It is funny how you say sick people should stay at home. My wife works for one of the major grocery chains in the nation (Not safeway), and in their contracts, they have to be away from work for like 3 days, before they can start taking sick days... so people RARELY take sick days. On top of that, I believe that recently, they took away all of their sick leave, completely. So, once again, sick checkers, bag boys, stockers, etc... come to work sick, to get the paycheck, instead of staying home, and getting well.
I can't say I completely agree with #1, though I understand it. But, saying they took it from chainmail, which they pulled from a naval game, defeats the point that they had a rule set that was convoluted, and weird... and kept using it. And, it kept being used until some fresh blood came in, and fixed it.
For #2, I agree completely, well, almost... I loved Red Steel... which is part of Mystara. I love it so much, that when I play on a new world, I throw in that part, with home brew rules, somewhere on every planet.:-) But, I pretty much toss the rest of the Mystara stuff. Red Steel fits pretty well on any coast. I also agree about other supplements. Planescape is pure gold, though, misunderstood by a great many. D&D has never been really good at handling a political game, and I honestly don't believe that many players are good at it. I have all of those worlds you mention, and others. In both 2nd ed, and 3rd ed. (Ravenloft, the Dark Sun dragon mag articles, Dragonlance, a little spell jammer (I know, I am one of the few that really liked it). Though, go into 3rd ed, and I think that Eberron is my favorite world, of all time.
I don't know how you can say there are not more modules. I have probably 20 d20 based modules, a crap load of dungeon magazines, as well as another 20 of those smaller "boosters" or books with short adventures in them. And, I have never even TOUCHED a dungepm crawl classic... and have you ever seen the world's largest dungeon?
It definately seems to attact that kind of anti-social young men... that really just need a good solid shot to the crotch, every time they grief others. Even if it is "in the rules" an ass is an ass. Don't defend them.
These are for FPS games. Lets see.... strategy based team games (Defend an destroy, Capture and hold from Tribes) Vehicles that you could control (Tribes) Wide, out-door expanses (Tribes) Coordinated teams (Tribes- laser spotter and heavy armor with mortar) Integrated command interface (Tribes... though, later version dropped it) intelegence devices to see "more of the map" (Tribes)
Hell, look at Tribes and all the innovation IT brought to the FPS genre. BF is a modern-day rip off of most of the concepts!
Why is it, that you have to buy the book, and then buy the.pdf seperate. Like many here, I LIKE a book. I like the solid feel, I like to just read through a book. BUT, there are times that a PDF would be handy. I wish that WotC would put a CD in the back of each book, with the PDF version of that book included... or put a password in the front of the book, to get to a specific location to download the.pdf.
When I build a character, it is really handy to have their class/prestige class printed out, and included with your character sheet, as well as spell descriptions, etc.
The 3 and 3.5 rules are far more elegant than the 2nd ed rules. Come on, THAC0? To Hit Armor Class Zero system? In D20, your AC just keeps going up, as it gets stronger... unlike THAC0 where it just drops. That was one of the worst rules ever. Read some of Monte Cook's work, about D&D. A LOT of thought went into it. They dropped profecienceies and brought in skills. They added feats to make your HERO stand out from the mundanes. I agree, the mini rules are great, once you figure out Attacks of Opportunity. (one of the few inelegant rules... but it makes sense). Multi classing, prestige classes rule. They make sense. They are based in logic. As for the weapons. The spiked chain is a very cinematic weapon. I am not sure what the other 2 are. If you don't like them, don't introduce them to your game. Not a big deal.
The other thing that the 3rd ed rule did (via D20 open license) is opened up the flood gates for 3rd party add-ons, which is very cool.
Once you throw it on a computer, and let the computer do the calcuations, it really doesn't matter what the ruleset running it is. You are talking about a computer game... not a RPG.
