Zoraptor

Not sure where you're even getting that; it looks more like a RTwP ToEE. The only similarities I see are in the setting and the perspective. ToEE is SP only, TB, 2d. This game is SP/MP, RTwP, 3d and has a DM mode plus mod tools. That sounds (and looks from the thumbnails) a whole lot more NWN than ToEE, even if TB/RT is ignored.

Lol. Even your yellow journalists have it lasting 18 months to two years, as does simple maths. Exempli, in this case actually, gratia. They even pull the "well actually it's only two years because they cannot convert some short term so will never convert it, yep, that's logic!" trick to get their two years, in true Yellow fashion. Generally the Russians have had the good sense not to defend their currency over much as that is what will eat through their reserves, and that is what is causing the price rises- not import bans on stuff Russia produces craploads (#1 producer, even) of themselves. Lol, sugar. I'm sure that high fructose corn syrup is an essential staple in some places as is sugar but you're actually far better off with as little of it as possible. Yes, I'm sure that ludicrously subsidised Sugar Beet sugar from Europe and the US is a major loss for Russia and not for the Euros/ US who are subsidising that inefficient garbage (cane >> beet) to the tune of millions. Oh noes, the Russians miss out on crappy luxuries, how will a country where only about 10% of people can actually afford crappy luxuries anyway cope? (and of course, roflcopters, we all know who is the largest sugar beet producer in the world, don't we? Next time anyone reads one of those "omg Russians will starve if they don't buy from US/ Europe!" garbage articles remember that, and that Russia produces about as much wheat as the US does too. Seriously, porridge and sugar, I couldn't have picked better examples for you if you were my sockpuppet.) The oil price is doing by far the most damage. But that ain't coming from anything the west has done, nor anything Russia has done. It's Saudi knocking the spigots out to damage their enemies- including all those US and Canadian companies stampeded towards fracking while assuming oil would stay above their $100/ barrel break even point. At $50 a barrel those guys are haemorrhaging money way, way faster than Russia. Meh, most westerners would curl up in a ball if someone took away their sugar for a day- but most of the world makes do perfectly well without much of it at all. Double meh, anything that could even theoretically kill off the ridiculous corporate welfare (in the US) or grossly inefficient agricultural butressing (in Euroland) of subsidies is to be applauded. Triple meh, we'll keep selling our stuff to the Russkies, just won't publicise it much.

Yes, I hear that Russia is down to their last 376 billion! Always a good laugh, seeing US press (and especially Uncle Rupes' Yellow Journalists) talking their enemies down, you'd think dealing with the 18 trillion dollar (and currently increasing at more than Russia's entire external debt annually) log in their own eye would garner rather more attention. It was all Yanukovich/ Putler's fault, any deviation from that is a conspiracy theory made by paid Russian shills who are something something Munich, something something USSR. Listen and Believe! Funny thing about that article is that there is very little actually new in it at all, the two interviews only highlight what was already known- stuff that has been repeatedly ignored in support of the 'brave democratic freedom fighters' narrative. No doubt most of the protesters believed that themselves; still, seeing all the pro Maidan people at the time contorting themselves in explanations of how so many police were killed (they're shooting themselves! Russian Spetsnaz! Aliens!) will always be a case study in cognitive dissonance.

Meh, sounds like NWN 1.5 and I loathed NWN. Will pay mild attention (primarily for potential lulz), expecting tepid at best SP and lots of dlc baiting MP emphasis.

They're available from other DD, but they are afflicted with steamworks. As, of course, you do for decades old games that will never be patched again. Still, Herve gave them all away on GOG in a final asterisk you to Bethesda. Which just to show that in a fight between two craplords there can be some collateral benefit.

Doesn't make much difference- Clinton's 'misrecollection' was over something that happened the previous day, iirc. If you want a really extreme example 'recovered memories' may be absolutely, literally and completely impossible. Doesn't stop the person having them think that are also 100% true though.

Rationale discourse on current events and putting them in the context of comparable historical scenarios, of course. Heh, that's what I call arguments as well. If you want a purely rational reason to dislike Bethesda intensely there's the constructive bankrupting shenanigans they allegedly made against at least two studios they wanted to buy in order to recoup/ reduce development costs. Worked against Arkane, but not on Human Head. Also, the choice was not between Fallout Online and Fallout3, the contract between Beth and iply allowed for both to be made. The choice was also not between Bethesda and, er, oblivion for Fallout, when Iply licensed (originally) the rights there were multiple bidders, Bethesda was just the highest bidder.

You could say the same thing about people who say they earned a purple heart but didn't. Or people who claim on their resumes to have worked for IBM, but didn't. Both of those are far more likely to be a deliberate lie though. You're unlikely to think that you have been wounded or worked at IBM for x d/ w/ m/ y incorrectly because both of those things are 'chronic', they take a long time and have direct long term consequences, it's more akin to Williams claiming he has shrapnel scars from the RPG or claiming he was in Iraq when actually he was sitting behind a studio desk. OTOH, being in a helicopter convoy in which the first helicopter is shot at is a short, one off event with no obvious long term consquence. What Williams did is more an exaggeration than a full out fabrication, much as Clinton's was- there was the very real risk of them getting shot at and someone did get shot at, it just wasn't actually them. It is quite a small step from 'this happened to someone nearby' to 'this happened to me'.

