It's like naming a guild "republican lovers" and trying to recruit people in to that kind of guild. I'm sure many people would dislike that too and I'm almost certain Blizzard would act similarly.
I don't know... That might actually entice me to start playing, just for the joy of killing their characters whenever possible. I know there are plenty of others who feel the same.
Both parties are a bunch of morons, I would prefer to back neither, but the Democrats are closer to representing citizens (rather than corporations) in my book.
Actually, you are partially right. FF:TA follows 3 characters who are brought into the game world while playing Final Fantasy (which is assumed to be, and likely is, Final Fantasy XII)
This is more of a very unusual case of a spinoff preceding the original. Final Fantasy Tactics is not a true Final Fantasy game. It is a completely different genre that mainly uses characters introduced in the other games. Kingdom Hearts is closer to a Final Fantasy game (and also uses some prior characters). By using that same logic, the Seiken Densetsu series (The first being a FF Gameboy game, the second being Secret of Mana on the SNES) are sequels of Final Fantasy.
Wha? First off, FFXII is also a direct sequel to a previous game. However, even so, all the FF games are basically identical.
Which previous game is it a sequel to? We are talking about Final Fantasy 12 not Final Fantasy 10-2. The info from Square-Enix doesn't look like and FF world I've seen before.
From the news release: May 13, 2005
SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES FINAL FANTASY® XII RELEASE DATE FOR PLAYSTATION® 2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
And Showcases The Look of FINAL FANTASY on PLAYSTATION®3
LOS ANGELES (May 16, 2005)
Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan, "Square Enix") a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software including two of the world's most popular franchises FINAL FANTASY® and DRAGON QUEST(TM), today announced that FINAL FANTASY XII will be released on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system in fiscal year 2005 in Japan and fiscal year 2006 in North America. In addition, plans to bring a FINAL FANTASY title to the PLAYSTATION®3, Sony Computer Entertainment's next generation computer entertainment system that is currently in development, are just beyond the horizon.
FINAL FANTASY XII is the latest title in the best-selling series. Dynamic rendered movies and high-quality real-time graphics that push the PlayStation 2's performance to the limit create the spectacular world of Ivalice, the setting for this epic story. Deep characters with distinct personalities convey their emotions through gestures and expressions as well as words. All this and a revolutionary battle system that allows seamless transitions between battle and exploration are just some of the many brand new elements and challenges that are packed into this title.
"We are extremely pleased to be able to finally announce the release timing for FINAL FANTASY XII and hope that our fans can wait just a little longer, as the development team is working very hard to complete our latest installment," said Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix. "We were also very happy to showcase a technical demonstration of FINAL FANTSY VII in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment. Thanks to the PLAYSTATION 3's powerful Cell processor our acclaimed classic has never looked better."
For technological development purposes and in preparation for the development of next generation software, a state-of-the-art technology demonstration video was created and shown at the Sony Computer Entertainment press conference on May 16, 2005, in Los Angeles, California. The video recreated a scene from the opening sequence of FINAL FANTASY VII, the seminal 1997 hit on the PlayStation® game console, by utilizing the next-generation, high-performance processor Cell. The scene was recreated with the PLAYSTATION 3's ultra high-speed data transferring and calculation capabilities. With this technology, a real-time scene with high-end, game-movie quality was successfully created. This means that the movie can be generated in conjunction with the player's movements, as opposed to a pre-rendered movie that plays during a game.
FINAL FANTASY XII Story
The story of FINAL FANTASY XII takes place in a world called "Ivalice," in an age when magic was commonplace and airships plied the skies, crowding out the heavens. A world of many races, the humes, bangaa, viera and, of course, moogles, all call Ivalice home.
War was on the horizon. Seeking to strengthen its base of power, the great Archadian Empire had been invading and subjugating its neighboring kingdoms one by one. The small Kingdom of Dalmasca was one such kingdom.
