Looking for a good RPG. Not an "action" (I.e. diablo clone) RPG. More along the lines of the old chrono trigger or FFVII. I have agonized over buying a PSP for several months. But the complete lack of RPG game selection is what has held me back from buying a PSP........Is the DS any better?
They may not take your car, but they can take away your license to drive without a criminal conviction. The state takes your license through an administrative hearing. Even if you are not convicted of the original crime in the criminal case(say D.U.I) or something, the administrative process is a whole seprate type of hearing and is akin to a civil matter. I would imagine that in the U.K. something similar is going on with the computers being seized. Anytime the government (in the U.S.) takes your property, they have to give you due process which means notice. Notice that they are taking the property and an opportunity to be heard on it. (another factor involves fundamental fairness but is a really easy burden for the gov't)
Hold on a minute there Slashdotians. Most of us understand that the Judge's temporary injunction is a good thing. The Legislation is crap and is really a bunch of clueless legislator's attempt to score points with the public for re-election. But what the unwashed masses will only see it as "Evil Judges and Court System Puts Brakes on Law Meant to Protect 'The Children'".
BTW the temporary injunction is pretty much SOP in any sort of civil case like this. The Court will review the necessity of the temp injunction at a later date and may even rescind the injunction while the case is still pending. My quick read of the situation is that the petitioners will seek to have the law struck as unconstituionally vague. And yes the legislators can go back and redraft it, but that doesn't mean they will get it right the second time either...........
I agree completely, being an "old school" lifer gamer also. (circa 1980, had the red basic and blue advanced or intermediate box sets) We had and have a very good time with all the different versions of D&D including 3.0 and 3.5. We leave out whatever rules we don't like, use whatever spam books we think will be fun. Even use old 2.0 modules. Only thing that you have to change is the monster stats. The point is to have fun with whatever group of people you are with.
On topic, PDF D&D books is an excellent idea. Out here in the boondocks its hard to come by the books. Amazon is always an option I guess. But downloadable and searchable is a great idea.
I like to have a hard copy to look at (call me old school). Printing the books off for personal use would be a bit of a pain.....not to mention possibly expensive. So, to sum up, PDF books=good idea. Will I purchase a PDF version, doubtful.
IAAL but not licensed in Oklahoma, only the state where I reside, therefore don't take the following as legal advice because it is not legal advice:
The proposed OK legislation is, like in just about every state, part of their crimes against persons statutes and more specificly their obscene materials and child exploitation statutes. The amended statute, if it passes in OK, is a definitions statute that several other statutes refer to as necessary. Including the violation and penalty section of the "Display of Materials Harmful to Minors" section of the OK statutes.
More to the point, the proposed law, I think, will fail for the same reasons that the Michigan law failed. Just my personal opinion. I encourage everyone to read the opinion by the federal judge on the Michigan case. (Sorry no link) I believe, the OK bill still has to pass the OK House again and then the Governor before its law. In the Michigan opinion, IIRC, failed because video games were and are seen as protected by the first amendment and that Bills such as in Michigan and OK are overbroad and not narrowly tailored enough to meet the States interest. In short the OK bill tries to do too much in broad brush fashion. That does not sit well with courts.
Just my off the cuff 2 cents.....
I agree with the comments of MMaestro. Now for some of my own for the OP.
This guy sounds like someone who has never had a good GM. Its all in the presentation of the game by the GM that makes it fun. WoW seems fun like a GM should be at first because the "world" of the game of WoW is immutable. WoW will not change itself to give you more items no matter how much you whine, unless you work for them, a PnP GM might however. WoW won't let the awesome spellcaster hog everyones time while he goes off and makes potions like it might in PnP game. (in Wow everyone just goes on without him)
I have been GMing since about 1985 and have GMed and played darn near every RPG out there. Am I a good GM? I would like to think so but not everyone would probably like my style. One thing I ultimately learned is that a good RPG session is one where the GM has absolute control over the game. Now this doesn't mean you rule with the obvious iron fist. Its about being subtle. WoW is anything but subtle. Its about the GM creating a World for the players to interact in and that world reacting back to them. When I GM the only thing I worry about is the plot of the story and If I think the players are not having any fun AND they have been trying to play their characters and have fun, then I alter my game ever so slightly to get things back on track. But the trick is not to be obvious about it.
Items 3, 4, 5 and 8 are generally helpful tips, all i would say is that you add the words "if the story calls for it". For example, while i think every class has its place, if the rogue is off gathering details on some bit of information and the other players have to just wait....thats fine because thats what the story calls for.
6 is just a dumb statement, a GM will develop a style as they go.
9 makes me think of a GM who is not in control of his game. Leave the over the top crap for the junior high crowd. (Like i was back in the day, it was fun at the time, not so much anymore.)
1, 2 and 7 all relate back to having fun (more or less). If a GM presents his/her game poorly it will show.
In short, its all about the GM and his/her ability to present his/her world and story.
Cool, thanks for the input. Really got soured on the EQ/WOW grind. (I really HATED the guild I was in in EQ) I'm gravitating towards either Guild Wars or CoV..... Know any good servers on Guild Wars?
