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Displayed name	Custer
Member number	3151
Title	Bob's Big Date
Postcount	2367
Homepage	http://desperance.net
Registered	Friday, June 27 2003 07:00

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Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Sunday, June 6 2004 13:47 Profile Homepage #40 quote: Originally written by So Incredibly Sad: OOC : General Custer, I need some explanations about the officer on three points : - You wrote he/she was believing we are invader, however, we are in an unsettle area in a world were peace reign and the only problem is demons. I personally refuse to believe such a situation is even possible. And even if it were, think about it: he was protecting the village when it got overrun by demons. He has been alone in the woods for some weeks, dependent on his own wits to survive from minute to minute, and all too possibly corrupted by demonic forces -- it'd be hard to find someone sane in the valley after that sort of time. - You also wrote that the agent wouldn't be able to identify the group yet it identifies at least the priest and probably you. For all he knows, we were sent by the demons, or are the hostile operatives the Corps has trained all of its soldiers to fight against and yet no one ever sees. As I said, he's no doubt insane. - The officer doesn't attack you although you should be the main target since you are supposedly the one match for its skill and you are obviously with the group (giving instructions), so either you have been subdued or you are with him/her like the whole group. The 'corps men don't kill each other' thing is mostly an excuse to prevent Chadussid from being killed off in one volley and the rest of the group being picked off one by one. Chadussid's glare at Rey was all daggers. "No. You're going to adapt or you're going to suffer. If anyone left in the group possesses healing magic, they're going to hold back on it until we know we're somewhere safe. Doing otherwise will result in him killing the healer, and that will weaken us far more than one broken wrist." "In fact, I must stand intransigent on this point. If anyone elects to reveal himself as a healer, if the man in the woods doesn't kill him, I will, as you will have directly endangered the lives of everyone in the group over sentimental, illogical weakness. Understood?" -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Sunday, June 6 2004 01:14 Profile Homepage #22 A few meters farther into the forest, something shifted. At that moment, Chadussid's pupils dilated. A dozen things came together at once, and he shouted aloud. "No, you fool! Get away from him while you still can! Get down! Get down!" A bolt hit the healer in the back of the right leg. He began to fall and Chadussid turned around on his heel and stared into the bushes, a thin green vial at ready. The priest, moaning quietly, fell to the road. The bolt had, at first, seemed to have been a wild shot. On a closer look, the wound spewed forth a lot of dark, dark blood. The others in the group were already scoring the offroad forest with flames and shots as the healer desperately struggled to maintain his own life. "He's a professional bastard. You have to give him that; if he weren't, he would have taken two shots. And if he weren't, we'd have nailed him." A nasty thought crossed his mind. He suppressed it. The man in the forest went back on the hunt. ... "We are up against one of our own. He is unspeakably dangerous. Our wits and my reflexes are the only things keeping us alive." It might as well have been last rites for the healer. He was failing. "If you lag behind, he will kill you. If you stray ahead, he will kill you. He has an intimate knowledge of trapmaking. Catching him in an ambush will be impossible, and scrying him the same; his training and his equipment will prevent both. He will first and foremost attack those who demonstrate weakness. His aim is to demoralize us and undercut our support structure. It is for this reason he has attacked the healer. It is for this reason that the mages among you would do best to watch yourself. It is also for this reason that if you have any sort of magical powers, you reserve using them for emergencies. Doing otherwise will make you a clear target. Am I understood?" "Yeah, except for one thing. Why isn't he going after you if you're Mr. Useful?" "That's Master Sergeant Useful to you. And why? Because Corps men, barring extenuating circumstances, are never to injure one another." [ Sunday, June 06, 2004 01:27: Message edited by: General Custer ] -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Saturday, June 5 2004 20:21 Profile Homepage #18 I am all in favor of anyone getting into the RP as long as it doesn't get twisted into a 'kill redshirts impressively, get to jovial-evil bad guy, kill him with style, walk off and be heroes' play. -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Saturday, June 5 2004 19:12 Profile Homepage #16 "Diviner, we are going to have a problem." "Eh? What problem will that be?" "Simple one, really. Walking in this long grass is fine for us, but the animals are a different story. They won't take to walking in the rough for long, and having no boots of any sort, are more likely to fall victim to snakes." "Hmm. A worthy point. Why don't we have them walk on the road and us in the grass? That way --" Chadussid smiles. "I knew it. These traps aren't magical! They're just plain garden-variety hazards! Advanced ones, yes, but nothing particularly magical about them!" The shaman narrows his eyes. "And why do you say that?" "Simple. Because over there --" he points to what seems to be a random point on the road -- "is buried a little tin caltrop. When Cartouche returns peace to this area, they'll unearth dozens of them along this road. So far, I count sixteen, and that's just in my immediate field of vision. With a closer look