The Loquacious Lord Grimm

Thank you for serving, sir.

 

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Due to the more serious nature of this thread, there will not be a Silent Assassinism. Instead, I'm going to break character completely and let you all know that in the time that I was gone, the young man who inspired and sometimes plays the Silent Assassin joined the Marines, and is currently, as he puts it, fighting the War on Terror with his tuba.

...I find that bizarre fruits provide a much more enticing array of flavors and textures than meat.

I concur, though the trick with varying the flavor and texture in meat is as much in the preparation as it is in the cut itself.

Better yet, combine the two: I have yet to find a meat that hasn't been enhanced when cooked alongside fruit.

 

The missus and I stick to mostly beef and chicken for budgetary, and in my case, allergy, reasons.

Beef, Pork (though not so much of late... I had a bad experience with a freezer full of rotting cuts), lamb (every Easter we can actually get our hands on it. With such a large Jewish population around here, you'd think stores would carry it in excess around Passover, right? still can't find an acceptable mint jelly.), horse, venison, rabbit (the latter two we occasionally get from a friend who hunts), quail, chicken, duck, goose, turkey, ants, alligator, white and oily fish (hate the oily stuff), scallops, oysters, clams, octopus, squid (I love calamari), crab, lobster, and shrimp (alas, Anaphylactic shock is not fun. especially when caused by one of your favorite foods.).

 

There are two items on the list that I have been trying to find an excuse to try: bison and pheasant. While I do occasionally see the former at the local wholesale warehouse, it's still just a hair too expensive.

 

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Add human meat in there.

The Silent Assassin has it on good authority that it tastes delicious when lightly seasoned with nutmeg.

.

The period around 2006-7 was when Aran posted monthly numbers for posts by members with a top 10 list. After a particular slow summer there were the spam games.

Alas, the great Spamfest strikes only the fourth-highest peak. [/nostalgia]

 

I can't remember offhand, when did Spiderweb start on Steam? Late 2010/early 2011? Would explain the rise in the base posting quantity shortly thereafter.

 

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The Silent Assassin wants you all to know that the Great War against All Things Puce is proceeding on schedule. Be very sure which side you're on.

I've recently discovered that E.S. Posthumous has some tracks that make for interesting dungeon crawling.

 

One problem i suspect with in game music is that it gets really repetitive,it's fine for 2-3 days but after that you just want to bang your head rather than listen to it.

That is probably the biggest obstacle to creating a proper soundtrack for the open, large-scale games that Jeff is inclined to make. With no truly random encounters, lots of backtracking to specific hubs, and a wide range of characters and attitudes, in a game that can easily take over 40 hours for a single playthrough, the soundtrack needs to be both extensive and versatile in order to remain both relevant to the in-game situation and fresh (or at least, comfortable) to the player.

 

Consider Skyrim: The average player devotes around 75 hours to the game; and while I couldn't find any information on average playthrough time, let's assume for sake of convenience that it's around 60 hours: do the main quest, end the civil war, handle two or three factions, get an artifact or two, crash and reboot countless times, the whole experience.

In that 60 hours, the player is exposed to a soundtrack of only 55 unique tracks spanning about three hours, not counting the stingers for ending music suddenly, musical sound effects, and multiple renditions of a silly little ditty about Ragnar the Red. In addition to this, there are a wide variety of musical parts, varying by leitmotif, tone, and instrumentation, that are layered in with the standard atmospheric tracks to help differentiate various regions and areas. And this doesn't even begin to consider that the music has to be internally consistent in tone, style, and genre, and likable on top of that.

It is no wonder that only the highest-end games get the best soundtracks: between composing, orchestrating, recording, mastering, and CONSTANT communication with the project director and sound director, the creation of such a harmonious compliment to atmosphere and gameplay takes notably longer than Jeff's annual production cycle.

 

I have considered the possibility of writing a soundtrack for the Avernum series many times, and have actually written a handful of tracks inspired by it and meant to play along with it over the years. Breaking it down by game, here's how I think it would work best (spoiler tags added to reduce page congestion):

 

 

The Silent Assassin, on the rare occasion that I have caught him playing an RPG, favors highlights from Mozart's Don Giovanni

His other exploits for entertainment tend to involve the works of John Phillip Sousa, and not just his marches. Indeed, if I hear excerpts from El Capitan, my gut reaction is to fear for the kitchen.

