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213374U

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Everything posted by 213374U

  1. 213374U
    Burce aren't you going to ask for a source, or some link so you can prove it's not a lie. I thought you had a big speech about how you were all about truth now. Nah. It's just the latest example of the intellectual circle jerk that some people engage in, here. Something somebody doubly translated from somewhere on the internet, without links, without references, without anything is perfectly fine, but the opinions and experiences of forum members that are either Russian or have lived in Russia are ignored, hand waved as propaganda, or dismissed as "not knowing what they are talking about" or having vested interests. Don't despair, though—it's a well known phenomenon. Reminded me of something I read some time ago, in fact. Nothing new here, move along.
  2. 213374U
    I'm nine years old and what is this?
  3. 213374U
    Stratagems is probably my #1 must have mod—the insta-hasted Amnian troopers shenanigans is one of the results. But even so, it does little to spice up repetitive, generic encounters because of their simple, homogeneous design; a pack of wraiths and shadow fiends is still filler content despite the restored P&P abilities they get, I just need to enrage Korgan before engaging them to prevent level drain, and keep everyone else out of their sight. Caster fights are much more interesting though, and definitely increase the difficulty of certain encounters, bringing them up to what one would expect from, say, a 18th level Conjurer. But those are encounters that were already plot-related and interesting in their own right, not the generic mob packs I was rather referring to.
  4. 213374U
    Then I have bad news for you. Scared yet?
  5. 213374U
    The key differences are that a) the referendum in Crimea was unconstitutional as per the (admittedly depreciated) law of Ukraine and b) the result was a given. Indeed, the very act of organizing the referendum was grounded on the certainty of the outcome—as is usually the case when the people are asked direct questions about governance. "Worse", though, I don't know about that. I guess that depends on who wins the Presidential election in Afghanistan, and even then, you'd have to specify worse for whom. Not sure it can get much worse than Karzai, though there's always the possibility of a new government being willing to accomodate the Taliban. I think that would certainly be worse by any standards.
  6. 213374U
    I agree with this. I think my problem with rogues is that devs always try to make them as effective in combat as fighters, rather than giving them fun rogue stuff to do outside of combat. The Quest For Glory series has had the best class implementation in games IMO. That's just because RPGs consist of 99 % combat. I can't even remember the last time rogues had an actual impact on the game apart from a few cosmetic locks and traps. Baldur's gate 1-2, where the cosmetic traps were a bigger deal? And even so. The last time I tried to replay BG2, I was genuinely surprised by how abundant filler combat is. Interesting fights like the one with Mencar Pebblecrusher and his band at Mithrest Inn are far and few between, but the game is chock full of "2d4+1 dungeon-thematic mobs" encounters. Oh, and I was also playing evil, so I had a squad of hasted troopers and mages dropped on my head every time I walked outside. Fun times. Suffice to say I got bored in the end and couldn't finish the playthrough.
  7. 213374U
    That doesn't mean what you think it means.
  8. 213374U
    Item descriptions aren't always amended by mods. Go by what the dev says, or download DLTCEP and check by yourself—wouldn't be the first time a mod doesn't work as intended. I don't have BG2 installed atm, so I can't check myself... edit: "I don't have BG2 installed" is also my blasphemous opinion for the day.
  9. 213374U
    I've found that unsolicited advice is a surefire way to get people to become defensive and close you out. It's easy to fix the problems of other people... because you're not the one doing the actual fixing.
  10. 213374U
    I like this idea, but unfortunately it's handled terribly in the games that have tried—by encouraging save scumming and metagaming, mostly. You rarely ever get in-game hints that you are going to be in over your head and that it would be wise to turn around... it's just a quick death followed by a sense of "wha?" → reload.
  11. 213374U
    Just a quick clarification: Comintern as such was disbanded by Uncle Joe in 1943. By the 70's there was no international forum or umbrella organization for commies to rally to—it was either straight up pro-Soviet, or pro-Chinese.
  12. 213374U
    You do know that Naftogaz is state owned, right? State owned enterprises aren't set up to make a profit, they are chartered and organized to provide services or goods that are deemed essential, strategic, or otherwise pertaining to the general interest. That's why they are state owned; they aren't necessarily profitable and therefore one cannot rely on capitalists to fill that niche with the assurances and stability required in critical roles. It is also risky to relinquish control of certain sectors of the economy to private, international actors, whose interests and motives are, at best, opaque. That you think the IMF is making the right suggestions in this is, frankly, mindboggling. This is not the first IMF credit Ukraine receives, it's actually the third, following one in 1998 and another in 2010. Each time, the bailouts required the application of austerity measures that have done nothing but choke an already battered economy. But this is not an isolated case, it is a result that consistently repeated. The IMF is a messenger all right, but the message is the old market fundamentalism doctrine of the Washington Consensus—it is a supranational instrument designed to wrestle control of economies that have been previously destabilized and weakened by other means or factors, from the representatives of the people. The strategy of taking over nations by saddling their economies with debt is not new; it's been around since the Roman Empire. And it's not that a rise in Russian gas prices is irrelevant, it's that no longer being treated as a preferential customer is the logical consequence of flipping the bird at one's provider. Remember, Russia is still fundamentally reacting to what the provisional government in Kiev is doing. The unelected, putschist government in Kiev, that is. Can't risk waiting until after the May election to sell the country for a pittance, can we?