or without it, I can tell you easily that any pack animal that crosses this road is going to come out of the other side worthless, if it comes out at all." "Huh. What should we do about that?" "I don't know. As I said earlier, the backroads are suicide. The woods are worse; since this is one of our agents, is clearly operating under the assumption we are invaders, and will not be able to positively identify us by sight in the woods, we're liable to come out short a few people." "I don't know where you get off trying to tell us where to go and what to do, Chadussid, but I'm tired of your paranoia already! I say we take the road and stop cringing at shadows!" "That is a bad idea, Mr. Jansen." "See if that stops me!" It doesn't. Jansen advances a few paces. "Mr. Jansen, at least step a bit to your --" He shrieks in shock and pain. "--left..." Before Chadussid can finish the word, he yanks his foot upwards, revealing a bloody sole briefly before he topples over into the field and is struck at least two more times. He's still howling by the time he rolls out. "Now are you happy, Jansen? We're going to head off into the grass, and the Gods know what we'll do with the pack mules and you." -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Saturday, June 5 2004 17:59 Profile Homepage #13 Chadussid merely smiled. "Refreshing to meet someone faintly competent. You believe it was wards?" "Yes. Wards of fire. Why?" "Well, that all depends. This --" he gestures to the glass -- "could indicate it was potions, which means someone particularly resourceful survived and set it there in the hopes of snaring a barbarian or demon or food or what have you; then again, it could be glass runes, which would have been set by whoever tore up the place." "And?" "Whichever it is changes who we're dealing with significantly. If was a trap, we're dealing with one of ours. If it was wards, we're dealing with one of theirs. Either way, we need to be real careful. It's likely if one of us hadn't been here, they would have just walked over it. And been a few dozen legs shorter." -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Saturday, June 5 2004 16:57 Profile Homepage #11 The group was walking along the big road to the village when Chadussid extended his arms expansively. Everyone jumped a little at the sudden motion, but stopped at once. With one fluid motion, he picked up a rock and hurled it outwards about five paces. At first, nothing happened; it hit the dirt and made a soft crunch, and that was it. Then the sound of an explosion tore through the valley like a shot. Some threw themselves down, some just jumped and quivered a bit. The air was pierced by the angry scream of a pack mule hit in the chest by a piece of flying rock. The road had been blown open along a wide line, tilted slightly; at the bottom was a jagged line of glowing, angry red glass. "Someone is watching us," said Master Sergeant Chadussid automatically. "This road isn't safe, but after that, whoever it is knows we're here. Taking the smaller roads or splitting up would be suicide. We're going to keep going; watch out for any suspicious lumps in the road and keep an eye out for moving objects." -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Saturday, June 5 2004 15:37 Profile Homepage #9 OOC: You know, if you'd read the post instead of knee-jerking against every last thing I say, you might realize that I have a point. Everyone else is here because Cartouche sent them as part of a search and rescue party on a remote, undersettled continent, particularly an intensely dangerous, volcanic part of said continent which was part of a supernatural massacre. He, on the other hand, makes his entrance by getting drunk at a bar and waltzing right in. Okay, he's changed it, and I'm good with it. But either a. you didn't recognize what the original was criticizing, b. you didn't pay enough attention to realize that his edit came after my post, or c. you read his original and were honestly in favor of that sort of tab-A slot-B approach to RPs. A and B are excusable if annoying, but C I'm not going to put up with. Please stop trying to score points off of me. ZT, your character is fine and your new entrance is fine, too. -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
We know about Geneforge 3...but what's next? in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Saturday, June 5 2004 13:13 Profile Homepage #37 'Sharp writer' isn't something I'd exactly use. In Exile 1, we fought demons. In Exile 2, he pretty much made crap up at random, and I consider that his best series work. In Exile 3, meanwhile, he made the Vahnatai from rich and factional into completely 2D, made the people who tried to massacre Exile in the last game the sympathetic characters only because they were human, and never bothered giving any dissent of opinion to the Exiles. "Yes, those jerks deserve what's coming to them" was something I expected to hear but never did. Mind you, the Imperials are also diverse of opinion. Some are completely intolerant of you in spite of your being there to help, and others are completely tolerant of you in spite of your being known, dangerous criminals, or the descendents thereof. No even mixture -- no one says 'I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, but keep up the good work', as you'd expect. No, respect is a binary -- a stuff-done flag, really, which is either on or off. The Avernums were almost total conversions into a new GUI. I'm sure in Avernum 4 he'd start another war, or maybe make the Sliths evil, or perhaps -- hold onto your seats for this one -- he might have demons on the rampage again. I think with the BoE and BoA scenarios he's made, Jeff has proven that he's pretty much tapped out for good storywork in the Exile universe. -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Saturday, June 5 2004 12:20 Profile Homepage #6 OOC: You know, Zephyr, I feel