The Loquacious Lord Grimm

@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: 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!

A little over ten years ago, I stumbled across a game on a shareware disc. That game was different than the rest: there were people to talk to, a world to discover, a war to fight on a person-to-person basis. Instead of playing a preformed character, I took control of a team, forced to be dynamic to be successful, and forced through circumstances beyond their control, to become the saviors of their world. That game was Exile II. I'd never played an RPG before, and as a freshman in high school and aspiring writer, I took to this fantastic world like I have never taken to anything else, before or since. It was not long before i began my first work of fanfiction based on the plot of the game and some basic characterization exercises, and work on creating a working soundtrack through what I had learned sitting through a music theory class followed shortly afterwards. Yeah, nerdy high school nonsense, mostly, though I did learn a fair amount about orchestration through the music, and people responded well to the fanfic when I posted it online in college (though it was stopped, unfortunately, by a bout of writers' block followed quickly by a load of classwork that took me nearly a year from which to fully recover. Depression is a [censored].). Several years have passed since then, and I have since left college, gotten married, started my own business, and am in the (eternal) process of developing an original-story webcomic. I don't play games as much as I used to, and my tastes have shifted more to first-person or strategy affairs, but I have almost always kept a splash screen from the Avernum series as my desktop background, and I have always regarded the story of the Exiles as my favorite franchise. Not the best, just my favorite. With Jeff's remastering of Avernum, and some issues in my own life, it seems time to finish what I started: to go back through the portal, join the war against the Empire, and remember that the wrong people in the right place and time can change everything. I hope that you enjoy this journey as much as I will.

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. _________________________ 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.

Originally Posted By: Arancaytar (As an aside, for voices I could listen to endlessly, Rand Miller ranks just behind Carl Sagan alone.) I'm not sure which is better: your saying that, or that it's true. Also, Riv-no, deff channelwood. _________________________ The Silent Assassin's favorite Age is [redacted], because [redacted] [redacted] [censored] [redacted].

Originally Posted By: Sylae If a website requires you to use IE then why would you visit that website. Honestly if you feel obligated to have that bug/security-ridden mess installed then you need to re-evaluate something. 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? _________________________ 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.

Originally Posted By: Excalibur Not to spoil the fun here, but I was wondering if anyone besides Alorael had their own faction ideas. 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 _________________________ 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) _________________________ 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. _________________________ 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.

Originally Posted By: Actaeon Well, there's still five people in the "Avernites Anonymous" Facebook page. 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. _________________________ 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. _________________________ 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. _________________________ 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.) _________________________ 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?

Originally Posted By: Rent-an-Ihrno Exile: Total War? -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. _________________________ The Silent Assassin prepares Deadly Stab. His next hit will be an insta-kill. Sucks to be you.

Originally Posted By: Polaran The ultimate advancement might be a game that you're not only playing, but also changing and developing while you play it. You're not just knocking down and building a few walls in a pre-established realm, but changing and creating areas, introducing new characters and dialogue, creating plot that meshes with the game world already there. Wikiblades. 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) _________________________ 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. _________________________ 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. _________________________ The Silent Assassin is currently unavailable for comment. This is usually a bad thing.

Originally Posted By: Dantius clearly neither serious nor credible. 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! _________________________ 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.

Thanks for asking! Unless you have some experience in older computer-based RPGs, the dialogue system alone should be enough to deter you from laying Exile 1 and Exile 2. While Exile 2 is my personal favorite in the lot, the interface is... difficult... compared to its Avernite counterpart, and even Exile 3. But Exile is a "purer" old-school experience. If you've played Wizardry or Nethack or Castle of the Winds, you'll get used to the interface and graphics easily enough. And the random items. And the inane spells. Personally, I'd also recommend hunting down the original graphics sets (hmm... I think I might upload them to the Blades Forge when I'm done here), if you end up playing Exile's first two, just for the full experience. Exile 3 is a beast of its own. While it and Avernum 3 are in terms of plot and most of the geography the same, there are a good deal of subtle, significant differences between them, and I would encourage you, if you have the time and money, to play both. Exile 3 is a freaking excellently-made game. Avernum 3 wasn't quite the jump as its Exile counterpart, but it still plays well, as you know. And once you're done exploring the trilogy (or even before you're done), I would strongly, STRONGLY recommend that you check out the Blades games. I'm partial to BoA, myself, but BoE is free now, and it has an entire library of excellent scenarios. As a word of warning, both of the first episodes are the first of their kind for Jeff, and so the interface and worlds will seem incomplete as compared to your past experience. It's okay, you'll get used to it as long as, and I probably don't need to say it, you play the first game first. _________________________ The Silent Assassin's portion of this post has been preemptively censored because of certain trends of action upon users who talk about A4 a certain way. Suffice to say, Avadon is fun, as well, and you should always support your favorite shareware developers.

Originally Posted By: MMXPERT I'm also thinking ice resistant sliths. Have you ever played E/A3? Sliths are cold-blooded, and thus quite vulnerable to low temperatures. It's what makes them resistant to fire in the first place. Making them actually vulnerable to, say, smite, or ice lances, etc, might not be a bad idea. Or, if you're suggesting that there be more variation among the races, well... It would have to be very carefully implemented. Generally, say, if you see a slith warrior, you expect that the generic sliths around it would be notably weaker. You make tactical decisions around this expectation: what kind of formation to draw into, which character attacks which enemy, whether or not your spellcasters hang back to heal and buff instead of cast offensively. If you have an attacker who is randomly stronger than those around it, without any indication (generally, in this medium, some sort of visual cue), or warning (pop-announcement that Big Bad Bossssss has disguised himself as a normal Slith), it completely negates any tactical approach, and makes the game less fun. EDIT: now that you posted again before I got in: Variation of subtypes is not a bad idea, the issue here is in cannon, coding, combat balance, and in providing those aforementioned visual clues. While the visual clues are easy (we all know how fond Jeff is of hue shifting), adding new subtypes could potentially cause a lot of grief in terms of the already-developed world, combat in the already-developed areas, etc. Cannon, while an issue with the fans is flexible. A4 retconned a whole lot of crap into the universe, presumably just so that Jeff could reuse some Geneforge graphics. THAT SAID, I WANNA SEE CAVE WORMS IN THIS REBOOT! JUSTIFY IT, VOGEL! JUSTIFY THE RETCON! _________________________ The Silent Assassin is in favor of Sliphils, and would like to submit the purring, alien Nephnatai for consideration.

Originally Posted By: Nicothodes I'm disappointed that Grimm didn't post the "trapped in the computer" picture. Actually, Tyran should post the picture where Grimm was actually trapped in the computer. But I was clean-shaven for that! I've only met one person who was able to sport a neck beard and actually look good: it went with a chinstrap, and he kept them both neatly cropped. The fact that he had similar hair color and complection to, say, Riibu, probably helped. _________________________ The Silent Assassin shaves with a knife. The shave-ees have yet to complain.