Profile for Garrison
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Garrison |
| Member number | 2820 |
| Title | Agent |
| Postcount | 1415 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
Recent posts
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| Starting Charcoal in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Thursday, July 27 2006 08:07
Profile
I am peeved because I cannot go out into my little garden and patio area: I have ground nesting bees. They make having a barbeque difficult, and most people do not like being invited to gatherings where they get stung repeatedly. This is the first time I have seen them in such numbers before, and though they are cute because they are so small, they still pack a small stinger. I am killing them off, one by one. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Avernum Tactics in Avernum 4 | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Wednesday, July 26 2006 08:05
Profile
I am pretty sure that they gain experience at the same rate as the rest of the PCs. In A1, I remember that some of their initial special skills are higher than the maximum you could ever get for your original PCs. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Avernum Tactics in Avernum 4 | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Monday, July 24 2006 21:56
Profile
Allowing characters to control characters other than the PCs would definitely require some effort and coding on Jeff's part, but I would imagine that the mechanics already work favorably towards such a possibility. The Exile engine, for instance, sharply divided monsters and PCs. However, in Avernum, the monsters have the exact same skill set as PCs and can wield or use items in the basically the same way. When your characters are charmed, I believe they act with basicnpc. In Geneforge, he has already managed to create two separate control systems; one for the shaper and one for his creations. Though being able to directly command a group of NPCs would be great, I really only ask that the characters who join the party be controllable. Then maybe they would be useful for once as more than mindless meatshields. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Pyrotechnics in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Sunday, July 23 2006 07:45
Profile
My most recent project into this, excluding the arguably functional work on the charcoal starter, was candlemaking. It was a rousing success, though I have not had a chance to light the large one proper; that is mainly because I am worried about whether it still qualifies as a candle under the law. How petroleum candles work is fascinating as long as you have an appreciation for the chemistry of the whole thing. Also, petroleum jelly is a great alternative to wax if you find that high quality products of the latter are too expensive. [ Monday, July 24, 2006 21:47: Message edited by: Garrison ] -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Starting Charcoal in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Sunday, July 23 2006 07:37
Profile
In the past year or two, it has been easy to start the fire because I had the sawdust and wax starters. They make more smoke than an unmuffled 18-wheeler. However, they haven't failed to start a fire yet. They even work great for camping in case you cannot get the boyscout techniques to work. However, in past years sometimes the charcoal was quite damp from the bag being open too long. The worst time was during a family reunion where everybody was waiting for some food for almost an hour. Now, after running out of the aforementioned starters, I played around with different ideas and finally came up with a seemingly foolproof way to do it from now on. Considering that I built the contraption myself in a few minutes, I think it is original. I may post up some more info on it after I get some breakfast. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Starting Charcoal in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Friday, July 21 2006 19:35
Profile
Does anyone here have difficulty starting charcoal for barbeques? If you do barbeque, what is your preferred method of starting the fire? What are your thoughts on lighter fluid, gasoline, presoaked briquets, wax and sawdust fire starters, newspaper tower starters, etc.? -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Character Traits / Adventure Log in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Friday, July 21 2006 19:22
Profile
How will Bahssikava and Canopy be addressed? -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Help me!!! It's urgent!!! in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Friday, July 21 2006 19:06
Profile
WinXP boots up significantly faster than Win2k and runs more smoothly on the pivotal condition that your computer has memory to support the overhead that actually makes it more efficient. 512MB of RAM, 5GB+ free space on hard drive, and a current processor will be very good for simple tasks. Win2k and WinXP are built on basically the same KERNEL. Win2k was already a huge step up from the Jurassic NT series. I generally use NTFS because it is flashier and keeps copies of the most important sectors in the middle of the drive for emergency backup and recovery. WinXP, in my experience, is not a hassle at all if you are, or know someone who is, a computer enthusiast. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Children in Geneforge Series | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Sunday, July 16 2006 09:02
