New chat room entered at 12/19/2006 8:34:26 PM.
You are now in chat room “sotsw121906.”
Thematrian1 (8:34:39 PM): good evening, folks
Thematrian1 (8:35:22 PM): when last we met, SC had just run across some bugs, the party was sorting its loot, and the rescue victim/involuntary organ donor was sedated.
MilesMk1 (8:36:20 PM): Rescue victim?
Umbrafer (8:36:23 PM): Does his blood type match mine? Can Blake transplant his liver into me with the tools at hand? ;)
Thematrian1 (8:36:46 PM): you don't know, and sure. What's Blake's Surgery specialty at, again?
Thematrian1 (8:36:56 PM): and, yes. Rescue victim
MilesMk1 (8:37:12 PM): That'd be 0.
MilesMk1 (8:37:27 PM): Well, no.
Dragcrell (8:37:27 PM): (heheehe Them sais I should relay some info on a book series I'm reading as your looking for some new veiws on Vamps)
MilesMk1 (8:37:35 PM): It'd actually be 3, equal to my Biotech.
Thematrian1 (8:37:38 PM): (You shouldn't do it in the main channel, though)
Umbrafer (8:37:43 PM): (Yeah, that's another thing we might want to consider for SR3R:)
Umbrafer (8:37:51 PM): (More medical skills)
Thematrian1 (8:38:00 PM): I think you actually get a penalty if you don't have the right specialization.
Dragcrell (8:38:01 PM): (ya I know I'll open a new chanel ;3)
Thematrian1 (8:38:09 PM): although
Thematrian1 (8:38:17 PM): it'd be, what, four karma to pick up a new one?
Thematrian1 (8:38:21 PM): Busted.
MilesMk1 (8:38:31 PM): Well, forget it. I'm not killing that guy anyway.
Umbrafer (8:38:47 PM): You wouldn't kill him, he'd just die of blood loss or something.
MilesMk1 (8:39:18 PM): No way. Blake is selectively pacifist.
Thematrian1 (8:39:25 PM): I've noticed that.
Thematrian1 (8:39:39 PM): The tension in Blake and Alex's Rules To Run By was interesting to me
Dragcrell (8:39:44 PM): well I know one thats not selective
Umbrafer (8:40:28 PM): It really is an odd crew we've got here.
Umbrafer (8:42:00 PM): But Blake never believes me when I warn him that everyone we leave alive could become Batman.
Thematrian1 (8:42:42 PM): you're expecting to live long enough to have to worry about future Batman?
Thematrian1 (8:42:54 PM): I mean, great point there Alex.
MilesMk1 (8:43:16 PM): Well, we can't possibly kill everyone related to the people we hurt, so regardless of how many we do kill, there's always a potential Batman out there somewhere.
MilesMk1 (8:43:33 PM): In fact, the more people we kill, the more potential Batmans there are.
Thematrian1 (8:43:53 PM): God, you guys have your own personal Iraq going. Be proud, or something.
Dragcrell (8:44:20 PM): Na I think this is a bit worse there not eatting each other as yet
Umbrafer (8:44:27 PM): Eventually the number of potential Batmans starts going down :)
Thematrian1 (8:44:30 PM): ...excellent point
Thematrian1 (8:44:48 PM): Yeah, but only after E(Batmans) = World's Population / 2
Dragcrell (8:45:07 PM): *thinks* well lest in my case I have a resable exscues and its NOT canoblisem ether so na
Umbrafer (8:45:22 PM): Even then, not so much. Once you slaughter an entire continent, offshore connections are probably significantly less numerous.
Umbrafer (8:45:26 PM): *Ahem* Anyway.
Umbrafer (8:45:41 PM): I was taking a data dump of the drones, IIRC
Thematrian1 (8:46:17 PM): Yes, yes you were.
Thematrian1 (8:46:27 PM): One of them was progressing slowly through a (steam?) tunnel.
Umbrafer (8:46:38 PM): Indeed.
MilesMk1 (8:47:42 PM): We should start using that as a guideline for determining our per-run fee. "Based on my calculations, you're asking us to undertake a 4.5 PB run, which raises our price by approximately 11500 nuyen per ever PB over 2.7...)
MilesMk1 (8:48:02 PM): (PB=Potential Batmen)
Umbrafer (8:48:03 PM): Did Shielddrone ever get rescued from its melancholy?
Umbrafer (8:48:12 PM): Agreed.
MilesMk1 (8:48:25 PM): It better have, SC and I were lugging it up the stairs.
Thematrian1 (8:48:32 PM): Blake and SC were wrangling it up the stairs, slowly.
Umbrafer (8:49:03 PM): Can I get any sort of approximate distance or at least heading on the tunnel-motorcycle?
Umbrafer (8:49:22 PM): Heading relative to me, not its velocity.
Thematrian1 (8:50:41 PM): right. Uh. It's heading away from you, toward one of the company garages. Distance is tougher to gauge.
Umbrafer (8:50:59 PM): Interesting.
Thematrian1 (8:51:55 PM): it's four or five stories underground, if the map SF gave you is accurate. That's where the vehicular stuff lies.
Umbrafer (8:52:04 PM): *Nods*
MilesMk1 (8:52:49 PM): Heading away from us, but towards a garage? Where does it look like it's coming from, then? Another garage, outside?
