Gromnir

disbelief o' western journalism because it is western journalism? sorry, but that sounds like conspiracy to us. suspicion o' US satellite imagery that convinced western leaders to impose sanctions in spite o' the billions o' dollars such sanctions would cost germany and france and others? ok, just a suspicious guy. we can respect that. suspicious o' the former head o' russian treasury regarding the impact o' western sanctions on the ruble and russian economy? well, that makes tougher. sure, he gots the conspiracy theory that makes all western new sources suspect (convenient), but suspicious o' Alexei Kudrin and other russians? such suspicion is particularly odd in light o' the number o' putin critics that has died violently since 1998. Not suspicious o' the growing pile o' corpses? Not suspicious o' the recent arrest? doesn't seem like zor is a natural suspicious guy after all. HA! Good Fun!

The whole situation is, of course, perfectly set up for anti Russian bigotry, fanned by the usual suspects in the press. Arrests not made: well now, that's convenient! Arrests made: well now, that's also convenient! Anything and everything is indicative of conspiracy, working back from the premise that Putin controls everything that happens in Russia. for a guy s'posed tired of the conspiracy theories, you sure do like to indulge. muslims, oligarchs, and o' 'course, the yellow journalists... oh my. is funny. HA! Good Fun! ps we thought it were obvious that the criticism were that the russians were either not investigating genuine or that they were incompetent. simple observing the making of arrests doesn't change the validity o' the criticisms... or it shouldn't.

Burning the Swedish flag would be considered oddball, but probably preferable to displaying it too much (in which case you would be identified as a dirty inbred neo-Nazi from the countryside). hate to burst your bubble, but fear o' offending folks with flags and speech is more a european issue than american. don't let one article mislead you. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-11254419 *shrug* HA! Good Fun!

gonna stick with the flag stuff for the nonce... there is few people dumber than first and second year University students. kids is exposed to new ideas and they is (hopefully) challenged to look at those ideas critically. is a new experience. is also ok to be a dumb college student; being dumb in college might actually be a good thing. sure, you frequent don't know enough to realize that you is dumb, but University is one o' the few places you can be dumb without lasting long-term suffering for saying or believing something stoopid. thinks flags is, by their very nature, an abrogation o' free speech? *chuckle* is funny. nevertheless, is ok to stoopidly tilt windmills while in college. the arrogant undergrad who thinks that he gots the Answers 'cause he read trotsky AND the federalist papers in a lower-division poli-sci class is amusing, but we wouldn't wanna discourage such silliness. "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."-George Bernard Shaw subvert the dominant paradigm... dude. HA! Good Fun! ps am certain that if somebody had written down or otherwise recorded every silly ack-jass notion or theory we spouted off about in class or at local watering holes during our University student or teaching years, we would be mortified when confronted with some o' our own past nonsense... and we wouldn't have traded those years for anything.

*shrug* regardless o' the way you want things to be, the game will be balanced for the critical path player. the side-quests are Side-Quests precisely because they is optional and not part of The Critical Path. the side-quests is described by obsidian folks as being optional. "side-quests" that need be completed is, by definition, part o' the critical path and whatever balancing calculus that entails. am not certain how to make this more clear. HA! Good Fun!

police states is fragile. HA! Good Fun!

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/01/world/list-grows-of-putin-critics-who-met-violent-deaths/#.VPsvIPnF9j4 sadly, the same reasoning can be used for virtual all folks on the linked list. one need only study the methodology o' other police states to understand why such regimes is so concerned with controlling the dialog. HA! Good Fun!

you pose an imaginary dilemma. the "critical path" is not only a fixed and known quantity (unlike the considerable degrees and variations o' completionists) but it is likely to require less powha than alternatives. the crit path is, by definition, the minimum. am certain that if you think about it, you will see why the critical path o' the game needs be balanced for the crit path player. HA! Good Fun!

yes, it is "as if on cue," isn't it? HA! Good Fun!

you are already being rewarded as a completionist w/o gairnulf's poorly considered gold fixes. as a completionist you are getting more xp and more gear. you are getting more gold too. gair wants useful stuff on which to spend the extra gold. we know that the completionist needs to feel like he is being rewarded-- that has always been a problem. the completionist is more likely to be the guy who complained that the game were so darn easy. well, gosh, as a completionist you were able to hit the level cap 2/3 o' the way through the game and you had the bestest gear possible. the game is gonna be easier for the completionist. so why make the problem worse by allowing the player to overcome quests by paying for success. why make the problem worse by making special stores available that only the completionist could possibly afford? Gromnir is fully aware that you need to feel like your efforts is being rewarded, and they is. you is getting 1007 and xp. sure, you also got a big ol' pile o' gold you can't use, but so what? finding Useful stuff to buy is making an unavoidable problem worse. for your excess gold, the developers need ways to make you happy with pet rocks and canisters o' peppermint scented air. gold SINK. HA! Good Fun!

