Agiel

The liquidation of the original Polish Communist party by Comintern prior to the war for harbouring Trotsky-Zinoviev leanings? The Katyn massacre? Or what about the persecution of loyalist Home Army veterans after the war? What about the unstoppable Red Army conveniently halting right at the Vistula just as the last throes of the Polish resistance in Warsaw were being crushed by the SS Dirlewanger Brigade?

...or get me one of these set-ups for Falcon 4.0. http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2919477/Re_Please_show_off_your_pit#Post2919477

Was Jacque Chirac not referred to as <<Trois minutes-douche comprise>> ("Three minutes, shower included") by the French press?

I like to think the overwhelming majority of people eventually outgrow that phase and become very well-adjusted people. Some people I talk to say those kinds of people are lost causes but I always say that as long as I plant a seed of empathy and inclusivity in them, I will have made a difference that will pan out somewhere down the line. For instance, in high school a new student from Kansas had come into my class (I live in a very liberal part of Southern California) who had admitted to have been raised to be racist, which manifested itself in some casually racist jokes he told; by the time we graduated he grew out of it and his best friends were a black guy, a Jewish guy, and an Asian guy (me). And now I await someone who will tell me: "Silly rabbit, idealism is for kids!"

It's with trepidation that I wonder how much Bethesda will take from New Vegas into Fallout 4. I dearly hope that Damage Threshold will supplant Damage Resistance for future Fallouts, and to me it would reek of extreme arrogance on Bethesda's part if they don't include things like skill-checks in dialogue and a Hardcore Survival mode in the box.

A friend of mine introduced me to his new roommate today, an exchange student from Germany. We decided to go out to eat and asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted to go and he said to us: "There was a place called 'Chi-po-tel' I ate at when I was in New York, do you have that in California?" Puzzled, I asked: "A place called what?" "You know, 'Chi-po-tel." We asked him: "What the hell is a 'Chi-po-tel?'" "Chi-po-tel! Chi-po-tel! You know, they make a burrito right in front of you!" "Ohhhhh... you mean 'Chi-pot-LAY.'" We spent the next minute or so trying to get the right pronunciation into his head. Needless to say, he's an awesome dude to hang around with.

I think there is definite cause to be concerned (and I say this independent of Obsidian's track record). The Double Fine Kickstarter was among the most successful in money raised, even if it was blown out of the water by P:E and T: ToN. As someone not enormously fond of point-and-click adventure games (quite the opposite, so I'm biased), that form of games don't strike me as being even nearly as difficult to develop as a sprawling cRPG as Obsidian and inXile are making. Engine development wasn't really a factor with Double Fine, and compared to many AAA games asset creation isn't nearly as time and resource intensive, and trigger and scripting issues aren't terribly difficult to resolve as point-and-click adventure games to my untrained eye are relatively binary in that respect. Playtesting isn't that high of a priority (if it was, then I'd like to know what the QA team for Funcom was smoking when they were making the Longest Journey). Yet Schafer has disclosed that despite the Kickstarter blowing his expectations out of the water. , Double Fine was only able to make 25% of the game they wanted to make, which in my mind puts its prospects of having the rest of the development being funded by post-release sales seriously into doubt. That said, there have certainly been quite a few very professional products released via Kickstarter funding, and Obsidian's transperency and willingness to share its progress to all and not just to "hardcore backers" is definite heartening. I guess what I'm saying is that constructive criticism to Obsidian on their design process can only help them, even if they have so far demonstrated a great deal of professionalism. Though someone may remind me that Obsidian has given my admittedly poor memory, but I dearly hope that they budgeted all the stretch goals before they had that Kickstarter up (which given how the DA Kickstarter took everyone by surprise makes Schafer's situation a *little* more excusable).

Some relevant articles with sort of contrasting opinions. While it may seem a bit callus of me, I put more stock in the latter one. http://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2013/07/04/hazem-kandil/the-end-of-islamism/ http://www.madamasr.com/content/sheep-and-infidels

Favourite was thet pilot saying "thanks" to the ground crew.

I didn't much care for Myst either, or for point and click adventure games with moon-logic puzzles, which hopefully this game doesn't have, for that matter (the nightmarish experience in which my little brother had to read the GameFAQ on his computer opposite of mine to walk me through the Longest Journey, which I received as a birthday present, forever put me off from the genre). The main attraction for me is that it's a quirky Eastern European thing, of which many scratch a lot of itches I have and despite their shall we say wildly variable states of stability and general playability, playing them give you the sense the developers made it out of the love of making games, or plain making something creative at all. In addition to the usual suspects of STALKER, Metro, and the Witcher series, I highly recommend games like Cryostasis and the Ice Pick Lodge catalogue (The Void, Pathologic, Cargo). Also, titanium nipples, natch.

