Profile for Or else o'erleap.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Or else o'erleap. |
| Member number | 335 |
| Title | Law Bringer |
| Postcount | 14579 |
| Homepage | http://www.polarisboard.net |
| Registered | Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
Recent posts
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| Vale of the Sould in Nethergate | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, March 18 2005 18:26
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Actually, I think you get trapped after going a certain distance in, not by breaking an explosive vase. There's a way out if you continue all the way through. Look for portals and such. —Alorael, who also recalls having to use combat mode to split his party and turn otherwise unreachable wheels. That's probably bug abuse, but it worked for something. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| More Games for PC in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, March 18 2005 13:59
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In a reasonable world, RWG wouldn't be succesful enough to try porting anything. Our world isn't reasonable, but I think RWG still isn't about to start work on Lost Souls for PC even if it isn't dead and gone. Just think of how few people have said that they registered on these boards. Two, maybe three? That's not exactly porting material. —Alorael, who consoles you with the thought that you're not really missing out on anything. Besides, Ocean Bound, Galactic Core, and Lost Souls balance out karmically to zero. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Did YOU Cheat? in The Exile Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, March 18 2005 13:53
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I use the editor as a bank to avoid the irritating gold cap and occasionally use it to heal and restore energy. I don't add items. —Alorael, who supposes this is not exactly true. He has, on occasion, cheated to add potions when he needs them, but he tries to then dump an equal number of potions from his stockpile. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Wow nice to see y'all again in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, March 18 2005 09:08
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I don't think many people are remembered very well after only ten posts, but welcome back. —Alorael, who will point out the helpful Spiderweb scenario list. Also take a look at a better list of scenario ratings. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| most obnoxious dungeon in avernum/exile trilogy in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, March 18 2005 09:02
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The Tower of Zkal is indeed the worst, and it bothered me even more than the ToSF. I never did manage to get through the tower in E3. —Alorael, who will admit that he would likely have skipped the ToSF too if it weren't central to the plot (such as it is). The conveyor belt bugs were irritating to no end. The lasers in the Avernum golem spire aren't nearly as bad. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| The Universe in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, March 17 2005 22:25
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Thinking of the singularity from which the universe expanded as a black whole isn't quite accurate. If we're dealing with relativity, which we are, both space and time stop working in any Newtonian sense. Space still consisted of an infinite number of points extending in all directions, but the distant between any two points approached zero. Everything in what would be the universe was effectively in the same place at the same time; put another way, neither place nor time were conceptually relevant yet. (This somewhat irrelevantly recalls a passage from a Terry Pratchett book about days passing one after another because they had tried passing all at once and it didn't work.) —Alorael, who has only the most cursory acquaintance with Hawking's work. He'll only point to Thuryl's explanation of black whole particle emission. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| From The Shadows... in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, March 17 2005 18:17
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Welcome back, OM, Zephyr, and Rosy! And I haven't seen NaCN here in a while. It's an invasion! They are the forerunners, and Scorp may be close behind! —Alorael, who begs your pardon while he panics and flees. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Nethergate on Windows XP? in Nethergate | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, March 17 2005 15:15
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On the other hand, that could just as easily have been a new topic. "Should I get [insert game(s) here]" topics are common enough. My answer is a resounding yes. If you're playing Spiderweb games, you're not playing for eyecandy. Nethergate has the same graphics as Avernum for the most part. The atmosphere of the game is the strongest I've seen in any Spiderweb game, and the plot is quite good. My only complaint is that it's shorter than any other Spiderweb game, and even playing both the Celt and Roman sides of it doesn't quite make it seem as large as Exile/Avernum. —Alorael, who as always recommends that you download the demo and try it. You get a very good sense of what Nethergate is like. It has the same heavy plot beginning of Avernum 2, but unlike A2 the game doesn't suddenly feel very different after the demo area. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| The Universe in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, March 17 2005 14:58
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Trying to think about things like space and time before such things as matter existed doesn't work. At least not without headaches. —Alorael, who believes Hawking because Hawking is an expert in the field and he is not. That level of physics is not really accessible to the lay audience. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Anybody out there finish Avernum 3? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, March 16 2005 18:37
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Whirling dervishes are mystics (and sometimes performers), not soldiers. —Alorael, who doesn't see any direct influence from any religions on Avernum beyond their influences on generic fantasy. Examples, please? Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Which of these is worth playing? in Richard White Games | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Wednesday, March 16 2005 14:31
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James needs his nap time. —Alorael, who fails to see the relevance. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| RPGs in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, March 15 2005 18:45
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It was probably one of the text-based games like Zork, although I think ADVENT (Colossal Cave Adventure) came first. Rogue was another early one, but I'm almost positive that ADVENT predates it. Both of those could be termed adventures instead of RPGs, though, depending on your definition. —Alorael, who believes Rogue holds the distinction of being the game under constant development for the longest time of any game (or maybe even any piece of software, though that's doubtful). He's not sure that Rogue itself is still altered without becoming a variant, but there are certainly plenty of derivatives being made and updated all the time. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| the internet in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, March 15 2005 15:17
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The internet presents several unprecedented forms of human interaction and association. Sociologists should be all over it. In fact, I'm sure they have been since ARPAnet. —Alorael, who is just a little surprised that it is dignified with its own name, especially when "cyber-" is so sci-fi-esque. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Geneforge 3 Questions in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, March 15 2005 15:12
