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random n00b

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    Valve Pimps PC Gaming

    in Computer and Console

    Posted · Edited by random n00b

    With the advent of USB input devices, that is not the case anymore. I play ssf2t (best 2d fighting game EVER) quite a bit on the PC with a PS2 controller this way. And, for FPSs, I guess it's a matter of what you are used to. I remember the first time I had to use a mouse to control a FPS, it didn't come quite naturally.

     

    Of course, what dev wants to stamp "THIS GAME REQUIRES A GAMEPAD" on their PC game? O noes! It'll throw casual gamers off!

    What D&D character are you?

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    Well, let's just say that I thought people would be more "morally flexible."

     

    That sounds dangerously like somebody who has narcissism, antisocial personality disorder or generic 'psychopathy'... though I suppose such personality disorders would likely be all but required to score 'evil' on such a test.

    So all moral relativists are messed up in the head, then? Interesting theory, professor.

     

    Somehow, the value of a test such as this as a diagnosis tool doesn't quite convince me.

    What D&D character are you?

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    19 you can justify as long as you're 4th level or higher, but no 20s.
    No, no. Those are natural scores, before level or race modifiers apply. It's intentional, given how stats are calculated. The test also seems to have a something of a bias towards certain classes. Lots of casters, but did anyone get monk or barbarian?

     

     

    Hey now!...:lol: My response with respect to strength was attitude ( the fact that I'm a spindley little f**k that is stronger than I look , simply because I use body mechanics to my advantage ). The intellegence score was due to my aptitude in trouble-shooting problems in my work, the goofy stuff I build and my IQ score of 132 in the CTMM ( California Test for Mental Maturity ) proctored by MENSA. Missed it by 'that much' :wink: ( 1 percentile point dammit! ).

     

    I've 'dodged a lot of bullets' simply by recognising in advance something that might kill me and prepare for it. After better than 20 years of taking risks, having stuff explode near me; hazarding voltages in excess of 400 VAC 3 phase, high pressure compressed gases, corrosives/caustics, flammables and survived with little more than a bad back...I think I'm doing pretty well. :wink:

    Yeah, I meant you had actually been modest... I guess that didn't come off as I intended. :)

    Ever fired guns?

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    Yeah, but there's difference between owning/having fired an assault weapon and a hunting rifle.
    Again, when said "hunting rifle" could be used to shoot down aircraft, the difference becomes less and less substantial.

     

     

    And that density really doesn't show, I wouldn't actually be aware of it without reading about it from the Internet, since the odd hunting rifle or range pistol is never on show. Guns are not a culture here, even the laws are very strict despite guns being plentiful and gun-related crime on low.
    Aside from gun fairs in the US, doesn't that comment apply just as well to American gun culture? I wouldn't know since I've not lived there, but from what folks say, it's not as rampant as us Euro Commies (have been led to) believe.

    What D&D character are you?

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    As I said back on the first page, the ability scores correlate mostly with how high an opinion you have of yourself. You'll get high stats too if you answer all the questions like "I'm teh sexayest person I've ever met" and "I'm so smart that NASA regularly consults me to double-check their pre-launch math calculations." More humble (read: more accurate) self-praise gets you scores in the 13-15 range.

     

    In short, you're all a bunch of self-aggrandizing blowhards. :p

     

     

    (And, yes, I did just use "correlate" and "self-aggrandizing" in a post simply for the purpose of justifying the 15 INT the test gave me.)

    Haha, yeah. Some probably took the "don't be modest" line in the FAQ a tad too literally. INT 18 being upper ~1% or more, DEX 18 being olympic athlete-level agility and coordination, etc. These ARE heroic stats, after all, though. It's your "4d6 self". :)

     

    I don't understand the rationale behind allowing natural values of 19-20, though.

     

     

    You Are A:

     

     

    True Neutral Human Sorcerer (7th Level)

     

     

    Ability Scores:

    Strength- 17

    Dexterity- 14

    Constitution- 13

    Intelligence- 17

    Wisdom- 15

    Charisma- 15

    ...and then some folks obviously didn't read that line at all. :bat:

    James Cameron Aliens Visual Reference

    in Aliens RPG: Speculation & Discussion

    Posted

    The two best stories I have experienced are The Book of Daniel by E.L. Doctorow and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

    There have been many others that have left me with something, but those two strike me more than the rest. If I sat and thought about it some more I could come up with some more.

    Can't say I've read either. I'll add them to my waiting list, but it's been some time since I've felt like reading fiction.

