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I have glasses. in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Saturday, September 29 2007 16:46 Profile #39
Law school has brought a pair of reading glasses into my life, as well as notably less hair on my dome. :(
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Other RPGs in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Wednesday, September 26 2007 08:21 Profile #12
Realmz is great if you like the most meaningless grind possible in an RPG. I would put Ultima IV over III, too - it was a bit more user-friendly.

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In today’s America, there are more World of Warcraft players than farmers.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Other RPGs in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Tuesday, September 25 2007 12:50 Profile #3
I always thought the Fallouts were pretty fun.

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In today’s America, there are more World of Warcraft players than farmers.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Man or God in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Tuesday, September 25 2007 11:36 Profile #177
quote:
Originally written by Dikiyoba:

[T]here [is no] reason why people can't just ignore a thread that doesn't involve them and that they find uninteresting[.]
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Raise your hand if you LOVE Linear RPG's! in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Monday, September 24 2007 05:44 Profile #39
That's purely then a matter of game content, which is directly correlated with developmental budget and time issues. Unfortunately, game developers are expected to craft a product that will return a profit.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Raise your hand if you LOVE Linear RPG's! in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Friday, September 21 2007 13:18 Profile #32
Are large games necessarily better though? It seems in every major RPG I've played, I reach a point maybe four-fifths of the way through when I acheive a state of fatigue. It's as though you know that the plot is approaching its climax (usually it's after a or THE big story revelation) and yet you still know that there will be several hours of annoying dungeon crawling between you and the final boss. It's definitely been the case for me in the Final Fantasy series. Has anyone else experienced this?
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Raise your hand if you LOVE Linear RPG's! in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Friday, September 21 2007 08:00 Profile #27
My Gamecube broke right after my party had ascended to the realm of the angels. :(
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Raise your hand if you LOVE Linear RPG's! in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Thursday, September 20 2007 14:51 Profile #24
The trouble is that it's likely the content won't ever be sufficiently suppliable or scaleable. Consider the problems inherent in a DM-run NWN scenario. Everything is pretty much still pre-planned and routed - nothing can truly be generated on the fly. Also, how many users do you envision in such a game? It would likely take far more than 30 DMs.

It sounds like you just ought to be playing Second Life.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Raise your hand if you LOVE Linear RPG's! in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Thursday, September 20 2007 06:52 Profile #12
I think it's pretty much impossible to have "true roleplaying" in a cRPG as you would define it. By their nature, games are limited in scope, owing to limitations in budget, time, and technology. This leaves the developers a spectrum between having a very compelling story on the one hand or an enormous open-ended game world on the other. Final Fantasy vs. Daggerfall. I prefer the former, because I like stories. I think to the extent you can "roleplay" in any of these games is pretty illusory; no matter what, you are either deciding to follow the plot laid out for you by the designer, or just beating around the bush powering up your characters. cRPGs pretty much will always lack the flexibility of PnP RPGs. Why expect this of them?
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
What have you been reading lately? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Thursday, September 20 2007 04:13 Profile #518
I think I liked "The Chosen" the best of his works.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Raise your hand if you LOVE Linear RPG's! in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Wednesday, September 19 2007 14:56 Profile #8
What matters most to me is a fun system. A game can have an excellent story, linear or no, but if the system sucks, I'm out. For example, I found Chrono Cross to be a ridiculous slog, and a combination of drawn out pointless combats and slow load times in Legend of Dragoon made that game unplayable for me. Final Fantasy VIII's system was pretty broken as well.

By contrast, I really enjoyed KOTOR and KOTOR II.

[ Wednesday, September 19, 2007 14:57: Message edited by: Drew ]
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
What have you been reading lately? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Tuesday, September 18 2007 20:11 Profile #512
I can't imagine his estate won't find someone to piece together his notes, especially if there's a rough draft, and finish it - too much money to be had. It just goes to show: you got to know when to hold'em, know when to fold'em, know when to write more story, and know when to end.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
A Public Opinion Survey in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Monday, September 17 2007 09:26 Profile #11
quote:
Originally written by Question This Authority:

Pirate vs. Viking would be a whole lot of fun, although the most likely result is back-slapping and taleswapping as the two try to drink each other under the table. In that contest, the Viking definitely wins.
I dunno... are we talking an 18th century pirate? While the Viking certainly loves his mead, sailors in the 18th century typically were issued ridiculous amounts of grog every day - upwards of a pint that would then be cut with water. I think the pirate would give the viking a solid run for his money when it comes to imbibing.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
A Public Opinion Survey in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Monday, September 17 2007 03:58 Profile #8
The pirate is predominantly a sailor, with some skill at combat, though most of that oriented around loading and firing a cannon. The ninja is an assassin. Ninja wins.

I think it's a toss up between the historical viking and the historical Spartan.

I don't have enough experience in the third competition to weigh in, though I will say that end-game creations are pretty crazy.

Whether the knight would beat the samurai would depend on whether a katana truly could saw through the full armor. I'm hazarding a guess that it can't - although the armor was certainly susceptible to piercing attacks, and a knight could always just get his bell rung enough with bludgeoning, slashing generally wasn't a problem. This is what makes the katana deadly, so if the samurai doesn't have that advantage, I think he's toast.

