TresCom Forums

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread

Nice idea with the weekly update, though I'm not sure you'll always have something to share... Looking good!


Don't think that's ever happened to me...

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T-Script Reference / Trespasser Millennium / JP Dark Secrets / Tres File Box / Tres Machinema & Dinosaur Toy Films

It's Gilligan's Island. The Professor figured out a way to turn common coconuts into hand grenades.

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Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoGsOyiXM_I[/youtube]

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T-Script Reference / Trespasser Millennium / JP Dark Secrets / Tres File Box / Tres Machinema & Dinosaur Toy Films

I'll try my best to keep it up! I've been working hard at it for the last few days - I already have enough content for two more updates, I figure.


Haha! I am the first to create weaponized coconuts!


Holy crap, haven't seen that show in years now and I still remember that episode.


It seems this man has figured out a way to make coconuts migrate, after all...

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread

WEEK TWO - October 31, 2014
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Happy Halloween!
Been a busy week for me, and it's going to stay that way until Monday. Of course, the one night I should be having fun I'm stuck at home, but that's fine with me - they've got a marathon of some of my favorite horror films on tonight. And one of my top movies ever, Beetlejuice. It's just me, the cat, and a bowl of candy.

Time to get down to buisness. I've worked hard on the RTJP test level for a while and I've got some awesome new features never before seen in Tres working and ready to be implemented into the main game. The flare I mentioned elsewhere is in a working state - when you "use" it, the cap comes off and it shoots red sparks for about a minute. During this time period, it can be used as a distraction for carnivores and they *might* chase after it instead of you if you throw it. In addition, the food system is ready to be expanded upon, and I've got a basic disease working as well. It's fun stuff, even at this early stage.

I finally managed to work out a way to get in-game screenshots! The default Tres CE screencap tool doesn't work, so I tried Fraps and it worked! Yay! So from now on (for the most part, anyway) screenshots will be taken in-game! Check out the screenshot thread for a few new ones I took of the Test Level, including new sky and textures.

I also tried out my building modelling skills in an attempt to make the Triceratops Maintenance Shed from JP: The Game...here's a sneak peek:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

It is based on the building on the right in this image:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

There's still a few details to be added, most notably the keypad on the front, security camera and interior decorations, but for the most part it's finished.

Isla Nublar itself has undergone a few renovations. Firstly, all of my access roads didn't run far enough north, so they've had to be adjusted greatly, which was a very time consuming effort. I started on the Tour Road as well, which will make up quite a bit more of the island's roads than previously, extending out to the west of the Visitor Center to the area around the Airport.
The terrain itself is still in a very flat state, though I've started making rough versions of a few mountain ranges. Nublar Mountain is now probably about three times the height it was previously and is more near the island's center as shown on several in-film maps - it's probably about 2000 feet high. The biggest challenge present with the terrain is getting it to match up to what is seen in the movie as well as the various road systems, which are now more conformed to the roads than vice versa as it was before. The Visitor Center area will provide the biggest challenge since it's pretty evident by this point that it will need to be changed again. The Emergency Bunker is now very close to the VC - just across the pond - and this means the Raptor Pit and Herrerasaur Pen will be even further west as well. It's though work, but it's looking good even in a basic state.

Lastly, I'd like to give you guys a rundown on the Raptors in RTJP. Yesterday I updated and improved the skin of the Velociraptors we've seen since the start of the mod:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

A bit more movie-accurate, though there's still a tiny bit of fixing up to do on the head. Major changes include the entire facial structure, more visible striping patterns (particularly on the tail), and a slightly darker coloration. These will not be the only Raptors in RTJP, however. There will also be male versions of these, which will have similar coloration to these, but also bear stripes and patterns found on the male Raptors in The Lost World. This is because the Raptors on Nublar changed genders from female to male, so they do not fully look like their birthed-male counterparts on Sorna. In addition, there will be a second tribe of Raptors on Isla Nublar. They will look similar to the variant in this image:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

Yes, that is the supposed coloration for Jurassic World. It will also have a female/male variant. The two tribes will be rivals, and there will be a side mission which can kill off either tribe entirely and earn you a (VERY SHADY) "alliance" with the other tribe. That still doesn't mean the other side will try and murder you less, though! They will just have a lower chance of attacking the player and just letting her go.

So that's all for this week! Hope you guys have a good night if you're celebrating the holiday (watch out for spooky scary ghosts!), and I'll try to have a lot of content ready for next week!

Legendary Glitch of the Week:
Raptor sent flying about fifteen feet by swinging gate.

