BruceVC

We have dinner planned tonight at a really cool restaurant and funky bar called " The Kitchen Bar" They do exotic ****tails and the food is excellent. There are 16 of us going so it should be loads of fun

Walsie is correct Drowsy, its for the best that you accept this. You'll be a much less angry person when you realize that these "damn movements for equality" are not only the right thing to do but are also inexorable

Also some of the majority support these measures, you've basically said it yourself. Your circle of friends don't care about security so rather leave it to people more qualified to make the right decisions for you I totally reject the idea that these people are more qualified. They (the Obama administration & the NSA) do not give a damn about my security, safety, life, or health. The only thing they want is perpetual power and those are the means to get it. But GD what about the fact the NSA has helped prevent terrorist attacks? The measures they implement, like Prism, are for your own good. The Federal Government is your friend, the Federal Government is your friend

Also some of the majority support these measures, you've basically said it yourself. Your circle of friends don't care about security so rather leave it to people more qualified to make the right decisions for you

100 %, I completely agree.

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-08-16/saudi-arabia-stands-with-egypt-against-terrorism/ I see that Saudi Arabia supports the actions of the Egyptian military. They said "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its people and government stood and stands by today with its brothers in Egypt against terrorism" An interesting decision and it probably means that the other Sunni dominated countries will follow suite. I am reserving my opinion on this as I recognize the importance that Saudi Arabia plays and this situation is complicated

Yeah that's also how I see games like GTA and Saints Row. And I also agree about the appeal of playing single-player games, they are single-player !!! But I'll try this GTA online, just so I can confirm if I like it or not

What she said was: when in rome do as romans do. 95% of Russian support what she said because they share the same opinion. She knows this, which is why she was comfortable saying it. They don't want rainbow flags, parading of various sexual fetishes etc. If engaging in positive propaganda for homosexuality (the sort that equates it with heterosexuality) is forbidden in Russia the shut the **** up and get on with the program. The athletes are there to engage in sports and win medals not to draw attention to their sexual preferences or political leanings. Or is this the first gay olympics? Seriously people, you need to get a grip on the concept that other countries with democratically chosen leaders can make up their own rules on what's okay, and what isn't okay. Nah I reject what you are saying. So you are fine with a Democratically elected government that would implement a system like Apartheid where the colour of your skin would determine your status or how about a government that decides to perpetuate genocide against a minority group? We live in a global world and you clearly don't understand how political decisions and consequences work if you think "just because a government is elected they can do what they want" Sorry Drowsy but I have to be harsh to get you to understand how wrong you are.

What game are you going to play first?

Can't wait for this, thanks for the heads up. Weird but I find myself actually agreeing with you on this topic I loved the first Amnesia games, they were indubitably the scariest games I have ever played. I am going to smoke some weed, turn the lights off and use my headphones to play this one. Its doesn't get more atmospheric than that

There are certainly cases as you describe. I've seen them on Kickstarter and in other places. What I try to be sensible about is the dogpiling in the first place. If someone, like Hepler, has made something you don't like, it's enough to tell them so, then the criticism can be devoid of bullying and threats and all that. Just tell the person that it sucks and why, and leave it at that. P.S. I hate DA2 and ME3, just to get that out of the way. Indira !!! I'm shocked, I can't believe you used the hate word. I didn't think you even knew that word. This doesn't sound you You are always so polite, informative and friendly. Don't become jaded. I like your normal posting style Also I reject this view that because its the Internet we can't do anything about rude or bigoted comments. That's just an excuse for people to do nothing as sometimes its easier to be non-confrontational. It starts with you as a person and we need to make a conscious decision to challenge any comments that are offensive. So if someone says something that is unacceptable, you need to say something. Be polite, there is no need to degrade yourself to there level but be firm and make it obvious you don't like it or find it funny

I also thought they looked much older than 17/18 year olds who had just finished school?

http://www.gamespot.com/features/why-grand-theft-auto-online-is-crazy-enough-to-work-6412714/ Guys I posted this on Random Video Game News and the response was a big fat "meh" This is really exciting and has huge potential Come on, say something !!!

Well it's not like Witcher DLCs are the same scale. The new missions were much shorter than Legacy or Mark of the Assassin in DA2. But Bioware/EA DLC have ridiculous prices. I can't even recall how much I spent on DLC for DA2, ME2, and ME3. I'm sorry to say this Rhamnetin but I have decided to forbid you from playing the Witcher 3 when it is released. You have been far too negative about the genre and I feel I need to make an example. I know this may sound harsh but if I see a concerted effort from you to be more positive about the game I quite possibly may change my mind. But until then no Witcher 3 for you !!!!

Interesting, as I don't think I'm trying to troll. You mentioned these anti-Bioware people here being a nuisance of sorts, so you're not ignoring them. Getting a rise does not mean that you post some long diatribe against them in a thread, after all. And Bruce, there is no meaningful debate here. Malc that's the thing, there are many debates that are stimulating on these forums

I don't think you've seen too many rises out of me over the years (a few, I admit) so you're not as successful at trollin as you think you are To be honest I don't understand how you guys know someone is trolling? If someone says something unless it is really silly I have to assume they want to engage in meaningful debate

Your point makes no sense. And yes I have several gay friends, some of them are conservative around there sexual orientation and some of them are flamboyant. I have no issue with either mannerism as I believe people should be who they are. Its the same when I go out with my gay friends that I don't pretend to be gay. Why should a gay person not be who he is? But once again I am confused by what you are saying. Do you really think that optional gay Romance in Bioware games is "stuffing it down your throat" or "drowning me in there way of life". I assume you have played Bioware games so you know that any Romance is not mandatory. You must know this yet you still feel they are somehow forcing you to be part of something that you don't have to be part of. And you have an issue with it just because Bioware is choosing to be inclusive of there fan base And you still say " you have no issue with gay people". Really, because from where I'm sitting that's not what it looks like? Yeah, you do have a point, can't deny that. Let's just say I have experience with a person, who pretty much is to gay culture what a suicide bomber is to islam. I'll try to keep the less than pleasant feelings just a thought of that guy conjures up in me out from these forums for now on. Okay well I appreciate your honesty and I agree lets not derail this discussion with something we can discuss another time

Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where we didn't notice that development companies offered options for straight and gay players? It would just be as normal as choosing to play male or female. That's the level of progression I want all companies and people to get to, a level where we don't comment at all about this topic as its so common. That sounds nice amd all, but demonizing people who don't like a character as homophobes is in bad taste. Especially a character widely considered to be a whiny idiot. It wasn't meant to sound nice, it is reality I like would like to live in when your sexual orientation doesn't make a difference for the optional character relationships offered to you in a game. I also never mentioned I have any problem with someone disliking any character, I have an issue with someone disliking a character just because they are gay. Its not hard to understand? You missed the point. There isn't a problem with having gay PCs. There is a problem when you start blaming criticism on homophobia, as the (fake) Gaider post did. There wasn't any reason to bring up that "a small minority hated bisexual Anders" in that post. Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where we didn't notice that development companies offered options for straight and gay players? It would just be as normal as choosing to play male or female. That's the level of progression I want all companies and people to get to, a level where we don't comment at all about this topic as its so common. That sounds nice amd all, but demonizing people who don't like a character as homophobes is in bad taste. Especially a character widely considered to be a whiny idiot. It wasn't meant to sound nice, it is reality I like would like to live in when your sexual orientation doesn't make a difference for the optional character relationships offered to you in a game. I also never mentioned I have any problem with someone disliking any character, I have an issue with someone disliking a character just because they are gay. Its not hard to understand? You missed the point. There isn't a problem with having gay PCs. There is a problem when you start blaming criticism on homophobia, as the (fake) Gaider post did. There wasn't any reason to bring up that "a small minority hated bisexual Anders" in that post. Okay, I did misunderstand

Your point makes no sense. And yes I have several gay friends, some of them are conservative around there sexual orientation and some of them are flamboyant. I have no issue with either mannerism as I believe people should be who they are. Its the same when I go out with my gay friends that I don't pretend to be gay. Why should a gay person not be who he is? But once again I am confused by what you are saying. Do you really think that optional gay Romance in Bioware games is "stuffing it down your throat" or "drowning me in there way of life". I assume you have played Bioware games so you know that any Romance is not mandatory. You must know this yet you still feel they are somehow forcing you to be part of something that you don't have to be part of. And you have an issue with it just because Bioware is choosing to be inclusive of there fan base And you still say " you have no issue with gay people". Really, because from where I'm sitting that's not what it looks like?

This, however, seems much more like Poe's Law! Poe's law? I don't think it's that hard to believe someone gay, and it REALLY would explain a lot of things. I'm interested in what you think it would explain. You can't be suggesting that due to the fact Gaider is gay Bioware games have optional gay relationships? So I'm missing the connection with him being gay and what it explains?

Really? That would be sad, the assumption around this would mean a gay writer can't be objective and offer a balanced view of basic human emotional interaction Is this an official policy caused by negative feedback from past experiences or just something you suspect? The point sailed well over your head Padawan. It was a parody of the notion that a gay writer writing gay characters is reflective of it being some sort of agenda, and that there'd be more credibility if it was a heterosexual writer writing the gay characters. Y'know... Drowsy's post. I did miss that one

Really? That would be sad, the assumption around this would mean a gay writer can't be objective and offer a balanced view of basic human emotional interaction Is this an official policy caused by negative feedback from past experiences or just something you suspect?

Sure, just very little compared to many other RPGs. Although like I said, the result of most choices is immediate and doesn't affect anything later in the game. It's just disgusting to see people praise The Witcher games as some of the best RPGs ever made, especially on Obsidian forums lol. But thankfully it's more rare here. No need to feel disgusted, this is our opinion that millions of fans of the series share. This is merely a difference of view

Your point is silly and doesn't make sense. How is Bioware being dishonest? Should a gay person complain about the fact the straight writer of an RPG only includes heterosexual relationships in games and then claim they are doing this only because they are straight and are catering for a certain segment of the fan base. The types of relationships in games are the decision of the development company and the decision for Bioware was to be inclusive. This has nothing to do with the fact that Gaider is gay