When I'm in the stores, I look around. Sometimes I imagine myself buying MSFS, but then I realize I don't have a decent joystick, and I'm sure I'd get tired of it. I'd like a nice combat flight simulator. One of the harder ones I played in the early 2000s was the B-17 simulator. It was an achievement if you could even get the damn thing off the ground.
Companies stopped making full-on simulations because the niche market of PC Flight Sims became even smaller with the advent of online gaming for consoles, which made PC gaming itself a niche market in comparison. Less resources are allocated and you really don't have the funding or time to put on the polish necessary for a flight sim as in-depth as Falcon. MSFS does not count - it has funding out the wazoo and AFAIK does not replicate combat the way Falcon did.
You're talking about (I'll assume) Uniform Allowances, Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Allowance for Subsistence.
The uniform allowance comes once a year on the anniversary date of your service. It's enough to purchase a few uniforms to replace those that are worn or damaged during the course of the year. Those uniforms are paid for out of the initial paychecks a service member receives while at boot or OCS. They're not given away. They are paid for.
Basic Allowance for Housing is based off of rank and time in service. It's not based on the number of dependents, but whether you have dependents or not. This means it's the same for a service member with just a spouse as it is for a service member with a wife and four kids. If you live in the barracks, you don't get this. If you live aboard a ship, you don't get this. If you live in base housing, you don't get this. In some cases, it will cover rent and utilities. In many cases, it will not even cover rent.
Basic Allowance for Subsistence is meant to offset the cost of meals for the service member only. BAS does not increase with dependents because it is meant for the actual member, not their family. If you live in the barracks or aboard a ship, you don't get this as you're expected to eat in the mess hall/galley/etc. I
Now all of this isn't enough to live on. Military members still have to put gas in their cars, maintain residences and take care of the same things their civilian counterparts do. To call the vast majority of a military member's salary disposable is ignorant at worst and uninformed at best.
I'll bite. You show me a plan where the military is drawn down 90% across the board and show me how we could defend our borders (including territories, commonwealths and allies that we have defense partnerships with.
Go to Wikipedia and use the numbers for each of the services there. Let's hear your grand plan.
I don't see where getting it from a friend is any different from bringing it from home. It's a freakin' piece of candy. I'm from Texas and this is just stupid.
If I make a mistake at my job, depending on the severity, I'd go to jail or worse.
I can put myself in his shoes and say that if the only thing that happens to him is he loses his job, that's getting off easy.
There was a survey sent out to former players a few weeks ago. It is rumored to be in development right now. I figure if they just roll back the game to pre-BFRs and retune the graphics, i'd buy it.
Rumor has it that PS2 is in development now. Granted, there wasn't much of a "build base" component to PS, but I'd imagine PS would have to influence an MMO such as the one proposed here.
I'd just be afraid that it would be Renegade all over again.
I think you'll find that it will foster greater community. Many people read the WoW forums. Eventually you'll end up seeing "Do not PUG" lists with names of bad/obnoxious/immoral players.
What is going to be interesting are the looting habits that develop from one server to the other. On a horde server I play on (Blackwing Lair), it is common to roll need on EVERYTHING regardless if you actually need it. Doing so on the Alliance server I play on (Runetotem) will get you branded as a ninja (as happened to me after a return to the server after an extended stay on the horde server). Still, I'm looking forward to cross-server LFG as it may allow toons that are being leveled to experience all of the game instead of the dash to 80 that currently comprises the leveling experience.
You would hope that any research university that wishes to maintain credibility would not pull a stunt like you proposed.
However, I agree that it would be interesting to see what the city/county/state/federal medical examiner would think of this. Plague is plague if you ask me and should be treated seriously.
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When I'm in the stores, I look around. Sometimes I imagine myself buying MSFS, but then I realize I don't have a decent joystick, and I'm sure I'd get tired of it. I'd like a nice combat flight simulator. One of the harder ones I played in the early 2000s was the B-17 simulator. It was an achievement if you could even get the damn thing off the ground.
