Fort

Canisters are of course inherently addictive, but not to the extent that a trained mind could not resist the temptation after only using one. I do agree, though, that moderation is practically impossible unless moderation means using a few and then stopping completely forever.

The ones who use the canisters will be able to kill off many of the purists who do not. However, they will probably kill each other in the long run as well, so the purists win in the end I suppose. It just may take a very, very long time.

The Tullegolites would suffer from too much hubris to stop bickering and start preparing for the imminent blitzkrieg that for some reason all the arrogant generals have deemed insignificant. Believing in one's own nonexistent ability to command is far more pathetic than poorly leading a revolution against oppression. Drakons running around free, though, is probably worse than letting the shapers rule. This is probably a dumb question, but since I have not played much past Geneforge 1, I do not know whether there is a sect that opposes the Shapers without advocating creations' rights. Is there such a group? Regarding the immune system issue, an autoimmune response is by definition the body attacking itself, regardless of the fact that the attacking cells and the cells they attack share the same genetic material. Cancer and other, horrible unforeseen consequences are arguably acceptable risks in the pursuit of genetic perfection. If something went wrong, shape some more to correct the problem and hope that you do not turn into a pile of goo.

Magical creatures are simply those that evidently have a prodigious amount of magic in them, even from their incipiency or birth. Alien beasts, for example, are not magical creatures because even though the species was created by magic, each individual beast does not have the essence of magic coursing through its veins. Unicorns, upper level demons, and pixies are magical. My belief is that the demons originated in their (uncapitalized) hell dimension and some migrated to the Avernites' for an extended vacation to get away from the agonizingly boring ennui of nothing but lava and fire, not to mention the fact that everything is shaded red. The Vahnatai lived in different cave systems so they did not have too many scuffles, and then the Avernites came and, like rude guests, kicked them back to their own dimension. I guess my wonder now is whether demons can be created in the normal dimension...

The original Geneforge was ridiculously powerful, and could easily kill even a veteran user of canisters like Trajkov without the proper gloves. I am sure that using too many canisters in too short of a time would be lethal. The body would not be able to adapt to the changes in the genes quickly enough. However, I am confident that a skilled genetic shaper could virtually endlessly modify his own genes without too much danger as long as it was done over time.

I would not want you to change your signature. I just wanted to point that out in case you thought Cipher was the first character or person who ever said that. In context, Cipher's quotation has a more profound effect on people today anyway. The Matrix, meaning the virtual world itself, is the perfect setting for the phrase. In the context of this topic question, I would define humanity as the quality of having the kind emotional and behavioral characteristics that are often described as uniquely human because they differentiate people from animals, such as empathy, compassion, mercy, and love. Genetically speaking, as long as the canister modified individual still has a heart, two lungs, and an even number of limbs, he is human. I agree with Tullegolar on this one in that I would take as many canisters as possible. From an egocentric point of view, there really are few reasons not to do so. Regret over losing the previously mentioned human emotions will be overshadowed by the overwhelmingly euphoric feelings of mania provided by the overconsumption of glowing canister contents. Hollow happiness is better than nothing.

I think it is understood that wherever the demons come from is on a different plane of existence from the Avernite's. It is just another one of those plain old nether dimensions. Nothing to worry about. It is awfully similar to hell because of the lava and brimstone, but I doubt Jeff intended it to be a Catholic hell. That would be too terrifying.

As many as possible to increase my chances of surviving attacks from other maniacs hyped up on canisters. Also, though you may not care, " ignorance is bliss " was coined by Thomas Gray .

Your view makes sense because it would create a society of very strong members. Do you give my plan any credit as a method for attaining that? This whole conversation boils down to whether you think a society based on canisters, and therefore maniacal power, is stable. I do not think it would be, and even though you may, you do not mind that it would be massively violent and uncompassionate either. Where's the love?

That sound was the same as the normal door opening sound. Secret doors are satisfying, but to run into walls for 15 minutes with the stubborn belief that what you desperately need to find is behind one when the answer is actually elsewhere is pretty silly. Almost as silly as spending time in MMORPGs improving your lumberjacking skills.

