Ephesos

Bah, everyone knows that Alpha Centauri is really full of mind worms. All other life forms on the planet have the distinct disadvantage of not being horrible psychosis-inducing worms that consume their prey's brains from the inside out.

Originally Posted By: Student of Trinity why are you asking a bunch of random ignorant idiots like us such important questions This. But any hot dog purchased at a baseball stadium is unfailingly delicious, compared to the boring things you get in supermarkets. I do not know why, it is just what I know.

Originally Posted By: Andraste If there's anything I've learned in my travels around the interwebs, it's that things were always better in the past. 100% true in every community I've ever observed. I'll admit, I miss the old days, but on the whole I agree with Dintiradan (was it four extra arms or six... I can never remember). There are a lot of interesting folks around now, and we seem to be having a revival of our old RP-ing habit, which is always fun. I've had a few moments recently where I've thought "Man, what we need is a good RP, like Legends of Divinity or something." ...and then I remember about AIMhack. Now if we could just get some more Blades scenarios finished. I can say that because I'm about to release one, for the record.

Conference is over, I'm very tired. 14 hours of sleep over 4 days is not good, but on the whole, the trip was pure awesomeness. And I think I have a few good leads for jobs, even. Originally Posted By: cfgauss I was annoyed at the webcast for the awards, though, they screwed up and did not show Gabe Newell's fake BSOD :-/. Yeah... I was sitting pretty far back, so I never got a good look at it. Originally Posted By: Frozen Feet I'll see what this AIMhack is about, once I learn how to use AIM. You know you would be more than welcome to join, FF.

Originally Posted By: Ishad Nha Here you will need to do everything one square at a time, unless you can automate the process. This alone makes the process more trouble than it's worth, in my mind.

Originally Posted By: I need no introduction i think the walking was to slow You know you can run, right? Quote: still it is better than 90% of the games online and theres always next year. ...that's not how the IGF works. You get one shot, and that's when your game is released. You can't reapply next year. Which makes it even shadier that Heroes of Newerth got into the voting, because it took a spot from someone else.

I will most certainly not have time. Running around enough as is. On the subject of talks and presentations that people have been giving, it's been interesting. Today's keynote was Sid Meier talking about the psychology of game design. To paraphrase: -The players are egomaniacs -People suck at math, particularly probability -Epic is good On the expo floor, it's been interesting. Once more, I encourage everyone here to check out as many of the IGF nominees (and winners) as possible, because they are quite excellent. Note: Some of the titles will contain language and other objectionable things, but that doesn't mean they aren't awesome (particularly Rocketbirds: Revolution!, which is AWESOME) On the career front, I've been getting a lot of good vibes, obviously no offers just yet or I'd be too busy jumping for joy to post. The week following the conference (the dreaded follow-up) will likely be key. I can't help but be nervous, but so far the situation looks to be leaps and bounds better than last year. Also, last night was the IGF awards show, as well as the Game Developers' Choice awards. There were a few contentious entries, such as Heroes of Newerth, which should not have been in the IGF since it was produced by a much bigger and experienced studio. But on the whole, it seems that the most deserving games won... and then Uncharted 2 pretty much cleaned up the Developers' Choice awards, stealing a few categories in my opinion (really? better art than Flower?). It also makes me sad because there's no way I'll be playing it for a long time, unless a PS3 magically materializes in my house sometime soon. And now that it's won a lot... I can't help but be intrigued. One last note from the awards, the infamous Farmville won the new category for Best Social Networking Game, and the acceptance speech was one of the most menacing I've ever heard, essentially trying to scare indie developers into coming to the social games scene, because it's the last frontier (a statement which has almost universally been incorrect at each utterance). ...also, Rocketbirds: Revolution! should've won something.

'k, update. Pictures! More to follow.

No free handouts yet, as the expo part of the convention isn't open until tomorrow. Getting in today, gaining two hours, eating multiple dinners, wandering around large parts of the city... fun stuff. Minor networking, but no awesome convention stuff just yet. Mix-up of which hotel we were staying in, now we have one room, 4 people, one bed. Lame. More tomorrow. Wireless in hotel is kinda lame.

New calendar. But here's the thing. This week is out, as I'll be in San Francisco with absolutely not enough time to run a session, and probably spotty internet access too. With any luck at all, I'll be pursuing a job. Any job. So, I apologize, but the earliest the next session can be will be the 15th. Originally Posted By: Ikthak, goblin archmage "The Archer is rising, as it should. With any luck this means the flux I observed was meaningless."

Well, nobody died. Despite their best efforts, I might add. However, we didn't get a whole lot done. Spent too much time antagonizing NPCs.

