Eumaios

In terms of what would be a fatally flawed end product, I completely agree with Guard Dog. I would give a nod to Neverwinter Nights. If anything, I think it's worse than he does. Forget the other failings of the game, the story was really terrible. Probably the worst effort of any Bioware game I've played. In fact, it's so weak that I had to go look up the plot because I'd forgotten it. From the whole clichéd tutorial and subsequently four pronged fetch it quest to the over wrought ending, it was dismal. The idea of Lady Aribeth going evil isn't a bad one, and having her fall from grace come as the result of her lover being unjustly hanged by a vengeful mob could work if it weren't so shallowly executed. A few of the individual areas were nicely done and I remember at least one wooded level being downright eerie. Still as a complete package it was pretty awful. I wouldn't even fix it. I might keep a small sliver of the backstory and maybe a few of the level design ideas, and then just come up with an entirely new game from scratch. As for the other games mentioned, I haven't played enough of Tides to know if it's bad. The part I've played so far was fun complete with flaws. BG2 might have had problems during development but the game itself was a lot of fun.

I haven't played World of Warcraft in years, but I do miss my druid healer. I'd gone through most of firelands at the time. I do miss raiding. I just don't miss the time it takes to be ready to raid. My holy paladin was a lot of fun. Great healing while wearing plate. What's not to love? I just finished the library scenario as the mercs in Mordheim. Sooo different paying the mercenaries compared to the sisters of sigmar. If you can get the positioning right, those archers really tear up bad guys. There are times where the enemy doesn't even get to my front line with even a quarter of his health. I imagine my leader giving his men the ol' St. Crispin day speech before battle.

I've never seen Gone With the Wind, but I should see it sometime. Probably with my wife. I love the Lawrence of Arabia film. Hearkening back to another thread in this forum, I think it depicts the glory any shame of the British empire. Peter O'Toole deserved the Oscar for that. Anyhow, great film.

I was a bit burned by Tyranny. I started gung ho but ended ho hum. However, I should give it another chance. Only started once and played to the end of the prologue or beginning or whatever. Also, I loved Pillars, but I found that I petered out on that after the end of the White March 1, which is odd now that I think of it because I really enjoyed the White March. Anyhow, the question is, start a new game of Tyranny, finish my Pillars run with the White March 2, or buy this one and play it. Decisions decisions decisions.

I think most things impact the margins. The point is to scare your side into voting and convince the other side its guy is either not worthy of the effort or simply can't win no matter what. Antifa has already had an impact (or at least something) has had an impact on the fundraising for the ealier part of this year, but as the last presidential election demonstrated, having hundreds of millions more than the other party doesn't ensure victory.

My point is that bussing and of itself isn't bad. If a group wants to bus people to a protest site, that's not bad unless the group in question does something bad. I'm more concerned about public perception and how it impacts the election. That's something with more concrete measures than folks dredging up webpages that other folks discount out of hand. I probably won't be here next November, but wherever I am, I'll make sure to own my predictions. Closer to the election, around January or February, I'll make predictions on my social media, which makes it impossible to get out of them. Spin maybe, but you can't entirely get away from them.

The mad dash to establish parity will help the Democrats, but not by a huge degree. The idea that the Republicans or other mainstream conservative groups are bussing in nazis won't get traction with the bulk of the American people because most won't believe it. True or not, there is a large percentage of the population that believes that left leaning groups bus in protestors to some events. It should be easy to find evidence of bussing and if it is compelling, then it serves to bolster an argument. Both Democrats and Republicans use carpooling and bussing to get voters to the polls. There is evidence that some protestors are paid by liberal groups at some events. Left leaning and liberal and conservative and the like might be imprecise, but it's what we've got. Since the Democrats did not state strong opinions against antifa early on and in fact since quite a number of Democrats talk in terms of 'resistance,' it isn't suprising that a number of Americans associate them with antifa. Now that some prominent Democrats are speaking out against antifa, it will certainly help them nationally and in statewide elections. This isn't really about arguing that antifa is good or bad. It's about figuring out what will come of the movement and how it will impact politics. I'll disclaim that I'm an American, a Republican, and would fit very easily into the 'white' category. So now people know my particular slant, I won't lie and I won't try to be misleading in my analysis. It wouldn't matter if I did. My statements tend to be forward looking and there isn't enough traffic in this board for me to use underhanded arguments to promote any real agenda. I'm going to say what I think will happen from all this and either it will or won't. If it does, then I have some grounds for what I suggest. If it doesn't, then I won't. As time progresses, I'll either be proved right or wrong more often and people can assess my arguments.

