Comic for Monday April 19th, 2004

"Forum Upgrade!!" Sunday - April 18th, 2004

The biggest piece of news right now would be the upgrade of the NS Forums. Gone is that confusing and rather pointless HP/MP/EXP bar thing. I think it was cool for about all of a week till everyone realized that the things barely ever changed and no one was ever going to change classes. Plus it was taking up WAY too much space on the right hand Avatar column. If you were one of the few who actually liked it, I'm sorry. For the rest of you I'm sure you're breathing a sigh of relief with me.

On the other hand there has been a major addition now that the HP bar is gone. That, my friends, is the long awaited addition of cash to the NS forums. You get cash in the forums in a variety of ways. You generally get cash for replying and the amount is proportional to the amount of words you actually type. I'll also be giving out cash for correct guesses in the Forum Games section. Monthly Champs and runner ups in each forum game will receive cash prizes as well.

But what's the point of accumulating wealth if you can't use it right? Right. So not only have I added cash to the NS forums, but I have also added a shop area where there a couple of different stores. Most of the stores contain items which will go into your inventory and be indications of just how NS savvy you are. Most of the magical items are limited to one quantity so it's first come first serve. You also have to be a registered forum member to browse in the shop section.

There is also a special store named Tenko's Special Effects Store. This store is different from the rest of the stores in which Tenko does not sell items, but rather effects that can be applied to your account in the forum. You can purchase glowing, shadow, or colors to add to your Forum name or post titles. You can also purchase your very own personal Forum Title besides the standard Ninja Warrior, Junior Ninja, etc. Hell, you can even purchase a brand new Username if you don't like the one you have. If that wasn't cool enough, you can even purchase a custom title for another board member. The board will then show the new title and who was responsible for giving them that title. I should warn everyone that anything that goes beyond playful ribbing will result in the member getting their original title back, you losing your money, and a warning that could result in a banning from the board.

I also want to ask any readers out there who happen to be somewhat graphic savvy to send in any graphics for items to be sold in the store. They don't have to be NS related, but I would prefer it they were. Those that send in graphics will be sure to get money and prizes for their troubles. Maybe even a cut of the profits should the item sell in the stores. Send any Forum item graphics (and descriptions if you want to) to forumgfx@ninja-spirit.com.

I guess now would also be a good time to mention that I will gladly accept any fan art from any NS readers and will post them up on the site. I figure that if NS inspires some of you to pick up some pens and pencils to draw that can only be a good thing for the future of art in general. Besides I'm sure I can learn things from my fans too!! You can send any submissions in to fanart@ninja-spirit.com.

And now on to the comic... it was a pretty good showing this time around too I think. The art wasn't really weak in any area and the whole water FX for Yuki's new technique seemed to work like I envisioned it. Yes I know I reused P5 for a small flashback, but it's a flashback right? Don't hurt me. I think P7 was the weakest drawing of the bunch and I wasn't going to use it originally. I had drawn something else up, but the expression on Yuki's face just drew me. In the end I couldn't drop it, so I went back tot he original and fixed it up as best I could. I think it turned out okay in the end and hopefully everyone likes it.

So now Yuki finally shows that he can harness and use Spirit by creating a shield made of water to protect himself from Tenko's Myobu Shinten Gan. So is this the new technique that Tenko hinted at a couple of strips ago? Will a defensive technique like this be enough for Yuki to defeat the awesome power of Tom's hammer? It just might have to be since Yuki's already been training for 6 days now!! It kinda snuck up everyone right? Come back later this week as we discover prying eyes and a confusing spirit!!

Vote for Ninja Spirit!!

River is very excited about the forums!