Best posts made by Ganymede

@Ghost said in What Would it Take to Repair the Community?:

So I ask: Really, what would it fucking take to clear the air and make the environment more 'repaired'?

If you're referring to the community that once inhabited here and its predecessors, then I would only say "time."

I'm not sure what air needs to be cleared, to be honest. Positions and opinions have been stated and re-stated. I presume that posters, past and present, can make their own decisions. So I presume as well that what can be repaired promptly has been repaired.

These presumptions may not be correct, but I've always believed you cannot force two people who dislike or distrust one another for reasons great or small to decide to mend and move forward, unless they want to.

@auspice @faraday

I'm still writing up my space opera game's background, but I really, really want to get back to this so hard right now.

Not because XCOM2 is in my blood either.

@saosmash said in General Video Game Thread:

I loved the fuck out of that DLC, too.

Legacy for DA2 good.

Lair of the Shadow Broker for ME2 better.

Citadel for ME3 best.

@Ghost said in Getting Young Blood Into MU*'ing:

And I think the reason why this topic has gone into subtangents about MUCKMOOMUDMUX and into talking about Ruby/Perl etc is because the people in this conversation know that trying to get people to knock it off with obsessive/ego behavior isnt a task, it's a war that will be more difficult and trying than it's worth; it would likely result in the community at each other's throats.

I think this reason is trite and judgmental, and, as I've said, there's nothing at all novel about what you have proposed.

Grousing is pointless. Nagging will get us nowhere. Acting in accordance with precepts that we have been pounding into our screens for a decade is the only thing that will get young blood into the hobby. And I think we know, or should know, this.

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new."

This is why I will defend the doers rather than the critics. This is why I discount or ignore discussion of the ad nauseam et infinitum recitations of what is known in favor of discussing where the hobby is going, if it is going anywhere. Whereas you may neither understand nor appreciate why members are engaging in sub-tangents, I appreciate absorbing the discussion so as to see, or perhaps foresee, where things may be going in the future.

But right now, absolutely nothing of what you previously posted will get the hobby any closer to attracting new blood. Braying and screeching about common problems isn't going to make anyone want to connect to the games that some of our community have pumped a lot of time and effort into. This, of all threads, is not a place to criticize.

@mietze said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

It was a relief to have him pass and end his pain. I hope that through the sadness you and your partner get to feel a little of that peace.

Thank you.

I think I'm past the sadness. The feeling of helplessness went away when I realized that there is something I can do: give him a peaceful passing. I'm looking forward to it, knowing that he is in substantial pain and suffering.

As macabre and as morbid as that sounds, I find the idea of being able to end his watch comforting and empowering.

I hate the feeling I get staring at a place I would likely be welcome back to, but feeling as if I can't go back.

It's like staring at the picture of your ex. You know the one -- the one where things just didn't work out, and it's no one's fault. You want to believe that if you give it just one more chance --

-- but anyhow, I know I shouldn't, so I won't, and be content wrapping myself up in thing after thing in RL, until I forget.

Also, RimWorld.

@egg said in General Video Game Thread:

I personally think FF7 is more popular than FF6 for a reason, and only has a little bit to do with "advanced" graphics or whatever: FF7 is more unique, especially setting-wise and tonally, and especially for the time, in the JRPG arena than FF6

FF7 owes a lot of its popularity to the fact that it was the first FF released for the PS. That aside, it was the first FF game that allowed you to customize the magic and skill set for your PCs without having to flip jobs constantly. FF6 was pretty close with learning magic, but FF7 brought more customization with the Materia system, which ended up being a template for later games like FF9.

Let me just say that I do like FF7 and I respect that it is a ground-breaking game. It deserves all of the props it gets, no doubt. In my opinion, Square Enix's zenith games are FF 6, 7, and 8.

But that ending, ffs.

@farfalla said in Derbyshire Estate:

I don't go into WoD game threads to be like "ugh I wish this was L&L instead".

Maybe you should? That's how they tend to end up anyhow.

@Arkandel said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Yep. Just like anyone who says "it's not the money, it's the principle"... it's the money.

It's not always bad.

Act I, Scene III

Client: Should I go forward?
Me: Well, it's going to cost you a whole lot of money, like, $25,000, probably, and you're looking to recover around $1,000. Economically-speaking, it would be extremely unwise to proceed.
Client: I want to sue them and pay you the money. It's not about the money; it's about the principle. Don't fuck with me.
Me: (eyes lighting up) Yes, sir. (stage whisper) Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

FIN

@Ghost said in The Great PC Death Dilemma:

What DO you do about games and RP systems where "dinosaur characters" are able to simply continue to amass XP with over-the-top RP and zero fear of death/repercussions (as if playing a video game in "god" mode where you can go on a 5-star GTA rampage and simply never die)?

I generally lose interest with these games. If I wanted to just be a witness to others' greatness, I'd rather waste my time watching pro-wrestling. There's little else for me to do about it as a player.

Were I to run a game, however, I can think of a dozen strategies to implement so that this does not become an issue. The first is that you cannot deny consent to a staff-run scene or its outcome.

How do you make it so that PCs actually have RISK as a factor without requiring it to be an OOC matter?

Again, a game owner is the ultimate arbiter of the outcome of any scene. A player may be able to deny another player's attempt to control their destiny, but a game owner has the larger responsibility of maintaining a game environment that is appealing to a wide audience. With the situation you described, the "easy fix" would be to have staff step in to stop the ridiculousness and impose repercussions.

