Tigranes

I HATED goto. And it's really a stupid deus ex machina how you really can't get rid of his device.

XP had that "cant move OS to other comps" thing but to a much lesser degree. I remember examining it on my new PC aaages ago, before reformatting with 98SE. It wasn't too strict, really, and it was eventually bypassed. It has also been slashdotted, though I don't know how reliable that makes it. Anyway, I used 98SE till 2005, when I wanted to use a couple of Adobe programs (Audition? or their movie one? cant remember) that needed XP for something. I don't expect to move to Vista for at least 3 years.

As Colrom explained at more length earlier, the Iraqi Body Count is just that. It counts bodies. A cluster sample is infinitely more accurate, even when there is sample bias.

Now that would top POR2. Kinda sad that combat animations werent mentioned here, but that's something you can't really fix by patches, I guess. Not easily.

The sampling bias is definitely there and that is one of the reasons people should trust the 600,000 figure as much as they should trust 30,000. this is like trusting Arrian when he says Alexander defeated a million Persians with 30,000 troops. If we accept 30,000, for about... 2 years, THat's 41 deaths a day. Not a very high figure at all for a country in turmoil. And it doesn't count military deaths. And the initial period of the war must jack up the figures. Then, we must look at the entire 2003-2006 period (though of course events during that period are not consistent). All that considered, even the Iraqi Body Count, in the full period and including military units, would go near 6 figures. And since they only count bodies (how stupid is that), it's certainly lower than it should be.

It's Sargallath.

but would you wear a suit? Anyway, Walsingham, it's not as black and white as that. Most media 'adjustments' to the faraway verisimilitude are more like, "here's a guy who's pretty bad, let's make him pretty really bad." Besides, since when was NK a 'bad state' by definition? By what standards? Freedom? You mean that ancient Greek ideal of eirene? Democracy? Without getting into 'universal values/morals' stuff again, though, even if kim and NK are 'evil' by default it doesnt allow for all the media gallivanting, all the "OF COURSE everything Kim does is evil, he is unstable, he has problems with his father and his sexuality".

Are both Kims as crazy as they sound to be? Probably not. Could be, though. Or even more crazy. Or whatever. Hell, there haven't even been any NK's state actions that seem 'crazy'. Just uncooperative, pushy, etc. But not downright insane. THat'd be like calling Khomeini, Saddam, etc, etc, all 'insane'.

...which Thief 3 had. I really hate keeping multiple save games because I"m a packrat that doesn't like clutter, even in the save game list. I always forget to, so I'm punished in these games. They probably wont delay it again, though..

Considering civilian death in Afghanistan in the first year or so of the operation significantly outnumbered 9/11 deaths (3000 something), and this is a 3-year period including military, I can see how it is perfectly plausible. Most definitely, Is bullcrap. At least in six figures. Their cluster sample will certainly be more accurate, if done properly.

I don't see the post Dark Moth is quoting. O_o Some ideal / belief sets would disagree with that, but that's irrelevant. I'll work on your level, then; if you are doing that, and therefore wanting nukes only for yourself and your friends, then NK/etc are doing exactly the same thing. Then 'idealistically' neither side is doing anything wrong... but there is still conflict and polarisation. Just because there already has been. Is that really a constructive approach? Is it really okay to just say "we'll do what's in our interests, if you interfere you're our enemy"? Sure, it's a sound approach in theory, but practically, what will you say if it results in a NK nuke in California? Will it be solely NK's fault? Yes, it would be; the blame would go to NK, but the reasons won't go to NK alone. Anyway, to DM: yes, you're right. I'm not quite sure that, say, the Iran administration as a whole would be quite as extremist as the very people who suicided bombed 9/11, though.

Of course it is.

Ah, right.

But Volo, they're BIOWARE games.

