Clearing Things Up!

So, it seems after all this time, there may be some people out there trying to impersonate me on the internet! That's what's prompted me to make this post. I do not have an official Twitter account.

Sorry for not making an update post when SHSO shut down. I wasn't paying attention to the game, then checked in on it to discover that I couldn't play it anymore, even if I wanted to! That sure was a sad day.

Glad to see people are trying to revive the game, and I wish them luck.

 Best,

— SHSOFan.

On the Mystery of the Mystery Box

My question is "Why?". The subject is the Mystery Box.

For the past several months these boxes, which randomly select prizes and MAY contain the hero you actually wanted, have been released into the game, culminating in their most recent appearance: Rocket Racoon's Mystery Box. These boxes defy all logic. Here's why.

The idea, I presume, is to make more money by forcing people to buy gold so that they can buy a ton of mystery boxes in the hope of getting the promised prize. But wasn't that what the dreaded prize wheel did as well? And, in one of the best improvements the game has ever released, the Prize Wheel was dealt away with.

Here's the thing. I would like the game to make money. I want it to keep going. However, random chance is frustrating and degrading to the players. If you want them to spend real life money, why not just make these heroes Agent-Only?

The only argument for this is that it's more "fun" to randomly get a hero that you were tentatively hoping to get. Do you know what's more fun? Gameplay! Remember those arcade games that don't have a purpose, since they're a bad way of getting fractals? How about your score in the games reflects the chance of getting a hero? That's assigning rewards to gameplay, essentially Developer 101. I don't play "Rooftop Run" unless it's part of a challenge NOW, but I'd play it the whole gameplay session if it meant I'd get a hero!

In other, better news, Drax is confirmed. Yes! Thank you. I actually see the line of reasoning for once - Drax looked like another boring strong guy character before I saw the movie. However, I still don't see the logic behind the incongruous enigma that is the Mystery Box.

-- SHSOFan.

How to Earn Fractals in SHSO

Remember my often referenced How to Earn Gold post? Well now it's obsolete. So here's the updated version... How to Earn Fractals!

Step 1. Eliminate Unnecessary Purchases

The best way to have a lot of fractals on hand is to NOT spend them on things you don't need. Here are some things you don't need:

Titles

These are for rich squaddies who have thousands and thousands of fractals. They aren't necessary and waste your precious resources! Don't bother getting any. If you feel like you MUST have a title, they occasionally give out codes for titles in their email newsletters.

Medallions

 Do you know what my favorite hero is? The one I don't have yet. Do you know why I don't have it yet? Because I wasted 200 fractals on saying what my favorite hero is! Again, it's not worth the waste.

Sidekicks

Walking around with a miniature version of Iron Man by your side seems kind of weird. If they can't help you out in missions, what's the point?

Crafts

Last resort. Don't buy these unless you absolutely can't find them in missions or locations. There's a handy craft guide here that tells you what missions give out what.

Potions

There are only a few of these that are actually helpful, namely the leveling up potion. Otherwise, don't spend fractals on them.

And finally...

Mystery Boxes

This is the one that I'm sure people won't completely agree with me on, but hear me out. The mystery boxes are a product of the old SHSO. The evil twin of the prize wheel. Random prizes that frustratingly never appear? It's not worth it. I sunk at least 2000 fractals into trying to get Winter Soldier. Leave it for the rich squaddies, there are tons of gems in the regular store.

Don't get those. Create a list of heroes that you want and aim to get them. The new prices are much, much better than the old prices, so it's not that hard to get Anti-Venom, for instance, who's 5000 fractals like most of the newer heroes. But some go for 500 or even 200. Move on to Step 2 for how to earn a lot of fractals quickly!

Step 2. Use Achievements

Okay, so the "easiest" way to earn fractals is to use all your heroes to explore a zone and find all the 10 fractals, the golden fractal, which is worth 10 fractals, complete the Impossible Man mission and earn 10 fractals through an adamantium medal, and then get a 20 fractal reward for completing all that and the other daily achievements. That's forty fractals. But it's also a lot of time. Trust me, it takes just as long to do all that as it does to complete one of the Destiny achievements. Look for something called "Missions", (yes I might be getting that wrong, I can't quite remember what it's called).