generous today. Redo the introduction so that it makes any sense -- remember that this group is a largish expedition sent to search and recover in a dead settlement in the middle of nowhere, and no one would have any business sneaking up on them or running up to them from outside -- and Chadussid won't, as he would definitely have had things run like you said, snap your neck on sight. -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Valley of Thunder RP in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Saturday, June 5 2004 11:33 Profile Homepage #4 The traveler in field-gray was a stark contrast to the common soldier and the adventurer. The Corps were an odd bunch: they didn't wear armor, and if they did, never more than leather. So in lieu of it, they wore uniforms. Lightly enchanted against projectiles, but uniforms nonetheless. The idea was faintly absurd, but Master Sergeant Chadussid was all for it. Field-gray had been unfavorably compared to certain sorts of dung before; it had the right green tinge to make the comparison apt. He thought he looked good in it, and that was what mattered. When Akhtar Batuta asked him the question, his response was warm. "Master Sergeant S. A. Chadussid of the Corps. I'm here because I asked to be. They told the Corps to send a representative --" here he paused briefly, as if questioning whether to say anything more -- "and I was that one. I'm here to look for survivors and fight whatever or whoever elected to attack the settlement here." At this he affected a slight sneer. "Yes, I can really hear the thought processes of the colonial company now. 'Gee, ruins! How pretty! This would be a wonderful place to build a colony, what with all the pretty ruins! What do you mean, who made the ruins? Who cares, they're obviously gone now!' Idiots. A horrible waste of lives." "But wasn't the colony destroyed by monsters?" "So they say, Mr. Batuta. So they say. I'm willing to contemplate the possibility that someone who got killed by rampaging barbarians was willing to exaggerate the force that killed the village, though. After all, when colonies fall under attack, all able-bodied men are to defend it. Who would blame a citizen-soldier for falling against a demonic horde?" A silence. "Do you expect you'll see survivors here?" "Yes." He said this with utter certainty. "This colony, like all others, must by doctrine be staffed by a modest number of semi-professional soldiers. And a colony of this size would warrant one observatory officer from the Corps. The Corps does things by the book, so that would not be relaxed for any reason. With any hope, the officer in question spirited off a few others, hid them somewhere safe, and is now on active forage and camouflage routine." He smiles. "Then again, knowing the corps, we won't find the officer. The officer will find us." After that, Master Sergeant Chadussid held his peace. -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
RP in the planning. in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Friday, June 4 2004 16:10 Profile Homepage #77 You are aware that .png is smaller than either other format and lossless, right? -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX ...there really is nothing that can compare to hot gay sex with a mythological icon. --665 Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
We know about Geneforge 3...but what's next? in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Friday, June 4 2004 12:52 Profile Homepage #18 I dislike FF because it started the tradition of the gaming empire in the RPG business. Nowadays a game really can't sell unless it is damn good -- I am willing to admit Vogel's games are -- or really flashy. When you're a big company, 'damn good' is more expensive than 'really flashy'. -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
We know about Geneforge 3...but what's next? in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Friday, June 4 2004 11:35 Profile Homepage #16 The Final Fantasy series is the worst thing to have happened to the RPG genre in its long history. Thanks mostly to its influence, the genre is loaded down with a choking number of atavisms and unnecessary catches. It also attracts all sorts of gibbering idiots who think FF was the best thing since sliced bread and who are willing to pay for games like FF. This encourages an attitude where big-house games thrive, because they are pretty and well-designed and meaningless. In other words, thanks to our beloved FF, it can be said that the RPG is the province of the faceless corporation. Any plot is a 'bonus', and gameplay, too, is used the same way. It just has to be pretty. Pretty makes you your millions. [ Friday, June 04, 2004 11:40: Message edited by: General Custer ] -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
War, war, war! in The Exile Trilogy
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Friday, June 4 2004 11:22 Profile Homepage #12 An alien beast is faster, perhaps. But have you ever seen one kill a horse? Have you ever seen anything kill a horse? They're completely invincible. -------------------- The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest. Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Settings you would like to see future Spiderweb games take place in in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Friday, June 4 2004 11:17 Profile Homepage #59 In comparison to BoE, BoA has a needless drop in functionality. This increases power, as I said, but I'm very surprised that the BoA engine basically expects you to throw around raw code. EDIT: I, personally, really want to see the Mughalstan RPG made. It's probably one of the only areas that hasn't been explored before. [ Friday, June 04, 2004 12:33: Message edited by: General Custer ] -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX ...there really is nothing that can compare to hot gay sex with a mythological icon. --665 Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