Sure, you might piss off a handful of players with such deliberate, heavy-handed action; however, consider the countless others who are thankful that they are not beholden to the actions of a small group of assholes hiding behind an ill-conceived policy to shield themselves from reasonable consequences.

How do you encourage the retiring of PCs that have so much XP they're spending it on "specialty: basket-weaving" because they're maxed out and hanging around with zero risk of failure/end without consenting to it?

You don't. I would impose an XP cap, but otherwise allow players to adjust their maxed-out PCs' stats as they develop so as to better reflect their recent histories.

My favorite of all is FF8. It falls way outside of the mold. I never found it confusing, personally. Then again, I'm Asian.

If you have an iThing, you might want to look up the FF games on it. They go for around $15 a pop, if I recall, but you can pick up FFT (which is probably the strongest game) and FF6 (aka FF3 in 'Murica), which is by far the best game insofar as the plot is concerned.

All games after FF6, if I recall, use an ATB system -- or active turn-based. That means that the enemies will keep coming after you, and your PCs can act "out-of-turn" based on their relative speeds (e.g., you have Haste cast on them).

@Auspice said in The ethics of IC romance, TS, etc:

Sometimes, monogamy is the easy route even if I'm not always a huge fan (cause commitment is terrifying).

Monogamy is what I fall back to because I cannot be bothered to be polite or civil to more than one person in the span of a day.

Also, Caryatid's alts are so cute.

@Thenomain said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Now that’s living the high life!

Actually, the service at the Golden Corral here is pretty damn good. In fact, there's a lot of places that I frequent which have great service. Of course, I used to work in the service industry, so I may be more forgiving on certain things, and more picky about others (like, WTF, host, why the fuck is my server on the other side of the restaurant, you stupid bint?).

I might be able to afford a larger house if I didn't tip so largely, but I've been there -- I've been there. Take this 40% tip because you showed me a pic of your baby, and she's adorable, sir.

@Ghost said in The All-New Down With OPP Thread:

All snark aside, I've had moments in RP where I'm getting pages asking what my RL kinks and fetishes are roughly 30 seconds into RP, and any attempt to roleplay something other than hardcore flirtation seemed to be a nuisance to whatever text-based mating call process the other player was up to.

No offense, bud, but where did the fuck did you used to play? Because I created and played a fuckbunny and still struggled to consistently drum up fuckfriends.

Seriously, I must give off some goddamned dread aura of unfuckability, but even praying mantises get more action than I do.

@faraday said in The All-New Down With OPP Thread:

I'm not saying nobody can ever play a bad person, I'm just saying you have to go out of your way to make sure you're not making other players uncomfortable.

I think it's fucking unimaginative.

"I'm sexist -- I'm evil!" No, you're sexist and you're boring. Evil isn't what you believe; it's what you do. Ask anyone: hardline religious zealots are not scary because their beliefs are evil, but because the lengths to which they are willing to follow them lead them to clearly evil ends.

The last villainous PC I played probably wasn't considered evil until she showed it, and, Lord, Tzimisce know how to show it.

I really can't bring myself to buy into anything which might drop royalties to Rowling.

I mean, be a TERF if you want, but keep that terribleness to yourself.

@Auspice said in The ethics of IC romance, TS, etc:

Erin was always civil to Charlie.

This is how Trash Pandas show their love.

@Ghost said in Real World Peeves, Disgruntlement, and Irks.:

Yeah, or more nefarious or pessimistic, could it truly be that people may be unwilling to pay restaurants more because having control over the tip makes the food cheaper for the diner and gives them more control over the performance of the serving staff?

Here's an alternate view, sort of.

Could it be that dispossessed, entitled diners with a modicum of "self-motivated" success prefer exerting control over others who they see as undeserving of payment for their labor?

Said another way, could people who otherwise have little actual control over their success want to punish people for being inconvenienced or slighted, thus assuaging the "successful" personas they need to bolster their egos?

Said yet another way, could it be possible that people are petty tyrants in their minds and little shits in their behavior?

@Misadventure said in Stranger Danger?:

Know, learn or guess what your personally vulnerable roleplay topics are.
Don't do RP thats personally vulnerable.
Don't give out personal details like names, locations, job title.
Don't share any social media, it's a network of places for you and others to make security mistakes.

These four points are always good to follow.

I thought I had made friends over my past 25+ years of doing this, but I misjudged how firm many of those friendships were.

Last suggestion:

It's okay to let it all go.

And I have.

As Arkandel noted, I will be helping him and Auspice monitoring the threads.

I will try to curb my excessive, effusive use of cute .gifs to communicate.

If you can't reach Ark or Aus, I will try to assist. I'm always available to chat about this place too.

@sparks said in Mass Effect MU*?:

I had a Mass Effect audio drama I was going to make with friends, set in C-Sec, and one of the running jokes was a really terrible news channel on the Citadel that one of the characters insisted on watching, where the news anchors were an elcor and a vorcha.

There will be a company-wide channel, represented by a channel on-game. I will expressly permit people to make up DJs and other personae to have "radio shows," if that's what they want to do.

Because I really can't stop laughing about your idea. I mean, could you imagine a Elcor Maury Povich show?

Maury: Exasperated and exhausted. Today, on Maury, we again produce more Asari of questionable morals looking for their children's fathers or mothers. Suicidal and chagrinned. I used to be a well-known celebrity once.