Profile for Bob.
Field | Value |
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Displayed name | Bob. |
Member number | 6700 |
Title | Lifecrafter |
Postcount | 735 |
Homepage | http://www.freewebs.com/lenarlabs |
Registered | Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
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Planning in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Sunday, June 18 2006 09:43
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Something I've found effective for keeping me on target (and the same for Sicarius) is having a scenario outline or flowchart written out before I even begin design, covering the plot and noting key events and characters (extremely useful for mapping how the plot changes if "Choices" need to be made). I use this as a core for my scenario, almost like a mission statement. When in doubt or conflict, I refer back to this core diagram. Granted, I have allotted for the ability to change the core process, if I have a really good idea or something. I also use the same concept for side quests. -------------------- The Silent Assassin would like to point out that he is not, in fact, mute; simply silent. I haven't heard anything to prove it, though. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Planning in Blades of Avernum | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
|
written Sunday, June 18 2006 09:43
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Something I've found effective for keeping me on target (and the same for Sicarius) is having a scenario outline or flowchart written out before I even begin design, covering the plot and noting key events and characters (extremely useful for mapping how the plot changes if "Choices" need to be made). I use this as a core for my scenario, almost like a mission statement. When in doubt or conflict, I refer back to this core diagram. Granted, I have allotted for the ability to change the core process, if I have a really good idea or something. I also use the same concept for side quests. -------------------- The Silent Assassin would like to point out that he is not, in fact, mute; simply silent. I haven't heard anything to prove it, though. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
A little note in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Sunday, June 18 2006 09:30
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Well, locking happens to even the best of us... This particular instance was a combination of a rather old and overused topic (but you didn't know that) with a bunch of spam. Generally, the mod who locks it will explain why. I'm not sure why Drakefyre didn't this time, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with Ephesos's post previous. Most of the time it'll be from something like a flamewar (people sharply criticizing each other for no apparrent reason), a topic discussed all too much that doesn't evolve into anything useful, a spam string (posting for the sake of posting), something that the mods find overly inane, CoC violations, the whim of the Fluffy Turtles, getting TM irritated, your name happens to be Ed, or somesuch. Anyway, don't take it too hard. And welcome. If you give up all of your sanity willingly, the Fluffy Turtles don't get violent. EDIT: I made a blasphemous error. -------------------- The Silent Assassin went mud wrestling with a large trout yesterday. From what I saw, I think the trout won. [ Sunday, June 18, 2006 09:31: Message edited by: Lenar Research Facilites ] -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Just because I'm curious... in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Saturday, June 17 2006 11:52
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You know, seeing the NES box makes a guy think... it looks so 70's. Ah... ultimate video action... all thy cared about was the fact that they could... no need for plot of fancy graphics... and it was either that, pong, or atari at first. And now we have PS3 (eventually) and XBox 360 and the Wii. And the graphics and processor races. And companies switching platform loyalties (fie upon microsoft for screwing up perfect dark). The only good that comes from such things? Super Smash Brothers and Final Fantasy. And Metroid and LoZ. Occasionally. -------------------- The Silent Assassin has somehow convinced the local city planning board that it would benefit the community to re-zone our curent industrial district for nuclear waste. I'd like to see some of the behind the scenes work on this one. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Genevernum in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Saturday, June 17 2006 11:40
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I, for one, would like to see plot elements revealed in the "final" chapters of Avernum and Geneforge that would totally destroy the Vahnatai Creationist theory/connection and create an ultimate and everlasting schizm between the two worlds. But that's just me. -------------------- The Silent Assassin explained to me that it really wasn't acid rain. It was the results of his failed nitro-chicken experiment. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
I'm off the list! in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Saturday, June 17 2006 08:28
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Dangit, I've dropped 30 positions. Granted, I'm not online as often durng the summer. And I've had little to say. Oh well... cheers to Slarty! -------------------- The Silent Assassin is annoyed. Apparrently, Germany lost WWI. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Dinosaurs Are Alive in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Thursday, June 15 2006 17:46
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From what little outdated knowledge I have on the Loch Ness Monster, I can assure Sullust that... the proof is sketchy at best. Loch Ness is a peat bog. Meaning that all scientists get on the scope is a bunch of fuzzy figures, as all of the peat interferes with just about any reading you can take in a lake, visual especially. -------------------- The Silent Assassin saw Lt. Sullust's sig and cited Monty Python: Bibo ergo sum. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
