Plano Skywalker

Dark Horse had a Tales of the Jedi comic series that covers the exploits of Exar Kun and such in the Sith War. I believe that that particular series is now out of production. Starting in January, you will be able to buy KOTOR comics which will be based in Revan's era and draw from the lore in Kun's era. If information is what you are looking for, your best bet would probably be "The New Essential Chronology" which covers all Star Wars continuity, including that from the Tales era.

as I understand it, they are designated as "unlawful combatants" and, hence, not afforded the protections of the U.S. constitution nor even of the Geneva Convention. make no mistake, the guys at Gitmo are a rogue's gallery of terrorists or wannabe terrorists, "true believers" in Islamo-nihilism (which is NOT the same as Islam, BTW). the real dilemma with these folks is how would you even release them? Does Jordan want its nationals back who are like this? Does the Sudan? Saudi Arabia? Despite what they may say in public, nobody wants these people back. It is a real dilemma.

ummm, even in the unlikely scenario that another KOTOR game will not be made, the storyline and the franchise live on in a new Dark Horse comic. this franchise is just getting started.

LA will probably be calling the shots, I agree. But, with the right contract and with more oversight from LFL, it could still come out right.

I wouldn't mind seeing some special arrangement for the KOTOR games where the developer answers straight to LFL and LA only publishes the game when it is all done. This is no slam on LA but LA is a video game publisher, plain and simple. LFL needs to realize that KOTOR is more than just a video game...it is where the SW saga lives on after the movies. Such a thing can only be done right in an environment that is not dependent on what else is going on. The reason KOTOR 2 was rushed is not so LA could make extra money during Christmas but, rather, so it would no go toe-to-toe with the Ep 3 game. The KOTOR gods need to be able to operate in any environment without such considerations. Kind of like how the Saturn car is technically GM but they are pretty much doing their own thing....something like that would be preferred.

actually, the whole thing about not being able to get married is something I would like to see more clearly defined...in other words, when did it become "official"? because in the Stih War era (Nomi Sunrider's time), it was not against the rules to do so. also, in the case of Jolee Bindo, he did not get in trouble because he married but only because he taught his wife how to use the Force. really won't mind seeing the new KOTOR comic provide some guidance on this murky issue. maybe it started off as something for members of the High Council and then, over time, became expected of all Jedi.

I think one of the "problems" with KOTOR is the fact that it is extremely story-focused. Unlike games like Battlefront, KOTOR games actual modify Star Wars continuity. I think LA (and, more importantly, LFL) now realize that they have to take more proactive ownership of the storyline...there is simply too much at stake not to. And they have done so. They have hired a veteran writter to write a new monthly Dark Horse (this is not Infinities stuff, either) KOTOR comic and the writter has stated that he is getting cooperation from LFL and video game developers. Basically, they are finding their sea legs and mapping this thing out for some truely immersive, story-focused games that fit perfectly with the comic continuity. They are not really dragging their feet...they are taking ownership, which is ultimately a good thing. recent interview with John Jackson Miller: http://www.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/Star...MillerKotOR.htm

LA needs to make sure we never end up here again. what do I mean by that? they need to plan not only for KOTOR III but for a number of official content updates that you can download for a small fee. The new content could be anything from new planets, sidequests, NPCs, convos, etc. that way there would be something to talk about in between K3 and K4 other than just speculation about the next title.

Socialism (not the Leninist type, but the Scandanavin type) works relatively well in relatively homogeneous societies. It does not work as well in more diverse societies.

I don't know whether I will get an Xbox 360 or not but if KOTOR III comes out as an Xbox 360-exclusive, I will buy the platform for that one title. Yes, I will admit that.

Influence: great idea...implementation was not all that great in K2, IMO....but it usually worked well enough. As I see it, influence is there to help create a sense of dynamism and choices. However, without some party management options, it will always be half-baked. In other words, it is one thing to play Pazaak with someone and then that person likes you more...OK, fine. But if you are Sir Paladin the Pureofheart, your party should not be identical to Sith Lord Killemall. The ability to release party members and rotate people in and out would be sweet. That way, influence can zero in on push and pull politics. Having influence involved in their alignments just makes it too unwieldy IMO. There should only be one or two people in your pool of potential party members that can be swayed that easily when it comes to alignment. I would also like to see more things like: (Persuade) Come on, you can open the door for a nice guy like me. (Persuade/Intimidate) You will open the door or else. (Persuade/Flatter) I like that outfit...the blue brings out the blue in your eyes. Say, you wouldn't mind opening the door would you? (Persuade/Taunt) I bet you don't even know how to open the door! I'll bet you 100 credits that you can't do it. (Persuade/Bribe) Here is 200 gold for opening the door. Morrowind had flat dialogue but it did have things like bribery and taunt that were implemented well. Having the ability to allocate points into specific aspects of persuasion would be nice.

I usually do Nar Shadda first and then either Onderon or Dantooine. Korriban is best left until last IMO.

