Not to advocate 'stealing' software, but I lost my copy of the 4 disc version in a move and no way in hell am I going to pay what they are asking for that on eBay. I figure that I've already paid for it, so there isn't much harm in obtaining another copy of it for free. I play it every once and a while through WINE and it works great.:)
Either a reboot or just a sequel. I'd love to see the kind of gameplay and characters that were in Torment in a modern game. We've got enough MMORPGs, and the current RPGs are just not as fun as Planescape. I have a hard time identifying what it was that made the game so fun, but someone needs to figure that out and replicate it.
Sounds like the model I have. When I google searched 'Logitech Trackman Marble' it showed the one with the centered ball. I much prefer the ball ofset to the left and agree that it is a very good way of mousing once you get used to it.
I can't stand the centered ball on this model, though I suppose it is the only way to go for lefties. I use the Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical myself. Love it.:)
I switched to a trackball at home and love it. Considering picking one up at work. No real need for wireless with a trackball as you don't move the device. No huge mousepad needed. Fits next to my huge IBM Model M keyboard and takes up a little less space that a slim keyboard and normal mouse. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get used to it there is no going back. Haven't yet tested it with games, but that isn't really my main concern as I've been playing my PS3 and Wii more of late anyways. It's also REALLY funny when people try to use my computer.:D
Intelligence relates to learning and retaining knowledge as well as critical thinking. Wisdom is the ability to make good decisions as well as general common sense and comprehension. Intelligence governs the structure and complexity of the mind and Wisdom, the soul. This explains why Intelligence is so important for Wizards and Wisdom for Clerics. As for Charisma and Sorcerers... you got me.:p
Start them off at epic level with a slew of common [but powerful] magical items. This makes them happy while effectively keeping them all relatively equal. Then I just scale up the adversaries, get creative with unique items and artifacts and craft difficult challenges for them. This makes them feel special and important and saves my sanity. Twenty becomes the new first level. No idea how this applies to real life at all, but I figured someone here might have the same problem.:)
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the F90. Operator: We get signal. Captain: What! Operator: Main screen turn on. Captain: It's you!! C8H10N4O2: How are you gentlemen!! C8H10N4O2: All your coffee are belong to us. C8H10N4O2: You are on the way to withdrawal. Captain: What you say!! C8H10N4O2: You have no chance to keep awake make your time. C8H10N4O2: Ha Ha Ha Ha... Operator: Captain!!
I know it wasn't on the Sci-Fi channel, but Red vs. Blue was pretty damn funny. If they have fun with the show and not try to keep it too serious it might actually not be half bad.
Well, after a little research, it seems that his father is one of the founders and that he used to be a scientologist himself. I can't find anything saying that he is currently a practicing scientologist, so it seems you have some reading to do.:D
I don't base my reading on a writers personal beliefs. Tolkien was a very strict Catholic, but I suppose that doesn't bother you? To be honest I wasn't even aware that Neil Gaiman was a scientologist, but it really doesn't change my view of him. He is an excellent author.
Which of his novels would you say reads like a religious text? Have you actually read anything by him?
As an aside, the grading here on slashdot is really bizzare. I give an honest, though unpopular, opinion and get a score of 1... you bring scientology into the discussion and get a 2.
...what's the fascination with the second rate fantasy of Tolkein? I don't think that Tolkien is second rate, but I do find him to be overrated. He did bring attention to my favorite genre though, and I'll forever be in his debt for that. My main issue with his works is that they are very simple, and he ignores all romance beyond pouty eyes and a chaste kiss. He did craft an exciting and rich world, but I'd much rather have another author write the stories in that world.
My idea of good fantasy:
Guy Gavriel Kay
R. A. MacAvoy
Judith Tarr
Peirs Anthony [earlier works and non-Xanth titles]
David and Leigh Eddings [though I have a distaste for the Sparhawk series']
Charles de Lint
Ursula Le Guin
Perhaps not fantasy, but some of their works have elements of it:
Neil Gaiman
Robert A. Heinlein [especially Job: A Comedy of Justice]
I'm also a big R. A. Salvatore fan and have fond memories of Dragonlance, but I acknowledge that this is not exactly serious writing. However, most of the books that I've read by R. A. Salvatore outside of Forgotten Realms are quite good and I expect that he hasn't yet been allowed to achieve his full potential.
I love how scientists always make the 'albeit primitive' qualifier when they talk about alien life. Given the infinite nature of the universe, I'd expect a couple of these alien life forms to be equal or even 'superior' to us.
