BruceVC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22862210 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23603870 Wow, so Russia takes one step forward and 4 steps back in the battle towards equality for all I didn't even realize the Russian Duma has passed a law that anyone who provides "homosexual material " to people under 18 will be prosecuted. Homophobia is rife in Russia and I thinks its disgraceful. Do the Russian ministers that passed this law think that Homosexuality only starts when you turn 18? Seriously how uniformed can an intelligent nation be? I support Stephen Fry in his attempts to get Russia stripped of its right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, this kind of bigotry needs to be rejected and condemned by the world

Did that too. Then send friend invites to a few more people who looked familiar. Then decided that it was enough socializing for one day Hi Melkie Where have you been? I have missed you and your shrewd comments

That's a good point Volo, and intellectually that's probably the only contribution you can make towards this discussion. But well done for trying

Most people know I am pro-western and support almost all the military decisions that the West makes but I have to say the invasion of Iraq was a real disaster and completely unnecessary. And to be honest its Iraq that is suffering the most in there new political and uncertain future. I have been thinking hard about some sort of benefit around the Iraq war and its difficult but I will say this. The invasion of Iraq and the subsequent aftermath led to a new political reality in the USA. The Neo-cons ideology was swept away and a new era in American politics came to be, the era where a liberal, black man can be the leader of the most powerful country in the world. We have seen a real and positive paradigm shift in the way the American foreign policy operates, well its positive in most cases.( the lack of action is Syria is an example of the failure) I remember in 2005 watching a Neo-Con politician saying " the UN was dead and a redundant organisation". The arrogance of the likes of **** Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld use to astound me. There view was "its the American way or no way". The USA has learnt from this and has made several changes. They don't operate militarily in a unilateral fashion unless directly threatened and gone are the hyperbolic statements like " the axis of evil" that' use to incite many countries This is a good thing for all people who believe in Western culture and ideology as we need the USA to lead the way in global affairs in a way that is reasonable and consolatory. So I feel terrible for the state of Iraq but the changes in the American political machinery I believe benefit the world and its future stability and economic growth

I have to say when you watch that video you see the misrepresentation of facts in the game, no wonder the Ruskies were annoyed

You see, I think the two-state solution is the precise reason the talks are doomed to fail. Imagine South Africa in the mid-80s, except most of the black SA inhabitants don't live intermingled with the white ones. They live walled-up and are forbidden to build anything without a permit, which essentially means the SA army will come and bulldozer 90% of what they build down. They can in general not leave these ghettos, except if they emigrate to a "black" country. The SA government only allows the most basic of products through, so technology and medicine are mostly smuggled. Every now and then the walls close in on the black SA populace as more space is allocated to white settlements, who of course claim the country was granted them directly from God. Criticism is often deflected with "we're the only democracy in the region" - ignoring the black South Africans in the ghettos who only get to vote for their own police. Also, you get to hear a lot of "blacks have it better here than in the neighbouring countries" - referring to the few who live beside the white South Africans. In many ways, the scenario in Israel/Palestine is even more entangled than Apartheid SA. The difference between SA and Israel/Palestine is that SA resolved - in one of the most significant victories of democracy in the 20th century (if not ever) - to live side by side in a single democracy, with equal rights. Increasingly, I'm getting the feeling that this is what needs to happen in Israel/Palestine as well. The future lies with unity, not with division. I'm completely convinced that if the Israelis and Palestinians would completely put aside their differences and join in a single state (which seems lightyears away today, unfortunately) the economy and international prestige of their country would be shooting through the roof. So compare the two-state solution to if Bush would have tried to convince ANC and De Klerk to a peaceful solution by evacuating black South Africans to certain reservations, primarily characterized by being what land was left when the whites had settled where they wanted. (Or to be really clear to those of you who are not BruceVC or with some knowledge of SA history, this is what the two-state solution would have looked like in SA) Bantustans and two-state solutions is not the way forward for democracy. When I see Israel and Palestine, I see one nation with one future. You make some sobering and relevant points And your analogy to South Africa highlights just how unreasonable a 2 state appears. In almost other circumstances I would agree with you but as you mentioned the reality of Israel and Palestine is that the conflict is ultimately not around politics, race or even ideologies. Its about religion and that people feel they have a divine right to land that supersedes logic and compromise. This makes people even more intransigent. So unless you feel the Israeli's and the Palestinians will become less religious, which I doubt, we will never see the compromise we want that will enable them to all live side by side in harmony So even though its not what I would say is the best solution a 2 state initiative where both sides get access to parts of the holy land just seems the only solution that will allow a semblance of permanent peace? But I'm glad I don't have to be the interlocutor trying to resolve this mess