#1) The ESRB notice is relatively large on the package. #2) The ESRB notice is FAR superior to the moving rating system... since it tells you why a movie got the rating it received. #3) It's the PARENT'S job to oversee what their kids do, not the government, not the gameshop.
The government has been legislating for over 200 years... do we NEED any more freaking laws?!
The Mozambique Drill is a 2+1 drill, where you fire 2 to center mass and 1 to the head. It is designed to stop those people hopped up on adrenalin or drugs. You generally fire "into the face" for this drill. Jack is really out there. He is becomming more shrill and pathetic as time goes on.
Sorry, I really don't know about EMP bursts, beyond that they fry electronics. Would it be possible to create a targetted, or shaped EMP burst, say in front of vehicles that would fry the circuits on the IEDs, and keep the IEDs from going off?
Unfortunately, I don't think the Wii is really going to be a player in the next round of console wars. Here is the problem. the Xbox is twice the cost... the PS3 is 3 times the cost. Because the Wii is so cheap, I think people will pick it up, as the 2nd console (which is how it has been positioning itself). I know with my friends, I am the ONLY one that has a GC. Most have a PS2 and Xbox as well, but the GC is lacking. (I mainly bought it, because at the time, Soul Calibur 2 was supposed to be exclusive).:-) Anyhow, jump ahead a generation. The REAL fight is for Xbox 360 or PS3 as your primary gaming console. The younger set will STILL go for Nintendo. As will the fanboys. Those are not inconsiderable groups. But, still not enough to match the numbers on the PS3 or Xbox 360. I think what will push the Wii over the top, is their concentration on unique game play. For your... say shooters and halo type games, stay with 360. For your RPGs, stay with PS3. If you want something Unique, go Wii. But, I don't honestly believe unique is going to put you into the #1 position. I honestly believe that the PS3 will rule this round. I don't think it will be as commanding as the Xbox360, but you just can't take on the world-wide console market, and not include the Asian countries, which are pretty pro-Sony/Anti-Microsoft. I think it will take 1 more generation of errosion, to give MS a shot at the top spot.
Look at magazines and websites when the PS2 came out. I helped run a fan site, and part of our "features" were DVD reviews. The PS2, in my opinion, really brought DVDs into the home. But, you were looking at $100 more than a "console price" for a DVD player. It worked well. Now, the Blu-Ray IS a large step forward, from DVD. But, I think having blu-ray and Hd will just confuse things in the shortrun. (do we YET have a standard between DVD +R, or DVD-R? I have a burner that burns both).
I think that Sony is gambling that people will pay extra for a Console that plays Blu-ray disks. I don't know that it is an extremely safe bet, but I would say that Sony is in the best spot to make that bet, and have it pay out. The other thing to look at, on the PS3, is its lifespan. The PS2 has had a long life. Much longer than the Xbox, though, in all honesty, even though a manufacturer still makes games for the PS2, doesn't mean they are the way to go. I quit buying PS2 games a couple of years ago, because they just could not compare, visually, to the Xbox. (or the GC for that matter). I am beginning to think that the short era of owning all the consoles is coming to the end, with these price points. Though, if you pick up both a PS3 and Xbox 360, you will be able to play both Bluray and HD DVDs.
I think your example is a little flawed. Invoking the Columbine name was probably the dumbest thing he did, but I infer that he was frustrated at the system, and pointing out how the system had failed so badly before. I don't think it was a threat, it was making a very bad point.:-)
After reading comments here, I think MS could give the Xbox longer legs, and make it a legend. When they officially "retire" the box, send a final xbox live update that opens it up, and allows mods and such to work on it, and let it find a new life as a media PC/DVR type unit. It would generate goodwill from the fans, ensure a very long life for the hardware, and probably allow them to ship through all of their back inventory quickly.
I use Packet 8, but it is VOIP as well. I have seen the same problem. What I do, is use a Download program that allows me to pause downloads. I pause them while talking, and then unpause when done. In all honesty, my Cell phone is my primary, and the VOIP is just a backup line.