Profile
I think the caveat "Apparently" speaks for itself. Anyway, if you thought hard enough I am sure you could find some justification for killing everything in the game. I know I felt that way in Avernum. The powerful humans are always up to no good, and friendly creatures like the GIFTs can be murdered without regret because they are simply monster scum. You'd be hard pressed to find good reason for slaughtering the youth, but you could argue that the sick beggar boy was going to grow up to be a thorn in your side. My motto for genocide is to leave the neutral creatures alone. Unfortunately, that leaves only livestock at the end of the game. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| dont like summons? in Avernum 4 | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Monday, July 3 2006 21:57
Profile
It seems to me that the vampire strain has been becoming more and more powerful as each new game comes out. In E1 they could cast what, Summoning? In BoA they have fireblast and can summon themselves indefinitely. I remember quite vividly the only difficult battle I had while playing the original scenarios with my 2 PC party: the golem garden battle in Khoth's Castle. The demon golem had about 200 health left when he summoned 3 vampires. I killed the golem and then got summarily slain. But truly, I think the most fun can be had when you can successfully charm enemy Arcane Summons. I mean seriously, a single strong Control Foes spell can immediately make those 4 mutant lizards your friends. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| a question about the spell "daze" in Avernum 4 | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Sunday, July 2 2006 13:34
Profile
Though that text was cleary added for atmosphere and flavor, if you want to take it literally then you must at least consider all possibilities. You want it to be that dazing people could allow you to steal things in front of them without them becoming hostile. However, you can use it to steal things and escape a fight. To me, that is why every thief should have it. It is not a way to conceal you crime, just a way to escape from its repercussions. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| dont like summons? in Avernum 4 | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Sunday, July 2 2006 13:25
Profile
The selection of high level arcane summons is not bad at all, but it is the randomness of it that makes it useless. I dare say it would be overpowered if you could select to summon ice hydras against the fire golems or the elder aranea whenever you wanted. The Daemon spell back from Exile was actually pretty good in the midgame if you could afford the spell points. It never hurt to have an extra firestorm here or there combined with a resistant meatshield. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Character Traits / Adventure Log in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Saturday, July 1 2006 22:45
Profile
If Avatar can just get to level 70 before the next century, he should be in very good shape. Really, though, was it necessary to give Avatar all of the advantages, even the semi-useless ones? -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| dont like summons? in Avernum 4 | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Saturday, July 1 2006 22:38
Profile
I think you missed his point. Regarding Divine Host, I think it is unfair that in the previous Avernum games this has been the highest level priest spell, described as "awesome" in the documentation, and required a huge amount of spell points when it summons shades that are relatively useless by the time you learn the spell. It was positively ridiculous, and the Arcane Summon spell for the mages was far better at the highest level. I just never saw the reason why priests could not have had a good Divine spell before. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Nethergate News in Nethergate | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Sunday, June 25 2006 20:20
Profile
I think the newer dialogue system is much better than the old one, primarily because it so much more precise. There is no need to worry about a single keyword meaning several things or taking things out of context. However, I do wish there were an option in all conversations to bring up a text match box so that riddles can be a little more streamlined. The worst possible way to do riddles was of course in A3 where Jeff simply gave the answers in the options. I think the big question is whether this hint of his will really come to fruition. I mean, Nethergate has been left to fare on its own for years, so what has changed now for active focus to be brought back to it? -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Removal of waiting and interface things in Avernum 4 | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Sunday, June 25 2006 19:59
Profile
It is pretty clear that the whole idea behind removing waiting ever since Geneforge was to prevent players from having a guaranteed free turn against the enemy; however, now it is replaced by ending your turn and letting melee opponents run towards you. Either way, you can exploit some situations though overall it seems more or less the same. I personally would like for the enemies to be able to intelligently delay their turn so that instead of engaging in exploitation, the player could be said to be employing tactics. I do not know how you play, but I keep my left hand sprawled lackadaisically on the keyboard while I use the mouse. Neither hand ever has to leave its station. I sometimes miss being able to select targets using the keyboard, but Jeff likely did it because letters above the pseudo3D GF sprites looked bad to him. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| BoA BUGS v6.0 in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Friday, June 23 2006 14:45
