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Just another point'n'click adventure - Funniest AGS game of them all.

I tried that idea awhile ago and quit; ActionScript is total mess in my opinion, it does resemble C-like languages but is somewhat... strange. And not so flexible.

Still, movie-style execution makes it super easy to test right away and you can really quickly see something really graphical happening once you pick the language up. Results, i mean. It's really cool that you can almost instantly jot down some sketch graphics for your game, and animation is just a matter of few clicks. And even this looks great!

I wish you more luck than I had.

Just finished!
Really good game. Over a loong time.

I'd say - in terms of gameplay - it's weaker than Japan or Greece episode, but ending makes it all up. Maybe a bit too straightforward and linear: there was only two places I got stuck at,

Spoiler

going back for plumber's costume, getting glove from costume

[close]

"Use inventory on inventory screen" kind of puzzles always kick in at most inappropriate moment of game pace.
You never guess them, especially if game is rather easy and you don't have to do old-school try-everything-on-everything-with-everything. And then, bam!

All previous problems are now handled aswell.

Some pointers:

* Voice acting is really good! First time in AGS game where it really feels right for me... ATOTK was fine too, but not so good. You've broken a record! If I'd bitch about something... Voice is too often read in very quickly. I know it's probably to limit game size, but still, quick reading makes acting a bit... unrealistic. Plus, makes lipsync a bit weird also.

Seriously, it's 2008. 100MB here or there is NOT that big deal. And for a Ben Jordan game, to have perfect speech, I don't think any fans would mind. We're way past 700MB CD-s era, and BJ game doesn't take even half of it.

For those unfortunate slow downloaders still existing for some strange reason, simply add speech pack as an option.

Also, speech was kind of muffled. A bit digital tuning, normalizing or tiny equalizing around 1KHz maybe? ...could fix the thing quite easily.

* It's impressive how you can set the scale to your games. Make enough for game to work and get released, and yet no so much that game gets too out of hand. Something I'll never learn. This time, room graphics balance was a bit too off, some rooms were basically walls, and others superfine in terms of detail. I kind of regret this.

* I totally loved the music in intro sequence, in Ben's room. The genre or style or whatever. Pity there wasn't any more of it, later in the game. Organ sounds get depressing over time...

* Do you possibly understand how cruel was to end game at point like this? How can I - and other fans - wait all those months for next episode?

Awesome. totally. Make more!

So, companies secrets led to bankruptcy.
Joke of the year. And they used word 'mittens'.

meh--

Yet absurd and unfunny, as always.

So, CJ has an important task: he must sit and watch the reset button.
No mittens for you next year 



j/k

Bah. I simply don't want to wake up because Russian tanks are rolling through block. Would you?
T-90 tank has highest speed of 65km/h. Border is 200 km away. They would be here in less than 4 hours, before most of nation would even realize.

This has happened more than once in history (only once in my lifetime, phew), but threats are coming from this imperialist kingdom of evil on daily basis. Last year, during a major russian riot, it might had quite simply end like Georgia today. Russian teen punks trashed capital city, police arrested them... and Russian news showed fake stories how "police is beating people" or rather "they dare to touch ours"...  Actually police had untold (or told?) order to stand down, not to provoke our evil neighbor... Everybody knew this and simply looked powerlessly on tv how local russians trash home city...
And we don't have really those missiles and tanks Georgia has to even last as long as they did.

Russia is testing patience and limits of NATO and EU all the time. Georgia was bigger test than it had ever been. A test too critical for global safety. Only few people -- or rather - nations -- realized it.

Three highest leaders of Baltics, and leader of Poland flew to Georgia yesterday (presidents and prime minister) since those 4 countries (of which one is mine) know damn well how reactive whole situation is. For us, it's a bit more real than "someone, somewhere, war, something".

Europe watches news as boring action movie. And we're small and the voice is weak. And EU has ears full of cheap oil and gas.

I don't feel very safe going to bed tonight.

[We are ALSO 'them'. Westerners. Europeans.]

What has Georgia's European-ness got to do with the war with Russia?  We've just wasted two pages of topic on this argument, and it's irrelevant

It really has NOTHING to do with geographical location. Georgia is a democratic pro-western country bordering Russia.
It's like an image of random other european country. Or even USA. I know that culture room. I LIVE IN IT. My russian-speaking and native-root neighbors put russian federation flags on their window and walk around city with evil grin. Even though they were born and raised here. For russians, it's 'them' and 'us', It's really that simple and sinister... Georgia, for Russians, is 'them'.

We are ALSO 'them'. Westerners. Europeans.

And Georgia is being attacked by Russia with overwhelming military power.

That's the whole importance...

--and the big question is either--
What will world do about it?

--or if everyone stays so stupidly uncaring--
Who's next?

I'm quite tired of this discussion and cold aura of ignorance bordering blind stupidity levitating here really hurts my feelings. So I won' discuss this any further. After all, as last days have proven, time is the wisest one. Everything will be clear in time, and as it seems, everything goes to deeper shit over time.

Sigh.

So?

They have oil.
And gas.

Anything that has oil or gas could be even next capital of Belgium, as far as EU spokesmen are concerned.
Or next star on US flag.

Money talks.

19:23
GMT +02:00
CNN.com

Ceasefire?


And I'm preaching this for two days now.

Tuomas, really, pull your head out of your--

You're finnish. Didn't you learn history at school?
Doesn't Russia still own great amount of eastern Finland?
Does anyone STILL need news to predict what's going on?

Haven't your own grandparents died in trenches fighting those Red devils?

Georgia (not autonomous region of S-O) is invaded now.

Still keeping peace in troublesome region?
Or occupying a whole country along with the region?

