LadyCrimson

Voodoo! ...I have nothing against ATI cards. They're a fine option. I just tend to prefer nVidia's software interface/options and drivers. Plus I could care less about who might have that slight performance edge per new card release. Started with them, they haven't given me any trouble personally, so I stick with them. I don't like change I guess.

That's fine, but it all depends on what the consumer ends up doing, doesn't it? They can plan and push all they want, but it doesn't mean people will buy. Think of all the people who refused to switch to Vista (or even Win7) from XP forever and ever and ever. I know that's not the same, but the point is ... you might be surprised how many consumers are tired of buying (when they still have something that works "fine"), especially when their wallets are pinched. Anyway, I'm not against it happening faster or anything. But those tech journals/articles/conventions/innovators/companies etc. can predict and push all the time ... doesn't mean it'll happen that fast in real world application. You'll have some tech-geeks who will buy fast, but the "masses" typically are a lot slower to make changes like this. That's all I was saying. It's not buying the latest iPad or iphone for cool points.

Bankruptcy laws in the US....ah well, this kinda sucks. I'm not educated on this sort of thing, but often feels like these kind of deals can be iffy long term (for the sellers claiming things will be "ok," I mean), but I hope the buyer in short term, at least, leaves well enough alone and won't meddle with South Park release or Obsidian's development of it etc. :/

I think such changes don't become the "norm" until you can buy one for about $300 (monitor price I mean, not laptop). Either that or the economy is having a big boom era, which it's not. So...I'll give a wild prediction that it'll be more like 5 years before it even comes close to being as common as 1080 is now. Most people I know still don't even have 1080 laptops ... because they don't want to buy one.

Such monitors might be available before too long, but I think the time when the majority of people will afford/have them (and thus create an actual serious need for games to accommodate them) is still a while off.

Hub's family that lived locally split too much and a central "thing" stopped being a family thing to do. My own family...big gatherings are never my thing so I prefer to see them individually other times of the year instead. On our own, hubby and I don't do anything special. No presents, no special dinners made. It's funny because I'm not into "xmas" per se, but I did like the decorations (including avatars, haha). Sadly, while I like having a tree, it's a waste just for us so I stopped. We may not get a tree anymore but I was thinking about buying a small santa hat, because black cats always look so cute in one.

*looks at those amazon links then does her own Search for something...* Geez, people want $50-150 for NES GunNac? Did I toss that out recently? I don't "know" that, but it wouldn't surprise me I suppose. I decided not to pledge to it anyway...it's one that's better to wait for a review or something first.

Alternated between watching a PBS broadcast of The Fab Four (a very good Beatles tribute band) "Ultimate Tribute" show and the last episode of The Voice. Musically, I preferred The Fab Four, but seeing Peter Frampton and Terry McDermott sing "Baby I Love Your Way" together was pretty cool. I know it's popular to dislike/rag on the Beatles now, but I still love 'em.

Even if you're not into shows like The Voice, this might be amusing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpUhpFSR-rE ...I like CeeLo but think I'm going to like Usher better, and I'll definitely like almost anyone over Christina.

If it's accessible while travel-camp-resting (vs. only in certain locations) that's actually a fair/reasonable way to look at it. I can go with that.

I'll always be a nVidia gal, until they stop making GPU's. Still love my 590gtx. Hasn't given me any trouble at all, outside of running warm (normal) since I don't have liquid cooling. That said, I'm unlikely to ever spend that much on a GPU again.

Nice, lots of bits of info in this one. Need time to absorb it all. Weapon swapping, I like it, thank you. To be clear, does this mean once you've put an item in the "stash", that you can no longer access it while out on the road, only from those certain locations? eg, if you're in a dungeon, putting things in the stash is a one-way trip, so to speak, until you go "home?" If that's the case, I like the idea and it seems to be a solution for the deep-dungeon looting with no easy way back to a town/merchant syndrome...altho, it does seem like a rather magical ability, like having a transportation wormhole in your pack.

I wouldn't count them out yet. Y'know how these Kickstarters tend to rev up in the last few days. It's gone up quite a bit in the past 16 hours. They still need 46k in 63 hours or so...could make it. Not that I don't agree with the reason why it's not, perhaps, getting a lot more funding pledges.

I wouldn't know, you'd have to ask the creators of the games I played. I'd guess it was to encourage you to explore instead. Designing a game that assumes that every player will replay it is not, imo, good design. Which isn't to say I don't personally like replaying a lot of games or don't want games to have aspects to encourage replays. Just that I don't think that should be a requirement to feeling like I enjoyed the game/the game played fair. That's pretty much my view. I think merchants should largely just have basic gear and potions, ingredients if any, spell scrolls if any, that sort of thing. That way the game isn't a "how much gold do I have?" mini-game. You aren't likely to get tons of gold, but you don't need to spend tons of gold. I'd rather have it motivation to explore/quest because I'll find good stuff in hidden chests and on enemies, not so I can get big gold rewards to spend at a merchant.