For point 2, to me, saving $15 is saving $15.:-)
and point 3, I agree there. But, I hope it is right. Though, if someone breaks in, I would A) use my cell phone, B) not really count on the police catching the guy.
That is part of the issue, but they closed his account, which probably had more in it, than the land. That "virtual property" has actual, real-world worth. I think they should remove the land from his account, an refund his money. But, I am not so sure about out right banning him.
So, my wife just heard about second life last night... and wants to get online playing it. I have started researching it a bit today. Second life is very different than the MMORPGs I have played in the past. Second life encourages you to buy land and buy money, with real currancy. Interestingly enough, they also seem to respect your IP rights, for items you bring into the game. I think that the fact that you can convert real money into virtual assets will put this guy in the winner's circle... assuming the judge will understand any of it.:-)
I think THIS is the reason that the other MMORPGs keep you FROM buying items with real money.
I am not so sure that the author ever played much Horde. That is mostly what I have played. Here is a better breakdown.
Probably the most "good" race, i.e. noble, would be Tauren.
I think you could make a case for saying that the Orcs may be the 2nd most "good" race. I am talking about the main-stream player Orcs.
The Trolls, that are a player race, are an off-shoot of the blood-thirsty trolls in the world. The Orcs are helping them to shed their canabilistic nature, and be more understanding.
The undead, well, I think that is more an alliance of convience. I think it IS telling that there are 2 major cultural centers for the Horde. One belongs to the Orcs, Tauren, and Trolls, the other one belongs to the undead.
If you play through the story line quests, you will find the Tauren are very noble, and feel proud to stand next to their orc allies. If you play the orcs, you will find they are still batteling their brethern that ARE still demonically controlled, or wanting to go back to that life. There are definately a lot of good vs evil in the horde itself. There are a lot of inner demons in the horde.
If you play the Horde, you will realize one major thing about the Alliance. They are the betrayers. They betrayed the trust of the Horde, and have broken promises and even broke their own alliance with the Horde. The Allaince are made up of oathbreakers, and opportunists.
They are evil. It just depends upon who's perspective you are looking at. I have long held that calling the Horde "evil" is wrong. The morality of World of Warcraft has very little to do with good or evil... more along the lines of a million colors of grey.
Re:It should be a lot cheaper than in the 60s.
on
Back to the Moon
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I would like to point out, I said for every $1 paid into NASA, $9 worth of economic growth came out. That was NOT just R&D, though, I suspect, that is where the vast majority of the money came from. Sorry, I wish that I had the exact numbers, etc. It was a while ago.
I am not a socialist, which I think the above poster made it sound. I DO think that PURE research, like this, is more likely to be government funded. Pure research is a good thing.
By putting chips on the outside of the spacecraft, they could launch at 5 ghz, and once they hit the cold of space, they could overclock them to 10ghz or more!!! It would be an Overclocker's wet dream!:-)
It should be a lot cheaper than in the 60s.
on
Back to the Moon
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
They should still have the sets around somewhere, and I think today's CGI is FAR better than what they had in the 60s!
On a more serious note, I saw a report several years ago, showing that for every $1 paid into NASA, $9 came back into the economy by way of R&D advances, and taking those advances to market. Not to mention, the amount of cutting-edge medical knowlege and equipment that has come from the space program. It is very dumb, not to fund bleeding edge technology to go to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
I think the real question, is does the game EVER need to be made, not if it is too soon. There are some people that just do not function well, in society.
You can use the motion activated controller, and toss it for your nintendog to go and fetch. Of course... you will have to fetch the actual device yourself, but it will help you shed a few pounds.
I don't thikn that is 100% correct, but pretty dang close.:-) Most developers think in terms of what the controller can do. The Wii has a controller that no one really knows WHAT it can do. It is changing the face of video games... just like the DS, in many ways, changed how we view hand-held video games. The Wii should be successful, despite anything else Nintendo does to mess it up. (though, with their track record, they generally don't mess up).
