Cantousent

How slavish are they to PvP? One of my beefs with WoW is that I thought they sacrificed a lot for the sake of PvP. Now this sounds like a real plus, but does raise a question. Is it open world like WoW, or more like everything's instanced like CoH/CoV?

Ah Stronghold: Crusader was a great game. I haven't played anything since the weekend, but I look forward to making some serious headway in PST tonight. If not, then maybe some Skyrim.

As far as I can tell, this is technically not true. There is an article in the UCMJ (which means all branches of the military) concerning sex, UCMJ article 125. You can get busted for anal or oral sex, but it says nothing about doggy style as long as penetration is in all the right slots. lol But, then again, we've transcended the ridiculous and have gone straight to the sublime. The whole thing about the trooper sleeping on duty came from your experiences playing the beta, Super Cal. I was addressing a specific example you gave. Now, unless one of the scenarios in the game is that you have anal or oral sex with someone and suffer a courtmartial, I don't see this as an issue. Sleeping on watch is a serious problem. There is a reason why the maximum punishment is so severe. In times of war, sleeping on watch can literally end up getting you and your buddies killed. Sleeping on watch is not the equivalent of slipping it in the backdoor. Once again, I have never advocated executing folks for sleeping on watch. Aw hell, kll the messenger if you want, I guess. Maybe it's the wine talking, as I had decided to ignore this post. Then I figured, what the hell? You're used to arguing with me, Cal, and you did put in that 'technically' modifier. For the record, non standard sexual act between consenting adults is one of the good things in life. I had to put that in just in case someone accuses me of saying something I didn't say about sexual proclivities. EDIT: figured I'd cite the article.

I'm no more saying that slavery was right because it was the law than I believe you are saying that we should have no laws because you believe slavery laws were wrong. I mean, I would rather discuss our actual arguments rather than what we pretend the other guy is saying.

Wow, talk about the opposite experience. New Vegas is probably the best RPG I've played in years. I finished it several times and enjoyed it thoroughly each time. I thought the setting was great, the string of Iraquesque bases was well done, and the moral choices intriguing. Not trying to convince you, Blod, just saying that I saw things in a different way.

You're making arguments against things I didn't say, Vol. Inasmuch as I didn't bring slavery into it, I don't know why you did. ...And, to be clear, I said that execution for sleeping on watch is something that is not likely even in a time of war in the US military. Hell, When was the last time someone was executed for desertion? That guy from World War Two? And he was remarkable for being the only person executed for that reason during that war. Furthermore, Vol, carefully read what I said. I didn't condone executing people. I said that there were places and times when a guy would be summarily executed for sleeping on watch. I was actually thinking more of ancient times. What I did say was that the guy sleeping on watch deserved a kick in the head. Trust me, you sleep on watch enough and cause problems for the rest of your comrades and you'll get a boot to the head completely outside of official punishment. Now, if you don't like that idea, I guess it's a good thing you're not in the military. Sorry bud, there have to be consequences for dereliction of duty, and the guy would probably rather get a fat lip than be docked a months pay, lose a stripe, or even face an other than honorable discharge. Now, you say the rules in the order are dumb? Okay, fair enough. Don't join. What I said begins and ends with the order having the right to remove members who don't follow the rules. If you don't want to follow the rules, then don't join or get out. It's as simple as that. Unless someone nabbed these jedi and chained them to the oars, I don't see how you can defend them. I would say that the Jedi order follows more religious lines. It is not considered a 'job.' It's a calling. If you want a job where you can sleep with coworkers, go for it. Frankly, I don't care who sleeps with whom unless there is a conflict of interest. Where there is a defined conflict of interest, then an employer should be able to enforce fraternization rules. As far as law being unjust, that's where I left off the argument earlier. I completely agree that sometimes laws are unjust and it falls upon people to work as best they can to change such laws. ...But that's a huge new area of discussion and I don't want to get into a flame war over it in the middle of this thread. Frankly, I would probably avoid a long discussion on it period, but I guess you could start a thread in WoT and I'll poke my head in there just to put a target on it since it's only fair. After all, while you have not characterized my arguments entirely accurately, I've clearly touched a nerve and you deserve some satisfaction over it. :cant's rueful grin icon: EDIT: cleared up a couple things for clarity.

