Watching the Demo Derby and I would love to see a sort of weird 2000s inspired demo disc thing. I think it would be really cool and should be easier to produce now. Having some demos from developers as a showcase. Maybe even a once a year sort of magazine featured too. Maybe I am just old but would be cool.
"The Official Magazine of Giant Bomb".

Platform(s): Web browser
Genre: 2D Exploration with a focus on 2D Point and Click Puzzle (with a tone of horror)
Estimated year of release: 2012-2019
Graphics/art style: Dark and mysterious. Art style wasn't pixelated. It was fairly detailed to where I could clearly make out the character's facial expression and approximate age.
Notable characters: You control a teenage girl with orange hair wearing a white robe with modern shoes (she has a nonplussed look on her face). She was the only character featured in the demo.
Notable gameplay mechanics: Story is you are taking part in a type of trial imposed on you by your religious community (most likely a cult). If you can't complete it, its implied you'll die.
During gameplay, you are confined to a small room with a door (elevator maybe) leading up, a puzzle in the center, and a dooelevator leading down to the next level. When near the puzzle, you would interact with it and the screen would change to zoom in on it; from there, you used the mouse. I believe the puzzles were a type of sliding puzzle, where there were crisscrossing tracks (think train tracks, but indented) you could move the circular pieces with a symbol on them along the tracks and match them up with other symbols. I feel like I'm missing a crucial detail with the mechanics as the puzzles could be fairly difficult. The puzzles had a gold hue to them.
On the ground, you can find documents talking about various things, like letters of support addressed to previous trial takers and notes from trial takers (it's implied that the trial might be rigged to silence some people). There would be collectables on the ground and laying on top of the puzzles that you can just click to collect (it hints that these can lead to an escape from the cult). One of the collectibles you'd often find was red, maybe a gem or feather?
At one point, one of the puzzles has a piece of paper on it saying the puzzle is broken and you can go to the next floor. If you tear off the paper, it reveals the puzzle can be completed and doing this can aid you in escaping the cult.
Other details:
The game was a free demo for a full game that was either already out or would be out soon (I can't remember where it was going to be sold though). I believe I played the demo on a game site like Newgrounds, Kongregate, etc, though I tried looking on Newgrounds and couldn't find it.

Hello,
I have just started playing with JavaFX and I am following the BroCode YT tutorial. I have successfully created a simple window (stage, with a scene and a root node) and so far so good. I have added a width, height, title, icon, already feeling like a full HackerMan and then...
The task was to set the full screen to be true and change both the FullScreenExitHint and FullScreenExitKeyCombination. The key combination change worked, but I see no Exit Hint at all. And everything else seems to be working fine (the window shows, with title, with the right background color, with icon on top, in full screen mode)
Here is the entire code (with my notes, but I hope it's alright like this):

package com.example.fxdemo.javafxdemo; import javafx.application.Application; import javafx.scene.Group; import javafx.scene.Scene; import javafx.scene.image.Image; import javafx.scene.input.KeyCombination; import javafx.scene.paint.Color; import javafx.stage.Stage; public class HelloApplication extends Application { public static void main(String[] args) { launch(args); } @Override public void start(Stage stage) throws Exception { Group root = new Group(); // creating a root node to arrange all of our components // adding the root node to a new scene // and setting the background color of the scene Scene scene = new Scene(root, Color.BLACK); // setting the icon // step 1: make an image out of the icon // it's only needed to list the file name because the file is in the src > main > resources (in Eclipse it would be directly under src!) Image icon = new Image("coffee_icon_light.png"); stage.getIcons().add(icon); // adding a title to the stage stage.setTitle("Stage Demo Title"); // setting the width and height stage.setWidth(400); stage.setHeight(300); // change whether the window can be resized stage.setResizable(false); // set where the stage first appears on the screen stage.setX(100); stage.setY(100); // set stage as fullscreen stage.setFullScreen(true); // default for exit full screen is ESC but it can be changed stage.setFullScreenExitHint("YOU CAN'T ESCAPE... unless you press q"); stage.setFullScreenExitKeyCombination(KeyCombination.valueOf("q")); stage.setScene(scene); // adding the scene to the stage stage.show(); // making the stage visible } } 

At first I thought it might be because I have set the scene to have a light color, and maybe the default text is also light-colored, but no. There simply is no text at all.
What can the problem here be?

Someone was saying that I should share it here. I'm working on getting a Pilgrim Noire as well soon. I'll be comparing it pretty soon.
“Not a Baby Anniliator”
This is an interesting iem. A lot of people have called this a baby Anniliator, but it’s not it’s different it’s it’s own monster. So there is a hint of disappointment to my ears as I want to say “Hey, this is just like the anniliator!” There is a trend to jump on the bandwagon. I could throw shade and try to call others out in a way, but I want this iem review to start off with some simple statement about what this iem is, and is not. This is a satisfying iem, that is well worth the price, but it isn’t exactly what an Anniliator is.
This is a purchased set. I had to move a few headphones around to be able to afford this set. While purchasing or samples can effect how a reviewer might want to review, I try to remain unbiased when possible.
This is a personal product and I am fully happy with my purchase. I really enjoy this iem. I was able to demo it at Can Jam 2023. I would never recommend buying any iem past say 200 dollars if you haven’t demoed it first. Maybe your limit is higher, but that’s my default recommendation to all. I try to tell the story of purchase or acquisition whenever I buy an iem. I asked Hifigo about this iem and told them that I was interested in reviewing it, I did buy this iem with my own cash and had to move some gear around to afford this.
Let me share what music that I listen to:
Song Choice: Tidal list here:
I listen to a wide variety of music. I pick the songs because of various reasons. But I picture myself locked away like Andy Dufresne from Shawshank blasting music and shut off from the world. It’s a blissful image.
The Marriage of Figaro -The opera song from Shawshank Redemption, terrible recording but fun and gets me in the mood to listen to music.
O mio Babino caro -This is a modern less operatic version but a song with great female vocals.
Video Rigoletto - “La donna e mobile” Sung by one of the three Tenors, great song for high-performing male vocals. Pavarotti is the greatest classic singer maybe ever. Fight me!
Iron man - The sound at the beginning is hard to make sound great, great drums, and cymbals, and if done right it feels like an old-school band.
I Will Survive (1981 recording, I like her voice, and the old vocals, the drums, and various natural instruments really make this a favorite for me.
There is a light That never goes out - Smiths ( A classic, I just love it. It’s mellow, and I can tell a lot of the tuning if this song is done right.)
Jump (I like how the sound effects are in this!)
Star Child Someone recommended this song to me, and I like how funky it sounds and has nice vocals and a mix of music and things going on.
Dicke Titten Ramstein The beginning is amazing and the bass hits hard. Great song. I love rock and metal. The German language fascinates me
Master of Puppets: Very fast song. Helps me determine if the driver can keep up.
This is a newer version of my 10 favorite songs that also work for audiofile music.
This is a copy of a bunch of good audiofile music. Some are on my favorites, but all are great to test headphone tracks. (70+)
This is my favorite overall music. 300+ songs (needs to be edited a bit)
Bass (20-60 Sub Bass, 60-250 Hz Mid Bass)
The details of the bass is strong and everything sounds right on it. The bass seems well-controlled and fun. One thing the Pilgrim isn’t is lean, it has a nice tonality that is very suiting and pleasant. I do find the quality of the bass is correct. I feel percussions on it sound great. The iem is clean and lush even in the bass.
The Above is my Targe with the Bass only on the Pilgrim. It’s a nice fit!
Midrange (250 HZ to 800 HZ Low Mids, 600-200 Hz Mids, 2000-5000Hz Upper Mids)
The timber and tone is great on this iem, people have described it as near perfect or class leading and they aren’t joking. It is basically perfect for what I want out of an iem. . It has nothing that will often plague other iems. No weird plastic feeling, voices sound right with no plastic feeling.