Thematrian1 (8:53:19 PM): uh, no. Coming from the Tower
Thematrian1 (8:53:22 PM): which you are now in
Thematrian1 (8:53:25 PM): so, away from you
Thematrian1 (8:54:03 PM): Blake and SC haul the shield drone up the last step. It's on the ground floor. You're both exhausted; take a box of stun each.
Umbrafer (8:54:57 PM): Oh, I see. I was back to thinking about my position being in the van.
Umbrafer (8:56:17 PM): So what sort of garbage am I getting from the damaged behemoth in the basement?
Umbrafer (8:57:05 PM): I'm also going to take some time to try to figure out the rating of the RCD.
Thematrian1 (8:57:28 PM): ooh, an easy one. 6
Thematrian1 (8:57:41 PM): As for the behemoth, it's pretty bad. All seventy-eight million of your weapons systems are disabled, it would seem.
Umbrafer (8:58:08 PM): 78,000,000 weapons systems, eh? Isn't that a little low for Ares?
Thematrian1 (8:58:35 PM): actually, in a funny way it is. If this was some kind of basic level math failure, you'd expect it to be reporting 2^128 weapons, give or take a few
Dragcrell (9:00:06 PM): *looks about and sniffs the air looking in the surounding allyways*
Umbrafer (9:00:07 PM): Any external sensors giving off data, garbage or no?
MilesMk1 (9:00:52 PM): Rolling to see how quickly I recover from the Stun:
Thematrian1 (9:00:53 PM): anyhoo - the video display is shot, the audio mostly works. Ultrasonics are a no-go.
MilesMk1 (9:00:57 PM): MilesMk1 rolled 8 6-sided dice: 5 2 2 4 1 4 5 3
MilesMk1 (9:01:13 PM): 12 minutes.
MilesMk1 (9:02:01 PM): I'll busy myself with taking the rescuee to my car, as well as stowing all the gear we found as well as we can, under the circumstances.
Dragcrell (9:02:05 PM): Dragcrell rolled 6 6-sided dice: 1 6 2 6 1 3
Dragcrell (9:02:14 PM): Dragcrell rolled 2 6-sided dice: 1 1
Umbrafer (9:02:27 PM): I'll listen to the audio while I check the big guy's current status (fuel levels, ammo levels, damage levels, position)
MilesMk1 (9:02:28 PM): Oh, and I'll make sure to let Alice ooh and aah at the spider drone and the not-Steel Lynx.
Thematrian1 (9:02:42 PM): SC disappears off into the spaces between buildings. Even now, they're still too clean to really qualify as alleys.
Umbrafer (9:02:55 PM): NotSteel is still where we left it. IIRC we didn't have an immediately obvious way to take it out.
MilesMk1 (9:03:08 PM): Ah, shit. Can't it go down the stairs?
Thematrian1 (9:03:44 PM): Right now, no one is rigging it.
Umbrafer (9:03:59 PM): Yeah. Until you got the deck to me, it was a block of metal.
MilesMk1 (9:04:09 PM): Oh. Right.
MilesMk1 (9:04:37 PM): Ok, in that case, I'll drop the spider drone with Alice to keep the kids distracted, and then take care of all my work.
Thematrian1 (9:05:25 PM): Alex: fuel levels are excellent. Your two ammo bins are about half-full.
Umbrafer (9:05:31 PM): I'll make sure I've got the laser controls figured out before he puts it near the kids.
Umbrafer (9:05:32 PM): At least figured out enough that I won't accidentally trigger it :)
Thematrian1 (9:05:52 PM): damage level is 'high', but it still functions. In particular, you think you could still drive it
Umbrafer (9:06:08 PM): Hm. Significant damage, eh? Was this visible when we saw it?
Thematrian1 (9:06:46 PM): oh, that big guy. Never mind.
Thematrian1 (9:07:26 PM): Damage is light, fuel is great, ammo bins are near empty.
Umbrafer (9:07:35 PM): Ok, naming time:
Umbrafer (9:08:40 PM): Until further notice, the big unknown in the basement is "The Behemoth", the not-Steel-Lynx is "The Big Guy", the two vectored-thrust drones are VTs 1 and 2, spider is spider, bike is bike
Dragcrell (9:08:56 PM): Dragcrell rolled 4 6-sided dice: 4 6 3 6
Dragcrell (9:09:09 PM): Dragcrell rolled 2 6-sided dice: 6 3
Dragcrell (9:09:24 PM): Dragcrell rolled 1 6-sided die: 2
Umbrafer (9:10:00 PM): Maintenance drones are maintenance drones.
Thematrian1 (9:12:45 PM): that's good
Thematrian1 (9:12:45 PM): Blake: you have stowed your rescuee. Alice is diverted by his drone, while Duncan shows more interest in the man himself.
Umbrafer (9:13:00 PM): So the first description was for the Behemoth, the second for the big guy? Or did I misinterpret?
Thematrian1 (9:13:36 PM): correct
MilesMk1 (9:14:07 PM): Well, I don't discourage his interest unless it manifests itself as poking him with a stick, or something.
Thematrian1 (9:14:24 PM): No, he's understandably hesitant about touching the guy
Dragcrell (9:15:56 PM): *moves to the van and to her usal spot and gets comftable and goes to sleep*
Umbrafer (9:16:12 PM): Going to ping the VTs for status reports.
Thematrian1 (9:16:43 PM): fuel very low, ammo moderate, but they're undamaged
Umbrafer (9:17:41 PM): Interesting. Having one of them activate sensors for long enough to take a look around, then ordering both of them back to standby.