unintended irony is always best. HA! Good Fun!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/03/05/390754346/boris-nemtsov-he-directed-his-words-against-putin-himself "I haven't seen any real hypothesis. Lets face it: Boris Nemtsov was shot on one of the main bridges of Moscow just 100 meters from Kremlin, which is heavily surveilled by the security cameras, which is under control of the Russian power institutions. If you try to do a photo op at the Moscow bridge where Boris was shot you would immediately face a policeman. "By now we know that for four days, nonstop, he was followed by different cars. We know whoever conducted the killing told his driver to go home, and he was going back to his apartment on foot. We know there were four bullets — one went directly into the heart, another directly into his head, another one in the liver, and another one in the stomach. All shot from the back. "Police came to the place of the killing in 12 minutes. They immediately announced a special measure to get the car with the killer inside. They managed not to get this car, and several days after Nemstov's murder no one [has been] caught. "They don't know, or pretend they don't know, or don't want to catch anyone. So really, you know, it's just a joke. "So there are two hypothesis: Either the so-called Russian law enforcement can't do their job — except for following the opposition, tapping their phones and putting peaceful opposition leaders into jail — or they don't want to do their job, and that suggests that they were part of this plot to kill Boris."

well, to be fair, if you is using steel posts, you drive 'em without digging a hole... but that clearly ain't what woldan were talking about. Gromnir has spent considerable time creating and repairing barbwire fences, and we almost never bothered with concrete as the wire provides most o' the support. back-fill holes with dirt or a combo o' pea gravel and sand is typical sufficient. however, we did get a chuckle o' picturing woldan trying to drive wooden post fencing with a sledgehammer. HA! Good Fun!

dex inexplicably properly adjusts spell casting speed, but not weapons. however, at the moment, we believe increase dex actual slows weapon speed. HA! Good Fun!

one wonders what answer we could get from a complete honest ben roethlisberger or kobe bryant. heck, ray lewis somehow became a genuine role-model after legal problems were forgotten. perhaps such advice would go something like, "don't worry kid. you can get away with anything as long as you only do it once." HA! Good Fun!

*sigh* yes. it is a bad option to be able to complete quests by paying. the quests invariably provide rewards. if the quest has no reward, the incentive to pay to complete is negligible. you do not seem to understand the notion of a gold Sink. am not sure how we can explain any better, but am suspecting that you understand and simply do not agree. paying gold to make your character more powerful is fraught with perils. in a game with a large % o' optional side-quests, the problem becomes magnified because it is Inevitable that the completionist will acquire more gold and 1007 than the critical path player. the game can be successfully completed by the critical path player. the difficulty o' the game is such that the critical path player will be able to overcome all critical path obstacles. rewarding the completionist with gold that he can sell for power (direct or indirect) is The Problem. am sorry, but this is axiomatic and we is repeating our self. the aim is to find a way to give an attractive Nothing to the player for their gold. find a way to make the player happy that they received a pet rock or a canister o' peppermint scented air after they drop their gold down the sink. the excess gold, the gold that a critical path player could not hope to acquire, should not result in meaningful gains for the completionist. HA! Good Fun!

you weren't unclear. we would be against the potions precisely because it were "really expensive." if is something the critical path player is not envisioned as being able to afford, then we don't want such stuff in the game. BUYING success is the opposite o' the goal o' a gold sink, and making the game functional easier for the player who has acquired lots of 1007 (i.e. done the side quests) is resulting in the game being made less challenging for the folks who most likely already have the best gear and more experience. HA! Good Fun! The assumption that I mean for such a solution to be used on a critical path quest is wrong. I was thinking about any quest that can have multiple solutions. I thought it's common sense that a solution to a quest which involves the player compensating for his lacking in some skill by buying a buff should only be one of at least two solutions. it weren't our assumption that such a thing would be available in the critical path. such is a complete irrelevant consideration. have an item available to a player because o' gold that is NOT available to the critical path player because o' expense or any other reason creates the disparity we noted earlier. what we said was, "if is something the critical path player is not envisioned as being able to afford, then we don't want such stuff in the game." doesn't matter when/where you make available. being able to pay for superior ability or increased powered is bad for all the reasons we has now repeated numerous times. you wanna giving something o' value to the player for their excess gold. that is the problem, not a solution. HA! Good Fun!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/24/jameis-winston-s-rape-accuser-tells-all-in-sundance-documentary-the-hunting-ground.html

