BruceVC

I completed EOB3 after about 30 hours I enjoyed it more than EOB2, the game started off terrible but it gets better as you progress. In the beginning you start off hacking trees in the forest and I thought " this is not fun" but once you get to the main dungeons it really improves. And there was a real problem with my sound on an early dungeon level. The background noise was this constant ringing but that seemed to go away once I left the level but it was so annoying I nearly stopped playing and disabling the sound ruins immersion But what I appreciated is there were tips to puzzles and you could basically find everything you needed on the same level, you just needed to explore which is fine. The combat felt unbalanced at times, most enemies you could defeat easily except for earth elementals and these iron scorpions called Scaladars. The game has some improved features that help in combat where you can configure your whole party to attack at once and if you using long weapons like a Pole Arm then you party in the second row can attack without missile weapons. And this makes a noticeable difference The game design did a job of providing you with several "healing oasis " if you dont have a healer and it also allowed some strategic NPC to join your party which made a difference to my overall combat effectiveness The final battle with the Dark God was incredibly easy, I defeated him the first time with no save scumming and I was expecting another EOB2 Dran battle but it wasnt like that. I just moved away from him when he cast spells and I killed him after about 4-5 rounds EOB3 gets a well deserved 62/100 on the globally respected " BruceVC game rating system" and its worth playing I have now played the whole EOB series and EOB1 was my preferred game because it captures the overall classic dungeon explorer experience in the best way I am going to have my normal genre break from these classic SSI games but the games I will play next from a Gold Box perspective is going to be Forgotten Realms Collection 2 which includes the Pools of Radiance and other similar games

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hamas-denounces-icc-prosecutor-accusing-equate-victim-executioner-110397990#:~:text=Interest Successfully Added-,Hamas denounces ICC prosecutor%2C accusing him of trying to 'equate,the victim with the executioner'&text=Catch up on the developing,the victim with the executioner.' Talking about US and Israeli outrage about the ICC warrants, Hamas is outraged because " Hamas denounces ICC prosecutor, accusing him of trying to 'equate the victim with the executioner." Can you imagine making a serious argument where a terrorist organisation goes on a mass killing spree and " they the victims " in respects to the ICC applying for a warrant Only in the modern world we live in which is ubiquitous with selective and inconsistent outrage

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/hamas-denounces-icc-prosecutor-accusing-equate-victim-executioner-110397990#:~:text=Interest Successfully Added-,Hamas denounces ICC prosecutor%2C accusing him of trying to 'equate,the victim with the executioner'&text=Catch up on the developing,the victim with the executioner.' Talking about US and Israeli outrage about the ICC warrants, Hamas is outraged because " Hamas denounces ICC prosecutor, accusing him of trying to 'equate the victim with the executioner." Can you imagine making a serious argument where a terrorist organisation goes on a mass killing spree and " they the victims " in respects to the ICC applying for a warrant Only in the modern world we live in which is ubiquitous with selective and inconsistent outrage

Great news, nice for Poland and good news about Larians financial status and future growth

Thats really interesting, this is the type of scientific research that feeds the inane and selective conspiracy theories about " the US can control the weather " and if its not the US then its the deep state\Jews\CIA it just depends on a persons bias or the type of conspiracy theory And Im not joking about this, I have heard in South Africa that view and you would assume people would ask " why doesn't the US just use this machine to ensure it doesn't have extreme weather "

Im also surprised they took so long to issue\apply for warrants for Hamas leadership, you would have assumed they would have applied for the warrants much quicker considering the immediate crimes that were committed on 7 October that are indisputable apart from the deliberate mass murder of Israeli citizens. The taking of hostages is a war crime so why the delay from the ICC? Anyway better late than never, I wonder if Hamas or the Palestinians are going to enforce the warrant on the 3 x Hamas leaders because Gaza falls under ICC jurisdiction?

You dont think the US lent the weather control machine to Israel and then Israel used it to target the Iranian flight? You JUST never know

Malc you know what this means? Canada is a signatory to the Rome Statute which means if you see the 3 x Hamas leaders walking down a street then you can make a citizens arrest ...you would be famous The reality is these warrants will be the same as the Putin warrant, the 5 people will just avoid going to any country that is part of the ICC Its a significant ICC decision but I cant see anyone being arrested and ending up at The Hague

ICC is going to be applying for warrants for the top 3 Hamas leaders and Netanyahu and the Israeli defence minister Interesting developments

I completed EOB2 after about 35 hours I didnt think it was as good as EOB1 for 2 main reasons and these are also my main criticisms First and main issue is you have an incredibly bad design where you cant complete the game if you dont find a specific item and you not able to go back to find the item because a particular door is closed. For example on Silver Tower level 3 you need to find the Crystal Hammer for access to the Azure Tower level but I didnt even know I had to find the Crystal Hammer and I got to the end of the Silver Tower, defeated the beholders and then got teleported back to Temple but I couldn't go back to Silver Tower L3 because the door on L2 is now closed. I then had to use ASE ( built-in automap) teleport function to get through the Crystal Door but the Steam version of ASE doesn't include ASE teleport so I had to download and configure the normal ASE But you shouldnt have to use a " cheat " just because you missed out on 1 item, any game should allow you to go back and find that item at the very least EOB1 wasnt like that, it allowed to you travel back and retrace your steps and I didnt have to " cheat" once to complete the game But I did enjoy EOB2, I liked several of the dungeon designs and puzzles like the Medusa Maze and the final battle with Dran was fun....I literally used save scumming and spent the entire battle moving from square to square to avoid his spells and then his dragon form fire breath. It was hard but he died at the end EOB2 gets a 58/100 on the globally followed " BruceVC game rate system " Its a fun game but very difficult and sometimes unfairly difficult. I cant imagine anyone completing this game without consulting game guides and getting tips but I suppose its possible I am now playing EOB3, I might as well complete the series. Its okay so far, nothing to write home about