I do get a few pixels cut off on the top and bottom, but it generally isn't enough to notice.

 

It could be, and this is just speculation as I don't know much about it, that the resolutions that I have are result of the very restricted OS and the Dell-provided interface that I have to use to manage display settings. The older programs, to my knowledge, don't concern themselves with what resolutions the OS reports as available, so... they're not blocked by that middleman?

 

And, thanks. I hope I stick around, too.

Funny, how the day I go looking for help is the day the forum migration happens.

The Silent Assassin has already had one embarrassing fact about him posted in this thread, and is threatening to beat me with his pink bunny slippers if I do anything like it again. But I feel like tempting fate:

One of his favorite movies is A Walk to Remember... and he cries every time.

@Tyran: Lugging around a monitor kinda defeats the purpose of putting it on a machine other than my desktop. Although, now I have this very funny idea to try with the TV... thanks!

 

@Nikki: No. I did have the same issue with Avadon, come to think of it, but the Geneforge series and both Avernum series work fine automatically..

 

@Earth Empires: It can run Source Engine games at their lowest settings and only stutters a bit when it hits complex lighting or physics calculations; I edit multitrack audio on it on a regular basis, and render video every now and then (does require a fair amount of patience). Only thing that I regularly ask it to do that it doesn't do well is browse the internet.

 

The Silent Assassin automatically runs down to the local pub and table dances every time he hears the song "You're the Inspiration" by Chicago.

We suspect that it may have to do with a hypnotist that he accidentally kidnapped back in the 80's, but we've never been able to find any proof.

Yay! Thank you, Tyran!

 

This is probably the best thing I've read on the issue that Jewels brought up:

 

 

 

 

That shared:

 

 

 

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The Silent Assassin believes that The Silence are the disciples of an alternate-universe Susan Foreman, who, after being trapped in a stable time loop and snatched from her grandmother, River, realized that the man who held her in custody was the most dangerous entity in the universe. He also believes in magic.

Can we get a mod and/or the participants to collect the spoilers from the old system before it vanishes? The UBB "show me" function doesn't work here.

Grazi.

 

Having trouble getting Avernum to start.

I'm attempting to run the demo version on netbook: a Dell Insprion Mini 10, about two years old, 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor, 1 gig RAM, running Windows 7 Starter SP1, 32-bit version. 80-gig HD still has 35 gigs free.

I have followed troubleshooting suggestions: rebooting, closing all programs (I've even killed all nonessential processes), running the DirectX executable, windowed, full screen, various graphics options, made sure all drivers are up-to-date, etc.

 

Every time I start the program, it's the same: I get the "choose resolution" prompt, but after moving through it, the process simply stops.

The only indicator that I have as to the nature of the problem is that when prompted to select a resolution, there are no resolutions listed. This netbook has only two resolution settings, 1024x576 and 640x480. With older Spiderweb programs, this is not an issue: when prompted to change resolution, I am presented with a proper 3x4 interface flanked on either side by blank screen. I am hoping to attain this with the latest product... but I'll settle for windowed and running.

 

The Silent Assassin will settle for nothing less than total wold domination! So! Rolling three dice to attack Indonesia from East Australia! Again!

Shiny.

 

The Silent Assassin is disappointed that I do not have time to figure out how to do a horizontal rule, but ultimately does not care because his rule is supreme regardless of orientation.

I've walked the 2.5 miles to the office where my wife works a few times, and before we got married and moved back to civilization, I had a 3-mile route that I'd stroll once or twice a week.

 

More than that, though, if time or self-presentation wasn't a factor, and given the option, I'd bike (I prefer biking anyway). Anything that doesn't fall into that tends to be related to work, so I have a car for those.

Would I walk to work? No. My office is 15 miles from home, and the local highway and freeway system makes a direct walk nearly impossible. One of the downsides of living in suburban NJ.

 

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The Silent Assassin wants you to know that he uses a combination of Floo Powder, Black Helicopters, and rootworms to travel, though mostly, the repair bills come back from Greyhound and NJ Transit.

I'm not sure which is better: your saying that, or that it's true.

Also, Riv-no, deff channelwood.

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The Silent Assassin's favorite Age is [redacted], because [redacted] [redacted] [censored] [redacted].