That's the problem. If you term antifa as loosely people who are anti-fascist, I'm antifa. I don't think it's cool that mask wearing thugs have redefined the meaning, but there you go. I'm with you on that, Ben. As for you, smjjames, I agree that the Dems are starting to work hard to distance themselves. They were slow to do it, but I see them starting to craft narratives beyond Trump hate and antifa.

As a practical matter, antifa is not going to help the Democrats in the next election. Sure, it's probably a badge of honor in this particular forum, but the Democrats will have to take the day with the albatross of antifa on their backs because people have come to associate them with the Democrats, which is probably unfair for the Democrats. Of course, this is the way of things since for so long it's been a winning tactic for the left to associate people like Nazis and white supremacy movements with the Republicans. This isn't about winning an internet argument. I have nothing but contempt for Nazis. I can't imagine a single person who served in the military who has anything but disgust for people who put swastikas on the National Ensign or carries it while quoting Hitler or some other fascist thug as if he's a hero. This isn't a defense of white supremacy. However, antifa isn't about attacking Nazis. Antifa is about attacking free speech and the way this will play out over time in American politics won't help the Democrats. They need to put as much space as they can between these 'light side' crusaders and their party. I don't like to make predictions, but I am willing to put my money where my mouth is, and I've had some small successes predicting these things in the past. I'll say this, if the Democrats embrace antifa with open arms, we're going to have a rare mid-term in which the party in power actually picks up seats.

I've decided that I like Mordheim better if I don't switch out a couple of heroes for the special unit. Even moreso with the mercs than the sisters, although I would contend with both. The big ogre dude is great and durable, but as long as you're careful, the extra two heroes are much more flexible and all moving resources around much better.

I might look into Twin Peak, assuming it's available on one of the streaming services I already have. Been watching Rectify. Compelling, well done, and brilliantly conceived. Great show that's depressing as all hell. Gotta take it in small doses.

I might have to try this. You mean D:OS2?

In my experience, redneckdevil, almost everybody is bullied at some point or another and almost everybody bullies someone else. Humans are a fickle lot like that. I myself have a glorious and inglorious history, like a lot of people, and I can't take credit for the times I've stood up for myself and others if I don't accept the shame for the times I was too scared to stand up and didn't help anyone. Even worse, the times when I had the opportunity to take my part in the chain by maybe leaning hard on someone just because I had the opportunity and wanted to see them bend. Sure, those times were rare, but I've done it and I would be a liar if I didn't own it. I never had any kids, which I've always thought was a real shame. I wanted them. However, if I did have any, I'd like to think that I'd take the time to help and care about them the way you're doing. Kids are resilient and you're giving yours a good model just by taking a hand in her life. Good luck, man!

I just got back into my Mordheim warband. I'm playing mercenaries, but I see at least one new faction. Some sort of ghastly undead assortment. Put the hammer down the redeaded freaks a couple times now. I'd like to be able to play an elvish warband. I love the sisters of Sigmar. I've had a lot of fun with the sniper set merc faction. I haven't warmed as much to the witch hunting bunch and I have no use for chaos or vermin... other than target practice. I've never played Necromunda, either on board or on computer, but I'd be interested in it. The Mordheim game is absolutely brilliant.

I spent the evening at the LA county fair. My niece valiantly accepted her finish, which wasn't what she wanted. Still, she had a great time and was laughing and joking quickly afterwards. She's much more resilient than me. I'd be kicking myself. After the cupcake competition, they convinced me to shell out $9.75 for a deep fried bacon wrapped pickle. 10 bucks! What the hell, man?! Anyway, tasted interesting. Hot. Then we went to the Alice in Wonderland themed area and poked around. The niece was in love with the pygmy hedgehogs. The wife fell in love with the white bunnies. I figured it would be best to abstain, otherwise I would have fallen in love with the brew stands. Plenty of them. I decided to wait until I got home and enjoy a little bit of vino. Well, it's probably a step up from vino. Half step? After a glass of that, it's time to visit the sandman.