BruceVC

Kanie this is very important debate around a contentious issue that many gaming forums discuss. With the general question being " can Larian deliver a worthwhile BG3 experience and honor the originals " ? And for the record BG2:ToB is my favorite RPG of all time so I want BG3 to succeed I am of the view Larian can because of how much I enjoyed D:OS2 and then the salient question is " okay but what did you enjoy about D:OS2 ". So me it was I enjoyed the overall narrative and the lore was believable and interesting but could have been deeper The party companions were memorable and had interesting side quests which matters to any BG game, your party matters.They even had some Romance at the end of D:OS2 which I always appreciate The combat was a huge part of the enjoyment with the different strategies and how you utilized your companions skills and magic And then the monsters and places to explore seemed adequate and entertaining. I am expecting more with BG3 because of the variety of monsters and interesting Forgotten Realm world So what are yours and others concerns with BG3 ?

Keyrock you have loads of experience in these types of games and you have seen a lot and sometimes it may be difficult to make someone with your overall gaming knowledge " excited " but arent you excited about DY2 ? The level of detail we get in most trailers about DY2 is brilliant and informative and just adds to what fans like me already know about DY2....its going to be a excellent game in the same way DY1 was an excellent game So I can say with sincerity " I am excited about this game " and its definitely on my "day 1 purchase " like BG3 for sure @Wormerine @Lexx@Sarex@Malcador@Theonlygarby@MrBrown@Oner@kanisatha@Mamoulian War and others Are you guys excited about DY2 ?

Interestingly enough because he has such little respect for the entire Swedish legal system he claimed if he went back to Sweden it would be for false reason and he would be " extradited illegally "to the USA so he ignored his bail conditions and illegally moved into the Ecuadorian embassy and then I believe the Swedish prosecutors have dropped the charges because he spent years living in the embassy. And I wish I could say " yes he is guilty of rape " but I dont know if he did rape those women but that is exactly why he should have used the powers of the legitimate legal system and addressed this charges. And his supporters always ignore his behavior and justify it because " being sent to the US is like a death sentence for Assange " ....give me a break !!! The EU has this real and at times frustrating laws that says " no one can ever be extradited to a country with the death penalty " so Assange is never going to be executed in the US as its jail time he faces But finally this idea a country like Sweden would be involved in this entire fabricated and surreptitious rape charges is the main reason how Assange is such a liar and disingenuous. Even amongst the highly respected and well run Scandinavian countries Sweden is considered the most progressive and I would like to hear from our Swedish forum members like @Pidesco and @Azdeus if in Sweden this type government corruption is normal where state prosecutors lie about charges to falsely prosecute people for political agendas? I might be wrong and maybe this is more normal than we think in Sweden ?

Come on you can do better than that because it sounds like you are calling me a fascist for giving an opinion but you cant actually spend 2 minute explaining your point and why Im a fascist .....dont you see how silly it sounds I am not sure if I ever told you I use to do debating at school and its a such a relevant subject because it teaches you the art of meaningful and important debate and its a skill you use your whole life to engage with people. And one of several things you learn in debating is you convince people your point is true when you present why its true. So going forward please try to do that, just explain why Im a fascist based on what I say because then we can engage further in the art of debate

The two examples are not the same and to compare Assange to Navalny in this way is not an accurate view of the 2 people Firstly Assange faces serious charges in the USA for undermining the security of the US by constantly posting confidential and private diplomatic cables. He also seems terrified of facing justice for his attacks on the US.....where did he think he would eventually end up? He was fine to target the US for years and now he has nothing to say ? I see he faces criminal charges that could lead to 175 years in jail, I think thats a bit harsh but 20 years in a federal prison will send a good message? Navalny was simply an opposition political person, he didnt steal or compromise US state security but he was poisoned by the Russian agents because Putin doesnt like opposition parties ....so yes the Navalny poisoning is much more serious

And dont let anyone reduce your excitement about BG3, Larian has spent much more resources and effort on BG3 because of how important this franchise is and I trust Sven to deliver. I never play early access games because I prefer the excitement of not knowing much but I read peoples comments on Steam or Codex which is minor updates So I am also holding out for final release ....you know what they say " great minds think alike "

