Beketov

*Enters GFX Mindset from 2 years ago* The orange works really well here which is nice because it's a tricky colour to work with sometimes. I do like the overall clean look you have but it would be nice to see a bit more depth to the BG as it falls a little flat right now. Render effects and lighting are both decent and I love the style you went for with the text but unfortunately effect wise it's lacking a little. Especially in pure white it feels like a bit of an afterthought. Still pretty solid though.

I love the right side of this. The text, the effects, it all looks very nice. unfortunately the left side ends up being VERY empty by comparison and it just leaves me wanting more. I would also like to see a bit more work done in regards to the lighting since it seems to emanate from the text (thanks to the white box) and then just drop off into nothing.

Say what? When did this happen? Anyway, onto the review regardless. I know you can do much much better than this. The blending is all over the place, the text effects look lazy and the exposure looks different for every layer. A few curves and exposure layers could really balance this out to be something amazing. Stocks are a solid base but you can't build an entire sig off of them; adjustment layers are arguably even more important.

The idea behind this is great but unfortunately I feel like that idea is ruined by the colours. Maybe it's just me but this palette kinda looks like Tony the Tiger threw up. The yellow the the green just don't sit right. You have this exact piece in a teal-blue and I think it would work amazingly. Colour aside I like what you did with the render and text effects and the flow / depth work very well.

You are coming along creativity wise which is good to see. Unfortunately your technique isn't developing quite as fast. Blurring the edges of your render doesn't really blend it unless the BG is equally blurred, it just sorta looks odd. Also, the text looks very slapped on, not helped by the fact that it's pure white. The lowered opacity on the subtext makes me rather not want it there at all. Perhaps put it to full opacity but smaller and have it overlay on top of the main text. Like I said, your creativity is coming along, you just need to master the techniques now that will really make things pop.

Both the overall style and the text work very well but unfortunately they don't work well together. That text on a cleaner piece would look absolutely fantastic but as it is I think it feels off compared to the very dark, almost grungy look the rest has. I do like the subtle render effects but some stronger lighting would have been nice to really make them pop. Lastly, the left side is very boring. Maybe have some of the dots blurred less or more than others to at least create a bit of depth.

I like the idea you're going for but the execution is lacking a little, especially for you. The green is a little overpowering, the render looks a little LQ (His face especially) and the Jarvi text is overly sharp. With that said the depth is nice and the text layout is very week done. This is close to being amazing but just falls slightly short.

*For Holik

Well, no one else danced for me.

You’re the best Jardy Just as a note, I did my best to read the chat before I answered the questions but if you want the see the chat while I answer it’s included in the link, just not the embedded version.

I know Draper did it when we were testing stuff before. I think it works off HTML so not everyone can do it. here’s the embed code though: <iframe src="https://player.twitch.tv/?video=v96963950" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="378" width="620"></iframe><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/undefined?tt_medium=live_embed&tt_content=text_link" style="padding:2px 0px 4px; display:block; width:345px; font-weight:normal; font-size:10px; text-decoration:underline;">Watch live video from on www.twitch.tv</a>

And here’s the final result for @evrydayimbyfuglien!

So obviously this was a live stream but since watching it live and reviewing is near impossible here’s the VOD. Wound up being about an hour and 20 minutes long and was mostly me making the sig but also wound up being some chatting with @JardyB10, @Phil, and @evrydayimbyfuglien. I’ll also leave a tag for @gorlab who unfortunately missed it. https://www.twitch.tv/beketov_vhl/v/96963950 Watch live video from on www.twitch.tv I do realize now that I should have put my facecam on the other side because it covered a few things in photoshop but oh well, I’ll do it next time. Also, could @Draper perhaps embed this since I’m not allowed? Nah, Jardy's got me covered because he's soooooo neat. *For Sokolov

Going live in about 2 minutes. Here’s the link: https://www.twitch.tv/beketov_vhl @evrydayimbyfuglien @Kendrick @Phil

If everything goes well I'll be starting up a live stream sig in an hour or so (maybe a little less). I'll leave the link here when I go live but for now I just wanted to generate a bit of hype for anyone that will be around. If you wanna come see my mind at work come for that, if you want to see me answer questions live come for that, if you just wanna hang out and chat that's cool too. Just make sure you show up so I'm not just talking to myself! A few people off the top of my head that I think might be interested: @gorlab, @evrydayimbyfuglien, @ADwyer87, @Phil

