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Riddles & Brain Teasers in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, November 3 2005 09:25 Profile Homepage #109
I tried, but 7 x 7 is too big to brute-forse, so I got stuck looking for a more efficient way to do it.

Khoth, why would nothing happen? That's the exact setup of the version of red-eyed-people puzzle I've heard first. (Or is this version forget to mention that they have to kill themselves at a certain time of day?)

--------------------
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
Kiwis ban virtual drugs in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, November 3 2005 09:07 Profile Homepage #20
quote:
Originally written by Belisarius:

...
One can infer from that that if any speech is restricted for reasons of utility, all speech is potentially restricted.
...
The result of restrictions on free expression is a reasonable, unconditional state of fear by the public of the government, which results in a reduced quality of life and thus a state of sub-optimal utility.
...
By this logic, all of us in America live in constant fear of persecution due to the fact that we aren't allowed to yell "fire" in a crowded theater.

You've said "if any speech is restricted for reasons of utility, all speech is potentially restricted." So why is it ok to restrict my natural right to yell "fire" wherever I please? Sure, it might hurt some people, but so could that nickel phrase you've quoted.

--------------------
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
1.0.1 in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 1 2005 08:52 Profile Homepage #6
If you are getting script errors when using the editor script, either the editor got corrupted when downloading, or you might need to convert it to correct text format for your OS. (If I am not mistaken, some people had problems on Windows with an editor script made on Mac.)

--------------------
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
1.0.1 in Geneforge
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 1 2005 08:52 Profile Homepage #6
If you are getting script errors when using the editor script, either the editor got corrupted when downloading, or you might need to convert it to correct text format for your OS. (If I am not mistaken, some people had problems on Windows with an editor script made on Mac.)

--------------------
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
Zyans package? in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 1 2005 08:46 Profile Homepage #1
If I remember correctly, you have to clear out the warren pretty thoroughly to get to it. It's a special item, so when you search the correct chest, you'll get a message that you've found a package. (I don't remember the exact wording.)

--------------------
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
Zyans package? in Geneforge 2
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 1 2005 08:46 Profile Homepage #1
If I remember correctly, you have to clear out the warren pretty thoroughly to get to it. It's a special item, so when you search the correct chest, you'll get a message that you've found a package. (I don't remember the exact wording.)

--------------------
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
Riddles & Brain Teasers in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 1 2005 08:38 Profile Homepage #104
Looks like I missed the logico-phylosophical discussion of the red-eyed-monk problem. If I was here, I would have said that the new information given by the tourist is the timing:

If the monks have all heard the order to kill themselves at the same time and saw all the eyes at the same time, tourist's statement would be irrelevant. So we have to assume that the rulling was communicated to monks separately and/or they didn't all meet together on the day of the rulling. So they didn't know what to count as day 1 for their regression. When the tourist makes the statement about eyes, presumably all the monks take that as a cue to start counting from that day.

However, a much more logical version of the puzzle is the one where tribesmen on an island one day hear the volcano god's voice from the volcano telling both the order for red-eyed ones to kill themselves and the fact that there are red-eyed one.

PS About writing out the number of levels of "everybody knows that everybody knows that everybody knows...", there are N levels needed for N red-eyed people. However, when the tourist (or the volcano god) states the information while everybody is in the room, that creates infinite level of "everybody knows that everybody knows that..." so for all practical reasons people just assume "they know", without explicitly thinking of all the levels required. (Just like when you say "green" you just assume a certain color, instead of thinking of every possible shade of green.)

--------------------
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
Hpp Vwl Cnsrvtn Dy in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, November 1 2005 08:22 Profile Homepage #19
Rdng nglsh wtht vwls s t hrd. Lnggs tht skp vwls n wrtng crry mst f th mnng n cnsnnts nd s vwls prmrly fr grmmr nd prnncblty.

(Reading English without vowels is too hard. Languages that skip vowels in writing carry most of the meaning in consonants and use vowels primarily for grammar and pronouncibility.)

[ Tuesday, November 01, 2005 08:23: 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
Creative Writing in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, October 27 2005 15:50 Profile Homepage #20
SupaNik, the poem does a good job of conveying your emotions, which is the main point of this kind of poetry. I usually prefer poems that rhyme, but yours flows well enough that I didn't really notice that it doesn't rhyme.

Synergy, the style somewhat reminds me of poems from fantasy books, which is probably what you were trying to imitate.

Saunders, is this poem part of your canal story?

Jewels, yours was pretty fun to read. A nice diversion from the dark atmosphere of the other three.

Aran, that's a good way to present your setting, if that's what you were trying to do.

And now my contribution. I've only written less than a dozen, so don't expect too much.