When the occupying Archadian forces established a new consul in Dalmasca's Royal City of Rabanastre, it caught the attention of Vaan, an urchin living on the streets. To Vaan, the Empire was a hated enemy who had taken the life of his brother - his last surviving family member. Vaan hatched a plan to sneak into the castle housing the new consul and unburden him of one or two of his treasures. B
I hope that Spore has almost no connection to Sim Life. I have Sim Life. I installed it, started it up, scratched my head for a while, and then just shut it off. I just hope it has a better curve than Creatures 2 did.
I have the answer to 1 and 2: Mass drivers and sufficiently sturdy containers
For 3, I agree. We should be using breeders. But to use the US Government line: "Are you crazy? That's how you make weapons-grade plutonium!" Nevermind that not all breeders make weapons-grade plutonium, though...
On a tangent, I have long thought that we should be tapping into some of the energy created by disposing of waste. I live near a large oil refinery that has two flare stacks that at least one has a visible flame going almost year-round. Why don't we tap into the heat generated by burning the waste to generate electricity (to be sold into the power grid)? Then, we aren't just burning waste, it is actually being productive (disregarding pollution issues since they're burning it anyway), and it is additional electricity for the grid, reducing the amount of fuel needed by the regular power plants (and reducing the usage of "peaker" plants that activate when demand exceeds normal production limits). Just a thought.
Such as the Final Fantasy series. With the exception of Final Fantasy X-2, each game is nearly unique except for some common elements (Like the theme song, chocobos, and the fundamental underpinnings of any RPG like hit points and experience). It would be like calling episodes of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits sequels, the story is completely different, but the theme song is the same.
That is a very good question, since the orbit of the moon is "growing". In other words, the moon is getting further away. Eventually, the moon will be at such a distance that it will no longer be within Earth's grasp. At that point, the Earth's "wobble" will likely become unstable (Like a 90 degree wobble, resulting in severe climate changes like the ice caps moving around the world. "Hey, what's this glacier doing here in the middle of the Sahara?")
I think I speak for most of the planet when I say that I don't want anything expediting this process, so here is my solution, for every amount of mass removed from the moon, we replace it with an equivalent amount of nuclear waste. Maybe we can even add some additional mass to stabilize the orbit.
Did, or would, the presence of an iris scanner change this outcome? Not on that day, but you can only speculate what might have happened on a day when the office staff is out sick and temps are called in.
What if the person in question has no state issued ID (or any form of photo ID for that matter) I can't speak for other states, but in Illinois there is no law that requires citizens to get an ID, which would ultimately result in a Social Security card being used as ID (and I can tell you that those are not high-tech) The feds aren't likely to reissue all of them either. I guess that means we need to find another solution, perhaps something like notarized affidavits of the authority to pick up a child signed by the parent(s) and the designee? Perhaps something more convenient and hard to fake such as biometric identification? Also, lets not forget that the more users there are of a system, the cheaper it becomes to implement (You can still make a excellent profit with a lower margin if the distribution is high enough.)
(Nevermind that she left for work at 0700, came back around 1600 in the afternoon, that would be, 4 o'clock for those who cannot read 24 hr clocks.)
You seem to be spinning this as a bad thing. If that's when she left home and when she arrived back at home, that's only a nine hour span (Which around here is an 8 hour workday with a 1 hour unpaid lunch.) My wife and I work at the same company (I'm IT, she's accounting). We leave at about 0730 (to start work at 0830) and usually don't get back home until at least 2100.
I know a lot of people consider it un-American, but communism is a great ideal system (Imagine utopia where you have to pay for everything.). It does have a major flaw though. It only works when everyone is in on it. Communism doesn't work in a capitalist world. It will make a comeback when robots replace labor. Robots will do the things that no one wants to do (like garbage collection) and people will do what they want to do
As an aside, I found it humorously ironic that I have these beliefs while working in probably the most capitalist industry... Credit card processing.
The drivers license is the answer to both questions, but that is besides the point. Yes, in many places, driver's licenses are becoming harder to fake, but the citizens aren't in complete control of that. I don't have statistics showing how often it happens, but when I worked for a school district in a small town of about 5,000 people, I was present when an attempt was made, although the attempt was foiled. The majority of these instances occur with someone familiar with the family (or it is sometimes even a member of the family, as was the case here)
I don't have any kids of my own, but I do have 7 nieces and nephews, and no price is too high to protect any one of them.
