Arch-Mage Solberg

Originally Posted By: Frozen Feet Reading this thread, I feel atheism is applied too broadly. It's a feeling I have often, really. The kind of atheism mostly discussed here, the kind which is concerned with proof or evidence, would be more accurately called "skeptical atheism", or perhaps "rational atheism" in my opinion. (Yes, the implication is that there are unskeptical and irrational atheists. That's why I feel the need to make the distinction.) Atheism is just "disbelief in or denial of God or gods". It doesn't tell anything else of the belief set held by a particular atheist. Atheism isn't even necessarily areligious - some sects of buddhism, for example, count as atheistic. (Others count as miso- or apatheistic, taking the stance that whether or not there is God or gods, they are useless to the salvation and enlightment of human beings.) As such, there could indeed be an atheist whose creed does require him to preach his own views, to the same extent a Christian might be "required" to preach his. For example, some "militant atheists" (as I've heard them called) consider religion detrimental to human reasoning, and thus systematic purification of such delusions is necessary. To such a person, advocating atheism is an important facet of their beliefs. *cough* I think that's it for my tangential ranting for today. On other things, I often get the same feeling as FnordCola about atheists "losing something". Generally, it's the dismissal of cultural and narrative wealth based on religion, because they're founded on "wrong" things. It's like religious nature of some things makes them "invalid" for their attention - which might cause them to miss aspects of history, culture, or just good stories. Fortunately, not all atheists are like that. Especially within roleplaying communities, I've met people who are atheistic yet very interested in religious and mythological practices - in general, it makes them more understanding (if not mora accepting) of such things, and ironically enough many have been better versed in them than many actually religious people. (Maybe because they don't have a burden of "tainting" their faith? Who knows?) Just because there's no scientific proof of God (yet) does not mean that there isn't one! Over the past 1,000 years, science has seen many of its 'truths' turn out to be eventually proven false. Alternatively, many things thought to be 'false' have been proven true. For years, people believed the world to be flat, that has been proven false. When scientists theorized the existence of atoms in the early 1800's, many refused to believe because they couldn't see them. When Einstein introduced his theory of relativity, many scientists thought that he was wrong, but he proved his theory to be correct. There may not be any tangible proof to God's existence right now, but I believe that one day we (Christians) WILL be proven right! Post #521

That's just it isn't it. That is how some or even most Athiests view us Christians. When we say that we believe in God but yet can not provide scientifically sound proof of our beliefs, they veiw us as totally insane. But when you get down to the nitty gritty of it, all of the evidence shows that something brought the universe together. All of this just couldn't have come together by chance. Cause and effect. I believe that God is the Great First Cause. It's like a tornado blowing through a junkyard and leaving behind not a huge mess but reassembled appliances, cars and stuff. That's just how I see it. Post #520

Originally Posted By: Randomizer Craftmaster Nicodemus is an NPC in Avadon:The Black Fortress who makes mostly useless items for the player. So in theory, he is almost like the X of Avernum in making useless items? Post #519

The only eggs I remember from the Exile/Avernum series are the GIFTS eggs and Fire Lizard eggs from E2/A2. These were not food however. Maybe there might have been an egg (Easter Egg egg?) in E3/A3? Maybe someone else here might know of that. Post #518

Originally Posted By: Applied Deconstruction Atheism doesn't explicitly require belief in anything (that's the point!), It's all about choice isn't it? You either choose to believe in something or to not believe in something. Either way faith has to be present. If you believe in God, you have faith that God exists. If you don't believe in God, wouldn't you have some sort of measure of faith that He doesn't exist? I'm not at all any good when it comes to debates or all of that stuff. I just ask some questions and try to answer others questions as best I can. Also, this guy (whatever his name is) retooled his calculations and came up with the date of 10/21/11. I wonder what he will say when his latest 'prediction' falls through. Post #517

Originally Posted By: Applied Deconstruction Alorael, who agrees that the skill system isn't perfect yet. It's also far from terrible, and it's a nice change of pace from the usual system for sheer novelty. Download the demo and see how it works for yourself! I would very much like to download the demo. But it being 106 MB and me using dial-up service, it would take at least 3 hrs to download. I can't tie up the phone line for that long. I'll just have to wait and come up with the money to buy the disk. Post #516

I did not mean to infer that the teaching of the rapture dated back to St Jerome. I was merely stating where the word was coming from. I'm not trying to argue theology. I just wanted to put the information about the Rapture out there. Post #516

I have played all of the Avernums. I have beaten all of them except for the sixth (unregistered). Avernum 1- Starting out with fresh storyline. You can do a lot of exploring. At the start of the game is a little tough to gain levels but once you get the hang of it you'll get a lot in no time. Avernum 2- Storyline is the consequences of some of your actions from the end game of A1. New race introduced. Gameplay is about the same as A1. Exploring is cut back a little due to clearances and badges and other stuff. Some areas that were traveled in A1 are blocked. Avernum 3- Storyline achieved from the end of A2 and is a little linear. Game area is totally new. Many restrictions on exploring such as plagues and time. Avernum 4- New game engine and graphics. Some of the storyline comes from end of A3. New enemy introduced. Has the same areas as found in A1, but different look. Storyline is somewhat linear. Avernum 5- Just like A4 except for game area. Old enemy from A4 is back. A little more than somewhat linear. Avernum 6- New game engine and grapics. Same areas A4 with a few exceptions. (I can't give too much detail on this game because I've only played the demo). Post #514

