Agiel

In truth, I'm as skeptical as you are in spite of the project touching on a lot of things that strike my fancy. If a finished product were to come out of this, I would imagine it to be comparable in scope and production values as the X-COM remake, and even for that $500,000 seems to be an absurdly optimistic estimate (then again, correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Eternity sort of start with that estimate as the bare minimum to be made?)

Something cool that showed up on Kickstarter. Probably among the most ambitious projects I've seen yet: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1964463742/the-mandate Looks like the closest thing to a Rogue Trader game in 3D I've ever seen. Check it out.

Actually in ways unmanned aerial vehicles (should be noted that the Air Forces of the world bristle at the term "drones" which implies that UAVs are completely autonomous, which they largely are not) is probably better than the targeting pod mounted on an F/A-18 Superhornet in targeting specific groups and individuals. As a result of overlapping surveillance and integrated algorithms and networks built into the UAV's command centers it's extremely likely there is continuous footage of a specific individual for a 24 hours period even if he wasn't being actively monitored, and the system can even cross-reference that footage of that individual taken from separate crafts to assemble a complete picture of his or her movements over a long stretch of time, the people he or she has met, and the deliveries made to his house. In addition there is the need to collect signals intelligence, something in the realm of manned aircraft requires the services of separate craft such as the EA-18G Growler. And so, many UAVs combine a strike and intelligence gather capacity into one low-cost aircraft. But as always, the flaw in the system lies in the human factor. In spite of such unparalleled intelligence-gathering capabilities the realities of the situation on the ground conflict with the ideal situation built by planners. UAV pilots do their best to keep collateral to a minimum: They watch a guy and hope his daily walk takes him at least a couple dozen more yards away from the house. They opt for a 500 lb. bomb instead of a 1000 lb. But unfortunately many incidents are a result of "acceptable casualties," perhaps justified that if the strike wasn't carried out right then and the target would cause even greater grief later. That said, I've read of reports in Yemen in some villages where if someone is found to have connections to militants he is run out of town by the other villagers out of fear that if he stays the neighbouring houses will get caught up in the blaze when a piping hot Paveway drops down his pants.

Could be worse. This one time I forgot to turn on the RWR. I was ingressing at angels 15 until my Hog suddenly disappeared into a fireball without even giving me a chance to eject. I only determined that an SA-3 had nailed me in the AAR.

Are you so sure?

Said vehicle is known as the BMPT Also when the Russians lost T-72s and T-80s in droves in the First Chechen War. Turns out sending them into urban areas without infantry support was a real bad idea. Though eventually someone had a brainwave and figured out that in lieu of supporting infantry, the ZSU-23-4 SPAAG was quite effective at taking out AT infantry on the upper floors of buildings. This probably informed the decision to include twin-linked autocannons onto the BMPT's design.

The OH-58D Kiowa is the US Army's premiere manned scout helicopter which is based upon the ubiquitous Jetranger in civilian service. It has been modified to reduce its noise signature, a passive wire-strike protection system, and most prominently, a mast-mounted sight resembling a beach ball that sits atop the rotor that allows the Kiowa to observe the enemy while remaining hidden behind fixtures such as a tree-line, a berm, or even buildings. One night, a couple driving in Louisiana in their convertible decided to duck into a secluded parking area at night for a little "auto-erotica." Unfortunately for them, it just happened to be in the Fort Polk training area where OH-58 pilots were conducting night-time scouting maneuvers.

I loved "Blood Red Snow," which was about a machine-gunner who was one of the few to escape from Stalingrad and his time during the long retreat as well as his brief service on the Italian front (predictably, that experience was like a vacation as compared to the Ostfront).

Not sure how many of you would be willing to make the plunge into yet another MMO, but En Masse Entertainment will be holding a server test soon which among other things will allow players to immediately promote a new character of their choice to level 58 so they can dive right into the end-game content in short order. While it does suffer from the same MMO tropes in quest design, I find the combat involving enough for it to have been my MMO poison of choice for the past year (true, issues with matchmaking, class balance, and the gear treadmill certainly keeps the PvP from being all it can be). It's also quite easily the prettiest MMO I've ever played as well (you may see why in the following images ). Details of the event can be found here: http://tera-forums.enmasse.com/forums/general-discussion/topics/Level-Up-Test-Event-Limited-Chance-for-a-Free-Level-58-Character-94757 However, should you find yourself enticed by this prospect and plan on joining the primary PvP server, Mount Tyrannus, look me up as my level 60 Castanic Sorceress, Lamashtu: And my 50 Amani Berzerker, Lillitu:

I'm just curious. Who exactly do you think believes this? Russians fighting a war without artillery would be like the British fighting a war without losing for the first year. Soviets didn't call artillery "The God of War" for nuthin'

I think that's right. Standard field artillery is 105 mm or 155 mm , self-propelled artillery 155mm. The only larger caliber I know of are the 227mm MLRS. The United States as well as Soviet successor states have operated 203mm self-propelled howitzer pieces in the form of the M-110 and the 2S7 Pion respectively (the latter remains in active service). However the advent of smart munitions and advances in fire-control systems have indeed reduced the importance of caliber, explosive power, and sheer volume of fire in the effectiveness of artillery. I thought the 203mm M-110s had all been retired in the 1990s. Thanks for the correction. Well the US Army did retire them as you said. Just pointing out that they were a part of the US inventory in relatively recent history

I think that's right. Standard field artillery is 105 mm or 155 mm , self-propelled artillery 155mm. The only larger caliber I know of are the 227mm MLRS. The United States as well as Soviet successor states have operated 203mm self-propelled howitzer pieces in the form of the M-110 and the 2S7 Pion respectively (the latter remains in active service). However the advent of smart munitions and advances in fire-control systems have indeed reduced the importance of caliber, explosive power, and sheer volume of fire in the effectiveness of artillery.

