Cantousent

I used to work on the Strip. My brother retired from the Las Vegas Metro Police, but he never really mentioned homeless folks and I never really noticed them much, which is sad when I think about it. Of course, being born in Las Vegas, I despised the Strip and never went to it unless I had to. Some of the casino restaurants are actually quite good nowadays though.

Yeah, I liked the story in the first one best. They did a great job with it. There're really kind of two different 2s. One is almost more of an expansion pack called Extraction Point. The other goes to a different character altogether. I'm pretty forgiving, so even though the quality of the story fell a bit in the next two installments, that's okay. I enjoyed the games except 3. I think you guys are right and 3 is just not going to do it for me. It just doesn't feel like a Fear game at all.

I tried to play F.E.A.R. 3. I got to a robot in interval 5 (I think). It's a real pain. I've tried it five times or so and it's irritating. What strikes me is that in the past I would expect to play the game and try to figure out the best way to take it out. Now, having to figure out how to beat the fight irritates me. I don't know if it's the game or if it's me just getting older. I've played a bit of F.E.A.R. Extraction Point and it's still fun for me.

A year ago today, I started trying to get my life in order and my first goal was to lose weight. My weight on the Doctor's scale was 390lbs. (177kg for you metric folks) For a variety of reasons (and one big one) I lost access to my doctor for several months, but I figured out a weight loss regimen and I've lost over 130lbs so far. My health is vastly improved. I don't know what would work for anyone else, but I ate a whole lot less and exercised a lot more. I have a problem with my foot that makes it hard to run, but I walk or hike at least 30 miles a week, I lift weights four days a week, and I take dancing lessons with my wife. Of course, I still have bad/destructive habits, like drinking waaaay too much, but I've also started trying to take positive steps in other areas of my life as well. Today is a big day for me, but I'm actually posting this about some of you guys. I know some folks are trying to lose weight. Some folks are trying to kick bad habits or improve their lives in some other way. I know that a lot of folks here don't take me very seriously, probably because I've usually taken myself far too seriously and acted quite stupidly whenever I got the chance. Fair enough. That's my fault. So, for those of you trying to lose weight, if some goofy pathetic son of a bitch like me can do it, you can too! For a while, my feet were in excruciating pain every time I walked, but I did it. I would literally tell myself, "I am a tower of iron will." Don't give up hope! I just kept working out and eventually, one day, I realized my feet didn't hurt quite as much. Later, they really didn't hurt at all. Yesterday, I celebrated the end of the first year by doing a ten mile hike through the hills, followed by working out at the gym, followed by another mile walk just to cool down. If I can do it, you can do it! Anyhow, I usually don't sign on here much any more, but I wish those of you fighting your own personal weight demons (or any demons at all) every success.

I'm not stupid enough to think that my opinion means anything in and of itself, but I will add my voice to those to realize that waiting a short time for the disks so that I can a. get everything at one time and b. not impose an extra expense on Obsidian is the best way to go. It's not like I'll be short changed in any significant way. Whatever, I'll be happy to get a good game. The important thing is, to address the elephant in the room, that I think the investment is worth it so that I can shell out more money for the next kickstarter if you guys decide to do one.

Slowly slogging through Legend of Grimrock 2. I was pretty far into the game and decided to restart with a slightly different party build. I don't see much difference, although knowing what was coming does make some parts easier. Brings back fond memories of Eye of the Beholder.

Your pic didn't work, samm. Anyhow, what is it you two are using for this party? Some post apoc show?

I'm taking the extra time I have this week and next to play more computer games. I'm going to leave my current WL2 run for later in the month when I'll get back to playing it at night before bed. I plugged away at a little of the Long Dark, but that I'll basically leave until they release the full game. So, right now, Legend of Grimrock 2. Good times in old school style fun!

lol I thought about what you said, Hurlie ol' sod, and so I decided to purchase the Long Dark last night, but we were out until after midnight. When I got home, I forgot to buy it. So, I got up this morning and did stuff and whatnot and remembered only at that point I thought the special was over. Nope, I bought it with three minutes to spare! I won't be able to play it much for a while, but since it's early access I'll probably just tool around in the sandbox for a bit and then hit it hard when it actually 'ships.'

This is my first run with that party composition. One of my core characters has maxed surgery (with a trinket), so I'll see if there's anything to be done on that front, Alth. I'm well into CA right now.

I don't know if this is the best place to ask this, but does anyone recommend the Long Dark? It's on special from STEAM and I'm thinking about picking it up. I like the idea of survival against nature. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Zombie Apocalypse stuff, but this looks like it has some potential.

