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![]() I do understand some things will be lost in translation however, I did not find any here. Perhaps the translation creates some awkwardness in the wording and dialogue, but not nearly enough to distract me at all from the overall story. I can’t find anything negative about this novel to mention, really. It is quite as much a political thriller as it is an action/adventure and historical fiction novel. The background of historical events comes to the reader in small, news-type snippets at the beginning of each chapter, like a quote, and the rest of the story stays in England and gives information through the daily activities of the people around whom the story revolves. Truly, they provide the bulk of the narrative and kept the interest going for me the whole time I read the book. The main highlight for me in this narrative is the characters and their relationships with one another. Roerhig’s tale takes us to the origin of the relationship between Little John, Robin’s main lieutenant, and focuses on the main goals of Robin’s resistance movement-maintaining Richard’s kingdom as his while he is away in the Crusades and ensuring equal treatment for Saxons in a Norman-ruled England. It’s not a romantic tale, and it truly shows a side to the guerrilla-style warfare that Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men engaged in that is not squeaky-clean and romanticized. This book, however, does not retell, it does reweave, and it remains faithful to the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of the people from where the tale comes, which I found encouraging.Īs a reweaving, many of the lesser known or utilized aspects of the Robin Hood legend show up in this version of the tale. I don’t really like retellings, as they mostly simply copy the story from another person and appropriate other aspects into the narrative to change it, which I find mostly distasteful. ![]() I hadn’t quite heard that term before and wondered if the book was a retelling or what. I was confused at the term “reweaving” when I picked up this complimentary copy sent to me by the wonderful people at Arctis Books. ![]() This Robin Hood “reweaving,” as the synopsis puts it, is excellent. Historical fiction with no fantastic elements usually bores me to tears, though I must read it to incorporate it into curriculum. I was taken quite by surprise with Tilman Roerhig’s Robin Hood telling. There were some minor flaws with the writing, lots of POV switching mid-paragraph, some clunky moments in the dialogue, and there weren't any major twists or changes to the story as we know it so sometimes it wasn't holding my attention but it would be one that historical readers of high school age and up will enjoy if they love the tale of Robin Hood. It didn't necessarily stand out from other Robin Hood books, but it was an enjoyable read. Little John and Marian must prove themselves and gain Robin's trust, and ultimately friendship, if they want to make it in his not-so-merry band. The legendary outlaw doesn't quite live up to the stories told about him. The outlaw Robin Hood catches them and takes them prisoner. The two flee to the woods, but quickly find that they aren't safe there either. Young Marian is rescued from the Sherriff of Nottingham's murderous soldiers by Little John when her entire village is killed off simply for poaching a deer to feed their families. This one was okay, a fairly straightforward tale with a lot of focus on Marian and Little John's backstory and a more realistic tale of how Robin Hood may have actually been in real life. Told with earthy historical detail and unforgettable characters, this is a must for any young reader fascinated by knights and fights, kings and peasants, or who wants to delve into the many tales that built the Robin Hood legend. Thrust into life in a world of fearless bandits, uncertain allies, and merciless vendettas, Little John and maid Marian earn their place-and build an unshakable friendship with Robin Hood. For all Robin’s dazzling bravado and clever tricks, the reality of his fight against oppression by the Norman nobility is a rough and dirty life in the forest, outlawed and constantly hunted.