algroth

If only you were to hear the music I make. :biggrin:

Checking out the tracklist right now... Sounds pretty interesting. Lots of novelty artists, for certain, with only two I recognize out of the bat (Robert Moog, mostly for his innovations in electronic and synthesized instruments, and Harry Partch, who's an excellent New York modern classical composer), plus Tom Waits of course who apparently provides a foreword in it. I'll look into it!

I personally don't think Whedon's The Avengers is much better than a Michael Bay movie (it shares many parallels with them actually), but overall I'm in agreement. I watch them because most are entertaining enough... I just wish they'd be a little more, and coming from a time in which the likes of Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy films and (despite all the franchise's inconsistencies) Bryan Singer's X-Men series already existed and dominated the medium, one does sort of expect that to be the case. But they are in the end films made for the widest commercial appeal possible, and for what they are they are usually very reliable and consistent. Personally I'm much more interested with the Defenders side of the MCU - that's where the meat and ambition of the franchise seems to be going, and so far the series have been pretty great.

From the sounds of it, however, only about two or three encounters including the "tutorial" encounter will be obligatory. If you dislike turn-based combat and typically play more diplomacy-oriented characters, you might be able to avoid a lot of it.

Very nice. My youngest sister (a whopping 20 years younger!) used to have a toy that played "The Swan" as a bedtime lullaby. It's sorta remained as her leit-motif ever since. In fact... This year I made this little sequence using "The Swan", from some stuff we shot on a day out by the countryside:

I'm looking forward to Doctor Strange. Not necessarily the biggest fan of the MCU (definitely agree that their films feel like they are sticking very closely to a formula) but I enjoy the character and the general premise does give some room for some great visuals and interesting ideas. Unfortunately, it's not out in Argentina till the last week of November. Any chance I can ask people to warn beforehand if they're gonna write spoilers for it?

Wh... Oh my... Oh... (I feel like I've just read the Codex of the Inconceivable)

I was never much of a modder nor was I very interested in the community-made content either. I also feel that in order to be fair with any comparison I have to stick with what the creators offer us and not look at the additional content, since that is the game the creators intended and released, and it does supposedly represent a completed work. Should I praise a film because some fan made a really good scene to tie inside it so as to give it meaning, or a song because others have covered it and made it into something better than it originally was? Anyhow... With this in mind, I have to say that whilst I'm not the biggest fan of Neverwinter Nights 2 I still have to give it a clear edge over Neverwinter Nights. The latter's campaign in my opinion was extremely dull, and repetitive beyond belief. So we start off by having to recapture four creatures in four different corners of Neverwinter, once done we have to get four components of some artifact or another from four different and opposite locations, then we need to search for clues in four different and opposite places, then... You get the point. There's no narrative structure to speak of, no purpose to the game, it is just a grind that is neither rewarding nor challenging. The campaign seems to act as little more than a showcase for the dungeon editor, but in doing so also seems to highlight its ugliness and sheer artificiality. Every location, no matter how natural and wondrous it should be, is comprised of a collection of square tiles, giving even the likes of forests or caves a rigid, geometric and frankly sameish feel. Every crypt looks alike, every house looks alike, every dungeon is the same, and three levels too long. The campaign is lacking in any sense of wonder, any aspect in its storyline or its characters that could be considered compelling, it is standard beyond belief and even fails to fulfill in the familiar notes it touches. The editor was certainly fun, but what with its aesthetic rigidness and so on, I feel anything I did try and create was destined to disappoint. Neverwinter Nights 2 is probably as familiar and standard a story and setting as that given in the first game, and it doesn't really get any points for any semblance of originality or innovation. The story is as standard a rehash of Lord of the Rings as you'll see, what with our character being the bearer of an item that could vanquish an ancient evil power in the shape of the KING OF SHADOWS ('Jeff' was not ominous enough), and filled with a bunch of derivative fantasy characters the likes of the hot-tempered dwarf, the haughty elven wizard, the hot elven chick that secretly fancies the protagonist, the romantic and heroic paladin, the naughty tiefling rogue, the zany gnome that seems to only talk gibberish, and so on. The writing is generally subpar, the voice acting is frequently embarrassing, the choices one can make as the protagonist are generally limited to "good", "neutral" and "evil", there is nothing here you won't be expecting to find in a standard fantasy RPG. But you know what? Despite all its problems, I did enjoy it. Sure thing, the game is extremely derivative, but there is some merit in getting the genre beats right, and this game does just that. It's familiar, and sometimes you just want familiarity to wrap you up like a warm and fuzzy blanket in mid-winter. I played the game expecting a high fantasy epic storyline, and I got just that, replete with several sidequests, forgeable weapons, a customizable stronghold that you'll have to defend, a nice heroic arc and so on, so forth. It's no Planescape: Torment, it's its antithesis if anything, but that's not all too bad. It is, above all else, enjoyable fluff, and in this sense it is already more than its predecessor. On top of that, some locations are actually quite lush, the editor is quite fun to use and complete, if as inviting as an Excel spreadsheet. Overall it's a clear improvement in my opinion. To add to this, I genuinely think Mask of the Betrayer is one of the best games I've played from the last ten or so years, though I likewise think Storm of Zehyr is even worse than the original Neverwinter Nights. Mysteries of Westgate was also very enjoyable from what I recall. I haven't bothered with Hordes of the Underdark or Shadows of Undrentide. Based off memory alone, my ratings for each would be... Mask of the Betrayer - 9/10 Mysteries of Westgate - 7/10 Neverwinter Nights 2 - 6/10 Neverwinter Nights - 4/10 Storm of Zehyr - 2/10

