zigzag

Reply to Economics, and Free Market forces. 'free' buildings in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

I don't think the game needs this mechanic. It's inconsistent with the generally medieval (ie. fuedal, rather than capitalist) fantasy setting. It also has the potential to lead to the 'game playing itself' vibe that I get when playing MOO3 -- or even worse, against you, as when playing a democracy in any of the Civ games. Perhaps if it were confined to a special event ('Citizen Moneybags offers to pay for part of the construction of your new barracks') it wouldn't be so bad.

Reply to A feminists complains about StarCraft in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

[quote]What that manchester united debate is lacking is a premise from which you can start that has to be objective...[/quote] Obviously the example is given as an exaggeration. The point, though is that any debate which attempts to persuade cannot have any 'objective' foundation unless such a foundation is agreed upon by the debaters. The committed Pyrronhian sceptic, for example, wouldn't agree to the use of 'the sun has a high temperature so it is hot' as a foundation for deba

Reply to A feminists complains about StarCraft in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

[quote] Of course you can start by choosing arguments that are true. It can be as simple is "The sun is hot" and work your way from there... I am not saying, by any means, that what I've posted is the absolute truth. I could be just plain wrong. If you find a flaw somewhere in my arguments and point them out to me, I will admit that I was mistaken, or bring up some new ones. That is how these things should be carried out. [/quote] You wouldn't have much success in convi

Reply to Could the beta program be an experience unto itself? in Elemental Dev Journals Elemental Forums

I'm on the fence about preordering. If I do preorder, I'll want to purchase the digital + software version. I can't guarantee, however, that I will have the same address when the game ships (or even if my billing address will be the same). Can I change the address to which the game is sent at a later date?

Reply to A feminists complains about StarCraft in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

[quote]When you are trying to prove a point there are some steps you have to follow: 1. Find a foundation for the argument, something that is considered true under any circumstances... [/quote] That's the rub, though, isn't it. It's very difficult to find foundations which are 'considered true under any circumstances', ie. by any audience, especially when you disagree with that audience and are trying to persuade them otherwise. You -- and most of the members of this bo

Reply to Interview with FreeOrion Project Programming Lead: Zach Laine in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

Hey! I made an appearance in the interview! [e digicons]:D[/e] Albeit for holding unoriginal views.

Reply to A feminists complains about StarCraft in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

[quote] Feminism is not inherently bad, but the premise is flawed. It starts with the base assumption that men, all men, have more rights and privleges than every woman. [/quote] That's true of certain flavours of feminism, and it's certainly a criticism which has been leveled at feminism in its earlier forms (specifically first- and second-wave feminism), but I think that you'd be hard pressed to find a feminist who believes that a black, homosexual, underclass man has more righ

Reply to espionage and covert attacks, a two prong solution in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

I think the problem with this is that it pleases no one -- it's not just that camps A and B [i]want[/i] certain features in the game, it's that they [i]don't want[/i] other features.

Reply to A feminists complains about StarCraft in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

[quote]Not really, unless you have never thought about war with biological rather than mechanical weapons. After all the human is soooooooooooo far ahead of all of the technology we can create. We are developed for tool use primarily, we suck on our own. Lots of insects and animals have in built weapons, hardened armour and super power levels of strength, speed and ability. Put those all together as a combine and times it all by 100 and you get nightmare levels of horroific material.

Reply to A feminists complains about StarCraft in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

Not a good feminist studies essay. Doesn't include the words 'interpellate', 'contingent', 'patriachal', 'site', 'naturalizes'. or 'interstices'. I'm surprised the author spent as much time playing the game as she did. Conceptually, it doesn't make sense, but some of the observations are interesting.

Reply to learning python, game AI suggestions/resources in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

Can anyone who's gone through the learning curve recommend a good resource for object oriented Python? I understand the basics of programming (functions, operators, etc.) but am completely lost when it comes to classes. Scorpiana, from what I can tell so far, the differences between Python 2.x and 3.1 aren't overwhelming. The main problems I've run into are the problem you've mentioned, the range() function, and input() versus raw_input().

