Afghan Ant is Back?

After being retired for the equivalent of a lapdance at Scores, one of Freedom Force's most talented content creators has returned. That's right boys and girls, Afghan Ant is back. A couple of days ago I noticed that he had set up a Wordpress blog and I knew he'd be back skinning again. Despite emailing AA about the situation, he refused to comment on his skinner status.



Like many of you, I've got some questions for the little bug -

• "Are you eatting your retirement statment?"
• "What's up with you and another HFers, man, are y'all ok man?"
• "I see you're jockin' FF bloggers, maybe you could be Previsionary's intern."
• "How do you really feel about Obama being owed by Marvel?"
  

Regardless we are glad you're back skinning, even if your retirement was bogus.

Want to see Afghan Ant's blog? AfghanAnt - Still Dreaming

Reppin' da Westside

In the FF community the most sought after add-on (besides anything skinned by Courtnall 6) are comic based mods. Yeah we love the original character mods such as Dr.Mike2000's Strangers, but nothing fills FF players with such utter joy like seeing our favorite comic teams or story lines created through Freedom Force. Knowing this, Torch decided to treat us to a mod featuring the cast of a fan-favorite throwback comic - The West Coast Avengers.

That's right:
Lesiure Suit Wonderman
Sex Kitten, Tigra
Non-Masterless Ninja, Hawkeye
And the Emotionless Son of Byte Himself, Vision!

Take these Westside reppin' Avengers on a tale through time to help Captain America and the Invader give Hitler and his minions the boot. So if you are like me and into late 80's comics and desperate need a Freedom Force fix, I highly encourage you to download this mod.


Want this mod? Download Torch's West Coast Avengers: All This and World War II here now.

Uranicus Lux Lucis

Guess the Character

Unforgettable, unsubmittable, he goes by just three syllables.

The NifTool of the Trade

No single tool has allowed so many 3D talentless people to easily create Freedom Force add-ons as NifSkope has. Originally created for Elder Scroll, NifSkope is an all-purpose nif viewer and editor. Its simple interface requires no programming or 3D knowledge but allows the user complete control over any available nif. With Nifskope, the average FF gamer can skope and release a skope in less time than a mesh takes to be modelled.

Despite what the What've you skoped lately? thread would lead you to believe, the power of NifSkope is not limited to meshes. FXers finally have a chance to create new FXs that have been in demands for years. While mappers could recreate any location with the help of existing nifs. Such places as the Fortress of Solitude or the inside of Cerebro can be realized with just a little time, patience, and imagination.

Since being adopted by the FF community, NifSkope has generated some truly original meshes but there has also been lot of repetitive ones. I often wonder how meshers feel about skopers? It is their geometry being skoped after all. Do they ever question why skoping was so warmly welcomed and kitbashing is still seen as the ultimate taboo among the FF community?

Bottomline, Nifskope is a powerful and useful program for the Freedom Force commuity. It is probably the most revitalizing tool we have had in the last year and like everyone, I look forward to seeing what our talented skopers will do next.

For more information on Nifskope and its capabilities, visit FR World >> Nifskope

Spitting through the wire,
- Spectre Lad

Once and Future Skinner Supreme

Before Courtnall6 rose to popularity, there existed an Englishman whose skill and style were unmatched by any other. That man was Gryphon. Though there is little known about Gryphon, his love for strong women and the bronze age of comics is apparent in his work. When others were still trying to figure out mapping, Gryphon was skinning, fxing, and writing tutorials for the Freedom Force community.


In the midst of bad Mspaint and comic photoskins, Gryphon's add-ons shone above all. His work was the true beginning of high quality skinning and it forced everyone to recognize the artistic merits of skinning. Heavily influenced by the in-games textures, Gryphon perfectly blended mainstream characters into the Freedom Force universe. No longer did custom characters look out of place battling Timemaster, they were now perfectly integrated and available to all.



With his Heralds of Freedom, Gryphon proved he was not only artistically gifted at skinning but also at character designing. The HoF skins remain some of the most original reimagining of the Freedom Force universe ever. Heavily influenced by his birthplace, they reflect the cultural and social difference between the States and the UK. A perfect example of this is recasting hot-headed Latino superhero, El Diablo, as the Hindu Sorceror, Tejas. In many aspects, his Heralds outshine their American counterparts in design and originality.

With a style that undoubtedly influenced every major skinner, Gryph released his base skins for all to use. This forced FFers across the globe to Limewire illegal copies of image editing software to emulate his bold use of color and lines. Though there were many who tried, none could capture the true essence of Freedom Force like Gryphon.

Despite being inactive for years, his legacy lives on not only through his own work but through every character skinned using his base. Years have past and other top skinners have come and gone, but Gryphon forever remains the one true Skinner Supreme.

Want to see more of his work? Visit Gryphon's Freedom Force.

- The Spectral One

Who Frees The Freemen

The Freedom Force community's doomsday clock reads 3 minutes 'til midnight. On the forums, anxiety is plentiful while rational is scarce. The masses are in the threads chanting the names of the enemies while the mods are trying to hush the ranting.

"This is all his fault! I told you this would happen but you didn't listen to me!"

The leaders are quietly meeting to organize defensive maneuvers against the threat. These Titans of Freedom are exhausted yet they continue to protect their charges. They watch from their aerial palace as the people scatter on the ground writing down contact info to ensure they can find one another.

"Hey, I don't really know you well but you'll email me if we come back online, right?"

There are others just concerned with what they might lose. They scramble to bookmark links and download everything they can get their hands on. They are mining the sites and groups to find comfort in pixels and polys.

"Do you know where male_basic_forked is? I need it so badly. I gotta have it so I can host it at my private backup site!"

In secret, people are privately messaging conspiracies back and forth. Pointing fingers at all in the line of sight, taking out their frustration on the well-meaning and the newly visible.

"You know that new guy? It's him, I know it is! A friend of a friend on Warcraft told me!"

There are others instant messaging their confusion to all those online. They type furiously about the ones who betrayed them. They send links and pictures when words fail to expression how they truly feel.

"How could they try to do this to us again? What did I ever do to them? This is not fair! Did you get my link?"

Regardless of where they are or how they feel, they are all hoping freedom will be preserved. They are all just hoping their community will see another day.

"I CAN HAZ CHEEZBURGR?"

- Spectrous Ladiccus