If you have it on Steam, just press F12. ;)

I have the downloaded Special Edition from Amazon and also the regular cd version that I bought on Amazon as well. Is there a way to hook the game up to steam or do you have to purchase it directly from them?

I bought L4D2 from steam so I use them a little bit.

I know. :) Although the day time/morning version looks great too when the light filters through the canopy. There is a way ma tsmukan. All you have to do is leave the level on for 2 hours or more and it will turn to night. After 30 mins it will turn to early morning.

Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to hook up the store bought version with Steam. :S Your only option is to buy it on steam for $50 US (It may be on special for a lot less in the Xmas sale) or download a program that allows you to take pics in game.

All I can think about at the moment is flying with an Ikran..And writing another fanfiction. ;)

It's actually $20 on steam but I dont want to spend another 20 on a 3rd copy lol. I'll see if I can figure out how to get screen shots.

Google it. :P

I asked the folks on steam and they said when you open steam, there's an option to "add game" at the bottom left corner. Click "add non steam game" or something like that and it will add the game. Then you can use f12 to capture images on it. Worked like a charm. :)

Brilliant! :)

yeah, that's what I thought when I saw the demo (video +live in the class): it seems a mix between The Hunting Celebration (they imitate ikrans in their dance, right) and The Challenge (the fight between Tsu'Tey & Jake). This is what the instructor said: "You only pretend that you're dancing; in fact you're waiting for the perfect moment".
Oh, I've just remembered: right before going to tame his ikran Jake said:"Let's dance". Some capoeira he had! :D

OK guys I'll leave you to the game :) the night scenes are breathtaking!

I was just using the game as an example of how you can keep the feeling alive..By discovering new things.

Thanks!

...they REALLY should have explained that in game :(
I'm sad that I never noticed it at all before...


As for screencaps, glad to know it's sorted out - my other recommendation would have been FRAPS - it costs money, but it's by far the best program for taking video of games as well as screenshots, I can record at full resolution without lag with it :)

No Problem, I feel quite similar..It really enhances the experience of the game. I actually found it out from someone's low quality video on youtube. :P The good thing about the day/night cycle is that it makes an old game seem new again and more enjoyable to play.

As for getting back to talking about how to keep the Avatar feeling alive. I'm hopefully going to be heading to the beach on the weekend. :) It will be so nice and calm to swim in ocean water and collect shells by the beach..I will be thinking about the Ikran Tribe of the Eastern Sea when I'm down there. :) It's really important to try to get down to a part of nature when you can..You might feel rejuvinated in a way.

they had it in Avatar Exhibition in Seattle museum, it was incredible. I only saw it on the video - I can only imagine what it was like in RL, with other clan members! :awesome:
(*I was not criticizing the game or playing it - sure it's one of the ways to keep the feeling alive! :D)

that's amazing! I have a repetitive dream/vision that I arrive to a Pandorrean coast in a canoa cos my clan lives on some islands, & I want to meet other "land" Na'vis.
Go, have that dip sister, that would be great! :D

(Riding away to work on my direhorse) kiyevame till next one.

Wow that sounds amazing ma Tsmuke! :D I bet the Na'vi would warmly welcome you once you got out of that canoe. :) I didn't know you were so big on horses/pa'li hehe. If we have a TOS meetup one time we could go horse riding. :D

Thanks Apache .It will definitely be great to be back in the embrace of the water again, especially after the hot weather that we have been having down here.

I think it's good to remember what Neytiri said about nature and the flow of energy..It's the same with earth and we can experience it amongst all the elements.

The only concious way I manage to keep things alive is solely in my imagination... Taking unexplored trips into the Pandorian jungle usually does the trick.

Otherwise, just like all feelings, it comes and goes in swathes. Sometimes I will be sat there, maybe listening to something completely unrelated, sometimes when I was going through PAD/PAE at the time, and it just piques the feeling in my mind again. The feeling itself is interesting, it's never bad, never good... Just... Specific, if you get what I mean.

All said and done though, i'm really wanting to do a number of things to decorate my bedroom at uni. Some thoughts were painting some false plants with glow-in-the-dark paint and having them around my room, and getting a set of fairy lights, all white but slightly dim, and making a ton of paper Atokirina to place over the top of them.

