alanschu

Haha, I don't think it's world breaking, but was more along the lines of "Huh, we didn't even think that was possible!" I don't know the full details of why our guy did it, but he is an engine optimization guy so I imagine he had a good reason to do so

Huh. Interesting marketing haha. Discounts for preordering games I will buy on day one are usually convincing ways to get me to preorder >.>

The raiding mechanic is interesting (although I think maybe a bit on the OP side... hahaha). Ol' Olaf has just started, and will be able to conquer all of Iceland soon enough. Need to write up an update, but have a child and some other stuff to share. It's been fun (although it slows the game down a lot! )

I couldn't find the BBCode toggle.... old age eyes! >.>

Hahaha. Good luck holding it all I hear

I don't have it either XD

A short while has passed, and already much progress has been made in securing the Hrymjaskjoldr lineage. Oddr has arrived in Uppland, and has even found a potential concubine for Olaf. He has made arrangements to send her back to Vestisland. Aside from that, he is expected to be overseas for quite some time as he spends his time in King Bjorn Ironside's court. Freyr has begun marshaling troops in Reykjavik. Whether it be an assault on Austisland, or raids on Catholics, Olaf will need men. Olaf and Kjartan both agreed, that focusing on internal progress of his lands will help him in his ambitions. Both Kjartan and Hysing are spending their time in Vestisland, improving economic and cultural technology. From there, Bersi had Olaf alone to discuss some further news. Chief, I have made contact with King Ivar the Boneless. There is a woman, Grima, whom I think you might find... to your liking. Olaf's eyes perk up? Oh? What do you mean? Out with it! Bersi gestures to one of Olaf's guards. He brings in a woman. Olaf sizes her up, and introduces himself. She is but a courtier in Ivar's court, but Olaf and her get along well enough. What he didn't realize, was just how... impetuous she could be. Bersi leaves the two to talk. Sometime later, Olaf comes out of the room, looking somewhat... tired. Bersi! This woman shall be my wife! Bersi looks over somewhat in surprise. Your wife? My lord, she is a mere courtier-- I don't care. Any woman that can do what she just.... Enough! I don't need to justify myself! Bersi chuckles to himself. Fine, I won't protest. Though, others will likely look down upon you... perhaps she would be better as a concubine? At the very least, I encourage you to take care of the arrangements yourself. At the very least, your people will appreciate that you are willing to see us lowborn as somewhat equal. Olaf is clearly distracted.... Grima seems to have made an impression. Yes yes, fine whatever you say. Bersi follows up by recommending that he travel abroad, to study other cultures. Olaf looks at him, puzzled: Study OTHER cultures? Is ours not good enough!? Bersi backpedals: Nay, that is not what I mean. It's just, I hear legends of an empire that once was large and vast. Ours is still fledgling. I was thinking that in learning more, I can see what it takes to not only make a large empire, but to keep it! Olaf strokes his chin: I see your point Bersi. While House Hyrmjaskjoldr will undoubtedly make its mark on the world, you are correct that I shouldn't over extend. Whatever you can learn, we can bring into our own and add our own improvements to it. Bersi nods his head: My sentiments exactly my lord. I shall make haste immediately for Asia Minor. Olaf laughs: Like I have any clue where that is! HAHAHAHAHA Bersi has been sent to the Byzantine Empire to study their ways. From here, I will begin raiding Ireland for money, to secure money for mercenaries to invade Austisland.

