Calax

Just a note, you'll only have 40odd talents when you hit 50 because you don't get them from levels 1-10 (nor do you have the advanced classes). Also, the two sides classes, while named differently and using different animations, are exactly the same in terms of ability's damage and style. The only difference is (for the Consular/Inquisitor for example) wether you want to blast lightning or fling rocks.

Now this sounds like a real plus, but does raise a question. Is it open world like WoW, or more like everything's instanced like CoH/CoV? It's more like the WoW model. There are smaller instanced areas for your class story and for flashpoints, but most of it takes place out in the open world. They do denote when you're going into an area where you really should have a group to do the quests and kill the guys in the area.

Actually, I think the way TOR uses phasing is better than WoW. The issue with WoW is that with the heavy use of phasing found in the newer zones and the DK starter, you can't actually have your friends zip in to help you out if you're in a bad spot (like being camped by an enemy). As they will usually be in a seperate phase from you. The way TOR does it, you're always in the same phase as the others on the map, but you can slip into your story area and not have to wait 10 minutes for the 12 mobs you need to kill to respawn and pray you hit them before the other six guys do.

The issue with the military anology is that technically, as part of the US Navy, you can be courtmartialed... for doing any sort of sex other than missionary. That said, I got my inquisitor to Balmorra and I SWEAR she just changed her voice actress or just started acting differently in general. She's now very......... silky in how she talks rather than just sort of playful/matter-of-fact.

*cough* Sorry, dragging this back to OWS http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/ci...rackdown-occupy Not entirely sure just how much credit to give that article, but it paints a VERY scary picture.

Well, I didn't rat them out, but I got back to them and found that the other two options I had to them were "Where's my bribe" and "I hope you have a nice fall" so I picked the "light side" of "I'm giving you one chance" and INSTANTLY the guy was "Oh... you're giving us a chance to renounce our love and follow the code! THANKS!" and when I confirmed this he turned around and killed the relationship in two sentances and took off.

Honestly, the issue for me is that they throw in so many "special" melee combatants (guys in armor, guys with blades, guys with shields, guys with stun-batons...) that you don't really FEEL like batman anymore... instead you feel like you're batmans clumsy twin who can't even hit a guy in straight up combat. For the record, knife wielders can knock out 4 of your life points if they get all the strikes in and have a special dodge/counter mechanic. Shield guys are un-counterable and unblockable and you have to do a special attack to make them vulnerable. Armor guys need you to beat the bejesus out of them for about 5 solid seconds before going down. And the stun-batons can't be attacked from the front.

We talked about the Revan novel earlier. And the lovers quest is just annoying. It's written so there's an obvious imbalance (to the point that I'd consider them unbalanced if they were just walking around and not attached)... the dude in particular seems Schitzo ("I love you!" and yet as SOON as you simply say "eh, maybe you're acting a little off the handle its "I'm breaking up with you for the good of the galaxy, we're just friends now!" without even a moments consideration.

I do think that the concept of Light and dark side points AS WELL as the "Jedi vs Sith" stuff just seems... unnecessary. After all the entire point about Sith and Jedi is that they're light and dark jedi fighting it out for dominance over the galaxy. I can understand from a DEVELOPER standpoint of having the moral choice within both sides. You don't want to have your player base set up in "Evil" and "Good" sides because most kids don't want to be "evil" so PvP would be RIDICULOUSLY one sided. But many of hte quests on both sides are HEAVILY slanted in one way or another towards the "right" alignment for their faction (for example, some of the sith inquisitor alignment options can come in "Light" "Dark" "uber-dark" varieties). I'd probably accept the entire thing better if it was known that there was a small power bloc within each factions leadership that was of the "opposite" alignments acting as a moderating influence/safe haven for those like them. The Revanites Hurlie mentioned would have been fantastic, but they're so deep underground you see their hiney after hitting the planets mantle.