So the skill traits took a hit on Avadon? It would be nice if the future games had the skill traits of Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. I haven't played the other Elder Scrolls games but Morrowind was awsome! I also miss the openess of Exile and the early Avernums. The look of the newer games make the game world seem way too small. Post #513

I believe in the premillenial reign of Christ, his sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus' imminent return (Rapture), Jesus' Virgin Birth and many other fundamentals of the Christian faith. I don't know all of the answers to why or how things in the Bible happen the way they happen. There are some out there who have way more knowledge about this than me. I know that some of you scoff at us Christians for being 'close-minded' or 'believing in fairytales'. You scoff at us when we say that we have faith in what we believe in. What do you believe in? Do you believe that the entire universe (of its own accord) blasted into existence by the Big Bang? Do you believe that we are living in a multiverse instead of a universe. No matter how you think the universe came to be, you have to take it on faith. Specifically, let's talk about the Rapture. We get the word Rapture from the latin word raptus. Why Latin? From the Latin version of the Bible, the Vulgate mostly written by St. Jerome around 400 AD. This version was very popular and widely used during its first millenia. The word is found in First Thessalonians 4:17. In the King James version we see the words 'caught up'. The Rapture is people being caught (lifted) up from the ground and rising into the air where we will meet Jesus. We don't have to do anything, we will rise at His presence. About the timing of the Rapture, no one knows. It has been mentioned several times in this forum about the timing or our lack of knowing the timing so I won't go into that one. I'm sorry if I talked too much. There seems to be a lot of confusion about the Rapture and I want to help clarify if I'm able. Somehow I believe I'll catch some flack for this. Post #512

It's true! I've been playing the Exile/Avernum series since 1998. I've played the first Geneforge and thought it was nice. But recently I decided to download the 2nd and 3rd Geneforges just to play for fun. I must say that I find them rather enjoyable. (I still prefer Exile/Avernum ) I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually want to buy the other four Geneforges, since I already have the 1st on disk. Post #511

I was in the Navy on Sept 11, 2001. I was 20 years old. Pretty much my entire adult life has been under the shadow of the tragic events of that day. This evil, evil man masterminded it all. I'm a Christian man, but the world is better off without his kind (terrorists) being here. I believe that with work we, as human beings, can get along with each other. It's people like Osama that made the world harder to live in. I'm not ashamed to say this: I'm not at all sorry that this man was killed. By his hand or by his command, thousands of people have been killed and the entire world was left to suffer. But thanks be to our men and women fighting around the world to keep our soldiers safe. A special thanks to the group of Navy Seals who took out this mad-man. If the man or woman who pulled the trigger that killed Osama doesn't get the Medal of Honor...then I demand a recount! Post #510

There are quite a few I can think of. Humans-Goblins Humans-Giants Humans-Slithzerikai Humans-Nephilim Vahnatai-Everyone Empire-Avernum The things in the caves-My sword. Obviously these can be rearranged backwards and forwards. Post #509

Originally Posted By: loyal servile of sasuke uchiha http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=67427#Post67427 I clicked on the link and it still worked! Nice bit of skullduggery, huh? Post # 508

Very well done Harehunter! Post # 507

I am re-reading 'Where the Red Fern Grows'. It's still a nice read. Classic! Post # 506

I'm not dissing Exile or anything in my post just stating a well known fact. I am also a big lover of the original Exile's. I've been playing them since 1998! But the fact is when Jeff started making the Avernum's, the Exile's took a back seat. They are very great games in their own right, but let's face it (with the exception of number of spells) the Avernum's were better. Post #505

It's easy to look back at something from years ago and point out things wrong with it. At he time, Exile 2: Crystal Souls was a pretty good game. It was the first demo from Spiderweb Software I played. Sure it has since been remade and overshadowed, but given its context, I believe that Exile 2: Crystal Souls is still a decent game to play. Post #504

I found Homeland: Stone of Night to be fairly enjoyable! Sure, it took some time to learn to play but still fun. It had fairly good graphics and a good storyline. I believe that if this game was remade using one of todays engines, this game would sell. Post #503

I got Exile 1 and 2 from a CD called 'Galaxy of Games' back in 1997. Post #502

I'm re-reading the Twilight Series. Post #501

Started reading 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' yesturday. Post # 500!

Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba Yeah. It might be a good idea to download 1 and 4 and play each demo for a little bit just so you know whether you like both engines or not. Some people strongly prefer one over the other and don't get much out of struggling to play the set they don't like. Dikiyoba. But regardless which one you like better, I would still start with the beginning in A1. Following a story from beginning to end is better than starting from the middle and then trying to find something from before. Mind you, the storyline is somewhat flawed. There are some mistakes here and there, but the story is still wonderful. I enjoy the Avernum's a lot and will continue to for some time! Post #499

Originally Posted By: CRISIS on INFINITE SLARTIES Originally Posted By: Arch-Mage Solberg I am a vapid History and Science channel fanatic. Do you mean avid? Yes...very bad choice of words. Kind of advanced thinking going on here, huh? Post #498

Thank you Niemand for your explanations. They are pretty informative. I don't claim to be a brainiac. There are some things I know, some I just know about and others I have no clue. This falls into the area that I just know about. I am a vapid History and Science channel fanatic. I have seen a few episodes about matter and anti-matter. I have also seen episodes about Dark Matter. Dark Energy is something I know only by name. I understood a little about what they were talking about, but not fully. Post #497