LadyCrimson

Could we knock of the "petty bickering?" You don't have to like/agree with someone's debate style, but when it becomes a continual focal point of the entire thread, I start frowning. Points in that direction have been made, let it lie now, please?

Played a little BL2 w/the hubs...now trying to decide whether to try watching Frozen Ground or A Single Shot. Both small indie movies, both dark and gritty, both with actors that have a chance of carrying the movie. First is crime/serial killer w/Nick Cage in a role that appears to not be of the over the top arc he's been doing and the 2nd is a "found money gets you in trouble" plot that has Sam Rockwell and a minor role for William Macy. I trust Sam more than I trust Nick, but.... Yeah I've seen Les Stroud (Survivorman) and others in shows use those. I'd probably carry one too. But I'd still rather have a pack of Bic lighters along as well. Then again, most places I'd camp wouldn't have much to easily burn (too damp), except in the thin pine forests up North or maybe in late Aug/Sept. So sushi for me!

"Changing Focus (or How I Learned to Love MuderDeathKill Raiding)", by ex-Tomb Raider Lara Croft.

Thinking about it, I believe the main thing I'd have in my own small survival kit is a 10 pack of Bic lighters ... because trying to MacGyver a fire isn't something I'd be any good with. I'd want other things too, of course, but ... yes, a lot of lighters. Another nice day...which I'm currently wasting away watching some Little House on the Prairie episodes. I know I know...what a corny, sappy show. I don't care. I grew up on it and I still like it.

*groans....again* Your Order title is appropriate.

I finally bothered to start the new Fey area chain. Only just started, but it seems to be based on daily quests in a few small hubs to get keys to be able to open treasure chests at the end of special instances? Plus ya gotta pay AD in the process to access... eg, it's not really story-quest based? Kinda lame. Not to mention all the teasing of showing elf's with bows ... that ranger class we'll get "someday." Not sure I'll bother...I'll stick with professions and collecting, as usual.

The graphic improvements are kinda pleasant (more vibrant color/shine, mostly, perhaps) but the new Fey areas make me feel like I've really entered WoW territory ... NeverWoW.

Lately, with every rising crescendo of the series, the image of Eric Idle jauntily singing "Always look on the bright side of life" keeps coming to mind.

Maybe they were worried italics - commonly used for emphasis in text - would be too hard to read in whatever font they were using. I don't see anything *wrong* with asteriks, tho ... they don't *bother* me *personally*, but it *can* become visually irritating if they're used *toooo* often. *Especially* in short-form convo/story-telling snippets like is often used in gaming. I feel the same way about the over use of exclamation points. Like if there's one at the end of every sentence! To show how upset or angry someone is! Or that they're shouting! Exclamation points should be infrequently used! imo!

I donated a sizable (but not super extravagant) amount because I wanted to support the game, not get into the beta. Having access to early bits or versions of the game is a bonus. And I'm definitely not good "tester" material, for various reasons ... so I'll be one of the ones who tries it out for an hour or so then shelve it until there's a much-different/improved version, if any, repeat. I don't plan on playing any beta to completion or for hours on end to pick it apart. To me it'd be only to get a general feel for how the game is going to play, what the UI feels like in action, etc.

.... My cats don't break things, but they sure are havoc on cloth furniture.

That was an awesome moment in the series. So was Walt and son scene, and then the Jessie stuff...I'm still seriously considering the notion that no one is going to come away happy - or even alive - at the end. All the TV forums have "team Hank" and "team Jessie," "team Walt" and "team wives" advocates, but I think all the "teams" are ultimately screwed. I'm currently more interested in what the Todd/Lydia angle is going for. Showing how careless/stupid Todd is (talking about that stuff in a diner for anyone to hear, other stuff) and his crazy Uncles ... that's just asking for disaster - for them and likely for Walt.

Awesome! Game still doesn't work after reinstall. Also, Borderlands 2 is doing the exact same thing (the "game.exe stopped working" msg soon as you try to launch the game). Checked other games, seems to be limited to just those two. Completely different games. I'm going to guess somehow the defrag (or maybe my uninstalling some games) borked some file both games use but I'm tired of trying to figure out what. Edit: now I realize my nvidia control panel won't come up either. I'll install new drivers .... 2nd Edit: Yay, that was it...borked up video drivers. All good again. I can go to bed happy.

Thanks for reminding me. Prosper's idea reminds me of the argument that Star Trek's transporters really just kill people and create a clone. So maybe that's why the npc's would look at you funny or be annoyed - because despite your new stats and appearance, they know you're still just the New Coke and not the Real Coke.