I don’t find it shouty but fun, smoothe and enjoyable. The Timbre of this iem is lush and energetic. This comes across slightly energetic and U shaped, but is still a smooth listen and very enjoyable.
Treble (5000- 10000 Trebble/Highs, 10000 ++ HZ Upper Trebble & Air)
The 5-6k region which is still fairly accurate on a 711 coupler is very hot for me. This might be an issue with some people. I personally prefer sets that have this down a lot more. Is this an issue, no in fact in just reviewed a set that had a peak around that level. But for what I am used to the 5-6k region comes across very bright.
The treble is a good part of this set and this iem has great detail and sparkle for me. No issues here. I’m able to game, listen to music, and a podcast all at once with this iem. It has incredible details that come across in the treble. Looking at the frequency response I would think it would sound neutral or boring without the 3k spike, but I enjoyed it. All the music that I listen to sounds great and I feel that it has a wide beautiful soundstage.
Gaming
Gaming is great on this iem, it’s cozy and has a world class feeling of fit to me. Details sparkle for me, but the treble and space aren’t much better than the Hexa, it is fairly similar and on about the same level. It has a beautiful open and clean sound. The stage isn’t too wide, but just right. Detail retrieval during fights is immaculate, and the imaging vertically and horizontally is fantastic. It has great imaging and a good sense of where I am.
Shell -
The shell is pretty, it fits great and I find it an exceptional fit. I’m not a huge fan of metallic shells but this iem feels great in ear. It feels pretty great in ear. I had some minor concerns over the shell of the iem, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Case- The case have an odd feeling and doesn’t feel as good in the hands that it looks. It has a beautiful look, but the inside has a ridge aroud that it doesn’t feel super durable. Almost like a cardboard ridge that could be destroyed very easily. Overall it’s a nice case that feels and looks great. I took it to work to do some testing and it worked great for my use.
Cable- The cable comes in 3.5 or 4.4. I would recommend to chose carefully as it is a pennaconn cable and those are expensive to come by. Overall the cable is very nice and premium feeling. I was concerned about the cable. But it feel durable in hand and thick.
Tip Selection - The tips are Spinfits W1, they are the same used in the anniliator. I found myself using Eletech Baroque tips, as the iem was having a slight issue staying in my ear.
Comparisons:
Vs Anni 2023
Ok, vs the iem of the same brand that, I own and love. The bass is better a tad more rich and organic, the upper treble isn’t as natural, but it’s close, it’s so close. The midbass in the anniliator is much better, and the overall natural tone of the anniliator is better by a lot to my ears. This doesn’t mean the Pilgrim is a bad iem, but to me it just a strong iem that isn’t exactly perfect. Some people might even like The Pilgrim better as the sound is a little bit more organic. I always say to demo anything over say 200 dollars when possible, and take everything with a grain of salt.
It amplifies the slightly odd fun treble of the anniliator up to 10. Some people might be reminded of how bright the annilator sounds, but to my ears the Pilgrim is brighter, almost plastically so. It’s a unique experience. Again, the Pilgrim is a very good iem, I’m using my audiophile microscope here. But using that, the Pilgrim is brighter, the Annilaitor has better vocals, bass, and more balanced treble with a better fit. It by no means takes “Anni’s” place to me in the market. Despite being a very solid and nice product.
Vs Hype 4. (The similar price)
Let’s compare the iem that I’m reviewing vs an iem that is of the same price. I think the mids of hype 4 are slightly better. I like the eargain region of the Hype 4 better. I wouldnt’ call the hype 4 much better, just a different colorization of sound. I think the Hype 4 has a more mainstream tuning for those looking for something similar to JM-1 curve.
The Pilgrim is brighter, but to my ears sounds more technical and right. But it is a close comparison as their graphs are somewhat similar. They trade blows and are both very good iems. At their prices I recommend both, one isn’t better than the other. The Hype 4 would be my recommendation as I like the resin shell a bit more, and I think the sound is a little less colored. The Pilgrim is slightly flavored and fun, and an overall masterful sound for it’s price. Like if I wanted to recommend to someone in the hobby who had only 400 dollars I’d say go Pilgrim easy, but to someone who wanted a one and done set to ride off into the sunset, I’d go Hype 4.
VS MEGA 5 EST
This is the that hype tuning that many are searching for. If you want to experience that hype tuning the Xuan NV might be the better source for you. The Pilgrim is a very good set with slightly recessed Male Vocals and female vocals, but it is still very nice. Obviously, demo both, but if I had to recommend one over the other I’d go with Pilgrim due to its much cheaper price. I really didn’t like the Mega 5 EST, but don’t find it a poor iem, just dull. The Pilgrim isn’t dull and has better bass and better air and technicalities. The Mega 5 est is more neutral and plain and lacks anything of excitement to me. It feels like a iem made in a factory by robots and doesn’t get me exciting. Just way to neutral and bland.
But again, demo everything first.
VS Aful 5
Similiar tonality in someways. It is much better than the P5. But has some similarities and it is an option that gets you pretty close to the tonality of this iem. Personally I think the Aful 5 might be a better value, but the Pilgrim is a great set if you can afford it. If you can’t and only have money for a cheaper set, the Aful Performer 5 is my recommendation at the cheaper price point.
Sound - Final Impressions
While this iem is very good, and almost perfect especially at it’s price it doesn’t fall into the category of “BLIND BUY THIS NAO!!!”, but more of yeah it’s pretty good, enjoyable, but not an Annilator. I welcome the day an iem takes or beats the 2023 Elysian Annilator for me, but this aint it. It’s a super good iem, that I would feel is competitive with it’s peers and either class leading or better. I recently review the hype 4 and loved it. I think the Pilgrim is on par with the Hype 4, and maybe better sonically. I think both of these 400ish dollar iems are better than MANY 1000+ sets that I’ve listened to. But again, all my opinions are based on my ears and your mileage might vary.
Recommended EQ: I use Peace APO to EQ on the PC. This EQ is done to my preference. I recently set up a preference curve on My Squig. So for at least iems, I can use my own graphs now. Please feel free to use the measurements as you want.. Jaytiss.squig.link
Overall this is an amazing iem that could easily be a game for most. The goal for me with an iem is to have an that doesn’t need EQ. This iem, does sound better to me with this eq, more neutral and less colored.
Preamp: -2.1 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 34 Hz Gain 1.9 dB Q 0.700
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 150 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 2.000
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 670 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 1.200
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1400 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 2.000
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3700 Hz Gain 3.3 dB Q 1.900
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 5600 Hz Gain -4.4 dB Q 2.000
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 7900 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 1.200
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 9500 Hz Gain 3.1 dB Q 2.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 12000 Hz Gain -2.2 dB Q 0.500
Filter 10: OFF PK Fc 0 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.000
Gifting/who is it for: I think this is a nice hifi iem to gift to someone, it is an expensive iem but overall it’s a solid package that sounds fantastic. It’s a handsome shell, good looking cable, but it is a little too white for my take. If price wasn’t a concern I’d probably consider the Noire due to a superior color and $350 dollar included cable. But the packaging of the Pilgrim is very much so on point and very enjoyable.
I do think this is a worth mainstream iem for the masses and gives you a taste of the Elysian sound. It may or may not be the best dollar-for-dollar iem for your tastes, but it is an exceptional product that is exceedingly enjoyable from a packing sound and build quality. I have no doubt these shells will surivie the Zombie Apocalypse.
Pairing: I used a Quidelix 5k for mobile, my dongle Dac iBasso DC04 for my laptop, and my JDS labs Element III MK2 Boosted for my Desktop PC. I also tried the iem briefly on the Apple dongle as well. This iem had no issues being driven. Typically I only find overears to really have a hard time being driven and maybe some planar iems. (I personally am not a huge mmcx or planar fan.)