**** bats. _I_ hunt mozzies. Could you do it as well as this man?

One of the major gripes of the P-51D Mustang and the soon to be released FW-190 D9 "Dora" modules for DCS is the lack of a plausible theater (they still use the Georgia map made by Eagle Dynamics) and period-appropriate threats (even against the "slow, lard-ass" A-10, which can be armed with 9-Mikes, it's a hilariously one-sided dogfight in favour of the Hawg). However, some of the people behind the famed Il-2 Sturmovik series have stepped up to the plate to fix those problems with a Normandy 1944 theater and a whole new roster of period appropriate aircraft, "targets (ground vehicles)" and then some. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/508681281/dcs-wwii-europe-1944/posts/597595 Despite a strong start and a goal that is projected to be reached quite easily, the prospects of it reaching its stretch goals look grim. Most notably the B-17 Flying Fortress complete with all the crew stations (pilots, bombardier, and anti-aircraft gunners) at $500,000 as well as the dreaded Me-262A (the world's first fighter jet) and the ultimate goal, German night fighters (complete with the Schräge Musik for shooting down those poor Wimpys and Lancasters) at $1,000,000. It's got 19 days to go, so every little bit helps from here until then.

Something odd I've noticed today when I came back home for a bit of vacation between my Summer and Fall quarters of school. The local El Pollo Loco at a strip mall was closed down to be replaced by a Starbucks. Thing was, there was already another Starbucks in the strip mall across the street, which was no more than a 2 minute walk away. And my town is a relatively podunk town to begin with. I've frequently used hyperbole to describe the ubiquity of the damned things, now life begins to imitate art. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENGUYeiGtNk

Really interesting adventure game from Ubisoft. A hyperlink story taking place during World War I/The Great War. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/09/10/impressions-valiant-hearts/ I nominally abhor point-and-click adventure games (the comically obtuse puzzles of The Longest Journey forever turned me off from the genre ever since), but this has seriously piqued my interest (though it helps from the preview that the goal of the designers is to make actual real-life "situations" to solve rather than improbably contrived adventure game puzzles). I watched the trailer, and I actually cried a tear from that.

Obsidian big-wig: "Hrmmm... 5 cents an hour it is, and not a penny more!"

November 1989, just outside of Frankfurt, Federal Republic of Germany. "Kampfpanzer! Zwei Uhr!" ("Tank! 2 o'clock!") "KE geladen!" ("Sabot up!") "Erkannt! Herr Kommandant!" ("Identified!") "Feuer frei! Danach Zielwechsel nach Links" ("Fire! Take the left one next!") "Verstanden! Ich schieße, Ach-tung!" ("Understood! Firing! Caution!) T-72B loses his head after taking a 120mm Tungsten DM-33 round from a Leopard 2A4. "Treffer! Panzer brent!" ("Target hit! Tank is burning.")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyUf7r_9yNs#t=0m52s I bet you after that the dude's nipples could scratch glass.

Meh, no crpg in sight. No tactical squad based combat game either for that matter. RTS and shooters seems to be all that runs out of the munitorum factories these days I'm waiting to see what DoW3 will look like, assuming it gets made. I'll probably be in the minority, but I hope it's more like DoW2 and less like DoW1. I can't handle traditional RTS with base building, resource management, and large armies, but squad-based RTS, I can definitely get down with that. Relic says that while they no longer work for a company that holds exclusive rights to make games using the 40K license, they still retain the rights to "Dawn of War." Given that Games Workshop has given permission to use the 40K license to a whole host of different companies that are totally unrelated since THQ folded which implies the license has gone "mercenar" as it were, they'd have to be stupid to not let Relic make a Dawn of War III. I do happen to like the happy medium between the micro-intensive battles of DoW II and the CnC-ish macro-game of DoW I Relic found with Company of Heroes, so that's my hope for Dawn of War III (well, that and that they include Harlequins for the Eldar and Catachans for the Imperial Guard).

While things are looking pretty rosy so far, any word on mod tools? Even if it leads to the inevitable "Animated Prostitution" mods, the fact that they were taken away in Dragon Age II (as was the overhead camera, which thankfully has been restored in Inquisition) when they were available for Dragon Age: Origins did feel like another slap in the face to PC gamers. Of course given the state of Battlefield 3, I'm not holding my breath.

Clue me in where you found that. Haven't gotten balls-deep into ArmA II since I've been toying around with the newfangled ArmA III beta. Also this during a single-player mission. My wingman got a little too close to some Red SHORAD and took 3 SA-9 hits for his trouble. Eventually the craft gave out within sight of the airstrip, but it was close enough that he could swim to shore and hoof it back to base

Do the Qunari not cut out the tongues of mages? Would make for a very interesting role-playing opportunity playing as a mute Inquisitor, kind of like playing a low-intelligence PC in Fallout 1 and 2

"Insanity... is... doing the exact... same f***ing thing... over and over and over again... expecting... s*** to change. That... is... crazy." http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/30/dunkin-donuts-racist-thai-advert-blackface I myself don't find them that offensive, but It's like the ad agencies who keep coming up with these blackface ads think people will stop complaining about them and laugh if they keep at them.

I can't help but wonder if eventually that game will progress to the point that Leopard 2A6s and AMX-56 Leclercs are rolling around with T-34s and Shermans. They're getting pretty deep into the Cold War with M-60s an T-62s already.