I just hope we find Endor before we find the Borg collective... I think the Ewoks would be a little easier to deal with during first contact.:D
I play other games as well, but appreciate the rich settings that appear in D&D. I'm a big fan of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance, and if I'm going to buy books for setting/monster/magic information, I'd like to be able to use them for rules and character creation as well. "We tend to resolve most fights verbally" does not mean that we always do. Generally, if the foe is either much weaker or much more powerful we talk the fight out. Only when the character is evenly matched in a fight do we bother with dice. I never said that I throw out all of the rules, I said that we play a rules light game. I do use skills on occasion, but usually reserve it for when something exceptionally difficult comes up. After all, for everything else you can likely take 10 and win the roll anyways. Personally, I find roleplaying more rewarding than rollplaying. I've actually come to the same conclusion as you about the books not really being worthless, but I am a little upset that all new source material will likely be written for 4th edition. I started playing in AD&D, had a bunch of books, 3rd came out and I didn't like it. Eventually I came around and started investing in 3rd edition books... at which point 3.5 was released and many of my books now have new versions which subsequent books are based on. So, I suppose it was more my perception of it that made it seem constant. I don't want to buy all the same books again just to get a bit of new content... but, damn it, I'll miss that new content! With this revision it is more a matter of sour grapes as I have invested so much in 3.5 that I don't want to switch. But I know with a certainty that eventually something from 4th edition will grab me.:D
Good idea, I'll keep that in mind. Hopefully they don't come out with any material that sways me over to the new version as I'd much rather just stick with my homebrew 3.5:)
Seriously... I am getting sick of constant version updates from WoTC and White Wolf. I know it's a money grab, but it is frustrating. If you want the new content, you need to switch, which makes your old books useless in terms of rules data. So far I haven't seem much that is innovative in 4th edition, and some of the new 'basic' races and classes seem like very odd choices. Most of the changes they've made are already in our house rules. We don't tend to use skills all that much except in the case of Rogue characters, and we tend to resolve most fights verbally rather than by rolling dice. I mainly buy books for ideas and setting information, but one of my oldest D&D friends is a total power gamer and he needs his prestige classes. That said, anyone want to buy $2k worth of 3.5 Edition books?
Slashdot Mirror
Not to advocate 'stealing' software, but I lost my copy of the 4 disc version in a move and no way in hell am I going to pay what they are asking for that on eBay. I figure that I've already paid for it, so there isn't much harm in obtaining another copy of it for free. I play it every once and a while through WINE and it works great. :)
Either a reboot or just a sequel. I'd love to see the kind of gameplay and characters that were in Torment in a modern game. We've got enough MMORPGs, and the current RPGs are just not as fun as Planescape. I have a hard time identifying what it was that made the game so fun, but someone needs to figure that out and replicate it.
Sounds like the model I have. When I google searched 'Logitech Trackman Marble' it showed the one with the centered ball. I much prefer the ball ofset to the left and agree that it is a very good way of mousing once you get used to it.
I can't stand the centered ball on this model, though I suppose it is the only way to go for lefties. I use the Logitech Trackman Wheel Optical myself. Love it. :)
I switched to a trackball at home and love it. Considering picking one up at work. No real need for wireless with a trackball as you don't move the device. No huge mousepad needed. Fits next to my huge IBM Model M keyboard and takes up a little less space that a slim keyboard and normal mouse. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you get used to it there is no going back. Haven't yet tested it with games, but that isn't really my main concern as I've been playing my PS3 and Wii more of late anyways. It's also REALLY funny when people try to use my computer. :D
Intelligence relates to learning and retaining knowledge as well as critical thinking. Wisdom is the ability to make good decisions as well as general common sense and comprehension. Intelligence governs the structure and complexity of the mind and Wisdom, the soul. This explains why Intelligence is so important for Wizards and Wisdom for Clerics. As for Charisma and Sorcerers... you got me. :p
Start them off at epic level with a slew of common [but powerful] magical items. This makes them happy while effectively keeping them all relatively equal. Then I just scale up the adversaries, get creative with unique items and artifacts and craft difficult challenges for them. This makes them feel special and important and saves my sanity. Twenty becomes the new first level. No idea how this applies to real life at all, but I figured someone here might have the same problem. :)
Well, diamonds aren't really scarce. People horde them to make it seem as if they are.
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Safari
Safari who?
Safari so good!
*rimshot*
...I say that I'm faster than a Cheetah. Damn I'm fast.
Wait, isn't that how it works in the States with mortgages? The goldfish just tells the bank that it makes 50k a year and the rest is history.
...that you could get with this fancy TEC cooler.
"the turbines will be nearly invisible during summer months when Rehoboth Beach fills with vacationers"
I know they are way up in the air, but invisible spinning blades never really sounds like a good idea to me...
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the F90.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What!
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It's you!!
C8H10N4O2: How are you gentlemen!!
C8H10N4O2: All your coffee are belong to us.
