LOLCHRIST

Reply to Concerns I am starting to have in War of Magic Elemental Forums

I don't think Elemental in it's default version could possibly have the amount of different stuff that Master of Magic did, because it is a multiplayer game and so will need to be reasonably balanced. Master of Magic had a number of game-breaking strategies, and that was ok because it was a single-player game. They just threw the kitchen sink into the game. By contrast, everything that Stardock puts in will need careful testing and balancing because they are essentially making the canonical v

Reply to OnLive to change the way we game? in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

I'm always a bit suspiscious about cloud computing stuff, partly because networking is very often the bottleneck in real life, and partly because latency is a fundamental limit which is not going to go away. But anyway, interesting, good luck to them and we'll see how it pans out.

Reply to Game Makers(Help!!!) in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

It sounds very ambitious - everything will take much longer than you are expecting. I would recommend working on something with a much smaller scope first. A common indie developer approach is to rapidly make a series of prototype games based on ideas that you think could turn out fun. Then you one which has worked well and expand upon it. This is also a good way to learn if you're new to programming or to a particular set of tools. But anyway, if you're determined to go 3D then

Reply to The death of PC games at retail in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

I do agree that PC games are dying at retail - when I go to have a browse in shops the PC section is very often ten-year-old games being sold at 3 for £10 (is there really anyone left that still needs to buy a budget box version of Theme Park?), plus of course the ubiquitous World of Warcraft. But I hate shopping, so I don't care. If I can have something to delivered to me off the internet it's less hassle and often cheaper. Also I would have thought that .Ne

Reply to Thank you to Stardock and the Impulse Team in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

Absolutely agree. Actually I've just been having a moan to people on IRC about the same thing. I don't mind having to register for Steam, except that I would like to play without first having to download a huge patch. Also, my internet connection is flaky, and getting Steam to actually sign in, let alone actually download anything, is a real chore. Meanwhile Empire Total War also uses Steam's installer. This means it doesn't bother to ask about shortcuts, install for all users or inst

Reply to Where has the value add gone? in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

You guys could just, you know, buy a book :P

Reply to Where has the value add gone? in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

I understand the good feeling of getting a bunch of stuff in the box and a nice thick manual, but that stuff costs and I would rather not pay the extra. Games seem to be about £25 now if you buy online, which is cheaper than they were when I was younger. It's also hard to compete based on extra stuff in the box, because it's well, inside the box, where you can't see it. And putting 'comes with cloth map' on there somewhere is probably not going to sell you extra co

Reply to Trading Ideas in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

"Sometimes a player finds an item which is beyond his capability to utilize its power yet" I may have misunderstood, but if you are suggesting a MMORPG-style level requirement for items then I have to say I don't think I'd like that in this sort of game. I don't like the arbitrariness of such restrictions anyway. Other parts of the suggestion look very interesting though.

Reply to Fav wireless keyboard? in Personal Computing Elemental Forums

I have a 'Dinovo cordless desktop for notebooks', which is a lot cheaper (about £50) than the Dinovo Edge. Still quite pretty, still convenient, and the numpad is separate. Doesn't use Bluetooth, but has some other means of wireless. The mouse that comes with it is the worst mouse I have ever used. Personally I don't like the shallow laptop-style keys. I'm sure I typed much faster on my old clicky bog standard Microsoft keyboard.

Reply to Illusionist magic in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

When I think of phantom warriors, I think of the bit from the beggining of A Wizard of Earthsea where Ged weaves together the words from two spells to distract and confuse invaders. I can't really do it justice in this post, but IMO the best written spell description I've seen. I think illusion has a lot of potential for really interesting magic, and I hope we'll get (or perhaps mod?) some cool stuff in there.

Reply to Where’s the external video cards? in Personal Computing Demigod Forums

I suppose there might be an issue with heat? At least with the high-end cards, it might be quite dangerous to have them out where someone could touch them, so they would need a big clunky box to house them. No, you're right, it's a good idea and they should do it. There are a lot of fairly pricey laptops out there with stupid Intel integrated barely-runs-Vista graphics, yet pretty decent CPUs and plenty of RAM. Even the cheapest discrete GPU could vastly improve their performance.