SRG! in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Thursday, June 15 2006 12:45
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quote:3 points. 1 for being funny, 1 for quoting Slarty, 1 because I felt like it. -------------------- The Silent Assassin swears to me that he encountered a dragon during a job yesterday. I'm assuming he meant our next-door neighbor. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
I need your help! in Blades of Avernum | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Thursday, June 15 2006 12:35
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Advice from a guy with experience: Don't. Even. Try. Not yet, anyway. Such an endeavor requires experience, loads of preplanning, and a lot of time. And those with experience enough to bring this to fruition are off building scenarios of their own, so it would be very difficult to get help without getting involved in a massive recruitment campaign. More advice from a guy with experience: Start small. Give us a good, short scenario. Learn how long it takes to get things done. Play around a little with the power of scripting. It is more involved and more powerful than you probably gess at this point. Get involved in the online community. The people here are brilliant resources. Once you've gotten your good small scenario out, do another, sliightly larger scenario. Same rules apply. Once that one gets met with great cheers and approval, then, maybe, you may want to consider recruiting authors for this (I want to say "grand endeavor", but the encyclopedia ermariana already has that title)... ultimus opus. -------------------- The Silent Assassin's pet project is a scenario that was once in concept similar to yours. He downsized quite a bit when he learned the difficulty of scripting, the market for such scenarios, and the limit to how many custom terrains he can have. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Anonymity and online identity, yet again. in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Wednesday, June 14 2006 17:43
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Frankly, my public life is my public life. And with the way that I live my life, the only things that should make a potential employer think about turning me down are my outspoken political and religious beliefs, and the fact that I can't shut up. My personal Google results: (Name variation / hits / actually me) Full Name (First, Middle, last) / 0 / 0 Legal name (First, Middle Initial, Last) / 288 / 0 Given name (First, Last) / 225,000 / 1 (Nickname, Last) / 43,400 / 1 Writing signature (First initial, Last) / 527,000 / 0 AIM screenname / 30 / 30 Moniker (all variations) / 56 / 56 It was so not worth doing that. What I find funny is that I don't really make an effort to remain anonymous. Heck, anyone who wanted could contact me, hunt me down, show up at my front door with a gun, whatever. And yet I only have two hits on Google. :cool: -------------------- The Silent Assassin doesn't have to google. If he needs to find something out about someone, he prefers to do it in person. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Probably a repetitive questions but... in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Monday, June 12 2006 17:30
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I'm a huge sucker for an original game soundtrack, on the conditions that the music is both good on its own and actually complimentary to the game. I've been using a large variety of music behind Exile and Avernum for a very long time now (it actually started when I was playing the E2 demo for like the billionth time, and a song from a different game got stuck in my head while I was visiting Waldby's Bazaar. Don't ask how I remember that). So my Avernite compilation consists of a variety of music (mostly MIDI files) from various other shareware games, classical composers, a few of my favorite rock and techo works to go with combat, and some original music that I wrote that was inspired by the game. But do I think that Jeff should be sticking a custom soundtrack into every game? No. As much as I'm sure that it could bring out Jeff's visions, even in MIDI form, the fact of the matter is that soundtracking requires a deceivingly large amount of effort, even if one is pooling from works already created. And, as already said, the bandwidth and people-pleasing factors really make for a potential problem. quote:Not entirely true! The foley bit is deceivingly easy. The ear will hear what it wants to hear. It's the quality that's the problem. That one depends on the room and the microphone. And the amount of time you feel like wasting with experimenting with foley. :P -------------------- The Silent Assassin recently revealed to me that he fired the foley guys very early on. Things are starting to make sense. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
What continent do you live on? (in which the voices take over) in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Tuesday, June 6 2006 14:19
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quote:The Arsenic movie is simply not funny, period. Of course, I once played Teddy in a semiprofessional theatre run, so I'm a bit biased. I've never seen Some Like it Hot Where the heck did this discussion emerge from, anyway? I thought we were discussing multiple personalities. -------------------- The Silent Assassin is not my other half. Don't get us started. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
A terrain challenge in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Tuesday, June 6 2006 14:10
