Profile for Student of Trinity
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Student of Trinity |
| Member number | 3431 |
| Title | Electric Sheep One |
| Postcount | 3335 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
Recent posts
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| Viva Italia !!!!!!! in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Saturday, July 8 2006 12:50
Profile
Portugal's one goal was very impressive, and they did make some shots, but Germany made a lot more throughout. This was not one of those could-have-gone-either-way games. Schweinsteiger scored all three goals; the second happened to bounce off a Portugese player on the way in. I don't imagine hat tricks are frequent in World Cup football. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| new freakin' monsters ideas in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Saturday, July 8 2006 12:36
Profile
We're especially hard on grammer. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Worst game possible: First round in Richard White Games | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, July 7 2006 19:21
Profile
Out of many good bad ideas so far, I single out Alorael's suggestion of bad automatic camera angle control. Humans have basic instincts about trying to see things, I think, and having our viewpoint slew around arbitrarily should be maddening on a sort of animal level. Probably a good refinement here would be to have manual camera angle controls that are brutally counter-intuitive, and remain so no matter how long you play the game because they actually change from level to level. Everything is bearable on automatic camera until suddenly you're staring at a wall while a Bugblatter Beast is whaling on you, and you're trying to pound in the necessary six-key sequence just to get a look at the thing. Having to struggle just to look death in the face: priceless. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Worst game possible: First round in Richard White Games | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, July 7 2006 01:10
Profile
Of course we must describe the worst possible game. For the sake of arbitrariness, let us consider only CRPGs in a broad sense. RTS and FPS games with some RP element would be in. In this round we will attempt to determine just what being the worst possible game would mean. The discussion may, however, proceed with examples, which may then become actual competitors for the title in Round 2. Note that there is no restriction to games that have actually been made. It seems implausible that the very worst possible game could yet have appeared in reality, so the ultimate winner of Round Two should certainly be hypothetical. Examples presented in this Round, however, may be real, hypothetical, or both (such as a hypothetical mixture of two actual games). To start the ball rolling, I will raise the grave problem of Camp: it is unfortunately (for our purposes) quite possible for a game to be so bad that it becomes good, or at least not so bad. The worst possible game would necessarily be one that derived no benefit from this effect: it would have to be bad with a badness unredeemable by any amount of irony. This may be a tricky constraint to pin down. Conversely, however, it might be that the very worst games would all have to contain a substantial amount of goodness, otherwise they would lack (a) the disappointment of unfulfilled potential and (b) the temptation to play them and experience their awful badness. Is it possible, for instance, that the worst possible game would be the greatest possible game except for having the lamest possible ending? Or would one in that case simply refuse to accept the ending as part of the 'real' game, and classify the remainder as a very good game somewhat marred by having no ending? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| The 4.5986th Chocolate of Last Week Pageant in Richard White Games | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, July 7 2006 00:59
Profile
I did, but it was lost in next month's big board crash. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Alorael in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, July 7 2006 00:45
Profile
quote:Now there's a custom title waiting to happen. EDIT: Hey! Le jour de gloire est arrivé. [ Friday, July 07, 2006 00:51: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Xylgham udwlnit skretcko!1!! in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, July 7 2006 00:43
Profile
quote:Damn. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Civil Unions disallowed in ACT in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Friday, July 7 2006 00:41
Profile
It is perhaps worth pointing out that homosexual marriages or civil unions or whatever are not a hot potato in every country. Some places have had gay marriage for years, without any particular fuss. The Netherlands, for instance. How many others? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Alorael in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, July 6 2006 13:18
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He's the only person here with five digits, in fact. Dirt sued. [ Thursday, July 06, 2006 13:19: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| The 4.5986th Chocolate of Last Week Pageant in Richard White Games | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, July 6 2006 13:15
Profile
It has mysteriously vaporized, alas. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| weight suggestion for G4 in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, July 6 2006 13:13
Profile
quote:The explanation of how it would all supposedly work in the game world is indeed a bit complicated, though hokey is in the eye of the behoker, and I figure that courier creations are one of the first things I'd make if I were a Shaper. But the gameplay would be very simple; simpler, I'd say, than a droppable backpack, a pack mule, or multiple schlepping trips to haul back loot. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Wow (G4) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, July 6 2006 12:30
