Zoraptor

They should get the male protagonist voicing done by Sbarge. Now that would be trolling.

The reason they don't support laptop cards is that there are already a large number of different configurations even if you take desktop cards based on reference configurations. If you start doing things to reduce the heat or power draw as often done in a laptop then they will be changing how the card works, and make it potentially (and in practice almost always) less powerful than its desktop equivalent- as well as the aforementioned custom driver issues. That becomes a problem, of course, because if you have the usual sort of spec classification the equivalent laptop card may not work at all, may work with reduced features or may work considerably slower than the desktop version- or it may overheat the laptop/ card and cause crashing because most laptops are only really designed to run Win7, a browser and other productivity applications. You have to be prepared for a lot of extra support tickets due to those issues if you formally support laptop cards, it's easier to just not support them and put the risk onto the buyer. And on occasion manufacturers may massage the truth about their cards' capabilities as well. Intel insisted that their old integrated laptop cards supported OpenGL. This was a... questionable interpretation in that while some things relying on OpenGL would run, many wouldn't run or would but only at a pace that was slower than chilled treacle.

Nah, I don't troll. Others may think I do, but from my perspective no. But while I can honestly say that I've never said anything solely to get a negative or emotive reaction I equally am not overly concerned about saying things that I know will offend people or that people won't like. Because I know that if I were overly concerned I'd never write or say anything of any substance. If I don't think it's worth it I'll usually bite my tongue though, because it, uh, isn't worth it.

I don't have any real problem with people having different interpretations of what trolling is, despite the last line of my previous post. It is subjective in terms of trolling not having to be a deliberate attempt to elicit a reaction- if I posted my critique of Oblivion here it would be met by a muted reaction, some would agree, some would disagree, but it would be unlikely to get people upset; if I posted it at the Bethboards it would likely be regarded as trolling whatever my real reasons were. But it is also subjective in terms of not having an 'official' definition that can be referenced absolutely and objectively denotes what is trolling. That's why I rather like the comparison to art, while art does have a more or less set definition it is very much up to the individual as to what they personally consider art to be, and indeed art is very much defined by its context as well. Everyone does that, of course, but I think that this in particular runs into the basic free speech argument. I don't have the right to tell people not to offend me and say only stuff I find acceptable, and because that's a reciprocal right they also don't have the right to demand that I not offend them and only say stuff they find acceptable. Considering the sort of stuff people as individuals and collectives find objectionable there'd be very little to talk about if that were not the case. Take the hypothetical situation of there being someone who posts lots of stuff I find offensive. I'm not exactly sure what, since I struggle to think of anything I'd find actually offensive (edit: to clarify; as opposed to finding it something else instead such as stupid) that isn't actually illegal or bannable already, even somewhere like the codex. But anyway, it'd be tough noogies to me. I'd reserve the right to disagree, even strenuously disagree. What I wouldn't reserve is the right to tell them they cannot state their opinion simply because I don't like it.

And on the subject of enhanced editions, if you do get Blade of Destiny don't get the HD version which is still riddled with more bugs than a cheap restaurant in the tropics, get the originals. They've been free several times on GOG so there may even be people willing to gift them.

I wouldn't categorise it as a religious type dispute, personally. It's more a gestalt of two different arguments that are related to religious debates; a what is art? argument (eg the "knowing good trolling when you see it" vs "knowing art when you see it" I used earlier) and a matter of arguing definitions. Some people will insist that half a cow in formaldehyde is not art and that it is disgusting and offensive, some people will insist that not only is it art but it is great art, often at least partly because it does offend those people and achieves one of the things art should do, get a reaction. Some people will insist that trolling involves being 'bad', by its very definition, and anything troll like that is 'good' must be Something Else- parody, satire or whatever. Others will disagree. But without a central, accepted definition it is impossible to determine objectively that we are right and correct and the people arguing the reverse are over the event horizon of a wrongularity.

Because italics show emphasis, that something is important. And everything Volo says is important. We won zero medals, so I will take comfort in certain methods giving us number one position by population at the last summer games. In fact, we've only ever won one winter medal, but at least it was unique as the first medal won by anyone in the southern hemisphere.