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It is funny how you say sick people should stay at home. My wife works for one of the major grocery chains in the nation (Not safeway), and in their contracts, they have to be away from work for like 3 days, before they can start taking sick days... so people RARELY take sick days. On top of that, I believe that recently, they took away all of their sick leave, completely. So, once again, sick checkers, bag boys, stockers, etc... come to work sick, to get the paycheck, instead of staying home, and getting well.
I can't say I completely agree with #1, though I understand it. But, saying they took it from chainmail, which they pulled from a naval game, defeats the point that they had a rule set that was convoluted, and weird... and kept using it. And, it kept being used until some fresh blood came in, and fixed it.
:-) But, I pretty much toss the rest of the Mystara stuff. Red Steel fits pretty well on any coast. I also agree about other supplements. Planescape is pure gold, though, misunderstood by a great many. D&D has never been really good at handling a political game, and I honestly don't believe that many players are good at it. I have all of those worlds you mention, and others. In both 2nd ed, and 3rd ed. (Ravenloft, the Dark Sun dragon mag articles, Dragonlance, a little spell jammer (I know, I am one of the few that really liked it). Though, go into 3rd ed, and I think that Eberron is my favorite world, of all time.
For #2, I agree completely, well, almost... I loved Red Steel... which is part of Mystara. I love it so much, that when I play on a new world, I throw in that part, with home brew rules, somewhere on every planet.
I don't know how you can say there are not more modules. I have probably 20 d20 based modules, a crap load of dungeon magazines, as well as another 20 of those smaller "boosters"
or books with short adventures in them. And, I have never even TOUCHED a dungepm crawl classic... and have you ever seen the world's largest dungeon?
It definately seems to attact that kind of anti-social young men... that really just need a good solid shot to the crotch, every time they grief others. Even if it is "in the rules" an ass is an ass. Don't defend them.
These are for FPS games.
Lets see....
strategy based team games (Defend an destroy, Capture and hold from Tribes)
Vehicles that you could control (Tribes)
Wide, out-door expanses (Tribes)
Coordinated teams (Tribes- laser spotter and heavy armor with mortar)
Integrated command interface (Tribes... though, later version dropped it)
intelegence devices to see "more of the map" (Tribes)
Hell, look at Tribes and all the innovation IT brought to the FPS genre. BF is a modern-day rip off of most of the concepts!
Why is it, that you have to buy the book, and then buy the .pdf seperate. Like many here, I LIKE a book. I like the solid feel, I like to just read through a book. BUT, there are times that a PDF would be handy. I wish that WotC would put a CD in the back of each book, with the PDF version of that book included... or put a password in the front of the book, to get to a specific location to download the .pdf.
When I build a character, it is really handy to have their class/prestige class printed out, and included with your character sheet, as well as spell descriptions, etc.
You really couldn't be more wrong.
The 3 and 3.5 rules are far more elegant than the 2nd ed rules. Come on, THAC0? To Hit Armor Class Zero system? In D20, your AC just keeps going up, as it gets stronger... unlike THAC0 where it just drops. That was one of the worst rules ever. Read some of Monte Cook's work, about D&D. A LOT of thought went into it. They dropped profecienceies and brought in skills. They added feats to make your HERO stand out from the mundanes. I agree, the mini rules are great, once you figure out Attacks of Opportunity. (one of the few inelegant rules... but it makes sense). Multi classing, prestige classes rule. They make sense. They are based in logic. As for the weapons. The spiked chain is a very cinematic weapon. I am not sure what the other 2 are. If you don't like them, don't introduce them to your game. Not a big deal.
The other thing that the 3rd ed rule did (via D20 open license) is opened up the flood gates for 3rd party add-ons, which is very cool.
Once you throw it on a computer, and let the computer do the calcuations, it really doesn't matter what the ruleset running it is. You are talking about a computer game... not a RPG.
#1) The ESRB notice is relatively large on the package.