Because the web platform of the company that hires you for consultations doesn't let you log in and work if you're not using IE7, or IE8 in compatibility mode, has problems loading in IE9 compatibility mode?

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The Silent Assassin's favorite browser is the kind that will stand there with a glassy-eyed look and just kinda wish for everything. They make for fun sport, and even better in large crowds.

Lenar Labs as a faction:

Bonuses:
+4 Research - Advanced Thirst for Knowledge
+2 Espionage (probe, w/e) - Manipulates neighbors
+1 Close Range weapons - tactical preference
+1 Industry - Production Emphasis
Reduced unit upkeep and reduced detection for friendly stealth units, increased detection of enemy stealth units - due to emphasis.

-2 Efficiency - Unable to establish formal chain of command.
-1 Police - Unable to establish formal chain of command.
At irregular but frequent intervals, a random build order or current technology research will be damaged or reset, or a random settlement will catch fire, damaging or destroying buildings, due to disregard for safety from Advanced Thirst for Knowledge.

Untrustworthy: This faction may form no formal alliances, pacts, or diplomatic agreements of any kind except for trade of technology or money, cannot be part of any sanctions, and cannot pronounce Vendettas. This faction may vote in all elections, and can hold office. Trade with this faction is automatically established upon contact, and continues through any form of aggressive relationship.
Instigator: The AI for this faction will regularly send espionage units into all other factions, in an attempt to frame other factions for sabotage.

Agenda: Dictatorship, Free Market
Aversions: Police State, Theocracy
Priorities: Research, Espionage
Tech: Stealth/Probe
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The Silent Assassin's faction is a network of nomadic traders, interested only in secrets and new pie recipes, but supplying the world with humor and reasons for fear in equal measure.

While not opposed to the idea of universal healthcare (it is honorable, intelligent, and socially responsible for a nation to help care for those who cannot otherwise take care of themselves), I do have some major issues with the fundamentals of the healthcare solution that has now gone before the Supreme Court:Mostly, it comes down to the expediency with which the plan was created, and the short-term political motives that drove it.

 

If we are to create a national health system, it needs to be done through the careful application of medical, economic, and sociological research. I'm talking surveys, experimental implementation of new policies, constant generation of new ideas... response to consumer feedback. Such a massive and significant undertaking must be crafted to suit the needs of those it serves, and constantly reexamined for relevance. It must be treated like an active economic organism, not thrown together in a one-size-fits-most plan implemented through the process of "ooh! ooh! vote for me if you like my idea!".

 

Anything less, and you end up with a system that has an indeterminate but very real and very dangerous shelf life.

 

Quick edit, for stupid question, aimed above:

What would stop us from moving towards a less simple tax system, then? Given the computing dependence of many modern governments, and the public access to computing and Internet in these same regions, it stands to reason that we have the technology and the means of implementation and instruction in a more finely-tuned system. Something where the lines between brackets can be blurred, and the system of distribution more transparent, and inefficiencies and inequalities identified an eliminated? Am I making any sense?

(This isn't theoretical. I don't know enough about economics and taxation, and the the only rationale I can think of is that it is always unreasonably hard to change an established system)

 

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The Silent Assassin once experimented with the idea of creating a time bomb with an indeterminate fuse.

It became rather obvious when he reached the field testing stage, during which he avoided the neighbors' shed for three weeks.

We broke 80 in Jersey at the end of last week, then we went right back to our standard brisk March weather Saturday evening.

The birds came back in full force about a week ago, the local dogwoods have begun to blossom, and many cherry trees and dogwoods alike have begun to shed their petals. It's rather pretty, watching the wind pick them up and move them along the streets. Out of the ground, we have mostly daffodils, but I saw some violets this morning, and one of the hydrangeas at home is starting to bud.\

 

I guess it's time for a spring photo thread?

 

It only snowed deep enough to need shoveling once this winter, and the rain that followed made it unnecessary.

The news forecasts kept predicting a foot and a half, up until the rain started. Bought a new shovel and everything, too.

 

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The Silent Assassin survived the warm winter by going overseas on a mighty quest to save the world from using Tau instead of Pi.

I survived not having to deal with his antics by sipping tea and reading good books. And saving money on kitchen appliances.

Eight

But, yeah, Toby-Lynn and I stopped moderating after Jeff finally got around to creating an official Facebook Page. We all joined that, and Groups became all but obsolete shortly thereafter. Half the reason why it still exists is because I can't quite bring myself to delete it.

