metadigital

Fictional? Well it is a very common theme, from Luke Skywalker to Neo in the Matrix (remember his crucifixion in the denouement of the third film?). Recently there has been a change in literature where the "ordinary guy" saves the day, like Bruce Willis's John MacLane in Die Hard and even the tendency to find the heroic in the everyday, like "Perfect Storm" (I haven't seen this film owing to my pre-assessment that it would suck).

The biggest issue I have with this BBC article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4097258.stm) is the premise that quantum physics is a tool that can be used to explain the macro universe. This is like trying to explain why quarks and gluons bind together to make protons and neutrons using gravity (instead of weak and strong nuclear forces). I have no problem with bringing such concepts to the masses, but I dispair at the dumbing down of science because of some fear that our society is really profanum vulgus.

True, and also the point he was making is that -- even though people don't eat JUST McDonalds, they do tend to eat fast food to the exclusion of all other healthy options: KFC, McD, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell (only in the US), etc etc. The average person is not eating lentils and cr

No, it means in only one of the infinite universes, the possibility of a backward time traveller has manifested. Thanks, I'll look Democritus up (he's from Thrace, the ancient land that bore Byzantium and Spartacus!). Vernor VingeVernor Vinge wrote a couple of interesting novels on a plausible time travel device. (Only forwards: the Peace War and Marooned in Real Time.) Very interesting readng, I highly recommend it.

Ah, the mysterious tachyons show their magical effects to us unworthy ephemerals, trapped in the confines of our space-time continuum.

There already is a Paragon City super-heroes MMORPG "City of Heroes", to be followed later this year by "City of Villains". I think Marvel were suing them for breech of copyright, because (everyone creates their own super heroes, looks, powers etc) it was too easy to copy Marvel IP. I think Marvel are bringing their own MMORPG out too. I'm not sure the mechanism, I guess the levelling up fucntionality will provide lower characters with less super powers, so another superman can come and tan your arse ...

The female's sexual peak is around 38, wheras the male's is aorund 17. This just means that secual appetites at these ages is greatest; obviously more experience and wisdom makes you a better partner. I would council you against a headlong rush into hormone-charged sexcapades. If I could, I would go back and be a virgin (or close to it) at my wedding. Like anyhting, you can cheapen the act of congress to the point that it is compeltely detached from emotion. What does that prove? The greatest "pleasure" (such a clumsy word to use) derives from being with someone you truly love. Unfortunately, most people in this world will never experience true love. I believe in shooting for the highest, though. Go for gold. This is mirrored in the shallow romance plots of KotOR. (Did you see what I did there? Do you like the way I brought my speil back on topic?) The dialogue is very shallow. And it is eminently possible to provide characters with whom a connection is possible, even though they are badly rendered low resolution pixels on an RPG. I have fond memories of a character from one of the NwN community mods, for example. That relationship grew over three mods, and matured over another four after that. But the important thing was the depth and credibility of the dialogue. :cool:

But we can't delete other people's threads.

As long as the inventory inteface is improved. The ability to "Pick up All" and "Drop All", or one item at a time is not sufficient (and probably tells us more about why there were no inventory limits ... :D).

You are obviously English literate, surely there are secondhand bookstores you can check? I haven't read all of his books either, I just look for one I haven't read when I'm in a store ... ditto for Asimov, he wrote about four hundred novels and anthologies ...

War of the Worlds, eh? You will lose.

It's okay, it's all steroidal posturing. " Anyone that has actually fired munitions into a human and likes it is a) very rare and b) hopefully safely contained.

I'm just an old reader. :D You, too, can speak like you've swallowed a thesaurus; just keep reading! Might I ask who the other two writers are? I too share an admiration for PKD's writing... I have never been able to find his short stories in Romania... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well, I was trying not to rank order them, because all comparisons are odious. There are a lot of writers that have contributed just one novel, for example, but that contribution is critical and super enjoyable. But you don't want to hear me equivocating, do you? For sheer volume of important contributions, Isaac Asimov must rank up there. I would put Arthur C Clarke in the top few, as well, although he is nowhere near as prolific in his profound scientific concepts (he openly cites his inspirations, e.g. for . a large diamond at the centre of Jupiter in 2010, his second Odyssey novel), but he did "invent" the radio satellite! Also his Profiles of the Future contains some very sober concepts for all SF writers to consider when delving into fiction based on our laws of physics. I have read a lot of SF writers, though -- probably forgotten more than most people have read :D Political novels that dress up as SF to avoid the censors (e.g. Man in the High Castle) are always interesting too: why invoke the wrath of the totalitarian forces in society talking about equal rights for all races, when you can use a green-skinned monster to the same effect, to put the same message across but encoded to avoid conflict with the entrenched opinions, even in an unsuspecting readership ... The Man Who Rule the Universe is a particular favourite, one of a few Alan Dean Foster original novels (he tends to write film novelisations). William Gibson ("Neuromancer" -- which was an okay game, too), of course, and Vernor Vinge wrote a couple of interesting novels on a plausible time travel device. (Only forwards: the Peace War and Marooned in Real Time.) Very interesting readng, I highly recommend it. Ray Bradbury ("Fahrenheit 451"), Robert Heilein ("Job", named after the Biblical character, is terrific), boy, the list is almost endless. I still try to swing by a bookshop and pick up a SF anthology for the latest year: I find some very interesting short stories in those, too. But then, I haven't read SF seriously for a few years now. I mainly read NF, things like Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

No word on the game yet (don't tell me Reveiled has a social life!) I must warn you PKD has hundreds of books and anthologies once in print (not sure how many still are, though ...)

... or other people's ...

Hope is that single quality of humankind that is, confoundingly, their greatest flaw and their greatest asset.

So stop spamming, all of you.

Why do the Romanians want to crush little old inoffensive me?

Mental note: must stop moving, lose too many good books that way ...

Thanks. Yeah, I really can't see the difficulty in crafting a narrative where there are different intermediary goals and consequences, depending on the plan and success of the execution. You might think your PC is the bees' knees at political machination, but the reality might see them totally fail and cause the end of (Jedi Order / Sith Invasion) due to your efforts; or -- more likely -- some compromise in between. It is no different in development complexity to a normal puzzle planet like Onderon, just with a few more layers to it; just because one sets out to achieve a goal, if it is difficult, the possiblities of partial successes and partial failures should be present to give the narrative depth. We love characters as much -- or more -- for their mistakes as for their successes, mistakes are what defines us as humans, after all. (If the major goal is a set of minor achievements that are themselves of sufficient difficulty then this counters the urge to restart the whole goal from scratch.) For example, in the NwN HotU expansion, chapter two entails five side quests; it is possible to complete just two before the next critical point on the narrative path, and whatever the PC has done over those five goals is reflected in this crisis (either making the crisis easier or harder).

I like this.

You've heard of E3, I take it? "

I'd buy it in an eyeblink.

That's right, set a good example.

Or it could be that the story/general fan ideas are being collected and collated by OE for and on behalf of LA, on the off chance that LA commission a sequel, as the final part of the OE developers' contract.