This game has had a depressing dearth of progress updates from the developer, but this latest trailer has re-ignited my interest into a bonfire. Really astounding animation work, and that would be praise I would give even if this was from a AAA studio, which says something about these developers. For those of you who don't remember, this is made by a Ukrainian company called "Flying Cafe for Semi-Animals," composed of some ex-STALKER developers, and the attention to atmosphere shows, even if it isn't necessarily as melancholy. That and the vibes of Ice-Pick Lodge I get from this game makes me a true believer.

There is the concern that this might (no offense, Obsidian) go the way of the recent Double Fine Kickstarter and that Obsidian might find that despite the impressive Kickstarter numbers it won't cover the costs. Of course this is no massive budget game in which a team of animators might spend months on a single (albeit quite impressive) scripted scene a la Call of Duty; graphical fidelity isn't necessarily a priority for this form of game so the costs of asset development theoretically shouldn't be that high, but on the other hand, we might have thought the same way about a point-and-click adventure game (an astounding figure I saw said that with all the money raised through Kickstarter Double Fine was only able to make 25% of the game they wanted to make, which seriously puts the prospect of raising enough money through post-release sales in doubt).

Bit of a long shot, but here goes: As of right now that the Lever Action Shotgun in New Vegas has a sawn-off stock is really starting to bug the hell out of me. I have very little knowledge of 3D modeling, but I don't suppose anyone can do a quick edit of the model so that has a proper rifle stock? Yup. In the stock game I'd rather take my chances with a pride/school/herd of Deathclaws than a Cazador. But with the AMR with explosive rounds what you have is an 8,8 Flugabwehrkanone 41 and you suddenly feel a lot safer confronting them.

"Believe it or not, Agiel isn't at home Please leave a messaaage at the beep I must be out, or I'd pick up the phone Where could I beeee? Believe it not, I'm not hooome." Alternatively: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsSROvcZWhY I think I do a stellar job with phone interviews because I do insist on calling everyone; in fact, I'm a bit annoyed whenever someone resorts to texting rather than calling on me at a time he or she ought to know I'm free at.

I see what you mean. That the devs are chaps with families. I'd really like to know what 'our' devs think about this. On some level it makes sense. (in the way that ideas look good on paper) I think we need, and can expect, to see more of this. The average age of gamers is supposedly somewhere around 30. This puts them at late teens/early twenties to play Baldur's Gate II, the game that really kicked off RPG romance. But also at the right age to play games like Lunar and Final Fantasy VIIat the peak. And now they're the same people raising children. I expect in about another decade we're going to see the mid-life crisis as a topic in videogames. I'm sure there are. I'm not trying to paint the now as if it's a revolution. But I suspect there's a bigger audience for it than ever before. We saw shades of middle-age being a factor in a character like Sam Fisher in Chaos Theory (The much younger techies in Third Echelon kept joking around with him because of his age, and his boss had started looking for his eventual replacement), though Sam Fisher did have a daughter which became a motivation in the following two games. Sadly, this aspect of his character seems to have been forgotten in the latest Splinter Cell.

Another relevant article from the late Christopher Hitchens: http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/07/osama-bin-laden-201107 If you needed any proof that Pakistan wasn't at all serious about fighting Al Qaeda or the Taliban, it's that their troops are stationed at the wrong border. I myself am surprised by the possibility of Iranian assistance being that Al Qaeda is a Sunni outfit (one whose membership largely hates Iran, since a large part of its roster were Saudis), and also given that Iran despite its bluster and its stance on its nuclear program at least sees some benefit in normalisation of relationships with the US.