Olaf brings together his newly appointed council. Most are lowborn men that helped him take these lands, with only one man with noble lineage: Kjartan af Hlidarendi. Olaf is not too particular, however, as long as they can get the job done. He considers him men to be typically capable and competent. Nothing exceptional, but not a liability either. He confers first with his chancellor Oddr. Oddr is still getting his bearings as he grows accustomed to his role. Admittedly there is some level of skepticism among the council, as many a Norse leader has come and gone. Olaf will need to prove himself, but for now Oddr will advise him. My chief... while I am not too concerned about your ability to take on the local Chief Gardar of Austisland, my concern is more long term. I was suggesting heading east, to speak with the larger Norse houses, to confer favour with them to ensure we have their support going forward. If, at the very least, to ensure that they don't do anything to us in the short term. Olaf considers this advice, and agrees. I agree Oddr. We have mostly heathens to the south of us, and many of our brethren down there will be busy with their Catholic neighbours. I defer to your judgment, and will allow you to decide the best place to do so. Aiming high, Oddr goes right for the largest house, King Bjorn Ironside in Uppland. Freyr, Marshall of Vestisland, then steps forward. Chief, as Marshall, I think it would be most prudent to muster our armies and push East. I think we should take our moment, and push the initiative so secure our borders! Olaf sneers at him: Hah! Fortunately for me, I have the good sense to not kill myself weeks after taking control. He gestures to his wound: How about a take a moment or too to let this heal up before putting myself in harms way? Freyr sheepishly mumbles something incoherent. Olaf lets out a boisterous laugh: HAHA Freyr, you're far too sensitive. And worry not, I won't be sitting idly by. Both Gardar and myself have similar forces.... In order to best press my advantages there, I would like to go in with near overwhelming numbers. I will finance mercenaries to assist in the siege. Freyr raises an eyebrow: That is actually an excellent suggestion my lord. Can we finance such a move? Kjartan, Olaf's steward, steps forth: At the moment, no. But, our liege is certainly a powerful man. He may be able to finance mercenaries with the... assistance of some of our Catholic neighbours. Bersi, the realm's spymaster, shows hints of a smile creeping onto his face. Excellent idea. If our local Norsemen were unable to succeed at stopping Olaf, I suspect the people of Eire will stand limited chance. Olaf nods knowingly: For certain. Our men are strong, and hungry for such adventure. We may even be able to take advantage of diversions put forth by our Norse brothers! The council knowingly nods. During all of this, Hysing, the village Seer, comes forward: I believe we are getting ahead of ourselve howver. Then men stop to look at him. Chief Olaf, I remind you that you have no bloodline. Your first order of business should be to secure your titles for future generations. Shall we begin looking for a wife? Olaf laughs again. Ah Hysing, you wise man. I am getting ahead of myself. I agree, the first focus should be on finding a wife. And maybe even a concubine or two? HAHAHAHAHA. Apparently Olaf lusts for more than just battle.... From there, the Council adjourns. Preliminary plans for an expedition to Ireland are started, but the realm's focus, and Olaf's ambition, is focused soley on finding a wife at this time.

After a bloody coup, the mysterious leader of the uprising, Olaf Hrymjaskjoldr, stood above the former chief of Vestisland. Now, Omar of Vestiland, Chief of these lands, sets forth to consolidate his gains. Never one to sit idly by for gods to aid him, Olaf's rise was accented by his tactical wizardy. Continually outmaneuvering his foe, and able to rally others to his cause, his military prowess now precedes him. Though the coup wasn't without cost... during the final confrontation he did sustain an injury, but he insists it is nothing that will slow him down... the Hrymjaskjoldr legacy is now entrenched, and will only grow from here! He still needs to confer with his newly formed council, but his initial assessment will be to consolidate his island, financed on the backs of the weak people of Britannia.... Olaf knows that raiding will help sustain his people, and provide the opportunities. Olaf's strongest trait is his ambition... but time will tell if he can temper his ambitions to win not only on the battlefield, but in diplomacy as well. Setting up his court in Reykjavik, Olaf takes a moment to reflect on his history and how his life has led him to this moment. Here we can see Olaf's base stats. No family, no heirs... just him. He'll need to consolidate somewhat, but he can't sit too idle, with an immediate threat to to East. There aren't many holdings in this area, so taking just one other province will significantly improve his strength. Diplomacy: 6 (Weak) Martial: 17 (Very Strong) Stewardship: 8 (Weak) Intrigue: 13 (Strong) Learning: 7 (Weak) His skills are currently best slated at leading armies, and he can probably be good at plotting as well, though there's not much to plot at the moment. Traits Brilliant Strategist Lustful Greedy Ambitious Cynical Cruel Gluttonous Brave Wounded I'll introduce the council in the next post, but currently Olaf's ambition is simple: find a wife so as to secure his lineage. His ambition seeks to drive him to not only his own personal glory, but the glory of House Hrymjaskjoldr in general.