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread

WEEK THREE - November 5, 2014
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Well, the cold has already begun to roll in here, and I don't doubt that we'll be under snow in the next few weeks up here in Canada. So, luckily for you intrepid followers, that means I'll have more time to work on RTJP (I hibernate all winter long ), provided I don't get distracted of course.

Speaking of distractions, I've been spending a lot of time watching various movies and playing all sorts of games which I feel might help me to contribute to RTJP's gameplay and atmosphere. I'd already gotten some inspiration from Left 4 Dead in the game's medical supplies, notably the use of First Aid Kits and Pain Pills, which will behave in a similar fashion to their zombie-impeding counterparts, and there are hints of the various Jurassic Park games for the older consoles - the whole latter half of the storyline is somewhat lifted from JP2: The Chaos Continues on the SNES. Recently, however, I've taken a few more steps toward the missing aspect of Tres that I think can be pulled off with a bit of persistence, and this is the Survival Horror aspect.
As many of you probably know, Tres was originally intended to be a Survival Horror game, with less focus on shooting and more on running and hiding. Now, knowing the limits of Tres, this doesn't mean I'll be able to implement features found in most recent horror games, like actually escaping from enemies by hiding or having sound and light draw attention - these are things I cannot do with TresEngine, unfortunately. However, there are other things that are potentially doable with the engine that might be found in horror games. One big thing I hope to include is the use of eerie sound and atmosphere; this will be especially prominent when Diane journeys down into the Park's underground maintenance tunnels (which, by the way, will be a faster but more dangerous way to traverse the island) or enters into one of the larger structures. Flickering lights, sourceless echoes and the sounds of stalking prehistoric beasts will be there the unnerve players. I don't want to give away too much just yet, but, being a huge fan of the psychological horror genre, I can guarantee at least some spookieness will await on Isla Nublar. And, for the faint-hearted, this does NOT mean jumpscares left and right - that's a horror trope I can't stand.

Anyway! Now that I've explained my idealism, time for the pictures and such. First off, I'd like to unveil the new Raptor skin which will be featured on the Captive Tribe males:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

Based on the Crash McCreery concept art for Jurassic Park, by the way. I decided my idea of half-Sorna Raptors was a bit shady at best, so I opted for something new and unique.

Also, I've worked a bit on Isla Nublar. Finally got around to making the roads the correct lengths, so the Visitor Center is no longer too far south. This means, however, that the little amount of terrain work I did last week is invalid, so I went back and flattened out a good deal of land so I can start fresh. It's still not quite screenshot worthy, but it's becoming more and more what I've always envisioned. I imported Sam's Visitor Center as a test of scale - the results? It looks friggen PUNY on the new map. Before, it took up a good chunk of the VC complex's area, visible from even the middle of the park. Now it probably won't be visible until you're nearing the Main Gate, and even then with all the foliage it'll be almost impossible to make out. The larger size really gives you the feeling of being stranded and lost on an island!

Speaking of foliage...

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

My first attempt at something other than a plant with fronds. Not very good in my opinion, though the leaf textures are close to what I want in the final product. I'll have to consult the experts for help with modelling this sort of thing; if anyone has advice on tree modelling, I'd be glad to hear it.

At the moment, I don't really have too much to show since I've been doing lots of other things. Tonight, I watched Alien, one of my all-time favorite movies (a perfect example of the atmosphere I think a Survival-Horror Jurassic Park game should have, by the way), and tomorrow I plan on playing through Penumbra: Black Plague - a game I never really got around to finishing, but I remember gives off a similar kind of feeling to what I'm looking to delve into for RTJP's creepier sections, so there won't be much work done on the mod until next week at least since I work Saturday-Monday this weekend.

Now I guess I'd better end this wall of text. Hopefully this gives you a bit more of an idea as to the status of the mod at the moment - work on the levels themselves is slow, hence the lack of screenshots, but the development side of things is going along quite well. Next week I'll try and slip in a few more screens, maybe take a little video or something for you guys as well (it's been a year, might as well show something in action!).
For now, I leave you to the...

Legendary Glitch of the Week:
Arm trapped in wall; while trying to escape, bounced off a needle and was launched into the floor where a Raptor promptly devoured me.

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread

WEEK FOUR - November 15, 2014
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Holy crap, do the weeks go by fast!
Sorry about the late update (I still got it in on time!), my week's been extremely and unexpectedly busy. All sorts of things have bogged me down, so there wasn't much time to work on RTJP, but I'll talk about all I can at the moment. Unfortunately, I don't really have time to take screenshots, so you guys will have to get your fill another time.