My snoring has gotten much better since I've lost weight. I know it's not the only reason, but it sure stacks the deck against you. It's been ten months since I started getting my life back in order, and I've lost in excess of 130lbs according to the scales at the doctor's office. Today, I went to the Hometown Buffet and I didn't even feel tempted to gorge myself. My waist size is 14 inches smaller than it was in February. However, I will observe that taking pride in losing a ton of weight is kind of like the doctor who shoots himself in the foot and feels pride at removing the bullet and stitching up the wound. I do feel a little pride, but I also keep it in perspective. ...And, if it says something good about me that I've lost the weight, I sure as hell don't want to prove it again, so my plan has been to get closer and closer to a maintenance schedule until I'm at the weight I want to be and then to be vigilant about keeping a healthy lifestyle. I haven't gone on any special diets or had surgery or anything, but I have had some great help from supportive friends, including a certain dragon.

I haven't had time to play it lately. I'll get back to it soon. My least favorite part of the game is early California with all those back and forth quests, although I like the stuff in Angel Oracle by and large. I doubt I'll do another run any time soon, but if I do I'll spread out the skills just a tad more. Of course it depends on whether I go for another themed party again. I enjoyed my Odyssey run, though, and I think it's hard to gimp your party too badly. I haven't played D:OS. I haven't played a Bioware game since DA:O and I never played any of the ME games at all. I'm not a hater, though. I just tend to buy most games in STEAM specials anyhow, and so I might look to see if I can find any of the Bioware games I've missed and try them. I doubt that there's anyone in this thread who hasn't already played WL2, but if any of you are out there, I would suggest it. Quirky, goofy game with a lot of heart and some real fun. Any game that has a quip about a corpse having so many plants growing out of it that someone should roll it up and smoke it like a joint has transcended game development and gone smack dab into the middle of a Cheech and Chong movie.

Sorry for the thread necromancy. I'm almost done with Damonta, which means that I'm almost done with AZ. This time, I saved the back end of the Prison for when I get back to Ranger territory. I will observe that on Supreme Jerk, I would rather not have crafted my party the way I did. My high skill/high CHA guy is the highest level, but only by three levels over my lowest level person. In my core party, however, he's only two levels higher. If I had arranged the skills to more aggressively pursue leveling, I could maybe have made that three, but the fact is that my original assessment has turned out to be entirely true. Willingness to take on random encounters increasingly minimizes skill/CHA based advantages. He was by and large useless for much of the combat, but has come into his own so far. I have a second high skill character with low CHA. She has been more useful in combat, but that has by and large been due to medic and surgery. I don't think the build is bad because I regret two skills characters of 10 INT. I would probably not make two 10 INT characters again, but that hasn't turned out so badly. However, my other two core characters have 2 INT each. I would make them 4 INT in the future. Yeah, it means skimping elsewhere, but not by much and skills, along with core attributes, make you better at combat. Sure, in the late game you could use the attributes more, but it's not like the extra skill points hurt you. The end result, however, is that it's all moot. If you've finished the game at least once, you have the understanding of at least a mediocre party and that's all the game demands. I've enjoyed my second run, even despite the excruciatingly slow skill progress of my two moronic core party members. Other than attributes, I would do everything the same with a couple of minor changes. First off, Ralphy's stats aren't as dismal as I remembered them. I think I would probably not have him go unarmed even though that wastes a couple of skill ranks. Also, I think the skill points I've put into hard ass have been a waste. Unless I wanted to do it for RP reasons, I would probably not even bother with it next time. Still, I'm not unhappy with the skills I've chosen for my people so far. I took umbrage at the DBM killing my monk escort, so I decided to rid the desert of their outfit. That was a tough battle. Frankly, other than that battle, which was hard by and large for endurance reasons, I still think the hardest battle I've had in two runs is the one with the doc at the ag center. Probably talking to myself here, but I figured I'd post my observations.

Happy Thanksgiving. I haven't been eating a lot for the past several months, but I've decided that Thanksgiving I'm going to feast. So, I a couple of pieces of pizza, a quesadilla, and tomato slices for lunch. We're heading over to the in-laws for dinner soon, where I hope they have stuffing without all the cranberries and sweet crap people like to put in it.

Hmmm, I'm thinking of buying add-ons and I'm disappointed that there isn't more of the t-shirt variety things. I think the playing cards and t-shirts sound kind of cool, although I understand that entails getting someone to physically manufacture the stuff and then the headache of shipping it out. So, if I want to purchase the Xpacs as gifts, I can just save the key and send it to the person on his or her birthday or whatnot? Is that how it works? What I mean by this is that all keys are independent of one another, so the Xpac keys are not tied to any of the game keys that ship? I know this is a noobish question, but I'm not keen on taking things for granted. I've already got one extra digital copy as an addon in addition to the digital copy that comes with my pledge tier. My next newbie question is, does the collectors box from my tier contain anything in the actual game that I won't receive in my digital copy? I was thinking I might save the box to use as a donation to one of the charities on our list and use the digital copy for myself. That leaves the Xpac I have in my tier and I could either purchase another Xpac as an add-on for the person to whom I'm giving the other digital copy or maybe getting one or three additional digital copies and gifting them. For myself, I have no problems giving someone an IOU this Christmas because they'll still end up with a great game in the long run. Plus I'll give them some smaller gift as a placeholder, so they'll score two gifts anyway.