Stewart's been on a bit of a downhill since probably 2007. Still better than most stuff on TV, but worse than it was. I do wonder who will replace him since the obvious candidates are all otherwise employed now. Williams, well who knows. My brother in law is a policeman and he's said that people quite often have absolutely honest, but absolutely incorrect, recall of events especially when they're under stress- people have a habit of putting themselves directly into the narrative, even when it's particularly stupid to do so. I'd put it in the Hillary Clinton 'landing in Sarajevo under fire' class. Both were dangerous situations in which there was a very real, if overstated, risk. Most people don't really have the opportunity to lie in that fashion precisely because they spend their time in a safe environment. As for the media overall, the big problem there is tight budgets and the tendency to just regurgitate press statements and what you're told by 'trusted' sources acritically, plus increasingly reliance on social media (ptooey*). If there's no actual journalism involved, no getting other opinions, no fact checking it simply does not matter whether it's media being deliberate mouthpieces for propaganda or hapless dupes, the end result is the same; regurgitation of PR, propaganda and a failure in the crucial role media should play in keeping politicians honest. Well, as honest as possible. Most people think the state of gaming journalism is terrible but that is where all journalism is heading because proper journalism is expensive and takes time and skill- and the time may even end up being wasted if an investigative story does not pan out. Crap journalism is cheap, you can print first and think later and it has a bigger, in some cases far bigger, audience than quality has. British tabloids are utter crap, but that doesn't stop the 'Fail and the Scum from being the two biggest sellers, indeed they are the biggest sellers precisely because they're crap clickbait equivalents. So, why do quality when rubbish is both easier/ cheaper and has better rewards? That's also extremely convenient for governments, they get their PR spin from a compliant acritical press while being able to talk about how they have freedom of the press and are subject to press oversight. Which is all most people need to nod and decide everything is fine and wow some minor reality star had a car crash when they may or may not have been txting, how very interesting. *Though it can be a good or even great source of information getting that good info from SM takes all the things that journalists no longer have, time, critical analysis etc. Far easier to just do a 'BBC trending' style lol a cat climbed a tree so funneh! or use random tweets to imply interactivity. Yeah, if I want that load of old bollocks I'd just look on twitter myself, I want informed comment not what Barry the waste technician from Eketahuna thinks about Greece's possible default and its ramifications on the world economy.

Don't know what it is about narcissists but they almost always end up sounding like they're satirising themselves. Hmm. Most SJWs end up sounding like they are satirising themselves; narcissists end up sounding like they're satirising themselves... hmm. I'm sure it's coincidence.

And of course, Brink 2 and Star Trek: Legacy HD

They should have the reputation from both Ultima Underworld and Looking Glass though- and Warren Spector for that matter. They're quite old reputations now, but very highly respected. Personally I'd have gone for a System Shock game (or 'System Shock' game, depending on how the insurance company that owns the IP feels) rather than UU since it's more suited to the sort of modular design that kickstarter's variable funding makes necessary.

Would be nice if Coke put the money that was set aside for the twitter stuff that Gawker sabotaged towards a bit of pay back. While I don't have a problem with mass email campaigns they are very easy to rationalise away if you want to- otoh a few emails from someone at Coke- or their advertising agency- with their contacts could make things very difficult for Gawker almost instantly. If they wanted to.

Seems that the rebels have closed off most of the pocket around Debaltsevo. Still (somewhat) disputed but looks like there's up to 5000 UA troops caught there.

That's been a problem with Wikipedia for ages. I tried to change the System Shock 2 page once to remove the "EA is going to make System Shock 3!" part of it since I know perfectly well that the "System Shock 3" EA was making was actually Dead Space- same genre, made by the rumoured team etc etc. Can't do it, a (at that time) 4 year old (speculation/ rumour) article from a 'reliable source' trumps anything and everything including primary sources (copyright/ USPTO) proving EA no longer had rights to the games or franchise- because the copyright and trademark databases are primary sources/ it's original research. So, until someone writes an actual citable article saying that EA is not making System Shock 3 the reference has to stay there, even eight (!) years after the original, speculative, articles were written. (Not C&VG's fault in this case though, everyone heard the rumours they reported. Just another example of how stupid wiki's blanket secondary trumps primary source idea is. And to be fair the wiki admin who reverted it certainly sounded rather embarrassed about doing it, but do it he did) Edit: and having checked they actually say in the article that EA doesn't own the IP now, having found a citable source. Somehow that still ain't enough to remove the "EA is making SS3" rubbish though.