Thematrian1 (9:19:03 PM): The one you select is leaning on the wall of a palatial office. You can just see its companion across the room, most of the way behind the huge black desk. Said desk is chipped from gunfire, so the mahogony finish is probably fake
Umbrafer (9:19:26 PM): Hm.
Thematrian1 (9:20:16 PM): the walls, floor, and ceiling are also chipped, but there is no blood and there are no bodies
Umbrafer (9:20:33 PM): Very curious.
Thematrian1 (9:22:00 PM): The back of the van is now downright crowded. Blake, what're you up to?
MilesMk1 (9:25:16 PM): Sorry.
MilesMk1 (9:25:16 PM): Got distracted.
Thematrian1 (9:25:47 PM): we'll survive. The team has withdrawn from the Tower, and things are quiet outside
CirclMastr has entered the chat room.

CirclMastr (9:25:57 PM): (Apologies all)
Umbrafer (9:26:43 PM): *Works on getting a feel for the new Spider* #Let me know when you're ready to head back in. What's our next target?#
Thematrian1 (9:27:19 PM): The new spider isn't very spidery; the built-in laser constricts its shape too much
MilesMk1 (9:27:30 PM): I'm... Hmm, I'm just waiting for Alex to finish her drone stuff, catch a breath to get rid of that stun.
MilesMk1 (9:27:41 PM): As soon as I feel better, I'll ter her I'm ready.
Umbrafer (9:28:01 PM): Plusses: laser. Minuses: unspidery.
Umbrafer (9:28:08 PM): Alex has mixed feelings.
Umbrafer (9:28:19 PM): Energy levels?
Thematrian1 (9:28:52 PM): ~forty-five minutes
Thematrian1 (9:30:15 PM): less if you spend the whole time burning stuff
Umbrafer (9:30:29 PM): *Nods*
Thematrian1 (9:32:08 PM): so everyone rests a while? 12 minutes pass, Blake marks off stun
CirclMastr (9:32:18 PM): *rest rest rest*
Thematrian1 (9:32:48 PM): Todd wasn't at all stunned, I don't think
Thematrian1 (9:32:52 PM): Alex, how are you spending that time?
CirclMastr (9:33:05 PM): Todd is just waiting for a cue.
Umbrafer (9:34:05 PM): Ordering the Spider to power down to standby, keeping an eye on the outside, keeping an eye on the bike's journey, and pondering the mystery of the Behemoth.
Umbrafer (9:34:13 PM): Also looking for an exit for the big guy.
Dragcrell (9:34:33 PM): *tail twiches and her hands and feet clinch and unclinch her claws slideing out then back in as they do so*
MilesMk1 (9:36:29 PM): *reloads empty mags* #Ok, I think I'm good to go.#
CirclMastr (9:36:46 PM): #Where are we headed again?#
MilesMk1 (9:36:51 PM): #How do we get at the garage?#
MilesMk1 (9:37:09 PM): #The garage. Can you use a gun?#
Umbrafer (9:37:22 PM): *Checks the map*
CirclMastr (9:37:38 PM): #Not really, but that's why I have a straight-edge.#
Umbrafer (9:37:44 PM): #Still no sign of Essef…#
MilesMk1 (9:37:56 PM): #If we come up against any drone security, I don't think the straight razor will do much good. Or is it... magical, or something?#
Thematrian1 (9:37:59 PM): (Yes there is. She's inside the van, asleep)
Umbrafer (9:38:10 PM): (Essef, not Essie)
MilesMk1 (9:38:11 PM): (That's EssSee)
Thematrian1 (9:38:35 PM): (Oh, good call)
MilesMk1 (9:38:37 PM): #Yeah, well, let's hope he didn't tell anyone all our secrets before he got eaten by the bugs.#
MilesMk1 (9:39:06 PM): #Or... SC, just what exactly were you doing those couple of times you went off the radar, hmm?#
Thematrian1 (9:39:26 PM): oh for crying out loud
CirclMastr (9:39:28 PM): #I'm not sure I want to know...#
Thematrian1 (9:39:30 PM): fire drill, I have to leave
CirclMastr (9:39:36 PM): ...
Dragcrell (9:39:40 PM): duh!
Thematrian1 (9:39:55 PM): Based on past experience, I'm not getting back in tonight
MilesMk1 (9:39:56 PM): Do we try to reconvene after a time, or is that it?
MilesMk1 (9:39:59 PM): Doh.
CirclMastr (9:40:01 PM): :(
Thematrian1 (9:40:02 PM): actually, wait
Thematrian1 (9:40:03 PM): hang on
Umbrafer (9:40:06 PM): Oh. Oh dear.
Umbrafer (9:40:06 PM): ?
CirclMastr (9:40:11 PM): Not a drill?
MilesMk1 (9:40:19 PM): Oh. Oh dear?
Umbrafer (9:40:48 PM): The "oh dear" was about the "I'm [probably] not getting back in tonight"
MilesMk1 (9:41:11 PM): Ok, my mental icon for you has changed, now it's a C3P0. ;)
Thematrian1 (9:41:26 PM): ok
Thematrian1 (9:41:41 PM): the fire alarm is no longer actually ringing
Umbrafer (9:41:52 PM): …Interesting?
Thematrian1 (9:41:57 PM): I can stand out in the cold for forty five minutes while they find the dumbass who was smoking in his room
Thematrian1 (9:41:59 PM): or I can game
Thematrian1 (9:42:02 PM): let me think
CirclMastr (9:42:05 PM): Hehe
Dragcrell (9:42:20 PM): Game on kick the dumbass's ass later
MilesMk1 (9:42:37 PM): Well, not really, but I realized I was doing that - assigning hazy mental images to people I game with online.