Profile
I believe that if a secondary skill other than health is set to 0, it really is treated as 0. However, I have only seen this happen with god parties so I do not think it is a terrible problem. Personally, I think that if debug mode were expanded upon so that, for instance, one could change stats in game or enter some invincible god mode, there would not be a need for god parties for scenario testing. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| BoA BUGS v6.0 in Blades of Avernum | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Friday, June 23 2006 14:45
Profile
I believe that if a secondary skill other than health is set to 0, it really is treated as 0. However, I have only seen this happen with god parties so I do not think it is a terrible problem. Personally, I think that if debug mode were expanded upon so that, for instance, one could change stats in game or enter some invincible god mode, there would not be a need for god parties for scenario testing. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Flaming my questions. in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Friday, June 23 2006 14:29
Profile
Maybe there should just be an option for members to filter out other members' posts. My imagination has already run amuck and has hypothesized a beautiful system for this. I have another idea, but I am not sure how to express it concisely and clearly right now so maybe I will edit it in later if the topic has actually been revived. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Parry in Geneforge Series | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Thursday, June 22 2006 20:46
Profile
If his calculations are right, then parry is a skill that does not involve diminishing returns, which is generally a good thing. Since it would be normally impossible to raise parry to 29, I am sure 18 is the practical maximum. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Ghana knock US out of World Cup in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Thursday, June 22 2006 20:39
Profile
I knew the TV stations would never commit to broadcasting all the World Cup games in which the US played if they thought we had a chance. The airtime lost on soccer would be an unbearable price for them. In all seriousness, though, I wanted the US to finally win in some international competitions instead of crowning its own sports champions as international ones. But unfortunately, the US has not had a good history at all with soccer in the past few years. Not long ago the US team finished 32nd in the tournament, and scoring only 1 tie point is cutting it awfully close to being dead last again. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Use A Debate Tactic Against Itself in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Tuesday, June 20 2006 11:10
Profile
Sometimes a discussion slows to stagnation without the addition of newcomers, however irrelevant their actual input might be. They help spur the topic, often in new directions. The trick is not merely to be able to add ultimately meaningless drivel to a discussion, but rather to do so in a way that disguises the palaver as something useful and profound. QED. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Are you now or have you ever been ... in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Tuesday, June 20 2006 11:04
Profile
Debating with friends helps one be quick in wit, but the winner is often the most pedantic and derisive in my experiences. I have never been a formal debater as you state it, though I have been fascinated with the subject. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Use A Debate Tactic Against Itself in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Monday, June 19 2006 19:12
Profile
Ahh, what a wonderful thing it is, then, that many now know how to formally deconstruct others' arguments while offering no solutions themselves. I still feel the need to reiterate my point though: the Hitler card is too overused and it does preclude imagination and creativity. Too many amateur stories end with Nazis taking over the world. -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |
| Use A Debate Tactic Against Itself in General | |
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Agent
Member # 2820
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written Monday, June 19 2006 15:12
Profile
Maybe I am missing the point here, but I do not consider Hawking's comment about Nazi references a slippery slope argument. To me, what he is saying is awfully true; when people want to exaggerate, they go for the Hitler card. But that is not what peaks my curiosity at the moment. Are the basic fallacies of logic and debate taught to most people who take a standard high school and college path without joining a debate team? Or does the topic just attract the elitists and the oratoricallly curious? -------------------- Thuryl: I mean, most of us don't go around consuming our own bodily fluids, no matter how delicious they are. ==== Alorael: War and violence would end if we all had each other's babies! ==== Drakefyre: Those are hideous mangos. Posts: 1415 | Registered: Thursday, March 27 2003 08:00 |