metadigital

I would turn that statement around and say that I find the (prequel) films to be a poor "popcorn" implementation of an intersting time (end of republic / start of short-lived empire / end of empire), so much so that the KotOR games seem pregnant with profundity in contrast.

When you "roll" an attack die for a weapon to hit the opponent, each weapon has a "critical strike" score. For example, a lightsabre might have a critical score of 20. If you add an element that adds the "keen" property to the lightsabre, then the critical strike range doubles, so that a roll of either 19 or 20 will possibly score a critical strike. (The 20 sided die is "rolled" again and if the second score is a hit, then the blow is regarded as a critical strike, and subsequently the bonus damage is added.)

i thought "domain camping" was illegal. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well, maybe not stricly "illegal", but certainly the indiviual will have no leg to stand on in court, and will probably have to forfeit the domain for free (and maybe pay costs); unless a person can prove they had the domain for years and it is not an obvious use of a famous trademark or IP in the first place (and this usually has meant an acronym, like microsoft had no way of getting ms.com from MorganStanley).

Oh, I agree with you there. But do you really want to sit through 2001: A Space Odyssey again? Sound is at least half the fun in a movie. I can forgive this inaccuracy because it doesn't detract (to me) from the films. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Actually I really like 2001:A Space Odyssey. It's not a normal film, however, it is a tonal play, and the classical score more tahn made up for a lack of audible feedback for the onscreen violence. (Don't forget that Kubrick made that film in 1968, before the Moon landings, either; or that AC Clarke wrote it from a short story (called "Sentinel") years before.) But it does continually (and almost constantly) annoy me to hear sound when watching a spacescape.

PC Gamer gave Stolen a very poor review and a 30% score. Nice "Thief meets Prince of Persia" concept, unfortuantely plagued by too many bugs and a consequentially poor frame rate (10fps). Aparently, the "read.me" contents on the retail copy he was reviewing are: Template Stolen Read Me File. Add stuff here ... Matrix Online got panned as well.

Nice boat. Ouch!, to the head hitting thing. Yeah, I was thinking of of doing a leg on a round-the-world race they were advertising for 2006 ... but I've forgotten the website ... hmmm ... I don't envy you pumping out water at that temperature; I'm surprised you and the other guy didn't get hypothermia. Most pirates are in the South China Sea ...

Wow! -- Your neurons must be shielded by some radioactive extra-terrestrial metal for you to be able to watch a film as mind-meltingly stupefying as Scorpion King. ... "

I just watfched Notebook. Excellent film, the subject matter was handled with dignity and it is a beautiful film.

Yeah, heaven help the Hollywood producers; now they have to atually provide bad guys that are not a cliche. They can't just rely on an accent, look, or mannerism; now they actually have to give the writers more authority. Whatever will they do with their makrketing forecasts? Evilness based on the content of their characters? Where have I heard that before ... (That's why I like Kreia.)

I think it's: Postcount : Level <10 : 0 >=10 : 1 200 : 2 400 : 3 800 : 4 1600 : 5 3200 : 6 6400 : 7

I think we were discussing how they attached the non-CGI claws they used in the films and promo shots. I found some hi-res pics and it looks like they have a very skillfully camouflaged skin-colored attachement that fits over the entire fingertip to the first joint. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> And I thought Aurora was asking about the Lady Deathclaws character's actual physionomy ... :cool:

Then perhaps it depneds on your level when it spawns, in which case a level 50 item should be pretty impressive. Do you have a clue as to the stats for it (roughly)?

Random is impossible to achieve with a computer. The best that can be done is to use more and more varied "seed engines", so the nanosecond counter at the time the random function was called, plus the modulus of amount of video memory in the cache, minus the parity of the register that holds the return address for the calling subroutine ... etc. I'm making these references up, of course, but the point is you have to have loads of different stacks to pull your random numbers from, so that if you call the randomizer often it will have lots of different starting values from which to select the "pseudo-random" number. Yes, I have found multiple "Circlets of Saresh" in one game (six I think) and a couple of Fredon Nadd lightsabres, etc.