Summary-
I’ve recently redone my ranking system to include a gaming/comfort quality, an overall rating along with Crinacle style rating. I am also releasing a video on Youtube at the
I have a Youtube review on my small channel if anyone wants to check it out.

Platform(s): PC
Genre: Racing, derby-like?
Estimated year of release: 2006-2012
Graphics/art style: Much cleaner than FlatOut, professional looking tracks with normal street cars
Notable gameplay mechanics: had a track editor and might've not had a lot of maps to use, no real campaign when I've played it
Other details: might've been an indie and a demo/beta, since it didn't come with a lot of stuff to it, might've not even released, name might've started with Car-, though it's not Carmageddon

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Patreon Official Subreddit Series Wiki Royal Road
About half of the student body was blinded by the sudden and intense flash of light that blanketed the room.
The other half seemed to have reacted in time to shield themselves from that unexpected assault on the senses.
I was part of that latter half.
And what I saw during those precious few seconds of visual overstimulation was nothing short of remarkable.
The walls that had resembled Mal’tory’s dark and dreary office quaked and quivered in place, as if the whole room was a living organism, and we were somehow nestled within its guts.
Each of the ornate wooden panels began dislodging from one another, their formerly flush surfaces cracking, revealing seams where there had been none before. These seams too began expanding, as each of the panels started wobbling, wiggling, then eventually disconnecting from one another entirely; moving independently of one another as if freeing themselves from a long-dormant state.
For a moment, they looked almost like a reptile’s scales when put under magnification.
Then, and without any warning, they began disappearing, each panel violently pulled back and into some dark anomalous void that existed behind the walls themselves; sending the EVI into another fit of spatial error reports.
We were, for a split second, completely wall-less. But not a second after the old walls had been… for lack of a better term — banished to the literal shadow realm, did a set of new walls suddenly take their place.
And quite dramatically too.
As an entirely new wallface suddenly emerged darkness of the void, one that was earthy in tones, and reminded me more of those old teakwood heritage buildings back on Earth. There were fewer embellishments to them compared to the previous Victorian-styled walls, less patterns and ostentatious designs, instead simply going with this less is more approach that left vast empty gaps where decorations and patterns were previously present. It was almost as if they were left empty and bare for a reason.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 475% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
Out of nowhere, dozens of pots, planters, and trellises suddenly embedded themselves through the wall, decorating what was no longer a blank canvas.
Plantlife soon followed this open invitation for a free home, as hundreds of flowers bloomed all across the wall, carefully trimmed and perfectly appointed to the lattice structures they coiled on, with not a single one of them looking too wild or out of place.
The sudden and abrupt remodeling completely threw me off.
At least, until the source of it all suddenly made themselves known.
“Welcome, first years, to Mana-field perception and Light Magic theory.” The voice continued, as through the literal haze of change came a female figure that the EVI had little problem assigning a name and identifier to.
ENTITY IFF CONFIRMED: A109 Apprentice Larial Essen - NEXUS [CORDIAL]
Yet strangely, the metallic footsteps that I’d heard just before she crossed the staff door’s threshold didn’t seem to follow her. Instead, only the apprentice emerged from the door behind the lectern.
She continued towards the lectern with a forced and somewhat stiff poise and gait, her general demeanor identical to how she carried herself prior to the whole crate saga. Which was of course, stern, tired, and completely unyielding; a fact supported by the impeccable posture she used to walk into class.
Though the class’ focus certainly wasn’t on her demeanor, or her posture, nor even on the room that had completely morphed into a completely different space.
No.
It was instead almost squarely focused on the apprentice’s cloak, which was most certainly not black.
This prompted the entire room to erupt into a frenzy of whispers, tempered only by those daring enough to deploy privacy screens.
But before those antics could evolve any further, and before my mind could even catch up with this turn of events, a loud, high-pitched, and unbroken — SHUSH — erupted from the front of the class. Emerging from a certain gorn-like lizard, who’d stood up to face us rather than the apprentice currently manning her podium. “ALL STUDENTS RISE!” He commanded.
To which the entire class followed, with the only two tentative parties being myself and a certain bull.
“ALL STUDENTS FORWARD AND BOW!” He continued, prompting the whole class to follow suit, and from there, receiving a head-tilt’s worth of praise from the apprentice.
“Thank you, Lord Qiv.” The apprentice spoke appreciatively, before setting her sights on the rest of the desks and chairs—
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 200% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—which were subsequently transformed into brighter-toned variants of their formerly dark and depressive selves. “I understand that there may be quite a few lingering questions amongst the crowd that quite a few of you wish to be addressed. In the spirit of ensuring that these needless thoughts and senseless rumors do not come to cloud your mind throughout the rest of class, thereby rendering these lessons moot, I wish for them to be addressed here and now.” Larial announced tacitly, but with a severity that was clearly modeled off of her mentor.
The mood of the room quickly changed following that.
But instead of shifting to the deference and submission in Articord’s class, or the tentative acceptance of Vanavan’s class, there was instead an overarching tone of outright confusion.
It was as if the whole class didn’t know how best to handle the situation.
But whilst the rest of the room remained undecided, with a few shaky hands rising up one by one, a sense of relief quickly washed over me as my emotions finally managed to catch up to the rapidly developing turn of events.
I couldn’t help but to immediately activate the in-armor positional readjustment mode in the suit, allowing myself to just… slouch; as I took in the class with a renewed wave of reprieve.
It was that same feeling you get when you arrive on the day of the test, only to find it delayed by a week. Or that feeling you get when a notification arrives in the dead of night, on the eve of a presentation, to inexplicably announce that the whole project was now put on hold due to some unforeseen event.
But unlike those situations where the why of the situation didn’t really matter… here, it most certainly did.
Which prompted me to listen in, as the questions began flying towards the apprentice.
“If I may be the one so brazen as to offer myself as the voice of the year group, Apprentice Essen?” A certain Auris Ping took the lead, having been chosen by the apprentice amidst a sea of equally inquisitive hands.
“The floor is yours, Lord Ping.” The apprentice proclaimed.
“Thank you, Apprentice.” The bull responded curtly, eliciting a particularly intense glare from the likes of Thalmin. “Where is Professor Mal’tory?”
The apprentice’s features shifted somewhat at that question, as if she wasn’t expecting something that blunt and straightforward right out of the gate. “The professor’s whereabouts are the business of the Academy’s faculty and staff.” She spoke firmly, yet with an authority that she was clearly under equipped to wield. “If you wish to inquire as to the nature of this class going forward, I will be more than happy to-”
A series of hands were raised even before the apprentice had even finished her sentence. Which prompted the overworked and exhausted elf to switch over to another student before she even had time to finish her own thoughts. “The floor is yours, Lady Ladona.”
“Thank you, Apprentice. Now, to clarify, are we to expect you to be teaching us for the rest of this class?” The being, which I could only describe as a butterfly with most of their insectoid-traits toned down, asked politely.
“That is correct, Lady Ladona.”
“And is this expected to continue for… the rest of the month?” Ladona continued, her features shifting if only to show her growing sense of confidence.“The semester perhaps? Or maybe even the rest of the school year?” She continued at a rapid-fire pace, making a point to catch the apprentice off-guard before she could even respond to that first point.
“The responsibility of tutelage has been deferred to me on the basis of Professor Mal’tory’s current inability to fulfill this particular aspect of his responsibilities owing to his current engagements. This will remain so, until the Professor returns from said engagements.” The apprentice responded in that same jaded, no-nonsense tone of voice she’d used during our pre-life debt interactions.
It was, however, woefully inadequate in dealing with the likes of a vicious social predator like Ladona, who immediately waded through the tepid waters towards the first sign of weakness. “So when can we expect his return, Apprentice?” She pushed further, her polite tone of voice acting like a velvet cloth, barely concealing the sharp mandibles beneath it.
“That is something I cannot answer.” The apprentice replied sternly, taking a stand against the shark that had now tasted blood in the water.
“Is this because of a lack of correspondence to the faculty?” The butterfly-person shot back quickly with an innocent cock of her head, her antennae swaying as she did so.
“I am not at a privilege to divulge such details, and that is most certainly not the case, Lady Ladona.”
“My apologies, Apprentice.” Ladona spoke in a calculated show of apologetics. “In any case, am I to assume then that in addition to the responsibility of tutelage, that the responsibilities of proctorship, examination, and evaluation, have likewise been deferred to you?” She shifted gears once more, this time, her question garnered quite a few murmurs to emerge from the rest of the class.
Murmurs which, as the EVI’s little picture-in-picture subtitles hinted at, were all in support of Auris Ping’s right-hand.
“That’s right… are we to assume that an apprentice of all people will be responsible for the evaluation of our performance?”
“I mean, she is an elf, that should count for something right-”
“Have some dignity! Just because she’s an elf, doesn’t mean she has any right to be dictating the fate of our academic progress!”
“That’s right! This is an insult to our titles! How dare they relegate the tutelage of a class to a mere pitiable apprentice! What do they take us for, the dregs of society?”
These hot-takes continued escalating further and further, until finally, and seemingly out of nowhere, several of those voices began dying down seemingly mid-sentence; something had distracted them from their little outbursts.
In fact, as the seconds ticked by, Thacea, Thalmin, and Ilunor turned towards each other knowingly, as if sensing that something was amiss.
That something was soon made clear to me by a sudden uptick of mana that rose from two, to three, to four hundred percent above background radiation.
At which point, several warnings suddenly slammed my HUD.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 400% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
CAUTION: Concentrated Heat-Energy Surge Detected!
CAUTION: Localized Temperature Surge Detected!
Those caution reticles quickly formed just behind the apprentice, hovering ominously over that void-filled doorway, right before a stream of concentrated flames surged forwards towards her.
However, instead of dodging, ducking, or leaping out of the way, she stood firm; her features not even shifting even a little.
As right before the flames made contact, so too did they suddenly stop, as that surge of mana radiation fluctuated wildly—
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 200 - 400% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—before suddenly disappearing.
The room was left stunned.
Any remaining conversations were halted mid way, with many of the more chatty students barely even registering what’d just happened.
So for those who lacked situational awareness, and were still very much looking around for the reason why the rest of the class had gone silent, there was a round two to these attacks that erupted as suddenly as the first.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 650% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
This was signaled at first by the cracking of rock and the quaking of the entire room, followed closely by four distinct sinkholes forming along the floor at the very front of the lecture hall. A gurgling, churning noise echoed ominously from deep within the newly-formed holes, like an ancient concrete mixer dialed up to eleven.
Eventually, it stopped.
And soon after, four humanoid earthen behemoths erupted from those sinkholes. Each of them easily towered over the apprentice, whilst each of their fists were at least a full Ilunor in size.
A tense confrontation followed, and a silence that could be shattered by a pin drop soon descended upon the formerly whisper-filled room.
Yet despite it all, the apprentice didn’t move a single muscle, and to top it all off her eyes were closed shut as if in deep thought.
Seconds passed.
Then finally, the four cobblestone golems made their move.
All four moved in sync, their first steps caused the whole hall to shudder, prompting me to instinctively flinch towards my sidearm as the events of the second day hit me harder than a sack of bricks.
The first golem was poised to strike her side—
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 300 - 650% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—but found itself crumbling before our eyes, as local mana radiation spiked and shifted erratically.
The second golem reached down with its fist, poised to grab the apprentice through the lectern—
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 250 - 700% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—but like the first, it found itself reduced to rubble, falling where it stood; as rock by rock, it collapsed under its own weight.
The third and fourth golems charged forward together, lunging down fast towards the lectern—
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 350 - 725% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—but like the first and second, they too found themselves victims to the great equalizer that was gravity, as whatever magical glue was holding them together just up and failed, reducing those humanoid forms into harmless piles of rock.
A few stray rocks did reach the lectern, but were effortlessly swatted away by an invisible barrier, leaving the apprentice and her immediate surroundings completely unharmed.