Not in 4'33"?

Magma - Mekanïk Destruktïẁ Kommandöh Been listening to this album practically non-stop during the last couple of days. Magma's most "popular" release, arguably, but also it's the band at its most extreme and maximalist, really putting a whole new meaning to the term "rock opera". It's not my favorite of the band per se because I think the vocals can be at times awesome and at others irritating, and they'd get better at them in the following releases. But it's still monumental, so unique and full of energy. Christian Vander composes musical cathedrals. Incredible and should be heard at least once, especially by those who enjoy music that's a little out of the mainstream loop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHDUKK44_74

Sorry to hear about your grandmother, Oerwinde.

Sad to hear. But, glad to hear he's been commemorated in that way!

In terms of classical music and so on, there's plenty of 20th century composers who worked with the horrors of war as concepts and they can offer some very hellish and disturbing/depressing work, which might very well fit the Abyss. Cases such as Toru Takemitsu's "Requiem for strings"... ...or Krzysztof Penderecki's "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima". Same for Luigi Nono's "Epitaffios" (based on poems of the likes of Pablo Neruda and Federico García Lorca) or "Como una ola de fuerza y luz": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YV6FP28-FM Also some of the work by the likes of Gyorgi Ligeti, Alberto Posadas, Iannis Xenakis and so on may work on an unsettling and eerie mood fitting for the atmosphere you're looking for. Case in point:

I'm looking forward to it. If there's any sign that makes me apprehensive of the game based on the trailers and gameplay videos, it's that a) I don't like the look of the interface at all, it feels very flat, unappealing and messy, not as immediately understandable and as idiosyncratic with the game's artstyle as the likes of Pillars of Eternity's; and b) many of the character and place names, particularly those of the soldiers, sound very silly, and I fear I'll be seeing eventually names the likes of Bloodsend Killshadow and the Clocktower of Undead Dispair, that try extremely hard to sell the impression that this is a DARK WORLD and that the characters inhabiting are BAD GUYS. This aside, I like what I've seen, the areas look lush and the concept of a story that can potentially branch out to many different paths is very interesting. Can't wait to acquire a copy and see for myself!

For the Abyss, I feel a possible choice is Suspended Memories' Forgotten Gods. Here it is in what is apparently a retitled remaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E28dpiPn7wQ Also, though it could be more desolate than chaotic, Brian Eno's On Land: Some Lustmord could do the trick too... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm5N_D2eys4

Looks pretty interesting, if a tad derivative of some of the recent space films alla Gravity and Interstellar. Still, if it turns to be even half as good as these it'll be worth a watch.

Right, so... I'm personally not a Pathfinder veteran, but with regards to the two artstyle choices given, my personal gripe is that I am honestly not seeing any difference between them. I feel like I'm not sure which quality I should be looking at to say one is more fitting than the other for an iso-RPG. Both seem, at least to this ignorant pleb's eyes, pretty much the same.

But you must let the hate flow through you, it gives you power (and it has 100% dental) They give you cookies *and* they care for your teeth? Sounds too good to be true.