Malc if you haven't played w3 now is the time to purchase it, I am going to buy it at that price

I played D:OS2 about 8-9 months ago and it was my first Larian game ....I had only heard mostly good things about Larian studio and one of my brothers and his gaming friends recommend D:OS2 And I was desperate to enjoy it because of BG3 and my logic says if I dont like the design and mechanics of D:OS2 then its unlikely I will enjoy Larians creation of BG3 But I can easily say it was one of my top 5 RPG all time. I loved the combat strategies, the companion interaction and their side quests And the narrative was compelling so I now have no unreasonable concerns with the final version of BG3

Sounds great fun, try to do as many things as you can because it will a testament to the reality of the last 2 years Think about what life has been like if you live in a country that has had numerous waves and doesn't have the resources or committment to stop the virus spreading, it impacts business and takes peoples lives but mostly older people say 65 and up Trust me its not what you went through in Oz with your second wave, that wave was real but I dont remember it doing real carnage to your citizens ? So try to do as many things as you can, you all vaccinated and its good you guys can at least appreciate the reality of your vaccination campaigns

Gorthfuscious this is an excellent response with exactly the details I was looking for and it allows me to understand what your concerns are and what you mean. Since 9/11 I have been involved in many debates about the US and the important role it plays in the world and I sometimes come across anti-US sentiment in SA on our talk shows which matter to me because they about our SA journey to address Apartheid legacy and first world country....it is possible but it requires an exorbale set of policies and government integrity but thats way off but it is a future objective You have made several interesting points that I want to respond to and I will later but I wanted to ask you something about your general view on the US right now in the sense what do you like and appreciate about the US Do you have a more positive view or negative based on overall sentiment ?

You raise some interesting points, can you explain further by what you mean by the " deconstruction of nationalism "and the " same for rationalism " .I think I know what you mean but I dont want to guess And does this mean you wont vote for either party and are you more like GD who supports Libertarianism?

@Gorth I was reading a good news link that highlighted how Oz has reached 70-80 % vaccination. This is real progress and is this success a result of state governments or federal work and how do you citizens feel about this because of poor rollouts of vaccines in previous months ? I do assume first world countries to achieve high levels of vaccination but its still good news

Sup All So as we all know this is our second Xmas with the virus running amok in many of our countries and that travel plans can be impacted. Some of you may remember last year I cancelled my Xmas trip to DBN to see my family because I wasnt vaccinated at the time and we were going through a second wave Anyway this year I have my flight booked to DBN from the 21/12-4/01 and despite the new wave I have no intention of cancelling my Xmas flight Its been 2 years since I have seen my cousins and we all planning on our normal Xmas lunches at our beach cottages and I really cant wait, its easy to take things for granted in life and this pandemic has reminded me of how important family and friends are who are healthy and alive. So my Xmas will be at our beach cottage with my whole family on my dads side. What is everyone else planning?

I dont believe it was fear that was the main reason for why most people voted for Trump and still support him. Because your example is valid for the era of the Cold War but what would you consider is the same fear mongering or hyperbolic examples that Trump uses ....in other words Trump dismissing things like the media or BLM is more about SJ movements that tend to be focus points in the US During the Republican race he claimed to believe in issues like the border problem and how the US was no longer respected in the world. He also suddenly really had issues with the " Obama America" and how Obama had been the worst president the US had ever seen and as usual much of his public convention was about theater and literally working the crowd ...you can give Trump that, he was able to connect with many people in ways I could never saw But I would say he exaggerated the state of the US decline and stood for hope ....as in " Make America Great " ...that was one of his quotes? And I can see how this could concern anyone who fears future US presidents who are like Trump. But can I ask you to clarify something so I understand your point, you mention "t's a society that spends a disproportionate part of its existence living in fear. Racism and McCarthyism is alive and well, even if it's 50 years past its best by date" I have heard similar views but I never understand exactly what people mean because I need examples of these things just so I understand the view. So in summary What would do you mean 50 years in fear of what ...Communism or the Soviets? But the Cold War ended ages ago and nowadays many young people in the USA are very confused about what defines the US and some actually think " socialism " will provide a better quality of life for all and consider the proven working economic model of free market principles to actually increase inequality. But some young people who mean well will openly say " we support socialism " yet they live, survive and are intrinsically a part of the great US economic juggernaut which is mostly about normal monetary policies and views that are not normally seen as socialist. So sometimes when we see this resurgence of socialism from some it confuses me What would be your practical example of Racism and McCarthyism because a quick consideration is many Americans are opposed to racism and support SJ movements like many Democrat members and mayors of liberal cities which is what you would expect. Racism does occur in the US but I dont see how it can very prevalent ? And last question, I always appreciate your view on these topics even if we sometimes disagree on certain realities as you have lots of world experience and places you have worked and lived in and I assume you probably remember the " red scare " . But my question is what do you think would be the worst outcome for the US in the worst potential future ..silly example but do you think a US of white nationalism is possible?

