Legacy LD5

Yeah, I hate these kinds of threads on other boards, too, and I wouldn't blame you if you stopped reading right now. But I was thinking... I kinda just subscribed to the mailing list a few years ago and started talking there--only when I had something to say--and I never really introduced myself. I guess that's a bit rude, so yeah, I'll try to correct that now. And who knows? Maybe this will get some of the other lurkers in here for a post or two.

I'm Space Lion. If you know anything about Yoko Kanno and/or Cowboy Bebop, then you already know the source of the name. I adopted it for that reason and a couple others that don't really make sense:

- I like the old-school shooters (the 'space' shooters, shmups, etc.)
- I like jazz music (among many other types), preferably fusion
- I'm a lion (in spirit, at least)

What else? Dragons... oh yes, I loves the dragons. I have a small collection of dragon figures and books, all proudly displayed in various places of my apartment. Oh, and the eastern zodiac says that 1976 was a year of the dragon, and guess what? I was born in '76. And yes, I'm quite proud of that, too.

Now, about the lion thing... I guess that could lead to questions about being a furry. Am I a furry? Well, yes and no. The truth is, I really don't know. I mean, I never found any kind of furry checklist needed to confirm/deny furry personality and such. I don't have a fursuit, but I'm always amazed looking at the suits others have, and I certainly wouldn't turn down the opportunity to get (and show off) my own if it presented itself. I've always been fond of lions, but you won't catch me roaring or pouncing or anything like that. I've always been happy with watching all the furry/scaly/etc. characters in movies and such, since I was a child. Maybe there's more to that than I know, maybe not.

And that's something else about me. I'm a huge fan of animation, and I've become something of a movie buff over the last several years. But don't look to me for an exhaustive frame-by-frame analysis of stuff like Citizen Kane or Gone With The Wind. No sir... if there aren't any furries, scalies, or other beasts in it, then I'm probably not interested. Now, that's not to say I don't enjoy those... other movies. But even then, I'm very selective about what I watch. For a sample of what I like, you can check out my small DVD/BD collection using the link in my signature.

Video games... yep, I have those, too. I've been mostly a console gamer (going all the way back to the Atari 2600), but I got into to PC gaming back in late 90s, thanks to games like Drakan: Order of the Flame, Quake III Arena, Unreal, Flying Heroes, stuff like that. Pretty much the same theme applies with my video games; I prefer the beasty stuff. Again, I'll play some of the other games, but I'm just as selective with those.

Let's see, other random, boring stuff...

- I live a boring, uninteresting life as a single, straight male in Ohio.
- I'm not really much of a talker. I'm not anti-social or anything like that, and typing TL;DR posts (like this one) on message boards really isn't an issue for me. But I'm not one for small talk or even casual conversation.
- I'm a musician. I primarily play guitar, drums, piano, and I can sing.
- I have the typical computer programmer job. Decent pay, not very exciting, blah blah.
- I'm old... 31 years old. I got my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science way back in 1999. I was 17 years old when The Lion King was released in theaters. I was 14 years old when Street Fighter II hit the USA. See? Old.
- I just bought a new convertible. When the weather's nice, I put the top down and waste gallons of gas just driving around aimlessly.

Hmm... the traditional life pattern would say that I should be married with a couple kids by now, especially with those kinds of hobbies and things. But you know, I've never been really into all that. You know how some people really desire companionship, the need to share their lives with others? For whatever reason, I've never had that desire. Now, don't get me wrong; I'd like to settle down one day and have my own family. But right now, I'm not actively pursuing any relationships. Eh, it'll happen when it happens, I guess. But it's not something I want to rush into or force to happen.

Those were just a few things about that Space Lion guy, but it was probably a lot more than you really wanted to know (or read). I suppose I could have trimmed it and made it read a bit better, but... nah.

Whoa... that's a fair amount of demographic info you're sharing. With you being almost twelve years older than me (I'm a Dragon by Eastern lore as well), and sharing so many of my opinions on your (our?) involvement in the fandom... It's enough to make be believe I'm looking into the future (kinda like this)

And I almost forgot! I did click the link in your sig the other day, which proved to me that Father of the Pride did in fact become available on DVD, and was thus promptly torrented. Thanks a bunch!

Grrr... don't say that in front of me, you'll make me jealous! Hehe, I must say that you're lucky to have all that stuff and I envy you. Can you tell me more about your figurines and books you have on them? And when did you start loving them and why?

Video games : Yeah, "Drakan : Order of the Flame". I have this game too. I should finish it someday though... Damn me!

Well, nice to meet you! Hope we could share our love for dragons much together! I can talk about them if you want to.

Well, welcome aboard more officially than before then.

I can nod to a lot of those things in your bio too, and dont worry, you are a furry just fine even if you dont fursuit or think you are a lion trapped in a strange human shell or behave totally normal in real life.

I think that was a really good intro post (at long last), Space Lion!

Welcome, dude!

Thanks for the welcome (again). Again, I'm sorry it was long, and I really didn't expect any responses. I was just saying 'hello', but thanks.

