Hurlshort

Uh...if you aren't smart enough not to cheat, or not to get caught, you don't deserve the degree. Cheating in real life leads to getting fired, losing your shirt in a divorce, getting prosecuted by the IRS, etc.

Hehe, I was really just yanking your chain Cant. Don't get a motorcycle, you will die in a hideous crash. That's the entire reason I don't own one and don't plan on ever riding one. I flipped an ATV once, so I pretty much stay away from the big toys. My hockey skates get me into enough collisions. I totally sympathize with the commute quandary. It takes me an hour to get to work and an hour to get home. I'm not sure how to handle the wife though, as I make the commute to earn more money, and we live where we do because my wife's family is nearby. Maybe you can talk to here about the long term goals of your current profession. Will you be able to telecommute a few days eventually? In between games is there any time off? With teaching, i just keep in mind I'm really only working about 200 days a year, but I realize that's a unique situation. I can, however, suggest a simple lunch solution. Get a lunch box that allows you to put an ice pack in it. They are pretty cheap. I used one for a few years before I got a fridge in my classroom, and they keep everything nice and cool. And yes, it's cheap and healthy.

Tell your wife you should get a motorcycle. The gas will save you a ton, and you will get to work faster through traffic. Also...why can't you brown bag your lunch?

What did "Grandma's Boy" get right about life in QA? I watched the movie, and I have 4+ years experience in QA, and that movie was nothing like QA and testing games, or even the game industry for that matter. I didn't say it got QA right, I said it had some game industry stuff pegged. The whole boys club atmosphere with waaaay too many toys in their cubicles, and I swear that geeky lead designer was based on a character study of John Romero. The whole wannabe rockstar attitude totally reminded me of Wolfpack Studios before they went kaboom. Plus, I'm guessing quite a few game testers live with their parents. It's not like they get paid a fortune. Correct me if I'm wrong, but are there a lot of testers in their 30's and 40's? It seems like a young man's game.

I'm quoting myself for genius-ness. Will they win it in 5?

That made my morning.

That's still a lot of gaming time. Are you breaking it up with the occassional walk (other than to the fridge?) It's just a bit of a health concern. It totals up to be 9-12 hours. Spanned across 3 days, that's 3-4 hours a day. Is 4 hours a day on a weekend really a concern of some kind? Somehow, with 8 hours for sleep, 4 hours for gaming, I manage to find a little amount of time in the sparse 12 hours remaining for a jog or some pushups. I don't know how I manage. It's a tight schedule. That's good to hear

Aaand there goes Volo up on my ignore list again. Odd how he's the first to jump on any players for fighting, but he's completely ok with Pronger's play in the playoffs. It really seems like all he wants to do is argue in this thread. I have a feeling that we could agree with him and he'd still disagree slely on principality. Anyways, I still think Anaheim will win the next game, even without Pronger. They did it earlier against Detroit. Giguerre is playing better than Emery and I don't see that changing.

That's still a lot of gaming time. Are you breaking it up with the occassional walk (other than to the fridge?) It's just a bit of a health concern.

You really can't explain what a tremendous shift in mentality becoming a parent is.

Ouch on Kirottu's post I'd be a Purple Dragon in Cormyr if I had any say in it. That or an Umberhulk.

Gosh, I rarely hang on to console games for longer than 6 months. The only way I can convince my wife to let me buy so many games is by claiming I "traded in" enough to get it cheap. I've got a lot of PC games. The embarrasing ones are the MMO's. Asheron's Call Asheron's Call 2 Horizons Final Fantasy XI Lineage 2 Star Wars Galaxies Everquest 2 and two expansions WoW Vanguard Lord of the Rings Online I think I have a problem.

Congrats! Post some pictures when you get the chance. Since my baby girl is a month old, I can tell you, you will never sleep the same again

I loved Morrowind's sandstorms. Oblivion never wowed me like the first sandstorm I entered in Morrowind. I felt like I should cover my mouth. The first EA game with 3D graphics wowed me. I also though Front Page Sports Football was way ahead of the pack in terms of player animations. WoW wowed me with the attention to detail. Entering a crumbling human stronghold really felt like I had gone down to ground level from the original RTS games. Areas like the Underworld and the Warlock HQ in stormwind are incredible atmospheric.

Quest for Glory IV had some tunes I still hum today.

The snes Zelda.

GW is successful, but the whole game is designed very differently. It doesn't require the same servers that an mmo does, because it is all small instances. It also isn't that much cheaper when you pay $50 every 6-months for a GW expansion, which was the original goal of the developers (although they haven't kept that release date timetable.)