NK will never have China behind them if they attack anyone, simple enough. North Korea, or the North Korean situation, is nowhere near advantageous enough for China to do so, economically or politically. China might be 'neutral' or make life more difficult for the US camp to negotiate, but in a situation of real hostility China will pull out and either stay quiet or help get rid of the NK threat. And without foreign help, South Korea doesn't even need anybody else to defeat the North Korean army. Actually, that's one ofthe reasons I want American troops out of there - Americans (regular ones) don't want to be there, Koreans don't ant them there, Nobody needs them there, and in the case of a war American reticence to let anybody else command their units around in any way will simply create communication and national pride friction. Conventional warfare is not at all a real danger for anybody. It's 1/ blackmailing from NK and the continuation of this situation; 2/ from that it could lead to an eventual breakdown of the NK and thus, nukes; 3/ guerilla warfare and missile hits, etc, from NK to esp. SK and Japan. That's what is dangerous. So, American troops need to go; but probably not now, timed well enough so that it's not seen as any sort of concession to NK. That, and the stupid rhetoric needs to stop; either talk and act, don't talk and act, or don't talk and don't act. Talking and not acting is the worst combination. THe question, of course, is exactly what can we do? Say NK keeps making nukes. US and rest of the world stop aid and stuff. THen it becomes, who backs down first? If nobody backs down, eventually NK fires nukes. If US backs down, the longer it goes the worse it is for US, lose-lose. If NK backs down.. well, will it is the question? Will it ever? P.S. Lastly... NK's statements on nuke testing say it will create a more peaceful and balanced world. Naturally, everyone including the media (*cough* impartial my donkey synonym *cough*) say that is a load of bull. But as long as US has nukes, and as long as US will not give them up... it's not actually bad from a neutral standpoint for NK to get nukes. The only problem is that NK is more likely to use them than US. The idea of NK getting nukes on its own, just like for Iran and other nations, is perfectly acceptable; US has an unnatural position of power and influence and their government has way too much license to engage in illegal acts such as the violation of Iraqi and Afghanistan sovereignty, and could do so in many other places with some sort of excuse. The possession of nukes from nations not willing to cooperate with this kind of crap only makes it better - the downside is not that NK has nukes, but that it is more likely to use them. Theoretically, nobody should have nukes, but if US does, then it's not necessarily entirely bad for NK to *have* them. It is bad for anyone to *use* them. Unfortunately, those 2 things are never mutual exclusive. P.S.2. The above mentions at Iraq/Afghanistan does NOT necessarily mean that I thought US had no right to intervene, it was bad, etc, etc. Quite apart from the specific reasons and whatnot, I am saying just the fact that US was able to just getup and do this shows that with the right reasons ('right') they can do it with NK and Iran and so on too. It's only natural that they want to deter them with nukes, and that itself cannot be critcised lest we be hypocrits. Even if I'm south Korean and am bloody scared of the fact.

It seems to be a pattern after KOTOR, as part of a programme to make characters more 'involved' in the story, and not just take out and shift around whenever. I like the idea, but I thi they should prepare contingencies for whoever you choose to take. Harder, but more realistic. Probably too hard right now for the exponential possibility thing. At least in the current way party members do get a more substantial role in the critical events, I don't mind too much.

The crafted items appear to be about as overpowered as those in BG2:SoA. In other words, well-balanced for most people, overpowered for hardcore D&Ders or good players. Although I expect if you crank up the difficulty level and don't powergame it could still be a fair challenge. I don't mind *too* much, esp. since it's from crafting and not... from a plot-related boss.

Thats when I use Ctrl+J. God.

Damnit, I missed the train again and now I can't comment.

Jaheria absolutely needs a strength booster. Otherwise she's pretty useless and you might as well use Viconia... except for Call Lightning. *swoon* The one time I used Anomen he kept getting killed. Fallout-killed. I detested Khalid, though.. the problem with BG was I really wanted to use both Minsc and Edwin, as I always do in BG2. I never really found any 'interesting' tankers in BG, except possibly Yeslick. I'd end up cheating the game (can't remember how, now) to keep both. And just use Vic. Imoen was another problem because me-minsc-jan-edwin-viconia-korgan made a perfect party for me in terms of story (if I'm feeling battle-oriented I only use 4, much better since I pause-micro everything)... but it feels so bad and nonsensical to find Imoen then not even accompany her out of Spellhold.

