Profile for I'll Steal Your Toast
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | I'll Steal Your Toast |
| Member number | 2210 |
| Title | Agent |
| Postcount | 1084 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
Recent posts
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| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Funning with helms in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 25 2004 00:21
Profile
You can give some items a ridiculous number of charges-- I don't think there is a charge limit for wands. A wand of light or light crystal would work well. It would save a lot of weight for the characters. So you could have a wand of light lvl 50 with 200 charges and you would not need to purchase/find torches or lamps for quite a while. It would be very lite -- 1 pound. I don't think you could make a light helmet. Another item which would lighten the load for characters would be a magical dinner plate usable once per day that gave eight food items every time it was used-- 2 loaves of broad, 2 pieces of fish, 2 apples, and 2 greens. No more carrying around food. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Funning with helms in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 25 2004 00:21
Profile
You can give some items a ridiculous number of charges-- I don't think there is a charge limit for wands. A wand of light or light crystal would work well. It would save a lot of weight for the characters. So you could have a wand of light lvl 50 with 200 charges and you would not need to purchase/find torches or lamps for quite a while. It would be very lite -- 1 pound. I don't think you could make a light helmet. Another item which would lighten the load for characters would be a magical dinner plate usable once per day that gave eight food items every time it was used-- 2 loaves of broad, 2 pieces of fish, 2 apples, and 2 greens. No more carrying around food. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Non-SW game recommendations in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Friday, September 24 2004 15:03
Profile
I've been wanting to play Fallout for a while. There is a Collectors Edition in German which has Fallout 1, Fallout 2, and Fallout Tactics. I don't see an english version of this only a jewel case bundle of Fallout 1 and 2. Is there a Collectors Edition in english. I would prefer to buy the three in one. I think it would be cheaper. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Binge Drinking in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Thursday, September 23 2004 01:55
Profile
Hey phat person try this for aggrandize. http://dictionary.reference.com/ phat adj 1. very good, excellent; COOL. ("That's a phat bike.") 2. attractive. Note: an acronym, "pretty hot and tempting," has been invented for the word. The acronym came after the original coining of the term. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| How to raise money? in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Wednesday, September 22 2004 14:48
Profile
There are a couple other things than sell things on ebay which can make money. This is kind of a crazy thing. From Warren Buffet biography. Buy gum ball machine, or video game machine make agreement to put in local store. Basically some kind of cheap vending machine. Consign stuff in a shop. Once again you have to have stuff to consign or know what to look for. When I had more time I used to pick books. Collect recyclables, bottles, cans, scrap. I think this might be a little dangerous these days. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Retired Heroes??? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Wednesday, September 22 2004 14:15
Profile
There was a testing area called Battle Arena which is for 35th level characters. Also, Undead Valley should come out. It is very wacky and a first try at a scenario but there are some interesting pieces. Undead Valley is on version 7.0. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Philosophical Implementation in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Wednesday, September 22 2004 08:06
Profile
ROR is not mean enough and spiteful enough to show true nihilism or spite. It needs to be truly wicked with tougher fights with the worst sorts of monsters basilisks, demons, corrosive slimes, nearly unbeatable puzzles, riddles which confuse the player and other things which make no sense. I would imagine a nihilistic scenario would have numerous unexplainable encounters, puzzles, and stuff throughout to perplex the player. Also some illogical angry diatribes would help. Paranoid statements which a conspiracy theorist might make. The empire is trying to steal our brains so they use them to make super golems. Stuff like that. Go all out for the next one. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Binge Drinking in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Wednesday, September 22 2004 01:56
Profile
The only point in getting drunk is to go bowling. :P -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Philosophical Implementation in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Tuesday, September 21 2004 15:48
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ROR was fun that was what mattered to me. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Philosophical Implementation in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Tuesday, September 21 2004 10:04
Profile