Thanks for posting this, I have Gothic 2 on Steam and I loved all Gothic games I will be definitely be downloading this game and playing it

Gromnir you have raised an interesting point that I think gets misunderstood or ignored by those that dont like Trump and yet dont want to understand why he won in 2016 and this matters because Trump might run and win in 2024 and that is something none of us want...the GOP must find a better candidate than Trump. The problem being much of the base support Trump running again so its not about what GOP personally think about Trump as the best candidate as we have seen GOP Republicans raise issues and support things just because Trump is involved and the base expect Republican politicians to support Trump or they dont get reelected in most states So the most important question all of us who have a vested interest in the politically and economic stability of the US is " why did so many Americans vote for Trump in 2016 and 2020 " because clearly he represents policies and views that matter to many Americans. And it took me about 4-6 months after Trumps 2016 election to understand this and certain reasons made sense to me after I realized what they were while other reasons seemed irrational and unnecessary But the main point is we must stop thinking Trumps victory was an aberration or an example of the failure of Democracy or what GB mentioned is why Trump won in 2016 because that isnt the full picture and ignores the things that Trump stands for that matter many Americans. You are well informed about the history of the US and how Congress works and the importance of the Constitution but you have a blind spot around what Trump did that mattered and why he is popular. In 2020 more Republican supporters came out to vote for Trump than in 2016 yet he still lost but its an important point about Trumps support We got lucky with Trump losing in 2020 because I believe if it wasnt for the overall mishandling of the pandemic and how that created the carnage of the various waves Trump would have won in 2020. So an understanding of what Trump represents is important but I dont agree with some of the things you raise as being important to what people liked about him or rather these things are reflected on differently. And end of the day even if you dont agree with the lack of concern for some of the points you raised the significance of these points does matter to peoples voting choices and explains them. So if you dont like Trump and are frustrated with his support you wont gain much insight if you interact in a echo chamber where people dont like Trump anyway and will not provide some context to things you mention. But I can share some views with you from some who support Trump For example The Muslim Ban - We discussed this last time and I understand this has always concerned you because last time you mentioned this was a bill that seemed to blatantly generalize and target people who shared a religion and that is anathema to how human rights is defined in all our countries. But it wasnt a ban of all Muslims and only certain Muslim countries were targeted. And the bill was not logical in some of the cases of countries being banned but some I think are valid Trumps success and failures of being a good and successful business man, he has definitely created some profitable hotels and Trump is effective at transactional business which some countries and people appreciate but I dont support because it can undermine governance and agreed on legal realities Trumps demonstrating a lack of respect for women who question him or touching women inappropriately. His supporters will dismiss this because they say " thats how men sometimes act " and its " just change room rhetoric that men participate in. I dont agree with this because the men I know dont act like that in front of women or talk about women like that 6 January Capitol attacks : The worst misunderstanding and responses from Trump for me was him rejecting the Biden win and then how Trump did believe right wing media conspiracy theories about how the " election was definitely fraudulent " . So its a huge problem when a president who loses any election questions how the election works so yes I would say misinformation can create strange responses from those on the losing side which we saw with all the endless failed " election fraud cases". So what we saw on 6 January was something very similar with several hundred Americans failed to believe or understand how the US election had been won. They ignored common sense and decided to believe their own reality of the election results. The purpose of the violence was not going to somehow make a misperception true and it had no clear outcome . So this type of violence was and is unacceptable and people must be prosecuted who broke the law but I dont see this as anything more than what it was....some US citizens deciding to believe a false narrative of the election facts and deciding to use violence at the Capitol building. Its bad but not about a real insurrection or attempt to overthrow government? But in closing Trump became president because of real sentiment in support of his policies and many Republicans believing he represented their concerns and fears. So it always matters who gets votes but its people who ultimately vote for the candidate and the candidate normally raises polices that people can identify with and this resonance makes people support the candidate Wisconsin Democrats are fine, they dont take extremist liberal views like Democrats in California but not all Democrats in California take extremist views but it seems more common