Silence once more descended on the entire class.
But just like the silence from before, that lull period wasn’t destined to last, as a loud, boisterous, and jolly series of bellowing laughs emerged from behind the void of that door.
I could tell, with immediate certainty, who that voice belonged to.
I didn’t even need the EVI’s tag system for this one.
ENTITY IFF CONFIRMED: A110 Professor Sorecar Latil Almont Pliska - NEXUS [CORDIAL]
“Spectacular work, young apprentice! Spectacular work indeed!” The man came marching through the door, walking up and towards the apprentice.
“Thank you, Professor-Armorer Pliska.” The apprentice responded softly, prompting the armorer to reply with a sharp and brisk bow of his own.
“You can reserve your thanks for after class, I have plenty more exercises where that came from, and each and every one is going to be tougher than the last!” The man proclaimed not-so-discreetly, eliciting a worried expression to form on the apprentice’s face, highlighting the seriousness of the otherwise lackadaisical tone of his voice. “Needless to say, I don’t think you’ll be thanking me much after I’m done with you! The Academy’s gotten a bit softer over the years, and I’m about to make up for lost time before they toss old-Sorecar Latil Almont Pliska back into the workshop!” He paused, before shifting his tone towards a more menacing one. “And that applies to your understudies as well, Apprentice.”
“Now!” The armorer quickly shifted his attention from the apprentice, and towards class, his gesticulations wild, as if making for the apprentice’s slower, more sluggish demeanor. More specifically, he maintained this sort of “Y” posture, with both arms high above his head as he spoke. “For those of you wondering exactly what just happened… well, perhaps it would be best for you to leave the class considering this is exactly the sort of thing we’ll both be expecting of you following the conclusion of this school year! And for those of you who openly doubt the qualifications of our dear apprentice here… just know that she was hand-picked by Professor Mal’tory himself for a reason.” The man paused, before bringing his arms back down to his sides, if only to emphasize his point, before resuming the posture from before. “And until I see a single one of you being personally selected by a black, red, blue, or white-robed professor… I don’t want to hear a single peep of doubt from you lot. At least as it pertains to the apprentice’s ability to teach these classes! And if you need an extra guarantee of such? Well… know that the Academy does not allow an apprentice to teach without supervision from an appointed Professor of the Magical Arts.” He paused, as if for dramatic effect, before pointing both hands down towards himself. “Which just so happens to be the only Professor otherwise free from the burdens of stringent schedules — yours truly!”
To Sorecar’s credit, the murmurs born of inflated egos, and the whispers of dissidence did not once dare to interrupt, or follow-up on the man’s proclamations.
If anything, that entire… display was enough to keep the critics at bay, and the ones on the fence to fully hop back on the side of respect.
At least, until one group decided to tempt fate, deploying a privacy screen.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 350% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
If only for that privacy screen to suffer the same effects as the rest of the spells casted throughout class thus far.
ALERT: VARIABLE FREQUENCY FLUCTUATION OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED 100 - 350% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
“Bold! Brash! And indeed, cheeky, if that word still holds true in this era’s vernacular!” Sorecar announced with a laugh that radiated deep from within his armor. “Unlike other classes that prohibit the casting of magic save for practice or demonstrative purposes, I fully allow it, nay, I say, I encourage it! You youths should be free to cast magic whenever and however you like!” The man paused soon after, and once again shifted gears towards a more severe timbre, yet never once losing that lackadaisical personality I knew him for. “But just remember, while you may freely practice these magical gifts you have and hold so highly, doing such in this class is to be considered a direct challenge by yours truly! This is the study of Light Magic and Mana-field Perception, after all! And thus, in the spirit of scholarly competition, I shall take every spell cast as a chance to prove what’s what!”
The man paused, before gesturing towards the apprentice. “Now, for those of you still quite confused with the definition of Light Magic as it pertains to the Nexian vernacular, I shall defer the right of tutelage back to that of our dear Apprentice. The floor is yours, my lady.”
A brief exchange of bows between the teaching duo was had, before the apprentice finally started, now with all doubts and concerns fully addressed not just by words alone, but through action as well.
“As all of you may have already discerned, the demonstration Professor Pliska had so graciously provided, was an attempt to illustrate the most visible effects of Light Magic — that being the detection and subsequent dispelling of active and pre-active spells. The subject of Light magic, thus refers to the study of the detection, dispelling, counterspelling, and disarming of all forms of other magics.”
“And by that definition, it is the single most combative field of magic there is.” Sorecar promptly chimed in with a nod towards the apprentice, almost like he was tag-teaming this opening statement with her; establishing a precedent for the dynamics of the class. “For in order to practice Light Magic, one must be in the presence of an active spell. And in order to truly practice Light Magic, one must be in the presence of active danger, as unlike most forms of magic, unevenness and intensity in casting is key to the successful destabilization of an offending spell.”
“So THAT’S what the fluctuations were.” I thought to myself outloud inside my helmet.
“Moreover—” Sorecar continued, raising his arms into the air once again as if to emphasize his points. “—to the seasoned and the wise, Light Magic as a field is known to be the single most versatile field in existence. For if implemented correctly, it has the capacity to bring all other forms of magic to its knees.”
“Versatility and adaptability are core elements of Light Magic, so while not capable of much harm by itself, it is capable of incredible feats of defense if used correctly.”
To say that I was pleasantly surprised would’ve been an understatement by this point. Because not only was Mal’tory completely out for the count, and not only was he replaced by two of my only cordial relations within the Academy thus far, but the class itself was refreshingly straightforward. There was no mincing around words like Vanavan’s class of lectures, there was also no overt signs of blatant propaganda and indoctrination like in Articord’s class. Instead, this whole class started out with a practical demo of all things, followed up essentially with a breakdown of exactly what we were studying.
“What you observed during the start of class, were just two out of a near-infinite set of examples demonstrating counterspell and dispelling measures, a rather dramatic one I might add but one that you may very well one day use.” The apprentice continued following yet another exchange of nods with Sorecar.
“And indeed, while they may have seemed trivial to the keen-eyed observer, the execution of their dispelling is anything but. Because despite what most misinformed minds may believe regarding counterspelling — dispelling isn’t simply a matter of overpowering an offending spell with a burst of mana, but instead, more akin to the unwinding of a knot, or the picking of a lock. You must act to untangle a spell, until the spell itself falls apart at the seams.” Sorecar continued, before once again swapping the baton with Larial through an exchange of nods.
“Which is exactly why Light Magic continues to be a field forever expanding in its domain.” The apprentice continued. “Because as every other field develops more and more convoluted forms of spells and artificing, so too does Light Magic have to adapt, improvise, and overcome these advanced and oftentimes eclectic means of casting.”
So an arms race… I thought to myself.
“It is, in essence, a pure magic field. Yet it is applied as if it were an applied magical field of study.” Sorecar surmised, prompting me to actually listen in with genuine intent, this marking the first moment I was truly engaged with a class with none of its politics.
“And as for the Mana-Field Perception class?” The apprentice continued with an inquisitive tone of voice. “It’s effectively an extension, or rather, a foundational element of Light Magic depending on how one wishes to view it. Because in order to become proficient in Light Magic, you have to first understand and hone your abilities in order to detect the nuances within mana-streams and mana-fields. It is only through the detection of disruptions and the accurate understanding of a spell being cast, that you are able to apply more advanced abjurations in an attempt to counter these spells. Sometimes even before they’re cast if you’re so inclined to.”
“Now, how many of you can genuinely say you noticed the shift in the room’s aura prior to the casting of that Firestream?” Sorecar asked the crowd, prompting almost every hand to be raised.
“Well that’s just a blatant lie now, isn’t it?” The man retorted bluntly. “I can tell by your reactions just before the Flamespear hit, you know. So please, honestly now, I’m giving you one more chance to answer.”
About three quarters of the class lowered their hands, leaving only the gang, Auris Ping and Qiv’s group, as well as a few other scattered students to maintain their raised hands.
“Alright, that’s about exactly the number I counted from behind the veil! Rightio then!” Sorecar proclaimed through what I could only imagine would’ve been a grin if it wasn’t for his armor. “This is exactly why mana-field perception is necessary. Because to most mages, it is a learned skill rather than an inherent trait. Which, of course, is by no means a demerit! But moreso, a wonderful little oddity in the grander tapestry that is the magical arts and pedagogue!”
The apprentice quickly followed that up with a series of talks once more summarizing the expectations of the class. Mana-field perception was, unsurprisingly, divided into practical and theoretical assessments. Which, at first, seemed to be a potential roadblock, until I realized one fundamental way this class could actually benefit my aims.
“EVI?” I spoke inwardly, as Larial started her lectures on mana-field perception.
“Yes, Cadet Booker?”
“Is there any chance you can maybe interpolate and extrapolate on the Apprentice’s points? As in, is it possible to… visualize magic, as opposed to just alerting me to bursts of it?”
“The mana-radiation visualization project, or MRVP, has been in development for some time, Cadet Booker. The research and development teams however, were unable to create a reliable model for field-use that wouldn’t have been a liability to operations.”
“So it wasn’t field-deployable because of the variance and accuracy issue.”
“Correct, Cadet Booker.”
“Alright, and you said all they needed was more data to create a better model for it, right?”
“Correct, Cadet Booker.”
“Could you… do that with this? Is that within your mission parameters to do so?”
“It is indeed one of the many ongoing projects taking up the bulk of my processing capacity, Cadet Booker. However, proper implementation of this will require additional hardware to be developed, tested, and then field-deployed for testing. The success rate of which is yet to be determined. I cannot guarantee this operation will yield the desired results inferred, Cadet Booker.”
“Alright, that’s good enough for me.” I acknowledged, before turning back to class with a renewed sense of invigoration.
The lecture continued, only stopping about midway as the apprentice realized she’d yet to elaborate on the whole Light Magic class side of things.
Which, it turns out, was more or less similar to Mana-field perception in its assessment criteria — that being a mix of practical and theory assessments. A combination of written exams and practical counterspelling would be expected in tests, midterms, and finals. This would mark my first true hurdle… but then again, perhaps I could balance out the rest of my grades against the practicals which was more or less an impossibility given my obvious human limitations…
“As with most of the classes in the first year, I will treat both periods as one. As both subjects are intertwined, we may see glimpses of both within the same period.” The apprentice continued, before shifting gears towards something else. “And on the topic of periods, since we’re nearing the conclusion of the first, with lunch quickly coming upon us, I believe it to be necessary to inform everyone now of what awaits at the end of this second period.” The apprentice spoke ominously, as she made the effort of meeting every one of the students’ gazes. “By day’s end, I intend for a pair of you to perform a practical demonstration of the fundamentals of light magic. So I expect everyone to pay close attention after lunch.”
A small pause punctuated the room yet again, before Sorecar, after several hours of silence, came to complete the apprentice’s thoughts; his faceplate squeaked to form a shape that just barely gave off the feeling of a smirk.
“Be prepared, and be ready, for your first real brush with magical dueling.”
“First being the operative word here, I must add.” The apprentice quickly clarified. “Within the bounds of demonstrative purposes.”
I could just about hear the band rounding out the corner outside the hall, and I could just about see a few students ready to pack up their things for lunch.
However, before the band could arrive, Thalmin unexpectedly stood up, raising his hand in the process.
“Yes, Prince Thalmin Havenbrock?” The apprentice acknowledged.
“I wish to volunteer as the issuer of this duel, and to designate the other party for this duel as well.”
The apprentice paused, considering this carefully, before nodding. “Granted, though I warn you Prince Havenbrock, this is an introductory demonstration, and will be treated as such. In any case, who would you wish to designate as the other party?”
“Lord Auris Ping.”
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(Author’s Note: And there we have it! Light Magic Theory and Manafield Perception classes are both now in session! This is probably the most fun and engaging class I've written yet, and this is a sentiment that Emma shares as well! I do hope you guys share the sentiment haha as I still think that action is something I still am quite lacking in, in terms of my abilities to properly write and convey it. I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Two Chapters are already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 80 and Chapter 81 of this story is already out on there!)]