Thematrian1 (9:42:40 PM): yeah. If it goes off again I'll go ahead and leave, but for now I do not believe in this fire alarm
MilesMk1 (9:43:26 PM): Live dangerously.
MilesMk1 (9:43:55 PM): If you smell smoke, make sure to evacuate horizontally before moving vertically.
MilesMk1 (9:43:57 PM): ;)
Thematrian1 (9:44:00 PM): as if. This happens about once a week.
Thematrian1 (9:44:16 PM): the smoke detectors aren't even hard to disable, people are just morons
Thematrian1 (9:44:18 PM): anyway
MilesMk1 (9:44:20 PM): Heh, believe it or not, I lived in dorm at one point, too. :)
MilesMk1 (9:44:28 PM): a dorm
Umbrafer (9:44:42 PM): Did you live in a DHM, though?
MilesMk1 (9:44:57 PM): It's amazing the crap we did without setting off the fire alarm... What's a DHM?
Thematrian1 (9:45:33 PM): Dead Hooker Motel
MilesMk1 (9:45:43 PM): Once we found a whole roll of caps for a cap pistol, one of those cheap flea-market things... Oh.
MilesMk1 (9:45:53 PM): Weren't you like, getting a mortgage and stuff?
Thematrian1 (9:46:00 PM): yeah, that's still happening
MilesMk1 (9:46:04 PM): Ah.
Thematrian1 (9:46:08 PM): close on the 2nd, God willing
Thematrian1 (9:46:12 PM): ANYWAY
MilesMk1 (9:46:20 PM): So, is that figurative, or literal? The dead hooker bit?
Thematrian1 (9:46:25 PM): You wanted to find the garage?
Dragcrell (9:46:31 PM): (lol)
Umbrafer (9:46:56 PM): Indeed.
MilesMk1 (9:47:00 PM): Yes.
Thematrian1 (9:48:51 PM): Ok. There are several employee garages in this area, but his heading makes his choice unambiguous: he's heading for the CarLok facility, about a kilometer away
Umbrafer (9:49:12 PM): Interesting.
Umbrafer (9:49:35 PM): Is that inside or outside of the Core?
MilesMk1 (9:49:37 PM): Didn't we want to get into the Ares garages, where the good stuff is?
MilesMk1 (9:49:48 PM): Though if they're connected...
Umbrafer (9:49:49 PM): We want that too
Thematrian1 (9:49:59 PM): it is inside the Core
MilesMk1 (9:50:02 PM): Right. Yeah, this is good info too.
Thematrian1 (9:50:22 PM): as far as you can tell, the Tower has no external dependencies
Thematrian1 (9:50:42 PM): except in a global this-standard-of-living-can-only-be-sustained-with-the-participation-of-an-exploited-underclass sense
MilesMk1 (9:51:01 PM): Good times...
CirclMastr (9:51:04 PM): Thank you, Karl Marx
MilesMk1 (9:51:17 PM): So, the Core... Are we in the Core, or is it possible to get deeper into this mess?
Thematrian1 (9:51:23 PM): You are in the Core
Thematrian1 (9:51:32 PM): you got in when you passed that security checkpoint with the ants
Thematrian1 (9:51:45 PM): you could also have gotten in via the inclined rail
MilesMk1 (9:53:14 PM): Doh... Ok, I got all confused. The garage he's heading for is inside the Core. Got it.
Thematrian1 (9:54:04 PM): Alex: what drones are you spending your time in?
Umbrafer (9:56:00 PM): Van, Schattenauge, big guy, Behemoth, bike, shielddrone. Others not powered down are under orders to shout if things start hitting them.
Thematrian1 (9:56:17 PM): check
Thematrian1 (9:56:22 PM): heading to the garage?
MilesMk1 (9:56:51 PM): Yes.
MilesMk1 (9:57:03 PM): Well, wait... The Tower garage, right?
Umbrafer (9:57:10 PM): #What's your call here? Go down through the building, head this guy off at the exit, go both ways?#
MilesMk1 (9:59:29 PM): #You know what? I'm happy to give the building a short break, and maybe this guy will be able to give us a way in that's easier. Maybe.#
Umbrafer (10:00:00 PM): #God it. We leaving anyone here?#
MilesMk1 (10:00:36 PM): #How far is it to the garage? I dunno, I'm not sure we want to leave all our resources unguarded. Well, less guarded, you're doing too many things at once.#
Umbrafer (10:01:43 PM): #About a klick.#
MilesMk1 (10:02:21 PM): #I don't think it's a good idea for us to get that far from the cars. I think we ought to move them.#
MilesMk1 (10:02:35 PM): (BTW, did you finally get Big Guy down? Now that you had the deck?)
Umbrafer (10:04:01 PM): Was there an obvious avenue of escape for him?
Thematrian1 (10:04:45 PM): yeah, about that. It's being shoved around by a pair of mosquitos. It's heavy and apparently they're not all that strong, but they're making slow progress toward the door
Umbrafer (10:04:58 PM): Oh my. Hm.
Umbrafer (10:05:15 PM): #News. Big guy's geting mosquitoed.#
CirclMastr (10:05:23 PM): I vote we don't fight two mosquitos, regardless of their apparent weakness.
