Profile for Zeviz

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How many times have you played GF3 in Geneforge Series
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #2
Your poll is missing an important category: "less than 1 time" (for those who got bored in the middle).

I marked "1 time", but I haven't actually finished the game. I'll probabaly finish it later, but at the moment my answer is "0.6 times".

For comparison, I've gone through Gf1 over 2 times and gone through Gf2 2 times with several branches in the middle to see multiple endings.

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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
Inner Keep problems in Geneforge Series
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #1
You aren't supposed to get these items until much, much later.

If you don't mind a little cheating, you supposedly can enter combat mode, haste yourself and rush into the room, closing the door behind you before the guards notice. (Apparently, only 1 of the guards raises alram, the rest just ignore you. So you have to time it so that that particular guard can't see you sneaking in.)

[ Friday, July 22, 2005 12:36: 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
Scenario recommendations? in Blades of Exile
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #5
Thanks. :)

About getting back into BoE, would you recommend BoE or BoA for scenario design? (I am professional programmer, which means that on one hand I am not afraid of complicated scripts, but on the other hand I don't want to do in the evenings the same stuff I do at work whole day.)

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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 Waste of Time? in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #27
It's not very easy to find a place where you can simultaneously discuss relationship between thermodinamic and psychological arrows of time and talk about invasion of sanity-eating fluffy turtles. :)

As for not knowing what people look like, I had a very weird dream last night: I was talking to two members from these boards in a generic-looking apartment. One of them looked like his picture I saw a few years ago. The other, whose picture I never saw, looked like my acquaintance from college. Scary...

That's one argument against picture threads: sometimes it's more fun to leave things up to imagination.

[ Thursday, July 21, 2005 22:08: 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
Scenario recommendations? in Blades of Exile
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #3
Thanks for your recommendations.

I guess I'll start with Emulations and will try other suggestions later. I've downloaded Emulations and have a small question about it: The instructions say to use a certain character, however they don't say anything about his traits. Can I give him "Magically Apt", or would that cause me too much disadvantage from getting less experience? (I've never played scenarios indended for specific 1-PC parties before, unless you count Elections.)

--------------------
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 arrow of time in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #77
quote:
Originally written by Student of Trinity:

...
For every initial state with a log that evolves into a final state with a pile of ash, there is a time reversed image of that final state. (Basically, just reverse the velocity of every particle, and there is the image of your state under time reversal.) This time reversed image constitutes an initial state from which an ash pile would indeed 'unburn' into a log. So among all possible states of the stuff in our tank, 'ash piles that are about to unburn' are exactly as common as 'logs that are about to burn'.

This set of 'unburning ash pile' states is surely a minute fraction of the size (phase space volume) of the set of states that a human would recognize as 'ash pile states'. In this sense, ash piles that are about to unburn are miraculously rare among ash piles.

But we are still left with the puzzle of why 'logs that are about to burn', which are exactly as rare, among all possibilities, as 'ashes that are about unburn', should be no more than moderately less common, among typically encountered states, than ordinary 'ash piles'.

Which, alas, is disappointingly similar to the problem we started with.

I might be missing something, but it seems to me that the number of states in which log is about to start burning is much higher than number of states in which ash is about to unburn. (Just take any room with temperature high enough. All logs in that room will burn. Not all piles of ash in that room will unburn.)

Could this be due to the fact that several different logs will turn into the same pile of ash? Or, talking about states, for each state in which a pile of ashes is about to unburn, there are several states in which a log could start burning that could lead to it.

Another example is a stone thrown into a pool of water. You could throw a stone from many different directions to make it land in the same spot with same forse. However, after the waves have sufficiently subsided, it will be impossible to tell which direction the stone came from.

Or you can vary initial energy, rather than direction. If you throw a rock into middle of perfectly circular pool, when the waves bouncing back from walls return to the center, you will not know whether they are returning to the center for the second time or third time, so you will not know the rock's initial energy.

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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
Huzzah in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #25
quote:
Originally written by Drew:

IMAGE(http://studyrussian.com/rouble/pic/1000.jpg)
...

Congratulations on your postcount and on achieving it without spamming. :)

And I like your choice of pictures. This bill is now worthless as currency, but is probably a good collector's item.

[ Thursday, July 21, 2005 21:04: 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
Scenario recommendations? in Blades of Exile
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #0
Could somebody recommend me a few good scenarios that I will like. I generally play RPGs for their plot, but I am a bit bored right now, so some fast-paced action would be good too. I don't like puzzles, although somewhat difficult combat is ok. Finally, I don't have either time or patience for an epic scenario.