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Okay, folks. Lord Grimm finally caves and starts his first topic. The conundrum is as follows: I am trying to create a terrain of a cage. Yes, seemingly simple enough. Jeff supplies a very nice cage in VoDT. (a) But. I would like to alter the cage so that a character can walk on the space and appear as though inside of the cage. (b) Originally, I thought I might be able to split the cage into two graphics (c,d) and layer them through various te_second_icon commands, including cutaways. Alas, all of the graphics appear behind the character. (e) I cannot create custom graphics of all of the monsters in cages, as I don't have enough room in my terrain list to do so. I would also rather like to allow party members to walk through the cages. I can use a different graphic if I must, but I want to see if there's something that I'm missing. -------------------- The Silent Assassin is happy that I finally started a topic. Next thing you know, he'll have me spamming. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
A terrain challenge in Blades of Avernum | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Tuesday, June 6 2006 14:10
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Okay, folks. Lord Grimm finally caves and starts his first topic. The conundrum is as follows: I am trying to create a terrain of a cage. Yes, seemingly simple enough. Jeff supplies a very nice cage in VoDT. (a) But. I would like to alter the cage so that a character can walk on the space and appear as though inside of the cage. (b) Originally, I thought I might be able to split the cage into two graphics (c,d) and layer them through various te_second_icon commands, including cutaways. Alas, all of the graphics appear behind the character. (e) I cannot create custom graphics of all of the monsters in cages, as I don't have enough room in my terrain list to do so. I would also rather like to allow party members to walk through the cages. I can use a different graphic if I must, but I want to see if there's something that I'm missing. -------------------- The Silent Assassin is happy that I finally started a topic. Next thing you know, he'll have me spamming. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Peer Review Process (was Evolution Stuff (was What is Religion, exactly?)) in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Thursday, June 1 2006 13:24
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quote:1. ID was always about information. It's the public profile people who both don't do their research and make us look like idiots. The problem is, because of said idiot, few people actually have the data. 2. Physics does trump biology in the mind of a Mathemetician or doctor of Physics, the two fields which oddly enough comprise the majority of the intellectual leaders of the ID movement. 3. You may want to check out this group on the physics of information in the ID movement. It's been a while since I've checked the site itself (I had a falling out with one of the board members, and am no longer affiliated with them), but their links and resources tend to be solid sources of information. -------------------- The Silent Assassin is beating my arm with a Bible. Because he felt like beating my arm, and the Bible in question was the first thing within his reach. Blasphemer. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Some interesting questions in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Tuesday, May 30 2006 11:42
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When I think (as in thinking something through), I tend to think as though I am speaking. I also tend to think in both abstract images or sounds and environments. I generally don't think in written words or colors (not without them being part of some visualization); though when I do, they are part of words on the page of a book. I can think of maybe two contenders for the role of me in a movie: Either Bruce Willis or Chuck Norris. -------------------- The Silent Assassin was once involved in a duel of honor. His role was to assassinate the winner. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Dan Brown Book... in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Saturday, May 27 2006 17:28
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quote:Hmm. I appear to stand corrected. I will admit that it has been a while (could just be that I have that one image transfer" thing from the movie trailer stuck in my head or something). But the point remains that the figure is assumed to be John. And, okay, the second part about leaning being a theme is still true, just irrelevant here. Oh well. Thanks for pointing that out. -------------------- The Silent Assassin tried his hand at cooking dinner recently. I may never eat tuna again. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Show me the muscle in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Friday, May 26 2006 17:51
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I love to cycle as a stress outlet. For my regular workout, I do Tae Bo. I occasionally play tennis and volleyball. Currently, I have a 20-minute walk to and from work every weekday. -------------------- The Silent Assassin plays baseball. And works in ventures related to deranged subterfuge. And occasionally he marches around playing a tuba that is roughly two-thirds his size. These tend to keep him in shape pretty well. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Dan Brown Book... in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Friday, May 26 2006 17:45
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quote:Traditionally, the figure in question is believed to be the apostle John (the one who wrote the gospel). John's practically leaning on Christ comes from a reference in John 13, which literally said that the apostle that Jesus loved (philos, or brotherly love, for those who get the wrong idea) was positioned to lean on Jesus during passover. This is a common theme/setting in many protraits of the last supper. Da Vinci's is simply the most popular. On a side note, resting on someone's chest was not an uncommon occurance, as the meal would have been consumed while the participants were in a reclining position. Many scholars agree (or at least in the lectures that I've been in) that in order for John to talk to Jesus, it would probably be easiest to simply lean over, planting him in the other's chest. -------------------- The Silent Assassin went to a seminar today. His favorite speaker's topic? "The Lint Brush: little known uses." -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
