Circus Tree: Six individual sycamore trees were shaped, bent, and braided to form this.
Actually pretty easy. Trees don’t reject tissue from other trees in the same family. You bend the tree to another tree when it is a sapling, scrape off the bark on both trees where they touch, add some damp sphagnum moss around them to keep everything slightly moist and bind them together. Then wait a few years- The trees will have grown together.
You can use a similar technique to graft a lemon branch or a lime branch or even both- onto an orange tree and have one tree that has all three fruits.
Frankentrees.
As a biologist I can clearly state that plants are fucking weird and you should probably be slightly afraid of them.
On that note! At the university (UBC) located in town, the Agriculture students were told by their teacher that a tree flipped upside down would die. So they took an excavator and flipped the tree upside down. And it’s still growing. But the branches are now the roots, and the roots are now these super gnarly looking branches. Be afraid.
But Vi, how can you mention that and NOT post a picture? D:
I am both amazed and horrified of nature as we all should be
I love how trees are like “fuck it, I’ll deal” at literally everything. Forest fire? Cool, my seeds’ll finally grow. Upside down? Branches, suck, roots, leave. What’s this new branch? Eh, welcome to the tree buddy.
I need to be more like tree
I continue to fear and respect out arboreal overlords.
what kind of professor did these students have that they needed to prove him wrong so badly that they literally dug up a tree, flipped it and put it back in the ground?
Sounds like y’all’ve never heard about the Tree of 40 Fruits. Well, it’s exactly as it sounds. Sam Van Aken, an artist based in New York, decided to try his hand at grafting (e.g. the process by which you attach the branches of a different tree to a host tree).
As artists are inclined to do he decided to push some limits and over the course of a few years he grafted over 40 different fruit onto the host “
including almond, apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach and plum varieties.”
It has a fruiting period lasting from July to October and this is what it looks like when blossoming.
Shit’s tight yo.
Also we have a group called the Guerrilla Grafters. A group who started in San Fransisco with the goal of grafting fruiting branches onto non-fruiting trees of the same type.
Most cities have fruit trees that simply don’t produce fruit because having all these would be a mess and inadvertently providing unregulated food to people comes with a lot of legal risks I suppose. These grafters seem to think otherwise and have taken it upon themselves to try and bring fruit trees back to urban areas.
HOLY SHIT
THE LAST ONE
I hate to be That Guy but I couldn’t let go just how painfully photoshopped that looks, so here’s a pic of one of the real (and much smaller) trees:
Today, it’s been 10 years since I started first using the little blank dude as an avatar.
It’s gone through various different styles and mutations (especially in 2011 where I first got Photoshop and decided everything needed to be FANCY), but in the end it’s still been something I’m fond of. A very simple, ordinary, blank stand-in that doesn’t grab a lot of attention.
It was a nice pseudo-representation of what I looked like at the time, but now I don’t look a damn thing like that anymore. So I decided to do another take now with the same idea in mind–a simplified representation of how I look.
I suppose in an alternate universe, I’m celebrating the 10th anniversary of this guy.
Well. I suppose it seems weird to celebrate 10 years of using an avatar on the internet, but I’ve seen lots of people draw their different takes on it, and every time it gives me a warm feeling. Thank you all for your support. Here’s to another 10 years.
Here’s a comic I made about identifying as asexual and aromantic! I made it for an anthology which ended up falling through, so I thought it would be a good idea to post it on Valentine’s Day.
For a while, i’ve been thinking on making this post, just to give some reasons on why people hate BD, because some people think it’s just “purists” or “jealousy” and even if those reasons can be right, there’s still more than that, it could even give more than enough justification behind those two reasons
The concept/identity of Brutal Doom
At best, it feels like a silly parody where Doomguy says “FUCK YOURSELF” and does a middle finger and at worst, it reads off like a fanfiction written by a 13 year old that goes on par with the Devil May Cry reboot.