Reply to Esbionage system and victory condition..... in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

Scoutdog, okay, then we agree with each other on that point. [e digicons]:grin:[/e]

Reply to Esbionage system and victory condition..... in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

Sure. You could certainly create spy-only abilities which would make them unique and interesting units. That isn't really my main gripe, anyway. I would rather have a system where spies aren't represented by units on the gameboard.

Reply to Esbionage system and victory condition..... in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

[quote] The only problems are that: RNGs do not reward skill, and encourage just save-reloading. They also have a tendancy to get on people's nerves, especially when placed "ontop" of each other (one RNG leading to another leading to another ad infinitum(sp?)). You get through the first series, then the next bumps you back. It makes it very difficult to coordinate a strategy, since you don't know largely what your next move will

Reply to Esbionage system and victory condition..... in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

More or less. Although, for simplicity's sake, I don't think that there should be any distance calculations. I think having the RNG affect both the duration of the mission as well as its outcome is a good idea. Perhaps have one RNG which selects between three outcomes each turn the spy is deployed on a mission: (1) success (very low probability), (2) failure (very low probability), (3) no change (very high probability); and another RNG which selects between two additional outcomes: (4

Reply to Good Free free-form style MP-capable space sim game in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

Yeah, thanks for catching that, everyone. My mistake. X3 is singleplayer only. Otherwise, it meets your criteria.

Reply to Good Free free-form style MP-capable space sim game in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

You might try looking into the X series. It's not free, but there's no monthly charge. X3: Terran Conflict 2.0 should be available for cheap. X3 wasn't really my cup of tea, but it might be what you're looking for.

Reply to What Did You Play This Weekend? in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

Pro Evolution Soccer and Master of Magic.

Reply to Esbionage system and victory condition..... in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

[quote]Playable, sure, but are they fun? ... I'm just not pessimistic enough to think people actually prefer the monumentally boring espionage mechanics over more warfare in space games from Master of Orion to GalCiv2.[/quote] I actually like the espionage mechanics in Master of Orion II. :blush: Although, I am probably just be blinded by my love for the game in general. A possibility I'm toying with is for espionage to work on a system similar to the 'hero' system. Each

Reply to Esbionage system and victory condition..... in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

[quote]If it's predictable, you've just created a memorization game. It becomes pointless once you figure out the defense levels of your targets, you always succeed. If it's random, you're taking a shot in the dark, it's still luck based, just on whether the difficulty is higher.[/quote] This is the same problem that faces many mechanics in TBS games. It's about balancing randomness with predictability. I think you're overly harsh on espionage systems. I'm not a hu

Reply to FreeOrion Project in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

It also has one of the more frustrating UI out there. I played it for a day and then uninstalled it. It's not as fun as the games it's supposed to replace.

Reply to Stardock & Ironclad make IGN's Top 5 Strategy games in the past 5 years list in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

[quote]But why not Dawn of War 2??[/quote] Because it's not one of the five best games in the last five years.[e digicons];)[/e]

Reply to My Current Top 5 RTS's in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

All chosen on the basis of 'fun' had while playing. If I had to choose a list of the 'best' games in the genre, it would look differently. (Although Starcraft and C&C Generals would still make the top five.) 1. Starcraft / Brood War This game ate up years of my life. It's still the best RTS I've ever played. Great singleplayer campaign, great multiplayer. Unmatched polish. 2. Dawn of War Not as revolutionary as sometimes claimed, but a still very fun game.

Reply to X-Wing and Tie Fighter!?!? in Everything Else Elemental Forums

Unfortunately, all speculation. [e digicons]:([/e] I really enjoyed the series. I'm glad that LA is under new leadership. Hopefully, they'll return to the PC market.

Reply to Art style=FAIL in War of Magic Elemental Forums

[quote]I don't think that anybody likes this minimalistic rudimentary cartoon style of graphics.[/quote] Clearly not true. [quote]False dichotomy fallacy.[/quote] Nope. There are at least two ways in which graphics tradeoff with 'fun'. 1. Production - Stardock would have to invest resources (money, people, etc.) into developing photorealistic graphics that could otherwise be invested in improving the core gameplay. 2. Performance - Users with older syst