I looked through all the achievements and these are the easiest achievements to complete, for the most reward. One mission takes around 10 to 15 to 20 minutes, the same time it takes to collect all the dailies for one hero in your squad. However, instead of forty fractals, you get 200 for completing each goal. When you add up the mission time, that's about an hour for a thousand fractals.

The card game achievements seem like too much for too little right now for me. If you're leveling up a hero, and really like playing on them, look into their individual hero achievements. It isn't a very large reward but it's better then foraging through zones for the Golden Fractal.

When you run out of achievements, that's when you resort to zone exploring. I've tried it and it's not fun, at least without anyone else doing it with you, so eliminate all other options first.

Step 3. Widen Your Reach

Subscribe to the newsletter. Watch Squad Time, they always give out a code at the end. And check the official Facebook page, (link in the sidebar), for when they give out codes and hold contests. I don't participate in Facebook contests because I don't have a Facebook account. However, now they have an email contest and it's really, really easy to enter.

---

Those are my three tips for how to earn more fractals and get what you want. However, if you want Coulson or Winter Soldier, haha! Good luck with that.

Here are some recommendations for heroes to get! My favorite heroes are Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Captain America (the new Stealth Suit's probably good too), and I recently got Moon Knight and he was pretty awesome. Taskmaster's good too, but maybe that's just because I'm a big Taskmaster fan.

In other news, Groot looks pretty good, albeit weird when growing. I wish there were some leaf-y particles or just something that doesn't make it look like just a scale adjustment.

And come on SHSO, announce Drax! You can't leave him out!

-- SHSOFan.

I'm Back and Here's Why

Well, for the first time in a while, I got back into the game. There were new heroes and some big improvements. There are still some gripes I have with it, but for the most part I approve of everything they changed.

The prize wheels have disappeared! Awesome!

Yes, wasting time on the prize wheel was never "gameplay" or particularly fun. Thanks a million for getting rid of it. Despite the chance element being taken from getting currency, it still remains in the mystery boxes, which I remain annoyed about. But at least now there are lots of accessible heroes in the new shop, which has been reorganized but is still sadly lacking COMPLETE organization. For instance, scrolling through heroes is STILL a pain, but at least you can search for them now.

Here I am next to Winter Soldier, one of the Mystery Box heroes.

 The new currency, fractals, may be the best decision. No more useless silver, now it's purely fractals, which you can find in the game, or gold, which you can purchase outside of the game.

I may have to write a guide to how to get as many fractals as possible soon, seeing as my old How to Get Gold post is moot thanks to the prize wheels finally getting evicted.

Speaking of fractals, I've managed to get two new heroes just by doing various missions and achievements, Moon Knight and Taskmaster. As you can probably tell, I'm into hoods.

I also purchased a badge for Ghost Rider, who I want to level up more since he's such a great hero.

Alright, a bit more complaining and then I'm done with the complaining. What is up with THIS? :

I don't have Spider-Man! And he's not on sale! Why is there an achievement like this? It could've been "Switch to a Wall-Crawling Hero"! Was there a tutorial where they give out Spider-Man to new players or something? Because I missed that!

Sigh, well anyway, I'm still playing on Night Commander Guard, so if you see me around during the next few months, let's go on a mission together!

Also, I have a few of my old files for that Megatron Mission from my Transformers What-If that I never published. I'm going to try to publish them soon. There's not much there, but I've kept anyone who was looking forward to that hanging for about two years.

The Guardians look pretty cool. Where's Drax, though? Let's hope he pops up soon.

Good to be back.

-- SHSOFan.

Berserk Box and Crafting!

It's a new month and new content!

Sabretooth was released in a "Beserker Box" this week. It's basically like all the other boxes that have come out so far. Don't worry, though. At some point they'll probably just put the villains in the store like everyone else. At least I hope so.

It was my first time in the game for a few months. I'm glad the SHSO team has fixed the bug with the downloader. Everything is running relatively smoothly now.

I logged into the game to try out "crafting", something that's often found in other MMO games. Honestly this was the last thing In expected them to do in Super Hero Squad Online, so I checked it out to see how it was.

So basically you collect these crafting parts and use them to craft one of the things in the list on the right. Of course, you can either run around the zones like crazy for hours, using all your heroes to collect various items, or just pay them money to buy parts with gold.