Apparently Neverwinter Online did not like my defrag, as it would get stuck on loading, give a "gameclient.exe has stopped working" error and shut down. So....uninstall and reinstall. Half way patched ... hopefully it'll work, or I'm gonna be mad. In other news ... Mr. Black has decided he likes buttery Ritz crackers, even tho they get stuck to his wet nose. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of cracker-covered-nose-cat.

I'm playing nothing, and actually uninstalled a lot of games I haven't touched (or never even tried) in months. It felt ... good. Of course, tomorrow I'll want to play half the games I uninstalled. I still don't know how some of you can focus on multiple games at once every week. When I do that, it's a sure fire way for me to not even get halfway through any of the games. I guess I'm the turtle ... slow and steady and one finish line at a time.

Dust is one of the many ways Nature has of laughing at our futile attempts to control the world around us.

But polish makes everything slide off the table to the floor. ... either that or the house is tilted. Day's warming up quite a bit already. Hubs in the living room playing BL2 with the doors open, Mr. Black lying sprawled on the area rug with his belly exposed and paws in the air, and I'm in here with the AC, watching my main HDD defrag. Now I'm going to go outside and try to coax Mr. Grey into eating more Gerber's chicken baby food. He's getting close to the put-down point...but I'm still hoping.

Uh oh ... I am out-cat-ed!

Yesterday: cold pizza for lunch, spicy chicken meatball soup for dinner. Today - I have a hankering for a good deli sandwich for lunch, but since there aren't any truly good deli's anymore, I'm going to have to go get the fixin's to make my own.

We should get together sometime and play a few rounds of the new hit, "Interactive Housekeeping," with deep player choices like "Dust then vacuum, or vacuum then dust?"

That would depend on what one thinks is appropriate "content" for an MMO. I've personally never thought MMO's should/could be anything much more than mass-multiplayer, extended environment versions of .... Diablo. I think it's pretty difficult to get the grind out of action-oriented mass-MP, and if you try too hard to do so, it becomes less and less an MMO (a MMO that lets everyone play solo in instances might be to my tastes, but really, it's not very conducive to the concept originally behind MMO). (exceptions could be games that are more building/community/economy based rather than mega-combat/arena/PvP etc. focused, but they're not typically what most ppl seem to want either) The point is that, imo, this whole idea that MMO's/games should be financially non-committal (player-wise) is a big part of what actually increases the rate of less and less content in games that never had deep content to begin with - and even bleeds into non-MMO gaming. And it then gives more control, in a round about way, to those with the open wallets. eg, MMO's likely to eventually cater too much to what they see sells in cash shop, not what's good for gameplay or even longevity. Altho actually, I should encourage this, because then all I have to do is spend spend spend and soon I'll have my perfect MMO - "CAT UNIVERSE - in your own instanced space, no one can hear you meow."

Pretty much this. Or, not so much "money grabs" as much as "regular, consistent annual income potential." That's what they're eyeballing. So instead of hoping for millions of sales on one or two mega AAA games per year, (meaning you have to create whole new games or IP's at a rapid pace), you hope for players or subscribers who like to spend a lot of money on single MMO's with ever changing aspects/extensions. I wonder if the notion that a lot of gamers are aging factors into anything. That is, the assumption there may be more gamers out there with a lot more disposable income than in the early years, thus the micro transaction thing works even if most don't pay a dime. I never understood the antipathy towards a subscription model, outside of needing to pay with something other than paper cash, perhaps. I think with subscription, you have a better chance of a little better content focus vs. the "new cool weapon/armor/skin/pet available to buy in the cash shop!" routine. That said, the micro-transaction is probably more profitable for the company...sadly enough. Even non-MMO's do this sort of thing now, on a limited basis (BL2, 99cent chr. skins...).

You'd be surprised how hard it can be to get an idea through official channels/agents sometimes. Especially if you aren't a mega-power known quantity. Good chance you'll never make it through the door to even pitch something. Course, I *am* a bit unclear why having a filmed episode would increase those chances vs. sending a written proposal. But to be honest, maybe I missed something since I didn't read the entire website page, because I'm lazy, and because it's not like I'm going to give them any funds myself.

I thought enforced civility was always the surface rage thing, outside of the occasional youth rebellion ... in the USA, at least. Couldn't even say those "seven words" on TV not that long ago. If anything, it's loosened up tremendously since I was a wee tot. Course, it's probably still too civil compared to some other countries culture, but oh well. There's still time before the Apocalypse. ...although, I tend to see "politically correct" as being something a fair bit different than civility. The former is used to try to fit in/try to make sure others like you - it's akin to peer pressure. The latter is to try to at least minimally get along with neighbors and strangers without actually killing each other over a parking space or making too much noise at 3am.