Gatehouses and more gatehouses! I was pretty good, once, at building housing blocks that had them going where I wanted (no gatehouses). But dem ladies definitely had screwy compasses in their heads.

The problem with that is - the first time playing at least - that the player has no idea how much they need to save for those late-game "best items" that may appear, and thus cannot make any true rational/logical decisions about how to spend their money as they go through the game. Spend too much on a couple high priced items in the mid-game and you might not have enough to get what you really want at the endgame. I don't mean that you can't buy the entire 10 piece set of Uber-Gear-Set-#21 at the last merchant...but that you may not even be able to buy a couple pieces. That's always frustrating, and I've played plenty of games where that ended up being the case ... and I don't mean just looting arpg's ... which is part of the reason I became a packrat in the first place. Where you become paranoid to ever spend money at all, until the last. So whatever kind of economy there is, imo it has to have a bit of a balance ... so if you're the type who doesn't like to spend all their time looting/selling, you can still splurge here and there, just not as often ... yet those people obsessed with looting/selling (or crafting/selling) won't end up with 7billion quatloos in their pockets at all times. ...this all assumes that stores even have the chance to stock items that players are going to feel like spending "big money" on in the first place, of course. Perhaps P.E. stores will largely consist of more basic stuff and the better items will all have to be found.

I have increasing difficulty holding a paperback open for long periods, especially if using only one hand (arthritic issues), so I'm grudgingly considering whether an e-reader would be better. I like to read in bed a lot, so being able to hold it/use controls while lying down on one's side is important. Upper price range $200, more or less. I do not care about email, net browser, movies, games, etc, just the reader part, altho I'm not adverse to an inexpensive smaller "tablet" if the reader aspect is just as good or better. Reading reviews of what's currently available, but thought I'd also ask here: --any personal preferences? --I don't like how Amazon charges more to get a version without the on-screen "ads/suggestions". If you're paying for the e-books, I don't understand advertising. --If I understand right, Nook is less proprietary in file format? Would this be an advantage to someone like me? I'm guessing not much of one...

Heh, he does remind me of Air Force One in that one, in spots. Is he mostly voicing characters that do cutscenes like that? It's nice he gets a huge speech. As opposed to Worthington who's doing a player character with all the brief play-time lines, I think. Anyway, thanks for posting the vid. Kinda cool. Saw some outlandish game show with Howie Mandel as the host. He's definitely good at that role...makes the show seem more watchable than it really is. Time to watch some Netflix, then sleep.

Reading some of the things going on in the world today...it's often depressing, yet they are reminders that within the privilege of my own life, every day is one to be thankful for what I have. Never take anything for granted. Hubs largely has Xmas week off etc., and I'm not sure what we're going to be doing, besides being disgustingly lovey-dovey at all times. Could use a new co-op game.

That was a nice to read article. Also, I want that snowman. It would look great in this one corner of my living room.

If anyone could pull it off, it would be you-know-who. ...sorry, had to do it.

Read that Ed Harris and Gary Oldman do voices in CoD. I'd love to hear some of that. But I don't want to play/buy the game. There must be a "most/all the voice lines of...." videos on YT somewhere... Hubs and I spent the afternoon finally making a cheap/quickie platform out of 2x4's over the fireplace brick area to rest the old, very long, wood/wicker cabinet thingie that we put the TV on. Recovers more floor space, raises the TV a bit, and essentially "hides" the fireplace. Much better, both in function and appearance. We don't need the use of the fireplace.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - I haven't read the book or seen the mini-series (altho I've heard of the mini-series, I think my parents saw it). With that in mind, I didn't have trouble following the film, but I did have problems with lack of characterization and "how did he reach that conclusion?" or "why did he do what he did?" type stuff, because of the compressed story. Some good acting in the few lead roles...but everyone else was mostly there for brief scenes of staring into the camera or walking across the screen while looking serious. It's actually a good movie, I think...just slow and deliberate. But if you don't know who the characters are in the first place, it's kinda hard to know why all those stares are supposed to be meaningful I guess. Makes me want to see the mini-series. Think I'll get on that.

Ahaha! Thanks for the huge laugh, that was great.

I always liked the tessen (iron fan)...ones that are still covered in paper and look more like fans (not weird exposed, metal, pointy-tipped, fantasy super tessens). Or weapons/poisons hidden in hair decorations. Or the knife in a cane. That sort of stuff. Not that such would likely be good for a cRPG, unless maybe it was some special sneak-only use weapon. I just like hidden purpose/assassin type weapons I guess.