Elerond did you ever think a day would come when our Constitutions would mean our governments cant implement the necessary policies to reduce deaths and hospitalizations ....a pity and I never would have guessed this would happen. But its only during certain very rare global problems like this pandemic that we see this problem So I am not saying any Constitution is bad, I support all Constitutional Democracies as the best systems of government in the history of mankind. But this is a problem where citizens can legally ignore medical advice that saves lives and reduces the spread of the virus

Okay fair enough, its not as serious as I first thought so then their is no need to prosecute her But Elerond I am more worried that many people in Finland dont seem to understand that during a wave or when their is a variant you dont go to clubs and large social events....everyone should know that by now? Do you guys just have guidance and not actual enforcement of these types of pandemic laws that are only applicable during a wave ....like now ?

You know I mention I always use Mods where applicable and their are only 5-6 Mods on Nexus for Infinite and they all basically address shader related and similar complaints. I used one but I dont know if I would have had an issue I just installed it anyway because it look good So you not alone with that criticism around shaders ...no need to feel guilty you are going to ruin the game for anyone else because of a frivolous complaint. You should be able to sleep fine tonight

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/12/democrats-lose-culture-war/620887/ Here is a good read about why the Democrats are losing the US culture wars. I support policies from both the GOP and Democrats but I have been very concerned with certain ideas and strategies from the left since Trump won in 2016. I agree with much of this article and in summary the things I definitely agree with are points like Like the pugnacious DLC founder Al From during the 1980s, Teixeira believes that Democrats can’t convince swing voters that the party is changing unless they publicly denounce activists advocating for positions such as defunding the police and loosening immigration enforcement at the border that progressives are steering Democrats toward unsustainable and unelectable positions, particularly on cultural and social questions. Its a good article

Your memory is fine, Infinite only allows 2 guns and 2 skills at one time and yes the ammo is standard so you right its simplistic compared to other shooter type games

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-accuses-netanyahu-disloyalty-f-050157027.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall Trump is furious with Netanyahu for being " used because of Iran " and because Netanyahu eventually congratulated Biden on his legitimate win This is just another example of Trumps lack of understanding of geopolitics and his own narcissism. Its classic Trump 101 and just more of his own insecurity and his normal mercurial and irrational view of the world and his own importance I hope he doesnt become president again but if he does then thats on the Democrats and some of the liberal overreach we are seeing in the USA at the moment

I wanted to know what about the combat was boring? Was it too easy

I have just confirmed now and I have Bioshock 1&2 on Steam and they the remastered version so I think I will do exactly what you recommend and start on 1 this weekend

I am watching some excellent series at the moment, they include American Rust : Set in the Rust Belt in Pennsylvania where a chief of police, Jeff Daniels, takes on an investigation when the son of the woman he loves is accused of murder. Much deeper than that synopsis with all the interesting characters Blue Bloods: A realistic cop show on season 11 where the police are not all racist and make a difference in lives of NY citizens. It also incorporates the unfair generalizations and public sentiment that many police face in the US at the moment Time : A UK show about an alcoholic teacher who is involved in a DUI and kills an innocent person and is sent to a UK jail.So its an illuminating view of life in UK jails and a persons journey to find absolution and a semblance of forgiveness ....if possible SWAT : A good action cop show Dexter, New Blood: The new Dexter is excellent and I am enjoying it more than the previous series