You know, I don't think that we could build a single spaceship, let alone a fleet of spaceships, that we could send out with any degree of real certainty to reach an inhabitable planet (that we have hitherto not found), but I do think this is a good thing. There was a time and place for government involvement in the space program. Even a free market guy like myself sees that sometimes the government can do things the private sector cannot, such as accomplishing our first landings on the moon or defeating nazi Germany. ...But I know that making it so that space travel becomes a way for private investors to make money while engaging the public is a huge step to developing substantial possibilities for longer travel distances and larger projects. You know, I dream of space also. I can be a pragmatist, and sometimes that makes it seem like I don't want the same thing, but I want to see humanity spread to other planets in our solar system and beyond. It is not preordained, but it can happen, and what a wonderful thing it would be, a Christian on Mars fighting with an Atheist on some remote planet lightyears away. One would be closer to God and one would be closer to science and both would be closer to each other than a caveman in Europe and one in Asia could have ever imagined.

Well, speaking as someone who has adavanced to the towering level of level 10 just now, I can say that it's interesting. I find that I really hate interacting with the npcs for more than a quid pro quo interaction, but the game is fun nonetheless. I much prefer the FO games, and not just for the story. I like the fact that I feel more tied into the overarching goal even if I spend the vast majority of my time exploring the sandbox. I also like the SPECIAL system better. I understand the idea that we should advance our skills by actual use, but the SPECIAL system is just... cleaner? Both are fun, but I prefer the FO method. Overall, it's a fun game for exploration and dungeon spelunking, but there's not a lot behind it in terms of what we're doing and why we're there. I just don't care.

Yeah, how bad does the ruling family have to be before the nobles in your country toss out the monarch to put in place one from a foreign country? I mean, who needs to invade if the people remove the king and cast about for one from outside? Of course, Europe has had its share of upheavals, migrations, and invasions over time, so no big deal I suppose. Nevertheless, this isn't about a king or even an oligarchy aristocracy. The referendum on leaving the UK and becoming a sovereign country within the EU actually sounds somewhat disasterous. There are nations where disolution might not be entirely bad, but for many of the countries in question, I just think it's a way to become a junior partner in what is increasingly a German dominated economic zone. I known quite a few Germans and I've liked them all , but their influence in the Eurozone is not always the most wholesome aspect of the EU. France and Germany have the biggest sway in the zone, of course, but I think Germany is in the best shape to call the shots. Of course, the European Union is kind of like the British Colonial system in that some of the members actually cost more money than they make, if not on paper, then in reality. Places like Greece and Italy and Spain are causing serious headaches. I mean, I know that the colonial model falls apart quickly, but, like some of the British colonies, some of the Eurozone countries are starting to be a drag on overall health. I'm not saying that an independent Scotland would end up in the same boat, but there are a lot of variables involved in separating from England, and some of them are going to be pretty tough on Scotland and a lot of those issues will follow them when they finally drop the pound and join the Euro. Up to them, I suppose.

M&M brand bad people. They melt in your mouth, not because of your fireball.

Hey, I'm a libertarian. I don't think the government is God. It's also something that you're trying to get a buddy out of trouble for sleeping at his post, which should get him a swift boot to head in my opinion, as opposed to literally saving some kid's life. That's a big difference. There are times and places where sleeping on watch would result in summary execution. Not because it hurts the government but because it will get your buddies killed. All of this is quite edifying, though. And does show a lot of growth on Bioware's part if true.

Well then, that actually makes me happier. I mean, I'm going to give it a shot no matter what. I like Bioware games, just generally not for nuanced moral decisions. :cant's wry grin icon:

I avoid black friday like the plague for the very reason Nep cites. You might score some awsome deals, but the fact is there will be other sales before Christmas where I don't risk getting pepper sprayed by some crazy bimbo. Plus, a lot of the crazy sale merchandise is limited, so if you don't get to it in time, you end up buying something much closer to regular price. ...Or even at regular price.

"Of course, I haven't played the game, but the point of having this thread is to have a discussion with folks who have had that opportunity, so I'd like to take a stab at another scenario." I guess I'm pulling information out of the asses of people who've played the game, since I don't have access it to yet. And the suppositions I use are drawn from the experiences you guys provide. I'm also going by past experience with Bioware games. The 'evil business' scenario is from KotOR 1, for example.

No, Nep, some of those deals are pretty damned good. Folks are even getting on Wal-mart (surprise) because some of its deals are so good that they should have anticipated mayhem and had extra security for the event. Lazy day here. I might play some more PST with the wife or even enjoy the last bit of the holiday to play some skyrim. Depends on what she wants to do, I guess.