     

     

    A "great" story for me is something that leaves me with a strong emotional impact after the story is done. It doesn't have to be sadness or loss, but those are often the things that resonate most strongly with me.
    Yeah, I think I understand where you're coming from and, on those terms, I agree. While it's possible for games to have overall solid, cohesive plots (1, 2, 3?) they fail in the emotional department for the most part, or come off as trite and cheesy - possibly due to a mixture of the shortcomings of technology and average writing. While MotB had a few somewhat gripping elements, I never found it to affect me as much as I've been when reading Manfredi's Alexander books, for instance. I don't know if it'd be possible for a game to cause the same level of emotional response as books or movies given ideal conditions, but given current technology, I don't think so.

     

     

    Tombraider (the original game) did that occasionally. Sometimes pulling the camera back to give a panoramic view of the scene, sometimes just by "tilting" Laras head to make the player take note of something in a different directing than the current running direction.

     

    Most people remembered it for it's fmv cutscenes which were good for it's time I suppose, even if they mostly produce a giggle by todays standards. I liked the more subtle manipulation of the camera while playing.

    Never played Tomb Raider. That is the kind of thing that for me breaks immersion, though, since it takes control of a player-controlled element, albeit momentarily, if I'm understanding it correctly. I guess I'm just that anal. That's why I said I see it so difficult to do well.

     

     

    It's that some manage to combine a decent story with decent atmosphere, decent interactivity, and decent graphics. Combined, these things can pull you into a world and its goings on more than any book.
    Nah.

    James Cameron Aliens Visual Reference

    in Aliens RPG: Speculation & Discussion

    Posted

    I wasn't thinking about cameras in cinematics, but in-game, and there I do think the camera can have a large effect on the player's emotional connection to what's happening.
    Well, that's interesting. Could you elaborate, maybe provide examples? I see this as very difficult to implement, since the camera is in most respects under player control during gameplay. How would you go about affecting camera angles and perspectives dynamically?

     

     

    Games don't have stories, at least not ones that matter. Nursery school picture books have better stories than most video games. That's not a complaint, please understand. Its the way it should be. Stories in games are just there to provide the barest rationale gfor the gameplay.
    What constitutes a "great" story for you, just so I know what are your standards? Not being facetious, btw. Some examples, from any medium?

    New Fallout 3 screens

    in Computer and Console

    Posted

    When I have control of a squad or a small group though some sort of non-first person view is pretty essential.
    Operation Flashpoint, SWAT, R6, etc...

     

    All you really need is a good set of tools to control and order your squaddies around. Perspective is irrelevant - unless what you want is not squadmates, but multiple *player* characters.

    Change a coming

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    In the Nordic countries, there is no dubbing at all. Everything foreign has subtitles, which i agree upon. Dubbing is lazy and it gives another layer of abstraction to the original content.
    I hate dubbing. Not only you don't get to appreciate the original actor's inflections and skill, also a lot of "cultural" stuff is lost, and replaced by stuff that sometimes makes very little sense if at all. In my eyes, it's quite disrespectful to the original work. Not to mention, here in Spain it was used as a tool of censorship during the dictatorship period. Nobody I know would be willing to give up dubbing, the lazy asses.

     

    Suckage.

     

     

    It is pretty much expected that, while immigrants can bring new ideas and add spice to the food-culture, that they will become 'germans', 'french' or 'italian' in terms of customs, body language, language and culture.
    I don't know if I expect immigrants to become undistinguishable with natives, but I sure as hell expect them not to force *their* customs and way of life on ours. Of course, this leads to lack of integration, ghetto creation and all-around tensions. And of course, lots of accusations of racism and xenophobia flying around. :sorcerer:

    What D&D character are you?

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    Hahaha, I'm the definition of gimped. Oh well.

     

    Chaotic Neutral Human Sorcerer (4th Level)

     

     

    Ability Scores:

    Strength- 13

    Dexterity- 12

    Constitution- 16

    Intelligence- 18

    Wisdom- 16

    Charisma- 11

     

     

     

    Alignment:

    Lawful Good ----- XXXXXXX (7)

    Neutral Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)

    Chaotic Good ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (19)

    Lawful Neutral -- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)

    True Neutral ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (22)

    Chaotic Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (27)

    Lawful Evil ----- XXXXXXXXXXXXX (13)

    Neutral Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (20)

    Chaotic Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (25)

     

    Law & Chaos:

    Law ----- XXX (3)

    Neutral - XXXXXXXXXX (10)

    Chaos --- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (15)

     

    Good & Evil:

    Good ---- XXXX (4)

    Neutral - XXXXXXXXXXXX (12)