#2) The ESRB notice is FAR superior to the moving rating system... since it tells you why a movie got the rating it received.
#3) It's the PARENT'S job to oversee what their kids do, not the government, not the gameshop.
The government has been legislating for over 200 years... do we NEED any more freaking laws?!
The Mozambique Drill is a 2+1 drill, where you fire 2 to center mass and 1 to the head. It is designed to stop those people hopped up on adrenalin or drugs. You generally fire "into the face" for this drill. Jack is really out there. He is becomming more shrill and pathetic as time goes on.
Sorry, I really don't know about EMP bursts, beyond that they fry electronics. Would it be possible to create a targetted, or shaped EMP burst, say in front of vehicles that would fry the circuits on the IEDs, and keep the IEDs from going off?
Unfortunately, I don't think the Wii is really going to be a player in the next round of console wars. Here is the problem. the Xbox is twice the cost... the PS3 is 3 times the cost. Because the Wii is so cheap, I think people will pick it up, as the 2nd console (which is how it has been positioning itself). I know with my friends, I am the ONLY one that has a GC. Most have a PS2 and Xbox as well, but the GC is lacking. (I mainly bought it, because at the time, Soul Calibur 2 was supposed to be exclusive). :-) Anyhow, jump ahead a generation. The REAL fight is for Xbox 360 or PS3 as your primary gaming console. The younger set will STILL go for Nintendo. As will the fanboys. Those are not inconsiderable groups. But, still not enough to match the numbers on the PS3 or Xbox 360. I think what will push the Wii over the top, is their concentration on unique game play. For your... say shooters and halo type games, stay with 360. For your RPGs, stay with PS3. If you want something Unique, go Wii. But, I don't honestly believe unique is going to put you into the #1 position. I honestly believe that the PS3 will rule this round. I don't think it will be as commanding as the Xbox360, but you just can't take on the world-wide console market, and not include the Asian countries, which are pretty pro-Sony/Anti-Microsoft. I think it will take 1 more generation of errosion, to give MS a shot at the top spot.
Look at magazines and websites when the PS2 came out. I helped run a fan site, and part of our "features" were DVD reviews. The PS2, in my opinion, really brought DVDs into the home. But, you were looking at $100 more than a "console price" for a DVD player. It worked well. Now, the Blu-Ray IS a large step forward, from DVD. But, I think having blu-ray and Hd will just confuse things in the shortrun. (do we YET have a standard between DVD +R, or DVD-R? I have a burner that burns both).
I think that Sony is gambling that people will pay extra for a Console that plays Blu-ray disks. I don't know that it is an extremely safe bet, but I would say that Sony is in the best spot to make that bet, and have it pay out. The other thing to look at, on the PS3, is its lifespan. The PS2 has had a long life. Much longer than the Xbox, though, in all honesty, even though a manufacturer still makes games for the PS2, doesn't mean they are the way to go. I quit buying PS2 games a couple of years ago, because they just could not compare, visually, to the Xbox. (or the GC for that matter). I am beginning to think that the short era of owning all the consoles is coming to the end, with these price points. Though, if you pick up both a PS3 and Xbox 360, you will be able to play both Bluray and HD DVDs.
I think your example is a little flawed. Invoking the Columbine name was probably the dumbest thing he did, but I infer that he was frustrated at the system, and pointing out how the system had failed so badly before. I don't think it was a threat, it was making a very bad point. :-)
After reading comments here, I think MS could give the Xbox longer legs, and make it a legend. When they officially "retire" the box, send a final xbox live update that opens it up, and allows mods and such to work on it, and let it find a new life as a media PC/DVR type unit. It would generate goodwill from the fans, ensure a very long life for the hardware, and probably allow them to ship through all of their back inventory quickly.
I use Packet 8, but it is VOIP as well. I have seen the same problem. What I do, is use a Download program that allows me to pause downloads. I pause them while talking, and then unpause when done. In all honesty, my Cell phone is my primary, and the VOIP is just a backup line.
