DELiSH

Do you have a credible source for this information? If DOA5LR is in fact based on the arcade version with a few extras thrown in, then that is using the last gen engine. The Soft Engine code was probably added between the release of the arcade version and the console versions. In which case there is no SE code in the PC version.

If you're worried about hacking, take precautionary steps. The easiest way is using Sandboxie. (www.sandboxie.com) There's a free and paid version. Paid version allows creation of multiple sandboxes. What you do is make a new sandbox and install your game in the box. Then examine the installed folders in the sandbox and set the sandbox settings to only allow access to the specific folders the game needs, as well as possibly the windows folder for dlls and such. You can specifically deny access to system password files and sensitive documents. Restricting folder access like this will keep anything in the sandbox from accessing any information you don't want to share in case of a hack. If you do get hacked, getting rid of whatever trojan may have been embedded on your system is as easy as deleting the sandbox. Some people prefer installing games/programs unto their system directly and then simply running them sandboxed. That has the advantage of being able to delete the sandbox after each run, without having to reinstall anything. On the other hand, installing into a sandbox means that once you're tired of a particular program or game, you simply delete the sandbox and it's completely gone, registry entries and all. Personally I run all browsers in sandboxes and they're restricted from accessing most of my system, but it works just as well for games.

Turn based games allow for more strategic thought and contemplative action than the APM twitch action of most regular RTS games. More like chess :) Fantasy Wars from a while back kicked ass in that department. Hard but wonderful to play.

I dug Torchlight for a while, even though it was a souped up version of Fate. Soon the next version will be out and it will probably be much more fully featured. The first one got boring too quickly due to lack of variation, being too easy and having no real goals to strive for. The lack of good quests and more varied random scripted encounters also bogged it down. BUT, it was still fun, at least for a while :) Rumor has it the next one will have multiplayer, which can only help boost its popularity. Lots of other interesting games on the horizon, but until then why not try some of the older games? There are many nice gems out there from years past, depending on what you're into. I know I keep discovering games that are two, three even five or ten years old and have a blast with them. Games I never noticed before, for some reason. Also games by indie developers like Spiderweb Games are worth checking out. I like the Avernum and Geneforge series. It's not that games are getting stupider, there are still intelligent games being developed. It's simply that there is more variety these days and perhaps you're focusing on a narrow selection of what's available. Try to look at the less than mainstream and you'll find plenty of better games.

Steam is a good distribution platform. Using it for authentication and cloud storage for a single player game is a failure. People shouldn't have to connect to an online service when there is no multi player involved. It's treating people less like customers and more like statistics. Also, the more they can make you depend on them, the more power they have - and the less you have. As for Steam somehow making it harder to pirate a game, that's simply not true. There are people who live and breathe for defeating copy protections and so far Steam has not prevented any game I know of from being copied. Using it as a copy protection is just as much a failure as it is making it mandatory in the first place. If the game is pirated, the steam requirements will be ripped away and pirates will be able to play in peace, never needing to go online at any time. It's only the paying customer who is inconvenienced. Contrary to what some people think, not everyone is happy to install Steam on their system, especially for trivial things like authentication and achievements. If they used Steam only to manage DLC, then perhaps it would be acceptable. That's an area where a distribution platform like Steam can come in handy. It should be an addition to traditional distribution, however. An option for those that don't wish to manually download and install. It could also be a great way to manage and even authenticate online games. Since they require you to be online anyway in order to play against friends or strangers - the authentication/info storage can happen seamlessly. This is assuming that Steam itself isn't causing any software/hardware problems, which it has a history of doing to some people. Basically, the customer should be inconvenienced as little as possible. Otherwise even legitimate customers may resort to pirating a game, simply to get rid of invasive or cumbersome copy protections. Developers should take a heavy cue from Star Dock in that area and develop for customers rather than for pirates.

How about scrounging up a Commodore 64, or getting one of the C64 emulators? You probably won't be able to hack binary into it, but you can definitely do basic and assembler. Entering binary code is only really feasible on extremely ancient mainframes where they used hole punch cards. If you want even older there are lots of emulators out there. It's infinitely easier booting one of those up than messing around with the actual dusty hardware, including dated connection standards, lack of floppies, etc.