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The Silent Assassin knows what the piano knows.
At least, that's what he's been telling the grandfather clock.

Great! Now I just need an android-running device with a screen larger than eight square inches... and isn't my wife's cell phone...

 

On a more serious note, I'm not sure how Management will react to this topic, and so I would like to say Thank You for trying that out, and sharing it with us, while I still have the chance.

 

Here's to the day a year or two from now when we can take BoA with us wherever, without the bulky hardware. Assuming that 19" tablets don't become vogue.

 

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The Silent Assassin has been up in a tree for the past two days, muddling one of the greatest existential questions of our age.

And at this point, I'm refusing to bring the ladder back until he can get it through his head that being human and dancers are not mutually exclusive.

The fallout from the death of the Internet would largely depend on how the Internet falls:

 

• If we're talking some sort of worldwide service collapse, worldwide networks could be up again in a matter of hours using dial-up. As Randomizer pointed out, all solely web-based commerce would suffer. Absolute worst-case scenario, the world's infrastructure reverts to something similar to that of the early 90s.
• If we're talking worldwide telecommunications collapse, radio communication is still possible, so while there might be panic and some time to adapt, it would still be possible to rebuild within a few months. Panic, at first, of course, but that will subside with a little military action. Some social change as people adapt (subject people to reruns, live programming, and, GASP, their NEIGHBORS!) and the likely collapse of most current web-based industries. This will hurt some businesses more than others in a somewhat unpredictable manner: the fate of local and regional businesses both will largely depend on their flexibility, and the flexibility of their suppliers. Facebook will survive by waiting it out, after drastic personnel, material, and budget cuts, of course. Spiderweb Software might be there at the end, if Jeff can help program the new telecommunications grid. But certain ISPs will die horrible, horrible well-deserved deaths, and no one will mourn as others rise up to take their place.
• Perhaps total electronics failure due to EMP weapons or act of God? In the former case, most governments are fully prepared; in the latter, well... either way, you start getting problems like public water shutting down, no means of long-distance communication, etc. Lack of Internet will be the least of anyone's worries as riots begin over local resources. Over time, western civilization should pass backwards over my last two points.
• Zombie apocalypse? Well, um... read the manual.

 

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The Silent Assassin is fine with the idea of a world with no print encyclopedias or Internet because you require neither to make a good pie.

He seemed very distressed when I pointed out that no Internet would sharply limit his free access to pie recipes.

I discovered Exile 2 in 2000 on a disc of 100+ shareware / freeware games that I had received as a gift two years prior. It was unique, oddly visually attracting despite its aged graphics, and addictive once I finally understood not only how to play, but that there was a whole, carefully-developed world inside.

(It was also the second RPG I'd ever come across, after Castle of the Winds. Set the standard pretty freaking high, though.)

 

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The Silent Assassin first played Exile 2 in 2001, after finally sitting through a full explanation of the great RPG world with which I had been obsessed.

However, he never really got into it (or of any other RPG, for that matter): why pretend to harass fictitious, pixelated townspeople when there are not-nearly-as-pixelated living townspeople right out the front door that can be harassed for real?

-Thinks about the tactical implications of battlemages and healers, alongside of infantry, archers, and the occasional cavalry unit. Wolfrider cavalry. Vahnatai specialists. Golems as heavy infantry. Play as any number of factions, from the Anama, to the Darkside Loyalists, to the Empire, to the Slith Rebels. Conquer and manage both the caves and the surface as you lead your people to glory in an era of total war-
-drools-


One aspect of Jeff's traditional skill system that stands out to me, particularly as it evolved from BoA forward, is the ability to unlock new skills with the right amount of points invested in other skills. Gymnastics, sharpshooter, riposte, and so on.
Add on to that, battle disciplines, which also (if I remember correctly) require certain skill levels to acquire.
Why not create specialized combos/disciplines/whatever to reward multiclassing?
Sufficient mage skill combined with sharpshooter would lead to unlocking the Flaming Arrows discipline, in which you spend some MP to make your projectiles do flame damage. Likewise, instead of archery, a sufficiently skilled mage/swordsman could add an effect to their melee weapon at the cost of a few MP drained every turn, until cancelled or the next spell is cast.
Priests with high defense can enchant their shield to curse anyone who hits.
Training high enough in melee combat allows successful parries or ripostes to deal damage not only to the attacker, but diverts the enemy's weapon into an enemy next to them, causing them damage as well/instead.
Melee/archery/defense at sufficient levels allows melee attacks or parries with the bow.
The combinations are endless, and would take a good bit of work to balance, but they would greatly, greatly open up the diversity of gameplay.