We released a demo this week! Gentoo Rescue is about sliding penguins to their homes, and it has a "change the rules" element with item pickups. Multiple moving pieces, item pickups, and special win conditions (involving walruses) make for many interesting puzzle possibilities. There are some exceptions, but the puzzle design is focused around the idea of "small, simple, but difficult".
The Steam demo contains 15 puzzles, which will take players somewhere between 2 and ∞ hours to complete. The game is difficult, but also easy to pick up with tons of accessibility features, including a hint system and puzzle skipping option. The puzzles are also deduction-based, so you won't need to wander aimlessly and you'll feel real satisfaction after reasoning your way through.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2830480/Gentoo_Rescue
There is also a shorter, prototype demo on Itch. This is playable through a browser and mobile is supported. (For mobile: Tap screen instead of X, swipe to move, and use the pull out for undo/reset/menu.) The subset of puzzles in this version are also easier, but there is no hint system and far less QoL due to the lack of animations and customizations.
https://jagriff.itch.io/gentoo-rescue-ps-demo
Gameplay can be found on the Steam page or on my Twitter ( https://twitter.com/jagriff333 ). I am eager to receive your feedback. Also, please wishlist Gentoo Rescue on Steam!

Hello again! About 6 months ago, I put together a Nintendo roundup that got some positive feedback, and with this week’s double-whammy of the Switch successor kinda being announced and a direct being confirmed for June, I figured now was as good a time as any to put out an updated version so folks can know where things stand and have something to chew on while they wait. My intent is to update this post after the June direct with any new information. Please let me know if anything's borked, as formatting big posts on reddit can get a bit wonky and some of these links are getting old
Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development (EPD): Formed in 2015 as part of a restructuring that unified Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (EAD) and Nintendo Software Planning and Development (SPD). When people talk about “in-house Nintendo”, this is usually what they mean. EPD groups are primarily small producedirector-led teams that then scale up and pull from a shared “pool” of developers as projects get further into development. EPD’s many sub-groups can essentially be divided into those that primarily develop their own games and those focused more on overseeing/collaborating with other studios (both non-EPD Nintendo studios as well as fully external developers), though there are exceptions and gray areas
Development-focused groups

• EPD 3: The Zelda team; with Tears of the Kingdom DLC stated to be off the table, they are presumed to have moved onto the next major Zelda title
  
  • Nate the Hate and Eurogamer both reported that a build of Breath of the Wild running on Switch 2-comparable hardware was shown behind closed doors at Gamescom 2023 featuring 4K60fps and “erased” load times; however, these reports also stressed that this was intended primarily as a tech demo and isn’t necessarily indicative of a next-gen update or remaster being planned for release
  • Papagenos: “Tears of the kingdom Had a great zelda design I think we are Severely overdue for a game where zelda Is the main character. Seems to me A Hyrule adventure like that Is something fans want, Nows The time.
    • capitalized letters spell out “This is a hint”
  • Jeff Grubb, Nate the Hate, Imran Khan, and Andy Robinson have all previously claimed or alluded to the WiiU versions of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess coming to Switch (often speculated/reported as being a double-pack); nobody's gotten the timing right on this, but these are often framed as finished ports that Nintendo is sitting on for one reason or another.
    • Nate the Hate: "They exist but knowing when they'll come out is a different matter. It's why they are often used in speculation as a schedule filler"
    • Grubb: "I've always heard they're ready, they're sitting there, we're just waiting for Nintendo to pull the trigger. When they will, why they will, who knows?"
    • Kit&Krysta: Krysta: “I know they exist, they’re in, they’re, uh, they’re, they, they’re done I think they’re just gonna sit on it. But I do not think they’re gonna talk about this at all, for a while”
• EPD 4: The “experimental” team behind games such as Labo, Ring Fit Adventure, and Nintendo Switch Sports. Typically their games feature bespoke peripherals or prioritize using a system's hardware features for novel gameplay. Most recently released Everybody 1-2 Switch (co-developed with NDcube) in June 2023.
  
• EPD 5: Animal Crossing and Splatoon. Most recently released Side Order, a roguelike DLC mode for Splatoon 3, in February 2024
  
  • Pre-release, Splatoon 3 was confirmed to get 2 years of support; barring a content extension, the game should get its final content update this year around September
  • Should note that while the two series typically share a producer, there’s historically been little to no overlap in directors, so it’s not impossible for both Animal Crossing and Splatoon to have games in active development at once
• EPD 8: Also known as EPD Tokyo since the rest of EPD is based out of Nintendo’s Kyoto HQ, this is the 3D Mario team (also Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and Captain Toad; co-developed the NES Remix games with indieszero)
  
  • 2020 hiring call for a “level designer for new 2D action game (working in Tokyo)”
  • 2020 job listing for a "level designer for new 3D action game” in Tokyo
  • Rumors of an EPD 8 Donkey Kong game:
    • LonelyGoomba “I heard an unlikely rumour that the Mario Odyssey team are working on a 3D Donkey Kong game.”
    • Nintendo Life: “Nintendo Life can confirm that it has heard the same rumour [as LonelyGoomba] from an independent (and very trusted) source, which would appear to lend this report some degree of legitimacy. However, our source claims that the game will be 2D (or 2.5D, if you prefer) and not 3D.
    • Professor Chops on Famiboards: VV were working on open world 3D DK game since 2016, project was shelved and moved to EPD 8 in 2018
    • DK Vine: A DK game had been in development at an external studio before Nintendo decided to bring the series in-house; “I've been led to believe that this is a new EPD team that has formed from other teams specifically for the purpose of creating Donkey Kong games.”
    • Liam Robertson: Full documentary about Vicarious Visions’ DK project (and other things) on DidYouKnowGaming: Refutes the notion that Miyamoto was heavily contributing design ideas. A DK game codenamed “Freedom” was a demo made by VV and pitched to Nintendo, worked on for “a little over 6 months starting from the end development of on Skylanders Superchargers in September 2015”; “A throughline between the conversations I had with former workers was that they had all heard that Nintendo had given them some positive feedback on their demo”. Ultimately killed by Activision higher-ups, who felt VV’s resources were better spent on franchises such as Call of Duty and Destiny, in spring 2016
      • on the subject of Vicarious Visions’ project potentially being moved to EPD: “It was an unsolicited pitch from VV that was never picked up. Zero proof that it was continued elsewhere. If Nintendo is doing DK, it’s something else.”; [“Nintendo] hadn’t made a decision either way on funding it when it was shut down.”
• EPD 9: Mario Kart, ARMS (and Nintendogs once upon a time).
  
  • With Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass both receiving their final content updates towards the end of 2023, they’ve probably been working on the next Mario Kart game (either that or LEGS)
• EPD 10: Pikmin and 2D Mario (including Mario Maker). Launched both Pikmin 4 (co-developed with Eighting) and Super Mario Bros. Wonder in 2023.
  
  • Unclear if there are any plans for either Pikmin 4 or Mario Wonder to get DLC (on WiiU, both Pikmin 3 and New Super Mario Bros. U received paid DLC)
  • speculation that the Pikmin 4 Japanese website possibly hinted at DLC via pictures not currently in the game: https://famiboards.com/threads/nintendo-first-party-software-development-st-nintendo-party-superstars.114/post-897523

Oversight and collaborative groups

• EPD 2 has the broadest responsibilities of these groups, through which EPD gets a hand in projects including Kirby, Mario Party, Smash, Fire Emblem, Bayonetta, Xenoblade, and Pokemon, and others
  
• EPD 6 generally sticks to to overseeing Intelligent Systems’ non-Fire Emblem games (i.e. Paper Mario, WarioWare) as well as all games developed by Retro Studios and Next Level Games.
  
• EPD 7 is a bit hard to place, but for simplicity’s sake I’m putting it here; as SPD 1 they developed multiple games on their own (notably the Rhythm Heaven and Tomodachi games), but after Nintendo shook up its internal structure in the late WiiU era and SPD 1 became EPD 7, they appear not to have the capacity for solo projects. Instead, all their projects as EPD 7 have been in collaboration with external studios and include the Famicom Detective Club remakes developed with MAGES as well as MercurySteam’s recent Metroid games
  
  • MercurySteam is currently rumored to be working on a 2D Metroid game targeting 2025 in addition to their confirmed “Project Iron” (a 3rd person action-RPG in partnership with 505 Games); MercurySteam put out 2 games in 2017 (Samus Returns and Spacelords) and 2021 (Metroid Dread and American McGee Presents: Scrapland Remastered), so it’s very possible for them to have two projects in development at once
• EPD 1 stands as something of a mystery, as just about every series it would previously have managed and overseen has seemingly been moved under EPD 2 in recent years; its current status and possible projects are unclear
  

Other Nintendo-owned Studios: Mario World outside of EPD

• 1-Up Studio (formerly Brownie Brown):
  
  • As Brownie Brown, developed games such as Magical Vacation, Sword of Mana, and A Kappa’s Trail; co-developed Mother 3 with HAL Laboratory
  • As 1-Up, acts as a support studio primarily for Nintendo EPD titles (most frequently EPD 8 projects, though also credited in occasional non-EPD 8 games like Tri-Force Heroes, Ring Fit Adventure, and Animal Crossing New Horizons)
• iQue: Previously distributed Nintendo games and consoles in China under the iQue Player branding; with Tencent now acting as Nintendo’s official distributor in the region, iQue’s primary role has been Chinese localization
  
  • developed the N64 emulator used for WiiU Virtual Console, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, and NSO
  • began hiring game programmers and testers around 2019, suggesting an expanded role in game development (presumably as a support studio)
• Monolith Soft: Tokyo studio handles the Xenoblade series, Kyoto studio does support for EPD 3/EPD 5 projects; most recent solo release was 2023’s Future Redeemed, the DLC story expansion to Xenoblade Chronicles 3
  
  • 2017 job listing for “an ambitious project that differs from Monolith Soft’s brand image”
  • 2023 job listing for UI designer in “action game development”; February 2024 update to recruitment page still looking for developers with experience making 3D action games
  • Possible evidence of a Xenoblade X remaster from Future Redeemed
• NDcube: Mario Party (from 9 onwards), Clubhouse Games, various other party game/mini game titles (also F-Zero Maximum Velocity on GBA)
  
  • Most recently released 2023’s Everybody 1-2 Switch (co-developed with EPD 4)
• Next Level Games: Luigi’s Mansion 2 and 3, Mario Strikers series, Punch-Out Wii, Metroid Prime Federation Force
  
  • Since 2013’s Luigi’s Mansion 2, Next Level has released a new game every 3 years; With Mario Strikers Battle League releasing and wrapping support in 2022, they should have a new game in 2025 (assuming they stick to this 3 year cycle)
  • Possibly working on the Luigi’s Mansion 2 remaster scheduled for late June 2024
  • Nintendo Prime in March 2023: An F-Zero GX remaster is one of two projects in development at Next Level Games
    • Nate the Hate on Twitter when asked if the F-Zero project he heard about was F-Zero 99: “I believe it was a different F-Zero project from F-Zero 99.”
• Nintendo European Research and Development (NERD) (Formerly Mobiclip/Actimagine): Primarily handles most of Nintendo’s emulation needs (NES/SNES emulators in the mini consoles and NSO, GB/GBA for NSO, and the Gamecube/Wii emulator used in Mario 3D All-Stars/Pikmin 1+2). Frequently credited in “novel technology”-heavy titles such as EPD 4 projects and Velan Studios’ Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
  
  • In addition to ongoing NSO work, served as a support studio for Tears of the Kingdom
  • Most recently developed Pikmin 1+2 along with the Porting Technology Development Team (part of Nintendo Platform Technology Development, Nintendo’s hardware&tech division)
• Nintendo Pictures (formerly Dynamo Pictures): Animation and motion capture studio
  
  • As Dynamo Pictures, credited on games and media such as Metroid Other M, Monster Hunter Stories, Persona 5, and the Pikmin shorts
  • As Nintendo Pictures, credited on Tears of the Kingdom (special thanks), Pikmin 4 (very special thanks), Mario Wonder (character design/character action design/field design/cinematic design/technical support/project management/special thanks), Super Mario RPG remake (character art/animation art/technical art), and Another Code Recollection (very special thanks)
• Nintendo Software Technology (NST): Ridge Racer 64, Pokemon Puzzle League (a reskin of Intelligent Systems’ shelved Panel de Pon 64), Wave Race Blue Storm, 1080 Avalanche, Mario vs DK series, Metroid Prime Hunters, F-Zero 99, support work for indie publishing partnerships (Snipperclips, The Stretchers, Good Job), port work+new content for EPD games (Mario Maker 3DS, Captain Toad Switch/3DS, 3D World+Bowser’s Fury)
  