These pretzels are making me thirsty. in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Friday, May 26 2006 17:18
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-Looks at chart- -Smiles- -Realizes name is not on chart- -Smiles more broadly- -------------------- The Silent Assassin believes that if he is like any one sitcom character, he would be Dick Solomon from 3rd Rock From the Sun. Yeah. Sure. Behold the glory that is him. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
My God can beat up your God! in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Wednesday, May 24 2006 11:19
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quote:That's not pretzel logic; it's citing a document which disproves your statment. If you have issues with the credability of the document, go ahead and disprove the document, but don't insult my logic. -------------------- The Silent Assassin believes that he has come up with a new danze that will sweep the world in a mad craze. He calls it "The Cement Shoe". -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
My God can beat up your God! in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Sunday, May 21 2006 16:40
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My personal pantheon consists of Chip Davis, Terry Brooks, Captain Redbeard, and Tom Baker. For those of you who couldn't guess, I belong to the faith of The Antiquated Illuminati quote:He didn't? Edit: fixed the hyperlink. -------------------- The Silent Assassin has, since my last post, begrudginly moved out of his tent and back into the bunker. I miss the peace and quiet. [ Sunday, May 21, 2006 16:41: Message edited by: Lenar Research Facilites ] -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
The Ultimate Survey in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Friday, May 19 2006 16:19
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What did you do last night? — Went to a high school concert. Slept. The last thing you downloaded onto your computer? — Half-Life 2 demo Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery? — No Type of music you dislike most? — Rap Are you registered to vote? — Yes Ever made a prank phone call? — Yes Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? — Sky Diving Furthest place you ever traveled? — Warsaw, Poland What's your favorite comic strip? — Calvin and Hobbes Best movie you've seen in the past month? — What's a movie? Oh yeah... Favorite chocolate bar? — Snickers Have you ever won a trophy? — Yes. Favorite arcade game? — Anything involving racing Ever thrown up in public? — No Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love? — Finding true love If you had to spend a romantic evening with any sw member, who would you pick? — (pleads the fifth) Do you believe in love at first sight? — Attraction, yes. Love, no. Love is something that has to be worked at. Who do you think about most? — My GF. Which celebrity do you think is hot, both female and male? — I try not to think. It wastes the batteries. What's the worst medical problem you've ever had? — Whooping Cough. Got you all beat. What's your favorite sitcom? — Third Rock From the Sun Hottest sw male — (pleads the fifth again) Last computer/video game you played — Half-Life 2 Last movie you rented — Catwoman. My roomate and I needed a brainless flick for finals week. Would you rather dump someone or be dumped? — Dump someone. That would mean that I would be okay with it. Or more okay than not okay. Which sw member has the dirties mind? — Tough choice. From the chats that I've been to, I'm gonna have to go with MM. Have you ever kissed someone and regretted it? — Not yet. -------------------- The Silent Assassin informed me this morning that he was moving out. He promplty moved into a tent which resides topside of the bunker. And the disloyal mooch even came back in for dinner. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
UN to Send Troops to Darfur in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Wednesday, May 17 2006 12:40
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By Redstart: quote:By d3m0n5L4y3r: quote:By the WME: quote:By Lord Grimm: quote:-------------------- The Silent Assassin once held a dinner party in which he forced the guests to prepare their own meals. I did not attend that party. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |
Taskmaster system in General | |
Lifecrafter
Member # 6700
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written Tuesday, May 16 2006 14:08
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ESIV: Oblivion uses the learning-by-doing theory, balancing the learning curve in three ways: allowing the player to choose certain skills that the character has aptitude for (allowing certain skills to take different SP rates), generating base stats that can only be trained in when levels are gained, and allowing for the leveling up of enemies. Granted that it is more an FPS than an RPG, which makes the dragon/rat evasiveness thing easier to deal with, but removes any "traditional" puzzle or turn-based element. Incidentally, the first time I saw my roommate play Oblivion, the words that seemed to best describe it were, "AverForge. on crack. with a budget." Which, of course, led to a discussion of how Jeff has been using things the my roommate found amazing (such as dialogue. and traps. and item-based special calls) since E1. Of course, my roommate was too intoxicated by the graphics to pay attention. -------------------- The Silent Assassin recently discovered ebay. There may be hope for the structural integrity of the Bunker yet. Who am I kidding? I'm either gonna die or go bankrupt. -------------------- -Lenar Labs What's Your Destiny? Ushmushmeifa: Lenar's power is almighty and ineffable. All hail lord Noric, god of... well, something important, I'm sure. Posts: 735 | Registered: Monday, January 16 2006 08:00 |