BurgerTime has been used as a teaching tool at Hamburger University for years.
Companies stopped making full-on simulations because the niche market of PC Flight Sims became even smaller with the advent of online gaming for consoles, which made PC gaming itself a niche market in comparison. Less resources are allocated and you really don't have the funding or time to put on the polish necessary for a flight sim as in-depth as Falcon. MSFS does not count - it has funding out the wazoo and AFAIK does not replicate combat the way Falcon did.
So you would advocate conscription? That's what it sounds like to me.
I know, it's hard to admit that sometimes. The first step towards recovery is admitting one has a problem.
You're talking about (I'll assume) Uniform Allowances, Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Allowance for Subsistence. The uniform allowance comes once a year on the anniversary date of your service. It's enough to purchase a few uniforms to replace those that are worn or damaged during the course of the year. Those uniforms are paid for out of the initial paychecks a service member receives while at boot or OCS. They're not given away. They are paid for. Basic Allowance for Housing is based off of rank and time in service. It's not based on the number of dependents, but whether you have dependents or not. This means it's the same for a service member with just a spouse as it is for a service member with a wife and four kids. If you live in the barracks, you don't get this. If you live aboard a ship, you don't get this. If you live in base housing, you don't get this. In some cases, it will cover rent and utilities. In many cases, it will not even cover rent. Basic Allowance for Subsistence is meant to offset the cost of meals for the service member only. BAS does not increase with dependents because it is meant for the actual member, not their family. If you live in the barracks or aboard a ship, you don't get this as you're expected to eat in the mess hall/galley/etc. I Now all of this isn't enough to live on. Military members still have to put gas in their cars, maintain residences and take care of the same things their civilian counterparts do. To call the vast majority of a military member's salary disposable is ignorant at worst and uninformed at best.
I'll bite. You show me a plan where the military is drawn down 90% across the board and show me how we could defend our borders (including territories, commonwealths and allies that we have defense partnerships with. Go to Wikipedia and use the numbers for each of the services there. Let's hear your grand plan.
I don't see where getting it from a friend is any different from bringing it from home. It's a freakin' piece of candy. I'm from Texas and this is just stupid.
If I make a mistake at my job, depending on the severity, I'd go to jail or worse. I can put myself in his shoes and say that if the only thing that happens to him is he loses his job, that's getting off easy.
Ugh. Gizmodo is not at fault for Powell's impending career woes. He shouldn't have lost a prototype. It's wholly his fault.
I remember when the Moto Razr came out, no insurance was available for it. I had assumed the same was true of the iPhone. Interesting times.
There was a survey sent out to former players a few weeks ago. It is rumored to be in development right now. I figure if they just roll back the game to pre-BFRs and retune the graphics, i'd buy it.
Rumor has it that PS2 is in development now. Granted, there wasn't much of a "build base" component to PS, but I'd imagine PS would have to influence an MMO such as the one proposed here. I'd just be afraid that it would be Renegade all over again.
I think you'll find that it will foster greater community. Many people read the WoW forums. Eventually you'll end up seeing "Do not PUG" lists with names of bad/obnoxious/immoral players. What is going to be interesting are the looting habits that develop from one server to the other. On a horde server I play on (Blackwing Lair), it is common to roll need on EVERYTHING regardless if you actually need it. Doing so on the Alliance server I play on (Runetotem) will get you branded as a ninja (as happened to me after a return to the server after an extended stay on the horde server). Still, I'm looking forward to cross-server LFG as it may allow toons that are being leveled to experience all of the game instead of the dash to 80 that currently comprises the leveling experience.
The only thing a person needs to know to merge an account to Battle.net is the account name. You don't have to know the password.
You would hope that any research university that wishes to maintain credibility would not pull a stunt like you proposed.
However, I agree that it would be interesting to see what the city/county/state/federal medical examiner would think of this. Plague is plague if you ask me and should be treated seriously.