The future? Your future? Well, we'll just have to see if that pans out.

I remember watching Father of the Pride when it used to air on NBC in the evenings. I made it a point to be home at 9:00PM no matter what I was doing, and I had to rearrange my schedules a few times to make that happen. I definitely understand why the show was cancelled, and why it wasn't well-received. But I was gonna like it regardless of the reviews and ratings, for obvious reasons. And like it, I did, and I bought the DVD as soon as it was released.

I have a couple of the Mage Knight dragons, Radiant Light Dragon and Polar Ice Dragon. I also have the big Duel Masters Bolshack Dragon; I bought it on recommendation from someone on the mailing list (I think it was Dino). And I have the Dragonheart Razorthorn Dragon figure... wasn't in the movie, but I had to have it, anyway. I'm looking very closely at the D&D Dragon figures and I'll probably have those soon. Oh, and I have the Final Fantasy X Bahamut figure. I'll take pictures of all that stuff one day.

Books:
- Dungeons & Dragons Draconomicon (must-have, and I think a new one will be released later this year)
- The Book of Dragons (Michael Hague)
- The Book of the Dragon by Ciruelo (must-have)
- The Discovery of Dragons (Graeme Base)
- A Diversity of Dragons (Anne McCaffrey)
- The Dragon and the George (Gordon R. Dickson, I've read it quite a few times and it's still enjoyable)

As for when it all began? Well, that's a tough one to answer. I suppose it started when I was very young, and my dragon fascination grew over the years. Nowadays, I read their books, I watch their movies (and animation), play their video games (Lair wasn't THAT bad), etc.

Oh, and Order of the Flame is still one of my all-time favorites. The PS2 sequel isn't bad, but definitely not as good as the original.

Great! I love the little figurines you shown. There are so many of them from different editors, that's crazy... Getting them all would take a complete house!

Can you provide me the ISBN of these books? I know Draconomicon, but... damn, I didn't have cash to buy it when I passed in front of it. As for me, I have some "Dragonology" ones. Well, yeah, okay, it's for children, but it's still a nice collection. I also have some "dragon drawing tutorial" books and some others, in French.

You played Lair? Lucky you! It is said that this game was frustrating with the sixaxis.

Oh, the nice thing with Drakan : Order of the Flame, is that there's a level editor available and you can make all kind of adventures on the ground like in the air. Really nice! I absolutely have to play it more often, I'll surely soon. I also have the sequel, I didn't start it yet.

I have a few figurines too, they're quite nice. I also have a pen with a dragon on it and a dragon-shaped magnet.

I don't know why, but I have this interest in dragons as well. I really want to play Lair when I eventually get a PS3 despite what the reviews say about it. I wonder if you've heard of the book Dragonology.

I'm sorry to change the subject, but has anyone played Kingdom Hearts!? There are a few enemies that try to step on you.

I've been taking glances at the Dragonology books. But I have to admit, I'm reluctant to buy them because they're targeted to the age 5 - 9 demographic. I'm not sure I'd enjoy reading something like that, and I'd probably buy it just for the artwork. But I won't completely trash it because I haven't read it, and there's a Dragonology movie rumored to be in production. We'll see how that goes.

ISBN numbers for the books are:
- The Book of Dragons (Michael Hague) -> 0688108792
- The Book of the Dragon by Ciruelo (must-have) -> 8493127817
- The Discovery of Dragons (Graeme Base) -> 0810932377
- A Diversity of Dragons (Anne McCaffrey) -> 006105531X
- The Dragon and the George (Gordon R. Dickson, I've read it quite a few times and it's still enjoyable) -> 0345350502

My books are older copies. So, it's possible that a few of these may have gotten reprinted since I bought mine. I know Ciruelo's book was reprinted recently.

As for Lair, A recent patch added standard analog controls to the game, and that pretty much killed any arguments about bad sixaxis controls (though they weren't really that bad, to me). But then again, I forced myself to learn the controls. I went through the tutorials and didn't start the actual game until I felt comfortable, and I enjoyed it. That said, it's not really a game I can recommend to those who really aren't dragon-lovers. It's not a pick-up-play-and-get-out type of game.

And Drakan, for whatever reason, won't run properly in Windows XP. To even start the game, I have to use some kind of crazy level-select option thing (I forget the procedure). Even after that, the game doesn't run smoothly. That, and, well... I prefer to start at the beginning; I love the journey to Arokh's lair, his awakening, and the first flight. Still, the game's just sitting on the disk, ready to be played only when I feel like going to all the trouble to start it.

Mmmh... all kind of books I'm not sure I could find in French (because I'm from Quebec). I'll see...

Yeah, I agree with you about the "Dragonology" ones, it's for children. There are some nice drawings though, but there are also a few exaggerating things about dragons too (just for the children's imagination).

I wanna try Lair, but I don't have a PS3, unfortunately...

As for Drakan, well, did you try to set the compatibility mode to Windows 98? There was also a Microsoft Update that allowed the game to be fully playable (since 2001).