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Here it is definitely illegal to hire a prostitute. There are periodic stings with false prostitutes, and they've spawned new and improved ways to differentiate between the real thing and the literal jailbait. It's also illegal to purchase, download, or possess pirated software. The rumor that it's only illegal to upload or sell is a myth. It may not be easy for anyone to tell whether you pirated it or not, but it's illegal. —Alorael, who knows exactly why both things are illegal. Pirated software is illegal because it is, in essence, theft. Someone produces a product and deserves money when someone else uses it. Prostitution is illegal because of moral and social issues, some more valid than others, but making sex illegal would be a distinctly difficult proposition. Besides, the Bible doesn't rail against all sex. Just most sex! Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Cheap OEM software... in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, March 15 2005 15:05
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Legal or not, it's against the CoC in several ways. I sentence this topic to die the death. —Alorael, who will carry out the sentence with all due haste. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| the internet in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, March 15 2005 15:03
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I've heard that there is now a reputable and recognized sub-specialty of sociology, appropriately termed cybersociology, that would concern itself with forums. So yes, we may all be guinea pigs. —Alorael, who has trouble associating "sociology" and "reputable" anyway thanks to his personal prejudices. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Geneforge 3 Questions in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, March 14 2005 18:21
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The HOTU website acknowledges that the abandonware that they provide for download is illegal. That said, they claim to be willing to take down any game if the publisher so requests and they are very scrupulous about not uploading any game still produced and sold anywhere. —Alorael, who is with the "illegal but not wrong" stance on abandonware. If it is literally impossible to purchase it for any price and you would like to play it, is there a moral reason not to download it for free? Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Where can I find the original Exile 1 & 2 PC Graphics? in The Exile Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, March 14 2005 18:09
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Behold the last topic on the first page of ET posts! —Alorael, who can't help with E1. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| the internet in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, March 14 2005 18:06
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Eros? As in the son of Aphrodite, commonly referred to as Cupid? He may have corresponded with Sappho once in a while, I guess... There is erotic art and there is pornography. There are erotic stories and there is pornography. Any medium can be used to produce worthless smut and, because we're talking about the internet here, it is. Frequently. —Alorael, who is an internet omni-user. If it's online, he uses it. If it's not, it should be! He demands convenience! Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Anybody out there finish Avernum 3? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, March 14 2005 17:59
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A vizier is a government official, albeit usually one in a Muslim government. The term may have appeared once in Avernum. Dervish is definitely Muslim, but not the way it's used in Avernum (elite heavy infantry or officer corps?). In any case, both words have become fairly mainstream in fantasy and the second tends to get misused. I don't see any great Muslim influence. —Alorael, who would like to know how dervishes became warriors at all. It makes less sense than the unarmed warrior monks, who are at least somewhat based on the more martial Eastern orders. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| What about a spidweb chatroom? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, March 14 2005 17:55
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There was an IRC #exilechat channel once upon a time. It died from disuse. The problem with a chatroom is that it requires everyone to be there at the same time. The Australians would have trouble talking to the Americans, and the Europeans would be in a different timezone of their own. Information might travel faster, but it would travel to a select group. I'm not sure how it would help with keeping people around longer. IPs are already shown to moderators, and IP bans are applied when necessary. There really aren't any cons to a chatroom (besides the aforementioned disuse). It's just that these boards generally have a better signal to noise ratio than any chatroom I've ever seen and allow everyone time to reflect and post meaningfully. —Alorael, who agrees with WM. If you must chat, find an instant messenger service. Many Spidwebbers have AIM, and there was once a great tradition of AIM chatrooms, such as the infamous Room 3. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| How many? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, March 14 2005 12:48
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I salute you, BSC. —Alorael, who agrees that beating the bishop is a sure sign of atheism in more ways than one. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| cehck tihs out in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, March 14 2005 12:36
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It does seem like the majority of what we learn in university and high school tends to be useless later in life. Do you really need to know how to analyze literature? Are the biological workings of plants important in your daily routine? Do you frequently use calculus? The answers to all of the above are no for most professions. It would seem that one could do just as well without wasting time on them, and the time could be better spent in a vocational school once you know what profession you wish to pursue. I know China's educational system has proven otherwise, though: most vocationally trained workers were initially more productive but fell behind generally educated workers within a few years. I'm no education expert, but that indicates to me some tangible benefit of general rather than specialized or no education. The other question is what we would do with students if we took them out of schools. Would we just add many more teenagers and twenty-somethings to the workforce? Is that necessary or productive? There are definitely problems with the education system just as there are problems with almost all systems, but I'm far from convinced that removing it would be of any benefit. —Alorael, who has no trouble with the idea that schools tend to do best with the average. Anyone who deviates too far from average is in trouble. The ever-increasing workload and the stress and health problems associated with it are rectifiable as well. They can be fixed without canning the school system entirely. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Blackcrag Fortress in The Exile Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, March 13 2005 09:28
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Unlike E1 and E2, E3 doesn't let you run around at all after winning. That means that you can't revisit Blackcrag or anywhere else, so the rumor is very obviously false. —Alorael, who will add that the ending includes a scene from Blackcrag. That's a little bit like wandering around except without the wandering. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| User Friendlyness in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, March 12 2005 18:00
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If A4 actually has a new, "sparkly" engine, Jeff may use it to make several games. He did just that with the Nethergate/Avernum and Geneforge engines. After that, a Blades version would make sense and fit in the pattern. —Alorael, who wouldn't expect it directly after Avernum 4. Avernum 5 and 6 would be likely, or perhaps (one can hope) a new trilogy. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |