Enoch

I, for one, can't stand the "Quest for Electronic Nookie" that seems obligatory story/character-heavy RPGs of late. Sure, RPGs do play a wish-fulfillment role for their players, but the hot elven chicks falling all over themselves to get with me just because I happen to carry the <PROTAGONIST> tag is an embarrassingly lame extension of this. The only reason I went through the romance dialogues in BG2 was because the accompanying music (particularly for Aerie and Jahiera) were the best tracks in the game.

Apparently, the jerk didn't even bother to tell his players that he would be leaving. They found out via a spokesman. College guys haven't had much luck in the NFL lately. As best I can recall, there hasn't been a real success story for a college head coach moving to the pros since Jimmy Johnson. I'm guessing there are several reasons why these guy end up back in the college ranks. Control is one-- it's much easier to command the respect of your players when they're 19 and non-multi-millionaires. The workload is lower. It's far easier to build a consistent winner in college than it is in the pros. And, related to that last point, the skill that most determines college success-- salesmanship in recruiting-- is of no use whatever in the NFL. You actually have to, you know, be a good coach.

My government-issued laptop runs XP. I think we'll be getting newer ones in another year or so, but I don't know what OS they're planning on going with. As for Macs, I haven't used one extensively since high school. As I understand, they're dominant in a few industries, like publishing and advertising. But outside those areas, the premium they charge on their hardware makes them tough to recommend.

You guys are letting me down. Total posts on this thread: 65. Total posts on NADS: 53, and most of those are meta-commentary about who is who. Where's the content? I was promised elaborate, humorous, faux-superhero origin stories! I was promised porn bots!

Several others have mentioned most of the salient points. Although the general theme of "exploration" needs more explanation. It's not just about exploring all the maps that the developers have drawn up (I did that in BG1, and it was frightfully boring). It's about coming to understand the gameworld as a whole-- the rules, mechanics, history, geopolitics, how my character fits in, etc. It's the process of simultaneously learning more about the gameworld, the storyline, the character-building process, new higher-level abilities, the NPCs, etc. (Note: the lack of mystery in the game mechanics is a main reason why I've gotten very tired of D&D/D20 based game. The point of magic is to be mysterious, dammit, not to be spelled out in detail in appendix III of the game manual!) Other genres have elements of this, but RPGs deliver the whole package. Apart from that, the pace, as Opus mentioned, is a major selling point. I like being able to take time to figure out the best way to survive that hobgoblin ambush, or which suit of armor best fits my character's abilities. In fact, this puzzle-solving/efficiency-calculating element* is pretty key to my enjoyment of RPGs. In PnP games, I'm what has been referred to as a "mad thinker" type player-- I get the most satisfaction out of coming up with a creative, unexpected solution to help the party out of a tough spot (illusionists rule at this). Games that make me think I'm doing this (even though I know that all the possible options are pre-ordained) are very satisfying to me. *-- I also enjoy turn-based strategy games for this reason, even though they lack many of the story and character exploration options mentioned above.

I don't think it's just DA RULEZ that WotC would object to. I recall Josh having issues with WotC objecting to some of the story, dialogue, and character content. WotC doesn't want D&D associated with adult-ish themes of racism, vulgarity, and other non-cartoonish evil.

It's one of Fallout, Torment, Civ IV, or Alpha Centauri.

A few minutes ago, I sliced my right index finger just below the first knuckle while using a particularly ill-advised method of opening a package with a pocket knife. I knew that it was dangerous, and I've cut myself like that before, but yet I persisted. Frustration at stubborn packaging makes me do stupid things. The gifts inside (2 christmas ornaments from my fiancee's grandmother) were not worth shedding blood over.

You know, I've never really taken part it many of the meta-board activities around here (tADS, TOMBS, etc.). But, then again, who the hell am I trying to impress, anyway? I will monitor activity over yonder and see if it is of sufficient interest to make my participation worthwhile. Which means that all you early adopters had better get off your asses and start making some damned interesting posts over there!

Heh. I'm wearing a suit right now, but for a good reason. My fiancee's firm is having their holiday party tonight. One important advantage of working for the private sector is the fancy, catered, open-bar holiday parties (as opposed to my government office's "pay $34 to attend a booze-free lunch party on a Monday"). I get in as her arm-candy, without having to go through the whole 60-70 hour work week thing! And good luck in the big debut, Drabs!

I'll take the Bears tonight. Picks for the weekend to come.

George Harrison -- My Sweet Lord Listening to Radio Paradise, which my Dad introduced me to over the Thanksgiving holiday. He streams it through his Squeezebox into the house's main stereo system. Good stuff.

I was so sure that was it. When the Ravens knocked the pass away on 4th down I started celebrating. Then.... the penalty.... But hope resurged again on the KO return, then Bolenger passes, it's complete, I jump up, one step to the goal line, two steps, then.... down he goes. Four yards short, and no time left. It was one of the best games I've watched this year, college or pro. I was pulling for the Pats in this one. Sure, Belichick is an arrogant jerk, but Brian Billick is probably worse in that regard. And the whole Ray Lewis/Ed Reed/Willis McGahee "we're doing it for Sean" thing was irritating. Hell, lots of McGahee's rushing yards came over fellow Miami of Florida alum Vince Wilfork's side-- apparently Wilfork doesn't care about Sean Taylor. Plus, it's about time that somebody shut the '72 Dolphins up. Even if the hail mary at the end had worked, I gotta think that the refs were about to call another (well justified) penalty on Baltimore. Derrick Mason was basically wrestling with 3 defenders when the ball was in the air to screen them off from Mark Clayton (who caught the pass). Extraordinarily blatant offensive pass interference. However, this game does put some weight behind the criticism that the Pats aren't built to win in January. The windy conditions really hurt their offense. They may regret the fact that their playoff rematch with the Colts will likely happen outdoors, in Foxboro.