Again, can we please leave these in the Windows Editor thread?

Originally Posted By: Dintiradan In other news, I'm reading my e-mail, and apparently my Friendly Local Gaming Store is trying to host a thirty player Magic the Gathering event (Morningtide/Eventide sealed) for free. The manager really, really wants this event to happen. Currently, only one store in my city is able to host prereleases, and he would be able to do so as well if this event happens. However, I'm not holding my breath. He's tried this twice before (Eventide draft), and both times the event was cancelled due to lack of participation. ...how far away is this Friendly Local Gaming Store?

Hey, hey! What provoked that? Play nice.

GDC? Nope, except possibly for parts of the Game Developers' Choice Awards. It's a convention, with hundreds of talks going on. And there's a reason you have to pay to get a pass.

The original drawings.

Enough.

...is this week. Out of curiosity, is anyone else here attending? Has anyone else attended, period? Even if nobody else is attending, I wanted to link to this, the list of Independent Games Festival finalists for this year. Seeing as a large number of the games listed are either free or have a free demo, they are most certainly worth your time. That said, what have people been playing lately, aside from Spiderweb games and AIMhack campaigns?

Dangit, we need the face-leaping spiders of Formello!

I thought everything was made of meat. Or worth its weight in meat. Or something like that. (been playing too much KoL)

Originally Posted By: Dantius I hope you're prepared for fiery lines of doom within three sessions. So here's the thing. I'm not just gonna let you learn a spell like that via leveling. In fact, the higher up you get, the harder it's going to be to learn spells without actually being in the presence of a teacher. Also, if you really want to find someone who knows that spell... well, you're in the wrong campaign. The Selos party already knows someone who can cast The Agency of Molten Lines, and they've seen it done. Originally Posted By: Sarachim Read things before you quote them, Dantius. If you don't, you won't be prepared for flying invisible death from above. FYT. Originally Posted By: Iliandib, sage "I have heard people say that life is about the journey, not the destination. This may or may not be true on a philosophical level, but I can confirm that the more you shorten your journeys, the more destinations you can reach."

(bump) Psyched for tomorrow.

With the fluffy turtles.

This is why they are epic. Originally Posted By: Gaunik-Da, master illusionist "Anyone who thinks dreams are not real has never had a true nightmare. When confronted by the horrors of one's own mind, it is impossible to ignore the reality of the situation."

Okay, so I know I talked about posting some of the more epic-level spells that are floating around out there. This is that post. Some of them might even look familiar. Click to reveal.. (The Agency of Molten Lines) The Agency of Molten Lines Strands of fire criscrossed the battlefield like an ember spider's web. -Requires 12 points in Evocation -Costs 3 Stamina -Can cast once per day -Strands of elemental fire are cast about the battlefield at random. Any creature that passes through the fire is ensnared, and the line constricts in to attack it. Click to reveal.. (Iliandib's Sinewy Ascent) Iliandib's Sinewy Ascent Take wing, and take heart. -Requires 10 points in Transmutation -Costs 2 Stamina per target (see below) -Can cast once per day -All targets gain sprout a pair of feathered wings (this does not conflict with armor, as the wings are not physical), and gain the ability to fly for a number of hours equal to the caster's Intelligence. Click to reveal.. (Egues-Tol's Despicable Pall) Egues-Tol's Despicable Pall A dark fog rushes onto the battlefield, damping both sound and spirit. -Requires 10 points in Necromancy -Costs 2 Stamina -A dark fog forms on the battlefield, giving Perception checks a -5 penalty. All attack rolls also suffer a -2 penalty within the cloud. Creatures who spend a turn in the fog lose 1 stamina. The caster is unaffected, and can sustain the effect by spending 1 stamina. Click to reveal.. (Immaculate Shift of Dreams) Immaculate Shift of Dreams The barbarian charged at his foe, and soon found himself in a dark nightmare of a forest. He screamed. -Requires 14 points in Illusion -Costs 3 Stamina -Casts any number of attacking creatures into a shadowy nightmare. They remain physically present, but cower in terror helplessly unless they can save against the spell. -This spell affects a 30-foot line on the battlefield, and any creatures that cross it are affected by the spell. The line itself persists for 2 rounds. Click to reveal.. (La-Yim's Lifeblood) La-Yim's Lifeblood A pinch of precaution, a dash of daring. -Requires 10 points in Conjuration -Costs 3 Stamina -Can cast once per day -Target regains all hit points, and automatically saves against all conditions currently afflicting him or her. Originally Posted By: Iliandib, sage "Contrary to popular belief, it is actually possible to be in two places at once."