Cantousent

You're playing TOMBS. It's a great game that can be played in short, five minute increments throughout the day.

alan's articles show one of the reasons that evaluating consoles is such a hairy problem. Apparently, Cell was built with more than gaming in mind. However, was it built primarily for gaming or not? Now, Cell gets it from both sides. On one hand, folks say that it's a great beast, but not built to be a gaming beast. On the other hand, other detractors say that it has limited function outside of gaming. I used to think this was all double talk. Then, however, it dawned on me that, since the console isn't even released, folks don't really know how it will perform at all. It's not duplicitous. It's simply unknown at this point. I hate to interject this again, but I don't think most folks will care whether the console provides nightmares or angst for the programmers as long as the end product is fun. Great games make for happy customers. The only thing that I can say in regards to this argument is that 10k makes a good point that developers with a more limited budget could be hurt if the costs of programming for the PS3 is excessive. That does suck, but it's also part of business. I don't like the smaller guy taking the shaft, but business has always been an uncaring ordeal. Hell, I think developing costs have risen to incredible levels already, for all platforms. It's not like the PC hasn't left a pile of bodies in its wake. Many of us here are refugees from the IP boards where we followed the BIS division. In angs' defence, hoewver, virtually every article I read about these consoles sounds like PR talk. Sometimes I doubt the veracity of the article. Other times, I don't really think they're lying, just putting a favorable spin on the issue. A lot of the time, I'm sure they believe what they're saying, but I happen to have heard counter-arguments. The IBM article, from what I could grasp as an outsider didn't sound like something that was written to be a press release, but it did have some of that PR glow, only technical PR glow written for other eggheads like the author.

The song in question is "Sweet Georgia Brown." I haven't heard lyrics, but that doesn't mean there aren't any. Do a google and see if something pops out at you.

...And thus it was written in the book of fate that I should smite the hell out of Satan's minions. It was a fun run, but now it's done. Yes, Bok, it was great playing it with the new graphics card. Whew, some pretty eye candy there. The scenes were more varied than FEAR, but the flashlight gimmick, the lack of crouching, and just the fact that it's more dated gives FEAR the advantage. On the other hand, it's a good game. I don't mind the fact that id used spawns, but I have to admit that it's actually nervewracking to play DOOM3. I often feel a little strung out by the time I finish a session, which was quite long tonight because I knew I was approaching the end. I guess I like the atmosphere and whatnot, but I'm I have to temper these frantic shooters with some RPGs, a game of golf or two, and other, more soothing games. Also, have any of you managed to shoot and kill one of the NPCs in DOOM3 before? I was playing a while back and I turned and there was someone there. I immediately shot the head before my gun could lower. There was no body left over, but something about the noise he made gave me reason to think maybe I'd done something stupid. So, I reload and, sure enough, he's a scientist who wanted to tell me something. Normally, I can't even shoot the scientists on purpose, but I guess, if you time it just right, you can blow them to kingdom come before you holster your firearm.

Took a break to look for music for the vifen. Anyhow, I'm still DOOMing, only now I'm at the bottom of Cavern one getting ready for Cavern two. Soul Cube is great for taking out heavies, like the arch-vile. The Knights aren't even all that tough, but the arch-vile will summon a horde and so he's always my primary target. Anyhow, the BFG can take out knights and other riffraff. On a side note, I heard it all go down, alan. I was helping a friend today and he's a rabid hockey fan. Sounded like Carolina pretty much dominated statistics-wise, but they only won 2-1. My buddy is for Carolina to win, mostly because he wants two of their players to get a ring or whatever the hell hockey players get. I told him I knew more folks rooting for the Oilers and he said that it was kind of tough because he'd like to see the Oilers win also because of some sort of Canadian controversy.

hahaha I think you should write the next part of the story, only put Baley in it. Face it, we're all frustrated writers in this thread anyhow.

Ugh, after an exhausting day, it's back to site three of DOOM 3. I'm sending more hellspawn to hell. I'm a paladin without a cup of coffee. If they don't run scared, they'll die quickly.