It’s as if the whole point of the mod is that Doom isn’t “brutal” enough and lacks gore, which is why people like it, despite there being hundreds of mods also having more gore in it to the point some are literally just gore, without changing the gameplay.
And i feel like Brutal Doom’s Coldsteel the Hedgehog-tier identity is what leads to the other problems of the mod, as if Mark cared more about the edgyness than the stuff that actually matters.
It’s as if the mod sees itself as an improvement to the game, when in reality, “if something ain’t broke, why fix it?”, which is why a lot of other mods are better: they don’t try to be better than the actual game, but instead come up with their own ideas and work amazingly well around them.
What’s kind of ironic is how the mod seems to take inspiration from modern shooters like Call of Duty, which should be self explanatory.
As bad as COD is, at least some of the design choices that make it what it is seem to mix better than the ones from Brutal Doom,
Sure, there’s a lot of generic mods that are just reused Realm667 assets, but then you have mods like Demonsteel and GMOTA, which focus around certain ideas like sword anime girls and medieval fantasy, while bringing original playable characters, then MetaDoom and Samsara are like fanservice done right, where one attempts to compile elements across the history of Doom and the other can be described as the “Smash Bros of old school FPS”.
You even have mods based on other games like Metroid Dreadnought or Contra Doom and ones that bring a total different genre like Pogostick and Romero Death Skittles, making BD even less impressive.
The coding
Do you know why people say mods break games? It’s for the same reason why the code for your mod matters a lot and BD has what one would described as “Spaghetti code”.
One example would be the 0.L glitch, where a certain version stopped working because of some slopply misspelling, another would be the lightning in Brutal Doom 64 damaging the player for no reason and apparently, there were older versions with an issue of a misplaced headshot hitbox for the Baron of Hell.
And apparently, that 0.L glitch took some time to get fixed, because Mark was too busy on Brutal Doom 64, which by the way is based on another terrible D64 port, based on another terrible port, based on some shit or whatever that made it even worse than just simply stealing from D64 EX.
We could bring up how Graf Zahl does some dumb decisions with GZDoom, but won’t change the fact that BD still has some really awful coding.
Meanwhile, there’s this thing called ZScript, which doesn’t have proper documention, so some modders have to find ways how to handle this thing, which is why a mod like High Noon Drifter is considered to be impressive (because it is and also really fucking good).
This is also why some mods don’t work with Brutal Doom, because even if someone would have wanted their mod to work with BD, it just wouldn’t.
So i won’t be surprised if the mod ever stops working and stops becoming playable at once and for all.
If you’ve never had any trouble with it, it’s probably a miracle, but don’t take inspiration from the mod’s code if you ever plan on making your own mods.
And speaking of inspiration, Mark even took lines of code from other mods, as another example of his talent.
Gameplay design choices
As we all know, Doom as a game is said to be a good example of good game design, which is ironic since its most popular mod is like the opposite.
Brutal Doom not only brings reloading to a game designed around the lack of reloading, but also screws up the balance where some enemies can be too strong and the weapons are either overpowered or just useless.
This of course, leads to the gameplay going from “run-and-gun” to “stop-and-pop.”
Then there’s the iconic fatalities, which stop the gameplay for like 5 seconds, just so you can look at Doomguy doing some EPIC KILLZ!1. Meanwhile, the Doom reboot decided that the glory kills should last shorter and give the player health, because at least id Software tried to give them a purpose.
(Speaking of this sort of thing, remember Ryse for the Xbox One?)
So basically, BD’s gameplay flaws are usually to do with not only mixing features that don’t mix, but also executing them badly.
Russian Overkill and Hideous Destructor can also do HUGE changes to the gameplay, but you don’t see anyone calling them “improvements” to the original gameplay, instead, they’re just played for some types of maps…. which could be said about BD itself as well.
And yes, you can disable most of that bad stuff, but i personally prefer multiple mods, with their own features and ideas, than one with a lot of stuff shoved in, simply because messing around with GZDoom’s options menu is already bad enough.
