SteveThaiBinh

Good to see the actual announcement. So far www.alphaprotocol.com redirects here.

Casino Royale, widely considered to be a fairly gritty and realistic reboot of the James Bond franchise, still got a 12A rating from the BBFC.

Crates thread! Has no-one yet mentioned the zombie-ninja-pirates that will be found within the crates? I can't believe it!

Yes, and I enjoyed them both. I get US sitcoms on satellite here. Sadly, I've also seen 'Yes, Dear' and 'The War At Home', though I am trying to suppress. For every good British sitcom, there are half a dozen sad unfunny tired derivative excuses for comedy that should have been strangled at birth and that the US never sees, thank goodness, or what would that do to our reputation for comedy? If you really like great British comedy, the place to go is BBC7 radio, where you can usually hear The Goons, Round the Horne, Radioactive, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and many others on demand.

Can anyone else reproduce this error?

I imagine he means Jensen Button, superstar racing driver. As for 'Michael Thorton', to quote google search, "Did you mean Thornton?"

The actions of our security services have always been controversial, even more so in the last few years. A James Bond-style action/comedy could ignore all this (as the movies do) and still be a lot of fun and a very good game, but as games offer choices that movie-goers don't get, I'd love to see some of these issues tackled. For example, do you carry out torture (or turn a blind eye to others doing so) if you feel the information you might get is valuable or urgently needed? Do you use overseas facilities like Guantanamo to do things not countenanced under the laws of the society you're trying to protect? Do you refuse to pay money to bad people for good information because it's morally easier for you? Can you tackle these issues and still make a game fun?

I actually cheered when I read that! The guy repairing the air conditioner got a bit of a shock, but I don't care. That's the best news I've had this week, and that's the truth. :)

I wish I'd seen this, despite the awful reviews.

Dead Like Me was one of the best TV shows to come from the US in the last few years. I loved it, and was very disappointed it was cancelled. All this talk of Stargate and Atlantis has made me want to watch it. I just don't have enough sci-fi in my life these days. :sad:

Home-schooling is growing in popularity in the UK. Neither religion nor sex education are behind this - in a majority of cases, parents withdraw their children from state schools because of bullying and the failure of the schools and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) to do anything about it. I believe the law states that home-schooling parents are obliged to provide a quality education for their children, but there's no precise definition of what this means and no requirement that the National Curriculum be followed. As in the US, there are home schooling associations and charities that provide support and advice for parents. Generally, parents are aware of the potential risk of the child failing to develop social skills and so can take action to overcome this - the same associations help parents organise group activities for home-schooled children. Home-schooling parents have faced a lot of resistance and ignorance from the educational establishment - some LEAs have even told parents (falsely) that home-schooling is illegal. I gather the situation is improving, though. Globally, home-schooling is part of a trend of reevaluating 'schooling' as opposed to 'education'. The global development industry, aid organisations and the UN are pushing the Millennium Development Goals to get every child into school, without much concern for the quality of education (and possible abuse) they might receive there. The number of schools has increased dramatically, and so of course has the number of bad schools. I think we're increasingly going to see a backlash against formal schooling and greater variety in how children receive their education.

Community members are free to bring any news or other stories they find interesting to Way-Off Topic. If it's not something that interests you, please feel free not to comment upon it.

Really? He's in a sweet-free school and doesn't know he's in a sweet-free school?

Play nice, guys. I find it fascinating that the new list of sins seems to be resonating - it's the UK's budget statement today, and the Chancellor has raised tax on smoking, drinking and gas-guzzling cars. Interestingly, this is being reported in the press in terms of taxes on 'social sins'. I think for all its many imperfections, this list of social sins is already entering the public consciousness.

Jolly good, I could do with a rest from it. I do admire many aspects of the US electoral process (primaries in particular) but not its length.

Thread pruned and reopened. Please think over the following points: - Please don't use symbols or other cheats to get around the language filter. - Please don't use words that refer to sexual orientation in a derogatory way. - If you feel that another community member has broken the rules, please report it via the 'report' button. - If you feel that there is trolling, baiting or whatever else going on, please report it via the 'report' button and don't respond to it. - Please post constructively. Steve

I'm at work and don't have time for pruning, so I'm just going to lock the thread for now. When I get home in about two hours I'll take a proper look and see if the thread is recoverable.

Unfortunately, this thread turns out just to be flamebait. I think there's a valid discussion to be had, and if forum members wish they're free to create a new thread, but in a respectful manner, please.

I'm locking this thread because I really don't think we're on topic any more, but if you guys want to continue your discussion about the merits of highly-customizable PCs (particularly their faces), fear not, for there is another place to which you can go.

I'm assuming this thread is about the technological issues and desirability of highly-customizable faces in RPG characters?

Most likely. I can't think of a good reason why you wouldn't be able to change appearance. I can see that with Planescape: Torment it was the way the graphics and animations were handled, but things are different now.

The Catholic Church doesn't believe in excessive wealth? Is the Pope planning to move to a bedsit anytime soon, 'cause he's kind of in a palace at the moment.

It costs three thousand dollars? I guess it's some kind of guide for venture capitalists with more money than they know what to do with.

I'll be interested to know how far they're going down the James Bond light comedy/action route, and how far they're going to address serious issues like use of torture to get information, and paying informants who are still active terrorists. If you want a game with tough moral choices, this setting is ideal.

My first computer was a Commodore 64, but I can't in all honesty pick it over the PC, which has given me so many years of happy gaming (and endless frustrations too, but let's not go there...)