I know I'm new here, but I've been visiting for a while before I registered. I can 100% agree with the sentiment that ignoring trolls is the way to go. Not even giving them the option to diss is great. I was reading another forum earlier today and I had to stop after a while. Why? Because they trolled the hell out of an old game I happened to enjoy. I wasn't participating in the conversation, but just reading some of the posts made me annoyed. Having something you enjoy crapped on by ignorant fools is bad enough, but having something you spent love and time on dissed by incompetent people who are often too lazy to do anything themselves, that just takes the cake. On the flip side, it's great when people do comment positively. Perhaps some people can more easily overlook the trolls than others? There's another site that has a lot of episodic videos posted every week. Most get a decent amount of comments (nothing like youtube mind you). Some comments are full of praise, but some are negative. It's interesting to see that some of the most successful creators completely ignore the posts. I think they don't even read them. Others engage the readers and it's often to reply to negative comments. Perhaps they feel they need to defend what they made, but I think those that completely ignore the comments are those who sleep the soundest at night. Anyway, you'll have time to broaden your horizons while you're serving, so I wish you good luck with that. It can be a very rewarding experience, especially if you make sure to take advantage of every opportunity they give you.

My entirely personal observation is that Socialism according to the European model is great for everyone. The rich may not need it, but it benefits everyone else. The increase in taxation to pay for it may seem annoying, but in the long run it evens out in many ways. The European model also relies on taxing the rich more than taxing the poor and middle class. This means the rich pay for a large chunk of the services. I'm sure everyone except the very rich are happy about this. They only ever got rich by over charging for something which was produced very cheaply - so in some ways it's rectifying the balance a bit. Of course, the very rich have powerful connections. Especially to the media and lobbyists, even many politicians. So they try to paint an image of how European Socialism will be harmful for everyone (especially the poor), which is a blatant and outright lie. However, as with advertising, if you hear something repeated often enough eventually you regard it as true. The biggest thing these people fear, or should fear, is that the "average" person realizes how much they're being screwed over and used in the grand scheme of things. However since that likely won't happen, there is little fear as well. People are too busy playing games, watching tv or stressing over work, to also become properly politically involved/informed. Both sides in the mainstream media debate are polarized. It's very hard to get straight facts from either side, without them trying to spin it one way or other. I gotta say tho, I prefer the democratic side of the debate to the ultra-cooky stuff from wackos like Glen Beck. In the grand scope of things however, it's pretty easy to see that wealth distribution, in the shape of social services like free college and free hospitals, helps the poor and the middle class. The rich will do everything they can to stop this realization from happening, twisting the idea to scare people, but it still remains a great idea and good principle for a society, and when people don't buy into the scaremongering they see this clearly. IS America becoming Socialist however? Who knows. Much depends on how effective the spin doctoring has been and how the next election turns out. If the republicans get voted in, I think we'll have a few more wars to distract people from their poor economic state, and the socialist aspect will go on the backburner for a while. That is, unless you're a HUGE corporation and you get subsidies from the government. That's already socialism - only for the rich. And that's something republicans will keep working for :)

To the OP.. Almost all games are RPGs. It's just that RPGs traditionally have been pigeonholed as games where the protagonist must kill stuff, gain experience, collect loot and grow powerful. Typically accompanied by a main quest and numerous side quests. However any game where you play a role is an RPG. I like to limit the definition to those traditionally thought of as RPGs and not include those shooters and other games which would qualify in the strictest sense. It's the spirit of the law, not the letter, which provides the fairest judgment. This also goes for defining the nature of an RPG.

Gaming hasn't changed my perception at all. The facts of life is that some women are strong, independent and willful. Others are demure and weak willed. Some are slutty and some are not. Many times it's a mix. If anything, games might contribute positively, in my mind anyways, rather than negatively. I don't see it as degrading if a woman is barely covered by highly impractical armor. It's just fun, and for a guy it's nice to look at. The fact that she can kick ass and still survive just proves how vastly superior she must be to the heavily armored guys ;) People sometimes forget that almost all games are made for one express purpose: To have fun. The minute people stop having fun and start attaching all kinds of moral/religious/ethical labels to the medium, is the minute they ought to take a long vacation and think about the meaning of life. I'm still waiting for Warrior Babes from Planet Hip VS the Horny Cheerleader Coalition. After all, why not?

Hiya, I'm new here, so figured I'd introduce myself briefly. I'm handy with photoshop and various 3d applications like modo and softimage. I like all kinds of a/RPG games. Hope to find some nice mods here and maybe even contribute a bit. See ya'll around!