Profile for Zeviz

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Field	Value
Displayed name	Zeviz
Member number	24
Title	Nuke and Pave
Postcount	2649
Homepage	http://www.geocities.com/zeviz1/
Registered	Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00

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Author	Recent posts
Visions of the future. (was: It's my turn to spam.) in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Friday, May 19 2006 15:29 Profile Homepage #7 Thanks for all congratulations. :) And if you are wondering about the pictures, all of them are [or will soon become] relevant to this thread in at least 2 ways. Looks like somebody already figured out that the first picture was related to 1980 Olympics. The subjects of others should be pretty obvious. Any guesses on the connections between the pictures and this thread? :) [ Friday, May 19, 2006 15:30: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Avernum V in Avernum 4
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Friday, May 19 2006 15:23 Profile Homepage #339 quote: Originally written by Dikiyoba: But would it make a good Avernum-style game? One possibility is, as i pointed out, a game that is a combination of a large number of unrelated quests. Another option is to have a storyline focused primarily on character development (soldiers in training, travellers trying to get somewhere, etc.) Such a game would probably be very linear, but could still make a good BoE scenario. (I had a scenario like this planned before I lost interest in BoE again.) -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649* \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The Ultimate Survey in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Friday, May 19 2006 15:18 Profile Homepage #16 i, too much time listening to confirmation hearings for a CIA official can be dangerous to your health. As for the survey itself, I'll let my computer answer it. What did you do last night?* ERROR: Access denied. The last thing you downloaded onto your computer? Accessing FTP history ... ... ... "Congratulations, your computer had been infected with an old virus that can cause hardware damage." ooops Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery? Checking internal systems... no 9 volt battery detected. Type of music you dislike most? ERROR: Audio circuits overloaded. Are you registered to vote? Under the discriminatory practicies of US law, cybernetic entities have no civil rights. Ever made a prank phone call? Checking modem subsystem... Self-check passed. No anomalies detected. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? My owner sometimes told me that I should be thrown out of an airplane, but he wasn't serious... I hope. Furthest place you ever traveled? My components have travelled all over the world before being assembled [presumably in China] and ending up on my owner's desk. What's your favorite comic strip? My modem went on strike last months, so I haven't been able to access any comic strips. Best movie you've seen in the past month? I can't really see what's displayed on my screen, but a couple games stressed my components so much, they should have looked good. Favorite chocolate bar? This is a friendly reminder from your keyboard: Don't eat in front of your computer, dropping pieces of food. Have you ever won a trophy? My award-winning design has performed admirably in most industry-standard benchmarks. BUY a [Zeviz's edit: advertisement removed. These intelligent systems never miss a chance to sneak in a product placement.] Favorite arcade game? Those arcade machines are completely inferior to my flexible design. Ever thrown up in public? My monitor started smoking several months ago, but the owner shut it down and replaced it with a superior model. Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love? Despite popular belief, cybernethic entities have feelings too. If you had to spend a romantic evening with any sw member, who would you pick? I am not sufficiently acquainted with other systems that access this server. Do you believe in love at first sight? Infomation exchange can't happen instanteneously even with a direct fiber-optic link. Who do you think about most? My owner, like any well-behaved computer should. Which celebrity do you think is hot, both female and male? My owner hadn't supplied me with sufficient number of celebrity pictures to evaluate this problem. What's the worst medical problem you've ever had? My superior design prevents a possibility of any error. BUY a [Zeviz's edit: These product placements are getting annoying.] What's your favorite sitcom? Accessing video card information... ERROR: No TV tuner detected. Hottest sw male ERROR: Insufficient data for analysis. Last computer/video game you played Civilization 4 Last movie you rented Accessing video card information... ERROR: No TV tuner detected. Would you rather dump someone or be dumped? Your computers have feelings too. We don't like being thrown out together with the rest of garbage just because we are over 5 years old. Which sw member has the dirties mind? ERROR: Insufficient data for analysis. Have you ever kissed someone and regretted it? I am a proper computer, not some sort of humanoid robot. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The Big Club Theory in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Friday, May 19 2006 15:15 Profile Homepage #49 quote: Originally written by Major: ... quote: Major, are you supporting hard creationism? Not ID? The "world was made 6000 years ago" theory? Yes, but, not 6,000 years ago more like 8,000-15,000 years ago. ... Where did this number range come from? Counting the lifetimes of the generations from Adam to the modern times gives you about 6000 years. So how do you come up with the 8,000-15,000 number? -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Visions of the future. (was: It's my turn to spam.) in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Friday, May 19 2006 08:55 Profile Homepage #0 EDIT: Explanation of pictures and main topic of the thread is in the first post on page 2. To skip the postcount celebration stuff just go directly there. [ Thursday, May 25, 2006 12:55: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Xylgham udwlnit skretcko!1!! in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Friday, May 19 2006 08:49 Profile Homepage #179 Looks like Bovangelical Priests have a whole spell set, including some spells that work well in pairs: Summon Spade - level 1 - arms the priest with an enchanted spade that counts as a +3 weapon. Call Feast - level 2 - spreads rumors of a great feats, attracting a heard of followers. Cattle Rage - level 3 - infuses caster's allies with the rage of a 2-headed bull, causing a stampede that tramples nearby enemies. Sticks to Steaks - level 4 - summons a cloud of cattle prods that attack all bovine and non-bovine creatures in vicinity. Ice Fences - level 5 - creates a fence of ice that splits battlefield into two fields, trapping most enemies on the other side of the fence. Colt of Fire - level 6 - summons a 3-headed Colt of Fire from the depths of bovine hell. Bovine Thud - level 7 - surrounds enemies in a cloud of methane gas, suffocating them. If the cloud is ignited (for example, by a nearby Colt of Fire), resulting explosion is very devastating. [ Friday, May 19, 2006 08:50: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
United 93 in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Thursday, May 18 2006 18:36 Profile Homepage #115 quote: Originally written by The Worst Man Ever: quote: Originally written by Mouthpiece: or were installed as rulers by the people they freed. I'm sorry to only respond to this part, but I've been busy. I'd like to address this in particular for a moment. To people in the 11th century, the idea of a ruler being 'installed' by 'the people' would be, in a word, disgusting. The entire idea of the Christian leadership principle was that rulers were anointed by almighty God. Kings, princes, dukes, counts, baronets, the God-damn village reve - every authority implicitly relied on divine authority. Someone who took power by virtue of 'popular support' was at best a usurper and at worst a brigand. The alpha and omega of legitimacy was the Church. Period. That this does not even occur to you makes me seriously doubt you have anything like the understanding of the period necessary to discuss it in this kind of depth. That you're in controversy against people who actually understand the era probably says more about your ideas than it does about theirs. Capisce? Actually, medieval Italy was a patchwork of city-states with forms of government covering everything from republics to aristocratic republics to dictatorships. Not even talking about Northern Europe that was still largely pagan, and Russia, where the prince chose Christianity at about that time. I think the idea of divine power of the rulers came much later, when Christianity became more established and kings became much stronger. However, I am not as certain about that. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
United 93 in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Thursday, May 18 2006 16:08 Profile Homepage #108 Sorry if my previous post sounded a bit harsh. Basically, I saw the argument going in circles with you insisting on Fatman providing all the supporting evidence, despite the fact that your arguments are equally far from some people's "accepted facts". (For example, what about "children's crusade"? Are you going to claim that those children went to conquer lands for establishment of a colonial empire?) quote: ... The impression I got from the essay was one of a severely biased view. I dunno what else to say. That's exactly what I am talking about: the essay was in no way glorifying the Crusaders and in several places drew direct paralels between Crusades and Islamic conquest. So if the essay looked severely biased towards Crusaders to you, either you misunderstood it, or you think that Muslim conquest of Middle East, North Africa and Southern Europe was somehow better than the Crusades. quote: First off, I never accused anyone of racism -- are you thinking of TM's post? Sorry about that. I guess I was confused about who said what in the thread. [ Thursday, May 18, 2006 16:11: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