we will read the link. regardless, am knowing that heinlein were an extreme misunderstood guy. am always hearing the story about how he tried to beat the snot outta arthur c. clarke 'cause clarke public criticized the US SDI project. we also hear folks argue whether Heinlein were libertarian or conservative. johnny rico, the protagonist o' starship troopers which were written in 1959, is revealed late in the book to be filipino. however, the book appears to suggest that political leadership should only be held by those who has volunteered for military service. many commentators were confused by heinlein as his political views didn't fit in neat boxes. *shrug* more important than what a man says is what he does. is a number o' articles about the relationship o' heinlein and philip k. **** but they is typical covering the literary aspects o' the respective writers. philp k. **** wrote a bit about heinlein in the introduction to one o' his books. "Several years ago, when I was ill, Heinlein offered his help, anything he could do, and we had never met; he would phone me to cheer me up and see how I was doing. He wanted to buy me an electric typewriter, God bless him—one of the few true gentlemen in this world. I don't agree with any ideas he puts forth in his writing, but that is neither here nor there. One time when I owed the IRS a lot of money and couldn't raise it, Heinlein loaned the money to me. I think a great deal of him and his wife; I dedicated a book to them in appreciation. Robert Heinlein is a fine-looking man, very impressive and very military in stance; you can tell he has a military background, even to the haircut. He knows I'm a flipped-out freak and still he helped me and my wife when we were in trouble. That is the best in humanity, there; that is who and what I love." from our pov, heinlein were a bit o' a kook. his notions regarding sex and personal freedom can seem almost comical. at the same time, we believe heinlein were a very bright guy and we would be doing our self a disservice if we were dismissive o' heinlein because we disagreed with some o' his more extreme beliefs. perhaps most significant is that from everything we has read, it appears that heinlein were a compassionate man who were having genuine integrity. men such o' heinlein is, sadly, rare. and we still can't imagine a faithful movie version o' the moon is a harsh mistress. HA! Good Fun!

well, the pre-draft combine already occurred, which were only interesting 'cause a borderline draftable cb had a broad-jump that were exceeding the world record. april 30, 2015 is day one o' the draft. aren't you all tingly with anticipation? or not. however, we post today as we read that brandon marshal is being traded to the jets. the mercurial wr with diagnosed bi-polar disorder and manic depression is going to the jets. the jets? okie dokie our first reaction were that the trade also signaled that cutler were likely to be cut before march 12, but 'pon reflection, there is both football and monetary reasons that might justify the bears holding onto a lame-duck qb for an entire year. dunno. regardless, we now have a 2015 nfl thread... unless one already exists. HA! Good Fun!

you are becoming a bit predictable with your imaginings o' what other folks must believe, though your amusing attempt to define romance for all promancers is still your best/worst work so far. ah well, some folks has a ridiculous difficult time with the most simple o' lessons: keep your eye on the ball. maybe stun didn't play baseball as a kid... or cricket, or rugby or football or golf or whatever. HA! Good Fun! ps it woulda' been funnier if your first example were pong. two paddles, kept apart for all eternity, but fighting for some kinda connection... etc.

we got a roasted brussels sprout recipe that we only serve once per year. poured over the roasted sprouts is a cream-based sauce that requires gorgonzola cheese, shallots, crushed pecan fragments, browned butter, fresh squeezed lemon juice (lemon zest optional) and a significant amount o' heavy cream. ten minutes after introducing the sauce to the sprouts, the vegetable matter becomes a soggy and unpalatable mess, and there is no way in hell to refrigerate roasted sprouts or the sauce. additionally, while we s'pose that roasted sprouts has health benefits, our recipe is admittedly a side-dish sized coronary event. no more than once in a year. HA! Good Fun!

There were No romances in PS:T, Biowaresque or otherwise. Get that through your thick, stubborn skull already. Edit: Well, unless of course, your definition of Romances in pre-2000 video games is: "omg omg omg. Ravel Loves my toon, therefore, PS:T has romances." Well? Is it? Um...why wouldn't it be? It is a romantic story element in any case. If that counts then, as I have said 100x in this thread, then PoE may yet have a romance. If what you want is Bioware romances it will not. That is that. am reasonably sure that he has no idea what he is arguing or why the distinction is relevant. bruce is smarter. so too is valmy. however, those o' you who is showing more insight than stun is an increasing large group. unlocking circles o' zerthimon should result in a significant greater ego boost than leaving stun baffled. going nerdtastic, we believe the lesson from the 4th circle o' zerthimon is the most applicable to stun's plight... but the 6th also has relevance. HA! Good Fun!

we suspect that bruce is smarter than you. so, Gromnir suggests that not only were there romances before 2000, but they were better? bruce admitting that there were romances in games before 2000 does not change the fact that he wants current crpg developers to include tangential and optional mini-game/side-quest companion romances such as bioware popularized. bruce, being smarter than stun, would likely not wanna concede our point that pre-2000 romances were better, and he would be aware that the mere existence o' such romances as the ravel and tno romance sub-plot from ps:t doesn't impact his lobbying for bioware-style romances to be included in games being developed in 2015 and beyond. bruce would surely not wanna agree with Gromnir that the tangential and optional mini-game/side-quest romances is mechanically flawed and that doing romance such as we saw attempted in ps:t is a superior approach compared to the one he is advocating. we suspect that bruce would recognize that you mindlessly railing against Gromnir regarding the existence and nature o' ps:t romances is asinine given that you s'posed don't want tangential and optional side-quest/mini-game romances anymore than does Gromnir. 'course we suspect that bruce is smarter than stun. HA! Good Fun!

you weren't unclear. we would be against the potions precisely because it were "really expensive." if is something the critical path player is not envisioned as being able to afford, then we don't want such stuff in the game. BUYING success is the opposite o' the goal o' a gold sink, and making the game functional easier for the player who has acquired lots of 1007 (i.e. done the side quests) is resulting in the game being made less challenging for the folks who most likely already have the best gear and more experience. HA! Good Fun!