It's a fun diversion that'll make searching for fractals more fun, for sure. However, I don't advise spending any gold on these since they seem to be things you can buy in the store already, except for much cheaper. I'm glad they added this though, because now you have a bit of a bonus while combing the zones.

It also seems like there's a leaderboard set up for the new mission. I wonder what the prize is?

---

Anyway, so yeah, once again I'm sorry for not getting news to you on time or on a regular basis. Even the best games get a little tiring after all, and while I love this one, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to get to know Marvel's wonderful universe more, I'm just too busy to properly report on it anymore. I'm not quitting this blog altogether, basically I'm just pointing out what's already happening, which is that I'm going to be posting very sparingly. I'll keep the blog up so new readers can discover cool posts like the What-Ifs, my how to get gold guide, and my top ten lists. And I'm definitely going to post the Transformers What-If Bonus at some point. But for the most part, the blog is winding down. :(

I'll keep responding to comments though, so leave yours below!

-- SHSOFan.

Yup, It's Archangel!

Well, sometimes over-analyzing pays off, and I'm pleased to say my number one prediction for who the teased hero was was indeed correct. So, awesome! Kind of sad that it wasn't Darkwing, but hey, it's not that bad. I wonder how he plays. Does he have the same healing factor as regular Angel? Does he have that awesome flight double jump? Guess I'll have to look it up online, since once again my SHSO account had to file for bankruptcy. Guess I'll just try to gather as much gold as I can, but first, is he worth the effort? If you have Archangel, tell me in the comments how he is! Is he fun to play as, or should I pass and wait for another X-Men release in this month of X-Men?

Also, whoa they released Rescue and Avengers Iron Man as Sidekicks! I wonder when they're going to release actual sidekick characters as sidekicks. Rescue's on the right path but Iron Man is by no means a sidekick. How about Bucky Barnes or Iron Patriot or War Machine? Even Wasp would be more appropriate! Anyway, sorry for the little rant there. What do you think? Post in the comments!

-- SHSOFan.

Who Could It Be?

SHSO released a teaser on their Facebook page today that had many fans guessing the character with little to no luck. Who is this? I'll go over the top guesses and see which is the most likely.

3. Darkhawk

Out of all the guesses, this is the one I'd most like it to be. However, the wings are slightly segmented, and I would expect that'd show in the teaser image. But you never know! The release date would be pretty odd though, as it wouldn't coincide with anything else they've said.

2. Falcon

Not a bad guess, but personally I don't think this is likely. They are much more likely to give us a movie tie-in when the movie comes out, and it's much too early to do that.

Let's look at that photo again.

The figure is quite obviously holding it's wings in front of itself, (probably to fit the figure in the image for the teaser).

1. Archangel

Archangel just makes sense. Recently, an X-Men month was teased, and his wings do sort of fit the wings in the picture. However, I'm hesitant to just write this one off, because Archangel's wings, at least in this picture, are much longer, and SHSO tends to be extremely faithful in refitting designs.

So, if it isn't Archangel, who is it?

Uh, ever heard of Condor?

Well, that wraps up this theory post! Who do YOU think it is?

I'm pretty sure it isn't Dark Phoenix, since her wings are made out of flames and therefore would be hard to hold.

See you in the game!

-- SHSOFan.

X-Men Month Teased!

In a recent email, SHSO teased an upcoming "X-Men Extravaganza", and they're kicking it off with an X-Men sale! Magneto, Astonishing Cyclopes, Psylocke, Emma Frost and Nightcrawler are all included in the sale. I currently own Astonishing Cyclopes, Nightcrawler and Psylocke, and if you don't own any, I recommend Nightcrawler. His exploration style is unique, and he fights quickly. Since I believe Emma was taken away from the store a while back, now might also be a good time to get her. :)

So, which X-Men do you think will show up in the coming X-Men month? My bets are on Jubilee for sure, though I'm also secretly hoping for more obscure characters like Surge, Dust or Forge.

-- SHSOFan.

You Can Keep Your Agents-Only Heroes!

Finally a release worth talking about! After about a month of gimmicky Mystery Boxes and Caption Contests we get to finally play as characters that we spent our hard-earned gold on.

About time, I say! Can't wait to blast off as Iron Man MKI again!