What about the cases where Dad (or Mom) does not have custody (or visitation rights) and picks up the child from school and runs away? The child instantly recognizes the parent and if the school (particularly large schools and when a temp is in the office) doesn't know not to release custody to them, a serious problem has just occurred.
I'll admit even this system is flawed (especially when the parent has to send someone to pick up the child the the child does not recognize). But even then, training the child does not help in this circumstance either.
No, the way that the money is handed out comes from various programs. The money for an iris scanning system comes from a program designed to increase security in schools. Textbooks come from the general education fund. Teacher training comes from the teachers themselves (It's called college. You know, that place you go to after high school to learn what you need to know for your intended career? Future teachers get grants to help pay for college by agreeing to teach in areas where teachers are desperately needed, such as inner-city schools.) Computer access comes from another government program (albeit, flawed). This program will purchase computers and establish internet access for schools.
If you are really concerned that schools aren't getting what they need, help them out. Donate to your local school district.
Also, whenever a referendum comes up where a new schools is needed (whether due to old buildings falling apart or overpopulation) and the government is offering up a matching grant for that purpose, please vote for it. That money can only be earmarked for two things: Building schools and building prisons. If you don't build one you need to build the other. Which one would you prefer? (BTW, the government doesn't have to ask to build prisons)
I can't imagine the countless hours photographing people into the database and asking Mrs. Robinson to remove her sunglasses would actually stop a child abductor. Besides, he could just drive another mile to any other grade school and commit his felonies there.
You are right, it won't stop child abductors, but it will stop them there. You may think it violates your privacy, but which provides more information and which is more easily faked: An iris scan or your driver's license?
I always found the Diet Dr. Pepper advertising slogan amusing. "Tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper"... than what? Budwiser? Cough syrup? Horse piss? (For the record, I drink regular Dr. Pepper.)
On a side note, diet sodas taste infinitely better from a fountain, and I definately miss drinking pop from glass bottles. Plastic and aluminum alter the taste too much.
While that is funny, the service pack will only be as big as the files it needs to replace (and I'm sure a large number of the hotfixes replace the same files), so it really won't be that big.
As a realist, I have to ask... Does it really matter? As long as they provide the security updates in a timely matter, do we really care that it won't all be packaged up and named Service Pack 3?
Does this mean that their stock is no longer available to purchase publicly? If so, if they decide to relist, would that be a SPO (Second public offering)?
Yes, the stomach acid attacks the zinc, but it specifically states that the damage may result if the coin becomes lodged in the digestive tract (causing the reaction to act as a blowtorch).
True, zinc may be in short supply as well, but the article was about copper and specifically mentioned pennies rather than every other US coin (which have a higher copper content)
First off, zinc is not necessarily dangerous, in fact it is necessary for proper developement. My wife had to take zinc as a child due to a zinc deficiency.
On a different note, pennies have the lowest copper content of US coins at 2.5% copper in contrast to the dime, quarter, and half dollar at 91.67% copper!
I've never played the KOTOR games, so I can't speak from experience there, but nearly every Final Fantasy game (which some may debate are not true RPGs) required at some point, some devotion of time to increasing the level of your character and the collection of whatever money or item is required. A well-designed RPG would arguably ensure that you cannot progress faster than you should be levelling, but on the other hand being open-ended is a great experience as well. The main difference between single-player and MMOs is that with multiple people doing their own thing, there is no central storyline to complete. You have to set your own goals, and see them through.
As another example, take Y's Book 1 & 2. When you get to the end boss, you had better be the highest level you possibly can. At the highest level, you have a snowballs chance in hell of defeating him, you'd have no chance otherwise. To make it to the highest level, you must spend time levelling up.
Slashdot Mirror
It's like naming a guild "republican lovers" and trying to recruit people in to that kind of guild. I'm sure many people would dislike that too and I'm almost certain Blizzard would act similarly.
I don't know... That might actually entice me to start playing, just for the joy of killing their characters whenever possible. I know there are plenty of others who feel the same.