Īs the newly dubbed Little John gets an education in how to fit into Robin’s dangerous band, Marian, too, grows into a force to be reckoned with. Robin Hood does not quite match the heroic stories that are already told about him. But dangers lurk there, the outlaw Robin Hood soon catches them and takes them prisoner. When peasant John Little witnesses the Sheriff of Nottingham’s men destroying his village for John’s crime of poaching deer to feed his people, he flees into the tangle of Sherwood Forest with the only other survivor, his young foster daughter Marian. An action-filled retelling of the story of Robin Hood as seen through the eyes of his trusted strong right hand, Little John. However, like Lightroom, the editing workflow is divided into different modules. ![]() It allows users to edit pictures without building a catalog within the program. One of the main functions where it differs from Adobe Lightroom is that even though it has the option to import photos, it’s not a necessary step. The current all-in-one version of ACDSee Photo Studio that I’ve been testing allows users to process both RAW and JPEG image files. The first iteration of the software was launched in 1994 for Windows 3.1! Some advanced editing tools may not be as powerful as those in other software optionsĪCDSee is an image organizer, viewer, and image editor program for Windows, macOS, and iOS.ĪCDSee comprises various programs and ‘packs’ used for Digital Asset Management, Photo Editing, and even video editing and conversion.Ĭhoosing between all the options is rather confusing, so for the sake of simplicity, we have selected to review the most popular choice for photographers in 2023:ĪCDSee Photo Studio Ultimate, which is only available for Windows PCs.ĪCDSee Photo Studio Ultimate is an all-in-one software for your photo management and editing needs.ĪCDSee shouldn’t be confused as a new tool that recently came into the market instead, It’s been around for decades. ![]()
I mean, not enough to justify all the crashing this game is doing, but they're nice. I swear, I went into this game actually excited to play a good trading sim, and it seemed to want to do everything it could to make me absolutely hate it.Īt the very least, the game's visuals and music are pleasant enough. Thankfully, you can use the touchscreen for menus in handheld mode, but it's frustrating that this should even be necessary just to not have to be tortured by the tedium of selecting choices in menus.Īs if this wasn't bad enough, during my time playing this game, it outright crashed on me multiple times. This game wasn't made for consoles, and it shows. At multiple points, I was approached by someone who wanted to be taken to a specific place, but I wasn't given a chance to check my map before agreeing or refusing, and couldn't locate the place on the map afterward - there certainly wasn't anything highlighting the place or denoting it as a destination.Įven if you're fine with all of this oppressive difficulty and poor luck, and lack of helpful information, the game still makes playing it a frustrating chore, with menus that have you dragging a slow cursor across the screen instead of simply snapping to the options you can click on. and even if you find something that works well for you, misfortune could always strike anyway.Īlso, much of the information that you need is either nestled away in menus, or not available to you at all, and none of it is presented in a helpful or user-friendly manner. The costly business of simply getting from one place to another can lead to slim margins, and you're discouraged from exploiting a good route because it could lead to robbers attacking you. It doesn't help that the game is difficult enough as-is. ![]() whenever one of these events happens, it's always frustrating. Encouraged to bet on a race? Refuse and you may suffer unintended consequences from disheartened staff. A woman with empty buckets passes in front of your cart? Your luck stat goes down. Firstly, there are a lot of events in this game that are completely out of your control. In addition, you'll be investing in businesses, encountering events that can change your luck, and taking on quests that can help increase your fortune and status.Īll of this sounds good, but the game is plagued by problems. Here, you'll start by trading in just two resources, food and furs, and gradually move on to others as your status rises. ![]() Merchants of Kaidan is a Trading Simulation game with a focus on arbitrage, the practice of buying low in one location and selling high in another to turn a profit - compare this to games like Star Trader, Trade Wars, and Dope Wars, to give you an idea what you're in for. ![]() This action RPG is a little different form the rest. After a long time of frequent disappointments from AAA titles, this game is a relief! Only €17,99 and the game is very solid and enjoyable. … ExpandĪfter a long time of frequent disappointments from AAA titles, this game is a relief! Only €17,99 and the game is very solid and enjoyable. It puts your focus a lot less on loot, and more on succeeding through game play, which is a bit more satisfying than waiting for the RNG to give you what you want. If you want to clear the harder challenges, there's an obsessive level of planning involved. It keeps things interesting and avoids the typical feeling of