In other recent news, yes, Thanos was released, and yes, it's another Mystery Box, this time cleverly referred to as an "Infinity Box". No news so far if there'll be a mission, but it sure would be fun to play as movie Loki and battle Thanos, (hint hint).

They also give a 10% increase to XP if you purchase gold. Well, I guess I'm eligible so seems like I'll be getting more XP when I log in again. The reason I haven't been in the game is because my computer is really, really, old. Also, all the friends I used to play with don't play anymore, so it's hard to find motivation. However, I'll still be here to finish up my What-If series properly with those two bonuses I've been teasing, as well as to give my opinions on newly released content of interest.

-- SHSOFan.

Transformers What-If: Behind the Scenes

Hmm, where to begin with this one? First of all I'd always wanted to see what the Transformers would look like SHSO-fied, especially movie Optimus because he's so complicated.

I've been a Transformers fan for a really long time, so I'm familiar with the characters and I felt I could create an alternate game pretty easily. In the end, this project took a few weeks to finish, which is an awful lot of work.

So, first I'll talk about the character models.

Movie Optimus

Movie Optimus took me a whole day to model and I created every texture from scratch just for him. I got a few reference photos of the real movie Optimus and scaled it to SHSO sizing, copying almost every part of him, and simplifying it. He even has a tiny Autobot logo on his chest!

I needed more then one hero to play as, so I also modeled G1 Optimus! I used fan art from around the internet as reference, and faithfully duplicated him to a tee. I cheated a bit though by reusing the same texture for the pipes as I did for movie Optimus, and reusing his hands.

Shockwave's model was based on the War of Cybertron videogames. I copied Shockwave's chest texture almost exactly. I reused Optimus's hands again, even though Shockwave usually has claw-like hands, because I was originally not going to show a mission picture and so I only needed to show him from the waist-up.

For the car forms I tried to reuse as many parts from the robot models as possible to sell the idea that they turned into the cars. G1 Optimus actually comes closest to transforming, but I had to remodel a lot to get movie Optimus to fit into his truck form. The end result was worth it though, since he really does look like a mini movie Optimus truck!

In order to create each screen, I carefully copied from SHSO screenshots and relied on gradients and overlaid textures to complete the final image. Shanix is the main currency that the Transformers use, and Galactic Credits are like the equivalent of silver. I didn't know what either looked like, so I made shanix look like sticks of gold and silver and credits like silver coins but with the Decepticon Cybertronian letter for "E" on them. Notice how the hand you use as a mouse pointer in the game is Optimus's.

To make the "Courage" booster pack, I took an image of Optimus and used Corel Painter X's Sketch filter. Then I made another image of Optimus where all the colors were flat, and combined that with a toon-shaded version of him, and that's how I got that final result!

The mission image is one of my favorite images in the What-If. I modeled Transformers versions of the pick-up barrels and a giant eye-like spotlight to stick behind Shockwave.

The wheel hubs are an interesting story because, despite how small they are, I spent more time working on them then any other element of the user interface graphics.

It was fun to think up different icons for the hub and each part of the hub represents a different part of the game. The gear represents the settings, the axe represents the store, the fist is for missions and the Autobot icon is for the heroes in the game.

In the actual SHSO game, they just flipped the hub icon they created horizontally instead of making a new one. A bit lazy, to be sure, but it made it easier on me because I only needed to model one. When it was all said and done, the hubs were 15% the size that they used to be. Oh well.

---

Well, that's it for my Behind-the-Scenes of the Transformers What-If!

I have two What-If Bonuses to complete before I go on a What-If break for a while.

I saw that White Phoenix was made available for a week but I didn't report on it, sorry if you were expecting a post. Anyway, if she truly has more powerful attacks then I'd pick her over normal Phoenix any day, since I like her costume more.

I hope you had a happy 4th of July!

-- SHSOFan.

News to Me

Yes, that's an in-game loading screen, which means, thanks to SHSO's efforts, I'm finally able to get in the game! So everything that you've gotten used to is new to me! Just in case you missed something, I'll be reviewing every change I see.

Ooh, a summer mystery box! This is probably a better deal then any of the other boxes, at least you aren't getting anything TOO important. I really need to get one of those badges, though, just to see what it does. I'm crossing my fingers that they have a Gambit badge!