Both parties are a bunch of morons, I would prefer to back neither, but the Democrats are closer to representing citizens (rather than corporations) in my book.
Actually, you are partially right. FF:TA follows 3 characters who are brought into the game world while playing Final Fantasy (which is assumed to be, and likely is, Final Fantasy XII)
This is more of a very unusual case of a spinoff preceding the original. Final Fantasy Tactics is not a true Final Fantasy game. It is a completely different genre that mainly uses characters introduced in the other games. Kingdom Hearts is closer to a Final Fantasy game (and also uses some prior characters). By using that same logic, the Seiken Densetsu series (The first being a FF Gameboy game, the second being Secret of Mana on the SNES) are sequels of Final Fantasy.
Wha? First off, FFXII is also a direct sequel to a previous game. However, even so, all the FF games are basically identical.
Which previous game is it a sequel to? We are talking about Final Fantasy 12 not Final Fantasy 10-2. The info from Square-Enix doesn't look like and FF world I've seen before.
From the news release:
May 13, 2005 SQUARE ENIX ANNOUNCES FINAL FANTASY® XII RELEASE DATE FOR PLAYSTATION® 2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM And Showcases The Look of FINAL FANTASY on PLAYSTATION®3 LOS ANGELES (May 16, 2005) Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan, "Square Enix") a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software including two of the world's most popular franchises FINAL FANTASY® and DRAGON QUEST(TM), today announced that FINAL FANTASY XII will be released on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system in fiscal year 2005 in Japan and fiscal year 2006 in North America. In addition, plans to bring a FINAL FANTASY title to the PLAYSTATION®3, Sony Computer Entertainment's next generation computer entertainment system that is currently in development, are just beyond the horizon. FINAL FANTASY XII is the latest title in the best-selling series. Dynamic rendered movies and high-quality real-time graphics that push the PlayStation 2's performance to the limit create the spectacular world of Ivalice, the setting for this epic story. Deep characters with distinct personalities convey their emotions through gestures and expressions as well as words. All this and a revolutionary battle system that allows seamless transitions between battle and exploration are just some of the many brand new elements and challenges that are packed into this title. "We are extremely pleased to be able to finally announce the release timing for FINAL FANTASY XII and hope that our fans can wait just a little longer, as the development team is working very hard to complete our latest installment," said Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix. "We were also very happy to showcase a technical demonstration of FINAL FANTSY VII in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment. Thanks to the PLAYSTATION 3's powerful Cell processor our acclaimed classic has never looked better." For technological development purposes and in preparation for the development of next generation software, a state-of-the-art technology demonstration video was created and shown at the Sony Computer Entertainment press conference on May 16, 2005, in Los Angeles, California. The video recreated a scene from the opening sequence of FINAL FANTASY VII, the seminal 1997 hit on the PlayStation® game console, by utilizing the next-generation, high-performance processor Cell. The scene was recreated with the PLAYSTATION 3's ultra high-speed data transferring and calculation capabilities. With this technology, a real-time scene with high-end, game-movie quality was successfully created. This means that the movie can be generated in conjunction with the player's movements, as opposed to a pre-rendered movie that plays during a game. FINAL FANTASY XII Story The story of FINAL FANTASY XII takes place in a world called "Ivalice," in an age when magic was commonplace and airships plied the skies, crowding out the heavens. A world of many races, the humes, bangaa, viera and, of course, moogles, all call Ivalice home. War was on the horizon. Seeking to strengthen its base of power, the great Archadian Empire had been invading and subjugating its neighboring kingdoms one by one. The small Kingdom of Dalmasca was one such kingdom. When the occupying Archadian forces established a new consul in Dalmasca's Royal City of Rabanastre, it caught the attention of Vaan, an urchin living on the streets. To Vaan, the Empire was a hated enemy who had taken the life of his brother - his last surviving family member. Vaan hatched a plan to sneak into the castle housing the new consul and unburden him of one or two of his treasures. B
I hope that Spore has almost no connection to Sim Life. I have Sim Life. I installed it, started it up, scratched my head for a while, and then just shut it off. I just hope it has a better curve than Creatures 2 did.