I wouldn't have minded if it was that... but this was "Oh honey, bribe him so we can be together!" And the implication was that the simple fact of HAVING that loving feeling made those two become selfish unrepentant dickholes who'd watch the world fall for their own desires.

And I've found my LEAST favorite quest IN THE ENTIRE GAME thus far... on the Jedi opening planet, you've got a quest to deal with a pair of lovers who are both jedi. The "moral" option is basically "break up you twits, and get a life by our creed!" while the "dark" option is to let the relationship go and watch them become inevitably evil.

I'm on Drxel

Actually, the only reason that America has stuck around for so long is tele-communications, and rapid transit between two places. Meaning that "the government" isn't something that only shows up once every 12 months to get taxes.

It was 5 bucks day before yesterday

What would working in a shelter do to bring the situation to national attention and keep it on the national pundits circuit and political consciousness for a while? That's one of the main things that this has done, is to keep the entire "Wall street screwed us" in the national conversation. That way the entire issue couldn't just be dropped under a carpet with the media and wallstreet saying it's our fault for making these investments. http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-we-ruin...eet-generation/

The head of GOG talkin bout dems pirates!

taken from the Heart of the Swarm/SC2 website

Yes, they do have power over the national election, but in the day-to-day governing of the country, and what laws are worked on, they don't feel they have any power. I mean they were having this HUGE argument about the budget crisis and most people were frustrated at the tea party over that shtick, but the congress ignored that and instead just "re-affirmed that "In god we trust" is the national motto" or something like that. Nobody mentioned changing it or anything, they just did that. Add to that the fact that now Corporations have unlimited donations to politics and people see their ability to influence the direction they're going as a nation dimishing constantly. Along with the fact that those corporations who are removing their power, are being propped up by THEIR tax money, and not paying taxes AT ALL gets people kinda pissed.

I think that the basic underlying ideal (that the 99% of americans have little-no power within the government) is quite popular. It's just that the occupiers were the extreme side of things, while the 99% of the 99% were trying to scrape by and didn't have the time to even think about changing how the world works.

I think it was mostly about socialist stuff like changing laws so that more money is taken by the feds from the wealthiest rather than the average joe. Basically, redistribution of wealth and removal of tax loopholes for businesses and such

Sounds more like Warcraft 3 than anything.

I think it's more because Davis was the most obviously black and white incident, where people who' were doing little more than sitting there are getting blasted in the face and abused by the officers of the law. But in the other two cases, rather than taking the "high road" the protesters seemed to be actively resisting Whoops, wasn't Stanford, it was Berkley For the "occupy" crew, and those that just don't like cops, Davis is the most obvious and blatant misuse of power. While Berkley and Oakland were there, the cops could argue that "Hey, they resisted and we broke them up (although that doesn't excuse the Oakland "riot police grabbing and carting off a wheelchair bound guy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa8UmBaqUGw Notice in that clip they specifically mention that the protestors were actively resisting the attempts by the cops to move and there was an overreaction on the PD's part? That's why it's not used nearly as much as Davis. You can't say "Well... the protestors EYES WERE ATTACKING ME! I had to respond" and get away with it.

Some companions work because they fill a role you couldn't (the Inquisitor's companion is a tank for example) but others just seem useless (the Muraders)

I think part of the issue right now is the level of hero-worship that goes into peoples heads about cops and firefighters. Gives certain cops a sense of "Iw'm right". I mentioned earlier about the friend I have who's trying to be a cop and literally said "How can you treat those criminals like people?" The fact that he's able to say that and yet still have hopes of being a cop worries me immensely. That said, I don't think pepper spray is designed or supposed be used constantly as you saw (where the guy used it like a fire hose). It's just supposed to be like a blast and then you cuff em while they're incapped. I mean this mixed with Stanford (where there's the video of riot cops just standing in front of the linked arm crew and then just grab their batons and start beating the crap out of the students) and oakland is getting to be a worrisome trend.

I haven't gotten my ship yet (only had one beta weekend where I got to level 10) but the companions were starting to bug me.