.
Tree friend now.

Also, *points at Lundsfryd*
The Great stepp dweller was meant to look like a big, innocent puppy =P

Aside from what Little-Eise already said, could you elaborate on what you are trying to do? Do you want the reduce the opacity of the picture or are you trying to remove the alpha channel?

At 7/9/09 01:19 PM, Viridis wrote: Hey man, great idea for a thread!
You should also try AutoDesk Sketch Book.

Yeah, but the point is to try out freeware only. While I *could* go over trials, I wouldn't be able to use them after the trial period which kind of defeats the point.

At 7/9/09 01:03 PM, Krayon wrote: A note on Apophysis. I picked it up recently, I do disagree with your time thingy. Since you can change that by turning down the quality in the options. Which are easy to get to, it's in under the general tab and there's quite a bit to fiddle with. Also, the editor gives you a small screen that shows the thumbnail view almost instantly. The main screen can be resised easily and that speeds up or slows things down.

Heh, true it is. However, lowering the preview quality means that you get a less accurate presentation of your final image. Below 50 is fully OK if you want to see the general shape of your final result. However, the quality needs to be bumped to at least 100 to get a good overview of the colouration, the little details and the effects (blurs and such). I liked to push it to 1000 every once in a while and grab a coffe.