So do you have any suggestions?

PS More examples of my tastes: I liked Election and Alcritas' scenarios, abandoned At the Gallows several times because it was too long and puzzles were too frustrating. Currently I've abandoned Geneforge 3 from boredom.

[ Thursday, July 21, 2005 20:54: 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
Getting bored...help! in Geneforge Series
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #17
quote:
Originally written by Contra:

Back in the days of G2, I wished for Jeff to get a new main plot aswell. Cut the canisters, no Geneforge, things like that. I was disappointed when my wishes did not come to life for G3, and I broguht this up on the forum. They gave me the same answer that I will give you:

Jeff probably can't afford to go off the walsl with new ideas, and blow a working plot that might either ge grand and new or (more likely) fail horribly and be denounced by his fan-base. He has bills to pay, afterall. I don't doubt that Jeff sacrifises his artistic vision to go for something more "safe" when it comes to buyers.

And this will be Jeff's doom. :(

The main point of Spidweb games was that they were fun experiments and not just carbon copies of the same successful template. In one of very old interviews posted on SW webpage Jeff had said that he doesn't do any marketing research, but instead makes games he wants to make. This is the attitude that made his games so successful and it looks like he is losing it.

E2 was my first intro to the series with its new races, a unique underground world, etc.
E3 had a huge world to explore while it was crambling around you and you were rushing against the clock to solve the big mystery.
Nethergate gave unique opportunity to see actions of your party from both sides. (I especially liked the part where your Celt party was chasing the people who were your Roman party, but barely missed them. :) )
Avernum had same story as Exile, but had a new engine.
Geneforge had a novel idea of making your own travelling companions. It also had an engrossing atmosphere of exploring a new world with its moral dilemmas.
Avernum 3 was just a dumbed-down version of E3.
Geneforge 2 was a sequel to Gf 1, with enough differnces to make it worthwhile to play through a couple of times.

However, there was nothing principally new in Geneforge 2. And Gf3 is just a copy of Gf2.

Is this happening because Jeff is too worried about feeding his family to take risks he used to take with his games? Or is he simply running out of good ideas?

[ Thursday, July 21, 2005 20:41: 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
Getting bored...help! in Geneforge Series
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #12
quote:
Originally written by Drakefyre:

I think the reason for that is that Jeff wants more "realistic" choices, where nobody can really win like they want to.
If I want realism, I turn on TV. :)

While it might be fun to play a bad guy sometimes, a game that gives you a choice between two unpleasant sides isn't nearly as appealing to most people as the classic "goodie saves the world".

However, what was the worst part for me was the disconnect between character's and player's experience of the game. The character was supposed to be surprized by many things that were expected by the player. (yes, canisters, saw that, yes, rebelling serviles, saw that, yes drakons, saw that, ...) This highlighted even further the fact that the game had the same story as the previous one, simply putting in new characters and place names.

For Gf 4, I hope Jeff is going to come up with a completely new story, whose main character already knows about canisters, geneforge and rebelling serviles. And by completely new, I mean something that doesn't fit the standard pattern of: Apprentice is attacked; he encounters unfamiliar magic and servile ideas; he joins/fights the rebels and goes on missions until he destroys/uses/helps rebels use the Geneforge.

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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
Official Election Final Round Voting in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #159
I vote for Thuryl.

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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
hi in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #75
Alex, lol. Thanks for several minutes of laughter in the end of the day. :)

I am wondering where all the extra turtles have gone... Turtle Wars II, Fluffy Turtles Strike Back, coming to theaters near you.

--------------------
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 long-expected Parting in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #55
In addition to the obvious posting sprees, posting statistics (and postcount-based titles) increase amount of spam by focusing more attention on postcounts. Even after the initial spike of activity is over, people still post more to improve their position on the next month's list. Whenever there is a top-somthing list, people will naturally try to improve their position on it.

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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
Regrettable But in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #146
1. Alec himself was planning to "strategically shift votes to push friendlier candidates into runoffs". I can not find exact quote at the moment, but I'll look for it if you don't believe me. (It was said in response to Drakey's anouncement that elections would be held by secret ballot. Alec complained that it would prevent the possibility of shifting votes.

2. The elections were set up as a proxy system. In the first round voters chose the proxy who would allocate the votes. In the second round, the proxies allocated the votes. The proxy's duty is to allocate his votes in a way that would guarantee election of a moderator whose views would be closest to views of their constituents. This is exactly what Kel did.