You assume he is pathetic because his producer tells him to do a lively review of the Zune that he likely did not rehearse very much? I do see your point, though. "Frosts my... man-parts" is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have heard this week.

You fail at life. Literally. You cannot cheat death.

It would not be impossible because the graphics can overlap a little. You would need the horses to stand on their hind legs so that the monster graphic would not need to be as "long."

I would imagine the Tullegolites would feel too headstrong and arrogant to fully submit themselves to your rule without believing that they could do a better job themselves. It would not necessarily be a fault of the leader, but rather of the concept. It is like forming a united front of individualists. Also, constant vigilance is a given for any leader. It would just be even more wearisome for you. I agree that they would be united in the philosophy of the righteousness of self-shaping, but again that does not afford your army any extra advantage over the other groups, whose ideologies help promote loyalty. Isn't the whole idea behind the canisters that absolute power corrupts absolutely? A stable leadership is necessary to keep the soldiers in line, and I just do not see that happening. My plan would involve setting up a rotation of generals to become puppet leaders who would attract the assassinations while you work behind the scenes. You must counter the dissent within the ranks by swiftly executing rebel and sending possible rebels on impossibly dangerous missions. Your army must be significantly weaker than what you originally imagined, but that is the only way you can maintain control. I hope that is an acceptable trade.

Since you have conceded the possibility of a coup d'etat, the only point left to argue is whether these threats to the current leadership of your army will seriously hamper it. You cannot possibly promote a doctrine of murderous rank ascension while having coaxing everyone to limit the coups to one a month. The only way I could see you controlling everyone effectively is to achieve mind control of your generals. Even a canister maker or general kept in constant luxury will still think about why he must continue to depend on you for such rewards.

ET, like Alo said, your plan only functions if it is possible to deter other canister using shapers with gruesome examples. The matter of respect still does not negate that each and every one of them will think himself the strongest dude who ever lived. It might be fun to stick yourself up on a pedestal where you can watch your underlings battle it out, but in the end it is still the armies that wins wars. There is a huge difference between respect and deference.

Citing the player is lame, Kuber. If anything, the person ruling the Tullegolite army would be the player. I still think that vying for power would cause too much internal stability to keep the war machine going. In your proposed system, ET, even if canister addicts have greater respect for each other, this does not prevent them from having secessionist tendencies. "I respect you Tully, the Supreme Glowing Fiend, but I think I will go start my own uberarmy." "How dare you?! Die!"

A strictly imposed martial plan like that would work, and this unscrupulous army of canister shaped soldiers led by Geneforged demigods and bolstered by enslaved creations would be unstoppable. However, you still need to deal with the issue of how long a canister crazed individual can stay sane. Why would a powerful officer want to give his underlings an opportunity to dethrone him? You argue that it is because they are trenchant enough to see the ultimate good, but I think the canisters remove their sense of communalism as much as they increase their ego.

The armor percentages are of course rubbish because none of the actual mathematics behind any of his armor systems involve a sum total of percentages. Different pieces of army provide different individual percentages of protection for damage, and the asymptotic behavior of the caps make everything even more skewed.

Quote: Originally written by Micawber.: I think if your hit chance is 90% and you can still miss 5 times in a row, then there is something wrong. Either Geneforge sometimes gets "stuck" when generating a random number, or there is some part of the engine that does not properly feed through to the percentages shown. Is it possible that the to-hit % is misleading for a similar reason to the armor %? But when you have a 90% hit chance you hit much more often than you miss, right? Rare incidents like this are not indicative of whether the RNG is evenly distributed, that is, fair. I think the RNG is slightly biased because I am pretty sure Jeff opted for a quick, standard number generating algorithm, but it is not a big deal. If you are constantly being hit by 10% shots, then start being concerned.

OK... That's disturbing. When did you have this revelation?

It looks like a very useful, universal program for cheating. However, I usually stay away from things like this because I have no confidence in that nothing harmful was included with the application. I'm not sure if it's still a policy anymore not to talk about direct hexediting style programs.

Since when has grammar been a proper noun?

Why must you taunt us Windows PC users so? Grr, I don't know how long it will be before I get enough time on my hands to play this new game.

Thuryl, that was genius. 'Nuff said.