Walsingham

Touche, my platypus friend.

I know a complex control system doesn't make for a complex game. I know I'm a cretin (my word for the day) by I'm not that bad. What I like in a game is a good mental workout. I like to have several options to any given problem, and the more the better. If you only have two alternatives you quickly get bored. As you say, you can have games that are complex without being good. A fact 'Doctor' Derek Smart could benefit from absorbing. But in general having a lot of options does at least provide a learning curve to climb, and the thrill of picking out the best control strategies for yourself.

I can't play a game just for the atmosphere. That's crazy.

Thanks for all your answers. The way I hear it you're saying I will need to invest in a new motherboard, but that this is not such an awful thing. The Hammer of Bastards is a 2.8 gig intel pent 4. Has 1 gig of RAM (special offer). And was bought from Dell two years ago. A Dimension 2400, if that helps. Thanks again for the advice. I can't really repay in kind, unless you are planning any military coups or somesuch. EDIT: I'm trying to work out the specs of the graphics card. Hmmm... Something written on the back here "Walsingham's mum is a ..." No. that's not it. Ah yes. GF4 MX440 AGP8X 64mb DDR TV Note that I do realise this is not much, but a) I have no card at all right now b) It was a gift c) I might be getting another better card if this system will work. Otherwise I shall have to wait and buy a completely new system.

How is it badass to let a hired assassin sitting three feet away get in the first shot? Shooting first merely establishes Han as being not a cretin. In any case if Greedo wanted to kill Han, surely he could do so from behind. I mean, why sit down to have a chat first? I'm giving you all fair warning now that if I ever come for you, you won't even know its happening, unless I miss.

Oh really? I've noticed forum members writing whole essays enumerating with bullet point summaries why green is a better colour for the new Playstation 3 and so on. Surely you lax cretins can come up with at least ONE comedy application.

I have been gifted a video card by a friend. I opened up the 'Hammer of Bastards' and discovered there was no socket in place for such a card, although there was a gap and holes in the motherboard. Does anyone know if I can attach a socket, and if so how hard is it to do so? I only have basic technical skills. Soldering and a steady hand.

We seem to have drifted back to the riots more than the torture allegation. Can more points on that issue move to a dedicated thread? on a related poitn, I notice peopel constantly reiterating their positions on certain issues. I'm starting to wonder why we don't put them in our damned sigs? Or would you all agree that set positions are demeaning to the intelligence of the users?

Hold on a minute. I see no reason why it shouldn't be taught in certain ways. As a form of anthropology and so that non-religious and non-christian students understand their religious colleagues. I am objecting to it being taught as equally valid on objective grounds.

It's like climbing a mountain. You don't do it because you need to be at the top, or want to see the view. You do it because it's THERE. If some other fourm gets one of its members with this woman then we lose.

[Many edits] As Meta points out, I did accept that the keyboard was a slightly stupid example. But as I also said I stand by the notion that the PC permits a more complex set of nputs, and an easier one. Example 1: strategy games of any substance require many complexities of operation. A keyboard and mouse fit well with this, because you can have a lot of graphical interfaces with the mouse, and assign hotkeys for complex functions. Example 2: There was a hacking games out a couple of years ago that involved both pointing and typing. I forget the name as some swine stole my copy. The typing in particular meant the potential range of actions was huge. Not actually that big, but potentially so. I am trying to establish the principle that a PC can have a richer mental landscape, while the console (I accept) comes out of the box with a prettier visual landscape. I don't hold with with worrying about the visuals at all. After about ten hours on any one game I rarely notice the visuals, having simplified the environment down to its operating implications. The longer I play the less I notice. I believe this to be true for most people. ~~ Additionally to all the above, is it possible to mod console games? Since I discovered mods I love 'em. They multiply tenfold the exploitable gameplay in a single purchase, as well as giving an outlet to my own enthusiasm. ~~ I totally accept Kalfear's point about money in other respects. Given the outlay required to have a gaming paltform for three years, a couple of quid on each game, and maybe 9 to 15 games in the same period make little difference.

Meta made oblique reference to one point which is that a PC is a work tool as well. I use mine for gaming, surfing the web, but mainly for making money. Thus the costs of running and upgrading it are offset against the money I make using it. If I do THAT then even by the most conservartive estimates it has paid for itself many times over. A console is only ever going to cost you money. It can't possibly make it.