Once it became apparent that Kel could not win, it was his duty to the people who voted for him to allocate his votes to the three possible finalists that would be most acceptable to the people who voted for him.

PS The final result is the same it would have been if voters were allowed to shift votes themselves.

And if they weren't there would simply be more alliances beforehand. For example, I wouldn't have run, which would mean that my 45 votes would have gone to Kel, making him #3 candidate after initial voting. (I know that 33 of my votes would have gone to Kel and I am guessing the other 12 would have done the same.)

[ Tuesday, July 19, 2005 21:51: 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
Getting bored...help! in Geneforge Series
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #5
I guess I am not the only one who got bored after the end of Dhonal's Island. Geneforge 3 is about to become the first game I've bought that I was too bored to finish. (There is only so much you can milk the same story until it becomes pointless.)

I don't feel like fighting through the rest of the game, since I already know how it will end (either join loyalists and kill evil drakons, destroying Geneforge yet again, or join rebels and kill head shaper yet again); I can't find a faction to join because my opinions are too pro-rebel to get any help from shapers, but joining canister-crazed maniacs that depopulate entire islands doesn't look very appealing. (I guess I am spoiled by previous games with their 4 sects.)

[ Tuesday, July 19, 2005 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
Missing customs crate in Geneforge Series
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #2
Are you sure you are in the right area? You should be in Storage Road (North West of Fort Wilton). The central section of the map contains several buildings. When you enter the northern one, you'll get a message that there are some canisters and pieces of broken crate with a name on it. (The building is full of boards and broken canisters and has 1 working canister.) Once you've seen this message, go back to customs agent and report your discovery.

--------------------
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
Time vs. Money in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #39
About time or money, you always need at least some money to enjoy your time. (Infinite life isn't fun if you spend it starving.) You will also need some time to enjoy your money. (A billion dollars does you no good when you are dead.) The trick is to have the right ratio of time and money to be able to enjoy your life the most. This ratio is very different for different people.

As for infinite life, I'd never agree to it unless I could end it at any time. Don't forget that the sun is going to go out eventually. And, if you assume that universe is ever-expanding, eventually all stars will go out and the universe will be filled with cold emptiness. An eternity spent in frozen void sounds very similar to some religions' idea of hell. So be very careful what you wish 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
A long-expected Parting in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #47
Belated Happy Birthday to Aran. :)

As for postcount competition, remember that quantity is more important than quality. :)

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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 arrow of time in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #41
quote:
Originally written by Student of Trinity:

...Here's a question most people think is related to the real arrow of time. How can you tell when a film is running backwards?
This question is much easier: water doesn't normally go up the waterfall, pool ball doesn't normally jump out of its hole and rush back towards a place where it was hit, etc. :)

I guess the ball example is the law of inertia, combined with laws of thermodynamics. (Ball will not move unless it's pushed. It can be pushed back by air it has displaced and accelerated by absorbing energy previously lost to friction, but that would violate laws of thermodynamics.)

EDIT: It looks like most examples I can think of go back to laws of thermodynamics. So I guess our psychological arrow of time is the same as thermodynamic arrow. (Which kind of makes sence, because our brains run on physical processes, governed by laws of physics, including laws of thermodynamics, etc.)

[ Tuesday, July 19, 2005 11:26: 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
The arrow of time in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #28
That's an interesting explanation. Does it mean that laws of thermodynamics make expansion of universe irreversible, regardless of mass? Or is the answer that if universe was massive enough to go from Big Bang to Big Crunch, laws of physics would have been different and we wouldn't have the law that enthropy must increase?

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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 arrow of time in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #19
Perhaps an answer to the original question in the thread is that we simply haven't yet discovered the physics equations that are assymetric with respect to time.

For example, (if I remember correctly), most reations between elementary particles are supposed to be as likely to produce particles as anti-particles. However, there are some reactions where that symmetry breaks down and these might be the reactions responsible for that fact that our universe contains mostly matter, rather than equal quantities of matter and anti-matter.

[ Monday, July 18, 2005 14:26: 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
Regrettable But in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #123
I apologize that I am getting back into this argument, but my name keeps coming up.

Many of these so called "grudges" are simply some people's attempts to discredit any argument of their opponents.