Icewind Dale isn't a story-driven RPG Bruce, there are maybe a handful of class specific dialogue options but those are just for flavour and don't really change anything. Any dialogue option that will lead to a different quest outcome like talking someone down will be available to everyone and will be few and far between. Icewind Dale focuses on the dungeon crawling aspect of D&D so think of it more as a tabletop game than pen & paper. Design a party that's going to be able to survive a variety of situations and forget about roleplaying or smooth talking NPCs. - You will need a thief who is as good at finding and disarming traps as possible, lock picking is also quite important. - I'd suggest maybe not rolling any elves, the first raise dead spell in the cleric's spellbook doesn't work on them and it will be more expensive raising them at the temple. - Turn dead is pretty useful in IWD. - Don't scrimp on potions and scrolls, buy lots of them and use them often. - Archery and ranged combat is pretty useful in IWD, especially combined with bottlenecks and spells like web. I'd suggest giving most if not all of the party some points with ranged weapons. - You'll be fighting hordes a lot. - You'll be fighting powerful individuals a lot. - The enemies are varied and there are lots of elements, spells and status effects to watch out for. - The dungeons can get really large and multi-levelled. edit: If you are playing IWD2 then ignore this post. Thanks Serrano This was exactly the feedback I was looking for. I am playing IWD 1 so your advice is relevant Oh thx Kaine as well for your post

Hi All Sorry to make a specific thread just for this but I want the broadest range of advice Anyway I am about to start playing IWD for the first time from GOG and I'm very excited I want advice on my party, I'm not the type of person who wants to play a game right to the end only to find I made some incorrect class choices and I am denied some important quest or option. Also do attributes make a difference like Charisa and Wisdom did in Planescape around dialogue choices? Please don't give away any spoilers just what is the best party for this game Anyway my conceptual party is 2 x Barbarians ( Tanks) 1 x Sorcerer\Wizard 1 x Cleric ( Healer) 1 x Thief ( for traps?) I x Druid ( Backup fighter and magic-user) Thanks

How is the situation dangerous as opposed to all other talks that have been attempted? Would you prefer the Obama administration did nothing?

Considering this is the first time in 3 years that the USA has got Israel and the Palestinians to sit face to face I'm cautiously optimistic. Also Kerry has instructed both parties to not speak to the press to ensure things don't get said out of line I watched interviews with representatives from both sides and as usual some concessions and compromises need to be made that will lay the foundation for a lasting peace. So the real question is " are both sides prepared to make certain sacrifices for peace" I firmly believe a 2 state solution is the only solution. Israel will have to give up land that some settlements are built on and give some parts of Jerusalem over to the Palestinians and the Palestinians need to accept that Israel has a right to exist and agree to abandon the armed conflict Lets see what happens, I come from a country that avoided a civil war due to political will. It can be done if people have the desire and are prepared to compromise

Okay, thanks for responding but my point was more towards other people. But to be honest when it comes to criticism of DA2 Varric very seldom comes up from people and the vitriol is normally directed at Isabella

I'm not nearly far enough in to reading through the book to make a final judgement, not to mention, that I need to actually play the game first. There really aren't "spells" per se, everything is technology, though some may refer to it as magic. The number of intristic powers (called esoteries) available to nanos is a lot more limited than the D&D spell repertoire, and they're a bit more broadly defined, though the amount of effects that can be accomplished with artifacts, cyphers, and oddities, is potentially limitless. Outside of being d20 based, the system shares practically nothing in common with D&D. There are 3 stat pools: might, speed, and intellect. As you use each of these you can can apply extra effort into actions, whatever they may be, to either increase your chance of success or increase the effects (more damage, etc), but this drains the appropriate stat pool by a certain amount and you don't immediately get those points back (until you rest or whatever) which limits your options down the line or makes you more susceptible to certain things. I need to read a lot more to truly get the grasp of it. I meant to say this before but you have a really good ability to describe things in a way that is interesting and easy to understand. Its the same when you discuss your adventures in games, its like a little story that's fun to follow . You should consider using this skill in some sort of more professional way. Like being a gaming journalist? I also think you are objective and that's what people look for with gaming reviews

Interesting but I have never heard a single complaint or issue in the various discussions on RPG and the armour or rather lack or armour when it comes to the various males characters and what they wear in a game? Why does this Isabella attire become such a big point of contention? How many people complained about what Conan wears for example? I think people feel threatened when a women is overtly sexual but are fine with a man doing it, it attacks there preconceived idea of the balance of sexual power and the role a women is suppose to have. I don't expect anyone to admit it but this is where some of the criticism around Isabella is coming from IMO. And this isn't necessarily directed at you Nonek but your post summarizes the general complaint from most

I'm not sure that's a good assumption to make about the gaming community... present company excluded, of course. I do like how everything is all about writing story and characters from the ground up and the gameplay elements will be fitted around that, not the other way around. It all sounds great, I hope they can deliver. /tries not to get hopes up too high //fails Edit: As an aside, I'm reading through the Numenera Core Book right now and it makes me think that this game will have to be turn-based (certainly not a bad thing in my opinion), or at least it would work a lot better with turn-based. Numenera's effort mechanic, which is very much at the core of the system, seems like it would be difficult to properly implement in real-time. I mean, I guess it's possible. How would you rate the ruleset compared to D&D? Also does the Core Book discuss magic, for example are there large numbers of spells and do they get progressively more powerful as they advance in levels like D&D

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/08/07/torment-devs-on-progress-death-putting-story-first/#more-163397 Guys a really interesting interview around the new Torment game

So? None of the characters are real, and if your suggestion is that we should cater MORE to the mostly men that will not pay attention to her backstory nor even finish the game.... "None of the characters are real" is exactly my point. It's why the "this exploitative character is ok because he/she WANTS TO BE EXPLOITED" defense makes no sense. My suggestion is that pandering is pandering, no matter how you rationalize it. Let me put this another way. In fiction, especially fantasy fiction, you can rationalize anything however you want. For example, here's a story: "Once upon a time I was weak BUT NOW I'M REALLY POWERFUL AND EVERYONE LOVES ME." This story sucks - it's just the most dumbed-down form of a power fantasy. But let's say I add some backstory to my character, make him (me) work a little bit to become Superman, and then throw in a compelling villain. Now I have a well-written, fleshed out, deep, dark, gritty power fantasy! By your reasoning, this story is now awesome. By my reasoning, this story still sucks, because, fundamentally, out of all the stories in the world I could have chosen to write, I still *chose* to write a power fantasy about myself. I am confused by your point so maybe you can explain it to? Can you answer the following who is Bioware pandering to? If as you say most people don't care then it can't be for most people as they wouldn't care about characters and there stories. But for me I did care about Isabela and her story and motives. So I'm glad Bioware included that. If Isabela looked like she did and had no background something would have been missing who exactly in DA are you claiming what's to be exploited? I don't get this I would appreciate an honest answer as I want to debate this with you

So? None of the characters are real, and if your suggestion is that we should cater MORE to the mostly men that will not pay attention to her backstory nor even finish the game.... You really seem to be giving this impression, however. I, as a gamer, disagree. At which point, who's responsibility is it for not looking deeper? If you want to go full on social justice warrior, how many people have judged us for our geeky hobbies without looking deeper. In high school I loved video games and basketball... I would suspect it's no surprise that the basketball player was the more visible character for my peers. Why is this different "because we're real people" and at what point is it a moment of self-reflection. Even if a character reads as "the one who likes sex," part of me just straight up reverts to: "So what?" As you find my defense "it's a part of her character" weak, I have to admit I find the "she isn't a real person" not particularly compelling either. What you have said to me is that "A woman that likes to, and wants to have sex, is still just the superficial character and accomplishes nothing. Since she's not a real person, " So, how does one add a character that likes to, and wants to have sex? I'm not even thinking for men or for women. Isabella didn't work for you, that's going to happen which . Should we not write her for the people that DO like her character, and did involve her backstory? Again, it comes back to: should we NOT add game content simply because some people may superficially gloss over it? If so, isn't that exactly why we hang out on Obsidian's message boards, because we want them to make games that are not glossed over and explore things that many people couldn't be arsed with? Well said Alan, I agree 100 % QFT !!!

I'll admit, Ryan Gosling is definitely sexy. Yes he is good looking and charismatic. Nothing wrong with being honest

Kaine I am going to vouch for this game, that should be enough for you to confirm the quality? No. Difficult crowd, okay I'll wait till I play the game before I give it a ringing endorsement

Kaine I am going to vouch for this game, that should be enough for you to confirm the quality?

You've raised a good point and worth discussing. Namibia and Botswana are in a different league to Zimbabwe. In fact they are examples of the future of Africa and how it can achieve its full potential both economically and socially. The points you mentioned are important from an African perspective as they encourage foreign investment and this is something that all countries in Africa need. Another main difference between those countries and Zim is that those countries governments haven't stayed in power by being anti-Western and anti-European. In fact they have generally made the right decisions for there countries not for political expediency but rather what would benefit them in the long term economically. In Africa certain social challengers are ubiquitous, like the redistribution of more land to black Africans. But how African governments handle these issues are very important to how the world perceives those governments. Namibia and Botswana haven't made local Europeans feel unwelcome and have consistently positioned there importance in rebuilding and improving there respective economies. So in summary both Namibia and Botswana are doing really well for themselves and in my opinion are exactly how certain other African countries should be governing themselves

I watched the video from TheBadComedian and although it's blatantly obvious he is indeed a very bad comedian, he has a lot of valid points. I haven't played it myself, but it seems CoH2 is roughly equal to a game about WW2 from a British perspective which only features planning an invasion of Narvik, bombing civilians in Germany to smithereens and sending underequipped colonial troops to their death. He showed some points of the game which were definitely ahistorical, and more which were decidedly mendacious. Especially the misplaced Vasilevsky quote made me cringe. One point he tried to make against the game which I don't agree on was the summary execution of Polish partisans with an implied conservative political allegiance. I am absolutely certain that the Soviet Union would do anything in their power to eliminate counter-revolutionary guerillas in own as well as occupied lands. Furthermore, Soviet penal battalions were probably very awful, unlike what he says in the video. I find due to your excellent understanding of history it is difficult to dispute what you say

Yeah he does have a certain look to him

Just remember, you lose a party member and they are gone forever. You will have to replace them with a NPC from the Adventurers Hall and they wont have banter/quests/personality. Holy Smoke Gfted1, you sure know how to make me worried. I could potentially lose someone I would be Romancing !!!! And that would be a crisis of monumental proportions And wouldn't that make the playthrough more memorable and powerful? Well it would make my choices and the combat more significant, so yes there is that advantage @ Others I'm old school, I prefer the thought of anyone I Romance to be alive. The thought of necrophilia would be boring....dead boring actually

Just remember, you lose a party member and they are gone forever. You will have to replace them with a NPC from the Adventurers Hall and they wont have banter/quests/personality. Holy Smoke Gfted1, you sure know how to make me worried. I could potentially lose someone I would be Romancing !!!! And that would be a crisis of monumental proportions