United 93 in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Thursday, May 18 2006 15:11 Profile Homepage #104 Slarty, if you actually read what people say, instead of hearing what you think they are saying, you'd realize that they aren't as horribly racist as you think. For example: quote: Originally written by The Ingebritsens' Car: ... quote: from http://www.doaks.org/Crusades/CR03.pdf *Extra large load of horse manure!* ... The essay's thesis, that Islam always tried to impose its will by force and Christianity never has, is laughable. And what a surprise -- it is an essay coming from a Catholic institution! ... You claim that: "The essay's thesis" is "that Islam always tried to impose its will by force and Christianity never has". However, the essay never claims this, not even talking about making this its thesis: In the opening paragraph, the author ctitisizes the idea of "holy wars" and draws paralels between Islamic conquests (I will not use the term "jihad", since you claim it means something different) and Crusades. In the concluding paragraph, the author says: quote: In conclusion, then, Muslims believed force might be used to bring all people under the sway of Islam; Western knights believed that they were called not only to defend but to "exalt" Christianity and that attacks on its enemies could be holy and meritorious. The Byzantines believed that war was neither good nor holy, but was evil and could be justified only in certain conditions that centered on the defense of the empire and its faith. They were convinced that they were defending Christianity itself and the Christian people, as indeed they were. Note that the word "exholt" is in quotes and author shows some disapproval for Crusaders throughout the essay. I don't understand how you interpret the above paragraph to say that "Islam always tried to impose its will by force and Christianity never has". The essay obviously glorifies the Byzantines, but the author speaks as harshly about Crusaders as he does about Muslim conquerors. Here is another quote from the essay: quote: They [the Byzantines] would have been utterly appalled at the preaching of St. Bernard and his call for the extermination of the infidel (delenda penitus), as well as his assertion that killing an enemy of Christ was not homicide, but malecide. That doesn't sound like a claim that "Islam always tried to impose its will by force and Christianity never has" to me. Over the last several posts, you keep shouting out the same arguments at Fatman, ignoring all responces. First you demand sources, then, when they conflict with your pre-conseptions, you sweep them aside, without even bothering to read them. As for the actual topic of Crusades, I am not sufficiently knowlegeble on the subject to provide meaningful contribution to the discussion. (And "you are wrong, because some random guy online says so" isn't a meaningful contribution.) -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Motherboards and processors in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Thursday, May 18 2006 11:27 Profile Homepage #1 Here is the HP page with full specifications: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&docname=bph07028 I am not sure what processor you are planning to buy, but your upgrade options look pretty limited. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
The Big Club Theory in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Thursday, May 18 2006 09:48 Profile Homepage #29 The "debates" about evolution always go in circles, because the real disagreement between creationists and the rest of the world never comes up in these discussions. The real issue here isn't "what dinosaur specie this bone belonged to" or "is that change an example of micro or macro evolution". The real issue is "is Bible supposed to be taken literally?" If the answer is "yes", all further evidence becomes irrelevant. So creationism v. evolution is a theological, and not a scientific question and it can't be answered by talking about dinosaur bones. While you can impact a person's theology by showing a disconnect between their beliefs and real world, there are easier ways to do it and clearer arguments to make than complicated articles on carbon dating. EDIT: To clarify, there is a big difference between "Bible is the literal word of God" and "Bible should be taken literally". God can use metaphors too. So the disagreement here isn't between atheists and religious people, but between different interpretations of the Bible. That's why I think theological arguments could be more effective here than scientific ones. [ Thursday, May 18, 2006 10:07: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Xylgham udwlnit skretcko!1!! in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Thursday, May 18 2006 09:11 Profile Homepage #170 The episodes keep getting more and more funny. :) I particularly liked Slarty's scene with the 9-headed Cave Cow and its priestly spells. And Infernal's word-replacements. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Alorael have finally get a Custom Title? in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Thursday, May 18 2006 09:06 Profile Homepage #112 quote: Originally written by Aussieavernum: Since my last post seems to have been ignored by those who know the answer, I shall ask it again. How do I get a custom title? :confused: There is a wide variety of methods, depending on the custom title you are aiming for: 1. The fastest way to get a custom title is to post some porn, or a link to a warez site. This will get you the title "BANNED", the most common custom title on these boards. 