I can't speak for Kel, Creator, etc. but for me, Alec is the only person against whom I supposedly have a grudge. Kel also doesn't strike me as somebody who holds a lot of grudges. The "that mean guy just has a grudge against me" is a very convenient distraction, because instead of the original argument it shifts the focus on "that mean guy" and his personality.

I also don't like using departure, or a threat of departure as a strategy in an argument. This once again sweeps aside all the valid arguments and raises a wave of sympathy for "that poor guy, who is being unfairly attacked".

If a person leaves once and never comes back, I can believe that he quit in disgust. However, if a person leaves in disgust every time things don't go his way, it does not look very good. (This is the second time I've seen Alec quit and I've heard that's not all of them.)

By the way, if Alec's quitting wasn't just a publicity stunt, why is he trying so hard to influence outcome of the elections after his supposed departure?

PS: TM's statement that Kel and I don't care about the community is very insulting. Just because I think that you can have fun without spouting obsenities in every other post doesn't mean that I "don't want to make this a better place." For example, Drew's statemens are usually funny and often very sharp, without inapropriate language or personal attacks in every other post.

I do want to make this a better place. And the fact that my idea of a better place is different from yours, doesn't make me an evil and uncaring person.

[ Monday, July 18, 2005 12:03: Message edited by: Zeviz ]

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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
Human nature in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #59
quote:
Originally written by Kelandon:

...For comparsion, on the last presidential ballot in Berkeley, CA, I voted on six offices (U.S. president, national Representative, national Senator, state Senator, state Assembly member, and local Rent Board member) sixteen state propositions, and twelve local measures for a total of thirty-four votes.
To highlight ridiculousness of direct democracy even further, here are some of the things I had to vote on (I also live in California, but in a different town from Kel):

- 3 measures dealing with a complicated labor dispute between county government and several unions. The issue dealt with fine points in definition of public and private sector wages for the purpose of establishing equivalent wage scale, and procedures for arbitration of future disputes. To make matters even more confuzing, the same trade unions were endorsing the "yes" vote and the "no" vote. (It seems different branches of these unions had different positions on arbitration proposals.)

By the way, if I remember correctly, this dispute was a result of a slight ambiguity in wording of a previously passed proposal.

- Several conflicting proposals dealing with fund allocation between local and state budgets. If I understood them correctly (which might not be the case due to all spin and legaleze these are wrapped in), one of those proposals, if enacted, would retroactively rewrite the budget for current fiscal year. (I wonder how they were going to implement that, since several months were gone and a lot of money already spent.)

- A couple proposals dealt with competing plans for expansion of gambling. Both of them would have complicated impact on projected budget revenues, effect on other deals made by the governor, possibility of litigation, etc.

- A proposal to modify a part of criminal penalty code that was modified by a previously passed proposal.

These are just some of the examples that I remember off the top of my head.

It took me a whole weekend to figure out how to vote, and I still had to abstain on some issues and some election. By the way, I had to vote for people for close to a dozen offices, including a judge, half a dozen local offices (school board, some other boards, etc.) and half a dozen state and national offices. Considering that most voters probably aren't going to waste a whole weekend trying to cut through the spin in competing ads and understand the legaleze of proposals, you can see how this "direct democracy" can be easily hijacked by people with a lot of money to spend on spin.

--------------------
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
Regrettable But in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #16
quote:
Originally written by George A. Custer & The SE Party:

As an unfortunate and intentional result of Kelandon's shameful behavior, I have found myself unable to participate as a candidate in this election's final round...
Let's see...

1. You've set up the rules of your choice.

2. You've started and ended the registration at the time most convenient to you.

3. You've made sure that all of your supporters were registered, while some of your opponents missed registration because rules were hidden in a reply edited into a post on a thread that originally talked about general idea of elections.

And now that you've lost despite all your machinations you still found a reason to complain. :eek:

Considering that you were loudly complaining about the fact that secret ballots would prevent you from strategically shifting votes at the last minute to push some candidates out of the way, this sounds like the definition of hypocrisy.

[ Thursday, July 14, 2005 18:11: 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
How many hours of sleep do you get per 24 hours, on average? in General
Nuke and Pave
Member # 24
Profile Homepage #36
I usually need 8 hours of sleep. It doesn't matter whether it's from 10pm to 6am or from 5am to 1pm as long as I get my 8 hours. (Although 5am to 1 pm extreme might not be quite as restful.)

However, during the workweek I usually get between 5 and 7 hours. (Hopefully closer to 7.) Since it's 12:30 now and I am not even close to being asleep, it will probably be about 6 hours tonight.

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