  • most recently put out a remake of the original Mario vs Donkey Kong in February 2024
  • Upon F-Zero 99’s launch, dataminers found evidence of additional game modes
• Retro Studios: Metroid Prime series, Donkey Kong Country Returns & Tropical Freeze, support for Mario Kart 7
  
  • Retro took over development of a rebooted Metroid Prime 4 about 5 years ago
    • PapaGenos: “The thing is I’ve heard Prime 4 is basically done and has been done for a while, but the cutscenes are apparently really bad (or were a few months ago) so that’s what was delaying the game.”; believes it is still “a Switch title and not specifically made for the Switch 2”
      • Nate the Hate: “The only thing preventing a 2024 release is if Nintendo holds it back for strategic reasons. But the cinematic delay claim is not accurate”
    • Jeff Grubb has heard (from a source that also told him about the Epic Mickey Remaster) that as of sometime last year, Retro was planning to have Prime 4 assets prepared by May 2024, would likely include a CGI trailer and gameplay footage; stresses that plans may have changed and having assets prepared for May isn’t the same as “something happens in May”
    • Brazil, talking about the June Direct: “My educated guess is that MP4 is showing up as a late 2024 title as well”
    • XboxEra’s Nick Baker had a source describe Metroid Prime 4 to him, emphasized it was graphically impressive and featured big areas
  • Jeff Grubb has previously reported that Prime 2 and 3 would also get remasters, but isn’t expecting Prime 1-level “big boy remasters” (as he’s phrased it); “Metroid Prime 2 and Metroid Prime 3 are sorta getting, they’ll probably get, like, the updated controls and things like that, but they’re not getting quite the same overhaul that Metroid Prime 1 is getting”.
    • He also said that “Metroid Prime 2 remaster probably is coming out relatively soon-ish” back in July 2023 (fortunately he did not bet his hair on this one)
  • reddit user Ncleknows: "Prime 2 has sat in waiting for a while and they're polishing prime 3"
• Systems Research and Development (SRD): Programming assistance on many Nintendo games dating back as far as the Famicom/NES port of Donkey Kong in 1983 before eventually being acquired by Nintendo in 2022
  

Close Partners and Frequent Collaborators: The Nintendo Keiretsu and Friends

• Arika: Endless Ocean series, several Dr. Mario installments, Tetris 99/Mario 35/Pac-Man 99
  
  • Most recently released Endless Ocean Luminous in May 2024
• Bandai Namco: As Namco, developed Starfox Assault, the Donkey Konga series, and the Mario baseball games; As Bandai Namco, responsible for Smash games starting with Smash for WiiU and 3DS, asset creation for EPD 9 games starting with Mario Kart 8 (technically had been involved with Kart since the arcade entries in the mid-2000s), and various Pokemon spin-offs such as Pokken Tournament and New Pokemon Snap
  
  • Studio 2/Studio S: “Specializing in commissioned development projects within the company”
    • A Bandai Namco studio seemingly dedicated solely to Nintendo co-development projects Looks to comprise both the Smash team as well as the EPD 9 support team (not confirmed: the Pokken/New Pokemon Snap team)
      • Going off the interview section of their website, people at Studio S have worked on Smash games, while those at Studio 2 have worked on EPD 9 games
  • Hiring for two projects: A 3D action game (possibly a remaster, going off of an older job listing )and a 2D action game
    • All 3D remasteremake jobs have been removed from Namco’s recruitment page as of early February 2024; 2D action game listing also removed
• Camelot: Mario Tennis and Mario Golf games, Golden Sun series
  
  • Emily Rogers stated in late 2021 that “internally, in the last ten years, Nintendo has shown more interest in Golden Sun than people realize. Nintendo likes Golden Sun. The big thing holding it back is finding the right developestudio to work on it. Because Camelot has its plate full with Mario sports, and Mario sports makes Nintendo a lot of money. If were up to me, I think Nintendo should find a studio to re-make Golden Sun 1 and 2. Remakes would be much, much easier to develop than a brand new Golden Sun.”
• Game Freak/Creatures Inc./The Pokemon Company:
  
  • Game Freak is currently working on Pokemon Legends Z-A, an action-RPG set in Lumiose City from Pokemon XY, scheduled to release in 2025
  • Pokemon TCG Pocket, developed by Creatures Inc. and DeNA, is scheduled to release on Android and iOS in 2024
    • TCG Pocket developer DeNA Digital Production Co. renamed to Pokemon Card D Studio, will be co-funded by TPC and DeNA
  • Game Freak is also making an action-adventure game codenamed Project Bloom with Take-Two label Private Division; expected to launch “during Take-Two’s fiscal year 2026”, no platforms have been announced
  • Game Freak trademarked “Pand Land” in late 2023
  • 4Chan post claiming there will be a Scarlet/Violet graphics enhancement patch for “the new Nintendo Switch models that will be released alongside DLC2”
  • Creatures employee's LinkedIn mentioned working on "one unannounced game" in 2022 in addition to the then-unreleased Detective Pikachu Returns
  • Pokemon Works founded in early 2024 as a joint venture between The Pokemon Company and ILCA (Pokemon Home, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, support for Pokemon Scarlet/Violet) for “contracted development of games related to Pokemon” (presumably will be roughly analogous to Bandai Namco Aces, a joint venture between Bandai Namco and ILCA related to the Ace Combat series)
  • Pyoro: “Idk anything about the Pokémon Presents, while heard of an outsourced unova-related game. The info was from last year so it may turn out to be inaccurate.; “This is not a leak and should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m just sharing something i’m aware of.”
• Good-Feel: Wario Land Shake It, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Yoshi’s Wooly World/Crafted World
  
  • most recently released Princess Peach Showtime in March 2024
• Grezzo: Ocarina of Time 3D and Majora’s Mask 3D, Luigi’s Mansion 3D, Link’s Awakening remake, Miitopia remaster; co-developed Triforce Heroes with EPD 3
  
  • Released Jet Dragon for Apple Arcade in 2023
    • Axios interview: “The studio has around 85 full-time employees, Ishii says, and tends to develop about two or three games at a time.”
  • 2021 job listings for battle planneboss designer, character control engineer, and UI designer for a "medieval", "stylish", “not photorealistic” game
  • Koichi Ishii (Grezzo founder and president, Mana series creator, Chocobo/Moogle creator) is currently attached to Square Enix’s Visions of Mana as a series monster design supervisor, no indication of Grezzo as a whole being involved in its development
• HAL Laboratory: Known primarily for Kirby; in recent years, they’ve also made the Boxboy games and Part-Time UFO. Prior to roughly the mid-2000s, their output was a bit more varied, including titles such as the first Pokemon Snap and Pokemon Ranger, the first two Smash Bros., and co-developing Earthbound and Mother 3
  
  • Warpstar Inc. is responsible for managing the Kirby IP specifically (essentially, it’s The Pokemon Company but for Kirby); HAL owns 50% of its shares while Nintendo owns the other 50%
  • Kirby series director Shinya Kumazaki called Kirby and the Forgotten Land “the first step in our kind of ongoing moving forward challenge of now also creating 3D Kirby games”, indicating they intend to follow up the now best-selling Kirby game with another 3D entry
  • multiple job listings specifically for developing (pretend to be shocked) Kirby games; presumably looking to fill the gap left by external developer Vanpool, which worked with HAL on several Kirby spin-offs as well as Forgotten Land and Return to Dreamland Deluxe before shutting down in May 2023
• indieszero: Electroplankton, NES Remix series (with EPD 8), Sushi Striker, Brain Training for Nintendo Switch (with EPD 4), Big Brain Academy Brain vs Brain (with EPD 4)
  
  • While not confirmed to be involved in the recently-announced Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, Masanobu Suzui (founder of indieszero) retweeted the game’s official announcement
• Intelligent Systems: Fire Emblem, Panel de Pon/Tetris Attack/Puzzle League, Paper Mario, WarioWare, Advance Wars, Pushmo/Pullblox
  
  • Developing the upcoming Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door remake
  • rumored Fire Emblem Genealogy of the Holy War remake:
    • Imran Khan in 2019: “I know there was another Fire Emblem remake in the works for 3DS and that was one of the things that they shuttered. So maybe that’s one of the things they do bring forward [to the Switch] in the future.”
    • Brazil teasing upcoming Switch games in late 2020, includes picture of FE4 boxart
    • MarkoMaro in 2022: “Also Fire Emblem has not one, or two, but 3 games in development at this moment...with a spinoff, a remake and a new game, some of them almost finished.”
    • claimed to be in development by same person who leaked photos of Fire Emblem Engage in June 2022 (who also claimed Engage had been finished “for quite some time now”)
    • Nate the Hate: It “has been remade for the Nintendo Switch, it’s simply waiting for Nintendo to announce it”; Again in Feb 2024: "It's just waiting for Nintendo to announce it."
    • Datamined codename evidence: Datamining indicates that Three Houses had the codename Iron17 while Engage had the codename Iron19 but contains references in its code to an Iron 18; Three Hopes (the Warriors game that released in between them) was codenamed Seasons, so Iron18 remains unaccounted for
• Koei Tecmo: Pokemon Conquest, Metroid Other M, Hyrule Warriors games, Fire Emblem Warriors games, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Buddy Mission Bond (Japan-exclusive), Fire Emblem Three Houses (co-developed with Intelligent Systems)
  
• PlatinumGames: developer of the Bayonetta games and Astral Chain, co-developed Star Fox Zero with EPD
  
  • Nash Weedle (via Google Translate): “Bayonetta will receive a trilogy edition with its three main games in one pack for the Switch 2. The games will bring visual improvements (HDR confirmed) and performance. Due to backwards compatibility, it can also be played on Switch 2 with improvements”
  • Prior to Astral Chain’s release, director Takahisa Taura talked about having ideas of how to expand it into a trilogy or more
    • In a 2021 interview, PlatinumGames studio head Atsushi Inaba said that Taura was "working on something, but we can't say what it is" and that there were "a lot" of things that Platinum wanted him to do. "It could be him wanting to do his own thing, something like Astral Chain again, or it could be somebody coming to us and saying 'we really like Taura and want to do something with him' like what we did with Nier.".
      • Taura has since been credited on Bayonetta 3 (special thanks), Bayonetta Origins (game design advice), and Final Fantasy 16 (game designer)
• Ubisoft: Mario+Rabbids games, Starlink Battle for Atlus (featured Starfox content in the Switch version)
  
  • Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot seemingly confirms a next-gen update/rerelease of Mario+Rabbids 2: Nintendo [has advised] that it's better to do one iteration on each machine. We were a bit too early, we should have waited for [the next console]. Because you could play a great game. And we think it will last for ten years, because we will update it for the new machine that will come in the future."