Cont. The Red Tide crests. True to our intel from our forward observers, Soviet T-80Us have arrived to assist the beleaguered Motor-Rifle regiment. The T-80U is the best tank the Reds can muster, and in certain respects as much a match for the M1A1 Abrams. However, Team Charlie of the 11th ACR "Black Horses" still have a job to do. We're in hull down position, the turret barely cresting the hill, when the first tanks roll down the road. We wait until they close to less than 2000m. "Gunner, sabot, tank!" "Identify!" "Fire!" "On the way!" The round hits home and the turret of the lead T-80 flies in the air. The T-80U uses an autoloader as opposed to a human loader most other tanks have. It reduces the crew size, and thus the size of the tank, thereby presenting a smaller target to anti-tank gunners. However, this arrangement has come with a host of disadvantages: Ammunition is not stowed as safely in the T-80 as other tanks. As a result it is remarkably susceptible to the ammunition being ignited in the event of a penetrating hit. Our tanks are playin "shoot 'n' scoot" with the superior numbers of the Red armoured unit. An Abrams pops up over the hill, barely exposing the turret, to fire off a round, then ducks back into cover again as the loader loads another round. All the while our mortars at least keep them disoriented and scattered. As the slaughter continues, me still scanning for targets out of the commander's hatch, the unmistakable sound of a tank round whizzing past my tank catches my attention. "Jesus!" I button the hatch. "Where did that come from?!" At this point, in the chaos of battle and the kill zone covered in burning vehicles it was getting increasingly difficult to track threats. *ker-THUNK!* The tank violently shakes. Our Abrams just took a hit. However, a quick check with the crew confirms that it was a non-penetrating hit. "This is Two-Bravo, I see the little bastard!" one of the Bradleys says over the radio. "F***er is using his burning buddies for cover!" (A real-life tactic modeled in Steel Beasts: Hide amongst the burning corpses of your fellow tanks; you're harder to see with thermal imaging sights) Two-Bravo angles for a shot against the weaker side armour of the offending tank with his TOW launcher. As the gunner depresses the launch trigger, the missile spins for a moment, then leaves the tube, a long wire uncoiling as it does. The gunner follows the target, optically-guiding the missile to the unlucky tank. "Target! Cease fire!" the Bradley commander cries. The tank's turret flies off in a brilliant explosion.

There's a lull between salvos from our mortars, as they must quickly reposition in case the Reds attempt counter-battery fire to silence them. burning BMP-2s litter the side of the road. But from the look of things, Smash Troop has been getting it the hardest. a barrage lands directly on top of them. No injuries reported, but one tank reports its gun and stabilisation is out, another has been de-tracked. Most certainly not damaged enough to make them a write-off, but for this battle they're a combat loss. Recovery vehicles are on their way to get the de-tracked tank off the line in the meantime, the crew has bailed out and retreated to the rear. Better you lose the tank than lose both the tank AND an experienced crew. Heavy troop is ready to take its place as the remainder of Smash Troop retreats behind the hill and conducts a reload drill so the loaders of a full stowage cell to work with.

The loader loads the breech of the M256. "Gunner ready. Sabot loaded." We wait for some minutes, I scan the horizon with my binoculars out of the TC's hatch until I spot movement in the distance. "Contact! PC (Personnel Carrier)! 1 o'clock!" The gunner traverses the turret and stops. "Identify!" the gunner yells out, confirming that he sees the target as well. The gunner lines up the sights with the vehicle and tracks the target for about 2 seconds, then fires the laser range-finder, computing lead and super-elevation for the gun. "Fire!" "On the way!" the gunner cries. From outside the tank, the sound of the gun is deafening. The round leaves the barrel at a muzzle velocity of almost 1600 m/s. It travels fast enough that it reaches its target in barely more than a second. "Target!" I confirm that the round found its mark. The loader loads another sabot round into the breech. "Up!" A second later, some smoke can be seen emanating from the vehicle. From the looks of it, a BRDM armoured scout, a probe, most likely. His war was over. "Cease fire!" If it was a probe, then the Soviets had at least a vague idea of what they were up against and where at least one of the Abrams were. The troop is ordered to adjust its position in the event of incoming artillery fire. Sure enough, about a minute later rounds are landing around us. The Abrams is a tough tank, the only way to damage it with HE rounds is a direct hit on the thin top armour, a one in a thousand shot. However, for the Reds, artillery was one of the most essential components of their art of war, and when they're lobbing dozens upon hundreds of rounds at you, a one in a thousand chance suddenly sounds like very good odds, odds we definitely don't want to toy with. Luckily, since we shifted positions we suffer only a few errant and harmless pieces of shrapnel scratching the paint job. Soon after, the Motor-Rifles in BMP-2s are on the scene. Butter for the Abrams and meat for the Bushmaster autocannons of the Bradleys. "PC! Fire at will!" "Identify!" Fire, fire HEAT!" "On the way!" the gunner cries. The first sabot round sails into the first BMP-2 the gunner sees. High-explosive anti-tank rounds are more suitable for light-skinned targets like the BMP-2, but as a sabot was already loaded, and in a combat situation a round doesn't leave the breech until it is fired, what the gunner has is what he gets. The loader loads a HEAT round next. "HEAT up!" The BMPs roll off of the road, trying to find out where the fire is coming from, but most are cut down almost immediately. The dismounts pile out, disoriented and scattered. They too are similarly mowed down with coax and 25mm fire. "Splash!" The FIST-V calls down artillery on the road. Unlike full-on tanks, IFVs like the BMP-2 aren't as receptive to HE artillery fire. If the shrapnel didn't get the crews, the shockwaves surely would. The Motor-rifles have a brainwave and start popping smoke grenades. The Abrams and the Bradleys have one thing to say to that: "No sell!" With their thermal imaging sights, we can still see them clear as day and target them with the "Last Return" function of the laser-range finder. Even if the smoke scatters the laser, giving the targeting computer false returns, a talented gunner can still engage them using the manual mode.