What Are You? in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Friday, June 4 2004 11:05 Profile Homepage #78 Fair. I retract Britain as an example. Point stands, though; besides which, it's a bit silly to gibber on about how Britain has roots up the wazoo and America doesn't have them at all, and if I got the gist of FBM's message that was it. Also, FBM, your statement about starting wars is utter bollocks. The only external wars which the US fought until the end of the 19th century were one with France, one with Britain, and one with Mexico. By comparison, your country pretty much went around the world smacking people around for the glory of the Empire during that period. In fact, the order of the day was pretty much 'if you can get a causus belli against it, shoot it. If you can't, claim it as part of the empire and gain one.' I'm not inclined towards charitability with respect to a Briton whining about how America has a long history of starting wars. Until the first War, we fought the above-mentioned and had a few filibusters. By comparison -- and this is just off the top of my head -- your country fought the Indians, the Afghanis, the Chinese, the Dutch, the Argentinians -- not even bothering with the Napoleonic wars here -- the Russians, and countless little unrecorded battles for world imperialism. I'm willing to admit that this country has a bad legacy behind it, but I'm completely unwilling to have you condescend us for it. [ Friday, June 04, 2004 11:14: Message edited by: General Custer ] -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX ...there really is nothing that can compare to hot gay sex with a mythological icon. --665 Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Settings you would like to see future Spiderweb games take place in in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Friday, June 4 2004 11:00 Profile Homepage #56 Is there some module of it I missed which allows you to edit terrain, monsters, items, or scripts? -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX ...there really is nothing that can compare to hot gay sex with a mythological icon. --665 Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
Settings you would like to see future Spiderweb games take place in in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Thursday, June 3 2004 21:56 Profile Homepage #52 quote: Originally written by Saltweed: quote: Originally written by Andrea: Remember - Vogel doesn't want to make games with any sort of intellectual value. As he stated himself, he's gearing his games towards 8-year-olds who want to go out and butcher baddies. Plot, etc. are all secondary concerns. Um, I'm quite sure he wants to do games with intellectual value. And from what I've seen, he has succeeded quite well. Exile games are not brain food. Play a few more games and you'll wonder if Jeff took a lot of elements from a book. There are clever turns, but clever turns and an abysmal greater whole do not an intellectual work make. Sure, they are no brain-blowers but who needs those, anyway? Games should first and foremost be games. If I specifically want an intellectual experience, I go read a good book or something. This is a statement that is often broken out when someone wants to defend a game against charges of it being mindless and doesn't know how. It's not a defense, it's a statement of willful ignorance. Saying a game is not meant to have any intellectual content, and that such is a secondary concern, is basically the sort of attitude that's flooding the market with idiotic shooters and really, really bad RPGs. Saying 'screw plot, screw atmosphere, we've got a GAME to play here!' is basically inviting people to abuse a viable storytelling genre. Since I don't own BoE, I don't know what uber-intelligent plots you guys have created. You are missing out. The preceding is the understatement of the century. Blades is Vogel's finest work, bar none. I have the sneaking feeling that the BoA editor comes off as crippled and useless because he didn't like the idea of people creating works better than his with his tools. (For examples, see the Comprehensive Scenario Reviews at the Lyceum, play the top 10, compare to any given Exile. Chances are it's going to fall about at par.) Nontheless, I'm quite fine with Jeff's current 8-years-old policy. I'm not. Treating good gameplay as an excuse to expect less rather than something by which you should expect more is an abusive tactic and should be scorned. EDIT: Also, you can hardly blame him for trying to make money. Even if it means the standard of the games isn't as high as you would hope. I can and I will blame him for trying to make money, especially at the expense of his customer base. I think it killed everyone in the BoE community, by far and large the biggest faction of the Spidweb community, when they first found out that Jeff Vogel would prefer to make money on some derivative nonsense (the Avernums are a wonderful, original work, much like they were five years before Av1 was released) than to make his best product work. I think something really breaks inside when someone who you idolized as a person and a programmer basically looks you in the face and says 'I only care about all of you because of your wallets'. Hang around the Lyceum at some point, and you'll find I'm not too far wrong on that one, if at all. You want a counterexample of this sort of lunacy? Look at Firaxis. They actually have a revolutionary thing called community rapport, in which the games' designers actually discuss issues with people who play and buy the games. And here's something else revolutionary: when the mass of people disagree with the Firaxis team over something, they don't tend to defend it mindlessly. They change it. Jeff Vogel's version of this is popping out of his Seattle-based cave about a month a year, defending his masterworks against the seditious majority, and then going back to work on another GUI-upgrading, gameplay-dumbing masterpiece. We don't care if you design a good plot, kids. We care that you buy and play our games. Buy them for your friends. Buy. Spend. Consume. Christ. It's like dealing with EA, only at least EA actually has the economy of scale to get away with that kind of crap. [ Thursday, June 03, 2004 22:01: Message edited by: General Custer ] -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX ...there really is nothing that can compare to hot gay sex with a mythological icon. --665 Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