Christmas music from the Trans Siberian Orchestra. good stuff!

not to be a stickler but I wouldn't call KOTOR/BG-style combat "real-time with pauses"....yes, I think I understand what the posters who say that mean but if it were real-time with pauses then you still would not be able to queue up feats and that sort of thing. KOTOR/BG-style combat is what BioWare calls "multilayered" combat. I like to call it Active Turn Based. For the most part, this is my favorite. However, it is this type of combat (more than the others) that really reveal poorly-written AI scripts. However, with good AI, this type of combat is my favorite, hands-down. Real time is fun (JE) but not my favorite for an RPG. Multilayered combat with really good, customizable AI and Tom Clancy-style SQUAD COMMANDS would be the Holy Grail IMO.

I work in the IT field and, in fact, have seen the "India thing" first hand. The bottom line is that some things can be outsourced well and others cannot. Software Development is one of the things that can be outsourced well because the language barrier (yes, I know, they technically speak English but the heavy accent amounts to a huge language barrier) does not come into play as easily. Also, development does not require real time access to broadband...as long as you can upload your code sometime this week, you're alright...that kind of thing. However, things like Operations, Storage, Systems Admin and Help Desk are not as successful when they are outsourced to India because of poor infrastructure (expensive and undependable broadband) and language. Another thing to keep in mind is that it is not like India is just teaming with people waiting to steal Western jobs....there are only certain places in India (such as Banglor) that have the infrastructure to fill these jobs and, as time goes on, they will demand higher and higher wages and it will eventually find its level. It is one thing to call India to activate your credit card. But a company that sends your call to India for tech support on your computer is a company that does not want your business. I think most major American companies now know that.

well, I don't know how I'll like 40K since I have yet to play. who knows, I may like it alot. what I like about WHFB is the realism (for lack of a better term)...I know the magic and all is not realistic but things like ranks, outnumbering, fear, leadership tests, etc just make alot of sense to me. I wish I could find a circle around here who played Warhammer Ancient Battles....no magic, just realism and generalship.

if you have some cash and some patience, I would recommend it....it is fun. when I first got into it, I hated the fact that I had to paint my army but now I enjoy that almost as much as actual gaming (though I am not an excellent painter or anything). and there are smaller scale games such as Mordheim that dovetail nicely into some quasi-roleplaying opportunities. speaking of Slaanesh and Dark Elves, the tome entitled Storm of Chaos has rules for Cult of Slaanesh Dark Elves....lots of fun there.

For a "true gamer" I think WHFB is much better than 40K....WHFB is a general's game...if you do something stupid you will pay for it. 40K is a dice fest. However, in my local area it is much easier to find a 40K game than a Fantasy game so I will most likely also have a Tzeentch 40K army (I can use some of the same models).

alright, I thought it be fun to see how many miniatures wargamers there are out there, namely with regard to WHFB and 40K. I play WHFB and am currently working on a Tzeentch Chaos army. I also play Empire and Lizardmen.

no more than LOTR-type games will.

Guild Wars online play is free. And it is story-based. They essentially have a different business model...there will be expansions (or "chapters" as they call them) but you will have to pay full price for the new chapters. Basically, they are selling you the story piecemeal. It is just a much different business model...hopefully, it will be successful and usher in a new generation of online games. I'm the kind of person who can sink 10 hours into such a game and then not touch it for 2 weeks....buying the story piecemeal and not having monthly fees makes alot of sense for me.

so the universe (or multiverse, if you will) is itself eternal, divine, without limits, self-sustaining? since when did you become a pantheist?

Dec 25 was probably nominated to coincide (or hijack if you will) the Roman pagan holiday of Saturnalia. Of course, almost every culture has some sort of Winter Soltice celebration, i.e. Yule in the Teutonic traditions. The idea of the Body of Christ celebrating a holiday that was not on Sunday was hotly debated by the Early Church Fathers and, later, was debated during the Reformation. The Calvinist communities of the New World went out of their way to avoid recognizing the day as anything other than a normal business day. But certain things happened to turn Christmas into a major Western holiday: * Hessian mercenaries were seen celebrating it in the New World during the Revolutionary War. * Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol did much to make it pop in English-speaking countries. * Coca Cola launched a "Santa Claus" ad campaign in the 20th century. * etc, etc I'm not suggesting that people did not celebrate the Birth of Christ, but they did it on Advent which is always on a Sunday.

informal fallacies all have one thing in common: they are all about changing the subject....anyway, you have not attempted to do that yet. I agree that intelligent design is weak if it is, in fact, a fundamentlist's attempt to teach that the Bible is true. Heck I was listening to Art Bell's Coast to Coast radio show the other night and there was a scientist who believed in intelligent design....he believed that aliens created men. I know I can't prove how one should answer the uncaused first cause thing but I know that, for me, it is clear that there must be a higher design. That doesn't mean I should teach your children that (i.e. via public schools) but I know that it is true.

live by the herring, die by the herring.... but not just herrings but ad homs, non sequiturs, strawmen, bait-and-switch, and any other informal fallacy one can think of will most likely pop up in a discussion like this.