I'm a bit surprised it took this long for the WoW flamers to come out of the work. Blizzard is a company trying to make money. They released a very successful product, whether it interests you or not. They have a pricing plan that is no different than most other MMO's on the market, they just sell more. Most MMO's companies do not make a ton of money due to monthly fees. They have a very large overhead and incur monthly costs that non-MMO developers don't need to worry about. Many MMO companies have gone under, some even before releasing the product, some even while managing tens of thousands of subscribers. You need about 100,000 subscribers to be profitable, but of course that has a lot of variables. So I really don't get the whole bashing of a succesful PC gaming franchise. It's one of the few things keeping PC gaming going, so I consider it a blessing.

I wouldn't recommend the expansion unless you have a level 58 character sitting around. I bought it and regret doing so, because I had no interest in grinding out the last few levels on my level 55 paly to access the new content. The new races are cool, but the quests are pretty much the same as every starter area and that will only get you to 20.

The whole roshan question was just a query. I mean, I still find it hard to understand why you would join the Obsidian forums if you aren't a fan of their work and then immediately jump into an argumentative thread. You did clarify your intentions in another post, and I haven't questioned your identity since. One of the developers pointed out that most of our criticisms are just personal preferences. I was simply stating mine. The roshan bit was just an afterthought. I'm no Lou Gutman, so I'll concede.

I'm not following your logic. If certain players group together (as they do now), then what harm could be done if they had some of their own special (non-magic) items. More like "diary icons" than weapons, if you follow my meaning. I think one concern Cant has is that it will take away from the atmosphere of the game by injecting ridiculous content that doesn't fit the setting.

EDIT: Saw your post now, Hurlshot. I don't know who Roshan is. I guess I've been reading the Codex for too long, thus becoming used to everything being more or less an attack. I'll let my post beneath stand, as I dislike erasing stuff once it's posted - you never know if someone's already started reading it. But take it with a grain of salt. /EDIT This is my last post defending myself against one-liners. Yes, I'm sure he just meant nice things by first disagreeing with me - not adressing any of my suggestions - and then putting an equality symbol between me and someone I'm sure isn't well liked. My fail safe internet psychology evaluation tells me: 1) He didn't read my post beyond that I didn't like unlimited saving. 2) He saw that I didn't enjoy NWN2, a game he likes. 3) He decided not only to disagree with me, but also making an unnecessary MW = Roshan connection. Why I don't know. I am taking this with a grain of salt, but I'm still unsure how or where I disagreed with you. My one liner was "For those of us with small children and difficult schedules, a flexible save system isn't just a preference, it's a necessity." That's hardly argumentative, it's simply a statement about life, and it was made to support the folks who mentioned needing to leave quickly for work.

Roshan = MountainWest = J.E. Sawyer? Hardly. I don't like unlimited saving, but I can understand why some people do. And really, I don't see what your problem with my post is. My first suggestion was to count the number of saves and rewarding the players who don't save at every turn with a simple acknowledgement at the end of the game - it won't affect you. My second suggestion was to implement a one-time "emergency save" at every session, thus giving players who play before they go to work, or have children like yourself, a chance to save at any time. A third suggestion would be to make it a choice at the beginning of the game, just like easy/normal/hard is. Actually, your criticism is egotistical and unwarranted. "I have children so the game must let me save at any time. MountainWest = idiot?" - instead of writing that piece of useless text you could have given a suggestion on how to solve the problem so that we both could enjoy the same game to the fullest. Something I at least tried to do. But it's easier to just say no, eh? Not having to think. Wow, to be honest, I didn't type a full explanation because I was busy feeding said child and it's hard to type while doing so. You seem to be fairly new to the boards and you've thrown yourself right in the middle of an argumentative thread, so I don't think it's a stretch to question whether you are an alt of another poster. There are a lot of folks who use alts here... Anyways, I really didn't attack any of your suggestions, I simply stated why it's so important for me to have a flexible save system. I'm a big fan of a hardcore option in games, but I understand that a developer doesn't want to spend too many resources on an option that not enough paying customers use. So...are you implying that roshan is an idiot? Because I think that's a bit uncalled for. He's more of an evil mastermind.

For those of us with small children and difficult schedules, a flexible save system isn't just a preference, it's a necessity. Roshan = MountainWest?

Eh, I'm warming to the idea of the Ducks winning the cup. It would be nice to see a California team finally win it all. I just dislike Pronger and Selanne so much, but they do deserve a Cup based on talent. Still, it's a long series. Ottawa isn't out yet.