Found philosophies in Avernum. Don't take this too seriously. 1) Giganticus Sadomasachistus-- a form of savagery created by giants. 2) Vampiric Romanticism-- The idea that vampires are studs, and like roses, women, and music. Exhibited in Roses of Reckoning, and Dealing With The Dead. 3) Anamaism- Magic is evil and should not be practiced only priestly magic. 4) Imperial Elitism-- It is alright to turn all non-imperials into serfs and slaughter non-humans indiscriminately. 5) Ancestral Gods-- Sliths worship their gods in temples and carve statues of their ancestors. 6) Soul Crystals-- Vahnati-- those revered in life should be turned into superior crystalline beings upon death. 7) Triadic Magery-- Centers of magical learning should be in towers ruled by three wiards. 8) Purism (my term for this)-- A strange philosophy invented by a being called the Perfect Spirit. Uses a combination of religious eugenics (not sure of this -- I think this may be true) , genocide, and perfectionism to direct Nephilim culture. 9) Speres -- Tribal philosophy based on "Honor, Loyalty, Tradition" think these are the right three. I am sure there are others floating around in the mix. This is a sample. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| How to raise money? in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Monday, September 20 2004 05:05
Profile
1) Sell crap on ebay. People aren't that diligent about checking your age if you do it right. There are some amazingly bad pieces of art and handicraft stuff which sell on ebay. There is no effective way to check your age on auction sites. 2) Lemonade stand. Sell candy bars. Requires a little initial investment. 3) Odd jobs. Mowing lawns. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Philosophical Implementation in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Sunday, September 19 2004 15:41
Profile
It might be interesting to use the non-human races-- Sliths, Nephils, and Vahnati to present philosophies which are counterintuitive or anti-hegemonic as a plot device. They don't and shouldn't think like us. It could be a way of escaping from the trap of standard lecturing. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Philosophical Implementation in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Sunday, September 19 2004 12:41
Profile
I liked Emerald Mountain and A Perfect Forest. I didn't have a problem with the use of philosophy in them. As far as the Anama thing I think it would be a good idea to do this. It might be refreshing to see some nonstandard fantasy. Allegory is an excellent idea. Hack and slash is boring. Tolkien is far from the best of the fantasists. Lord Dunsany and in some cases Jack Vance far outstrip him. I think the objection is being the direct receiver of a lecture. Being an arbiter between two different fighting factions of philosophy like the Empire and Anama or Empire and Rebels seems to be more acceptable form of presenting the battle of ideas. For example you might be caught up in a schism in the Anama church, or a religious idea from the Vahnati that slipped into Avernum. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Philosophical Implementation in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Sunday, September 19 2004 05:57
Profile
I think there is a difference between standard plotting in an adventure game and a novel. The closest fixed written thing I can think of compared to computer game writing is Choose Your Own Adventure books-- It is almost counterintuitive to write a Choose Your Own Adventure type story with a strong moral story. Most are fluff. I can't imagine a strong philosophy working well in a short scenario. I think it would have to be in a much longer scenario so the philosophy could be worked into the background more with less exposition. Then there is interactive fiction which is a closer form of writing. I am not sure how plot is worked out in Interactive Fiction. Somehow three or four "plots" would have to be worked into the writing come up with different endings. This could get pretty complicated. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Philosophical Implementation in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Sunday, September 19 2004 01:18
Profile
It seems a number of scenarios are designed around preaching, demonstrating, or expounding a specific philosophy. I think this was true of Roses of Reckoning, A Perfect Forest, and Emerald Mountain. In your opinion what game mechanics seem to help or harm this style of scenario. Some suggestions which seem to help scenarios focused on philosophy are: 1) Include character items like the Silver Cross Bracelet which are symbolic of the philosophy. 2) Put symbols into the scenario which represent the philosophy. Graphics of wall banners, statues, etc. 3) Put in a book or two or a tome about the philosophy. 4) Use text bubbles as slogans an Anama priest might say "Magic is Demonic". 5) Use secondary characters to give opinions outside of the main character which differ from the main character. 6) Preach to the character at appropriate points-- school lecture hall, library, temple, mayors office, etc. Thoughts, views, opinions. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| POV Ray Graphics in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 18 2004 15:57
Profile
It is not just the graphics. I do not like 3D graphics for the most part. The main advantage is perspective and height. Having higher definition, better perspective, and better shading effects is more important than 3d effects. It is more of a question on how the engine can be improved in a limited size download. 30 MB compressed is about tops for a 56k modem. Graphics are the most obvious component. Loyal communities tend to be homeostatic. I think he may need a bit of growth for the future. In pure commercial terms this is the reason for Geneforge which I think has a better engine than Blades. To stay in business he may need to introduce a new engine every 3-5 years or an upgrade. I know this may sound funny, but soon Jeff will have to increase his income and viewership. To put it simply kids cost money. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| POV Ray Graphics in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 18 2004 14:37
Profile
