Lurker > Lopen

foolm0r0n posted...

quoting posts

OK that is the one thing I'll say was actually a decent add and wasn't here in 2007

Yearly contests with gimmicks like most powerful character and best looking character and who would win a volleyball match character

Also wiki discord YouTube hybrid guides 5 years too late but we'll make it work darn it

GTM posted...

There's only so many thanks you can give so you have to be very selective

Because you can thank everyone at no limit you're right.

Thanks for running a thing I liked into the ground, SBAllen.

Kenri posted...

but how many sites and site admins actually pull it off? The alternative to a slow death might have just been a fast death. Hard to know for sure.

I just know this website had a lot more going for it than "fast death" sites. 2007 should have been a huge deal-- people were actually talking about L-Block. Like, non Internet people. I had multiple life friends from multiple circles who I never talked to GameFAQs about mention it. For all the crap I gave Allen about Draven and Undertale I never once said L-Block cheated, because it felt as big as the vote totals (and had completely different vote trends at that). And it was squandered.

It's easy to just wring your wrists and say "well it's hopeless the site was doomed to failure when the internet moved away from text based mediums" but you don't actually know that if you literally never try anything.

colliding posted...

It's Terra's game

It's Terra's game for about 3 hours and then she becomes a plot device/supporting character more than the protagonist

KommunistKoala posted...

selene, him, and lady deathstrike in the same spotlight week

Stop reading my purchase mind

UltimaterializerX posted...

Lopen still big mad Allen called him out personally during the Undertale rally.

Not really. He called me out because I was already calling out his inability to catch cheating at that point.

I got him big mad then by calling him out for not doing anything just like I am calling him out for it again.

I'm upset because a site admin was in charge while a website I like slowly died and everyone is saying what a great admin he was because hey at least he's not fandom

I guess since I can't know for sure if he put any effort in and was simply overruled by his corporate overlords I will keep further disdain to myself.

But I will personally finish by saying "good riddance" and that I wouldn't be shocked to see the site actually get better if it doesn't die in the coming years.

-hotdogturtle-- posted...

Yeah, that's the problem, everyone else here is using the more modern version.

The funny thing is everyone basically agrees with me that the site should have evolved. Where people disagree with me is me saying SBAllen doesn't deserve thanks for it. (And he doesn't whether it was his fault or not nothing changed)

But I guess you're easily entertained and think this site is wildly different than it was 15 years ago.

MacArrowny posted...

CJayC is the one who owned the site and sold it. SBAllen's only run it for other corporations.

OK

So then yeah SBAllen did basically nothing to make the site better because he was phoning it in for his corporate overlords

Again not someone we should thank, was probably grossly overpaid for doing next to nothing over the years. Point stands, just framing changes.

Snake5555555555 posted...

Just as a general point of discussion - does anyone think you can be pure evil and still care for someone?

On this point yes though. Doubly so if you end up betraying them at some point

Bill

Lecter shows too many positive traits to compete in this field. Like yes he's evil but even among a field of serial killers he arguably wouldn't get out of the first round.

Yeah you're right trophies and friends lists and game screenshots and all the other meaningless features were totally something someone who was trying to evolve the site would make

I am using the same site I was in 2004. If you disagree you're basically a shill.

Like I'm sure he's a nice guy

But he killed the website by not developing it.

So no I'm not thanking him for riding a site I liked into a slow death. Unless he lost money running this site he's been more than well compensated by resting on long stale laurels at this point. He doesn't need nor deserve thanks from us.

NBIceman posted...

Lopen doing Lopen things.

The site is dying because it hasn't changed in anything resembling a meaningful good way in over 15 years. It's just changed hands and gotten progressively more obnoxious ads

This topic is a bunch of people thanking the caretaker who was looking after your mother who is dying of sepsis when proper identification and care of the wound that caused the infection instead of allowing it to fester for 15 years could have allowed her to live

CJayC was a site admin. SBAllen was just here to coast off what CJayC built and sell to people who give us increasingly more ads and annoyance.

If Lopen doing Lopen things is telling an ugly truth you find unpleasant to read then sure that's what I'm doing

Seanchan posted...

As much as us old timers think of CJayC, the reality is that SBAllen was "admin-ing GameFAQs at a 2:1 rate".

CJayC was adminning Allen was basically ignoring while having the title of site administrator is the difference.

Love? Baby don't hurt me.

FF8

Haggar
Bomberman

Kuja
Galuf
Sephiroth
Locke

Fine I'll be the third strongest hater

Still Vivi is great

Ashethan posted...

Nobody really hates Vivi. I don't think anyone's going to threaten him tbh. His lowest score was a 4. After that, it was a 6. That's pretty crazy.

Even I rated him high and I'm FFIX hater #1.

Vader

WazzupGenius00 posted...

Tetris Attack

Its also better than Yoshis Island

This is all true

YoBlazer posted...

Do you have any ideas as to how someone could have kept text-based guides and message boards relevant?

Hindsight is 20/20 but I do think changes to the FAQ format rolled out during or immediately before/after contests could have helped immensely because it would give people who come only during contest time the feel that the site was evolving. I do think there are legs to the FAQ format-- changing structure to something more wikilike rather than .txt dumps would be good as would integrating video walkthroughs WITH text based guides. Make sections of the video jump to the corresponding text when clicked, make sections of the text jump to parts of the video when clicked. Text based guides and videos working in harmony sounds magical to me.