I really need to get creative... The other hesitation I have is that I wonder exactly what my flatmaes would think of me. The reaction to seeing the ASG on my shelf by one of my better friends here was already kind of 'freaked out'.

For me it is not easy to keep it. Watching the DVD helps, but I feel it is not doing what it did in the theatre. I dont have that game - the scenes look like it may be something I have to be sad not to have seen. I dont have the time or a computer that is good enough to play this though :( . What really helps me is being outside - forests, especially remote places really invoke a similar feeling. Also looking at details of plants and animals and how perfect and unusual they are. Another one is imagination - I try to dream of Pandora but cant get there usually. But for a while I was just letting images come to my mind when I was floating in the water - on a lake or in the swimming pool. Closed eyes and I saw myself floating on a lake, its night, Polyphemus is just rising behind a line of medium sized dark trees. Hometree is standing near to the lake, its giant roots dipping into the lake. The lake is glowing, one can see the roots of hometree underwater, having a yellowish glow. I look up and see hometree towering in the sky. There are stars and another moon has to be somewhere because there is some silverish light. Probably this is why there is only some bioluminescence visible. I see a lot of Ikran circling the top of hometree - young hunters, chasing each other in circles, yelling joyfully. I am older, these are kids, I like the young ones. There is an entrance to hometree visible. warm light and some NA'Vi shapes near the shore.
Oops - that was a long description, but these images that I let come to my mind are helping a lot to keep things in my mind.

Oh and also, my beautiful blue hammock I sleep in every night - I always have a thought of Pandora with me when I go to sleep.

What I really want to do is to go more exploring - I saw a lot of weird and fantastic places on Earth already and would like to see more. I also would like to go on a hiking trip - light gear only - hammock, blanket, some tools and go on a march in some beautiful place. Maybe along the coast of the Baltic sea or across the Alps. I need to get fit for that though. That is also true for another dream of mine which when it failed really set me back in happiness. I want to fly a hangglider - I am dedicated to one day make it - last time, I was just failing because of physical fitness, but I really really want to do this, so I am working on not remaining a "office chair potatoe" and will go swimming again every week in winter.

What really gets me, too is sunsets. They are just awesome here - so colorful, they are beautiful by themselves, but they also invoke in me a feeling that is similar to what I felt with Avatar somehow.

I wish you good luck & inspiration Fkeu; as for flatmates... Well if you can have a place of your own that's best altho there will be people coming in in any case, & whatever you do someone will say "Yay" & the other "Eh?". Maybe sometimes one should say "This is My Land!" I was edgy about people thinking I am an Avatar freak or whatever, but I guess I got immune to it :D & took a stance "this is me, love me or leave me" - & guess what, people accept me for what I am. Like I say in the office "For vacations, I am going to Pandora" - & they have these :hmm: or these :awesome: faces. Whatever they do, I stick to what I feel. Only my experience.

Aurora... :shock: could it be the same lake???

If I may assume anything, it will be like being reborn :awesome: I am already waiting for you to be back with your ocean story! :D And I'll try to remember the "Canoa Dream" in more detail & post it on "I dreamed about Pandora" thread. ;)

.
oel ngati kameie ma tsmuke :D absolutely so!
(Oh, & meditations in full nature are definitely a tsaheylu to the feeling!)

Sounds good.

Don't let people get to you, or it will affect your own perception of Avatar.

I have posters of Neytiri, and I have never hidden my interest for Avatar - I have Na'vi skin even. The main part is getting over that 'but people might not think perfectly of me any more' problem, which happens by realising that nobody ever did anyway :)

Sìltsan ma tsmukan. :) Your tattoo is amazing!

It would be like a rejuvenation, almost like a rebirth as you said. Often Aboriginal tribe members by the coast even now go "walkabout" when they have the strong urge and have a swim in the ocean. They come back at peace and with so much energy. :) My connection with the water is hard to explain..I always feel a deep longing and a pull towards the sea and the ocean, lakes and rivers and it gets to the point where its all I can think about I have to go and immerse myself in its energy and share mine in return.

Ahh meditations. I must do one of those when I go to the beach tomorrow..Find a small cliff with some rockpools and sit there. :) I'll fill you in ma tsmuke. I also can't wait to hear about your canoe dream some more.

