Posts made by Arkandel

@surreality said in Do you believe in paranormal things?:

and I do not get the impression that @Arkandel's initial intent was 'believers, represent!' at all. Heck, the way the question was initially phrased, the only answer possible was 'no', which many people pointed out at the outset.

My initial intent was to relieve my boredom and perhaps to satisfy my mild curiosity about y'all's view on this.

I had no real expectations on what the general consensus would be. I am not smart enough to know things.

@tragedyjones said in Interest/Volunteer Check: Major Multisphere Chronicles of Darkness:

@surreality said in Interest/Volunteer Check: Major Multisphere Chronicles of Darkness:

...sigh. You know what I'm in for on it already. Poke me when you are at the point at which you need a wiki.

ONLY if you let me buy you food on a stick.

So you are saying there are salaried positions. Gotcha.

I like multisphere games and I won't lie. If you need help, whistle.

@Ganymede said in The basketball thread:

You are no doubt aware of what happened in the wake of KD's defection; GSW had to waive the rights to Bogut and Ezeli, and let Harrison Barnes go (no harm there). They picked up another scrub Center, which means -- once again -- that they are weak up the middle. If you will recall in the final game, they were tired and out-rebounded. How does KD help that?

He doesn't. What they are hoping for is to exploit the very core of smallball; that 3 is larger than 2. Getting open shots, moving the ball, getting open looks and scoring at a decent (40%+) rate then play swarming defense - which KD can help given his absurd wingspan - to make it hard for the other offense to get in the paint.

So, no. I don't think GSW is going to get a ring next year -- sorry. They have to address other problems, namely their lack of depth and weakness up the middle. And if KD starts getting ankle problems, or Curry's legs give out, you're in huge trouble in the playoffs.

I think they are placing too many of their eggs in an increasingly smaller basket. Sure those are amazing eggs but it is still just that one basket and they have two guys with chronic ankle issues. The playoffs are a marathon where everyone is playing at 100%, very physical, very rough... they'll have very little ability to make up for a single injury like this.

The other funny thing? Other teams are adjusting the same way. For example DWade - feeling neglected as once again he won't have even remotely the biggest contract in Miami - is talking to Cleveland (!) now. Do I think it's gonna happen? Naw, the guy will retire with a Heat jersey on... but it shows the Cavs' intentions, if they can add a superstar they will, which will cost them some depth too. I'd expect at least one of JR Smith/Shumpert to go, with Delly/Mozgov already on to greener pastures paved with $$, and perhaps it won't even stop there.

So, I'm going to call it. I'm perfectly happy to eat crow. GSW ain't gonna get a ring next year. LeBron had a year to plan, train, and get his team better -- and they performed better. Richard Jefferson's already said he may come back after KD was traded -- no doubt to try and whomp on the Warriors again.

I'm more interested in the future further down the line. The Thunder are about to blow their roster up, so if Boston dangles their treasure trove of picks and grabs Westbrook... that's one fantastic team right there. On the other end? Minnesota, building their own young core around an immergent superstar.

And, if you want an ultimate final? Let's see if Russell Westbrook takes a cut to go and play for the Cavs, shifting Kyrie Irving to SG. Because Westbrook seems pissed enough to do that.

The difference between a Heatles wet-dream fantasy like DWade playing for the Cavs and Westie is that it takes time to build chemistry. Westbrook might take months, even a season... Wade already has it.

@Ganymede said in The basketball thread:

Those who are mercenaries are treated the same. Mercenaries, with few exceptions, are not beloved by all; they turn based on money.

Mercenaries they may be but it's not money they turn on. In the NBA that's a truism; if you leave your team you also actually leave money on the table (KD will receive less for example than if he had stayed) due to Bird rights. And if a team doesn't have a player's Bird rights they can only pay him exactly as much at the max as any other.

So a superstars, who almost always get maximum contracts no matter where they play, are not motivated by money (*). They are motivated by rings.

(*) Two exceptions: States with friendly income tax laws like Texas and larger markets which give them better chances to promote their brand outside their contracts.

It is the best of tim... no, it's not. It's the worst of times and nothing else today, friends, for I bring you a roleplaying (?) tale straight out of the bowels of 4chan today featuring Edgardo and A Guy Called Squid.