  13. 213374U
    Yes, because IMF-sponsored "fiscal prudence" has worked wonders elsewhere, right? Who cares if people can't pay for gas? After all, it's "bad business" to subsidize necesity goods, huh? But hey, let's spin the story to make it about Russia. And while we're at it, let's also forget that the single thing that started the ball rolling was Yanukovych's refusal to accept the same terms of the deal that his unelected successors have made. Can't let silly things like democracy get in the way of economic domination, now can we.
  14. 213374U
    Ukraine to hike domestic gas prices by 50 percent to meet IMF demands This is in addition to the recently slashed pensions. Likely more to come from the incumbent unelected government, in the form of austerity measures aimed at reducing budget deficit. Will Maidan protesters at least benefit from this deal? Think again! The bailout is intended to alleviate debt pressures, i.e. it's going straight to the banks. Congratulations Greece, you are no longer the economic armpit of Europe! All aboard the FREEDOM train! Next stop, asset stripping. Choo-choo!
  15. 213374U
    Yep. And in the brave new world of unlimited digital freedom, no one gives a toss.
  16. 213374U
    Funny how that works. Because if/when evidence does surface, usually years later, nobody cares anymore owing to the novelty having faded and the fact that those responsible are no longer actively involved and therefore not valid political targets. False flag ops in the past are well documented, yet anyone who suggests anything of the sort is immediately labeled a conspiracy theorist and evidence is dismissed as "propaganda", which provides a convenient intellectual shortcut to ending any discussion. morpheus.jpg what if I told you that this is all according to plan? I fully subscribe to the bolded part, btw. *rotates recliner*
  17. 213374U
    More sympathy than your hypocritical reassurances that toppling governments is "what is best for the region" when the West does it, interspaced with cries of bloody murder when it's anyone else, that's for sure.
  18. 213374U
    LOL
  19. 213374U
    ^ On the other hand, it's a Ch.2 reward. The dispel magic clicky is useful in a pinch, too. Problem is NPC alignment is a bit all over the place in BG2.
  20. 213374U
    Dietrich is the man. I found him rather weak for a "dragonslayer" totem shaman, but he's second to none in a support role. It's funny because the character concepts don't really reflect their combat roles—bar brawler shaman is support, "medic" is melee specialist, "sniper" is a beast CQC point/breacher. The chicks are a bit bland character wise, what with the done to death baggage from the past thing etc. Leet haxxor dude... I just want to punch him in the teeth.
  21. 213374U
    No need to apologize as it's not really an old thread but this one before it was interrupted. That threads are closed on this forum just for reaching an arbitrary # of posts is pretty retarded in my opinion. IIRC, this was originally done for stablility reasons—huge topics caused issues and posts would go missing or something; it's not arbitrary. The software has been updated numerous times however, so I'm not sure it's still necessary. Also, the old version of the forum software allowed you to go into "reply" mode even in locked threads, where you could then copy the whole post and paste it on the new thread, with proper quotations and link to the original post. Maybe the mod squad could check with Admin if it would be possible to have that option back or enable the "multiquote" button in locked topics?
  22. 213374U
    Reporting for duty. (because despite tough talk, NATO isn't about to do anything about it anytime soon)
  23. 213374U
    I take that you are implying some people actively want Dragon Age: Inquisition to fail? Undoubtedly the Shandenfreude Faction does indeed exist, though I wouldn't count myself among them. I will be thrilled if DA:I winds up being spectacularly good. I would much rather have a great game than whatever erection I could get from schadenfreude. I'm just not giving BioWare the benefit of the doubt. Pretty much. Also, the butthurt is going to be tremendous regardless of whether the game is good or bad, so...
  24. 213374U
    I've already expressed my thoughts on the ME3 endings in other threads, no point hijacking this one further. Still, how the player resolved the major plot arcs had much weight on the EMS rating, and therefore (before the Extended Cut DLC which lowered the EMS requirements), those decisions determined which endings you could achieve, albeit indirectly. Options available to resolve those situations, in turn, were determined by decisions made in previous games. I'm not disputing that they lied about having sexual relations with that woman or that the actual writing for the endings nearly cost me a laptop screen. I'm simply saying that, to me, the way those decisions affected how the game ended (indirectly as opposed to IN YOUR FACE) was the right way to go about it.
  25. 213374U
    To be honest, that didn't bother me—I guess I'm glad they decided to scrap that frankly stupid idea, if they ever considered it seriously and it wasn't just marketing BS, and just stick to WHAT IS UP WITH THE ANCIENT MACHINES HELLBENT ON KILLING EVERYONE. I think that keeping the consequences of choices made in previous games really low key was the right call. But even assuming it's true this time around, is it really important if the ending accomodates the decision I made early on in the 100-hour long journey of helping some barmaid back in the ass end of nowhere to get rid of the rat infestation problem in her cellar (or nuke it from orbit, it's the only way to be sure)? I'd much rather they focused on writing a credible and internally consistent plot with sensible choices along the way, even if that means a smaller variety of ending cutscenes. The whole choices/consequences thing isn't about the number of endings increasing exponentially with the choices presented. Also, how many people actually replay the game a sufficient number of times to experience a fraction of that? What exactly do they want to accomplish? This was my reaction when I read the "40 endings" line.
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