No idea on the last one. Both cultures toppled when faced with better organized invading empires. I'll give it to the Celts, owing to less susceptibility to European diseases.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Man or God in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Thursday, September 13 2007 12:10 Profile #88
The problem I have with God is when people make what are by all accounts good choices, which are followed by disastrous consequences. Or heck, people who just meet with disastrous consequences irrespective of any choice they make.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
What have you been reading lately? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Monday, September 10 2007 15:50 Profile #493
I enjoyed Neverwhere too. I also read American Gods, but didn't like it as well. He's quite pulpy.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
What have you been reading lately? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Monday, September 10 2007 03:24 Profile #487
I find that using David Lynch's concept as the basis for my visualizations helps. I never thought of it as particularly misogynistic, but I have found in latter readings that his economic models are completely unrealistic for interstellar societies, and that the big actors in that universe don't come close to radiating the sort of concern people probably would if assigned the task of ruling entire planets. That is to say, if I were ruling a planet, petty intrigue against other great houses wouldn't be at the top of my list. Also, the dialogue was ridiculously colloquial among the supposed nobility.

Nevertheless, it was still a pretty neat idea. Just could have used a fair amount of refinement.

As for books that follow it's pattern, I think the previously mentioned Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan are quite derivative of Dune, in both subtle and embarrassingly unsubtle ways.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
What are you learning right now? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Saturday, September 8 2007 17:11 Profile #59
What's the distinction?
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
The Body Snatchers in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Saturday, September 8 2007 16:14 Profile #14
Is it training children to make money, or rather training children in the rudiments of taking care of themselves? One could make a pretty compelling argument that the two go hand in hand in our society, unless you're Amish or something, but even then, it all boils down to an exchange of your labor for something else.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
The Body Snatchers in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Saturday, September 8 2007 10:41 Profile #9
quote:
Originally written by Jumpin' Sarcasmon:

It was only due to the efforts of a handful of do-gooders, and perhaps a few firetraps, that that system broke down at all.
Might it be fair to say that it had more to do with economic and technological advances enabling people to live more independently of one another?
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
You Choice, Your Music.. in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Friday, September 7 2007 16:19 Profile #14
Haven't found anything new lately. Faves are probably still Weezer and The Strokes. Meh.

EDIT: Actually, I have been listening a bit to Moxy Fruvous, but I don't they will exhibit the same staying power as the former two bands; they'll probably go the way that They Might Be Giants and Barenaked Ladies has gone, which is to say I'm not usually in the mood for either band anymore.

[ Friday, September 07, 2007 16:21: Message edited by: Drew ]
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
Spiderweb Archives? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Thursday, September 6 2007 14:31 Profile #7
How old were you when Misc. was around, anyway, Iffy? Six? I wasn't around for it, and I've been here since (zounds!) 2004.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
What are you learning right now? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Thursday, September 6 2007 12:46 Profile #31
macdude22: I would disagree. While the ostensible goal of attending a liberal arts college is to learn how to think analytically, with the major just being your means of acquiring that skill, what you major in can have serious implications for your potential career afterwards. While there are always success stories like the English major making a career for herself in the tech sector (my wife is living proof), the mean/median incomes for majors don't just come out of thin air. I would posit that it is far better to major in something potentially more remunerative - and get that credential - and then plan on spending time after you graduate studying all those other fun liberal arts areas. You will always have time to revisit subject areas in your spare time after you graduate (especially if you have enough money!); you will never have that engineering/programming/biology/chemistry/economics/etc. credential that really does give you a leg up in the job search.

Of course, if you're not particularly type A, don't particularly care about money, have someone else covering your college debt, or live somewhere that rent on a crappy two bedroom apartment is appreciably less than $1600/month, then this may not be as much of a concern.

[ Thursday, September 06, 2007 12:48: Message edited by: Drew ]
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
What are you learning right now? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Wednesday, September 5 2007 15:20 Profile #9
Call me a hypocrite, but it's in your best interest financially to do well in primary and secondary schooling. Although your grades in middle school aren't necessarily determinitive, your GPA in high school will have a great impact on your ability to get into a good university and, more importantly, get financial aid that you won't have to repay. Seriously, high school (in the US, at least), is far too easy to slough through. Take it seriously!
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00
What are you learning right now? in General
Drew
By Committee
Member # 4233
 written Wednesday, September 5 2007 14:17 Profile #7
quote:
Originally written by Andraste:

Almost all of the law books were new, except for the books on professional ethics. They had all been sold back to the bookstore. Guess ethics isn't needed in the real world.
It has more to do with when new editions come out than anything else. The law on professional responsibility doesn't change all that often because it is largely based on model codes propagated by the ABA. By contrast, most other topics cover areas of law governed by the common law, which changes all the time, or statutory or administrative law, which still changes pretty frequently. It's ridiculously annoying, because new editions for almost every topic come out about every other year, making the resale value on that $120 Constitutional Law 15th Edition pretty much worthless. If we had any sense at all, we'd all get into textbook publishing.
Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00

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