Hey, look, they also have a Titanium Man mission as well as a Mystery Box! Does this mean we'll get Thanos and Mysterio missions AND boxes?! Please make it be so! It does worry me that Mysterio isn't on the alternate loading screen above, but maybe they just couldn't fit him in.

Last and least we have Titles, which lets you add a title to your squad name. It's basically a money-grab, since I couldn't care less about having "The Weird Night Commander Guard" as my squad name.  Besides, it seems like an odd coincidence that all the cool names are only for Agents-Only members. I think it's fine to pass on this and save that 25 gold for fractals, (available in the Goodies section).

Speaking of fractals...

Fractals are finally in the game and I was able to get a measly 8 fractals before I got annoyed and bought one hundred of them from the store. It was kind of a waste of money, but who knows maybe I'll be the lucky random guy who gets the prize despite not really doing any work for it.

And here's the awesome new fractals screen, with the prize clearly displayed, (want want want want), and a leader board so you know what you're up against. It wouldn't take much to get on the board, you'd just need 10,000 silver, (got it), and six hours to get 200 more fractals. This seems like a huge waste of time to me, it's gonna take a while to collect all those fractals, and each hero can only collect ten anyway. Six heroes is only 60 fractals, and for 1,000 silver you can get a hundred fractals. It seems like the people who'll win are the people who buy the fractals in the store rather then the people who painstakingly collect them using their heroes. 

So, in short, get silver. Tons of it. If you have gold, purchase silver in the store with it. Then buy around ten thousand fractals, for which you'd need about 100,000 silver. Eeeeuuaaaghhhh. Like I said, not worth it. Chances are Spiderman Noir will be made available for a brief time in the store at the very least, hopefully permanent when the new reward hero shows up, (betting on Mysterio). After all, it wouldn't be the first time SHSO has put a so-called "exclusive" hero in the store. Remember Phylocke? Remember Armored Spiderman? Yeah.

---

Anyway, there's still more to talk about, can you believe it?!

My poll came in VERY close, with the Racing Game at 5 and the Megatron Mission at 6.

So I guess you'll be seeing ole bucket-head soon. Also, be on the lookout for my Behind the Scenes for the Transformers What-If!

-- SHSOFan.

New Loading Screen and Sidekicks!

Looks like we have a new loading screen, with Titanium Man, Thanos, and Mysterio!

Does this mean they'll release a few new missions at long last? Most likely. Unless of course, they're only playable characters. However, I think it's safe to assume that we'll get a mix of villain releases and missions.

Unfortunately, this was as far as I got in the game, because something's wrong with the download and it didn't download all the way. If you've been having problems with the downloading screen, complain about it in the comments section below!

In other news, some new sidekicks were released, which is great news for those people who can afford it. I'm still waiting for REAL sidekicks, as in an A.I. character that'll help you during a mission. Wouldn't it be awesome to be playing as Iron Man and have War Machine fighting beside you, or Captain America and Bucky?!

Either that, or a system that'll set you up with a set of characters that belong together, like if you logged into a mission as Thing you would only play the mission with people who were playing as the other three members of the Fantastic Four. Or if you logged in as Avengers Iron Man you would only play with other Avengers. That'd be awesome.

Right now we have a tie in my What-If Bonus poll! Go help it out by voting!

If you want to know more about the choices, go my Transformers What-If post and scroll to the bottom.

-- SHSOFan.

What-If: The Transformers Come to SHSO!

The following post is a fictional exploration of what a Transformers SHSO would look like.

This week Hasbro and Gazillion Entertainment, (the makers of Super Hero Squad Online), released Transformers Squad Online, a new game set in the universe of Transformers!

When I set up my account and pressed the "Start" button on the home page, I was greeted by a loading screen with Optimus Prime from G1 and Optimus Prime from the movies, and their transformed modes.

I was walked through a tutorial where I purchased both Optimus Prime and G1 Optimus Prime. Unfortunately those were the only playable characters at the time, however they've promised to include a Decepticon version of the store where you can play as Decepticons and fight Autobots in missions.

Finally, I was able to play the game. I was sent to one of two Areas, Iacon.

Because I am a reviewer and this was a prototype version of the game, nobody else was around.

Now to explain the icons, starting at the top left corner and moving clockwise.

The "Tasks" button gives you a set series of tasks to complete within the game, which awards you with XP or special characters. The button with the Autobot logo lets you switch characters.