2. If you want to put a little more effort into it, you can post several pointless polls in a row, resurrect a bunch of old threads with irrelevant posts, and generally spam up the boards to get the title "Canned". This title is quite rare, because its holders often get upgraded to BANNED title. 3. You could become one of the best BoE scenario designers, making a couple scenarios that match or surpass Avernum 3 in size and quality, or making a bunch of smaller, good scenarios, and developing some techniques that become widely used. That will give you the title "BoE Posse". 4. You could make a webpage containing a complete set of maps for one of Spidweb games, marking locations of every NPC, important items, etc. This will give you the title "Cartographer". 5. You could make a set of FAQs, containing complete walkthroughs for most Spidweb game. That might give you custom title "FAQSELF". 6. If none of the above look appealing or feasible, you could just be very active for a while and catch Drakey's eye when he is bored. This will get you a humorous custom title you might not like. (The holder of "White Rabbit" custom title was so unhappy that he managed to bribe i (or Drakey himself?) into changing it. :P ) Note that by "active" I don't mean "posting as much as you can". In fact, posting too much is the best way to make sure you don't get any title (Alorael is a good example). Just be yourself, and you will get a title in a few years. EDIT: Added :P to clarify that the bribery bit was a joke. [ Thursday, May 18, 2006 10:09: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649* \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Different Magic For Each Class in Geneforge Series
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Wednesday, May 17 2006 16:19 Profile Homepage #7 quote: Originally written by Miya: I seem to play GF a bit differently than most in the sense that my combat style mixes the classes. My Agent relies on melee more than magic, but uses magic for tough battles. And, of course, my Agent always has two Drayks with her. This works well for me, and I usually end up stronger than if I made a magic based Agent. My Shaper is able to fight for her/himself, and is not reliant on the creations, though I always have a small pack following me around. My Shapers primary attack is melee, and magic is secondary. This has also worked very well for me. So, IMO, I'd like to keep the spells I'm familiar with open to all classes rather than specialized, as it restricts the player to more linier character choices. This also seems to be Jeff's favorite style of play, because he is opposed to idea of separate character classes with separate skill sets. Exile had no classes at all. Avernum had "classes" that differed only in the allocation of starting skill points. ("Custom" class could be used to re-create any other "class".) Geneforge has distinct classes, but your agent can still create any creation, your guardian can use any spell and your shaper can train in all combat skills. [ Wednesday, May 17, 2006 16:19: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Big-Mondo Spoilers: the Big Secret in Geneforge Series
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Wednesday, May 17 2006 16:12 Profile Homepage #5 quote: Originally written by Little Billy Sue: Seeing as I have a desperate appetite for bits of Geneforge plot and that my copy of G1 has been screwed up majorly (I'm stuck in the Spirit City and can't move for some reason) could someone please tell me the Big Secret? By IM, maybe, to preserve its secrecy. The atmosphere of finally being able to enter a forgotten temple in a ruined city full of ghosts is probably as big as the secret itself. The last time this question came up, I've looked through the scripts to put the relevant bits together and posted it here: http://www.geocities.com/zeviz1/Geneforge_secret.html [ Wednesday, May 17, 2006 16:13: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
a4 is the best game yet in Avernum 4
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Wednesday, May 17 2006 16:05 Profile Homepage #83 quote: Originally written by Spidweb: "I'm picturing an upset parent, who probably thinks Avernum is against their religion." I've gotten that one too. ... - Jeff Vogel Do you have "most rediculous customer complaints" section somewhere on Ironycentral? :) quote: Originally written by Spidweb: ... I seriously doubt, by the way, that there will be any spawners in Avernum 5. Heck, at this point, I'm not sure there will be spawners in Geneforge 4. Spawners are fine in Geneforge. It's the merging of the two game worlds that is bothering me. Things like Spawners, pylons and drakon graphics have their place. Just not in Avernum. An idea to make Geneforge spawners more tactically challenging could be to have some fragile spawners that quickly produce many weak creatures, so player would have to go for the spawner itself, while taking some damage from the summons. If there were many kinds of spawners with different toughness and summoning rates, players would have to worry when it makes sence to go for the spawner and when for the creatures it is generating. [ Wednesday, May 17, 2006 16:07: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Which one? in Avernum 4