"Storm at the Fulda Gap, 1989" A Category A Guards Tank Battalion is on its way to this position. A defense in depth is not an option. The only thing standing between the Reds and the crucial airfield to the south are an American tank company (Team Charlie) of a dozen and a half Abrams with an accompanying Mechanised Infantry company. All is not lost, however. A FIST-V artillery spotting team is on standby with six tubes of mortars, and if we can hold out for an hour, the Apaches in the airfield to the south will be refitted and be ready to help stem the tide. My office. The TC's (Tank Commander's) station. The gunner sits below and in front of me, the loader on the left side of the breech of the 120mm M256 to my left. The driver sits in a separate compartment at the front of the tank. My platoon, "Smash" Troop, assumes a BP (Battle Position) in a hull-dowd position overlooking a road from the right, the only one leading to the airfield, the Reds' objective. "Crush" Troop hulls-downs on a similar hill overlooking the same road from the left. Together we form a formidable defense with overlapping fields of fire. Another platoon, "Heavy" Troop is held in reserve. In case one side is running low on ammunition and needs to conduct a reload drill, "Heavy" will take up its position, keeping the defense together. As ammunition is indeed at a premium, we're only allowed to fire only when we're absolutely sure we can hit our targets, about 2000m or so. While the thermal imaging sights of our Abrams gives us a decisive "first shot" advantage, and the 120mm M256 firing the M-829A1 "Silver Bullet" DU long rod penetrator makes short work of T-72s. T-62s, and T-55s at virtually any range, of late the Reds have been deploying the T-80U with a new generation of explosive reactive armour in their Category A units. Hitting it from more than 2000m and even the Silver Bullet will struggle to penetrate it frontally. The Bradleys take up position in some woods nearby to our rear. Dismounts pile out from the back of the IFVs, ready to keep the hikers at bay. The Bradley readies its TOW missile launcher, the world's most ubiquitous, and feared, wire guided anti-tank missile launcher. The Bradleys have paper thin armour compared to the Abrams, but its crews take comfort in the fact that they have longer reach to keep them out of harms way; the new Improved TOW is powerful enough to give all but the heaviest Soviet tanks grief.

I'm actually very conflicted about this. As much as I abhor what the Salafist and Islamo-fascist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood stand for, I'm of the belief that rule of law (mind you, secular rule of law) trumps all. The sign of a democracy working as intended is a peaceful handover of power from one administration to the next, though on the other hand as the constitution put forward by the MB-dominated government was tenuous at best (constantly challenged by the Judicial Branch), it may have been seen as justified to completely disregard it given that it plain didn't work in the first place. I can't really speak to what the Egyptians at large think. In the best of worlds they would have waited until however long it took for the next election cycle to come before giving Morsi and his cronies the boot, however it may well have been that if they had done so there wouldn't be much of an Egypt left to salvage for the next administration and congress. Throughout the entire ordeal since the initial protests calling for Mubarek's ouster, my thoughts always came to a girl in my French Lit class in my freshman year (this was five years ago) who was from Egypt. She lived here long enough that there was no trace of an accent and she always joked that all they are famous for is tourism. Interestingly, one of the leaders of the coup was an officer Morsi himself installed as the head of the military (likely in order to prevent this very turn of events from happening), a man who was on the surface very committed to the Muslim Brotherhood's cause. I'm vaguely reminded of how Francisco Franco had groomed Juan Carlos to keep Spain a fascist state, only for the King to create a constitutional monarchy with him merely as a figurehead the second Franco kicked the bucket.

Some hilarious balance observations from a community member:

An illustration I find equal parts sweet and tragic, probably because currently I too find myself reminiscing over exes and old crushes. Nonetheless, it's something I keep coming back to. Artist's name is Arthur De Pins. Warning: Bunch of his stuff is NFSW (though more humorous than pornographic, if that helps).

Wargame: European Escalation and its semi-sequel, Wargame: AirLand Battle, sort of has this covered. They encapsulate a late 1980s Cold War-gone-hot scenario in Europe (as does World in Conflict). I also believe there's a Men of War-esque game out there in development that does modern operations.