The "Pick a Robot" screen.

The button below it with the strange symbol, (it's the Minicon logo), lets you summon a Minicon.

Clicking the Minicon button...

...lets you summon a Minicon!

The Minicons add points to your squad level as well!

Anyway, moving on, the button with the speech bubbles gives you a pre-selected bunch of phrases like, "Transform and Roll Out!", "Decepticon Alert!", or "My name is [insert character name here]".

The button with a "T" on it activates your transformation!

They've promised a racing game in the future, where you race other Autobots and Decepticons in transformed mode!

The "Buy Shanix" button lets you buy Shanix via an online form. The button to the right of it lets you toggle fullscreen mode on and off. The right hub is called the Transport Hub. It transports you to different parts of the game, like the soon to be released racing game, to the store, to different Areas, the options menu, to the card battle game, your HQ, and missions. The left hub is called the Pack. It contains items you can use in the zones, like Modifications and Enhancements.

Now that I've covered all the buttons in the main gameplay mode, it's time to move on to the store!

The store has a wide variety of categories, with more to come, I'm sure. Right now there are only the two robots to buy, but like I said earlier, they'll be coming out with a Decepticon section soon.

They have four missions currently in the game, but on my first day I was only able to get one, Shockwave's mission. However, they have a Daily Mission available every day if you aren't an Elite Guard member.

The HQ section of the store has many interesting items, like Lockdown's hook or Prowl's ninja stars. They're cheap, but you have to become an Elite Guard member to use your HQ right now, so sadly, I didn't get to try out the items I bought.

They have an awesome-looking card pack available in the Card section, however I was unable to buy it and therefore couldn't play the card game either. Oh well, I'll save up enough shanix eventually.

You can also buy Badges to increase your robot's max level. I have yet to try them, but they sound awesome!

Now it's time to review a character, and I picked Movie Optimus just because I've played on him more, though the G1 version isn't bad at all.

ROBOT REVIEW: MOVIE OPTIMUS PRIME

EXPLORATION

Optimus Prime can only jump once, and he can't fly, (still waiting for the Jetfire Upgraded Optimus Prime!), but his truck mode rolls outs smoothly and is really fun to drive around the zones, what with the physics engine and tilting and slow stops and all that fun stuff.

I give his EXPLORATION a 7/10!

FIGHTING

Optimus Prime fights really well. He has multiple missile attacks, he slices and dices with his flame-y sword, and his Roll Out move has him transforming and ramming through anything in his path.
The Shockwave mission I played was very good, with Predacon enemies and a great two part boss battle. As Optimus, it was really fun to fight Shockwave, and then Predaking, and then to get a Titanium Alloy medal for my efforts was really satisfying.

I give his FIGHTING a 7.5/10!

COOL FACTOR

The detail on Optimus is extensive, and when looked at alongside a picture of the actual movie's, the parts are replicated almost exactly. While the level of detail doesn't quite fit with the rest of the game's characters, it sure is cool!

I give his COOL FACTOR a 9.5/10!

OVERALL: I score Optimus an 8/10. He's a "prime" example of how fun the game is currently.

Well, that's it so far, be sure to watch for updates about the racing game and card battles soon! :D

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Well, that wraps up this What-If... for now. However, you can vote in the new poll in the sidebar on whether you want me to show...

CARD BATTLES

There would be images of a card battle with various attack cards and a new Decepticon opponent!

or

RACING

An awesome Mario Kart style racing game... but SHSOfied with Transformers! I'd show pictures of a cool Cybertronian race track and different power up moves.

or

A MEGATRON MISSION

You may have missed the leader of the Decepticons in my What-If above. If you choose this I'll show pictures from a mission where you fight Megatron, but this time with G1 Optimus.

or

A VIDEO

I could animate a short video of Optimus Prime running around the zones and transforming into a truck. Should be pretty cool.

Anyway, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a huge Transformers fan as well as a Marvel and DC fan, so it was really fun to blend the two worlds together. I made everything you saw in the pictures from scratch, so if you have any questions, comment below! I'll also make a Behind the Scenes post eventually. Next on my schedule will be that Playable Villains Bonus... I think I'll use DC villains instead of Marvel ones since the What-If sort of came true. :)

Keep checking in for that and more!
-- SHSOFan.