Yep, I can't help but do a "where do I know that actor/actress from" recall heuristic when I first encounter them, usually to the detriment of all screen action. Voice over is similar to acting, the still expression / everything's going on underneath act, like Pacino and Bronson: the clue is in their eyes (so it isn't quite a poker face) ... there needs to be something driving the action.

I don't agree with this. I thought K2 had more genuine "DS" moments. As for people who say they "can't" play DS because it makes them feel icky, I don't understand this. You're playing a video game. Detach yourself from being a baby and just take on a role of a villain. Do you say "I can't play this" when it comes to games like Grand Theft Auto where you have to shoot people and steal cars? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yep, K2 had more ways to be evil: just not enough ways to be manipulative with pretend "good" tactical actions for "bad" strategic aims. It's funny that people are quite able to pretend they are a super driver / footballer in a car racing / football sim, but not so quick to be the baddie. Yes, if nothing else it will give you some understanding of what it is like to be bad, e.g. how people treat you, if not how you feel whilst doing it (because I don't think you can immitate sociopathy ...): you will be better placed to understand why your are a good person and probably be less likely to act in a selfish way. Too true, the dialogue script is quite well done (if limited in DS options in places), so that you might easily answer in a "good" way without realising you are being selfish ... Sure, a "Chaotic Good" PC will happily use any means -- including Lightning, Poison or Life Drain -- to achieve the ultimate Good. Vrook is probably a "Lawful Good": "the end does NOT justify the means". Yep, grey areas are good, less black and white = more realism / immersion.

Well, I'm certainly not going to argue that a child should be placed in an exposed situation. What I would expect to be the next step is to make society prevent the vulnerable / different from persecution. But still, according to your "lawful good" absolute moral stance (which I'm not disagreeing with, just playing Devil's Advocate), when would we know that the children in the society wouldn't victimize a child of "different" parents? At some point someone has to be the first to test the bridge by stepping on it ...

No, but I noticed that the evil Simons NPC in Deus Ex is voiced by the guy that does the intro to the sequel ... the bit at the end; the end of his speech is (the last voice in the intro) "... I told them to run!".

Merci! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Parlez vous fran

Green eggs and spam? But I want to know if Baley has been listening to Master Yoda ... Baley, repent!

Please, if you have time and patience, elaborate..... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Hmm, short answerr is: I saw a news item on the tv where the reporter was walking around an orphanage full of small children who were behaving erratically, banging their heads on walls and screaming inconsoleably or just ignoring everything. The children were held in overcrowded accommodation, many to a bed, and the conditions were squalid. The main problem was the arrested development: children of six years old were the size of four-year-olds and had not developed communication / speech adequately. I'm not sure what country it was, though, as it was about ten years ago (it may have been Romania, but that doesn't seem to ring a bell: I was pretty sure it was the Bosnian/NATO crisis, not the Romanian revolution). I did find a useful piece of research in my googling: linky. Aha, I found some more evidence:

So like Fredon Nadd's then. Or a bulk-standard normal one, except it is special: "Special" in that it is not upgradeable. Way to go guys, that'll make me wanna play again and again! (Yet another good concept gone to waste ...)

Ah, well that would explain a lot of the Jedis problems, too. The failure to bond with parents at the earliest years is a major issue; very young people require a close bond in order to form some of the most fundamental mental processes, like empathy. So perhaps the real problem is this insistence in taking children (under the age of, say, seven "galactic standard years" ≡ Earth years for humans) from their parents. Recent studies of orphans that have had similarly poor upbringing (in the Balkans, due to the war -- some of them did not even feel human contact regularly) was horrific. If ever there was a training ground for psychopaths, that would be the closest humans have got to it.

How do you know so much about swallows?