Ohhh a hang glider! :awesome: I had similar visions of using one of those in my head. *high four* What kind of fitness do you have to be in to use one of them? I imagine you'd need to be able to sprint but I can't think about any other fitness requirements...

I also love your idea about swimming and wanting to explore and go hiking. :) Those are brilliant ideas. Swimming is great because it is a lot easier on the joints and gives a full body workout. :) You also raised a really interesting point about the uniqueness of our animals..To the Na'vi our animals and plants would be just as fascinating to them as we are of Pandoran flora and fauna.


That's true. That's why we dream and how James Cameron came up with Avatar..The imagination is the most limitless gift we have..It's unfortunate that when you go to school the teachers try to drill it out of you.

Hmm, seems I missed this thread...

anyway for me it comes down to 3 things now.

1. The actual Movie experience of Avatar and the PAD/emotions afterward
2. The effects it had on my life and feelings at present
3. The friends I've made in this community

Honestly at first the actual feelings of the movie were very strong. Slowly over time they faded, replaced by similar but non-movie related feelings (hard to explain), and now it seems like my connection to this community is the strongest overall. That would be why I'm working/attending the meetups.

Avatar will probably be my favorite movie for a long time, but for me, the feeling has faded mostly...

well I guess it's "the whole new level" ma tsmukan. I still didn't get a better guidance that from my very first Avatar dream: "Learn to see here what you saw there" - to, somehow, materialize our emotions & feelings about Avatar & give them "shape" in other aspects of life. Like, a seed that seemingly bears a very little resemblance to the tree that grows out of it - but one is not possible without the other. "Or something".
and you are doing a great job on organizing the Meetup!

hiss, hiss... grrr! :angry:
"Don't let the system grind you down" - or like HNM said "Don't let the people get to you". Or like I said (in different words) "Recognize your essence, know who you are - & stick to it". Like, "keeping the still centre in the eye of a tornado" - that's a quote from "The Chronicles..." in my signature, I try to use in on myself :)

Well I played around with the screenshots of the game and got some really nice pictures. If ya want a glimpse of Pandora and it's beauty, check out the pix here:

http://www.tree-of-souls.com/video_g...tml#post161002

(didn't want to hog the thread with game pictures) ;)

:D Great advice Apache. I can't imagine as much as I used to but it's getting better. ;) I love that quote it is really important to stay true to yourself. :D

Progress Report for Apache: I managed to get down to the beach with my brother after 2hrs or traveling. ;) It was a shame that I didn't get to stay there longer but the moment I smelt the salt air wafting from the kilometers of coastline I knew I was home. I feel at peace and so unbelievably contented now, even though I could only have a short swim..The water was cool to the touch and amazing. :D There were little cliffs full of bushland above this little sheltered beach we went to and I imagined the Ikran leader poking her head over the top and trying to hand us some more shells to collect.

This is the beach here from a pic on google I found. (notice the beautiful bushland above):

http://www.ideal-sydney-getaways.com...et-beaches.jpg

And this is the view of it from the main beach..It's in the distance:

http://www.sydney-australia.biz/phot...each-manly.jpg

Ma Tsmuke! I've posted it - The Canoe Dream!

Now, how weird is that?? the place I saw in the dream (or rather, meditation) looks almost identical to your google pic above! :shock: Only there are no rocks & the trees are closer, otherwise, they are so, so similar... I am sure it was easy to imagine the Ikran Clan leader with shells there!

I am so happy you had this dip, altho a short one, but it was worth it, right? the sea... mmmm! I was born in the middle of the continent but I lived 10 years in Dubai by seaside, & every time I hear salty smell & feel the breeze, the feeling is the same: "Home!" How strange, but beautiful...

Luckily for me, I was at the seaside on my birthday, & managed to have a swim roughly about the hour of my birth... when I dived in, & then got my head out of the water, I really was seeing the world with "new eyes", almost (?) reborn. It was so great. Maybe like in Moco Loco dreams when we dive into a lake as humans & come out as Na'vi :P

I am really glad for you, ma tsmuke! You inspired me to go to the beach, too. It will be cold now but hey, I was born in Siberia, I hope I still have some endurance! :D

lol my dreams and now this post from you apache are making me think of Ponyo :D I really liked that movie. It made me wish I spent more time by the water. There's a secret beach here which I visit on occasion.