MilesMk1 (10:05:46 PM): (Wait, so he could fit through a 1-meter hole, but can't go down the stairs? I call shenanigans!)
MilesMk1 (10:05:53 PM): We killed like 4 or 5 at once before.
CirclMastr (10:06:00 PM): We did?
MilesMk1 (10:06:05 PM): #Can you get him out of there?#
MilesMk1 (10:06:14 PM): Some of us, yeah.
MilesMk1 (10:06:30 PM): I don't recall if you were around... Actually, no, you hadn't come back yet.
MilesMk1 (10:06:57 PM): Hell, we fought like... 8-10 wasps - granted, not all at once, and we attack from long range first.
Thematrian1 (10:07:00 PM): (It's not a matter of fit. Strictly speaking, you could have let it roll down nineteen flights of stairs)
Umbrafer (10:07:04 PM): #Probably. They're a little close. Let me see…# Do the readouts have any estimate of armor thickness? Also, gun type?
MilesMk1 (10:07:38 PM): (But... Isn't it on tracks?)
Thematrian1 (10:08:41 PM): (wheels, coated with something frictive)
Umbrafer (10:09:06 PM): (Its smaller cousin, while it can navigate stairs, is also wheeled)
MilesMk1 (10:09:08 PM): (And you're saying it'll get damaged going down the 19 flights?)
Thematrian1 (10:09:49 PM): (I'm saying you opted not to take it down nineteen flights)
MilesMk1 (10:09:54 PM): (Ah.)
MilesMk1 (10:10:25 PM): (Hey, we have a skilled rigger, it's not like we're asking it to ram a battlecruiser, or anything.)
Thematrian1 (10:10:38 PM): (Yeah, at this point I'd be a lot less worried about it)
Umbrafer (10:11:01 PM): (Well, yeah, but we are asking gravity to play nice. Not that it isn't potentially doable, but ramming a battlecruiser is pretty easy.)
Thematrian1 (10:11:07 PM): Gun types on the big guy? One is an MMG, the other is an LMG, of sorts, but way the tactical readout is set up implies a sustained fire rate of fifteen rounds per turn.
MilesMk1 (10:11:44 PM): #Come on, get some mosquitoes on the windshield.#
Thematrian1 (10:12:23 PM): armor, no way to tell from the diagnostics, but external examination suggests that it's at least comparable to the lynx
Thematrian1 (10:12:24 PM): if not better
Umbrafer (10:12:45 PM): Well, nothing ventured nothing gained. Is the door they're nudging me towards open?
CirclMastr has left the chat room.

CirclMastr has entered the chat room.

CirclMastr (10:13:05 PM): (Damn wireless dropped)
Thematrian1 (10:13:25 PM): yeah, it's the one you went through the scout the 19th levle
Thematrian1 (10:14:06 PM): (plot among yourselves for a sec, I need to make dinner)
Umbrafer (10:14:11 PM): Got it. Any visible or recorded recoil compensation?
Umbrafer (10:14:27 PM): (The good news is, this thing is probably a tank.)
CirclMastr (10:15:31 PM): (I wish I had a character with applicable skills. I'm guessing weapon foci don't penetrate vehicle armor.)
Umbrafer (10:16:59 PM): (Not to any unusual degree, no. However, fortunately we aren't fighting /against/ the vehicles)
Umbrafer (10:17:20 PM): (Bug spirits, now…)
Thematrian1 (10:17:37 PM): (Yeah, lots of those)
Thematrian1 (10:17:45 PM): (Recoil compensation is probably substantial. I mean, why not?)
Umbrafer (10:18:26 PM): Well, when one blunders in front of the MMG I'll fire. If it doesn't do that by the time we get to the door, I'll turn and fire then.
Umbrafer (10:18:48 PM): Do I have an exact count on the MMG ammo this thing has left?
Thematrian1 (10:20:24 PM): 40 rounds on the MMG, 51 on the super-LMG
MilesMk1 (10:20:46 PM): (You know, we used something called Breeze at work for online conferencing. It was great - flawless voice chat, backup text chat, and you could basically transmit a real-time image of what you were doing (in that case,
MilesMk1 (10:21:00 PM): a PowerPoint slide show) to everyone.)
Thematrian1 (10:21:13 PM): (Really?)
Umbrafer (10:21:18 PM): Eesh. Ah well. 6 rounds at whichever bug is unlucky enough.
MilesMk1 (10:21:25 PM): (I kept thinking how handy it'd have been for gaming.)
Thematrian1 (10:21:35 PM): (Do you know how much it costs?)
MilesMk1 (10:21:41 PM): (Unfortunately, yes.)
Thematrian1 (10:21:47 PM): (...?)
Thematrian1 (10:21:54 PM): Ok Alex, roll Reaction
CirclMastr (10:22:06 PM): (I bet we could get pirated versions if we tried)
MilesMk1 (10:22:21 PM): (It was my first question for the IT guy running it, and he said some things about a $5000 (to start) license per year to companies and institutions.)
Umbrafer (10:22:42 PM): Umbrafer rolled 13 6-sided dice: 2 4 5 4 5 1 6 2 5 2 6 4 3
Umbrafer (10:22:51 PM): Umbrafer rolled 2 6-sided dice: 3 4
Thematrian1 (10:23:18 PM): ok Alex, there's a bug in front of your guns. Go
Umbrafer (10:23:22 PM): Two successes if I don't get Prepared Ambush, eight if I do and there's no damage mod from the vehicle, some other number if some other case.
