Gromnir

It's not really a good example if you haven't actually played it, ffs. sure it is. our point were not that arrival were bad dlc. the point were that in spite o' our reservations regarding arrival, we almost purchased solely 'cause it were presented as advancing core story aspects. HA! Good Fun!

High as a giant gorilla atop the Empire State. It's just something that has always interested me. A lot of people dislike it because they don't understand it, but then I notice they either had horrible maths teachers or never bothered to even try at it. But hey, what do I know, I only tutored kids in it for 2 years and study it as my second science major. None of which disproves my 'high as an exploded suicide bomber' theory. You have obviously just been high quite a long time. I am confused. I think once people start describing maths majors as permanently high, the word starts to lose its negative connotations. Which is fine by me. Rock on, I'm high! a math major cannot be permanently high? our time in berkeley would suggest otherwise. actually, Gromnir's 3rd year roommate, a math major, were preternaturally and perpetually high. our roomie were from the netherlands, and we were actual kinda envious that a guy who spent 90% of his waking hours fried could maintain his gpa. *chuckle* we were the first guy to tell him that he should use deodorant as he had a noticeable funk. we thought he were gonna be angry when we informed him o' his bo problem, but he thanked us. he were mortified that he had been stinky for two years without anybody informing him that his presence were noisome. in any event, nothing 'bout being a math major precludes being wasted outta your gourd. am suspecting that fully 1/4 o' the math majors at ucb were high more often than our roomie. oh, and ain't krez a former math major? am recalling that you were gonna drop-out. belated congrats if you has returned to your studies. am always surprised and relieved when an ex-student returns to finish off his/her studies, since it happens so rare. HA! Good Fun! ps the guy we roomed with kicked our arse in chess 'bout 90% o' the time we played.... and he were high 'bout 50% o' the times we played. *grumble*

unless you is a fan o' the books, we suspect that the show's lack o' focus on a specific storyline and handful o' characters coulda' been disturbing. also, while we understand that it is sacrilege 'mongst sci-fi/fantasy nerdlings to criticize sean bean, boromir's performance were little better than the mouth-breather they got to play jon snow. well, at least eddard is dead, so we not have to endure sean phoning it in for a second season. we enjoyed 'cause we like the books... but am not sure if we would go so far as to call a "triumph." however, am gonna agree that is probable the best swords and sorcery kinda fantasy show we can recollect. HA! Good Fun!

no. your point being... in any event, enoch is being kinda selective 'bout his response to Gromnir's post. am wondering if is intentional. meh. is not simple the time and effort, but the inspiration. while we has zippo desire to be a moderator of an internet message board (particularly the low-cost advertising space that is developer/publisher message boards,) we can understand the desire o' some folks to support the community. feel like they is contributing to community? maybe even feel like they facilitate useful feedback that results in better obsidian games? etc. such motivations is not alien. being a moderator is time consuming and thankless, but the choice to accept an invitation to moderate does not strike us as bizarre or even odd. is not the way Gromnir would spend his "time and effort," but we understand why some folks does take up the burden. heck, some folks even want to be moderators. go figure. enoch ignored the motivation aspect o' our observation. funroc's motivation to post info-bytes, on the other hand, strike us as... odd. rather, is odd if funroc is not an obsinatie. HA! Good Fun! ps for those we predict will miss the forest for the trees, am not saying it is weird to post developer info on a developer board. however, the number o' posts, and the obscurity o' the references from funroc is peculiar... is unusual enough to inspire this thread.

disturbing or disturbed? is a subtle but important distinction, no? in any event, am not actually wanting an answer related to funroc identity. the info he/she provides is sometimes interesting, nevertheless, as much as we suspect that he/she is an obsinatie, it would be kinda disappointing to know that an obsinatie were responsible for plethora o' the Look-At-Obsidian posts on the general board. am thinking that the question o' funroc identity would most intrigue an obsinatie, and as Gromnir is not... *shrug* HA! Good Fun!

Have you read the book of the new sun? I concur that The Book of the New Sun is the most interestingly written fantasy-ish fiction I've read. is our opinion that the short sun books is revealing the high point o' wolfe craftsmanship, but am understanding why they is a difficult slog for many readers. on the other hand, the wizard knight books is surprisingly accessible... and probable equal well-written as new sun. am gonna concede that we has never read the soldier series, so our knowledge o' the wolfe catalog is incomplete. am having an author friend who insists that the soldier books is actually the betest mr. wolfe has written, but we refuse to read-- gives our friend something to berate us for each time we meet. HA! Good Fun!

If funcroc is as good as I am giving him credit for, he should be able to detect that there is a thread going on about him on this forum. ... am not seeing as "good" per se. once funroc started monopolizing the obsidian general portion o' the fora, we assumed that funroc were an obsidian alt. no offense, but am finding it hard to believe that anybody would genuinely care enough to hunt down the info-bytes he/she (seems masculine, but you can never be certain) finds unless he/she were somehow connected to obsidian... past or present. "good" only applies if funroc is not having a connection with obsidian. after all, is not so hard to Find info if you know such info exists, and you already know where to look. however, if funroc is an ordinary (albeit somewhat snarky and dismissive... not that we is complaining) poster who has an inordinate interest in the comings-and-goings o' obsinaties, then we concede that his efforts is impressive... if a little disturbing. HA! Good Fun!

That's fairly usual, isn't it? I guess. I just think they could have expanded on the actual conflict in the game a bit more ... maybe an additional "major" quest for one of the factions in a DLC, rather than kind of "okay, let's take a minute away from this conflict to go on a side journey" type deal. *shrugs* am actually preferring a tangential focus for these dlc offerings. mass effect 2's "arrival" dlc is a good example o' why we want to keeps such stuff insular and discreet from the main story arc. am understanding that arrival answers some big mass effect story questions, but from what we hear 'bout the shooter gameplay focus of the final dlc, we has zero interest in playing. makes us feel conflicted. based on hints dropped in me and me2, we thinks we gots a pretty good handle on the direction bio is going with the story o' me. nevertheless, we admits that although "arrival" sounded 'bout as appealing as gargling with battery acid, we almost purchased... just to see some reaper questions answered. bioware game content dlc has been very much hit-and-miss. dlc is frequently shallow and short... obviously rushed developments focused on making ea money without much cost to developer or publisher. shadowbroker were fun, but most other such stuff we has played were hardly worth the purchase. thankfully, the dlc has been tangential, and we has not felt that bioware held the story hostage with their dlc... by skipping dlc, we were not missing out on integral story development aspects. keep tangential... or improve enormous. HA! Good Fun!

is not "fence-sitting" for Gromnir. we is using the primary definition o' ambivalent: we has conflicting opinions 'bout da2. is some things that da2 did well. is some things 'bout da2 that is irredeemable. is not that we cannot decide or choose, but rather that we is surprised by the degree that da2 is good And bad. HA! Good Fun!

qucik note: didn't the biowarians spend money on a language expert for da:o? thought it were a waste... until we played da2 and we were called 'sirrah' 'bout 1000 times. now we get that it weren't actually "sirrah," but am suspecting that some clown at bio were playing a joke on all the fans. HA! Good Fun!

am almost having finished a first play-thru o' da2. gonna write up a review once we has completed the game and taken a day or two to reflect. nevertheless, we will observe that da2 has moments o' good fun. is not a terrible game. nevertheless, some o' the design choices is... puzzling. ... am not recalling a game that has left us so ambivalent. is perplexing. HA! Good Fun!

pathfinder is popular 'mongst the pnp rpg crowd, but am betting that it is unknown to a vast number o' crpg gamers... folks like enoch. additional problem is that it utilizes the wotc OGL. pathfinder is a nifty setting and rules d&d rules variant, but am not seeing any way for it to be getting the obsidian treatment anytime soon. as for a new ip from obsidian, is too bad that ap were underwhelming. coulda' resulted in money And freedom... which is what every developer desires, right? HA! Good Fun!

1) am thinking that license issues preclude likelihood. 2) am wondering how much ap hurt obsidian. will be interesting to see what is next obsidian move. HA! Good Fun!

What was he originally reacting to, BTW? approx quote: "if a venomous snake bit your mother in the chest, would you suck the poison out if it would mean that you would win another championship?" or something close to that. after a bad loss during the 2005 or 2006 (?) nba finals, some local radio personality asks shaq a wacky question. shaq responded with the all-purpose "your momma" bit... "i would if it was your mother." am not 100% certain as it were a while ago... and Gromnir is no fan o' shaq. am only a middling basketball fan when the Bulls are absent, and the Bulls were not in that final. HA! Good Fun!

Quick as you are to suggest wishful thinking from others, this really stands out - especially in light of Qaddafi's history with terrorism. If you bomb someone's country -twice- and make every possible commitment -except for the one that matters- to make sure he's ousted, expecting him to just sit on his hands rebuilding infrastructure for the next decades is... not terribly realistic. Not that this is necessarily the scenario you were predicting. funny stuff. sorry we didn't see sooner. # ignores that this is, for the most part, an internal libyan conflict. is not gonna resolve itself over night, and whomever wrests control is gonna be dealing with Internal conflict for some time. add to the libyan's problems with libya, nato (not the US for a change) will have destroyed a good portion o' the northern african nation's infrastructure by the time somebody finally takes political control o' the nation. sssssoooooo, how exactly is the situation gonna be worse for the US? let the libyans rage 'gainst libyans. let libyans rage 'gainst nato partners. war is not funny. people being killed is not funny. even so, listen to clinton berate qaddafi for attacking civilians is... funny. as for your observations 'bout the us economy... eh? am not certain o' the relevance. morgoth made some patently stoopid and general comments 'bout the pansy nations sitting this fracas out, as if those nations as a whole is experiencing some kinda economic renaissance. somebody wanna check the number o' euro nations who has needed economic bailout in recent years? am not recalling where Gromnir boasted o' the grand power and stability o' US economic power, but the notion o' some kinda imminent cataclysmic US economic collapse is not only based wishful thinking, it is myopic in the extreme. the only folks in europe who is looking forward to US economic collapse is undereducated, middle-class socialist brats with no awareness o' the repercussions o' such an eventuality. bah. argue that China is quickly becoming a threat to US economic supremacy is a far different thing that suggesting that the US economy is 'bout to collapse and that euros will laugh when it happens. oh, and as China's economy is a few decades behind the curve, focused on manufacture and natural resources, it ain't as worrisome a threat as it has been portrayed in the media.... but that is a complete different topic. HA! Good Fun!

Isn't GoldBox original D&D rules though? My first D&D set was the red boxed set (and red books), but that would have been 83-84' or so, not before (I think). Though I remember playing D&D in the 70's (not the color of the books though ) gold box refers to the ssi crpg stuff. the red (basic) blue (expert) came along some number o' years after the original d&d rules were released in 1974. for some obscure reason we never could figure out, the original d&d rules is often misidentified as white-box d&d, 'cause in 1976 the rules were released in a white box. the actual original rules were released a couple years earlier and had hobbits 'stead o' halflings. HA! Good Fun!

rogues couldn't use such stuff in bg1 levels, and for bards to use wands were frequent inconvenient or costly. bards were combat and spell-casting duds in bg1... which were a frequent complaint from bard fans. actual, Gromnir rare utilized the wand o' monster summons save for a couple o' battles. have a bard just so we could use for 4 or 5 battles in the game? also, we preferred animating undead for our meat(less) shields. undead were immune to poisons, so were ideal to use in conjunction with stinking cloud at lower levels. were also immune to mind affecting spells... so no ogre mage or siren shenanigans. mages had some very nice spells, particular as some low level spells scaled to very powerful... likes magic missile and acid arrow. aside-- fighter/thief were also extreme effective in bg1, but that weren't on walsh's list o' possibilities. the most difficult traps in the game could be disarmed with a 4th level thief, and if you were needing to pickpocket, there were potions that could boost such skills when rare needed. play fighter/thief would save having to waste a party member slot o a rogue character, while providing very deadly combat support. HA! Good Fun!

exactly. the folks with the talent moved on to other jobs where there talents would be useful. where is the confusion? HA! Good Fun! Yeah Gromnir because that is just exactly how the world works. Those who are talented get to move onto to other jobs in their chosen field and the hacks have to do something else. Nobody undeserving has to make a career move and everyone who has to make a career move is deserving. The universe really is just that balanced and fair that talent always succeeds on its own virtues and those that don't are talentless. *snort* conversely, we find that most often the folks that complain 'bout the lack o' fairness in the american business world is the ones who don't work hard enough or don't have enough talent. am gonna suggest that your woe-is-me scenario is far less likely than Gromnir's. yeah, the fact that a certain stench possibly adhered to a troika resume mighta made a lateral move difficult for some. even so, talented folks who works hard will get jobs. find some rare exception is possible, but the exception is noteworthy only 'cause they is exceptions... particularly as we is talking 'bout 2005 and not 2011. btw, am not saying that everybody gets the job they deserve. is all kinda politics and unspoken qualifications that sees less talented folks promoted over more talented. even so, the scenario o' a genuine talented developer not able to get job (different than don't want) in spite o' hard work is far more difficult to believe than is the unfair theory o' business. HA! Good Fun!