Five Rockets and Soul cube... now it's Miller time. Sarge got off one shot with the BFG. My soul cube must have smashed it, finished him, and I ended with no net loss of life. hahaha. Of course, I did have to pick a shard to round my armor up to 125. Then I scooped up the stray goodies and went down to the elevator so I could stop by Site 3 and give Satan's minions a hellish beating.

I'm almost done with my latest play through DOOM 3. FEAR was a much better game. The ability to toggle crouching, stack up health packs for later use, being forced to choose weapons, and the graphics were an improvement. Still, for suspence and difficulty, DOOM 3 has FEAR beat. With FEAR, even though the baddies tried to flank you, I was never looking over my shoulder like I am in DOOM 3. The damned bad guys pop out of nowhere all the time. Anyhow, I'm getting ready to take Sarge behind the shed and teach him a thing or two.

Okay, first things first, never write a lengthy response and then decide to look at something on a different page. I lost a considerable amount of writing. However, I'm determined to give you the review I promised, so back to square one. :Eldar's shouting expletives at his computer screen icon: From what I wrote previously, you tend to use the rule of threes a lot in your writing. I fall into the same practice, which is good when it suits your purpose but not so much when you find yourself searching for your third item to round off the list. I had a rather clever way of getting this point across, but I was f'n stupid and erased it. Suffice it to say, you should be careful you don't force yourself to write a list of threes about everything. We humans have this odd tendency to like the number three. The Christians like it. The ancient Egyptians liked it. Hell, ancient folks all over the place bought into the whole "three" idea and it's been the same ever since. On the other hand, you don't want to invent items where they really don't exist. Using less that three can be economical, brief, and.... umm... a lot less searching for something to stick into the list. Now that I've said that, "stars...beach...babes" compliments "obviously. Surely. Definitely" quite nicely. I like the new ending better. It's like much of your writing in that you force the reader to try to figure out what the hell you're saying. Keep 'em confused, that's Baley's motto. It works. :haksthumbsup: Speaking of that, I don't know why it's so important that folks don't confuse the narrator with Ian. You actually drop a pretty hefty hint when Ian says he's from Fargo while the narrator lives in a house that his family has owned for generations in Devil's Lake. My gut instinct is that some folks will still be confused, but that's not such a terrible thing. Make them think. If push comes to shove, you've got the evidence. In addition to the country house thing, Ian's interlude is separated by quotation marks and it's in italics. Anything more than that and you're beating your reader over the head with the idea. Much better, much more elegant this way. The fact is, however, the true charm of your writing is that you force the reader to think. It's not a leisurely stroll down the literary road for you. Play to your strengths, ol' chum. I think the work is too short. We could use a few more clues as to what's happening. The black fellow at the end confused me a tad. Once I thought about it, I understood. Of course, your writing is a bit cluttered. Everything you've submitted to us here has been a bit cluttered, but I get the gist of it. At least I think I do. It doesn't matter, muddling through some confusion isn't a terrible thing. You just don't want it to get so confusing that folks can't follow you at all. Mostly, your story is compelling because you obviously take such pleasure in telling it. This is where understanding the background gives us a little entertainment. I mean, you're writing about a place you've never been while working against a deadline. Good job. I'd've proabably just gotten drunk instead. Finally, I don't know whether this is for a competition or a grade or what, but I hope it fulfils your needs. It seems to me that you've got a real talent. Keep plugging away at it and remember, when you hit it big, you're going to buy a round for us! :Eldar's slapping Baley on the back and offering him a legal beverage of his choice icon:

DOOM 3. ...And it makes sense to lock and restart these threads. Although I've heard that the board software here is better than on the IP boards, I'd rather not have the meltdown happen here like it did there. Long threads make for potential instability.

I know how I administer it, but a gentleman doesn't speak of such things.