Thematrian1 (10:24:32 PM): yes, yes, you have surprise
Thematrian1 (10:26:25 PM): so, feel free to roll an attack
MilesMk1 (10:27:48 PM): (Here's a demo of it if anyone cares. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/demo/)
CirclMastr (10:28:10 PM): (What's the app called again? Breeze?)
Umbrafer (10:28:29 PM): Six rounds.
Umbrafer (10:28:31 PM): Umbrafer rolled 12 6-sided dice: 1 1 1 3 1 3 2 6 4 2 4 3
Umbrafer (10:28:33 PM): (Beware of low-flying lag. Sorry)
Umbrafer (10:28:35 PM): (Ping?)
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Thematrian1 (10:33:45 PM): Ok. This sucks, but it brings into focus a problem that's been nagging at me for some time.
Umbrafer (10:33:52 PM): ?
Thematrian1 (10:33:55 PM): The Tuesday night time slot is no longer working for us.
Thematrian1 (10:34:24 PM): It treated us well for years, but too many people, like for example me, have jobs that require them to leave early or show up late.
CirclMastr (10:34:39 PM): *falls into the latter category*
Thematrian1 (10:34:59 PM): so, I'd like to know what times of the week you all can devote to gaming.
CirclMastr (10:35:04 PM): Is there an alternative suggested?
Thematrian1 (10:35:57 PM): No. We start with everyone throwing out times they can make it, then we make a choice from the intersection of those times.
Dragcrell (10:36:16 PM): Sunday-Monday all day, Tuseday-Saterday 5pm-10 pm MST
CirclMastr (10:36:27 PM): My times:
Sunday afternoon/evening
Monday afternoon/evening
Wednesday
Saturday evening
Umbrafer (10:37:11 PM): I can't do Friday or Sunday. Saturday evening is a problem when I'm at home, but until May that'll be about four weeks.
CirclMastr (10:37:43 PM): So, when CAN you do?
Umbrafer (10:37:59 PM): I have a mild preference for avoiding Wednesday, but I'd rather game than avoid two SR->8:05 class transitions in a row.
Umbrafer (10:38:23 PM): All evenings I haven't mentioned, plus Saturday day, though I have another mild preference for avoiding that.
CirclMastr (10:38:58 PM): Saturday day, I work the first of each month. (I get home around 8 PM EST)
Thematrian1 (10:39:15 PM): yeah, me too. One advantage of a weekend game would be that we could hold longer sessions, but Heath can't make Saturday day and Jon can't make Sunday, so it's out anyway.
Umbrafer (10:39:26 PM): Well
Thematrian1 (10:39:41 PM): I have a day job, so my times are weekends and evenings. Matt's schedule is similar, and may be more restrictive
Umbrafer (10:39:43 PM): If I'm really organized, the only time I have to do things Sunday is at 5:30 (when I have another Shadowrun game)
Umbrafer (10:40:08 PM): So I could do Sunday day, potentially. I guess stick it under the "mild preferene to avoid" category.
CirclMastr (10:41:36 PM): It sounds like there's little if any confluence in our schedules.
Thematrian1 (10:42:01 PM): Dave, when exactly is "Sunday afternoon"?
CirclMastr (10:42:04 PM): The only thing I have to worry about Sunday is being dragged to church in the morning.
Dragcrell (10:42:07 PM): well Saterday as long as its around 5pm I can gto as long as needed
CirclMastr (10:42:18 PM): I say "afternoon" to account for the time difference.
CirclMastr (10:42:50 PM): Depending on which church service I am dragged to, I'll generally be available from 1 PM or 3 PM.
Thematrian1 (10:42:53 PM): so when it's 9am for you, it's noon for us, check
CirclMastr (10:42:54 PM): EST
Umbrafer (10:43:19 PM): (For me, my Sunday availability is ~10:30 AM 'til 5:00 PM, or until any time when I'm not at school)
Thematrian1 (10:43:46 PM): 3-5 isn't worth it, so skip the weekend. Let's hear thoughts on monday evening?
Umbrafer (10:44:16 PM): I can dig.
Dragcrell (10:44:59 PM): I'm good untill 10pm mondays
Umbrafer (10:45:10 PM): Your time?
Dragcrell (10:45:16 PM): ya
Dragcrell (10:45:32 PM): not fun trying to get up at 4:35 am any later then that
Thematrian1 (10:45:49 PM): eesh, I bet
Umbrafer (10:45:59 PM): Ech.
Thematrian1 (10:46:02 PM): so, midnight EST. When does everyone's availability start on Monday?
CirclMastr (10:46:15 PM): Monday I should be good. When school starts up again my availability will start around 3:30 EST, but until then I'm good.
Umbrafer (10:46:51 PM): ~5:00 PM EST
Dragcrell (10:46:53 PM): when ever I get up usaly around oh 9am-10am *cough*
Thematrian1 (10:48:01 PM): ok. I need to talk to Matt, but what do you guys think about 6pm EST?
Umbrafer (10:48:26 PM): I can almost certainly dig.
CirclMastr (10:48:36 PM): I can dig.
CirclMastr (10:48:40 PM): I feel ya.
Thematrian1 (10:48:51 PM): oh, is that what that is
Thematrian1 (10:48:53 PM): please stop
Dragcrell (10:49:16 PM): mmmm lest see that would be mmm 3 pm here ya
Thematrian1 (10:49:34 PM): 3 or 4, I can never remember whether you're Pacific or Central
Umbrafer (10:49:51 PM): Hm?