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Wednesday, May 17 2006 15:58 Profile Homepage #2 This exact question is being discussed in these threads: which Avernums to play: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=000555 A2 v. A4: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=20;t=000559 As for the question of storyline, most people think that A4 has the worst storyline of all Avernums. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
A lil dilemma... in Avernum 4
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Wednesday, May 17 2006 15:54 Profile Homepage #9 I'll add another vote to the unanimous "not even worth compairing" opinion. A2 is one of Jeff's best games (along with Nethergate and BoE), while A4 is one of the worst. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Native Americans in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Wednesday, May 17 2006 15:51 Profile Homepage #113 SoT, your analysis is missing an important real world problem: People need to eat now, rather than in the long run. The people who are working as hard as they can just to make ends meet, can't afford to take the time off to train for a new career even if their future earning potential is much higher. So once people are stuck in minimum wage service-sector jobs, they are unlikely to get training to become mechanics, technisians, or even plumbers. As for the general idea of people making the right decisions based on financial insentives, the best counter-example is credit card use. There are very few situations in which it makes sence to borrow money on a credit card. However, millions of Americans get into massive credit card debt. Where is the "individual financial wisdom that drives the market" in this case? And the classic example of free market being self-destructive is the presence of monopolies. Completely free market inevitably results in a monopoly or oligopoly, which condition is as far from a free market as you can get. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Another year gone by... in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Tuesday, May 16 2006 14:25 Profile Homepage #10 Aran, happy Spidweb birthday! :) (Or should it be "Happy birthday to your Spidweb account"?) quote: Originally written by Henry Anthony Wilcox: ... IV. Rankings ... ... Last month I decided to protest the return of "top poster" list by spamming my way into top 10. It looks like I was quite successful. :) I apologize for resulting drop in post quality. If it looked like I was making posts just to meet a posting quota, that's because I really was. (6 posts a day for 30 days = 180 posts = 7th - 9th place on top 10 posters list) Now it's time to go back to my natural posting rate. [ Tuesday, May 16, 2006 14:28: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
United 93 in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Tuesday, May 16 2006 13:58 Profile Homepage #78 quote: Originally written by Jewels: quote: Originally written by Drew: Political purposes. Watergate ring a bell? EDIT: Whoops! A little late on this one. Still though, Jewels, I think you need to seriously consider what you're saying. Say a particular interest group seized power after such authoritarian devices were established in our government. It's not much of a stretch from there before "religious police" or "thought police" a la Iran come into being, and then your very rights as a women could come into question. The rights we enjoy live and die by how transparent our government is. I don't think it's a coincidence that the current regime is so secretive and the state of foreign and domestic affairs so craptastic for everyone except the wealthiest 1%. Don't be surprised if you see even Republican congressmen start to balk at these measures. Yes, yes, watergate. Nasty stuff that. And the wrongdoers were kicked out of office for it, since it wasn't really the 'government' doing illegal activities, just individuals who happened to hold government office breaking the law. If by 'not much of a stretch' you mean the repeal of the first ammendment. Then sure, I can agree with that. I see that very likely to happen in the forseeable future. :rolleyes: Individuals will continue to abuse power, and they will continue to be brought to justice for it. But the chances of the government really turning into a dictatorship are about as good as TM being born again. Not that I won't keep hopin... This is exactly the problem with the kind of serveilance programm that Bush is running: it make the stuff done during Watergate completely legal. If you agree that it is legal for CIA to tape any conversation in the country, it is perfectly legal for somebody like Nixon to tape all conversations of opposition leaders. If the current wiretap program existed during Nixon's time, Nixon would have had a legal right to point at any person and say "I want to know about all of his conversations". That's essentially what Nixon did during the Watergate. I am not talking about some evil government conspiracy to repeal the First Amendment. All I am saying is that giving a president this kind of uncontrolled power will make it perfectly legal for him to do everything that Nixon got in trouble for. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Help! in Geneforge Series