I'd say that AP is already a cult classic, there's plenty of people who will rave about its good points. The actual gameplay is a bit clunky, rather like Mass Effect's, but if that can be got past then it certainly manages to make a fairly cliche storyline work well. And annoying every character in it is immensely entertaining.

Here's the wiki article on Svoboda. It is wikipedia, so take with a grain of salt of course. There are plenty of pictures- including in streams and the like from 'reputable' news sources- that show their old party and other neo nazi symbols being used. Personally, I'd lump them in with the BNP and similar. Beyond merely Nationalist, not as far as complete neo Nazi.

Yes, and for formalised settings such as a debate that is completely appropriate, since they have a specific purpose and reason/ topic in mind. Everyone sensible acknowledges that there should be practical limitations, first and foremost that you should not infringe others' rights to free speech and to express themselves as well. But that is both a bit of a high bar to set for the vast majority of what passes for discussion on the internet- indeed all too often there is very little happy medium between moderating when necessary or rules are broken and moderating when a particular moderator doesn't like what is being said- and there is also very little barrier to entry in internet communication as it's a fundamentally continuous/ simultaneous system. Unlike in a formal meeting type setting it's very difficult to 'talk over' or shout down other people; you cannot silence other's twitters by tweeting yourself, nor other people's postings by posting yourself.

Just to make sure, since both games are Vampire the Masquerade: Subtitle; the older, isometric game is VtM Redemption, the newer fps/3ps one is VtM: Bloodlines. And yes, Bloodlines is far better than Redemption.

While it was a bit buried, I would recommend everyone with any interest in events to read the interview with Tyanybok (leader of the Ukrainian neo nazi party which is part of the opposition), as it really does give the lie to a lot of what has been said about this being a spontaneous popular uprising rather than a long term plan by those who lost the election to reverse the decision. And I see Tymoshenko is back. Nice to see pro western kleptocrats back centre stage instead of pro russian kleptocrats. Plus ca change... Heh, a result where government members were either absent, or voting under duress and threat of violence gives unanimous result. I'm gobsmacked. You'd have fun finding any proof that I'd said that, since all I've said that the same thing would happen, earlier, in the west, and that it was an inevitable consequence of violence within the protesters, and that the day with most deaths was after the day with most police deaths, when the protesters broke a truce. I have no particular wish for anyone on either side to die, not even the fascists among the protesters. Packing up the politicians on both sides and firing them into the sun notwithstanding. Still, as I said in the beginning I knew it would be pretty much impossible to get you to admit anything was wrong, I'm just providing a rebuttal service for anyone who believes your views represent anything other than your particular truth.

Ignoring a troll certainly isn't a violation of free speech- there's absolutely no obligation to listen to what someone says, whether they're trolling or providing concrete proof for The Theory of Everything. Silencing a troll through moderation or whatever is infringing free speech, but it's done on 'private property' so free speech is also a privilege there- there's no obligation to provide a platform for someone's free speech; unless you're the government, arguably.

If you do it regularly then you're most definitely self important, and need a good trolling to iron out the hypocrite. Then you may get the ultimate situation, two people who think the other is taking something too seriously but are simultaneously trolling each other, unaware. Perfection.