Even something as simple as modernizing the interface would have helped loads though. "Text based" is taboo only because this website looks like something from like 2004.

It's easy to say "like what" when it's not clear what the answer is, but SBAllen didn't even try anything and frankly you could hire some web developers for, no joke, a few hundred bucks to help put together some site redesigns. He just did the bare minimum maintenance and then sold the site when time came.

There was a time when people who didn't come here used to mention GameFAQs. So yeah it was absolutely a missed opportunity, and that's a real shame to not even have tried anything.

I didn't like the way SBAllen ran contests or this site-- someone who actually cared about building this brand and not just coasting could have kept this place relevant I think.

But I know without him we'll never get another contest so that's a shame. Oh well.

Quistis - 4.5
Really disappointing in pretty much all regards. I like her role in the plot early on and she's completely marginalized. Her blue magic exists in a combat system where it doesn't feel needed as a Swiss army knife kinda way that Blue Magic should be-- gating Blue Magic behind limit breaks is so weird. She just feels super unnecessary and I wish I liked her more because she's a whip user and a blue mage that looks like a sexy librarian this should be hard to screw up

Quina - 2
Obnoxious

Strago - 3.5
Aggressively zzz

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/0/6/AAAlMSAAE8T2.jpg

Not super interesting but seeing actual Apocalypse beat Dracula eating Apocalypse makes me happy.

(My deck from last season is looking sufficient to infinite again. Rank 94 and climbing)

Honestly that feels like the way to fix him he slots a little awkwardly as a 4. Make him a 3/3 or even a 3/2 and he'd maybe be a pretty strong guy. (And he'd be in proper X-Men theme with 3 cost)

Actually 1/2 with +4 power on empty hand would probably be most interesting but I digress.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/6/4/AAAlMSAAE8TM.jpg

Strong Guy!! Powered Up!!

(I drew him with Helicarrier in a discard deck probably the only time we'll ever see him be a game winner)

Dead

KommunistKoala posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/1/3/AALrDjAAE8SZ.jpg

hoooooooooooooly

do i put the red border on it

I think it'd look better with the red border as long as you want him to look frame broken

Super badass set there that's awesome man

it's monday

you know what that means

Cid - 3.5
Always found his profanity a bit obnoxious which is weird because Barret's I never minded and even found a bit charming sometimes. I think Cid being a later party member hurt him twofold in that regard. The obvious is that he feels like he's stepping in Barret's territory but the less obvious is that he just doesn't know the party as well so I end up reading it with a different tone I think-- maybe remake helps him.

Kain - 7
He's actually helped a decent amount by IV DS for me. The thought bubbles add a lot to his character and really let you see his jealousy better and makes it clear that's why Golbez is able to brainwash him easily. In OG FFIV that theme is likely intended to be there at some level but for me it's too subtle and easily waved as some Kingdom Hearts DARKNESS IN THE HEART nonsense. Awesome iconic design.

Yuffie
Bartz
Basch
Leon

colliding posted...

Too many Terra haters

She's no Celes but I think she's got a pretty interesting arc, particularly for 1996 or whenever FFVI came out.

Her Arc actively hurts the character for me.

Green haired generic badass girl who turns into a pink rage monster would probably be a 5.5/10 minimum (Terra's design is actually pretty appealing to me)

I love me some badasses though I think I have a mix. Algus is not a badass design but he's awesome. Lightning and Auron have a great design but are kinda middling to me.

I'm not sure Rydia isn't into it any more than Dagger isn't into it aside from Rydia probably just not being into romance in general.

It's basically the same situation for 95% of the game. Edge is just less aggressive about it and a more minor character but I don't think Edge is really a creep towards her and the implication is that Rydia cares about him (in a "firmly in the friend zone" kinda way) and is annoyed by him at times at worst.

Edge with proper main character status probably ships with Rydia cause that's the story they'd tell but yeah I really don't think Edge steps out of bounds and knows when to stop (which is good cause a Zidane x Rydia matching would be super uncomfortable)

Also I still can't get over how Roba 1/10s Edge for being a creep to Rydia when Zidane is way worse towards Garnet and gets an 8 or whatever

colliding posted...

I never once felt like Zidane was seriously going through it

Yeah that's what I mean by You're Not Alone feeling "forced"

Some people don't care but I'd probably at least not totally hate Zidane if he didn't have that happen at all. It makes the whole character feel shallow and fake to me.

Without that he's just kinda obnoxious. 3.5/10. Obnoxious drama queen phony is 1/10 material though.

Yoshi's Cookie is the only good game here really

Fast

Snake
Dr Wily

Terra - 1
Super bland personality. Frustratingly passive and helpless when she is in fact an obscenely powerful flying pink rage monster. What is love I am boring. Worst FF character.

Ultimecia - 7.5
Incredible design. Great boss fight. Great KOMPRESSION monologues. About as much praise as I can give a character who doesn't do much.

Tellah - 6
His battle with Golbez is pretty awesome. Kinda one note but it's a good note.

I think it's +EV to play Alioth there as the Loki player over retreating but depends on snaps and stuff

Fuck

Poison
Mario