Edit: Pictures :D

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...s/SAM_0631.jpg

Some of it has real sand :P Maybe people don't want to go because it's so trashy.

Haha - well for me it is mostly a bit of a secret. My housemates know some thing and are pulling my leg at times because of it, especially because I cannot run like the wind over some fallen trees but rather stumble around hoping I do not fall down :P
But yeah - with my hammock as a bed and always this forum on the laptop, its hard to hide that I am weird :P

Actually you posting this inspired me of posting this here. For me it was not so new, I had that image in my head last winter, so its been some time. But yeah - sounds pretty similar, but I did not see any seeds floating by...

Oh I see you! I just love to go to the leake here and just swim to the middle of it and then let myself float. I feel the water all around me and to me it is really being immersed "in mother earth" to use a rather stereotypical expression because I cannot think how to say it otherwise.

Well that is the major one I guess. Three possibilities would have allowed me to succeed - either loosing some pounds - running a bit faster in sprints (not easy once you pulled that glider up the hill 2-3 times) or get better equipment. I WILL try again some time, but I have failed for now :(

Oh yes - I hope I will have time and means to go hiking and exploring and yes - Earth plants and animals are, if one really takes a good close look at them immensly fascinating at times :) - But I'd not mind seeing some Pandoran ones close up, too :P

Greetings

Hopefully your housemates still accept you for being "weird" In my opinion, we are all weird in our own way.

Oel ngati Kameie Aurora ma tsmuke. :D I'm so happy to see a fellow water child here. I think swimming out to the middle of the lake would be such an amazing experience. You would be truly immersed in one of nature's elements. There's not many other elements that allow you do do this, apart from earth, spirit and air. It's a little hard to zone out at times at a beach if it has lots of people on it..It's one of the reasons why I couldn't do any meditation yesterday.

That sounds pretty tough, I bet the hang glider weighs a bit.. Though when you say proper equipment do you mean equipment like a new hang glider? Or the harness?

Wow I haven't seen Ponyo but I've been meaning to. Is it good? I really like that picture you posted Moco. Even a rocky outcrop by the sea could be a beach of sorts. It's great that you have somewhere to go. Hopefully you can get there and relax with there being not many people around.

Oh wow I shall see asap!! (Hah rhyme.) Oh wow!! That is so interesting especially with you imagining no rocks but more trees, in any case I'm glad I posted the pics of for you ma tsmuke. Haha yeah it was, my brother and I were sitting around on one of the rocks and I could see this big tree overhanging and I thought, the Ikran clan could live here and no one would even notice. :)

Thank you ma tsmuke, it was definitely worth it! I haven't been down to the beach for a whole year. O.O Amazingly my body knew just what to do when I was swimming out there, like I had never left. *sigh* That is amazing Apache, it's so surreal to imagine a beach by a huge city but I'm glad that you could live near the sea for so long. The sea never leaves your heart. The salty smell was the first thing I picked up when I got there, then I felt the breeze and heard the gulls. :awesome:

I am so glad that you got to have that experience Apache, it would of been amazing to feel..Especially when you emerge with new eyes. I can imagine that to be true, when you relax in the water it brings out the best in us.

Ahh I always knew that Siberians were a strong bunch, just like the nords and the people of the baltic states. :) I'm glad I could inspire you to go again, the sea would be calling you again. You should be okay, just as long as when you get out you cover your ears with a woolen hat or earmuffs, they can ache in the cold water.

I think I might go down to the beach again this weekend, the feeling is so strong, and I must meditate this time hehe.

Yeah, I go occasionally. I'm actually considering getting a wetsuit so I can go swimming in winter.

That's a great idea. :) Alternatively you could always use a rash vest and quickly go in the water and then rug up with a huge jumper and a beanie.