I've moved away from the Test Level for the time being and have done a substantial amount of work on Isla Nublar. The North Mountain Range is ready in a low level of detail, this time based more off of the Earth Watch program seen in the movie - thanks to hppav for including that in the Nublar Modding Toolkit. Nublar Mountain is a bit further south-east now, though there's still plenty of room for the important structures which will be situated at the foot of the mountain (Raptor & Herrerasaur holding pens, Amusement Park and possibly Main Utility Shed). The Geothermal Plant will potentially have its entranced moved either north or west of the mountains so that area is less crowded, although it doesn't take up too much space and could still be squeezed in.
I've got a good deal of roads down now, and I've started on the Perimeter Fence. I have ultimately decided to follow the TellTale fence map for the following reasons:
1. There is a much larger area available for the southern paddocks, including plenty of space for the Brachiosaur lagoon.
2. It allows me to retain the general paddock system shown in the movie while adding on to it to accompany the remaining Isla Nublar species (Proceratosaur, Segisaurus, etc.).
3. The fencing helps to fill up the otherwise empty area in the far south of the island.
4. It is far more accurate to the tour brochure prop map than what is seen in the movie.
So basically this means that the paddocks now reach much, much further south, and the smaller northern paddocks in the last version will no longer be squished in between roads and such. A lot more work for me, but hopefully it will add to the exploration value of the mod - it even gives me more room to use passcoded gates to limit exploration until later segments of gameplay. The overall progression remains the same.

The most work I've done this week was a good deal of sound editing. I've implemented all-new footstep sounds for all of the dinosaurs, and it sounds pretty neat. The T-rex now really sounds huge and terrifying, while a Raptor is much more stealthy (unless it steps on a material that will be noisy, such as gravel). I also got all of the item sounds set up, and have added a few new effects like door sounds and foliage being moved or blown in the wind. Sound is one part of Tres seldom modified, and with RTJP I plan on making it one of the biggest changes. I hope to at one point get the majority of foley effects covered as well, but that's a ton of work and will have to be done in the future.
Work has also been done on flashback voiceovers as in the original Trespasser, except now the voices of the other people involved in the JP incident can be heard. When you approach the Raptor Pit, the sounds of the struggle to save Jophery can be heard, and at the Visitor Center, Hammond's showman voice will be audible. I plan on even having short flashbacks, perhaps even just quick glimpses, of Jurassic Park as it was before the disaster. These would be little videos which play when you reach a key location, showing the place as it once was. It'll be a nice little glimpse of the past and should hopefully encourage players to remember the places and events they saw in the movie.

Now, I'd love to continue going on (in fact, I might just come back and edit this post to include some more content), but I've got a million things to do this weekend and I've got to cut the post short, I'm afraid. So, I shall hand my feelings off to John Hammond and allow him to describe them:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Br1JOgrDc[/youtube]

Oh yeah!

Legendary Glitch of the Week:
Went to open the Main Gate and the doors just kind of fell over on me, reducing the few body parts my model had in the first place to dust.

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread

Finally have a minute to post, so I'll make it quick!
Just letting everyone know I won't be doing an update this week. Progress has been slow since I've been working every day in extended shifts. Next week I'll be sure to give double what I usually do, but unfortunately I can't get one up for this week (I'm not even home now and won't be until tomorrow!).
I do apologize and I'll try to make it up next week - perhaps you'll finally get a glimpse of Isla Nublar since that's been my main focus for the past little while. Well, that and background story, but I'll cover it in the next update as well. There are a few new things for me to show off, so do not fear, I'm still working away in every bit of spare time I have on RTJP!
Life will find a way! X.X

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread

WEEK FIVE - November 28, 2014
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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Jurassic Park!

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

Okay, okay, I know, it's nowhere near finished yet - I lack the assets to complete these shots, but in terms of everything but foliage and background, they're done.
The road between the Visitor Center and the Main Gate has been modified slightly compared to the map because of evidence that what is seen in the movie is different than what the satellite map tells us. The correctly shaped road is still there, but the Visitor Center itself is on another road just to the south. It doesn't impact anything negatively and enables me to do a bit more with the area north of the pond.
Ah, and I also have a new map for everyone! Credit for the original goes to hppav; what I did was take the Telltale map and overlay it with his, then retrace the fences. I only modified them slightly to prevent too much overlap with the road south of the VC. You'll also note that I didn't label any of the places - this was intentional (I don't want to spoil too much). The light blue fences are the actual dinosaur paddocks themselves. I haven't touched the roads yet, but they'll eventually get an update too. I aim to keep what you see in-game as close to this map as possible.