I must correct myself-- I somehow forgot that I had finished both the KotOR games in my earlier post/edit. Oops. When the gameplay gets tedious (and most games do at or before the 3/4ths mark), there have to be some pretty special story or character hooks to keep me playing to see how it ends.

He was suffering from a combination of diabetes, pulminory fibrosis, hepatitis C (likely contracted via a post-accident blood transfusion), and the aftermath of 2 prior strokes. I doubt that the doctors bothered much in figuring out which of these ailments pushed him over the edge.

This thread reminds me of how unusual it is for me to actually finish a game. I don't think that I've gotten to the end of a story-based video game (i.e., Civ 4 & TW games don't count) since IWD2. My gaming time has been in serious decline over the past few years, so I tend to abandon games at the point where playing on would be less fun than starting a new Civ campaign. Edit: Just remembered-- I have finished games of Link to the Past and Super Mario World on my GBA.

The fact that he has died is not at all shocking. The fact that he died at 69 year of age, at home, and of natural causes* is absolutely amazing. The ultimate achievement for a daredevil. R.I.P. * Sure, the various injuries, surgeries, and pain killers he endured over the years probably didn't exactly help him fight off the diseases that killed him, but still, 69 years is nothing to sneeze at.

3 quid. After the exchange rate & credit card processing fee, it came to $7.17 US. (Got the credit card statement today.) You? By the way, IMO, "All I Need" is by far the best track on the album-- but then again I almost always prefer Radiohead's laid-back tracks to their rockin'-out ones. Mingus -- Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me.

That's Irish. Huh? When's the last time you've had Irish vodka? In Ireland, the potatoes are for eatin'-- the grain is for drinkin' (in the form of beer and whiskey, of course). Speaking of family and Irish whiskey, I think I'm going to go find that bottle of Midleton my grandfather gave me for Christmas last year...

Please tell me that you've worked that scene into the screenplay you've been writing. Cinematic GOLD!! (Note: It'd be best if Cosby won, so we can see him eating JELL-O Pudding out of a human skull.)

Well, lets see... There were almost 30 people at my parents' house this Thanksgiving, all of whom are related to me in some way (mostly aunts/uncles/cousins) and most of whom I like well enough. The closest of them are my parents and my younger sister (only sibling) who got hitched this past spring. The new brother-in-law is a nice enough guy, but, like most older brothers, I think she could've done better. I'm also engaged to be married next summer, and I get along well with her family. Kids are something we've talked about, but were still a few years away from being ready to take that step.

Is this going to be another recipe thread? I always enjoy those. I think I might make some beef stew this weekend.

. Sadly, the performance upside-down. You've got to visualize it from the other sideline.

I don't know whether to find the dream I had last night pleasant or creepy. I dreamt I slept with Franziska von Karma from the Phoenix Wright games. Of course, in my dream she didn't have the whip and she was significantly less gif-like. Maybe I should just tell myself it was a attractive cosplayer dressed like Franziska. Then it wouldn't be quite so creepy. Well fortunately for both of you, most evidence suggests that there's no real significance in the content of our dreams. Such bizarre occurences (Wals running out of corpse storage space; Tale sleeping with an attractive female) have no basis in reality. Today, I attended a briefing on the basics and legal basis of power struggles in the DoD between the Department authorities and the commanders of the military services. Particular focus was on business systems management (i.e., how they buy things, track inventory, manage personnel, etc.).

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29 Green Bay at Dallas 8:15 p.m. GREEN BAY (It'll be a shootout, and I don't trust the Cowboys' safeties in deep coverage) SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2 San Francisco at Carolina 1 p.m. CAROLINA (Both suck, so I'll take the home team.) Jacksonville at Indianapolis 1 p.m. JACKSONVILLE (Until the Colts OL is healthy, they're not going to beat the good teams) San Diego at Kansas City 1 p.m. SAN DIEGO (But it'll be close. KC's defense has improved a lot this season) NY Jets at Miami 1 p.m. MIAMI (0-16 record narrowly averted) Detroit at Minnesota 1 p.m. MINNESOTA (Lions D can't stop the Minnesota run game) Seattle at Philadelphia 1 p.m. PHILADELPHIA Atlanta at St. Louis 1 p.m. ST. LOUIS (See SF@CAR) Houston at Tennessee 1 p.m. TENNESSEE (Stompin' Al, where art thou?) Buffalo at Washington 1 p.m. WASHINGTON (R.I.P. #21) Cleveland at Arizona 4:05 p.m. CLEVELAND Denver at Oakland 4:05 p.m. DENVER NY Giants at Chicago 4:15 p.m. NEW YORK (Upstaged by Eli's 4-INT game last week, Sexy Rexy vows to do him one better) Tampa Bay at New Orleans 4:15 p.m. TAMPA Cincinnati at Pittsburgh 8:15 p.m. PITTSBURGH MONDAY, DECEMBER 3 New England at Baltimore 8:30 p.m. NEW ENGLAND (After the scare against Philly, the Pats aren't going to lose focus here.)