If there's one thing I've noticed from the youtube war footage of the recent years it's that either everyone fighting is terrible or the competent ones are too busy being competent to film themselves being competent (or bring along embedded 'proper' journalists), and the tendency is to be either immensely cautious and spray your AK over some cover one handed without a hope of hitting or be utterly incautious and stroll across roads and open fields as if you're going for a walk with some occasional random, seldom properly aimed shooting thrown in to liven things up. I am reminded of something Orwell said in Homage to Catalonia, that the Spanish conscripts often seemed utterly incapable of even basic defensive measures like cover. Makes sense that those who survive for any length of time go rather to the other extreme. (Inept, not inapt. Logically it should be inapt, but it's english and our language is nothing if not random.)

I knew he was going because I read that the actor's signed up for a different programme. Since none of the regulars has left any other way since S1 that only really left one way he was going out. It was an extremely well shot and atmospheric- if pretty disposable- episode. Also trippy as anything.

It's a lot more than one of them- a certain, er, revolutionary indie dev made sockpuppet troll accounts to make GG look bad, for example- though the excuse is always the same (with minor tonal variations) when caught out. About 90% of the time 'trolling' is trolling under the standard subjective definition of people who cannot handle others having differing opinions: I post thought provoking stuff without being overly concerned if it offends or gets negative responses so as to Make Valid Points; people I disagree with are all just trolling and doing it because they're ignorant, stupid or malign.

Fargo talked about it a bit though he generally didn't volunteer information. There was a bit of a flap when he said W2 would be on Origin because people thought he would be forced at gunpoint to link all copies to Origin by EA, for example. Which would have been hilarious but didn't happen. As it was they allowed the original Wasteland to go for free to all backers, so who knows, maybe they'll give a free UU to all backers here. Don't hold your breath though.

The claim was made that they are military passports rather than actual passports- though a cursory exam suggests only one of them actually is so with the rest being old/ new versions of the actual Russian passport. Presenting them is pure theatre and means nothing practical, the Ukrainians claim to have captured more FSB/ SVR agents (carrying their ID cards and passports, as all intelligence agents do...) than that. Though since Russia has conscription it matters a lot less whether there are Russians there as volunteers/ mercenaries since they're all trained, that's why having regular forces on the ground would be largely unnecessary. Giving the rebels ammo at least is a given though.

"No." Yes! It's called 'Underworld Ascendant', there is no "Ultima" and hence no trademark infringement EA as EA does not own the rights to the word 'Underworld'. The thread title is somewhat misleading since it is not an official sequel.

Yeah, I've disagreed with Hurlshot on some things but I have no doubt at all that the disagreements were over honestly held views that were expressed, for want of a better term, honourably. I have no doubt that this is the case here as well.

I thought the reformed troll aspect was interesting. Granted it could be entirely made up, but the idea that there was a rock bottom where said troll realized they had a problem presents an interesting parallel to other kinds of abuse. My main problem with that article is that it's an article from The Grauniad. I don't have any trust that it (the end, mainly) is something that actually happened as opposed to something the writer wanted to happen to make a point. It is exactly the sort of 'progressive' story The Gaurdian is renowned for and reflects its editorial position; it is the equivalent of getting a 'typical immigrant' story from the Daily Mail or a 'typical leftist' story from the Daily Telegraph. It is stereotypically Guardian, almost to the point of parody and plain doesn't ring true to me at all. To be clear, I'd certainly believe that the impersonation part of it happened, it's the moral ending that I doubt as it's a(n unironic) Stan Marsh monologue over the last twenty seconds of a South Park episode story type ending and is a bit too convenient, right down to mentioning her 'article in Jezebel'. (I suspect most trolls do grow out of 'career trolling', I just think that the vast majority either try to forget they did it at all or don't feel ashamed but simply move on to other interests. The sort of person who has sufficient self awareness and empathy to apologise would be very unlikely to do it in the first place precisely because they have self awareness and empathy)

It certainly isn't in the classic sense. Which has some disadvantages but a whole lot of very real advantages. The big contrast for GG would be with the 'Occupy' movement- which failed when it tried to become a classic movement. GG is near completely decentralised and its supporters have a wide range of views, often mutually incompatible but by and large people have been able to express their opinions without infighting because there isn't a real hierarchy and you don't have (inevitably self appointed) leaders saying something others vehemently disagree with as if they're speaking for everyone and thus driving people away, you just have individuals disagreeing; and you also don't have obvious points of attack since there's no one to discredit and take the 'movement' down by association. In essence it's like putting Muhammad Ali (because let's face it, SJWs are generally very good at what they do and have won far more often than they've lost) in the ring to fight someone made of smoke, all he can really do is become the subject of a rope-a-dope. That also makes it very hard for GG to win in a classic sense, but it makes it next to impossible to lose- and in a 'fight' like this in a very real sense a failure to lose is winning.

Not very believable. Can't see the Syrians wanting non WP/ soviet standards like 7.62 NATO or 338 rifles much for logistical and supply reasons, and Ukraine (or Russia/ Iran for that matter) should have plenty of alternatives to sell. Also written in english on official letter head and using inconsistent calibre notations? Yep, needs far more than just a random jpg for evidence.