C8H10N4O2: You are on the way to withdrawal.
Captain: What you say!!
C8H10N4O2: You have no chance to keep awake make your time.
C8H10N4O2: Ha Ha Ha Ha...
Operator: Captain!!
I know it wasn't on the Sci-Fi channel, but Red vs. Blue was pretty damn funny. If they have fun with the show and not try to keep it too serious it might actually not be half bad.
Ah, that makes sense. Sorry if I got a little wrangy there. :)
Well, after a little research, it seems that his father is one of the founders and that he used to be a scientologist himself. I can't find anything saying that he is currently a practicing scientologist, so it seems you have some reading to do. :D
I don't base my reading on a writers personal beliefs. Tolkien was a very strict Catholic, but I suppose that doesn't bother you? To be honest I wasn't even aware that Neil Gaiman was a scientologist, but it really doesn't change my view of him. He is an excellent author.
Which of his novels would you say reads like a religious text? Have you actually read anything by him?
As an aside, the grading here on slashdot is really bizzare. I give an honest, though unpopular, opinion and get a score of 1... you bring scientology into the discussion and get a 2.
...what's the fascination with the second rate fantasy of Tolkein? I don't think that Tolkien is second rate, but I do find him to be overrated. He did bring attention to my favorite genre though, and I'll forever be in his debt for that. My main issue with his works is that they are very simple, and he ignores all romance beyond pouty eyes and a chaste kiss. He did craft an exciting and rich world, but I'd much rather have another author write the stories in that world.My idea of good fantasy:
Guy Gavriel Kay
R. A. MacAvoy
Judith Tarr
Peirs Anthony [earlier works and non-Xanth titles]
David and Leigh Eddings [though I have a distaste for the Sparhawk series']
Charles de Lint
Ursula Le Guin
Perhaps not fantasy, but some of their works have elements of it:
Neil Gaiman
Robert A. Heinlein [especially Job: A Comedy of Justice]
I'm also a big R. A. Salvatore fan and have fond memories of Dragonlance, but I acknowledge that this is not exactly serious writing. However, most of the books that I've read by R. A. Salvatore outside of Forgotten Realms are quite good and I expect that he hasn't yet been allowed to achieve his full potential.
Yes, but infinite is really big. :p
I love how scientists always make the 'albeit primitive' qualifier when they talk about alien life. Given the infinite nature of the universe, I'd expect a couple of these alien life forms to be equal or even 'superior' to us. I just hope we find Endor before we find the Borg collective... I think the Ewoks would be a little easier to deal with during first contact. :D
I play other games as well, but appreciate the rich settings that appear in D&D. I'm a big fan of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance, and if I'm going to buy books for setting/monster/magic information, I'd like to be able to use them for rules and character creation as well. "We tend to resolve most fights verbally" does not mean that we always do. Generally, if the foe is either much weaker or much more powerful we talk the fight out. Only when the character is evenly matched in a fight do we bother with dice. I never said that I throw out all of the rules, I said that we play a rules light game. I do use skills on occasion, but usually reserve it for when something exceptionally difficult comes up. After all, for everything else you can likely take 10 and win the roll anyways. Personally, I find roleplaying more rewarding than rollplaying. I've actually come to the same conclusion as you about the books not really being worthless, but I am a little upset that all new source material will likely be written for 4th edition. I started playing in AD&D, had a bunch of books, 3rd came out and I didn't like it. Eventually I came around and started investing in 3rd edition books... at which point 3.5 was released and many of my books now have new versions which subsequent books are based on. So, I suppose it was more my perception of it that made it seem constant. I don't want to buy all the same books again just to get a bit of new content... but, damn it, I'll miss that new content! With this revision it is more a matter of sour grapes as I have invested so much in 3.5 that I don't want to switch. But I know with a certainty that eventually something from 4th edition will grab me. :D
Good idea, I'll keep that in mind. Hopefully they don't come out with any material that sways me over to the new version as I'd much rather just stick with my homebrew 3.5 :)
Seriously... I am getting sick of constant version updates from WoTC and White Wolf. I know it's a money grab, but it is frustrating. If you want the new content, you need to switch, which makes your old books useless in terms of rules data. So far I haven't seem much that is innovative in 4th edition, and some of the new 'basic' races and classes seem like very odd choices. Most of the changes they've made are already in our house rules. We don't tend to use skills all that much except in the case of Rogue characters, and we tend to resolve most fights verbally rather than by rolling dice. I mainly buy books for ideas and setting information, but one of my oldest D&D friends is a total power gamer and he needs his prestige classes. That said, anyone want to buy $2k worth of 3.5 Edition books?
I think the real story is this scanner that can predict the future! It certainly doesn't take me 7 seconds to arrive at most decisions.