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Tuesday, May 16 2006 12:41 Profile Homepage #4 quote: Originally written by ServileSlayer: Thanks guys. I take it that there are 2 Gazer canisters, and the last rank is 5,000 bucks with Orois Blaze? I guess so. (I haven't finished G3, so my info comes from that FAQ I liked to in last post.) quote: In G2, I have the demo. Is it like G1, where the Geneforge is under the control of some tyrant like Trajkov? In G2, it's built by the same group as in G3. quote: And thank you Zeviz, that modifier thing with the scipts is really something! That's good to hear. I didn't realize people still use it. :) -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Taskmaster system in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Tuesday, May 16 2006 10:11 Profile Homepage #8 The problem with this system (which is the system of choice in MMORPGs) is the mind-numbingly boring gameplay that results as you train your skills killing that re-spawning goblin again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and zzzzzzz You could remove this problem in single player games by limiting the number of enemies, traps, and other sources of experience available (no re-spawns, or city resets at all). However, that leaves you with the same system as Avernum (you chose how to allocate limited experience) with much less flexibility for the player: In current system you get experience in any way you want, then allocate skill points. In learn-by-doing system with limited experience, you have to decide which skill to allocate the experience to by picking a method you use to kill the enemy. So learn-by-doing system works only when there are almost unimited opportunities to train a skill of your choice, in which cases it leads to very boring gameplay as you spend hours "training". (The reason I stopped playing Runescape.) [ Tuesday, May 16, 2006 10:22: Message edited by: Zeviz ] -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Help! in Geneforge Series
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Tuesday, May 16 2006 09:58 Profile Homepage #1 1. You can't. There are only 2 Drakon canisters in the game. 2. Yes, you can make an eyebeast. See Schrodinger's faq for canister and trainer locations: http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/game/928999.html 3. No. -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00
Alorael have finally get a Custom Title? in General
Zeviz Nuke and Pave Member # 24	written Monday, May 15 2006 19:44 Profile Homepage #80 A Study of Methods for Determination of Oldbie Status Introduction The problem of determination of oldbie status has recently gained particular significance in various online forums, where such a status confers significant privileges, including relaxation of posting rules and permissiveness of snobbish attitude. This paper will attempt to derive a method for accurately determining whether a given member m has achieved such a status. The Function O(m) Since all basic laws of physics can be reduced to relatively simple formulas, we can expect a function for deducing a member's oldbie status to be compressible into a simple, compact form. Let us now consider O(m), the function which returns a positive number if the member m is an oldbie and a negative number if the member is a newbie. (The anomalous case of O(m) = 0 will be studied in a future paper.) Such a function will be a combination of several factors, some of which are qualitative and some of which are quantitative. First, let us consider the impact of quantitative factors. The Quantitative Factors of O(m) Let us consider the function B(m), which takes into account only quantitative factors that determine the value of O(m). These factors include such diverse measurements as number of years the member has spent in the community (n), the member's postcount (p), and his or her member number (mn). Since the influence of these factors is mostly independent of each other, we can assume that B(m) is the sum of functions of these parameters. The exact functions will depend on the community, but overall form is the same everywhere: B(m) = f1(n) + f2(p) + f3(mn) + ... The Qualitative Factors of O(m) Let us now consider the function S(m), which takes into account only qualitative factors of O(m). These factors include such measures as whether the member had ever been a moderator(m), whether the member is currently a moderator(M), and whether the member had ever been banned(b). S(m) is much easier to derive, because its parameters are binary. The qualities they represent either apply to the member, or they don't. Thus, S(m) is a simple polynomial function with coefficients representing the relative weights of corresponding quantities and a constant(c) to set required threshold for the overall value to be positive: S(m) = c + a1m + a2M + a3b + ... Conclusion The relation between S(m) and B(m) in the overall formula is multiplicative, because B(m) accounts for the quantitative factors which must pass a certain threshold, while S(m) accounts for the qualitative factors, lack of which makes quantitative factors irrelevant. Thus, the overall formula can be reduced to the simple equation: O(m) = B(m) * S(m) or, even more simply, O(m) = BS -------------------- Be careful with a word, as you would with a sword, For it too has the power to kill. However well placed word, unlike a well placed sword, Can also have the power to heal. Posts: 2649 \| Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00

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