grinding one build for hours on end. Through out an entire play through I never stuck with one build or weapon for long. Often an area will demand you totally change up your play style to achieve the goals within. There's a lot of cards/powers/weapons to mix and match to figure out the most effective play style. The game also has quite a bit going for it in the area of customization. It's definitely not the sort of zone out and farm ARPG most are used to. A lot of deaths have more to do with player error than simply not having enough HP/armor. If you like you're ARPGs to be more on the blistering hard action side, than a simple loot grind, this is a game you'll likely enjoy. If you like you're ARPGs to be more on the blistering hard action side, than a simple loot grind, this is a game A real diamond in the rough. Given that it costs much less than $50, most of the criticism can simply be ignored. I've spent 10 hours on the game so far, and I plan to 100% complete it. The story could've had a bit more to it, but I suppose the money runs out quickly when you hire Geralt of Rivia to voice the main character :) It still has its moments, but this is more of a gameplay-driven experience. If you like that sort of thing, you'll have a great time. In terms of humor: it's hit-or-miss, but at least there's a lot of it. There are many clever secrets that hit the right spot of being "fun to find", but not "too tedious to find". ![]() Each weapon requires a different playstyle - it's not like "The rapier is like the sword, but it's faster and does less damage". Here, it feels like "I am slashing the enemies with a sword". In D3 it always felt like "I am doing DPS to the enemies". The game has a very dynamic combat system that is - in my opinion - superior to Diablo 3. The game has a very dynamic combat system that is - in my opinion - superior to It fills the void of the disappointment that was Diablo 3. It fills the void of the disappointment that was Diablo 3. Since then I have seen this effect in many images (in localized areas), and as I stated way back in my first reaction, it is an image quality defect that I have not seen over the years of shooting my Nikon D800/D800E. But as Alex points out, probabilities tend to result in clumping (non randomness) in visible effects, an idea I fully support in seeing some coarseness in tonal transitions, an effect I immediately detected (by eye), and immediately commented up on in my review when first shooting the A7R. The general “internet rejection” of this stepping delta idea relies on the premise that photon noise exceeds the stepping.The effective stepping can be around 3.4% which is very much discernible by the eye., the figure of around 1% can be considered just discernible. ![]() So, if data range within 16 pixels is too wide, then “step size” of each transition increases, so posterization occurs. Pixel value = minimum + delta_recorded_for_this_pixel * step. This 'step' is the same for all 'delta' pixels in block (smallest integer power of two (1,2,4.) such that step*128 > max-min) Step = (maximum - minimum)_rounded_to_the_nearest_largest_power_of_two / 128. = 11 + 4 + 11 + 4 + 14 * 7 = 128 bits for 16 pixels = 8 bits per byteģ) 'delta' pixel value is calculated from delta, minimum and maximum: and 14 7-bit deltas for remaining 14 pixels. The minimum and maximum values in block - two 4-bit coordinates of min/max pixels in block are stored too. According to Alex:ġ) In each 32 pixel block we have 16 pixels of single color.Ģ) For the 16 pixels of each color: - two 11-bit values ('base pixels') are stored exactly. On my to do list is exploring these new Sony-specific features, which appeared just recently. RawDigger is the only tool to display areas that might be subject to posterization due to Sony lossy compression. You can read it in Russian or in the Google translation. There is a difference, and I am certain it explains some of the not-so-great pixel quality I’ve seen in field images (in localized areas, not in totality), but it has been hard to pin down.Īlex Tutabalin of RawDigger has posted an essay on the posterization effects that can be observed with Sony ARW raw files due to the 7-bit delta compression. Compare that to a Nikon 14-bit lossless image file. Order the Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS Lens at B&H Photo.Īs discussed in some detail in the review of the Sony A7R, the Sony A7 and A7R and other Sony cameras all use an 11 + 7-bit lossy compression scheme: 11-bit range with 7-bit delta values from 14-bit pipeline (8 bits per pixel in effect). Update: Sony A7R II offers lossless compression option. SEND FEEDBACK Related: exposure, histogram, LibRaw, noise, RawDigger, Sony, Sony A7, Sony A7 II, Sony mirrorless |
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