Ah, so they are external links. The way the system worked I was curious if they were just uploaded (I believe the site supports that. It once did).

How does one nicely embed photos like you all do in this thread!?

I am liking Olaf Hrymjaskjoldr in the early going though. Lord knows I cannot pronounce it. Good thing it's not a recorded lets play >.>

HAHA, I wondered if there'd be some response to his name being more overtly English Noted (Unless we go sillier. I might have the House name be Obsidian!)

malloc is basically a specific memory allocation (there are all sorts of restrictions on how one can use the SPU's, the secondary processors, for the PS3). Basically it let him assign memory for the SPUs in a way that wasn't originally thought of or even expected, based on how the Cell architecture works.

For those unfamiliar with the game, you effectively play the head of your House, and control and manage all the vassals/titles of that character. So, I am only playing as "France" if I happen to hold the title! We'll be starting at a "Count" level (which for the Norse, is a "Chief"). By doing this, I hope to include a level of "roleplay" to which I am open to suggestions for the type of character that I play, based on the traits. So if I am diplomatic, I'll be more inclined to choose a spouse that is more diplomatic his/herself, or to marry for diplomatic reasons (prestige or alliances). You can find a (very extensive and not all that easy to read list of traits here). The most prevalent ones have typically been related to the 7 virtues/sins, as well as the character education (the top 20 choices in that list), so I will list them here. But first, the attributes of the characters are: Diplomacy: Affects my relations with all other characters in game. Also grants me a small amount of prestige, which affects my score (along with piety) as well as general opinion of my character. It also improves cultural research. Martial: Affects my ability to lead troops in combat, as well as the overall size of my levies. Also improves military research. (I will likely focus on this with Olaf. Where his kids go, is anyone's guess! ) Stewardship: Improves my tax income, as well as my demesne limit (how many landed titles I can hold - i.e. counties). Holding more pieces of land than my limit incurs tax and relation penalties. Stewardship can affect a lot of events that deal with managing my lands. Historically I almost always have high stewardship, but with Olaf I will likely focus more on military, and look to play the game in a bit more open of a direction based on interaction here. Improves Economic research. Intrigue: My ability to succeed and detect plots. Pretty much all there is to it. I have historically not paid too much attention to this, but could be interesting. Learning: Improves my piety (which is of nebulous benefit to me, as a Norse Pagan...). It also improves ALL the branches of research. You can get a background in each attribute, which provides varying benefits to the primary attribute, as well as some others (and one small penalty to another). I am leaning towards Brilliant Strategist (biggest bonuses to martial) For the virtues/sins (which have a large impact over what types of decisions/events occur, as well as the impact a guardian will have on raising a ward) and they are mutually exclusive. Lustful: Reduces Piety, improves fertility Chaste: Improves Piety, reduces fertility Gluttonous: Reduces Stewardship Temperate: Improves stewardship Greedy: Improves Tax Revenue, reduces diplomacy Charitable: Improves Diplomacy Slothful: -1 to all attributes Diligent: +1 to all attributes Envious: Bonus to intrigue, penalty to Diplomacy Kind: Bonus to diplomacy, penalty to intrigue Wroth: Bonus to martial, penalty to Intrigue and Diplomacy Patient: Small bonus to all but martial Proud: Monthly increase on prestige Humble: Monthly piety increase Other common (mutually exclusive) traits: Deceitful: +Intrigue, -Diplomacy Honest: +Diplo, -Intrigue Craven: -Martial Brave: +Martial Shy: -Diplo Gregarious: +Diplo Ambitious: + to ALL attributes (and fugging scary in vassals! HAHA. They are more militant and scheming) Content: +Monthly Piety, -Intrigue Arbitrary: -steward, -learning Just: +steward, +learning (these affect event solutions as well) Cynical: -monthly piety, +intrigue Zealot: +piety, +martial Paranoid: +intrigue, -diplomacy Trusting: +diplomacy, -intrigue That covers most of them. The leader creator as scores assigned to these, but if necessary I can mod in the ones we want to run with. Let me know if any interest you. Otherwise I'll run with my own choices >.>