Gonna record this on Saturday as per usual so get your questions in! @eaglesfan036 @Shaka @ADwyer87 @boom @der meister @Victor @YEAH!stlemania @Phil @tfong @ChrisF @George Costanza @Molholt @Mr. Power @Draper @Banackock @gorlab @JardyB10 @evrydayimbyfuglien @Jericho In the meantime however, and I'm leaving this here because some of those tagged have expressed interest, would any of you be interested in seeing a live sig tonight? Will probable be sometime around 5:30 EST if I were to hazard a guess. I would want to get at least a few people in the chat asking questions so that I can keep it VHL related. If this is something you'd like to tue in for let me know now and I'll get it set up tonight!

I had an odd feeling there was some kind of rule like that but I couldn't recall. Alright then, I shall sit here twiddling my thumbs. Other GM's, feel free to make your claims now. Dance for my amusement.

Ssshhh, I'm old and don't remember rings very well

I don't believe I've ever had a chance to play with @Jericho and I wish to rectify that so I accept!

The Beketov player agency has one of the longest stories in the VHL, dating all the way back to it's founder, Alexander Beketov, who joined the VHL in Season 6. Since his retirement at the end of Season 12 there have been 6 players sign to the agency. These players have come from all across North America and Europe but have always played either a forward, or goaltender position. All that changes today, however, as the Beketov Player Agency is pleased to announce their newest signing: Roman Sokolov. Roman hails from Beketov's home country of Russia and his the first defenseman to be picked up by the VHL Hall of Famer. When asked why this is, VHL.com received the following statement from Mr. Beketov. "I'm not sure why exactly I've never signed a defenseman. I think part of me has just always understood the way a forward's mind, and in turn the mind of goaltenders, work. For that reason I always gravitated toward those positions in the players that I signed. I couldn't possibly ignore the things that Sokolov has been doing though. This kid is lighting up the minor leagues in Russia and wants more than anything to have a VHL career. It does help I think that he's a very offensively minded defenseman so it seems like a perfect mesh with the kinds of players I usually sign. I hope that I can help bring Roman the kind of success that I had in my VHL career." Roman is currently set to sign with a VHLM team and is entertaining offers. He was unavailable for comment regarding what teams have thus far shown interest but the list is expected to be long. Beketov's agency is one of the oldest and most respected in the league and has created some very talented players; many of whom have their named etched into the VHL's Continental cup. *For Holik

All our stats are held in engine; aside from re-creating the players after their draft season there’s no way to have anything they do not count toward their totals. For me the biggest problem here is that re-creates who get a good amount of TPE could be decent depth players but new people coming in are going to get destroyed. Yes, they see a more active locker room and that’s great but they’ll get obliterated in the sim. You’re talking players with 30 TPE going up against defenders and goalies nearing or above 1000. That’s not even considering goalies themselves who would sit on the bench for all but 8 games and then get obliterated for those 8 games. I feel the effect of being thrown into the VHL at such low TPE numbers would dishearten a lot of new members.

Got more IW Beta gameplay for you guys including the longest killstreak I’ve had in the game yet. Meanwhile I answer questions from @gorlab, @evrydayimbyfuglien, @boom, and @JardyB10

BTW I changed my DNS server to 208.67.222.222 and it fixed it. It's a workaround I'm sure and probably won't fix all sites / last long but it at least allows me to work for now. Fun fact, apparently CBC's server address to upload broadcast files run's off a Dyn DNS because I haven't been able to use it since this morning haha.

Not that it really matters but for those that might be curious why shit isn't working today: you aren't alone. I just spent the last 2 hours at work trying to figure out why our internet is working for some sites but not for all; only to find out it isn't our internet but rather the internet. Apparently Dyn, which is a company that controls DNS for a large amount of websites (though not the VHL apparently, yay for that) is being hit today with waves of DDOS attacks and it's taking out large chunks of the internet. Netflix, Twitter, Reddit, PSN, etc, etc. So, yeah, if you've been wondering why some sites are going to shit this morning, that would be why. If you aren't on the east coast of NA and haven't been seeing this yet then consider yourself lucky but it's coming. There are reports that Europe and the West coast are getting hit now as well. I Blame Anderson, and Russia. Just because.

That's my thinking. Ideally I would have some VHL people in the chat of the live sig and I could answer questions so that's VHL related. The fact that it creates something also VHL related at the end is simply a bi-product.