This is really what my point is, the US needs to continue to provide aid to Ukraine if its going to "out last " Russia The EU provides aid but its not enough. The US can afford the aid but thats not the issue, its the requirement that aid packages must be approved in both the House and Senate and thats where the potential problem comes with approval You can see from the last aid packages and how representatives from both parties voted The House : 311 votes to 112 for the aid (While all 210 Democrats voted in favour, more Republicans were against the legislation than in favour of it, 112 to 101) The Senate : The package, which passed on a 79-18 bipartisan vote (The funding passed with the support of 46 Democrats, 31 Republicans and 2 independents, following hours of speeches by senators. Two Democrats, 15 Republicans and one independent opposed it. Three GOP senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky, Tim Scott of South Carolina and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama — didn’t vote) https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/23/politics/senate-vote-israel-ukraine-aid-dg/index.html#:~:text=The funding passed with the,Alabama — didn't vote. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68848277 So you right thats its a group of GOP members in the House that are basically opposed to Ukraine aid but its 55% of them and then the GOP in the Senate support aid so thats not an issue But going forward we dont know how this is going to change and we dont know what Trump is going to do if he wins the election. He has influence on the GOP and there votes could change based on what he tells them to do This is the greatest risk to Ukraine defending against the Russian invasion and " out lasting " Russia , its not that many people in Congress dont support Ukraine or that the US doesnt have the resources . They do but we dont know how future votes are going to go because it depends on the individual representatives in Congress and these votes get influenced by other things like the border crisis or aid to Israel

Do we know the reason for the assassination? Is the shooter a nutjob or it political and if its political what is the political reason because it could be lots of things Keep us updated

I read that article and I found it interesting. The frustrating reality is we just know what really motivates Russia or Putin around these decisions. There is lots of informed and accurate guesses but nothing that is ever really confirmed But if this is true its about economic attrition around production and not a decisive Russian military victory. And its not a bad strategy and it means the West will have to continue to support Ukraine with aid which really matters and is not necessarily guaranteed if you think about the delayed US aid So the US would be critical in " out lasting " Russia in this proposed economic attrition

Whats with all these recent arrests in Russia, I heard its something to do with corruption within the Russian arms industry and the state being overcharged and the economic impact on the fiscus? Shoigu's replacement is an economist?

Another hilarious Babylon Bee take

I have never of him but I dont follow up of Putins inner circle or prominent Russian politicians I had heard of Shoigu but only when the war started

Malc you being cynical again, remember you said you werent going to be as cynical

Yes it is lots of unnecessary drama and outrage and Biden is right The US cant provide the same support to Israel for the Rafah military campaign without a proper humanitarian plan for the Palestinian civilians And despite discussion around this Israel has not provided a satisfactory plan for this so the US must do something like suspending this type of military aid, I dont know how much of difference it will make but its symbolically important

Yes thats all true It doesnt explain much but its not suppose to because they only had 30 seconds. Its not about the policies of the DA Its just another example of a sensationalized political advert but the point is really the overreaction to this advert from ANC which is also a political response Its been in the news the last 2-3 days and some people are literally " outraged " because they think its treasonous and racist Like I mentioned with the ANC grandstanding about taking legal steps because of the flag burning But a flag wasnt burned. Its just a political advert

Did they ever stop?

South Africa is having its national election on 29 May and we in full season of populist and utterly unrealistic campaign promises from numerous political parties that are ubiquitous with the " silly season " reality in any Democracy with different political parties The party I vote for, the DA, released this campaign video of the " South African flag burning " and it received the expected immediate criticism around "racism, treason " and " abhorrent and unpatriotic " comments from the ANC and other political parties The ANC even going as far to say " Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Zizi Kodwa, is considering taking further steps against the Democratic Alliance over the party's ad depicting the South African flag burning" https://www.enca.com/top-stories/mi...action-against-da-after-flag-burning-campaign Here is the actual advert and its clear most people who are " outraged " haven't watched it or havent bothered to understand its political message In summary the advert doesnt show an actual physical flag being burnt, its a digital AI piece of paper and the " flag" gets restored its a political metaphor about the state of the country under a coalition of the ANC and other parties like the EFF But watch this video and tell me if you think its "treasonous " and legal action needs to be taken against the DA

I am going to do it, I havent forgotten

All business units and companies owned by Microsoft would have an individual yearly target within Microsoft's main financial target they announce at the beginning of the financial year Thats what all listed companies do and that is what is expected they must achieve for investors and shareholders So Bethesda and Obsidian would have a revenue goal they have to achieve and in gaming that would align with revenue sales once a new game is released I cant imagine it would work any other way? So its not really " Microsoft standards " but an expected agreement how all listed companies function and how smaller companies within the group need to deliver on

Fantastic news about your health GD, excellent to hear What a great retirement decision, you always spoke about travelling around the US and seeing the national parks. Now you get to do it in good company with Gwen You should create a blog with a one page story about each park, call it something like " A dogs journey around the gardens of the USA " Those types of tourist and interesting stories are always appreciated

Great read about Gorths gaming journey and its a good initiative to see other peoples stories and experiences