Unfortunately, they won't let me post there despite registering and activating, so if someone might post this there, would be cool. It's because every time these kind of "The Real NK" info/pictures appear, they are mostly spot on, but theres a degree of distorted perspective. Since I'm South Korean, have been to US/Canada and have lived in NZ for 8 years, it might be useful to see how I see these things. I definitely see a degree of reverse bias, the huge desire to prove the NK propaganda wrong and make everything look bad, in these 'counter' photos. "Water seems not to be avaliable everywhere when you leave the capital. A woman is washing her clothes in the river." When I visited my friend's house in the state of Georgia, he had to drink bottled water because the tap water wasn't really good enough for drinking. Of course that's not as bad as washing your clothes out in the river and of course it'd probably be more widespread in NK. Life in a village Looks a lot like 1950-60s South Korea (not the cities, the countryside villages). There are still a few villages in SK that look like that. And in Western countries too, I'll wager. Yes, because this never happens in ze capitalizt countriez. Oh no! A composition showing the heroism of the workers, its a rather unique piece since the military is on the 2nd plan. If you take out the horrible ad, it looks a lot like modern South Korea.. or America.. or whatever. Of course, this is only a very small part of even Pyongyang. What I notice from a lot of these pictures, though, is that the denizens of the capital at least a pretty well dressed. All those men with suits, too. One of the 2 compositions next to Kim Il Song monument. I'm sorry, but that's just as biased implication as NK's 'official' photos of the country. hat means that a food joint is near, by the way even in China they draw a fork. No, the korean words say "Outdoor Picnic Location". Entrances to the subways look somewhat shabby. Why is this shabby? It's not a work of art, but it wouldn't look out of place in a smaller city in America. Inside you have the tourniquets that arrive you to the knee, contrary to chinese Koreans are of short stature. The sign reads: Kim Jong IL - the Sun of 21st century! As anybody that has seen anime will know, South Korean/Japanese subways use these as well. It's called a different system. Picture of posters Left Poster: Yellow words, top left = "To our descendants" Red words, bottom centre = "Let's leave [our children] a united Korea" Right Poster: Top = "Chosun (the last unified Korean dynasty, and what NK still refers to Korea peninsula as) is one" Words on peninsula, right side = "Let us establish a united nation of Korean peninsula and Manchuria" Bottom words = Stuff like "Peaceful unification", "Ethnic solidarity" Meh. Mostly he shows us very useful things, like the actual proliferation of more 'primitive' housing underneath the skyscrapers. But it just tickled me, despite me being South Korean, so this doesnt even look anything like SK. O_o

Well, I didnt really enjoy Daggerford's endgame. The opening was alright then I loved exploring the optional areas, but the main plot was 'meh' (and Alustriel is a horrible character, she constantly flaunts the line between Break-The-4th-Wall commentator and clear goodie-two-shoes with an extravagant extension of goodie-humour. It's subtly painful.), and the final battle was a joke. Nothing epic or difficult, etc.. although I could say that with the HOTU big baddie, too. I mainly finished it since after I did all the optional reas/quests, I had already invested so much into it. I tend to do that.. I mean, the endgame in Arcanum was horrible (all the button-depressing at Tulla, and monster-bashing in Vendigroth / Void), but I've finished it twice now. (though even I didn't finish Lionheart). How far are you up to in Wyvern now, then? Does it follow the standard format of 'opening up' things in that fat middlep ortion?

You can join the villain in Arcanum. Well. The 'bad guys'. Then you can cooperate withthe big baddie at the end.

Ah, well, damnit. I liked Daggerford and that means I'd probably want to try this one. Just after I uninstalled NWN and thought I won't need it again.

Banter Pack is wonderful. I actually have an 'essential' list of mods for BG2 that's grown to be about... uh.. 20. Ascension, parts of Ease of Use, Banter Pack, Unfinished Business and so forth. Also, I HATE that mephit. I always only send 1 person to get the scroll because it's so far away and the corridor shoots pathfinding to hell, and they always end up getting screwed by the mephit.