Umbrafer (10:49:55 PM): Neither, he's Mountain.
Thematrian1 (10:50:01 PM): right
Umbrafer (10:50:03 PM): That weird -2.
Thematrian1 (10:50:11 PM): the one I don't have any relatives in
CirclMastr (10:50:51 PM): In unrelated news, my family is having fun with the Wii Forecast Channel.
Thematrian1 (10:50:58 PM): ooh, you have a Wii?
Thematrian1 (10:51:01 PM): How is it?
CirclMastr (10:51:26 PM): I enjoy it greatly.
CirclMastr (10:51:41 PM): And it was well worth the $250 and standing in line.
Umbrafer (10:51:53 PM): I need to pick one up at some point, as terrified as it makes me.
Dragcrell (10:52:01 PM): heheheehhe
CirclMastr (10:52:04 PM): (I actually had fun in line, but it was only 5-6 hours rather than overnight)
Thematrian1 (10:52:06 PM): Terrified?
Thematrian1 (10:52:26 PM): ("only" 5-6 hours. But you have a Wii, so fair enough)
Umbrafer (10:52:57 PM): I worry that Nintendo's strategy of attracting non-gamers with simple games will work, and will seriously damage the market for more complex games.
Dragcrell (10:53:31 PM): meh I'm not worryed thats what the PS3 is for
Thematrian1 (10:53:36 PM): it depends what you mean by 'complex games'. This is the last console generation in which it will make sense to make a game like Gears of War.
Umbrafer (10:53:49 PM): Expound?
Thematrian1 (10:54:10 PM): One that pushes all your art and CPU assets and takes huge amounts to make, that is. As technology improves games of its quality will of course get cheaper to make.
CirclMastr (10:54:41 PM): What I think the Wii will miss most is online-content games like Spore and the Elder Scroll series.
Thematrian1 (10:55:17 PM): wait, it's internet-enabled out of the box, right?
CirclMastr (10:55:41 PM): Yeah, but I haven't seen any support for online multiplayer yet.
Umbrafer (10:56:57 PM): Out of interest, what's your reasoning recarding the "last console generation" prediction? Not saying I disagree, but I'm curious.
Thematrian1 (10:58:02 PM): There're a couple of connected factors, here.
CirclMastr (10:58:10 PM): It's infinitely less expensive and more user-friendly to have online multiplayer games and graphics-intensive games on real PCs, rather than PCs-disguised-as-consoles.
Umbrafer (10:58:15 PM): Regarding what I meant by "complex", I'll analogize to board games: see the enduring popularity of simple, light board games like Monopoly (with common houserules to make it even simpler), Risk, Parcheesi, Sorry, etc. and the obscur
Umbrafer (10:58:35 PM): *obscurity of games like Age of Renaissane, Power Grid, etc.
Umbrafer (10:58:43 PM): Settlers is, granted, damaging that trend (thankfully)
Thematrian1 (10:59:08 PM): First: cost of games. People, especially indie people, have been bitching for years about art expenses, but art is now so expensive that even the president of EA is talking publically about how new directions are needed.
CirclMastr (10:59:35 PM): See: Spore and user-created content.
Thematrian1 (10:59:54 PM): exactly.
Thematrian1 (11:00:16 PM): The reason spore got the green light is that it represents EA's hope for a new, cheaper direction.
Thematrian1 (11:00:21 PM): it's meant to be their world of warcraft
CirclMastr (11:00:23 PM): Really, the only reason to get traditional consoles like PS3/XBox is for exclusive games like the MGS series and... whatever is worthwhile on XBox...
CirclMastr (11:00:31 PM): Eh
Thematrian1 (11:00:32 PM): and WoW doesn't just make tons of money, it's hugely profitable
Umbrafer (11:00:44 PM): That and to have special-purpose machines.
CirclMastr (11:00:47 PM): I think Spore got the green light because EA is smart enough to publish whatever Will Wright creates.
Umbrafer (11:01:05 PM): It's a lot more enjoyable to play a game on a console than a computer if that computer is in the middle of a long compile cycle.
Thematrian1 (11:01:21 PM): Well, there certainly is a WW factor. But the "EA's World of Warcraft" thing is a quote from an interview
Thematrian1 (11:01:28 PM): with either WW or EA's prez, I forget which
CirclMastr (11:01:39 PM): I would guess EA's prez.
CirclMastr (11:01:58 PM): I can't imagine how they'll justify expansion packs with Spore, so I don't see how it could be the money-printing machine that WoW is.
Thematrian1 (11:02:05 PM): Second: digital distribution is about to undermine the importance of publishers, the same way it's doing to record labels. Microsoft is actively pushing this bandwagon with XNA Game Studio
Thematrian1 (11:02:31 PM): Dave: the thing about WoW assets is they're not very expensive. Adding content to WoW is much cheaper than adding cars to, say, Gran Turismo 4.
Thematrian1 (11:02:37 PM): or 5, or whichever GT just game out
Thematrian1 (11:02:42 PM): the one with the 100k polycount cars
CirclMastr (11:02:58 PM): Well, the WoW money-printing comes from the fact that thousands upon thousands of people pay money every month to play.
CirclMastr (11:03:11 PM): While Spore can be bought once and no additional investment is required.
CirclMastr (11:03:30 PM): So I can't see how they will have Sims-like expansion packs for Spore.
Thematrian1 (11:03:46 PM): right, and I'm not saying EA doesn't want that. But that's not the aspect of WoW they're talking about.