Also, fall damage…. why?
Meanwhile, some enemies like the Arachnotrons are resized to look bigger, which can be pretty bad for obvious reasons.
There’s also the use of hitboxes because…
Not that unique
Aside from the fatalilties (which were rumored to have existed before BD, but as far as i know, it’s only a rumor), a lot of Brutal Doom was already done in a bunch of previous other mods, with some features being probably done better, because of Mark’s coding talent.
It’s weird to even consider Brutal Doom as ”creative” because the entire concept is “Doom, but edgier and modernized”, like even a child could come up with that.
It’s like saying Dorkly were the first to make jokes about video game characters doing drugs.
You could erase SgtMarkIV from this timeline and it would still be made, because at some point, a lot of people thought about this concept and whether they’d make it better or worse, that’s how generic BD is.
The reason why i added this part is because recently, a game journalist wrote about the inclusion of the Unmaker from Doom 64, because as we all know, no other Doom fan ever thought of that weapon being added in classic Doom. Meanwhile, IF a feature is unique to the mod, then it’s probably a bad one, with an example being the “Map Enchancement Script”, which apparently is something that tries to make the maps more…. realistic?
Knowing BD’s flaws and the failed attempts at making Doom realistic, you might as well go to the deep web on some cannibal cafe site and it would still be less risky than installing this mod. It’s like Mark wants to break your computer.
Art related stuff
You’ll probably think this is focused on Mark taking someone else’s assets, without giving credit and asking for premission (which can be made worse by the fact he has a Patreon), but i was planning on something else (even if i already mentioned it, oops).
You know how you can grab enemies through their necks? Well…
Here’s an Imp that looks butt ugly with a pig nose, a zombieman whose head and body seem to have different resolutions and what appears to be Samus Aran after she cut herself, trying to smile like the Joker.
Meanwhile, Brutal Doom 64 had a giant Arachnotron with a skull poorly attached to it pretending to be the Spider Mastermind and a Revenant, who was just an edited version of the Tchernobog from Blood
Oh, Also, terrible audio and sound mixing, apparently.
The creator
You know what? Maybe i’ll bring up why people hate the author of Brutal Doom.
Imagine someone who steals stuff from you and not only doesn’t give credit, but credits himself over what was stolen.
Imagine him trying to be needlessly edgy, to include a racist message in his mod’s code, link a depressed kid a link to a suicide article and attempting to digitize actual gore to his mod, while getting upset that someone won’t play with his mod, unless it’s with Project Brutality.
Imagine someone being responsible for a bunch of annoying kids getting obsessed over his mod, to the point they harass other modders into making their works compatible with Brutal Doom (which led to the anti-BD triggers) and refusing to play any other mod (or even the original game).
Imagine him crying that id software “stole” his idea of the fatalities, which was based on the Doom comic, while he’s well known for stealing from others.
Imagine him thinking he deserves any sort of reward, so he gets a Patreon, while other modders make better content for free (at least HDoomguy and PillowBlaster aren’t total assholes and make better stuff)
And despite all this, you get so many blogs and critics writing for him, like he’s a genius, when in reality, he’s a hack.
Most people who hate Mark interacted with him, which means there’s more to jealousy and purity, on why they hate him, while those who defend him are either fanboys, contrarian idiots or at least just uninformed people.
When you think about it, a lot of modders want to be professional and ethical on what they do, which is something SgtMarkIV doesn’t do, yet tricks others into thinking the opposite.
In other words, Brutal Doom is like a tale of a man who gets fame and success, without any sort of talent or good heart and never gets to suffer the consequences.
But how popular is it and why?
Compared to other mods, Brutal Doom is in its own field, to the point liking BD doesn’t have to mean liking Doom modding or even Doom in itself.
It’s brought up by multiple game channels and sites, fans want it playable with other mods and maps, BD64 was on the VGA’s of 2016 and even id software themselves post stuff about it.