Hmm. There is a technical point of diminishing returns. Recent reviews have trashed the engine PC Gamer -- 50% is not good. Apparently the rest of the gaming industry is run on bells and whistles. The way they get you to buy the next best thing is to force you to buy faster and faster computing powered game with poor plot and simplistic combat. 3D and loud. I think Blades of Avernum is close to technical death in terms of graphics and game engine. Hopefully the next project Spiderweb is putting out will address this. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| POV Ray Graphics in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 18 2004 13:48
Profile
Hi, I am interested in the idea of POV Ray Graphics in a Spiderweb type game. I think it would be doable. http://www.rpg-project.com/ . I don't think there is something like this out yet. It would be better than the current 2d graphics. Oasen is another game which uses ray tracing http://graphics.cs.uni-sb.de/~morfiel/oasen/about.html . I think this is an open source form of graphics which could be adapted to shareware games easily. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| A Perfect Forest on Spiderweb in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 18 2004 07:58
Profile
You go into combat mode and haste the character pushing the mirrors. This gives you enough time to finish the mirrors easily. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Undead Topics Need Loving Too (aka "Give Me Your First-Born") in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 18 2004 00:28
Profile
That is why there are objects and books throughout a game. Throwing in a few books about your philosophy with a paragraph each on the subject can make the game easier to follow, even one of the big tomes can help. Also I am guessing you can use background graphics as symbols a little hair shirt and a whip, like the Roses in Roses of Reckoning. Found items can also be symbolic of a philosophy-- The Silver Cross Bracelet in A Perfect Forest is the symbol of the purists. Wall graphics -- banners like a golden cup, etc. can help also. Also short text bubbles-- can be uttered by wandering creatures in towns-- an Anama might say Magic is Demonic. Secondary characters can talk about the philosophy-- the librarian in A Perfect Forest is another example. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| What do you guys think? in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 18 2004 00:00
Profile
It would become tedious after a while if not done very well. The reason you don't describe everything is that you want to cut out the mundane to speed up the scenario so it is more interesting. The only way to counter this is if you hid a lot of extra stuff in some of the encounters. Also, too much explanation sounds like lecturing. You don't need to explain most things unless they are unique-- a fort is a fort, a dark wyrm crystal spiral might use some explanation. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| What do you guys think? in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Saturday, September 18 2004 00:00
Profile
It would become tedious after a while if not done very well. The reason you don't describe everything is that you want to cut out the mundane to speed up the scenario so it is more interesting. The only way to counter this is if you hid a lot of extra stuff in some of the encounters. Also, too much explanation sounds like lecturing. You don't need to explain most things unless they are unique-- a fort is a fort, a dark wyrm crystal spiral might use some explanation. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Undead Topics Need Loving Too (aka "Give Me Your First-Born") in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Friday, September 17 2004 16:34
Profile
How about psychobabble is hard to live by. Coherent philosophies at least the early ones were meant to be functional teachings on how to live and do better in the world, much of Aristotle, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Siddhartha were functional writings on enlightenment, not angst ridden blither like Nietzsche-- who was a raving lunatic. Unless a philosophy has a coherent positive message on how to live better I won't pay attention to it very much. A lot of modern philosophy is riddled with angst and nihilism which for the most part is self- destructive. If you are going to have a philosopher in the game it would be better to have someone who did a series of actions based on belief not incomprehensible statements. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Undead Topics Need Loving Too (aka "Give Me Your First-Born") in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Friday, September 17 2004 07:44
Profile
Philosophy generates angst. Incomprehensible nonsensical philosophy generates angst and confusion in equal measure which leads to anger. Anger leads to people wanting to bash each others heads in because they cannot understand the other persons incomprehensible nonsensical philosophy. Art and music have a much more soothing effect than philosophy. Cut out the angst. Pfft. :P -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |
| Undead Topics Need Loving Too (aka "Give Me Your First-Born") in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2210
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written Wednesday, September 15 2004 15:09
Profile
I pull out my two handed berserker flaming diamond edged vorpal waveblade of doom and start chopping peoples* (including tentacle monsters and TGMs) into tiny baco bit sized pieces to spread on my toast. I lift up the sword and start roaring like a lion. Lightning shoots from my eyes and my black razor edged field plate glows with sickly red aura. I challenge yous to a fight to the death. Rain starts pouring in sheets turning the ground into an impassable mess. -------------------- Wasting your time and mine looking for a good laugh. Star Bright, Star Light, Oh I Wish I May, I Wish Might, Wish For One Star Tonight. Posts: 1084 | Registered: Thursday, November 7 2002 08:00 |