Profile
A lot of the 'bad Shaper' episodes are indeed part of the story of the Geneforge. And I'll grant that an actual working canister, or the discovery that a working Geneforge was once made, provide stronger temptations than the spontaneous whim to pursue some dangerous experiment of one's own. So it might be that some of the Shapers who have 'fallen' would have stayed on the straight and narrow if Danette had never started it all. We could say that some of the Shapers who fell may also have been pushed. But they were all too ready to fall. And a society of magical creators that would maintain its discipline when things went smoothly, but suffered mass defections as soon as forbidden breakthroughs appeared, would not really be responsible enough, collectively, for its power. So the 'Danette made me do it' defence doesn't seem to me to hold water. And there is also a fair amount of evidence of bad Shaping independent of the Geneforge arc. There was Tek on Sucia Island, trying to become immortal as a shade. There was Sharon in G2. In G3 there were the golem monstrosity crew and that guy with the runed serviles, both on Dhonal's Isle, and that necromancer dude on the second island. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Wow (G4) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, July 6 2006 10:23
Profile
The fault is not in the stars, but in themselves. On the individual scale, the danger in research is creations running amok, demons getting loose, or whatever. But in principle, as far as I think we can tell from the evidence in the games, these kinds of risks can be adequately managed. Maybe demons are always out, but golems could be done if done right. On the social scale, the danger is arrogant overconfidence that pushes the envelope too far, and gives too little weight to dangers to the general public. The Shaper problem is not that they pursue research that could not possibly be done safely, but that they pursue research when so many of them are power-mad maniacs waiting to happen. On the individual scale, perhaps a rogue Shaper researcher trusts a control spell which is not actually adequate for a dangerous new creation. On the social scale, the Shaper council trusts people like Danette not to start reckless projects, then trusts people like Barzahl to clean them up, and so on. The Taker/Rebel defense, against the charge of recklessness, is that they have no choice. Evidently the Shaper Council could mount a similar defence, for the supply of truly trustworthy Shapers seems woefully short. So maybe they are doing the best they can. So are the Rebels. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Holidays in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, July 6 2006 08:07
Profile
Many an eminent sage loves Lagavulin, or its cousin Laphroaig. So it is a perfectly respectable taste; one may even say that it is a taste that commands respect. The aroma reminds me a tad too much of coal tar, though. I can cope okay with some of the lighter single malts, but on the whole I prefer good blended scotches. Life's too short to drink bad beer. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| weight suggestion for G4 in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, July 6 2006 03:19
Profile
I still prefer my 'tag it, don't bag it' suggestion. The idea is that 'tagged' items would be carried to the town of your choice by hypothetical specialized courier creations -- perhaps a small swarm of strong fliers, never directly represented in the game -- when you left the zone. If we make it so that you can't 'tag' items in combat mode, and can only do so when very close to them, then it should be impossible to steal items from under the noses of guards and then run away. Or perhaps the items would only be transported if the zone is clear, and would automatically become untagged if you left the zone uncleared. It would also be fun, I think, if Jeff could make some place or places in the game which you could take over and use as a homebase -- a small town of your own, in effect. If this place were secure, it would also provide a plausible explanation for how you can carry around 30,000 gold coins without encumbrance: they are stored in a trunk in your base, and you send courier creations to fetch them whenever you buy something. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Wow (G4) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, July 6 2006 02:34
Profile
The Rebels took the Shapers by surprise in the Ashen Isles, and overran large amounts of real estate. But even after playing both sides of the game, it does not appear that the Rebels have any prospects of further progress, until the PC does the right tricks for them. And both sides take the stalemate for granted. Diwaniya, for instance, never says that he is inevitably doomed because the number of rogues is steadily growing, which would be the obvious case if the spawners really made permanent creations forever. As to judging Shaper society, I take your point that games about situations where Shaper control worked would be dull. Still, though, the only evidence we can use is what we have, and in the games we have seen, dangerous Shaper experiments are common. And I don't think you can excuse madness on the grounds that it is canister-induced. Someone who would build a Geneforge after using canisters is someone who was already a latent megalomaniac, or they wouldn't have used the canisters in the first place. I am not arguing in favor of the Rebels. I am arguing, from the evidence of events in the games, that the long-term collective behavior of the Shapers embodies the very hubris they condemn so strongly in individuals. Anyone can talk the talk of control, and all the mad ones do; walking the walk means not overestimating the effectiveness of your controls, and backing off from excessive risk. This the Shapers have collectively failed to do, time after time. In G1 there was the Geneforge, but also the independent experiments in necromantic immortality, which