Campus at Night

The quiet calm of empty walkways...
Of darkened buildings silent grace...
When noisy crowds disappear,
Great calm can everything embrace.

Dignified beauty of old buildings,
Highlighted by moon's bluish light,
Can truly be appreciated
Only in silence of the night.

Tall candle of the Campanillie
Spreads light to all near and far.
And quiet beauty of dark walkways
Makes you forget where you are.

Gone are the crowds and the rallies,
The rush of students after class
And the cries of violent protests
Forgotten are like broken glass.

And all the memories unpleasant
Seem gone forever from your sight.
As you walk through the streets enchanted
By quiet magic of the night.

[ Thursday, October 27, 2005 16:02: 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
Riddles & Brain Teasers in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, October 26 2005 18:02 Profile Homepage #38
A random guess for Alorael's puzzle: Flip half of the tiles, then keep going until you get something that's larger than anything seen so far. This will guarantee that your biggest number is bigger than at least half the numbers on the tiles. (Unless the biggest number was in the first half of the tiles.)

--------------------
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
Riddles & Brain Teasers in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, October 26 2005 12:28 Profile Homepage #34
You are almost there. Just think of whether pirate 1 can save even more money somehow.

Alorael, for your riddle, do we know anything about the numbers written on the tiles, or are they 100 completely random integers, with no restriction on value or placement?

--------------------
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
"Heirs to Thesis"? in Blades of Exile
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, October 26 2005 12:22 Profile Homepage #5
Khoth's graphics archive is a dead link.

Talking about graphics, is there a comprehensive BOE graphics archive? I know it was discussed somewhere, but I can't find where.

--------------------
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
Riddles & Brain Teasers in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, October 26 2005 09:48 Profile Homepage #32
Looks like I didn't read Alorael's idea correctly.

And I didn't even do the calculations for my ideas correctly either. Giving majority for a group of 3 works better than telling the guy ahead of you his color, if the guy ahead calls minority color whenever he sees 2 majority colors ahead.

As for Khoth's new puzzle, I've seen it before, but in that version a tie meant "no", so the solution I remember needs a slight modification.

EDIT: Drew, here is a hint: you are on the right track, now think how pirate 3 could use this to his advantage.

[ Wednesday, October 26, 2005 09:55: 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
Riddles & Brain Teasers in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, October 26 2005 09:12 Profile Homepage #29
For Khoth's puzzle, I still don't see how a person can effectively convey information to more than one other person, or both convey information and use information simultaneously. All schemes I've tried (telling majority colors for groups of various size, telling majority colors for sliding groups of 3, etc.) lead to worse results than just having every other person tell the color of the hat in front of him, when you work out the probabilities.

Alorael, if the last guy just says majority color for the first 9, that might tell person 9 the color of his hat, but only if he sees equal number of black and white hats ahead of him. Otherwise, if he already sees 5 or more hats of one color ahead, his hat could be either part of a very large majority or a large minority.

--------------------
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
What the... in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Wednesday, October 26 2005 08:55 Profile Homepage #8
For a show that relies so heavily on cultural references, a lot of localization is necessary to make it understandable.

Here is an example: in a Russian Harry Potter parody, the students spend the first two weeks of September in Napotato, gathering harvest. This situation probably made no sence to you. However, to a Russian reader, it is very funny, because it makes that school of magic sound like Soviet universities, where students were sent to gather harvest every fall. (The joys of communism in action.) And the village name Napotato should be translated as Potatoville.

So modifications like replacing doughnuts with kahk make sence if they want Arab viewers to be able to relate to the characters the same way American viewers do.

However, there is a difference between localization and censorship. So if Arabs really drink soft drinks in all situations in which Americans drink beer, the replacement makes sence. If they actually drink an alcoholic beverage instead, it's just censorship.

[ Wednesday, October 26, 2005 08:58: 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
editor question in Blades of Exile
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, October 25 2005 09:58 Profile Homepage #4
You have to change the item list to make sure the items you want to be sold are one after another. I don't think there is any other way.

--------------------
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
Geneforge 3 Trainer Windows +4 in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, October 25 2005 09:23 Profile Homepage #12
quote:
Originally written by Eldibs:

Topic necromancy.
Spam. :P

The person actually had a valid question: "How do I get the editor discussed here?" If that's not a valid reason to post to an old topic, I don't know what is.

[ Tuesday, October 25, 2005 09:40: 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
items dissapearing in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, October 25 2005 09:12 Profile Homepage #3
If everything was gone, it was probably a bug. However, it's still a good idea to spread your items over several towns, because I had some things disappear when I've dropped too much in a single town. (The stuff you've dropped first is probably going to disappear first when you drop too much, but I am not sure about that.)

PS Many things, such as shaper tools and gems, can be combined, so they take only 1 inventory slot, taking much less space on the ground.