Reply to Wanted - Turn-Based RPG in PC Gaming Elemental Forums

Arcanum would be the most recent good turn-based RPG I've played, and it is really very good (and very large). If you are able to endure dated graphics and UI then it is certainly worth a go. Temple of Elemental Evil bored me. I didn't suffer from any bugs, but I didn't finish it. The combat works very well, but the story is a bit naff: not bad as such, but lightweight bogstandard stuff intended to get you to the next fight sequence quickly. Others may prefer it that way. Also, Fed-Ex

Reply to Demigod, Really an RTS? in Demigod Demigod Forums

Levelling up and an inventory are not the core components of an RPG.

Reply to Demigod: A little MMO in that RTS please in Demigod Journals Demigod Forums

Why not stick a little FPS in that RTS? Play as grunts or minions from a first person view, depending on what your team has spawned. Now there's a game that would get frustrating quickly.

Reply to Demigod Desktop in Demigod Journals Demigod Forums

Looks very stylish, although I don't think I'd use a branded desktop.

Reply to [Suggestion] Trouble Targetting Demigods, Friendly Demigod UI Monitor? in Demigod Demigod Forums

It was suggested a long time ago, back in Beta 1a, by a few people independently, that Demigods should have a targettable icon floating above their heads. I still think this would be a good solution. Another alternative would be some sort of targetting filter keys. By this I mean, hold one key whilst targetting to restrict it to only enemies, another to make it only allies, another (which could be combined with the others) for only demigods, and a hotkey to instantly target Oneself.</

Reply to Windows 7 it is...now for my wish list in Personal Computing Demigod Forums

I believe the 32-bit version is to run on Intel Atom based computers. (Probably already been said earlier in the thread). Regarding Java GUI frameworks, there are a whole load of them designed to address issues with Swing (i.e. that most things built with it look ugly). SWT (used in Eclipse) uses native components and I'm pretty sure it has a Mac implementation. I expect you're meant to be using JavaFX now though. On the Java versus .NET thing in general, I don't think th

Reply to Potential Finds on Impulse in PC Gaming GalCiv2 Forums

I second World of Goo. Best game of 2008 in my opinion. The others I don't know much about.

Reply to Minions, what Minions? in Demigod Ideas Demigod Forums

"You can outfit Generals with combat items, and not take any minion skills, and you'll be able to perform just as well as any Assassin. That's not how Generals should work." Why not? You can build a general to play like an assassin instead, so what? If they can't afford minions because they're buying other items, then a balance is still possible. Although maybe we should allow assassins to buy totems if they want though.

Reply to [suggestion] lowering death boreness in Demigod Ideas Demigod Forums

I don't have much to add to this thread than my usual "let us upgrade or view skills whilst dead" spiel, but I think the following is particularly unproductive: "do not die then it is not an issue" Gaaaah. People of varying skills are going to play the game. Being unskillful relative to the average should not mean the game punishes you with boredom. The clue is in 'game'. It's meant to be fun. Furthermore, any player, even the best, is going to die sometimes and have to wait a

Reply to Minions, what Minions? in Demigod Ideas Demigod Forums

But it would also be the same as one of Queen of Thorn's abilities.

Reply to The Seas, Lakes and Oceans in WOM Ideas Elemental Forums

I don't mind if underwater cities are in by default, but I would like for it to be possible to mod them in. I guess this would mean that terrain properties would need to be accessible.

Reply to Exploit Your Teammates, Earn More Favor in Demigod Beta Feedback Demigod Forums

I am tempted to say that capturing flags and purchasing upgrades should be rewarded more heavily than it already is. But remember also that a heavily tricked-out assassin dominating your opponents can be a big part of what enables you to capture those flags and earn that gold.

Reply to a few questions before i buy. in Demigod Demigod Forums

Well, I am in the UK. I know of three other people who are in the beta in the UK (people I know from outside the internet). Also, remember the game is still in beta, and needs a lot of polishing and bug-fixes. I am finding it fun to play in it's current state.

Reply to Some newbie type questions on war rank and valor in Demigod Demigod Forums

Pretty sure there is a pause key. I think it's just the pause key on your keyboard, or maybe F10, I forget.