also ended badly. So two out of the three leading Shapers went off the rails, and the third clearly would have done as much if he could have, for he claimed credit for the Geneforge. Then when the Sholai grabbed a Shaper at random, they got Goettsch. In G2 there are Zakary and Barzahl, Zakary being a rebel who repented only belatedly, plus Sharon, who has made a wicked Experimental Gamma, and Phariton, who has become a canister-freak Drayk-maker. I believe some of Barzahl's important underlings are 'fallen' Shapers rather than jumped-up plebes. And the builders of the Awakened Magus Complex were clearly trained Shapers, for the PC recognizes their Shaper lab architecture. The percentage of Shapers who yield to temptation seems to be awfully high. In G3 we have Hoge, Litalia, and several lesser 'fallen' Shapers among the Rebels, plus at least two independent rogue researchers, and the erstwhile governor of Gull. There is that smith on Gull who has gone all Stockholm-syndrome with a Drayk. Khyrryk does seem pretty sane, but even he has somehow learned to make Rotghroths, and is willing to teach the technique for cash. Then there is the sealed mine complex on Dhonal, where they all got wiped out by their golem monstrosity. True disciplined Shapers, who never attempt anything beyond their capacity, seem a bit scarce in G3 too. With this amount of evidence, the persistent Shaper remarks about discipline and control have simply begun to sound hollow to me. I don't doubt that the faithful Shapers are sincere, but they are also the ones who remain confident that their control will eventually be sufficient. In the face of the evidence, this confidence is surprising, and reminds me too much of the overconfidence of the Shapers who go bad. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Wow (G4) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, July 5 2006 23:53
Profile
I have edited my pseudoku. I like the new one better, and wish it to stand as the official version in all future anthologies of my poetic works. Editors with lucrative poetry contracts please take note. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| What do you think of A4 in Avernum 4 | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, July 5 2006 12:19
Profile
I found a few parts of it multiple-deaths-hard, and many parts whoa-this-looks-bad-but-phew-I-made-it hard. There was a lot of it, and since I wasn't burdened by any significant prior exposure to Avernum, I had no complaints about it not being original enough. There were quite a lot of cool surprises. So I thought it was great. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Wow (G4) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, July 5 2006 07:09
Profile
a stack of phrases could be a sort of haiku but I don't think so EDIT: For the sake of continuity I confess that the original post did not fit the 5-7-5 pattern I was aiming at because (go irony) I miscounted the number of syllables in 'intelligibility'. It was late. Anyway, I like this version better even apart from syllables. [ Wednesday, July 05, 2006 23:50: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Civil Unions disallowed in ACT in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, July 5 2006 07:04
Profile
And that's just how they want it. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Alorael in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, July 5 2006 02:40
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If you got to ask you ain't never gonna know. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Civil Unions disallowed in ACT in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, July 5 2006 00:50
Profile
Oldbies could bequeath their accounts to newbies in disguise. Would we really notice? [ Wednesday, July 05, 2006 00:52: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Family Sizes in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, July 4 2006 22:49
Profile
The poll lets you select multiple answers, and five people seem to have selected all at once. But I gave one answer for my parents and brothers and me, and another for my wife, daughter, and me. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Wow (G4) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, July 4 2006 10:41
Profile
To Thuryl: Ya, shutting down all their R&D as too dangerous might well doom the Shapers even if the Rebels were gone, because a few rogue wizards might make breakthroughs that let them break up Shaper rule. Probably the only real solution, in the world of Geneforge, is to re-shape Shaper culture so that the proportion of latent megalomaniacs in the upper percentiles of skill and talent drops from the present 1 in 4 to 1 in 4000. At that level, there might be a threshold effect whereby the social immune system of discipline and control could reliably contain the rare rogue elements. As Shaper culture now stands, however, thirst for power seems to be like the endemic corruption in many unfortunate real-world societies. Assign a few good Shapers to clean up a catastrophe, and a couple of them are bound to smuggle out some canisters and start de-engineering. How do you get back from there, how do you purge the cancer of megalomania from the body politic? It's not clear there is a way, short of a terrible plague or war that sweeps the old world away. Real-world history is not terribly inspirational for this sort of thing. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Civil Unions disallowed in ACT in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, July 4 2006 10:18
Profile
Maimonides posts only terse negative statements, usually single sentences. This has been very effective: with only 40 posts, he or she has created more brand awareness than members with dozens of times as many. Occasionally I disagree with these declarations, but most of them seem sound enough. Even if they're wrong, at least they don't take long to read. So I don't care who Maimonides is: anyone so consistently concise is all right by me. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |