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More pics.

Wow. ... Stop the world, I want to get off. Are there any Muslims that feel any shame over the atrocities committed by Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda? Committed in the name of their precious Mohammed and Islam. Where were the protests after September 11 2001? "Allah'hu Akbar!", "Kill another Jew!". "Allah is greatest!", "Death to America!" -- Is it just me or does anyone else see the hypocrisy. Seriously now, tell me that those Danish cartoons are worse, and I will say you are a hypocrite. Undeniably, the sweetest of ironies: Radical muslims are so upset about cartoons depicting Muhammed with a turban bomb, they threaten 'fatwah' with suicide bombers. Does this person not realize, they are practicing the very thing they are protesting against.

Yes, Italian is beautiful.

I suppose South African English can sound threatening, but I do know that the nicest and friendliest people I have met are South African. The bushmen (or Khoi-San as they call themselves) language is kinda impossible to a western ear. Though the language I find most disagreeable is Arabic. It sounds bloody hysterical. French on the other hand is beautiful. "Je t'aime mon amour, et je t'aimerai toujours. J'ai besoin de toi, tu es l'air que je respire, le r

My god, how eloquent.

"What is truth?" - Pontius Pilate

I wish they would do the same thing with Battletech. At least with Battletech the figures aren't made of cheap plastic. " <{POST_SNAPBACK}> That would really kick ass. Man, I love Battletech.

Yeah, I was also mildly surprised at this news. Winter Assault must have sold well for THQ this past season. Balancing seven races will be crazy though. Still, good news. What with "SW:Empire at War" and "LotR:BFMEII" and this it looks to be a good year for PC RTSs'.

Interesting read from a recently declassified Pentagon file. Amazing arrogance on display here by the Pentagon. Discuss. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- US plans to 'fight the net' revealed By Adam Brookes BBC Pentagon correspondent A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks. Bloggers beware. As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer. From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war. The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act. Officials in the Pentagon wrote it in 2003. The Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, signed it. The "roadmap" calls for a far-reaching overhaul of the military's ability to conduct information operations and electronic warfare. And, in some detail, it makes recommendations for how the US armed forces should think about this new, virtual warfare. The document says that information is "critical to military success". Computer and telecommunications networks are of vital operational importance. Propaganda The operations described in the document include a surprising range of military activities: public affairs officers who brief journalists, psychological operations troops who try to manipulate the thoughts and beliefs of an enemy, computer network attack specialists who seek to destroy enemy networks. All these are engaged in information operations. Perhaps the most startling aspect of the roadmap is its acknowledgement that information put out as part of the military's psychological operations, or Psyops, is finding its way onto the computer and television screens of ordinary Americans. "Information intended for foreign audiences, including public diplomacy and Psyops, is increasingly consumed by our domestic audience," it reads. "Psyops messages will often be replayed by the news media for much larger audiences, including the American public," it goes on. The document's authors acknowledge that American news media should not unwittingly broadcast military propaganda. "Specific boundaries should be established," they write. But they don't seem to explain how. "In this day and age it is impossible to prevent stories that are fed abroad as part of psychological operations propaganda from blowing back into the United States - even though they were directed abroad," says Kristin Adair of the National Security Archive. Credibility problem Public awareness of the US military's information operations is low, but it's growing - thanks to some operational clumsiness. Late last year, it emerged that the Pentagon had paid a private company, the Lincoln Group, to plant hundreds of stories in Iraqi newspapers. The stories - all supportive of US policy - were written by military personnel and then placed in Iraqi publications. And websites that appeared to be information sites on the politics of Africa and the Balkans were found to be run by the Pentagon. But the true extent of the Pentagon's information operations, how they work, who they're aimed at, and at what point they turn from informing the public to influencing populations, is far from clear. The roadmap, however, gives a flavour of what the US military is up to - and the grand scale on which it's thinking. It reveals that Psyops personnel "support" the American government's international broadcasting. It singles out TV Marti - a station which broadcasts to Cuba - as receiving such support. It recommends that a global website be established that supports America's strategic objectives. But no American diplomats here, thank you. The website would use content from "third parties with greater credibility to foreign audiences than US officials". It also recommends that Psyops personnel should consider a range of technologies to disseminate propaganda in enemy territory: unmanned aerial vehicles, "miniaturized, scatterable public address systems", wireless devices, cellular phones and the internet. 'Fight the net' When it describes plans for electronic warfare, or EW, the document takes on an extraordinary tone. It seems to see the internet as being equivalent to an enemy weapons system. "Strategy should be based on the premise that the Department [of Defense] will 'fight the net' as it would an enemy weapons system," it reads. The slogan "fight the net" appears several times throughout the roadmap. The authors warn that US networks are very vulnerable to attack by hackers, enemies seeking to disable them, or spies looking for intelligence. "Networks are growing faster than we can defend them... Attack sophistication is increasing... Number of events is increasing." US digital ambition And, in a grand finale, the document recommends that the United States should seek the ability to "provide maximum control of the entire electromagnetic spectrum". US forces should be able to "disrupt or destroy the full spectrum of globally emerging communications systems, sensors, and weapons systems dependent on the electromagnetic spectrum". Consider that for a moment. The US military seeks the capability to knock out every telephone, every networked computer, every radar system on the planet. Are these plans the pipe dreams of self-aggrandising bureaucrats? Or are they real? The fact that the "Information Operations Roadmap" is approved by the Secretary of Defense suggests that these plans are taken very seriously indeed in the Pentagon. And that the scale and grandeur of the digital revolution is matched only by the US military's ambitions for it. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4655196.stm Published: 2006/01/27 18:05:49 GMT