Some people even think it’s an official Doom expansion (With the Doom Wikia even bringing it up in many articles related to stuff like enemies and shit)
The reason why Brutal Doom is popular is to do with a
free standalone version hacked together from mark’s own original maps,
freedoom assets, and assets from the freeware version of doom.
This version is of course the Hell on Earth: Starter Pack.
This apparently tricked some people into thinking this was what Doom is all about or how id software wanted the game to be.
Which means in the end. Brutal Doom managed to spawn a small wave of fans, that would eventually push it into popularity and bring it into a stage where people think it has to be treated like it’s something important.
I also think the reason for why Brutal Doom is popular is not just because of how it tries to “modernize” Doom, but also because of its fatality inclusion being inspired by the Doom comic, since the RIP AND TEAR meme was something that was popular among Doom fans.
And i could also bring of how people tend to underestimate mods in general or have low standards for it, where someone would prefer having Tails the fox and realistic horse vagines in Skyrim, rather than install patches that fix the bugs and glitches.
AND because of all the stupid Dark Souls comparisons being made and how people like indie/flash games that are meant to be hard in a badly designed way, you can see the appeal within the mod’s gameplay.
AND LASTLY, because the mod came in a time years after Doom 3, where neither Doom 4 or Doom ‘16 existed, so it was the closest thing to a “modern Doom game”, for some people.
BD is even claimed to inspire the Doom reboot, which led to a funny reaction from Mark himself.
One of the problems about BD’s popularity is when it’s expected to bring people into Doom, when some fans of the mod probably won’t even touch other mods or even the original games.
Think of how people get into popular game series, by touching their latest installment, but won’t touch the previous games.
Are you a fan of the Doom series or just a vision of it, that you get from a popular mod?
In the end, not matter how popular the mod is, not many people seem to know much about its flaws, the creator being a hack or even better mods existing, because BD in itself showcases another example of video games as a medium not being that well explored.
But what about other mods?
Doom has existed for more than 20 years, it has multiple source ports and was ported in many devices.
It’s a popular game that popularized a genre and has a really dedicated fanbase.
Modding is one of the most important parts of Doom’s legacy.
If you want to see mods that are better than BD, all you have to do is some exploration.
Look at the Cacowards, where they nominate some of the best stuff.
Look at Marveller’s video “150 Doom mods in 20 minutes” or ICARUSLIV3S’ channel, which is mostly reviews of Doom mods.
You could even go to /vr/ and see people interested in the series, its modding scene, other old FPS games and more
Brutal Doom may have some sort of role in the history of Doom, but at the same time is overrated, gets way to much credit and has a lot of flaws, while there’s still other mods that are better, in terms of concept, execution and even coding.
This post may be bad and a bit biased, with most info being taken from other people talking about the mod, but if you think it’s fair enough, feel free to reblog or something.
and bonus ‘cuase I’m sure you were looking for a bit of this
This is a good adaptation of a joke from one language to another. The joke in Japanese is that the word for chair “isu” and the word for Popsicle “aisu” are very similar.
Extremely handy if you follow a lot of people and hate missing anything good.
Best Stuff First moves the best stuff on your dashboard—mhm!—right up to the top.
It’s rolling out this week on iOS and Android, and comes with this Help Center article.
Thanks! ✌️
Head’s up folks! Tumblr decided to shit the bed and go non-chronological!
This bullshit is being rolled out this week and it’s going to be default!
This is dangerous and manipulative.
The main reasons for these “algorithms” that Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have rolled out are manipulating what people see. Content they want you to see gets pushed to the top, anything threatening to their interests gets quietly tossed to the bottom so you’ll be too tired or bored to see it.
I can see this seriously messing with the livelihood of artists, so please reblog if you can!
Okay only reblogging this because this is the exact reason I hate using Twitter so much (at least Facebook gives you the option to switch back)
MUSIC ASKS these are actually pretty fucking hard but why not.