Hello, I am planning on doing a playthrough of CK2 with the new mod, The Old Gods, where I play as a Pagan heathen and expand from there. I was planning on creating a new lord, likely out of Iceland (The idea of starting off all isolated and growing into power is somewhat appealing to me haha). This thread is mostly about taking any ideas for how to create ol' Olaf. I was thinking on totally hamming it up and just calling myself Olaf Thunderfist or something, but am open to suggestions for the house name (to be honest I'm not 100% sure, but I'm assuming the last name is the House name even for Pagan heathens >.> I know I have created a german House Schumacher all the time, but got... weird naming when I tried an Irish character one time lol). Alternatives to naming: Obsidian focused. Which may be a bit on the sillier side, but can be entertaining. I'll bring up game details into another post following, but feel free to chime in while I write that up.

Or they don't immediately know the answers to all the problems. Heck, we recently had a guy effectively do a malloc call on an SPU for the PS3, something Sony didn't think was actually possible (note, it's not just a simple "malloc" call) through some creativity. Sony actually made a shirt for him and gave it to him. If you computer is breaking 72 dB in volume from its fans, there's something wrong or you have gone entirely overkill with your cooling. A normal conversation 1 foot away from you is 60 dB (and registers a 0 in exposure points per hour on your link). You don't start getting any exposure points until 72 dB, and it's important to note that the decibel system is logarithmic, with the intensity doubling every 10 points, so going from 60-72 is actually quite a bit louder. Sometimes my PC fans get quite noticeably loud, but they have never gotten close to undermining my ability to have a conversation with someone. A vacuum cleaner clocks in at 70 dB, which still grants you 0 exposure points per hour. Now there's clearly some rounding involved as 24 hours of being exposed to normal conversation grants 1 exposure point. Curbside of a busy road (80 dB) for 24 hours straight gives you 95. For reference sake, working a chainsaw (110 dB) for 15 minutes gives 988 (24 hours is 94868 - I think we can all imagine being stuck beside a chainsaw for 24 hours would suck). Soooo, I'd wager that the exposure your computer gives is pretty insignificant.

To be fair, your 8" is pretty much the same size as the 200mm (203.2mm) The advantages would be the usual advantages of not having to deal with the issues that come with being on Earth (atmosphere, weather, etc.) The costs of construction probably go up exponentially with larger apertures. Although some of the stuff like "emergency asteroid detection" does come across as a bit silly. I've only ever used ground based, refraction telescopes (and even then, it was probably more like 5cm aperture), however, so I never really did any deep sky viewing.

Netflix: Star Trek TNG >.> (And not sports due to ankle injury )

Have been playing Save the Date Crusader Kings 2 (Venecian Patrician. Also experimented with some Old Gods) Nexus: The Jupiter Incident Saints Row: The Third

Agreed. I consider RPGs my favourite genre, but I sink more time into strategy games due to their more open ended nature.

I have a 5850 (solo) and it's still playing games fine.... I can't crank it all to the max, but could play games like BF3 and it still looked great. The 5850 was pretty much universally regarded as the best bang for buck at the time, as it had a price point for a mid range, but was only like 10% slower than the top end cards. I don't know how loud a card can truly get if it threatens hearing damage, however. I never buy dual cards though so I don't know. I actually had the pleasure of going from a 8800 GTS to a 5870 at work. The 5870 *trounced* the 8800 in everything (and was more feature rich while playing games like BFBC2 and BF3). You probably would have been better off not running games in crossfire mode (although it sounds like the card is borked in general), as the solo 5870 annihilates the 8800 GTS.

Yeah, the moment the game broke the 4th wall I was in stitches. It's absurdly meta. Has some interesting thoughts about stories in general, and even how it is that we approach completing tasks in video games (and even our compulsion to win). It even makes fun at itself for its absurdity.

exactly. these days I keep noticing how I value shorter games that don't require weeks of dedication to beat. one weekend every couple of months is the longest I can endure before I lose interest in a game Pretty similar for me. I rarely replay games now-a-days. I mean, if you want me to list some of my all time favourites I can do that, but the only game types I'm really interested in revisiting today are relatively modern strategy games. So Civ, CK2, EU3. I remember most of my gaming experiences, so replaying other types of games isn't as interesting since I'm already familiar with the game.

I know that I expect games to be good based on their file sizes!