CirclMastr (11:05:38 PM): Oh
Dragcrell (11:05:40 PM): Look at FF 11 same deal they make stuff in the add on packs that they have no idea what do do with it at that time but can use later if then want
CirclMastr (11:05:41 PM): The Wii just demands a Star Wars game where you have nothing but lightsaber fights.
Thematrian1 (11:05:43 PM): So, digital distribution shows signs of maybe breaking the publisher model, like what the dot-com bust did to the venture capital mess
CirclMastr (11:05:44 PM): I'm sorry but if LucasArts doesn't make such a game, I'll have to kill them.
Dragcrell (11:05:47 PM): bah that woudl be rather boreing after a bit I would think
CirclMastr (11:06:28 PM): It depends on how good the AI is. If you can train up against better and better opponents until you can duel Darth Vader, I think it can last. If it can do multiplayer and duel against friends, it'll last a while longer.
Umbrafer (11:06:57 PM): Does the remote have the precision for that? I remember a lot of buzz about how the sword slashes in Zelda and Red Steel ended up not corresponding at all to what you did with the remote.
Dragcrell (11:07:17 PM): Mmmmm maby and there IS that hic-up
CirclMastr (11:07:20 PM): Red Steel didn't even try for one-to-one movement, and neither does Zelda IIRC
Thematrian1 (11:07:23 PM): it has the precision, but getting the motion capture code to be both correct and fun is a pain in the ass
CirclMastr (11:07:40 PM): There IS one-to-one movement possible though, it's in Wii Sports and to a lesser extent Trauma Center.
Thematrian1 (11:07:41 PM): there's some middleware to help with that, but both those games predate it
Umbrafer (11:08:22 PM): Fair enough. Maybe it was just inferred by the public, but I remember a lot of buzz about one-to-one movement WRT Red Steel at least back during the Summer
Thematrian1 (11:08:32 PM): there was a lot of hope for it, I know
CirclMastr (11:08:46 PM): There was hope for it but it doesn't seem to have ever been in the game.
Dragcrell (11:08:52 PM): I think it well take some time befor they get the buggs worked out enuff for that
CirclMastr (11:09:07 PM): The actual mechanic is just "move in a cardinal direction to attack, move in a diagonal to block"
Umbrafer (11:10:47 PM): Unfortunate.
CirclMastr (11:10:52 PM): Yeah.
Dragcrell (11:11:32 PM): eh but ya I think if they can get it so you can move the "remote" and the saber moves exsactly the same and add in muiltiplayer they would have a good killing more so off the truely die hard Star wars fans that buy
Umbrafer (11:11:41 PM): Ah well. Saves me some money, at least. (Is it a good sign or a bad sign when there's enough gaming stuff that needs buying that one can find some genuine relief in discovering a title has moved to the "don't-bother" bin?)
Dragcrell (11:11:46 PM): even the most crapy of games in that licence
CirclMastr (11:12:06 PM): The Wii can already do that; like I said, it's in Wii Sports.
CirclMastr (11:12:20 PM): In baseball, the bat follows the controller pretty exactly.
Dragcrell (11:13:06 PM): ya but can you pull off some of the stuff you would need in a sword dual?
CirclMastr (11:13:45 PM): I would imagine so, given the proper development. Something Red Steel never had.
Thematrian1 (11:14:29 PM): yeah, we'll see the true test of the Wii a year from now.
CirclMastr (11:14:39 PM): Mmm.
CirclMastr (11:15:02 PM): Personally, I think the new WarioWare game will be a milestone, if it works properly.
CirclMastr (11:15:21 PM): (It's also going to have a fair amount of one-to-one)
Dragcrell (11:15:22 PM): eh well have to wait and see I supose. One thaing I did like about Perfect Dark was the muliti player modes more so once I used a game shark and got all the cheats opened for it ^_^b
Dragcrell (11:15:54 PM): nothing like inf. ammo, inf ammo lap tops, cloaking, and perfect dark all on to make for a fun game
CirclMastr (11:16:14 PM): People who cheat in multiplayer games should be shot.
CirclMastr (11:17:35 PM): So yeah, I'm looking forward to WarioWare and SSBB. Trauma Center was very fun, as is Wii Sports.
Dragcrell (11:17:40 PM): you miss under stand they was in game cheats that everyone got and this was on the N64 imagen running around invisable with NO LIGHTS on pich black and any gun you pick up never runs out of ammo nor dose your cloaking devise
Dragcrell (11:17:57 PM): and you can set out a sentrey gun that can never run out of ammo ether
Umbrafer (11:18:23 PM): Not really my thing, I think, but I can see where the attraction might be :)
CirclMastr (11:19:17 PM): I'm still waiting for a Wii game that uses the enabled internet connection for multiplayer games.
Thematrian1 (11:19:43 PM): good luck with that. Nintendo managed to avoid supplying any kind of worthwhile developer support
CirclMastr (11:20:09 PM): :(
Dragcrell (11:20:11 PM): lest just say play with me and the other 2 guys you better hope you was good at hideing ;3 as out of the 3 I was the nasty one as I knew how to see cloaked ppl ^_^b and was a damn good shot
Dragcrell (11:21:11 PM): funny thaing about night vision goggles and the cloaking devised in the game as they tend to "flicker" ;3 and I aimed for head shots
CirclMastr (11:22:40 PM): Well, I'm out for the night. See you all Thursday/Sunday.
Thematrian1 (11:22:45 PM): sleep well
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