I wish I could believe that Bethesda will deliver on Fallout 3. A game based on the Fallout setting and S.P.E.C.I.A.L rules we all know and love. Alas I fear their priorities differ greatly from the fanbase. My expectations are very low, nearly non-existant ... FO3 from Bethesda most likely will be a FPS set in a post-apocalyptic, shiny sandbox world. They bought the Fallout license because Interplay had it on sale. It went for 1 million plus royalties for 3 games on any platform. Basically they bought the Fallout name. Troika were in negotations for the license but due to financial backing pulling out (Troika needed more money), failed in their endeavors. Fallout 3 died with Black Isle's "Van Buren". Go to NMA, read all the design docs. http://www.nma-fallout.com/forum/dload.php...egory&cat_id=61 Know that Bethsoft's game wil be Fallout in name only.

Fear the hype. Also : Who are Bethesda's target audience? Watch these videos : http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/702/702493/vids_1.html That is all.

Agreed. :cool:

So? It's news to me.

I'm hearing alot of good stuff from the Obsidian devs about NWN2. The alignment shift depending on your actions is one of the coolest new features. Harkens to PS:T. Include better party influence and I am already looking forward to this game. Obsidian better deliver... I know they can.

Well,.. that was a nice informative interview. Good job RPGDot and Dhruin. I really like the idea of the overland map with encounters. Old school and FUN! Also the fact that you start out as unknown and have to work your way up. Please, please let there be some real challenges in the game. Success is more rewarding when it requires intellingence and skill to pull off. I also think what MCA said about the script editor sounds real good. Always a good rule when you work with scripts and editors. "KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid." The sewer thingy is a non issue for me. I have seen enough sewers in games to last me a lifetime. Also barrels good, crates bad. I hope the Obsidian guys and gals get all the time they need to do this game right. Concentrating on features and gameplay is time well spent. Have fun making the game, and I will have fun buying and playing it. I can't wait to take my thief character through this adventure.

AFAIK, there have been Jews living in that part of the world for centuries. This iranian fundamentalist is just trying to cause sensation. It probably boosts his ego having the world-news media report on his rants. Most indications point towards him not being overly bright. E.g. Talking hate propaganda while your country is bargaining nuclear deals. Maybe he has another agenda ... Like focusing Iranians' attention away from problems at home, towards Israel. I see it bolstering the West's view of Iran as a radical fundamentalist state better suited to the dark ages. WTF is it with some of these middle-eastern countries? Are they so hell-bent on destruction, that they are blind to the fact that a ****ed-up, unstable M.E-region hurts them most of all...

It may be a hoax, but unfortunately it may be true. One add was listed on Craigs' List. A pretty well known site with alot of traffic. It boggles the mind that such people actually exist.

The link says it all. May possibly be NSFW. http://www.inomaly.com/xbox-for-sex-v2/

Yeah, must be.

I once believed consoles inferior to pc's, and likewise, their operators. "The Chronicles Of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay" changed my opinion. It was released for xbox, and I had to wait a full year for it to be ported. But the developers (Starbreeze, located in Sweden) took the time to adapt the game to pc hardware and user interface. It made all the difference in the world. I think that some people just take more pride in their work and make sure it is done right. Others do not, barring deadlines or lack of capital. That is my two-pence on this matter. Cheers.

That may well be true, which is great. Also violent games like Manhunt, GTA:SA etc. are generally looked down upon and don't nearly sell as well as elsewhere. Still, Japanese culture/lifeview of uber-drive to always succeed and perform perfectly maybe creates too much pressure. Maybe all the weird is just ways of giving way to creativity. As one thing I can say is that the Japanese are very creative and imaginative. " Freaky linkies: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1854972,00.html http://observer.guardian.co.uk/internation...1635369,00.html http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getart...n20040603a1.htm http://www.4law.co.il/sasebo1.htm

Too much radiation, maybe? I don't know. I find much of popular Japanese culture disturbing. Some of the stuff : Hentai, rape-games, obsession/worship of female child avatars and demon-tentacle anime are pretty weird from a western p.o.v. To me these are all signs of sexual perversion and psycho-somatic escapism to an unhealthy degree. Maybe I am just ignorant about their culture, but Japan seems to not mind that their pop-fads influence how outsiders view them. Its just . . . Weird

Humans and their guns ... I do not want to get into a flamewar or anything. But pray tell , what is so great about being trained to kill people? Oh yeah, nice to see you are still in one piece. Good luck and keep your head down.

I thought the first was great. The second failed to fully realize its potential due to technicalities. I'd wait and see what fanbase/critics reaction on it, before purchase. Also MCA is required if they ever make KOTOR 3.

As far back as I can remember... PC gaming and upgrading have always gone hand in hand. Especially if you wanted to stay at the cutting edge. I remember how cool it was when I saw 3D in Quake2 the first time. Or when I got that CPU upgrade and all my old games were running too fast. Know that feeling of playing the latest game on your friend's fully decked-out system? Or vice-versa and inviting people over to check out some spectacle? The technology is part of the fun. imho. I can appreciate others' point of view though. Having a top of the line PC today costs a bit. Though if you know where to buy and when, you can get a up-to-spec PC for 2-3 years, allowing to play all the latest. Consoles are less of a hassle technically. Personally, I find most console games over-priced and mediocre. Still rentals are a valid option if you like console games and prefer true plug-and-play. My point? I guess its: "Different strokes for different folks!"