Yes - i like to do that. Sadly the lake here is also not always that calm, it may have some people if it is warm and alot if it is sumer and sunny. And it has an agly power line going over it, but usually I find a spot I do not have ot see any of that and can float :)
At the ocean it is harder - I found one spot on my vacation this year that was almost empty of people in the early morning. So I camped next to it in the treed and went there in the morning. No people, I cound float again. But the waves of the ocean make it a lot harder, so I got salt water in my mouth for that :):embarrassed:

Yeah, it is about 25 kg I think and the hill is 40 m high. They had old crappy gliders for the schooling. They were too small for me and were not good in lifting. I managed to get lucky a couple of times, did about 4 or 5 good flights to the base of the hill. But I depended on me running to exhaustion and even then it only worked if there was wind in the right direction. I did not manage within the timeframe of the course to reliably start and land, so I basically failed the course, which sucks unbelievably because this was really a dream of mine.

I think I need a glider with bigger wings (for easier takeoffs) and be more fit in sprinting. If I manage to get that, I may try again one day.

That's a huge shame about the power line..I suppose if the lake get's a little rough you could always kayak across it instead.

That's a cool idea about camping by a beach, as long as you stay hidden. :P I always try to avoid swimming in a beach with waves as it does make it a lot harder to avoid the waves crashing into you. You can find some sheltered spots at a beach to go swimming though. Waves are great for board riding. :D



O.O Woah 25kg is pretty heavy..But then the wingspan is normally about 10 ft or more. That's such a shame about you pretty much failing the course. Though it's important to stay focused and think of ways to succeed. I suppose you could see if you can get a more lightweight glider if possible. I imagine that it would be really hard to take off and stay on course, especially if the wind changes.

Well it is a small lake only :P - so what is rough is maybe that now it has about 12°C or less, so I will not swim there. Soon we will be able to walk across

Well there was not so much choice :P - But the mediterranean is usuall ynot too bad in waves. I think most came from the boats. Yes, I hid my hammock well in a little grove and only set it up during the night.

Ah actually the instructor said that I will probably do just fine in the air. Its not supposed to be that hard and I did the right moves when I managed to get off the ground. But most of the times I did not and that was a problem. I guess a more lightweight glider with bigger wingspan would be the technological solution - me going swimming and biking twice a week from now on would be the better one. Its winter though :( . The technological solution wont work anyways because during schooling, there are just the two gliders allowed that are there. I do also not want to buy such expensive gear and then trash it on the dummy hill...
Nah - loosing some pounds and training to run faster will have to be the solutions I fear...

Hmm well you could always try to do both eventually. Although buying more gear would be costly. When you get fitter you should feel twice as good as before. :)

It would be amazing to sleep in a hammock under the stars. :)

Such a shame about the shrinking lake though..But I suppose that the tide and the seasons dictate that.

In other news: I really want to start a new fanfic but I strangely feel that I need to research more on the Pandoran plants.

Hmm - I need to try that with the hammock under the stars... the one I have has a mosquito cover on top, so the view of the night sky is not too great - also I usually have had a tarp on top to prevent possible rainfall or wind to get me at night. But I want to experiment :D

Oh and the lake - to get this right - it is a small lake to begin with. Probably people from larger countries would only call it a pond. It was created during a gravel mining operation for road building some decades ago. Now it is a lake (or pond). There are already some larger trees at its shore and people come to do barbecues there im summer. Swimming and barbecueing and everytinh is basically prohibited, but no one cares (which has the benefit that no one can tell you what to do there - like bringing the dog, making a little fire, swim naked, whatever... - because everyone else is not there legally anyways. So everyone basically has to accept everyone elses behaviour unless it is really annoying to several people, at which point they will ask him to change this). Sadly the place I live is crisscrossed with powerlines and one runs over that lake, which probably is part of why no one is supposed to go swimming there :P

But anyways - on weekdays in summer when not so many people are there, one can float in that lake, look at the different shades of green of the trees at the side and feel very much "inside the Earth", because one can feel touched by it (I consider water and air to be part of Earth) everywhere on the skin :D - That to me gives me a perception of connectedness that is physical. I dunno - somehow this relates a lot to "the feeling" we were talking about here.

Hmm couldn't you get a white thin mosquito net..You can usually see out of them. Experimenting is good!

Oh right I get you. I just thought it was a small natural lake. :P It's great that you guys can do whatever around there, Seriously, so many beaches and lakes have so many rules that make it less fun to be there.