[ Tuesday, October 25, 2005 09:16: 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
Lightweight functionality? in Geneforge Series
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, October 25 2005 09:06 Profile Homepage #1
Yes, Geneforge is quite different from Exile, especially if you haven't played Nethergate and Avernum.

To rest you have to go to a "friendly" town. (Just going to an edge of the map and re-entering works if you are already in a town.) If you can't get to town, you have to rely on healing spells or potions (spores/pods). Your energy does restore with time, but essence doesn't.

To stand idly in battle, just click on the active character. (Although I am not sure why you'd want to stand idly while being attacked, instead of attacking or retreating.)

As for secret areas, there are some passages that are hard to see. There are also some area that become available only after completing certain quests. That's as close as you are likely to get. (I personally found searching for secret passages very annoying. Bumping into every wall along the way wasn't my idea of fun.)

PS Welcome to the forums. :)

--------------------
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
Lightweight functionality? in Geneforge
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Tuesday, October 25 2005 09:06 Profile Homepage #1
Yes, Geneforge is quite different from Exile, especially if you haven't played Nethergate and Avernum.

To rest you have to go to a "friendly" town. (Just going to an edge of the map and re-entering works if you are already in a town.) If you can't get to town, you have to rely on healing spells or potions (spores/pods). Your energy does restore with time, but essence doesn't.

To stand idly in battle, just click on the active character. (Although I am not sure why you'd want to stand idly while being attacked, instead of attacking or retreating.)

As for secret areas, there are some passages that are hard to see. There are also some area that become available only after completing certain quests. That's as close as you are likely to get. (I personally found searching for secret passages very annoying. Bumping into every wall along the way wasn't my idea of fun.)

PS Welcome to the forums. :)

--------------------
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 golf coast in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, October 20 2005 15:02 Profile Homepage #9
quote:
Originally written by *i:

quote:
Originally written by Eldibs:

...
That reminds me, why are white people called Caucasian? I've never heard of any country called Caucasia.
Although I'm unfamiliar with the entymology of the word, caucasian is largely a "scientific" term, used loosely within the term of social sciences, not biological ones as there are little biological basis for race.

This comes down to why any word means anything, because there has to be one. Perhaps someone with more knowledge than I can give the real entymology of the word caucasian.
Caucases is the mountain range between Black and Kaspian Seas (between Russia and Turkey).

If I am not mistaken, a common interpretation of the Bible in XIXth and early XXth centuries said that after the flood, Noah's arc came to rest on top of Mount Ararat in Caucases and that is where one of Noah's sons stayed, founding the Caucasian race. (With the other son going south to start Black race and the third one going east to start the Asian race.)

[ Thursday, October 20, 2005 15:08: 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
Runescape anyone? in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, October 20 2005 14:54 Profile Homepage #38
This game is very addictive for the same reason as many even simpler games: "just one more level to do thing X". At the start, when level advancement is frequent, the game is fun and addictive. Later, when it takes hours and then days to get to the next level, people realize that the gameplay is incredibly repetitive and quit. As for player base, it's a free game with a very simple gameplay, where you get to "kill stuff to get phat loot" and show off how 1337 you are, so what sorts of players did you expect?

--------------------
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
What's In A Name? in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, October 20 2005 08:56 Profile Homepage #26
My name is also semi-randomly made up. It started out as Russian translation of Latin root of my real name, but when I wrote it down in English alphabet, it looked hard to pronounce. So I played around with letters until I got something that looked symmetrical and easy to pronounce.

This is the main name I use in all games and online, so I use it almost as often as my real name.

[ Thursday, October 20, 2005 09:13: 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
CREATING A MESSAGE BOARD(NEED A HAND!!!) in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, October 20 2005 08:40 Profile Homepage #4
I've heard some bad things about InvisionFree, but if you want something totally free, it looks like your best option. However, if you are willing to pay for it, you shouldn't get paid versions of either ezboard or InvisionFree, because the quality is not that much better than the [low] quality of free versions.

--------------------
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
iCome, iSpam, iWin in General
Zeviz
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
 written Thursday, October 20 2005 08:36 Profile Homepage #156
lol This thread did survive long enough to outlive this month's statistics thread.

Ash, thanks I'll listen to it when I get home.

quote:
Originally written by ben ben:

A can of spam?
IMAGE(http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:fJszTfcTbwAJ:www.freeukisp.co.uk/imgs/spam-can.jpg)

*sigh* Sorry. :D
I originally misread the first "e" in your new screen name as an "a". :P

By the way, you've discovered the origins of Canned custom title: When this board had avatars, an avatar of a person banned for spamming would be set to a can of spam, while his custom title was set to canned.

--------------------
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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