:-)
For point 2, to me, saving $15 is saving $15.
and point 3, I agree there. But, I hope it is right. Though, if someone breaks in, I would A) use my cell phone, B) not really count on the police catching the guy.
Wow, just read what you went through. That sucks! ugh!
That is part of the issue, but they closed his account, which probably had more in it, than the land. That "virtual property" has actual, real-world worth. I think they should remove the land from his account, an refund his money. But, I am not so sure about out right banning him.
So, my wife just heard about second life last night... and wants to get online playing it. I have started researching it a bit today. Second life is very different than the MMORPGs I have played in the past. Second life encourages you to buy land and buy money, with real currancy. Interestingly enough, they also seem to respect your IP rights, for items you bring into the game. I think that the fact that you can convert real money into virtual assets will put this guy in the winner's circle... assuming the judge will understand any of it. :-)
I think THIS is the reason that the other MMORPGs keep you FROM buying items with real money.
I am not so sure that the author ever played much Horde. That is mostly what I have played. Here is a better breakdown. Probably the most "good" race, i.e. noble, would be Tauren. I think you could make a case for saying that the Orcs may be the 2nd most "good" race. I am talking about the main-stream player Orcs. The Trolls, that are a player race, are an off-shoot of the blood-thirsty trolls in the world. The Orcs are helping them to shed their canabilistic nature, and be more understanding. The undead, well, I think that is more an alliance of convience. I think it IS telling that there are 2 major cultural centers for the Horde. One belongs to the Orcs, Tauren, and Trolls, the other one belongs to the undead. If you play through the story line quests, you will find the Tauren are very noble, and feel proud to stand next to their orc allies. If you play the orcs, you will find they are still batteling their brethern that ARE still demonically controlled, or wanting to go back to that life. There are definately a lot of good vs evil in the horde itself. There are a lot of inner demons in the horde. If you play the Horde, you will realize one major thing about the Alliance. They are the betrayers. They betrayed the trust of the Horde, and have broken promises and even broke their own alliance with the Horde. The Allaince are made up of oathbreakers, and opportunists. They are evil. It just depends upon who's perspective you are looking at. I have long held that calling the Horde "evil" is wrong. The morality of World of Warcraft has very little to do with good or evil... more along the lines of a million colors of grey.
I would like to point out, I said for every $1 paid into NASA, $9 worth of economic growth came out. That was NOT just R&D, though, I suspect, that is where the vast majority of the money came from. Sorry, I wish that I had the exact numbers, etc. It was a while ago.
I am not a socialist, which I think the above poster made it sound. I DO think that PURE research, like this, is more likely to be government funded. Pure research is a good thing.
By putting chips on the outside of the spacecraft, they could launch at 5 ghz, and once they hit the cold of space, they could overclock them to 10ghz or more!!! It would be an Overclocker's wet dream! :-)
They should still have the sets around somewhere, and I think today's CGI is FAR better than what they had in the 60s! On a more serious note, I saw a report several years ago, showing that for every $1 paid into NASA, $9 came back into the economy by way of R&D advances, and taking those advances to market. Not to mention, the amount of cutting-edge medical knowlege and equipment that has come from the space program. It is very dumb, not to fund bleeding edge technology to go to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
I think the real question, is does the game EVER need to be made, not if it is too soon. There are some people that just do not function well, in society.
You can use the motion activated controller, and toss it for your nintendog to go and fetch. Of course... you will have to fetch the actual device yourself, but it will help you shed a few pounds.
I don't thikn that is 100% correct, but pretty dang close. :-) Most developers think in terms of what the controller can do. The Wii has a controller that no one really knows WHAT it can do. It is changing the face of video games... just like the DS, in many ways, changed how we view hand-held video games. The Wii should be successful, despite anything else Nintendo does to mess it up. (though, with their track record, they generally don't mess up).