You fools! this isn't about wanting the woman. This is a question of honour. WE have to be the forum board which furnishes her with a date. So no-one else gets to do it. In any case I don't believe all you naysayers could get past first the hurdle even if you wanted to!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4428602.stm I think it is a matter of the honour and reputation of these fora that one of our members help this young lady. To ensure the best possible chances, please leave your 500 word essays here first for peer review.

Apologies for not responding to what I'msure are good points. But I was up all night drinking. And more like some sort of fool with antlers than a loose-tied private eye.

Has anyone here ever tried to play the Aliens roleplaying game? I say tried since they never really explained how to use the pages and pages of tables. It was awesome. My problem ith simple hitpoint damage systems as opposed to these more detailed ones is that you don't know what happens next. Hurting a human being is not like carving a block of soap. People bleed, people get worse over time, or better.

I use commercial software, but I hear AVG is pretty good. Note for noobs like me, you need anti-spyware as well as anti-virus. I just watched a program about rogue-dialling, where some sort of hacking occurs and your computer starts dialling premium rate numbers without your knowledge. You get charged a huge sum, and your phone service provider then turns up and takes the cash! Fething genius fraud, where some two bit monkey gets a multi-million pound company to enforce it's fraud!

Filthy Nestle cereal. Can't eat it.

Yes. There is certainly a randomiser. This makes things better for all. But in my experience most refs skew things so far that any truly random element is lost. For example, how many refs have you played with who actually let their players die if they do something stupid? I was a pretty brutal ref most days, and only a few people enjoyed the sessions. Until I learned to make things clear when the players were 'safe' and 'not safe'. This was a good way to heighten tension.

The game is an acceptabke shooter. Has a variety of tactics for replay. But most importantly it has a really cool storyline, with plenty of depth. And if you like a bit of cheap philosophy in bite sizes you'll be in heaven. I have bought several copies over the years.

I can't commit the time to properly dig in on this. But i agree that torture is neither morally nor militarily sound. However, I fear my definition of torture would not accord with that given by certain lawyers. I do not for example regard it is morally or militarily unsound to subject a person to a degree of temporary disruption that will unsettle their faculties. Hence primarily psychological. Unless one allows for this you will find very few people susceptible to interrogation on a short time scale. For an excellent look inside modern interrogations, have a gander at "The Interrogator's War" by Chris Mackey.

1500 is a very respectable commercial sample, where I come from. But it does miss what I believe is the key factor - money spent. It is my observation that young under 20s gamers spend more (or have more spent on them) than older gamers. We will often buy a couple of games a year and get really into them. ~ I take the point about quality games coming from just a couple of guys. There aren't many. But they do exist. I can't name any right now, so I will accept a slap, but we all know they have been out there. In particular in the RPG and strategy genres. I don't think I have even heard of a small development house in console games. My point being that small houses sometimes are dumb enough/lean enough/free to make revolutionary steps forward. Also, I do accept the mouse/keyboard thing. My point was really the complexity and speed with which a variety of instructions can be sent. A cognitively complex game requires a lot of varied instructions to operate. Simple controls militate against complex games.

You just totally confused me. You are a liberal asking for more censorship? Also, I think it may be that our greedy bloodlusty nature may be the reason why our democracies are relaxing consorship. We told them to.

Hah! Too true. Although I suspect both our views on this point have been slightly skewed by our reading Warhammer 40K. I would add that it's not so much the prisoner's dilemma as broader game/evolutionary theory. Individual's benefit from the collective, but cheating and defrauding the collective, and trying to seize more than your share is always a good idea unless some artificial discipline prevents you from doing so. In 40K this is achievable due to the utterly altruistic Emperor of Mankind. But we have no such figure, and our leaders are venal and corrupt by nature of the mechanisms which install them. Many political systems try to restrain this corruption by the custodians in turn. But none are perfect.

Both mine are evil Empire moments from the first film. On balance my best would have to be "You may fire when ready". Peter Cushing made a far more terrifying and believable world destroyer than some mad cackling bearded tyrant. The close second would be the door explodes on Leia's ship, and the stormtroopers charge in. Also, of course, the only know instance of stormtroopers winning any kind of fight in the entirety of galactic history.