Misc. Odds and Ends. Things that didn’t really fit anywhere else, big grain of salt for some of these

• references to Star Fox objects found in code for Switch Sports (the first released game to use EPD’s newest engine, ModuleSystem)
  
  • In 2015, Miyamoto indicated that Star Fox is something Nintendo experiments with internally whenever they begin working with new hardware: "I work very closely with the programmer of Star Fox 64. Basically, every time we get new hardware, we do a Star Fox prototype."
  • new international trademark for Star Fox filed in late 2023
• PapaGenos claimed in August 2023 that he’d heard rumors of Smash Bros. Ultimate getting some kind of update in the future
  
  • may have been referring to Smash Ultimate celebrating its 5th anniversary with the addition of new spirits earlier this year; final event was in late March
• Masahiro Sakurai says a console port of Kid Icarus Uprising “sure would be nice” but notes that “without a team around to work on it, crafting a follow-up seems difficult”
  
• Hobonichi (MotheEarthbound creator Shigesato Itoi’s company) celebrating 30th anniversary of Earthbound/Mother 2: “To commemorate the 30th anniversary of MOTHER 2 ... we are planning a lot of fun in 2024” (almost certainly just merch, but noting it here just in case it’s something more)
  
  • Mother 3 was re-released this year … on Japanese NSO
  • Mike Takagi (artist behind Earthbound’s American cover art) on Instagram reminiscing about Earthbound, late February 2024: “The 30th anniversary is coming up in Nov and I hear Nintendo is planning something…where my invite??”
• Nintendo investing up to approx. $880 million to “organically expand” its game development assets and creative culture, up to approx. $2.64 billion into Nintendo accounts and infrastructure; also constructing new 12-floor building for game production, expected to be completed by end of 2027
  
  • new building delayed to 2028 or later, “with the possibility of ‘more than 13 floors’ to cater to a long-term increase in development personnel"
• reddit user lineup-leak: Gamecube classics will be available at launch of next console (specifically mentions Mario Kart Double Dash, Smash Melee, Metroid Prime 2 as launch titles, with Pokemon Colosseum, FE Path of Radiance, and Mario Party 4 also being tested for NSO)
  
  • claims next Mario Kart will not be a launch title but will release within the first 6-12 months, describes next Mario as being “in final testing phase”
• Nintendo to give Forever Entertainment “significant financial support” in new publishing deal “to release several titles on Nintendo Switch”: This is from a while ago but (and someone can correct me if I’m wrong) I don’t think anything’s come of this yet
  
• Chris Dring/GamesIndustry.biz: ”Nintendo is actively meeting with independent developers to find new partners. Some of that is around publishing indie games, … but it’s also seeking studios that could work on some of its IP.”; “Nintendo regularly works with third-party teams, … But the company is looking to add to that roster, and I know of three studios that are deep in conversation around making games based on Nintendo brands”
  
• Nintendo survey asking about different Mario RPG games, including Mario&Luigi
  
• reddit user Advanced-Ad7780: Project X Zone 3 is currently in development (leak didn’t specify a developer, but the first two games were developed by Monolith Soft for the 3DS)
  
• Nintendo secures new trademarks for Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush and Fullblox (also known as Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, and Stretchmo) in Australia
  
• Doctre: Notes that Velan Studios (Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, started by Vicarious Visions founders Guha and Karthik Bala) is looking for people with AAA experience to work on a “cherished and widely adored IP”, speculates it could be a reboot of VV’s DK project
  
• Midori: “A game is in development at Nintendo with the codename Banquet”
  
  • (personal conjecture: Some of NDcube’s previous codenames include using BBQ for Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival and Buffet for Super Mario Party, so they feel like the closest style-fit for something codenamed Banquet)
• Brazil: “The June Direct should be the last "main one" focused on Switch 1; more remasters will be announced during the show (and my educated guess is that MP4 is showing up as a late 2024 title as well)”
  

Engine Talk: Finally, it’s a bit esoteric but with game engines becoming an increasingly common point of conversation and speculation, I figured I’d put together a rundown of some of the engines used in Nintendo games. This isn’t a comprehensive list (esp. because many studios use proprietary engines that aren’t well-documented), but should give a general idea of who uses what to make what (shouts-out to OatmealDome on twitter for doing the datamining work whenever a new game comes out, and MondoMega on Famiboards for maintaining a useful graphic that collates most of this information) )

• LunchPack
  • Version 1: Nintendo Land, Mario Maker, Splatoon
  • Version 2: Splatoon 2, Mario Maker 2, ARMS, Labo, Ring Fit Adventure, Game Builder Garage, Animal Crossing New Horizons
• ActionLibrary: 3D Land, 3D World, Mario Odyssey, menus/”wrapper” for 3D All-Stars, Bowser’s Fury, Captain Toad, F-Zero 99 (elements possibly can be traced back as far as Sunshine or Galaxy)
• KingSystem: Breath of the Wild
• ModuleSystem: Switch Sports, Splatoon 3, Tears of the Kingdom, Mario Wonder, Mario vs Donkey Kong remake
• Nintendoware Bezel engine: Tetris 99/Pac-Man 99/Mario 35, WarioWare Get It TogetheWarioWare Move It, Super Mario Party/Mario Party Superstars, Clubhouse Games 51 Classics, Big Brain Academy Brain vs Brain, Everybody 1-2 Switch, Brain Training for Nintendo Switch, Endless Ocean Luminous
  • (also available for use by 3rd parties; known to have been used for Vroom in the Night Sky and Sumikko Gurashi: Sumikko Park e Youkoso)
  • Datamines of Endless Ocean Luminous show the latest version of Bezel includes references to a variable frame rate mode with support for up to 240fps
• RUDE (Retro Universal Design Engine or Retro Unified Development Environment, depending on which former dev you ask): all Retro Studios games
• Mint: most (all?) HAL Laboratory games since 2011's Return to Dreamland; upgraded and renamed Basil for Forgotten Land
• Unreal Engine 4: Yoshi's Crafted World, Pikmin 4, Princess Peach Showtime
• Unity: Jump Rope Challenge, Pokemon BDSP, Fire Emblem Engage, Super Mario RPG remake, Another Code Recollection

Hello, all: I am downsizing my accumulation (“collection” suggests something more deliberate). I have a sort of smorgasbord of pens, from a few nice-to-me pens to entry-level pens that might be good for penabling others.
Platinum 3776 Celluloid Koi: Pics here. I came across this at an estate sale several months ago. Grade: A2–I’ve dipped it twice (incl. once for this post). It does not appear to have been previously inked. It’s a beautiful pen. There has been nominal celluloid shrinkage (expected), but the barrel twists on and off with virtually no effort. It is an older model: note the scrollwork on the cap, nib size (F) written in Kanji, and how the barrel screws onto, and not into, the section. There is a patch of grey/white celluloid on the grip section that is a bit muddled, but this is typical of celluloid: $275 including shipping. Comes in original box with a converter and an ink cartridge.
Pilot Elite 95 (Japan): Pics here. Grade A2. Burgundy/creme. F nib. Purchased new last year; inked just a few times, which taught me that the nib’s side channels will ink your fingers if you occasionally hold the pen too low on the barrel (alas, no Carene or Targa in my future). Comes in original box; I will include a Con-40 converter: $80 plus shipping. SOLD
Waterman 3-V EF Flex nib: Pics here. Grade C/D+. Purchased last year when I made a brief foray into flex nibs. My knowledge of flex nibs is less-than-stellar; the nib flexes, but it takes more effort than I expected (probably user error). A new sac was installed when I purchased it. It’s a pretty pen, but it is small. Like, maybe 4mm longer than a capped Kaweco Sport-small. Lever filler works well, crisp imprints, smooth EF writer, but I graded it C/D+ grade because I don’t know the pen’s innards: $65 plus shipping. SOLD
Parker 51 Special: Pics here. Broad nib, and it writes smooth, broad, and wet. Grade: B. 14K nib, which Parker used when octanium/steel nibs were unavailable. Purchased from a reputable Parker restorer: $50 plus shipping. SOLD
Sheaffer Cadets: Pics here. Grades: B (green) /D (burgundy). F nibs. Cadets are overlooked because of their steel nibs, but IMO you’ll be hard-pressed to find a bettesmoother (yet with a hint of feedback) steel nib on a modern or vintage pen. I have two other Cadets with sentimental attachments that I am keeping. I purchased the green Cadet from Peyton Street Pens; it has crisp imprints, minimal micro scratching. The burgundy is a nice writer, but it has obvious micro scratching, light imprints, and brassing on the clip. $50 / $3O including shipping. BURGUNDY CADET SOLD
Esterbrook SJ: Pics here. Grade: B-/C+. Currently fitted with a smooth 2556 nib. I will also include a 955X nib (that could use a bit of smoothing): $35 plus shipping. SOLD
Eversharp Skyline Pen/Pencil Set: Pics here. Grades—Pen D / Pencil B. The pen has a smooth, wet M nib. See pic for defect in the derby behind/under the clip. Some micro scratching. The lever filler is a bit loose. Will lay flat, but not as tight as the Waterman or Esterbrook. The pencil is outstanding; fully stickered, filled with lead, and mechanically sound. Comes in original box: $55 including shipping.
Kaweco Sport Package: Pics here. Grades B / A2. I thought I would regret buying these pens. I was right. Pocket pens just aren’t my jam. Package is one Brass Sport, one Mint sport, one hexagonal clip, eight full packs of cartridges, and one pack (Royal Blue) sans one cartridge. I applied a layer of metal-friendly varnish to the Brass Sport grip section to minimize brass-smelling hands. Brass Sport has sardine tin-style package: $50 plus shipping. SOLD
Entry-Level/Penabling Pilot Package: Pics here and here (except Asvine V126, which has been sold). Two Pilot Metros F (lime green/black), one Pilot Prera CM/Stub (chocolate brown), one Pilot Kakuno EF. Grades: A2/A2/A2/A2. Cases included for the Metros (and maybe the Prera). I will include one Con-40 or one Con-20 converter (your choice). EF Asvine Black Matte Forest (inked once); EF Jinhao 82 (inked four times); EF Jinhao Dadao 9019 (inked twice). Grades: A2/A2/A2. Forest, 9019, and 82 include their converters: $35 including USPS Ground Advantage shipping. (I am serious about de-stashing my pens) SOLD
From China with Love Penabling Package: . EF Asvine V126 vac-filler (inked once); EF Asvine Black Matte Forest (same); EF Jinhao 82 (inked four times); EF Jinhao Dadao 9019 (inked twice). Grades: All A2. The V126 comes in its case/box. It’s a fantastic writer (I probably struggled most with selling this pen lol). It looks like there is a faint water ring at the top of the plunger from cleaning it after its one inking. 9019, 82, and Forest include their converters: $30 plus shipping. ASVINE SOLD I plan on combining the Pilot and FCWL (minus Asvine) packs into a single pack.
Note RE Shipping: I will send all pens CONUS via USPS Ground Advantage. I expect to charge $5 for mailing individual pens, $10 for mailing packages.
Please PM with any questions—thanks, all!