I have the answer to 1 and 2: Mass drivers and sufficiently sturdy containers
For 3, I agree. We should be using breeders. But to use the US Government line: "Are you crazy? That's how you make weapons-grade plutonium!" Nevermind that not all breeders make weapons-grade plutonium, though...
On a tangent, I have long thought that we should be tapping into some of the energy created by disposing of waste. I live near a large oil refinery that has two flare stacks that at least one has a visible flame going almost year-round. Why don't we tap into the heat generated by burning the waste to generate electricity (to be sold into the power grid)? Then, we aren't just burning waste, it is actually being productive (disregarding pollution issues since they're burning it anyway), and it is additional electricity for the grid, reducing the amount of fuel needed by the regular power plants (and reducing the usage of "peaker" plants that activate when demand exceeds normal production limits). Just a thought.
Such as the Final Fantasy series. With the exception of Final Fantasy X-2, each game is nearly unique except for some common elements (Like the theme song, chocobos, and the fundamental underpinnings of any RPG like hit points and experience). It would be like calling episodes of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits sequels, the story is completely different, but the theme song is the same.
That is a very good question, since the orbit of the moon is "growing". In other words, the moon is getting further away. Eventually, the moon will be at such a distance that it will no longer be within Earth's grasp. At that point, the Earth's "wobble" will likely become unstable (Like a 90 degree wobble, resulting in severe climate changes like the ice caps moving around the world. "Hey, what's this glacier doing here in the middle of the Sahara?")
I think I speak for most of the planet when I say that I don't want anything expediting this process, so here is my solution, for every amount of mass removed from the moon, we replace it with an equivalent amount of nuclear waste. Maybe we can even add some additional mass to stabilize the orbit.
Did, or would, the presence of an iris scanner change this outcome?
Not on that day, but you can only speculate what might have happened on a day when the office staff is out sick and temps are called in.
What if the person in question has no state issued ID (or any form of photo ID for that matter) I can't speak for other states, but in Illinois there is no law that requires citizens to get an ID, which would ultimately result in a Social Security card being used as ID (and I can tell you that those are not high-tech) The feds aren't likely to reissue all of them either. I guess that means we need to find another solution, perhaps something like notarized affidavits of the authority to pick up a child signed by the parent(s) and the designee? Perhaps something more convenient and hard to fake such as biometric identification? Also, lets not forget that the more users there are of a system, the cheaper it becomes to implement (You can still make a excellent profit with a lower margin if the distribution is high enough.)
(Nevermind that she left for work at 0700, came back around 1600 in the afternoon, that would be, 4 o'clock for those who cannot read 24 hr clocks.)
You seem to be spinning this as a bad thing. If that's when she left home and when she arrived back at home, that's only a nine hour span (Which around here is an 8 hour workday with a 1 hour unpaid lunch.) My wife and I work at the same company (I'm IT, she's accounting). We leave at about 0730 (to start work at 0830) and usually don't get back home until at least 2100.
I know a lot of people consider it un-American, but communism is a great ideal system (Imagine utopia where you have to pay for everything.). It does have a major flaw though. It only works when everyone is in on it. Communism doesn't work in a capitalist world. It will make a comeback when robots replace labor. Robots will do the things that no one wants to do (like garbage collection) and people will do what they want to do
As an aside, I found it humorously ironic that I have these beliefs while working in probably the most capitalist industry... Credit card processing.
The drivers license is the answer to both questions, but that is besides the point. Yes, in many places, driver's licenses are becoming harder to fake, but the citizens aren't in complete control of that. I don't have statistics showing how often it happens, but when I worked for a school district in a small town of about 5,000 people, I was present when an attempt was made, although the attempt was foiled. The majority of these instances occur with someone familiar with the family (or it is sometimes even a member of the family, as was the case here)
I don't have any kids of my own, but I do have 7 nieces and nephews, and no price is too high to protect any one of them.