Additionally, I have modified the story a bit to fit into hppav's Jurassic World timeline. The mod now takes place in late 1998, a year after the events of The Lost World but before Masrani's purchase of InGen. Henry Wu's cleanup team did little to the Park itself, mainly just taking data from the computers and such. And, of course, the dinosaurs are still all alive since the firebombing of the island was cancelled - well, in a way at least.
Other than that, there will be no specific reference to the events of Jurassic World. Maybe an Easter Egg or two, but that's all. I want to bring you back to the first film and keep it that way, as has always been the main goal. You will, of course, come across some new locations in order to spice things up, but it will be the main locations visited in the film, especially the VC, that will be integral in the plot.

Anyway, that's all. Hopefully I've satisfied everyone after my failure last week; my schedule should open up by the end of next week, meaning I will have more time to work on RTJP as the week goes on. Christmas vacation will also arrive soon, so hopefully it'll provide some more modding time.

One last thing for all of you readers! If anyone knows of a low-poly, open source plant/tree model resource, I would be extremely pleased if you could point me in the right direction. I think I may have to turn somewhere else for new trees since I simply cannot get the darn things looking good, and Draconisaurus has been busy for the last little while.

And lastly:

Legendary Glitch of the Week:
Flying tour car. Yep. I'm serious. Seems like JP: Aftermath was only the beginning.

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread

Your texturing looks fantastic! Especially the HD resolution!

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0066521C: 'Cannot create local swap file - Is Trespasser installed??',0Ah,0
"Cold lino was the driving force behind world power!"

Dat Bumpmapping on the VC.....

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Album 1 http://m.imgur.com/a/cRA26
Album 2 http://imgur.com/a/6tvKV
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom leaked and (few) official photos

WEEK SIX (kind of) - December 12, 2014
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Gah! It's been a while, but FINALLY I'm back.
For three weeks now I've been having severe problems with both my computer and my internet service. For starters, my computer decided its hard drive wasn't any good and stopped recognizing it. I took it apart, but saw no problem, so I sent it off for repairs only to find it was completely toast. So, naturally, I had to put a new hard drive into my computer, which was costly and time consuming. Fortunately, I have backups of everything important - including RTJP - on two other external hard drives, so that is all safe. I'd actually just backed up RTJP the day before it tanked, so no work was lost at all.

I must once again apologize for lack of an update last week, so it's time for a rather large update to make up. First off, I highly advise you to check the Screenshot Thread - I'm going to be posting a bunch of new WIP pictures for everyone to check out. There's some screens of the newer foliage and I'd like to get people's opinions before making more. Regarding actual foliage density in the mod, I plan on making it much higher and more realistic in the areas Diane is more likely to travel around, such as the roads, trails and main facilities. Taller, bushy trees will make up most of the jungle so that I am able to scatter less smaller, FPS-heavy plants around the area.
Here's a quick shot to demonstrate:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

As you can see, the VC is almost completely obstructed by foliage from the tour road, but the area to the left is much less dense as it will be filled with low-poly high-density trees. I know I'm always going on about making everything feel "enclosed", but I feel that it is just as important as getting the building detail right because to me, in Trespasser, I often find that jungles do not feel enclosed and mysterious enough. For an example of what I mean compare this Tres shot:

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

To this one I found of Kauai (I know, it's a golf course, but the treeline and flora is similar:)

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

Quite a difference, huh? Hopefully the use of much larger and thicker tree branches will help to avoid the empty feeling and lack of a medium-height canopy. Once I get more tree models done, I'll post some more examples.

So I've discussed the flora, now it's time for a quick glance at some of Isla Nublar's fauna. This one is highly WIP, so don't take it as anywhere near a finished product, hence the reason it is in TresEd. I just wanted to show off the first JP mod (to my knowledge) to include...

(Click on thumbnail for full size)

Jurassic World Raptors! Yay! And no, they will not be trained or trainable. Additionally, Rexy's skin will be getting a remake soon, but I haven't started on her yet. She will be updated to feature similar scar patterns to her image on JurassicWorld.com, as these seem to be the ones inflicted by the Raptors at the end of JP. That's actually one of my favorite details so far about JW - I'm glad she's back to kick some more tail.
So far, the only finished skinned dinosaurs are the Raptors, but all of the others will be getting updates in due time. Some of the older skins (particularly the Brachiosaurus) simply don't feel right or are too low-res, so I'll be amping them up to 512x512 in the process. I hope to also include new models for the remaining unseen dinosaurs, such as baryonyx, metriacanthosaurus, proceratosaurus and segisaurus. Chances are I'll be waiting until we get pictures of the JW Bary and Metri to create the pair, but the other two will certainly be unique designs. If anyone wants to suggest possible designs or color schemes for the new dinosaurs, I'm open to new ideas! Even potential unique behavior (spitting, camouflage, etc.) might be interesting to include.