Its format is horrid, some of the people in it are consistently horrible but also awesome or maybe just everyone in it is horrible all the time - you be the judge of that. I just couldn't stop reading until I read it all!

Enjoy.

@lordbelh Good read, that's for posting it.

The only thing missing from such a testimonial article is, I think, links to (anonymous of course) case studies. Not necessarily hard evidence but documentation that gives us an overview of his methodology and process, so when he concludes 'alright, in this case I can find any other explanation than the paranormal) we can form our own opinion; was there actually no other explanation at the time?

Also, and @surreality might have a field day with this, even assuming the existence of something supernatural there his conclusions about demons etc are rather narrow-minded I've found. Even accepting there's something happening there science cannot explain, is possession by a fallen angel truly the only way someone can suddenly speak fluent Latin?

This is a pretty good read about why the NBA has found itself with such a lack of parity.

A select quote:

"Obviously, there are a limited number of superstar players in the league. How can you create parity when the acquisition of just one player can produce that many wins? Obviously, the teams with these players would have a great advantage and that’s the way it should be. If you get lucky and score a champion, well, then you win championships. What if you’re a bad team, though? How can you improve?

In a free market, the problem would resolve itself. Star players are a valuable commodity, so you’d have to pay a premium to get them. Buying a Lebron James would cost so much that the team might not be able to afford great players to surround him. Thus, a team without a star could stock up on solid players and compete with Lebron + Junk. Don’t have a superstar? Be smart, and you can still play deep into the playoffs or maybe even win (see 2004 Pistons, whose best player was a defensive specialist and best offensive player was named Chauncey).

By establishing a team cap, the only restriction would be that the huge market Lakers, Knicks, and Bulls couldn’t just drown the opposition. The cap prevents limitless spending, but teams were still forced to make decisions about how to build a team. The Lakers tried to make a “super team” in 2003-4 by acquiring Gary Payton and Karl Malone, but ended up having to play Deveon George for nearly 2000 minutes. Spend a lot on stars, and pay the consequences on the bench.

The individual cap is the root of most of the problems. By capping the total salary a single player can earn, the NBA has established an uneven market for wins. Superstars are severely undervalued. Players on rookie contracts are undervalued. Mid-level players are overvalued. It’s as simple as that."

So they established rules for trading that achieved just about the opposite of what they were meant to do (i.e. 'share the players', the explicit message of the CBA after the last lockout).

We as gamers of all people should know a thing or two about poorly thought out rules resulting in unintended consequences.

@tragedyjones Your mom does like cuffs.

@tragedyjones said in An open letter to Fallcoast:

Guys I didn't expect @Sonder to be all "yasss throw out all the old and change everything".

1. Your mom is funny.

2. Even if you are right, and I think you have a point, it'd be really inappropriate for a game's direction to be influenced by people, many of whom aren't even playing there, on a separate forum. I'd hope FC's people are talking about new, interesting directions to take their MU* in but this isn't the place for it.

@ThatGuyThere said in The basketball thread:

Most of the talk I heard around Durant were teams wanting to sign him for longer terms. Honestly any big name who signs long term this summer is likely doing themselves a disservice unless age is a factor or there is some other risk factor for not grabbing the money now.

Yes, which is why most people assumed he'd sign an one-year extension with OKC and then reassess next year.

What's really important now is all the domino pieces previously hinging on KD's decision. Does Thunder blow up their team by trading Westbook while they can still get something for him? Does Bogut leave the Warriors (which for salary cap reasons he almost definitely will have to) and where does he land? In fact it won't be enough, the Warriors might need to gut their roster to pay KD.

Also teams in the West might finally concede any chances for rings over the next 2-3 years at least... the cumulative effect of several teams into rebuilding mode for years will have a major impact on the league. Plus there's a rumor Tim Duncan is leaning toward retirement.

Finally... if LeBron can stop the GSW train next year his legacy will be glorified. I'm talking GOAT levels.

How about this: For it to be a video game, the computer must be indispensable in more than facilitating communication.

So for example rolling dice isn't indispensable because players could do it locally then announce the results (given good faith), record-keeping for +sheet is a convenience which can be tracked via paper... but if the computer either does calculations that'd be unreasonably difficult to do for humans or impossible within the rules then it is a video game. Or... Hearthstone has cards that require access to every card in the game (and not just the players' libraries) so that'd be pretty weird to do on table-top.