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The Silent Assassin prepares Deadly Stab. His next hit will be an insta-kill.
Sucks to be you.

The other side of the coin could have you building as well as destroying, setting up (or at least influencing the development of) towns and dungeons as bases of operations. You could potentially become a merchant, or if your sights are set higher, the lord or evil overlord of an area. Complete with serfs and minions to support you while you're off doing whatever you feel like, of course.

(I've been playing around with the idea of an MMO built on essentially that premise... shame I only know enough about creating such a thing to know that I'd never stay interested long enough to finish it)

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The Silent Assassin plans on taking Rogue to a whole new level with ARG mapping software that replicates the world around him.
The catch, of course, is that the primary weapons are goldfish bowls and jars of jelly.

Day and Age - The Killers

Fallen - Evanescence

Fresh Aire - Mannheim Steamroller

Fresh Aire II - Mannheim Steamroller

Hot Fuss - The Killers

Kind of Blue - Miles Davis

Once - Nighwish

Sam's Town - The Killers

Songs - Rich Mullins

There Goes Rhymin' Simon - Paul Simon

A Thousand Suns - Linkin Park

Walk On - 4Him

 

Some honorable mention needs to go to

Folie a Deux - Fall Out Boy

Pretty. Odd. - Panic! at the Disco

Dark Passion Play - Nightwish

Within a Mile of Home - Flogging Molly

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out - Panic! at the Disco

The Swing Sessions - Dave Boyer

Speak Now - Taylor Swift (My wife listens to it a lot, and the album, as a whole, is quite catchy)

Final Fantasy VI Grande Finale (And, let's face it, any of Nobuo Oematsu's work performed live)

Not to mention countless other soundtracks, and a good number of "best of" albums, which don't really count here.

 

My music library is not what it should be, due to a rather sheltered young adulthood, and a very tight budget afterwards. However, I was recently convinced to start an account with Pandora, and have been very pleasantly surprised by most of the music I have encountered there.

 

Also, currently listening to Songs To Test By, Volume 3 by the Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory.

 

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The Silent Assassin enjoys The Sound of Silence, not only for its immediate implications, but its social commentary.

That is, unfortunately, the only piece of music that we have ever discussed that was not written by John Williams.

Cheers, celebration, and rejoicing.

Let the commerce commence.

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The Silent Assassin is currently unavailable for comment.

This is usually a bad thing.

BLASPHE... no, wait a second...


Only games that I've ever played on Macs were The Oregon Trail and Myst. Because that's what the school had. Back in 1998.

I've never been a true "PC guy", heck, if I had the money to drop, I'd buy a mac system with which to run Pro Tools in a heartbeat; but for my gaming and mainstream use, I prefer the modular modability that your standard PC provides, at significantly lower cost.

Having experienced all but the first public version of Windows, the death and rebirth of the Mac, and various Linux releases, my favorite OS is definitely Windows 2000. Good for what advanced features I needed, easy to navigate those advanced features (unlike XP), easy to customize, and not nearly the resource hog that subsequent OSes became.
I recall it having some features that clearly set it above '98, but it's been so long since I've used '98 that I don't remember what they were.

Windows 7 is nice, very user-friendly, definitely appeals to the masses, but as an advanced user, I find XP easier to manage.
Vista is not the devil, it is the spawn of the devil.
ME is the devil.

I use XP on my personal/project computer; my wife's computer and our netbook run Windows 7, and my workstation at the office runs Vista.
I'll be jumping up to 7 with the next computer I build, though. Even though XP is easier to manage, I still hate it. Windows 7, at least is nice. And we have the Internet to help troubleshooting now. Yay Internet!

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The Silent Assassin's office computer dual-boots Ubuntu and Microsoft Bob. This is a ploy to distract would-be spies, as the only thing he actually uses his office computer for is browsing the Internet.
He does his CAD work on the DOS machine hooked up to the CNC lathe.