Yeah, that's great. The circumstances show that I should screw over my sick or injured comrade. I think any man who's in a military unit and lets someone steal medicine that's meant to help his sick buddy should get dark side points no matter how you cut it. Of course, I figure they put in all sorts of nonsense to make it so you're actually evil for making sure that medicine goes to where it was intended. Typical. Face it, in these bravely written and thought out games, you know who the bad guy is. Business tops the list. Yeah, that evil business is screwing over the people and so it should get it in the shorts. You know what would be nice? How about the player manages to screw over the business, gets darkside points, goes 'what the hell? and then there's a cut scene showing how the area is completely economically depressed after businesses start to fail and the owners go broke because of rampant lawlessness. How's that light side workin' for ya? Of course, I haven't played the game, but the point of having this thread is to have a discussion with folks who have had that opportunity, so I'd like to take a stab at another scenario. I'm with Calax. If there's a couple who want to run off for 'love,' I say go for it. If they want to lie and deny their affair while staying at the academy, I say screw 'em. I wouldn't rat them out. I'd go up to them and tell them unless they wanted to head up to the authorities with my foot up their asses, they'll go admit that they're selfish bastards and get the hell out of dodge like an honorable person. It's not about breaking the rules in some high school social club. If you subvert yourself during Jedi training, you are the problem. This is why I tend not to pretend that light side/dark side points in the Bioware games are just part of the mechanics rather than having any sort of 'nuanced' commentary on real issues. I like Bioware as a game company, but Bioware games have a predictable and pedestrian presentation of moral problems.

Poor LC. I feel for you. Nothing exciting for me today.

That's actually pretty good to hear. I'm still leery, but I figure I'll join one of the Obsidz realms. I imagine I won't last long, but I look forward to seeing what folks think about it.

Perhaps a bit too disoriented before bed to understand the whole of what you're saying, but I get that the Thal(a?)more are over the top evilish villains in this game. I just don't recall them from Morrowind and Oblivion. Still, it's interesting to get some of the lore. I guess, if it piques my interest enough, I'll just look up the setting and read up on it. In the meantime, it doesn't seem to have much impact on my high elf mage. I'm almost to level 5 again. Not playing too quickly, clearly, but still having some fun.

I started a new game. Well... I started two new games. I started one and realized that my Briton had half the magic of my Elf, so I started again as an elf. As much as possible, I want to smite stuff with magic. What I don't get is who the Thalmor are? Folks seem to call them elves, but if they hate the Thalmor as much as they say, and the Thalmor are elves, then shouldn't they hate me? Since I didn't get that far on my first run, I should be in the same spot very quickly. I'm thinking I'll stick to the destruction branch but put my offspec into enchating this time. ...Or does anyone have a suggestion as to a good offspec for a destruction mage?

I should have started a defrag before I left for the inlaws. My niece just loves me. Everyone had a great time and I think Miami one the game. Woo Hoo!

At least I don't have to worry about level caps for a while. I think I screwed up my build, but I'm not sure. I have things spread out between destruction as my main and restoration as my off. I seem to do thing well enough right now, but we'll see how that progresses. I haven't had a chance to play today, but I might go take another look. I actually like the music, MaC. I think my favorite game music was in Might and Magic VI, especially... riverside? I can't remember the zone, but it's beautiful.

If you think the effects of the debt crisis is limited to the mediteranean countries, you're not thinking, man. You can believe whatever you want, but the problems in Europe are systemic and impact the whole zone in a bad way. I agree that we have problems in the US with deficit spending. Like Zora says, the policies at the fed are short terms solutions for long term problems. Sure, that's all well and good. The truth remains that we're actually in better shape in the US, warts and all, than you are in teh Eurozone. Hell, S&P lowers our credit rating, stocks take a dive, and folks invest in the dollar. You guys might not like it, but it's the truth. Geez, half of these Wall Street bastards want a weaker dollar and the stock market takes a hit over here if the Euro takes it in the shorts. But I tell you what, Morgie, I know you bristle when anyone compares Europe unfavorably with the US. I gotcha, but if you think you're all well and good in... what? Austria I think, and it's just those crazy Greeks and Italians who have problems, keep guessing.

Sadly, you'll have to wait for your satisfaction until I get back from dinner. Just a quick question: how's that debt crisis goin' for ya?