STORY TIME AT SPIDWEB (dialup beware) in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Thursday, June 3 2004 14:25 Profile Homepage #4 The first sign James got that something was amiss was when all of them turned out to be something he had already. [ Thursday, June 03, 2004 14:26: Message edited by: General Custer ] -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX Misogynism is the wave of the future, but it sure pisses the womenfolk off. Shocking, isn't it? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
What Are You? in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Thursday, June 3 2004 13:09 Profile Homepage #72 It's worthy of note that while quite a few people have started genocides, Columbus is the only person in recorded history to have finished one. The entire native population of some island or another -- I think Hispanola, which is a pretty damn big one -- got wiped clean. The only place the Arawaks exist any more is in colonial Spanish records. [ Thursday, June 03, 2004 13:10: Message edited by: CUSTER FOLGT DER MASCHINE ] -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX ...there really is nothing that can compare to hot gay sex with a mythological icon. --665 Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
We know about Geneforge 3...but what's next? in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Thursday, June 3 2004 12:34 Profile Homepage #8 You want fluid turn-based? Look into Fallout. It's an amazing game, bears a peculiar resemblance to Geneforge without the Pokemon, and is very smooth in spite of being based on turns and hexes. -------------------- They want to have a war to keep their factories They want to have a war to keep us on our knees They want to have a war to stop us buying Japanese They want to have a war to stop industrial disease They're pointing out the enemy to keep you deaf and blind They want to suck your energy, incarcerate your mind Give you Rule Brittania, gassy beer, page three Two weeks in Hispania and sunday striptease Meanwhile, the first Jesus says, "I'll cure it soon Abolish Monday mornings and Friday afternoons" The other one's out on hunger strike, he's dying by degrees How come Jesus gets industrial disease? Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
What Are You? in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Thursday, June 3 2004 12:06 Profile Homepage #70 The Anglican church has caused a lot of conflict for a religion based on one fat man's inability to remarry. What I meant to say -- and everyone except AM seemed to miss, and even he only touched on it briefly -- is that after 200 or so years, we as Americans are probably not going to have a unique cultural identity. But you know what? Past 150 years ago, provincialism was the order of the day most places. Your ancestors were not English or German or Italian then, they were from York or Rhineland or Modena. Enough changes have happened that saying I have no roots just because my ancestors are transplants is patently ridiculous. If anything, ours are far richer. I'm part Irish, part Polish, part vague central European -- probably anything from the Netherlands to Slovakia -- and I could lay cultural claim to any of that. What we've got is a country full of me. You can take your fixed locational roots, I'm perfectly happy to have a country which can borrow from Li Bo and Socrates without either being contrived. -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX ...there really is nothing that can compare to hot gay sex with a mythological icon. --665 Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
What Are You? in General
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Wednesday, June 2 2004 16:40 Profile Homepage #65 Saying that we don't have roots is as good as saying that Germany and Italy don't have any because they were only unified relatively recently, or China doesn't because they've only been what they are now for half a century. Our roots go back as far as yours, thanks. The whole 280 million of us didn't just pop out of thin air 250 years ago. -------------------- AnamaFreak (3:59:56 AM): Shounen-ai to the MAX ...there really is nothing that can compare to hot gay sex with a mythological icon. --665 Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
BoA Editor For Windows in Tech Support
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Wednesday, June 2 2004 16:20 Profile Homepage #3 Wait, I got it. [ Wednesday, June 02, 2004 16:21: Message edited by: CUSTER FOLGT DER MASCHINE ] -------------------- The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest. Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00
BoA Editor For Windows in Tech Support
Custer Bob's Big Date Member # 3151	written Wednesday, June 2 2004 14:49 Profile Homepage #0 Is there somewhere special I'm supposed to put BoA or its editor? I unloaded the BoA editor into the BoA directory under the default subfolder, and it refuses to work -- it says something about graphic 2000 and crashes whenever I try to open a scenario. What's wrong with it? -------------------- The biggest, the baddest, and the fattest. Posts: 2367 \| Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00

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