I was half tempted to try eve online....until now. For all that people yammer on about eve online, it sounds like the same old MMORPG grind, except its grind for money instead of xps/loot/quests. "WOOT lvl!!" or my fav "Ding!"
You have to join a coorporation (or whatever) in Eve online to be successfull??? Sounds like a guild to me from EQ/WOW or something. Thats ultimately the problem with MMORPGS anyway. Sure its fun with your friends, its just all the other idiots in the guild. Its the fact that you HAVE to join a guild just to level beyond a certain point. Thats why I dropped EQ and WOW and DAOC. Same old crap and now that SWG has become a FPS sounds like it sucks too. And don't get me started with DDO............
Most of this argument is drivel. Boo hoo the big bad police/government are persecuting me even though I really don't know how or why. Sounds like ACLU claptrap. I've read most of the posts in this article and about half sound like reasoned individuals and the rest sound like people who don't know what the heck they are talking about.
So the librarian refused consent to search and the FBI had to get a warrant. Standard police operating procedure. So What?? Happens all the time all across America. People then use this to spout off about how they hate the FBI or government etc.
The article made a big deal about it because thats what sells media. I have read the article and you need to look at the source. "The Chronicle of Higher Education" I think might be a magazine for some community college in PA. The author of the article Andrea Foster states that in the first part of the article "the FBI relented". See my comment above, I don't think relenting is technically true. The FBI asked for consent, this was denied, so they seek a warrant. The rest of the article talks about the FBI and library IT staff working to narrow down which computers it was. The FBI could have just went and got a warrant for EVERY computer in the place, but they did not and instead worked with the library to narrow it down. Members of the town were actual mad at the town officials for not essentially supporting the FBI seeking consent to search.
Anyway, much a do about nothing. Move along, nothing to see here.
FYI, the executive branch has been gathering information about you without your approval since the inception of our judicial system. Inquisition subpoenas are nothing new. These are, by design, to be "secret". Why you might ask? To protect the actual investigation.
For example: person X steals your cell phone. You tell the cops. Cops will then do an inquisition subpoena on your cell phone records without telling you. This will reveal your most secretive of cell phone calls. (Not the actual call, but a record of to what number and how long and possibly where)In addition to the calls made SINCE the phone was stolen, which would possibly lead to an arrest of the suspect. Why not tell you this? Because maybe they do tell you and you inadvertantly tell your friend and it was your friend who stole the cell phone. Friend then destroys the evidence and gets away scott free with the crime.
All of this is done without judicial oversight b/c #1 the courts are not part of the criminal investigation and #2 if it is determined the cops overstepped their bounds then the courts impose a remedy by supressing the illegally gathered evidence.
So, Judges probably aren't too excited about this, they have the final say when it comes to the admission of evidence.
Just my 2 cents.
Slashdot Mirror
Looking for a good RPG. Not an "action" (I.e. diablo clone) RPG. More along the lines of the old chrono trigger or FFVII. I have agonized over buying a PSP for several months. But the complete lack of RPG game selection is what has held me back from buying a PSP........Is the DS any better?
Great now they can all get together and form their own guild..........
Just a few thoughts on the matter.....
Tac
BTW the temporary injunction is pretty much SOP in any sort of civil case like this. The Court will review the necessity of the temp injunction at a later date and may even rescind the injunction while the case is still pending. My quick read of the situation is that the petitioners will seek to have the law struck as unconstituionally vague. And yes the legislators can go back and redraft it, but that doesn't mean they will get it right the second time either...........
Oh well, back to reality.
On topic, PDF D&D books is an excellent idea. Out here in the boondocks its hard to come by the books. Amazon is always an option I guess. But downloadable and searchable is a great idea.
I like to have a hard copy to look at (call me old school). Printing the books off for personal use would be a bit of a pain.....not to mention possibly expensive. So, to sum up, PDF books=good idea. Will I purchase a PDF version, doubtful.
FWIW
Tac
Sounds like you need food badly..........
I for one, dont care about in-gadrink pepsime ads
IAAL but not licensed in Oklahoma, only the state where I reside, therefore don't take the following as legal advice because it is not legal advice: The proposed OK legislation is, like in just about every state, part of their crimes against persons statutes and more specificly their obscene materials and child exploitation statutes. The amended statute, if it passes in OK, is a definitions statute that several other statutes refer to as necessary. Including the violation and penalty section of the "Display of Materials Harmful to Minors" section of the OK statutes. More to the point, the proposed law, I think, will fail for the same reasons that the Michigan law failed. Just my personal opinion. I encourage everyone to read the opinion by the federal judge on the Michigan case. (Sorry no link) I believe, the OK bill still has to pass the OK House again and then the Governor before its law. In the Michigan opinion, IIRC, failed because video games were and are seen as protected by the first amendment and that Bills such as in Michigan and OK are overbroad and not narrowly tailored enough to meet the States interest. In short the OK bill tries to do too much in broad brush fashion. That does not sit well with courts. Just my off the cuff 2 cents.....