I've read the thread. I'll have some comments tomorrow night or Sunday. First things first, however, I'd like to start off with what I perceive as strong points in your story. First of all, this piece is less edgy than some of your other work. I happen to think that "edgy" is a strength for you, but it sometimes comes at the cost of cohesion. This story isn't conventional, but it is understandable. That's a feat in and of itself. Another thing that struck me is how you manage to create a sympathetic character out of a truly flawed person. In fact, it makes for a compelling protagonist. Some folks might be quite disdainful of your main character, but that's okay. They'll read through the whole thing just because they don't like the guy. Most folks will probably feel sorry for him. I know I do. The way you use dialogue is quite clever. The one criticism I have for tonight is that, as Steve says, the quick dialogue at the end is an excellent place to stop. Of course, that's a lot of conventional thinking, so you might want to end it differently. However, the dialogue is much stronger than the sentences that follow. If you decide to continue after the dialogue, you should have something to offer that has more impact than the dialogue itself. Since I'm a big fan of that quick, little exchange, I don't see what would be better at this point. It seems to me that you want to keep the story moving at a really brisk pace with an Ian's interlude separating the two parts of the main narrative. I don't think it's all that bad to confuse folks about whether or not Ian and the narrator are the same person. After all, when you're a rich, famous author, folks will debate the issue at universities. Finally, it's a pleasure to see someone who so clearly enjoys writing. It's a real pleasure to see someone who gets such unabashed pleasure from folks reading his writing. Great luck to you, sir. I'll have some specific stuff tomorrow, but I'll say a pray for your competition. If you find my prayer offensive, you may consider it well wishing instead. :Eldar's cheerleader icon:

What's cool about this discussion is that I can follow just enough to think I know what the hell 10k and alan are saying. What's bad about it is I might make a fool of myself someday by citing the discussion and then proving I really don't understand any of it at all. :Eldar's pleased with the technical types who frequent these parts icon:

Oh, be Ventrue.

I've been playing DOOM 3. Okay, question, what's the practical difference between sending the distress signal and not sending it? The first time, as I recall, I refused to send it and the Master Seargent was angry as hell when I saw him next. hahahaha It makes more sense in the story to refuse to send it. On the other hand, I've been there and done that, so I was thinking I'd send it this time. Frankly, I like the seargent more than I like Swan's body guard. Really, I'm going to end up kicking ass on everything in sight, but that doesn't mean I can't explore different options before-hand.

The Trooper -- Iron Maiden Great lyrics. You'll take my life but I'll take yours too You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through

Does this lifestyle refer to the novel? I mean, I definitely neither dress nor act like lolita.

Good Lord, that's an oldie but a moldie, Kor. Touch of Grey -- Grateful Dead

Aw, whether you guys like to argue with taks or not, he does have a point. From a technical standpoint, Bush's academic career was the equal of either Gore or Kerry. Please note, I have a lot of respect for Kerry. Not so much Gore, but that's owing to Gore's overwhelming nutso, crazy, angry demeanor. Anyhow, in terms of the actual record, Bush is the equal or better of either Gore or Kerry. Now, Clinton is a Rhodes scholar, so his record pretty much towers over any of these guys. Now, when taks says, "hey, all you folks call Bush dumb, but neither of his two rivals have a better record," Hades responds with "He must have cheated and bribed." The only problem, other than the obvious substitution of wild speculation for real evidence, is that Republicans can make the same argument for Kerry and Gore's records. Once again, Clinton had humble beginings, so I think we can rest assured that, at the very least, he earned his early academic record. I think it's pretty clear that Clinton is the smartest of the bunch, even if he's not the wisest. See, that's why I'd rather argue withing a framework of mutual respect. Bush has done enough things for which someone might be reasonably irritated, but the National Guard and academic record arguments just seem low and petty. They don't really serve any purpose. Ah, hell, I've been spending too much time in WoT. I need to get back to work. I'll check in later to see if you guys have solved all the worlds problems. :Eldar's tongue in cheek smile icon: BTW: alan, "Yes, absolutely." You'll end up getting roasted by both sides again if you joke. hehehe

Hades, raising the level of every debate.

Which pretty much explains why I think of my house temperature in terms of Farenheit and my computer temperature in terms of Celsius. Go figure. :Eldar's ****-eating grin icon:

Bite me, Llyranor.

They all could have been bigger. Some of them could have been a lot smaller too!

Doofus. I think of my house in terms of Farenheit. I think of my computer in terms of celsius. Just a slight confusion. No problem. These aren't the droids you're looking for.