What about the cases where Dad (or Mom) does not have custody (or visitation rights) and picks up the child from school and runs away? The child instantly recognizes the parent and if the school (particularly large schools and when a temp is in the office) doesn't know not to release custody to them, a serious problem has just occurred.
I'll admit even this system is flawed (especially when the parent has to send someone to pick up the child the the child does not recognize). But even then, training the child does not help in this circumstance either.
It's not an issue of "Screw your kids, mine are safe!" It's an issue of "We are doing what we can to make our kids safe. Why aren't you?"
No, the way that the money is handed out comes from various programs. The money for an iris scanning system comes from a program designed to increase security in schools. Textbooks come from the general education fund. Teacher training comes from the teachers themselves (It's called college. You know, that place you go to after high school to learn what you need to know for your intended career? Future teachers get grants to help pay for college by agreeing to teach in areas where teachers are desperately needed, such as inner-city schools.) Computer access comes from another government program (albeit, flawed). This program will purchase computers and establish internet access for schools.
If you are really concerned that schools aren't getting what they need, help them out. Donate to your local school district.
Also, whenever a referendum comes up where a new schools is needed (whether due to old buildings falling apart or overpopulation) and the government is offering up a matching grant for that purpose, please vote for it. That money can only be earmarked for two things: Building schools and building prisons. If you don't build one you need to build the other. Which one would you prefer? (BTW, the government doesn't have to ask to build prisons)
I can't imagine the countless hours photographing people into the database and asking Mrs. Robinson to remove her sunglasses would actually stop a child abductor. Besides, he could just drive another mile to any other grade school and commit his felonies there.
You are right, it won't stop child abductors, but it will stop them there. You may think it violates your privacy, but which provides more information and which is more easily faked: An iris scan or your driver's license?
I always found the Diet Dr. Pepper advertising slogan amusing. "Tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper"... than what? Budwiser? Cough syrup? Horse piss? (For the record, I drink regular Dr. Pepper.)
On a side note, diet sodas taste infinitely better from a fountain, and I definately miss drinking pop from glass bottles. Plastic and aluminum alter the taste too much.
I can see it now... DDR: Irish Dancing.
From a famous comic: "Leave it to the Irish to come up with a dance where you don't spill your beer."
I'll admit that the joke was a bad pun, but a troll? I think someone is either bored or has a chip on their shoulder.
I think I can respond to all of you predictions with just one word... naturally. :)
While that is funny, the service pack will only be as big as the files it needs to replace (and I'm sure a large number of the hotfixes replace the same files), so it really won't be that big.
As a realist, I have to ask... Does it really matter? As long as they provide the security updates in a timely matter, do we really care that it won't all be packaged up and named Service Pack 3?
Does this mean that their stock is no longer available to purchase publicly? If so, if they decide to relist, would that be a SPO (Second public offering)?
Yes, the stomach acid attacks the zinc, but it specifically states that the damage may result if the coin becomes lodged in the digestive tract (causing the reaction to act as a blowtorch).
True, zinc may be in short supply as well, but the article was about copper and specifically mentioned pennies rather than every other US coin (which have a higher copper content)
Will the inverse of that be true as well? i.e. Will the low level players stop seeing players above level X?
First off, zinc is not necessarily dangerous, in fact it is necessary for proper developement. My wife had to take zinc as a child due to a zinc deficiency.
On a different note, pennies have the lowest copper content of US coins at 2.5% copper in contrast to the dime, quarter, and half dollar at 91.67% copper!
I've never played the KOTOR games, so I can't speak from experience there, but nearly every Final Fantasy game (which some may debate are not true RPGs) required at some point, some devotion of time to increasing the level of your character and the collection of whatever money or item is required. A well-designed RPG would arguably ensure that you cannot progress faster than you should be levelling, but on the other hand being open-ended is a great experience as well. The main difference between single-player and MMOs is that with multiple people doing their own thing, there is no central storyline to complete. You have to set your own goals, and see them through.
As another example, take Y's Book 1 & 2. When you get to the end boss, you had better be the highest level you possibly can. At the highest level, you have a snowballs chance in hell of defeating him, you'd have no chance otherwise. To make it to the highest level, you must spend time levelling up.