:D Nice description. I think it fits very well into the "feeling" that we talk about here because so many people love the connection that the Na'vi have with each other, Eywa and Pandora. We have our connection with Earth/Gaia and all the animals in our own way and you just described a great connection with the Earth through water and air. :)

I feel a connection with Gaia and her creatures whenever I'm swimming in the sea, covered in dirt or sand, petting a friendly pet, standing by a breeze or just sitting near an open fire. It's so easy to establish a connection but you need to have an open mind. :D

A very quick one before I ride to work to my RDA: :P
@Moco Loco: I liked your secret beach :) nice! I guess I would be going there regularly to remove the trash, apart from having fun... until skxawngs throw some more... :angry:

@Pa'li: yes, it was great to live by the beach! :rolleyes: Imagine going there straight from work/studies? At least to paddle in the water, under a huge Arabic moon... I miss it so much :'( but no worries. There will be more beaches in my life. I am sure!

@Aurora: if instead calling ourselves weird, we call ourselves "special, interesting, different, wow..." - it will sound & feel better! :P :D Works for me.

Have a good day aytsmuke si aytsmukan, my direhorse is kicking, I am off!

:D "Paddle in the water Under a huge Arabic moon." I love that image! Yep there will always be more beaches. It's such a shame that people litter around the ocean..I'm really grateful that there are always volunteers to clean the waterways..They all deserve 10 high fours each and the gratitude of everyone around them. :D

haha have you added the feet? :D
Actually I clean a bit of the forest sometimes when I go there, & it feels... good! I feel good, & I bet so does the forest; I would say it even breathes better (at least the grass does). It's becoming a strange hobby :S :)

By the way (or not) - yet another way of keeping the feeling alive: cosplay?
I would have never thought I would even think of it, but you know what, someone sent me a belated birthday present: a Na'vi bodysuit (with a tail!) and a wig (with a queue!) - & I went & dressed up, jewellery & all, & I felt... different! The other day I painted my face blue, + yellow fluorescent eyeshadows, just for the fun of it, & I did look positively an alien native! :O maybe I won't be doing it in Seattle, but i did feel different. Honest.

Moco Loco, you can tell us how it was in Seattle! You were an RDA, not a Na'vi but you were there with the others, you lived it & breathed it... do you feel different when you dress up? sort of "get into the role" or how do the actors put it?

Ah yes - the trash is a problem. I usually come back from the lake with trash. One time we pulled a barbecue from the lake which made me really angry. Sadly some people will not honor the agreement that everyone who enjoys the lake also is supposed to keep it nice. Some people just dont think, because they are used to a trash-and-leave policy that is too common in these times.

Cosplay - hehe I love the pictures of people who really are good in this and look amazing. For me, cosplay would have to be RDA sadly - I dont have the physical features to go for NA'Vi. I can imagine that it can bring up some feelings for those who do it :D - facepainting - man, I didnt do that for a loong time. I painted my face purple with watercolors when I was a teenager. That was fun back then, but I was less than half as old as now - but who knows, maybe it still is fun :P

:shock::awesome: purple, again!! Try it again, you might like it! :)
Now you're reminding me, some years before Avatar I used to draw "tattoos" on my face & arms with a blue eye-pencil, spiral/zigzag patterns, & I liked it. Eywa knows why. Some prehistoric/native organic memory maybe :S

Yeah, purple and blue kind of follow me around in life :P - It is pretty interesting with painting ones body actually. For some reason, people all over the world have been doing this forever. Indigenous people almost always have some kind of body painting rituals. Add to that "body modification" like earrings, clay plates inserted in ears, mouth, noses, things that re-shape the head or neck, intentional scarring. And this of course all still lives on, we still have tattoos, soccer fans paint their faces, we have the ritual of carneval or halloween, people have earrings, piercings, some extreme people even split their tongues or put beads unter their skin. I always wonder why humans do this - is there a purpose or is it just creativity and playfulness that turns into traditions? Is it some remembrance of something older? Maybe a time when humans and nonhumans did not see themselves as so much seperated and humans could become birds by putting feathers on their skin or lizards by making their skin look like a lizard? I think it is fascinating and the simplistic attempts to explain it by freak chance (kind of someone did it and it stuck and became tradition) do not do it justice.

Aanyway - I might actually try to get that waterpaint again :P - oh I feel weird even thinking to do so. But heck, some of the people here painted their whole body blue and walked around in Seattle looking marvellous, so what is a bit of face painting compared to that XD