Okay, you got me! Hey, I was willing to accept the corpses stuck in the bushes that they find early in that one video.

Okay, to be technical, our cat friend wanted corpses hanging from *trees,* not a bunch of corpses hanging from one really *big* tree. So, Obsidz will have to go back to the drawing board and split that tree into at least two and I would make it three or four to hedge my bets. Also, speaking of hedges, I want to see a hedge wizard made out bushes too.

Apparently, Supreme Jerk still lets you save, so I'll try to him out for you and see if the bug is fixed on a fresh run, 3xbo. Also, I decided I simply *had* to go with the Odyssey for the first themed party. I did Odysseus and Penelope for my skills monkeys. I made them 41 and 35 respectively and used that as the reasoning behind their increased skills. I know, some youngsters are quite brilliant and youngsters learn quickly, but I'm trying to come up with an RP reason for things also. Telemachus and Kalypso are my front liners. Okay oaky, Kalypso is the oldest of the bunch, but she's impetuous and I made her age 16. Telemachus is 18. So, they're young and spry and jonsin' to fight. I figured that Odysseus would be my talker, so I gave him a slightly higher CHA. I have two 10 INT people and two 2 INT people. Everyone else has 1 CHA and LUC. Anyhow, this is my party now, but I kind of think I might be better off with one 10 INT and three 4 INT people like I had on my first run, although with a different skill spread. I dunno, but this is a themed party and that's how I'm playing it. Screenie:

I agree with you Jones, at least about wanting an understandable system. I would add that the system should provide positive feedback without prejudicing any particular style all the while remaining unobtrusive as possible. Anyhow, the forums are here to put in your two cents... or fifty. ...and some people put in several rolls of quarters that add up to two cents all told. :Cant's polishing his halo with a grin and a wink icon: EDIT: No excuse. Just 'cause.

That's funny. I had to look up the two women, but I knew who the men were, although I did remember St. Marianne after I read up on her. I don't know what that says about me, if anything. I also note that two of the four served in Leper Colonies. One of my favorite literary characters was named after St. Damien. Well, it *is* the wasteland and I'm sure you'll be trying to help the sick and needy as much as you're trying to smite the wicked. You just need to go show those Cathedral nut-jobs the true meaning of religious fervor. In my run, I'm at what must be the final show-down. Speaking of Grom's next team, I'm going to introduce these Synth bastards to the Lord. It's going to be a come to Jesus moment. Just funny that it all ended up the way that it did and especially where it did, although there were things there that always kind of foreshadowed this for me. At least after today, I won't have to worry about reading spoilers.

My fingers have gotten to be so much thinner that my wedding ring kept falling off and I lost it a few days ago. This morning, my wife found it while we were cleaning the house! Huzzah! Now I'm going to wear it on my middle finger because it stays there better. We'll get it resized eventually.

lol "You're really fixated on that corpse." hehehe EDIT: In all seriousness, I only watched a few minutes of the video and I muted most of it until they got to the first corpses. I don't know if there were more, but I did like the atmospherics. Well done. I don't know if the odd cat or two likes it, but I was pretty stoked. That's especially true since I know some of the scenes are light and sunny. I do hope that they have more levity in the game than I've seen so far, but I would rather be surprised than watch everything available.

"ps the computer hacker need not be a brawler or even a melee type to make use o' the serious xp boost from reprogramming" Amen, brother. I personally think computers might be better than explosives. That might not be true, I don't know. Depends on how compulsively you disarm. I'm going to consider the CHA arguments, but I'm not going to give up on my skill point bumps from INT at this point. I can stack INT on two characters, as I've suggested, but I won't have a smaller aggregate skills number. I'm not saying you couldn't do well otherwise, but I don't like games where I feel shutoff from options. Most of my builds always focus on trying to get as many options as possible. Also, playing through High Pool this time, I think I'll do the Ag Center next time. That means Rose will be high INT and have Computers so high I won't want to have either skills monkey even bother with it. I think I'm just going to invest in Ralphy this time and develop him. I think, while he ain't much at first, you could make him into a serviceable ranger within a few levels. I can't be too far off from the end game at this point, so I'll really get into the build after I'm done. That and I have it under advisement that I should arse myself to play Betrayal at Krondor. Maybe that between runs?

Wow, the back half of game, particularly around Hollywood, is completely bug ridden. Playable, though, and in this respect it really is like the old days, when players would overlook bugs without the same amount of vitriol as we often see today. I was quite happy at how it all wrapped up, however. I think the Hollywood area was the most ambitious of the game I've played so far, with a bunch of different work with factions. The game is pretty much all about the combat, but this area really did try to tell a story. There were a couple of things that I found odd.