    Evil ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10)

     

    Race:

    Human ---- XXXXXXXXXXXXXX (14)

    Dwarf ---- XXXXXXXXXX (10)

    Elf ------ XXXX (4)

    Gnome ---- XXXXXX (6)

    Halfling - XXXXXX (6)

    Half-Elf - XXXXXXXXX (9)

    Half-Orc - XXXXXX (6)

     

    Class:

    Barbarian - (-6)

    Bard ------ (-4)

    Cleric ---- (-4)

    Druid ----- (-2)

    Fighter --- (-2)

    Monk ------ (-15)

    Paladin --- (-23)

    Ranger ---- XXXX (4)

    Rogue ----- (0)

    Sorcerer -- XXXXXXXXXX (10)

    Wizard ---- (0)

    James Cameron Aliens Visual Reference

    in Aliens RPG: Speculation & Discussion

    Posted · Edited by random n00b

    There is nothing to discuss Random Noob,

     

    You were right all along. I am very sorry to have posted those images. They have been removed.

    Please forgive me Random N00b, it will not happen again I promise.

    No man I didn't want you to take your images down, I wanted you to elaborate on your point. If the images served to illustrate examples, they are fine. So, again, what is the relation of what you mentioned with OE's Alien RPG? How does that kind of thing work in a game? We don't even know if/how there are going to be cutscenes.

     

    And what the hell are you apologizing to me for, anyway?

     

     

    Camera positioning and field of view can have an enormous impact on how much tension the viewer feels as well as how large or small creatures and the environment seem relative to other elements (such as a certain character of focus). This isn't a "movie" or "game" thing, but a psychological element at work in a variety of media.
    Can some of this actually be transplanted successfully to a game? I mean, cutscenes consistently fail to impress me in the sense you mention. In AvP2 (granted, old game, average cutscenes), the most tense moments aren't cutscenes, but those moments where you suspect there's something behind your back, but you have to keep advancing. Ocean House, Bloodlines, similar thing. It may have something to do with cutscenes going off at the worst possible moment (high tension) and disrupting gameplay, taking control away from the player and thus breaking immersion, so perhaps it's just a thing of bad implementation. STALKER got this right, I think - of course, in that game, cutscenes add *nothing* to the game, but anyway.

     

    Movies are not books, and it stands to reason that the techniques used to affect the reader/viewer emotionally are different. Games are not movies, so actually how good are traditional cinematographical resources in this medium?

     

     

    For example, in Aliens, the queen is actually not enormous. I mean... she is very large, but the camera position and angles used in some scenes makes her seem much bigger than she is when Ripley is actually fighting her in the loader. In fact, the queen is not that much bigger than the loader overall. But when Ripley is looking at the queen in the hive, the camera is placed very low and the camera angle used makes her seem quite big.
    Um, she looked HUGE when she tears Bishop apart. I never really considered that smart camera positioning actually affected how big she appears, because the she *is* pretty big in her own right. Also, I'm not sure but I think they actually used at least 2 props, possibly different sizes?

     

    This sounds like a good time to re-watch that making-of DVD.

    James Cameron Aliens Visual Reference

    in Aliens RPG: Speculation & Discussion

    Posted

    Yes, the images are rather big. But that's no reason for some of us to give a reenactment of middle school. :) We've got some good discussion about camera techniques and cinematography regarding Aliens on here, so let's keep it to that. Ja?
    But what's there to discuss, really? The OP has mostly just posted a crapload of huge-ass images, and spoken of some obscure cinematographical technique. I don't see what he's trying to get at.

     

    Besides, I looked up "hero angle" on wiki, and there's nothing. Therefore, it don't exist. :)

    Supreme Court says Americans have right to guns

    in Way Off-Topic

    Posted

    You mean if citizens started shooting the thugs then our Dictatormatic could declare martial law?
    Yeah, that's what I was thinking. In good conscience (HA!), Mugabe couldn't allow an election to proceed with shootouts happening on the streets that are related to groups attempting to alter said election results.

     

     

    Well, you could argue - not unreasonably in my view - that responsibilty for some crimes does not solely accrue to the individual. If a kid shoots someone who's to blame? Shared accountability could be very interesting.
    Kids aren't responsible for their actions because their judgement isn't fully formed - the same reason they aren't allowed to vote. Unless a qualified professional certifies otherwise, as soon as one is an adult, they assume full and exclusive responsibility for their actions, as it should be.

     

    Should everyone be tested to see if they are actually fit to exercise their rights as adults, instead of assuming they are by default? I'm not going to touch this one... :)

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