I was trying to inpaint something, not something I usually do. I thought I set it up wrong, so I hit SKIP, then hit INTERUPT. It never stopped whatever it was trying to do after a long time, so I closed the cmd window and browser, and tried to restart it. When I restarted, the browser didn't pop up. My black cmd window says all of this... what does it mean?

Already up to date. venv "C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\venv\Scripts\Python.exe" Python 3.10.6 (tags/v3.10.6:9c7b4bd, Aug 1 2022, 21:53:49) [MSC v.1932 64 bit (AMD64)] Version: f0.0.17v1.8.0rc-latest-276-g29be1da7 Commit hash: 29be1da7cf2b5dccfc70fbdd33eb35c56a31ffb7 Launching Web UI with arguments: Total VRAM 6144 MB, total RAM 32458 MB Set vram state to: NORMAL_VRAM Device: cuda:0 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU : native Hint: your device supports --pin-shared-memory for potential speed improvements. Hint: your device supports --cuda-malloc for potential speed improvements. Hint: your device supports --cuda-stream for potential speed improvements. VAE dtype: torch.bfloat16 CUDA Stream Activated: False Using pytorch cross attention *** Error loading script: controlnet.py Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\modules\scripts.py", line 544, in load_scripts script_module = script_loading.load_module(scriptfile.path) File "C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\modules\script_loading.py", line 10, in load_module module_spec.loader.exec_module(module) File "", line 883, in exec_module File "", line 241, in _call_with_frames_removed File "C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\extensions-builtin\sd_forge_controlnet\scripts\controlnet.py", line 10, in  from modules.api.api import decode_base64_to_image File "C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\extensions\clarity-upscaler\modules\api\api.py", line 28, in  from modules.realesrgan_model import get_realesrgan_models File "C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\extensions\clarity-upscaler\modules\realesrgan_model.py", line 5, in  from realesrgan import RealESRGANer ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'realesrgan' --- Loading weights [67ab2fd8ec] from C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\models\Stable-diffusion\ponyDiffusionV6XL_v6StartWithThisOne.safetensors model_type EPS UNet ADM Dimension 2816 C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\extensions\stable-diffusion-webui-two-shot\scripts\two_shot.py:397: GradioDeprecationWarning: The `style` method is deprecated. Please set these arguments in the constructor instead. canvas_image = gr.Image(source='upload', mirror_webcam=False, type='numpy', tool='color-sketch', C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\extensions\stable-diffusion-webui-two-shot\scripts\two_shot.py:471: GradioDeprecationWarning: The `style` method is deprecated. Please set these arguments in the constructor instead. visual_regions = gr.Gallery(label="Regions").style(grid=(4, 4, 4, 8), height="auto") C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\extensions\stable-diffusion-webui-two-shot\scripts\two_shot.py:471: GradioDeprecationWarning: The 'grid' parameter will be deprecated. Please use 'columns' in the constructor instead. visual_regions = gr.Gallery(label="Regions").style(grid=(4, 4, 4, 8), height="auto") Exception in thread Thread-22 (webui_worker): Traceback (most recent call last): File "C:\Users\bille\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\threading.py", line 1016, in _bootstrap_inner self.run() File "C:\Users\bille\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\lib\threading.py", line 953, in run self._target(*self._args, **self._kwargs) File "C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\webui.py", line 69, in webui_worker shared.demo = ui.create_ui() File "C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\modules\ui.py", line 442, in create_ui fn=wrap_gradio_gpu_call(modules.txt2img.txt2img_upscale, extra_outputs=[None, '', '']), AttributeError: module 'modules.txt2img' has no attribute 'txt2img_upscale' Using pytorch attention in VAE Working with z of shape (1, 4, 32, 32) = 4096 dimensions. Using pytorch attention in VAE extra {'cond_stage_model.clip_l.logit_scale', 'cond_stage_model.clip_g.transformer.text_model.embeddings.position_ids', 'cond_stage_model.clip_l.text_projection'} Loading VAE weights specified in settings: C:\Users\bille\OneDrive\Desktop\files\0- AI\Forge\webui_forge_cu121_torch21\webui\models\VAE\sdxl_vae.safetensors To load target model SDXLClipModel Begin to load 1 model [Memory Management] Current Free GPU Memory (MB) = 5121.1611328125 [Memory Management] Model Memory (MB) = 2144.3546981811523 [Memory Management] Minimal Inference Memory (MB) = 1024.0 [Memory Management] Estimated Remaining GPU Memory (MB) = 1952.8064346313477 Moving model(s) has taken 0.74 seconds Model loaded in 11.0s (load weights from disk: 0.2s, forge load real models: 7.9s, load VAE: 0.7s, load textual inversion embeddings: 0.5s, calculate empty prompt: 1.5s). 

SOLD: NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Price: $155 plus $10 shipping (US only; PayPal Goods and Services payment)
Images: https://imgur.com/gallery/LYFqpOn
Like New condition in perfect working order. I bought this brand new directly from Fuzzhugger in 2023. Have only lightly used it in the bedroom in a smoke-free home.
This is the 3-knob version with Out, OD, OSC dials and a single High/Low switch. See the photo of the card that came with the pedal that describes each dial and the switch (Comes with the pedal).
This is the Deluxe Edition with the clear coat finish over the geaphic. The extra finish gives the pedal a really beautiful appearance that the photos don’t do Justice. The finish is in pristine condition.
Description From FuzzHugger’s Website:
Sizzling overdriven fuzz, with hints of octave, adjusts from thick to splattery.
Step on the oscillation foot switch for runaway oscillation madness, glitch, self-arpeggio, filtery tones, and octave down. You can also play over the oscillation, with noise jumping in-between the notes, or sustain and let it slowly collapse into oscillation again.
I've made a couple tweaks to improve control sweeps and more intuitive access to various oscillation tones.
Note:
• Self-oscillation is runaway noise. Please understand what you're getting yourself into.
• Oscillation will be different on every guitar and pickup selection. Designed, demoed, and described using offsets with 1M pots.
• Not compatible with active pickups, not for use after buffered pedals.
• 9-18v DC center-negative adapter only (no batteries).

I used to be a pretty emotional, sensitive, and most importantly, intuitive before a TBI (traumatic brain injury) brought about anhedonia and other curses.
Now, I cannot feel happiness (or even negative emotions) significantly, but I can sense what type of emotion I would have experienced and to what degree I would have experienced it in a given situation had I been normal and not injured.
For example, if I am listening to music, and that too a new song, I cannot enjoy it in my current state, but I can imagine that my non-anhedonic counterpart would have loved it. I can sense what mood I would experienced from this song and how many times I would have replayed it had I been normal.
The inverse is true as well, so if there is a song that I would have not liked if I were normal, I will still feel neutral towards it since my feeling of dislike or hatred is not strong either. Still, despite not hating a new song in my current condition and being ambivalent about it, this sense of mine very well knows that my normal self would have hated this song.
In other words, I would have a good idea about how I would have thought about something even if the sensation of that thought or emotion is not coming to me.
My concussion/TBI sexually dysfunctioned me in every way: ED, anorgasmia, and lack of sexual attraction and arousal, but still, even if I struggle to feel attracted towards women as a man, my mind can still somehow tell who I would have been mesmerised by had my brain been in its pristine and healthy condition. Again, note that I am not at all feeling infatuated by any woman when I see her, but my brain immediately tells me "see? If you were capable of experiencing emotions and not be blank right now, you would have been smitten her."
I am not saying that for each situation, I get a hint or a slight taste or a brief demo of the corresponding emotion. No, what I am saying is that my psyche realizes how it SHOULD feel, but it will never let that feeling or sentiment materialise.
I don't what analogy would be the best to describe this phenomenon, but here is one anyway: if you watch a cooking show, you cannot smell the recipe from your screen, but you know what it is supposed to smell like. Something similar is going on when it comes to my non-existent emotions.
Let us put this in yet another way: say that I look at a monument that is gigantic and majestic. Upon looking at this monument, my brain gives me a command to feel awestruck and amazed, but since I am anhedonic and depressed, this request cannot be fulfilled by me. Still, I KNOW what emotion my brain was signaling me to do.
Have any of you ever had this sort of experience? Is what I am describing understandable? Is there a name for this kind of awareness (if that's the right word to use?)? Please let me know.

Hi,
I sell music in my Shopify-Store and having a good audio player is essential for me. I've tried every audio-player app in the store and unfortunately, they all just don't meet my expectations.
The main problem is the following: I have about 10 audio files which I want to have inside a playlist where customers can listen to them (demo tracks). None of the Appstore players can do "LazyLoading" or anything comparable which means, if implemented inside a page or as a background player, the whole data of all files is loaded as the page loads which causes massive loading time issues to my store.
A support contact of an app dev told me that it's not possible to implement it correctly because of the behavior of Shopify and apps itself so I searched the web for alternatives and there are some HTML5 audio-players on Github but there are a lot and mostly outdated so my question is:
Any hint for a local-playing (from CDN) audio-player with LazyLoading (begin to stream the audio-file when clicking on it) from anyone? I'm also willing to pay for this.
Thanks

Do you guys think volume 5 "Demoness" with opening quote "do you accept such an outcome" might be hinting at Franca committing genocide in future Directly or indirectly ☠️?
I mean last time 'He' said the same words to klein after he successfully orchestrated the demise of king of loen, which lead to death of many people in loen kingdom due to imbalance in power within the royal family....

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