Ah, but it will no doubt include the stormtroopers of the revolution, Svoboda, yes? Your buddies have given them a taste of power, now. Hero to some, villain to many, which she is is a matter of perspective. But democratically elected she was, to be sure. Can say the same thing about old Maggie. Rewrote the laws to specifically target her political enemies, the unions, used the police to enforce it etc. It ain't double standards if you're doing it deliberately, indeed, it ain't double standards if you're actually pointing out that it's double standards. You, on the other hand, talk the democratic walk, but only if it's people you agree with. I just think that politicians are crap, on principle. Nope, basic tenet. Support is people who support, not people who don't care. Yep, sounds like the real world, that. Heh, yeah. Again, I know who Tyanybok is (even if I can't be bothered transliterating that grubby little fascist's name properly), unlike just about everyone in the western media. And, hilariously, John McCain. I also have eyes, so I can read his interview where he was quite open about making preparations for revolution, and how he and other opposition parties were organising it. In March. 2013. That's some delayed action spontanaity, that. Well, you might get your chance to put your money where your mouth is if the rumours of a reverse revolution going on in the east prove true. Best solution for the artificial country that Ukraine is may yet happen, split like a town in Croatia. Now that's special pleading for you. The vast majority of those 100+ protester deaths came after the day in which numbers nearly matched. That that is so is utterly unsurprising, once you kill that number of po pos the gloves most definitively come off and they'll shoot to kill, to preserve their own lives against the deadly violence used against them. And again, any western country would break up those protests in those circumstances. Any one. They probably wouldn't expect, or get, so many police deaths in response though.

Heh, how soon we forget. Go over to Belfast and tell them that Bloody Sunday never happened. Or if you prefer, go to Kent State and tell them that. Nowadays they just use kettling and other techniques to control the protests anyway.

Bro, you'll not find a single image of her falling on her face because it simply didn't happen. Please desist with the fabrications and commence with the accuracies. r00fles! There was a slight stumble on one landing, that's all. If anyone really wants to see it's embedded here.

Not necessarily more money in their pocket- though I agree it will likely be so. For TW2 they were offering games (or store credit?) in compensation for the difference in pricing, and at least one other store (GMG) was offering an australasia specific discount code to offset the regional pricing. There was a freedom of trade suit being brought against Bethesda in the EU about their restrictions around FONV, iirc. Not sure it was specifically about pricing though, I think it was because you could not buy some dlc in Poland and other eastern countries.

Yeah Volo, but that isn't what happened. She did 7 triples to Kim's 6. Kim skated too conservatively to defend her lead and not make mistakes, and suffered for it. Happens all the time. If anyone had cause to be upset it was the Italian in third who also did 7 triples and still scored less than Kim, perhaps due to some anti Italian/ pro Korean conspiracy. My own personal favourite line on the subject, from that horrendous Murdoch rag the Brisbane Courier... Oh yeah, those eastern Europeans, always taking Russia's side on everything. Christ on a pogo stick which world do some people live on?

They switched to geolocation for TW2 after about ten days, iirc- but it did take a court order to make them. That is why they're getting such a lot of stick for it. If you're going to go on about having principles and operating on trust you're going to cop it when you operate against those principles with all the people who think you've breached their trust. I'm not that disappointed despite being one of the people most likely to be asterisked over because I've always recognised most of those principles as sales pitch, much like all the stuff Brad Wardell spouted about Impulse. Ultimately if it came down to a choice between DRM free and regional pricing going (hypothetically, it wouldn't be practically) then they chose the right one. Regional pricing is price gouging on digital goods, pure and simple, but at least it's avoidable with minimal effort or with a bit of discipline to only buy at the level you feel it's actually worth. Or not at all. Only real problem I have with it is the thin end of wedge one, the thought that they may start offering 'optional' steam keys for multiplayer and the like and end up as just another steam reseller.

Yeah, it's a widespread phenomenon not limited to wheel systems, or a single company. My impression was that ME3 certainly had a lot less fake choice options, but perhaps a commensurate decrease in conversation choice prompts as well, ie more auto or run through dialogue, more time and lines between choices. That is just my impression though.