Hey! Thats not ni-
oh wait, your're right..........
nm
"Somewhere I've got a big box full of Trek paperbacks. I wonder what they'd fetch on EBay?"
200 quatloos
And take your money......
ok here it goes......"that headline 5 times fast!"
That wasn't so hard........
I agree with the comments of MMaestro. Now for some of my own for the OP.
This guy sounds like someone who has never had a good GM. Its all in the presentation of the game by the GM that makes it fun. WoW seems fun like a GM should be at first because the "world" of the game of WoW is immutable. WoW will not change itself to give you more items no matter how much you whine, unless you work for them, a PnP GM might however. WoW won't let the awesome spellcaster hog everyones time while he goes off and makes potions like it might in PnP game. (in Wow everyone just goes on without him)
I have been GMing since about 1985 and have GMed and played darn near every RPG out there. Am I a good GM? I would like to think so but not everyone would probably like my style. One thing I ultimately learned is that a good RPG session is one where the GM has absolute control over the game. Now this doesn't mean you rule with the obvious iron fist. Its about being subtle. WoW is anything but subtle. Its about the GM creating a World for the players to interact in and that world reacting back to them. When I GM the only thing I worry about is the plot of the story and If I think the players are not having any fun AND they have been trying to play their characters and have fun, then I alter my game ever so slightly to get things back on track. But the trick is not to be obvious about it.
Items 3, 4, 5 and 8 are generally helpful tips, all i would say is that you add the words "if the story calls for it". For example, while i think every class has its place, if the rogue is off gathering details on some bit of information and the other players have to just wait....thats fine because thats what the story calls for.
6 is just a dumb statement, a GM will develop a style as they go.
9 makes me think of a GM who is not in control of his game. Leave the over the top crap for the junior high crowd. (Like i was back in the day, it was fun at the time, not so much anymore.)
1, 2 and 7 all relate back to having fun (more or less). If a GM presents his/her game poorly it will show.
In short, its all about the GM and his/her ability to present his/her world and story.
Are we sure that most /.'ers know what a grammaphone is? In other words, its not............
Cool, thanks for the input. Really got soured on the EQ/WOW grind. (I really HATED the guild I was in in EQ) I'm gravitating towards either Guild Wars or CoV..... Know any good servers on Guild Wars?
I was half tempted to try eve online....until now. For all that people yammer on about eve online, it sounds like the same old MMORPG grind, except its grind for money instead of xps/loot/quests. "WOOT lvl!!" or my fav "Ding!"
You have to join a coorporation (or whatever) in Eve online to be successfull??? Sounds like a guild to me from EQ/WOW or something. Thats ultimately the problem with MMORPGS anyway. Sure its fun with your friends, its just all the other idiots in the guild. Its the fact that you HAVE to join a guild just to level beyond a certain point. Thats why I dropped EQ and WOW and DAOC. Same old crap and now that SWG has become a FPS sounds like it sucks too. And don't get me started with DDO............
Oh well, back to CIV.
Most of this argument is drivel. Boo hoo the big bad police/government are persecuting me even though I really don't know how or why. Sounds like ACLU claptrap. I've read most of the posts in this article and about half sound like reasoned individuals and the rest sound like people who don't know what the heck they are talking about.
So the librarian refused consent to search and the FBI had to get a warrant. Standard police operating procedure. So What?? Happens all the time all across America. People then use this to spout off about how they hate the FBI or government etc.
The article made a big deal about it because thats what sells media. I have read the article and you need to look at the source. "The Chronicle of Higher Education" I think might be a magazine for some community college in PA. The author of the article Andrea Foster states that in the first part of the article "the FBI relented". See my comment above, I don't think relenting is technically true. The FBI asked for consent, this was denied, so they seek a warrant. The rest of the article talks about the FBI and library IT staff working to narrow down which computers it was. The FBI could have just went and got a warrant for EVERY computer in the place, but they did not and instead worked with the library to narrow it down. Members of the town were actual mad at the town officials for not essentially supporting the FBI seeking consent to search.
Anyway, much a do about nothing. Move along, nothing to see here.
FYI, the executive branch has been gathering information about you without your approval since the inception of our judicial system. Inquisition subpoenas are nothing new. These are, by design, to be "secret". Why you might ask? To protect the actual investigation. For example: person X steals your cell phone. You tell the cops. Cops will then do an inquisition subpoena on your cell phone records without telling you. This will reveal your most secretive of cell phone calls. (Not the actual call, but a record of to what number and how long and possibly where)In addition to the calls made SINCE the phone was stolen, which would possibly lead to an arrest of the suspect. Why not tell you this? Because maybe they do tell you and you inadvertantly tell your friend and it was your friend who stole the cell phone. Friend then destroys the evidence and gets away scott free with the crime. All of this is done without judicial oversight b/c #1 the courts are not part of the criminal investigation and #2 if it is determined the cops overstepped their bounds then the courts impose a remedy by supressing the illegally gathered evidence. So, Judges probably aren't too excited about this, they have the final say when it comes to the admission of evidence. Just my 2 cents.