I've also got an idea for an introduction to the game. I won't reveal much yet, but I will say that it will take place before the tutorial level in Panama and will likely be a short, playable level where you take control of who will eventually show up as the story's main antagonist. It will be there to give some backstory and...say it with me...EXPOSITION! And no, for those wondering, it will NOT take place on Isla Nublar, nor have anything to do with the events of Jurassic Park. But it will offer some insight into the story and our characters while adding a sort of cinematic feel to the whole thing. Think of it as kind like the opening scenes of JP before they get to the island.
The final detail I want to unveil here is that there will be flashbacks (most likely in cutscene format) to the events of Jurassic Park, most likely using short clips from the movie, or using recreations done in either TresEd or 3DS Max. I doubt they could be playable due to the fact that it would require loading a whole new level and therefore cause you to lose all of your progress, which kind of sucks, but is the only possible way I see something like this working. And, of course, we'll have the good old voiceover flashbacks, though they will not be limited to John Hammond and will include dialogue from the film as well (I've already got a good deal of these ready). It's all part of a fresh, unique experience that we hope to bring everyone.

So that just about wraps up what I can cover so far. Since I haven't had any modding time due to the malfunctions and now another busy work week, there most likely won't be too much more imagery for a while, just my random banter of ideas and such. Let us know your opinions on everything so far; success is based on failure!

Epic Glitch of the Week:
Managed to fall through water in-game and die. Somehow. Looking into that problem!

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread

Looking goood! Keep it up. I really like your weekly updates - even if you haven't done anything, it's nice to know the project is in your mind .

What a shame the raptors can't be trained, hehe

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Yes, my avatar is indeed a dino cookie.

Thanks, Anna. I try and get as much information I can out there without giving too much away, but still hopefully keep things interesting for people (like you) who actually read my rambling.

In other news, once again, I sort of lack a weekly update...ugh. This time I have absolutely no excuse - I simply haven't been working on the mod; haven't really had much interest in it at the moment. Life's been quite distracting, and for the first time since September, I finally have some free time, so basically I've just spent it dicking around with other stuff. But! I will still try and provide all the boring text rambling for people like Anna. So, without further ado:

WEEK...SEVEN..? (not really) - December 21, 2014
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To get right to the point and put it bluntly: I've really done since last week with RTJP is build a small, most-likely-to-be-removed hill, do some more sound editing and then try and get a shotgun to eject shells without a huge series of triggers (as the one in TC~rescue uses a TON of them!), to no avail. I usually end up with the shells clipping into the gun and malfunctioning. I have had other ideas as to how to do this, but they all require using CEntityAttached instances, which don't work on cloned objects. Total pain these tiny little engine oversights can be!
Let's see here...what else? Oh! I started writing up some more dialogue for the story - there's quite a bit of it so far, over 100 lines by now I would imagine. It is mostly confined to the three major characters, though there are a few other people who come in here and there throughout the story. Now, my plan is to somehow find voice actors for all of the characters in the mod once it gets finished, which, I imagine, wouldn't be too hard to do, and would ultimately improve the mod's quality substantially in my opinion. Especially since the only unique and new voice I remember hearing in all of Tres modding is the guy at the East Dock (Draco..?) . Anyway, since I really enjoy writing in my free time, I don't find it too hard to write lots of lines here and there, and by the end of the game's story I think I should end up with about 350 lines of dialogue at maximum. Going above this number will probably end poorly, so I'd like to aim for a number of about 300 - about fifty more than Trespasser has in its files. Should make for a solid experience overall, and I've written each character to have varying (though somewhat stock) personalities.
And, as much as I hate to say it, that concludes my update for RTJP this week, unfortunately. I guess taking a break from the mod is probably a good idea since I spend a solid three months highly engaged in its creation up until this point, so I might relax until next year to let the creative juices get flowing again. I'll still be skulking around here, so feel free to ask questions! Perhaps I will try and do something for Xmas or New Year's, who knows?

Oh, and unfortunately, I lack a "glitch of the week"...so, instead, here's something completely random:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w-58hQ9dLk[/youtube]

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Current Project: Cloning Facility | My Release Thread