Well, I'm barely seeing a word of criticism. If you're going on about Yanokivich's cronyism and corruption then surely you must think the alternative is better, I'm just showing that they consistently have not been better. What, and your twisted vision is that of tyranny of the minority? Maggie Thatcher decided to commit economic genocide on areas that didn't support the Conservatives, while elected by at most 43% of those who voted- or around a third of the actual population. Electoral dictatorship, indeed. Oddly enough terms like electoral dictatorship are only banded around when it's someone the person doesn't like in power, doing things the person doesn't like. If you support them then it's legitimate power being exercised by the democratic representatives of the people. Dealt with by numbersman already, though I guess it is telling that your example ends up being a plurality enforcing their views on the majority who is opposed or doesn't care- but on a topic you clearly support, instead of oppose. Of course it can, that's the whole point. Who is a butthurt loser depends almost entirely on whether you agree with them or not and whether they're your political allies or not. If they're your allies, brave protesters with legitimate grievance exercising cherished freedom; if not, dangerous violent thugs trying to inflict their vision on others. Oh please. Occupy, the Iraq war protesters etc did not try and occupy the centre of Washington or London for 3 months- and when Occupy did try and go somewhere important they got stomped pdq. Sitting in the grounds of St Pauls Cathedral for a few weeks or marching for a day through London ain't anywhere near equivalent to taking over the centre of a city, government buildings, beating up officials and forcing them to sign resignations and suchlike, and you know it. Some of the protesters were spoiling for a fight, from the beginning. Tough luck for the peaceful protesters, but it was not overall a peaceful protest even from day 1. Well, yes, someone's clinging to a fiction. Nah, you wouldn't, and I rather suspect deep down you know you wouldn't even if you won't admit it. You wouldn't trot out 'electoral dictatorship' and you wouldn't keep calling them peaceful protesters because you think that Ukraine should sign the EU agreement, thus the complaints of any dissenters to that decision would not be, your word, 'valid'. And how many police died in those protests? Your problem is that when 26 people die and 40% of them are police you can hardly claim heavy handedness on the police's behalf, that's simply not police opening up on unarmed protesters with AKs level disparity. Next day, sure, but then it was confirmed by everyone- CNN (ffs CN asterisking N whose world view is stuck in an 80s action movie), AlJ, BBC- that the protesters broke the truce and attacked the police then. Heh, you really think that MEPs run the EU? Cripes. Whenever EU 'democracy' doesn't throw up the 'right' decision they either ignore it, or subvert it. And, of course, since you support the EU I can practically guarantee that terms like 'electoral dictatorship' won't be trotted out for their decisions. No it isn't, it's that winning an election gives 'democratic legitimacy'. Well, at least when the person winning is someone you agree with who makes decisions you agree with. If not, then suddenly it's 'electoral dictatorship'.

IMO they are coming from a place like RPGCodex where "trolling" has its own definition and meme where it is both acceptable and encouraged, and they got butt hurt that outside "trolls" are seen as horrible people or according to this study psychopathic sadist. It like arguing about what is "cool", you will always upset several niche communities. RPGCodex, hah, softy noveaux trollites who can't stand the heat and need to get out of the kitchen whenever there is some real discuss!on that isn't scaled to their level. Usenet, bro, where trolls were trolls and moderation wasn't in the dictionary. Well, except in moderated groups, of course. (Yeah, some trolls are horrible people. Some people are horrible people. It's sheer inevitability)

So, GOG is adding some more new titles (one allegedly being Risen 3, since the first two games are definitely coming), but with regional pricing. Hilarity ensues as GOG staff get their posts downvoted to oblivion and people throw their previous pronouncements back in their faces. I'd be outraged too, seeing as we always get lumped in with the Ockers and their a kidney for a game pricing scheme but fortunately I know what a VPN is and get the compensatory benefit of a certain visceral thrill when sticking it to the man and getting US or UK pricing.

Hmm. You could level exactly the same criticism at Alpha Brotocol's Bourne/ Bauer/ Bond three choice system and all. You can have good writing (which is probably the most subjective category in grading a game) using that system. I tend to agree that slavish devotion to a narrow set of technical criteria is a bad thing, but even in something like the Mass Effects they did use only 2 choices, or up to 6 choices. I'd imagine the situation for DAI would be similar. Whether the MEs or AP have good writing is a somewhat different question, though I think most come down on the side of the writing being good, indeed for AP it is generally praised (perhaps excluding the timed ones) and other stuff is criticised. I have far more problem with the 'false choice' dichotomy trichotomy where each of three given choices leads to exactly the same response just to give an illusion that your choice matters.