And yea I dunno why my buddy thinks MMOs aren't games. To be fair-ish he didn't said they weren't, he said he didn't consider me a video gamer because I play 'only' those. But it's still a mystery.

The XBox 2016 summer sale starts tomorrow.

@Griatch I think the difference will have to probably include factors closer to Theno's definition - i.e. tied to automation - than whether text counts as there's no imagery, simply because I don't think anyone here is actually going to claim text adventures like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Pawn or Gnome Ranger aren't video games.

Now you will have to excuse me, I'm having a nostalgia attack. I need a moment.

I've been using Android as my smartphone OS of choice for years now but once it's time to upgrade again I'll need to switch to an iPhone.

It's pathetic how few updates are making their way to actual devices any more. Only 17% of all Android devices have the latest security updates which is pathetic, and exploits are accumulating including critical ones that bypass full disk encryption on them.

I don't want Apple products, they are overpriced and I've long disliked their walled garden approach to ... well, everything, but at least months-old critical security flaws aren't allowed to persist. Meh.

@Thenomain said in Are MU* videogames:

Anyway, a MUD has automated systems with clearer win/loss mechanics, while a MUSH is an extended tabletop game platform.

By that metric though, is Magic Online a video game? Its automation is what the cards already do.

Or would you say, consider MtgO to be a video game but not, say, a client simulating a MtG table where you tap, draw etc cards manually?

@Ganymede For starters I agree with you - it was the wrong move by KD. He loses even if he wins so what's the point? GS will never be his team. Legacies are the one things superstars have since money are already a non-issue, he'd have gotten paid big no matter where he was next year.

But for another... I dunno, I'm trying to look at it from a broader point of view. If you were in a legal firm that has been known to fuck its own employees' chances of winning more trials or even let perfectly good lawers go to save some petty cash wouldn't you at least consider taking an offer from another firm that offered the same salary but has a great boss that gets along with everyone, a good management team and the best win/lose ratio in the state?

OKC's ownership group has been very iffy even for NBA standards. They left Seattle when a better offer came along and took the team to OKC, they let Harden go over relatively little money just after they had finally made the Finals... do you think if KD's ankle injuries of two seasons ago had gotten worse instead of better they'd have hesitated giving him up too? I'm sceptical on it.

Yes, it's sports and it's a bitch move. It is. Hell, he could have gone to the Celtics or the Knicks and it'd have been a whole different story. But he's not a kid playing for fun, he's a professional athlete and he should make the choices he thinks are best for his career.

@Ganymede said in Are MU* videogames:

MUs fall under the definition of "video games," I'd agree with your position. What you asked was whether I consider MUs a video game, and I don't.

Actually I was responding to the part you quoted ("There's text. Text adventures used to be considered video games, and were celebrated as such."). I.e. I was showing text adventures are perfectly legitimate video games.

When my friends ask me if I've played good video games, I don't get into my MU*ing. So, I clearly don't consider them video games.

AND that's what kinda prompted me to bring this up here. I was chatting with an old friend who doesn't consider me a video gamer because I 'only play MMORPGs' (which isn't an entirely unwarranted assertion ) at which point I pointed out I still play MUSHes too.

What's funny is he considers MUDs video games but not MUSHes.

@Ganymede Kevin Durant will sign a two-year deal with the Warriors at $54.3 million, league sources say, with a Player Option for Year 2.

I think it's a wrong move for him especially. Sure, the GSW barring injuries or other dramatic events are essentially unstoppable now (all those shot Barnes used to take now go to freakin' KD?) but so what? He'll get no credit for a 73-win team champion and two-times finalist team winning another chip, and if they lose... ouch.

Worse? He went to the team his old team was barely beaten by, after leading 3-1 first. They were a hair's breath away from the finals with the Thunder.

But on the other hand he's a professional. He made a career move and I dislike all the feedback from people about 'loyalty' and shit; look at the Bulls and how fast they traded DRose once they realised his knee injuries playing for Chicago have diminished him. Owners have zero shit to give and so should players.

Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors.

... Damn.