Last month was surprisingly eventful, and also really cool. Like, to the point where I had to bring-out the heater because I was freezing. Never seen such cold weather during summer. As a summer hater, I loved it!

Anyways, I better stop before I make this post a chore to read.

As always, read what interests you. I won't judge.

I'm currently hard at work with this year's Badge-mas entries.

There was a part of me that was hoping I'd be able to complete both of my gifts last month, but reality set in and said "nah man, that ain't even close". I keep forgetting how time consuming learning a new style is. I'm still pretty quick when it comes to figuring it out, but being consistent with it is what takes the longest.

Funnily enough, working as a group got me to doodle more in other people's styles. And it's all thanks to both of us being unsure if I got the style right. Normally alone I tend to stick with the first or second idea that comes to mind, but it's good to do more, as it makes you learn things you might have missed.

In the end, it's gonna make the bonus content a heck of a lot more meaty this year.

~~~

Before starting Badge-mas, I played around with 3D some more, and finalized (for the most part) Harold's head!

There's still a bit of rigging that needs to be done along with some extra mouths, and a body, but I think for now it's a good place to leave it as is. It gives me something to look forward to when I get the urge to 3D model again.

~~~

I posted my birthday drawing!

I technically finished it late July. Specifically because I wanted to get a leg-up on Badge-mas. Also, I just love completing projects way in advance. It lets me have this massive relief, and it feels so good not needing to crunch a few days before the due date. I still do a tiny bit of crunching here and there, but it's more "let's see if I can finish this early", and not the "OH GOD, I'M NOT GONNA MAKE IT!!!" type of crunch.

I added a new playlist with all my Birthday drawings to go along with it.

Not sure why I didn't do this sooner, but hey, better late than never.

I played Rabi Laby 3. Now I've already explained more than enough about how the series works, and this one is no different, so I'll just get to the point.

Out of the three games, this one is my least favourite. They made the game too hard with too many pixel perfect jumps, and they changed the physics ever so slightly from the other games. Now Alice & Rabi are floatier when they jump which screws heavily with my muscle memory, and it makes the game feel slower.

The game introduces new mechanics like in the second game, but unlike the second game it barely uses them. Like, out of all 50 levels only like 5-10 of them have the new mechanics. Some of which only appear in a single level which makes me wonder why they even made the mechanic in the first place. Plus the final level is super underwhelming compared to the gauntlet they put you through in the previous games.

This is also the only game in the series where you get a reward for getting every platinum medal (at least to my knowledge). You get an extra congratulations cutscene and 5 new levels!...yeah, no, I'll pass. I still can't even get the platinum medal on the first stage with how you need to do frame perfect movements.

Since this is a 3DS game it's also got some stereoscopic 3D! The 3D in this game is weird. Not only is it barely noticeable at times, but certain sections of the screen almost feel like the 3D isn't working properly. Like there's huge columns on the sides where the 3D is inverted. I think there's even screen tearing in some spots too. It's a mess to look at. Turning off the 3D also looks weird because certain columns of pixels get doubled. There's no way to optimally view this game. Both options are distracting in some way!

It sucks too because visually this is my favourite looking of the three (though 2 comes very close). It feels like they finally settled on a consistent art-style. They also added so many cool rewards along with a sound test, cutscene viewer, and custom animated artwork! Though, they still didn't have the budget to do a proper translation. Also the text goes by so fast in this game, I can barely read it.

I just kinda feel bad about the game. I can clearly tell they tried hard to polish up the game, and try the new 3D tech, but the devs just weren't skilled enough to pull it off properly. The difficulty balance doesn't help either due to their focus on making the game as hard as possible. It's not even the fun type of hard. Most of the "challenge" from these harder levels involve pixel perfect jumps, really precise maneuvers, wonky hitboxes, and that stupid ghost enemy that can stun you.

Overall, despite its looks, I think this game is the least replayable of the series. It's too hard for newcomers, and too weird and frustrating for veterans.

Though, there's one last game in the series that I've yet to play called "Witch's Cat". It's a spin-off game, and I'm curious if a change of pace is gonna make this series end on a bang or a whimper.

Last month was super weird when it came to the weather. While everyone around the world was suffering with the most intense heat imaginable, I was essentially enjoying an early fall for all but the first week and a half of August.

I don't know how this happened, and I was even prepared with an AC this time, but I ended-up barely using it. Did I somehow get on Mother Nature's good side or something? Probably not because there was yet another long power outage which happened in broad daylight with not a cloud in sight...I swear man, this town. All I'll say is I'm glad I have these battery backups.

At least during the blackout I was able to enjoy the Digital Circus merch I bought all the way in June

Weirdly, everything wasn't bubble wrapped. Just boxes and plastic bags. Honestly surprised everything stayed in one piece during shipping.

Also, all of this happened on Clock Day. Where Newgrounds was down for a good chunk of the day. Should have taken that as a hint that things are about to go wrong.

Very eventful day that was. Even if 6 hours of it was without power. I at least got to test the new battery inverter I bought. The old one still works fine, but it was way too overpowered for what I needed it for (basically charging my Steam Deck, and powering a lamp). It was also pretty noisy. This new one I bought is both way smaller, and dead silent. Definitely a keeper for these small outages. The old one I'll keep for the really long power outages where I'll need to try and plug a fridge or something to keep my food from spoiling.

~~~

Got my print of Twoeliz's art! Took a while to get it done because the person bringing me to the print shop was busy most of the time, but it's finally here.

It's hard to see in this pic, but the only unfortunate thing is that Twoeliz's art isn't made for high quality prints, as her canvas resolution is too low. The art itself is still great, but it's just a tiny bit blurry when you're near it. I just framed somewhere behind my TV, so it's always seen from 2-3 feet away. That way you can't easily spot how blurry the print is.

In the end it's no biggie, and I taught her how to measure things for printing, so any future prints will look much better.

~~~

Finally, on a more personal note, I decided to just leave my mom behind and try living completely independently. I don't want to leave her for good, but I wanted a break from her to clear things up, and deal with these problems on my own for once.

My mom was a bit sad, but understanding of the situation. I initially made that decision out of anger after it felt like my mom started neglecting me over a small thing I said, but overtime I realized that this is what I wanted all along. I felt like I was using my mom too much which prevented me from taking these decisions myself, or to socialize around for a solution.

You know, it's weird how pretty much everything important happened on the 15th of August. Not to say nothing else happened during the entire month, it was a pretty steady month overall. It's just there was this big spike right in the middle of the month where a ton of things happened all at once.

This month I'm hoping it stays nice and chill. Part of me want to see if I can finish all my Badge-mas drawing this month. That way I can try and experiment with other things like sewing, finishing all the news post banners (just missing a few months), polishing up my NG page, and maybe finish that 3DS animation that's way too long overdue. Whichever feels more important to me on that day.

See you next post!