Thanks for clearing that up. I thought you were anti D&D and plus Atari. on-line petitions have very little impact. get far more juice from a written letter, but folks is typical too lazy to put forth the effort. am recalling that some o' the black isle developers once commented on the impotence o' internet petitions... but that were more than a few years ago. even so, as you said, is not gonna hurt. just don't expect anything from an on-line petition... ever. HA! Good Fun!

exactly. the folks with the talent moved on to other jobs where there talents would be useful. where is the confusion? HA! Good Fun!

why on earth would Gromnir be caring how vol feels? we posted in response to what you said.... and even then we simple used your post to make a point. the day we actual concerns self with vol opinions... HA! Good Fun! ps vol missed the point... again. surprise?

yes, wizard is A right choice, and clerics is powerful. as with most d&d party-based games, relative power o' the player is pointless if your party dynamic... sucks. wizards, from the mid point o' the game onward, is also very powerful... but there is a big difference 'tween the efficacy o' a bg1 conjurer or necromancer and a bg1 enchanter or diviner. as the wizard choices in the game is all kinda lame, it makes sense to build-your-own. on the other hand, there is no specialist clerics. clerics all gets access to the same spell lists... and they all got a special power that the pc cleric won't have. you already got the cleric o' tempus with her mighty hammer, right? each cleric gots a powha that is kinda nifty and very useful. ranger/clerics is probable the most powerful multi-class in the game, with fighter/clerics right behind 'em. dual-class options is even more powerful, but is kinda silly to voluntarily play a gimped character for 1/3 to 1/2 of the game just so you can be superman for the remainder. *shrug* we typical played as a cleric in bg1, but from a pure practical pov, if we were wanting to make the best use o' available jnpcs, we would makes a weezard pc. HA! Good Fun!

observation: none of the specialist wizards available as joinable npcs in bg1 is what we woulda' chosen for ourself. on the other hand, there is multiple clerics available in the game, and some o' 'em has nifty powhaz that make 'em extreme effective. from a pure practical pov, choosing the weezard is the right choice. am not sure if is counting as spoilers, but you may wanna at least look at a list o' the available jnpcs for bg1...might help make your choice for you... or not. btw, choosing cleric does not make game harder. clerics is extreme powerful in bg, and fighter/clerics with the right equipment can almost solo the game. HA! Good Fun! proviso-- there is one super-powerful specialist mage available in bg1, but he gots "issues" with other party members.

is today false dilemma friday or something? look, is ok to complain that bio shoulda' taken their time and made a fifty-hour game WITH unique maps as 'posed to a thirty-hour game with recycle. bio made all kinda stoopid claims 'bout how their changes to da2 were for benefit o' players and not resource saving shortcuts. well shucks, mike couldn't find no way to dress-up recycled maps as a feature or boon, so he did the unimaginable-- he told the truth. the thing that bothered Gromnir is not the anger directed at mike, but rather the fact that the anger were seeming misplaced. on the other hand, some folks likes to parrot bio without doing any thinking of their own... which is convenient for bio, but is very discouraging. peoples Should complain 'bout recycled maps, but folks so easy split into the hate v. love camps that it not matter what a developer actually says. if love bio, then mike must be right. if hate bio, then surely mike is a filthy liar. too easy. to memao, sorry, but we do not recall you specific. that being said, we is humbled and grateful that you would post as you did. to be fair, you coulda' been right and we mighta' been wrong. is not as if we had some kinda crystal ball. is just that so many changes had the appearance o' being resource savers... and something 'bout the way bio presented 'em as "features" made Gromnir suspicious. the manner in which bio "sells" their games to the fan-base over the years has changed somewhat. an understandable change given the manner in which innocuous board comments from developers is likely to go viral nowadays. HA! Good Fun!

false dilemma/dichotomy makes baby jebus cry. HA! Good Fun!