I toooold youuu sooo....

Time to go after scapegoat, teh evil Saakashvili. Ahem, just like someone went after Saddam. What happened?
What will most likely happen... again?

Shitstorm gets worse.

"Explaining the crisis" is a video on CNN.com that wraps things up very well. They even list the reasons of both sides in the fight.

What they won't tell, I did. Russia's reasons are centuries old, heavily tested and blood-covered lie.

[third]

I'd still try to find truth in facts and order.

If a region wants to separate, it depends heavily what is that region about and who lives there.

For example, if people who live there are rightful owners of the land through history, a country annexed and occupied at some point in history - just like most of Eastern Europe was after WWII, they should have right and backup from world to reclaim their long-lost independence and do things their own way...

Then again, if those people never had any rights for the land and are simply immigrants, they should not have right to make a new country. What would americans say if - for example, all russians in USA (and we know there's millions of them) would suddenly pull a flag up in the middle of Colorado and say "A new country will be here!". And start shooting guns?

What would happen is US army would kill or arrest them. They wouldn't have right to do so. This is how law and order works. And should.

But would Native Americans to do so at their areas? Instead of living in reservations, claim what was theirs?
They would have right.
Then again, army would still mince them.

And now, some third country comes and starts attacking USA, saying "we liked those russians/natives".
Who's totally out of place in this picture?

I'm worried (and angry at Russia!) because...

Have you watched Saakashvili's speech on CNN or BBC?
He's saying just what I think.

Whole last century, Russia used EXACT same excuse to invade different countries.
"Ours live there, they're being killed, all hair savior, the great motherland".
It never was about saving anyone. All those countries were simply occupied. Joined to Soviet Union.

It's history repeating itself god-knows-which-time...

During communist era, in many countries Soviet Union sent forward a rebel force or set up an agenda, so-called "fighting worker class" who's main objective was to create provocations, create unrest, take a beating from policing power of that country and take over when Red Army came over borders to "help" them.

If everyone will sit on their asses and Russia would really conquer Georgia under this totally fake "reason", it would create another precedent... We don't know if it would really happen though. Yet.

If it will, however, Ukraine's most likely "next stop".

In which case, no country neighboring this imperial beast would be safe.
And yes, it WILL have impact on rest of the world. Nobody's realizing that yet.

Ok, silly question here. I know little about Russia and Georgia.

Aside from the secessionist issue, is there anything extremely valuable in Ossetia? Industry, natural resources? Or is this more of an identity war?

Large oil and gas pipelines for first... Being control maniacs, easiest way to upset them is to leave them out of business.

But I don't think russia cares about resources that much. It's more of wiping off the "shame" of losing heavy amounts land when Soviet Union broke... Ukraine, Baltics (**shudder**), far east...
It's about imperialism. To this very day, even a decade later, Russia acts like they own us, and our independece is simply a joke. Europe makes a nice face in this rotten game, because cheap gas and oil are more important than any principles of democracy. Or Union.

I've been watching Russian news for awhile, and it's absolutely incredible. Incredible how 3 major TV channels show theatre instead of news. There's word 'genocide' in every sentence, endless "proof" that Georgians are bad, heroic glow all over russian paratroopers... Their media has always been a joke, but I never thought propaganda machine has THOSE limits in russia. If I was a Russian and living in this media space, I would conscript right away... Because that is played to be so believable.


If Americans knew how to make such a farce and did it, there wouldn't be a single protest against Iraq war.


I'm quite sure it will fool the news of West too. Though, I liked it when reporter at CNN said "thanks for YOUR version" after russian emissary spoke.

As for me, I believe in order. If I start misbehaving in my country, police will lock me up. If I do so with a gun, trying to make my own country, military will shoot me. This is how it is and should be.
That's why I heavily dislike all sides in this conflict.

USA has spoken quite alot already about the conflict, more than I imagined they would.
I only hope that there will be actual steps too.
Otherwise, NATO is simply a joke. Georgia was an inch away from joining, as I understand... I think it will make quite clear reason about Russia's itch to "aid the separatists".

But that's how the world powers work, I guess. If Russia would become too friendly with Mexico, and start building rocket bases there, I'm quite sure USA would find some stupid reason to start a war with Mexico right away...

What's there to know?

Let's say... a group of chinese emigrate into France, area near German border.

Some of them live in france, some of them in Germany. All near the border. So some of them become french and other become german.
Then, suddenly, ones that live in france become separatists and decide that they want to join their France area with the one over border, become a country.  Even worse, they try to claim land to be part of GERMANY, not independent country.

Should government of france like that? Lose land to rebellious immigrants? Of course not. Problems occur. Separatists make mess, rebel against country they're living in (France). Germany likes the separatists, it's giving excuse to fight with neighbor. So...

Then Germany sends its "peacekeepers" over the border, to support separatists. Instead of peacekeeping, wild west goes off.
Thing ends up with Germany invading France.

That's the thing here, Georgia being "France" and Russia is "Germany".
I wouldn't say it's a minor thing. And living in country that was occupied for a century by Russia - for a whole century and exact same "excuse", It's damn horrifying.

"only hope it ends ASAP with the fewer casualties as possible."
It ends when Soviet Union is restored. Mark my words. Casualties are least of concern here.

Then again, this mess has alot of Georgia's guilt in it, too. Sadly, "world policing" USA won't probably squeak much here, because there's still forces in Iraq, not for much better excuse.

Why oh why did you make this thread?

There is no brave and courageous heritage of ancient teutons or franks left in Europe.
They either emigrated into US during 19th century because that's where action was, or were shot at front lines in WWII.

All that's left are cowardly ostriches, head deep in sand and asses high up to make any aggressors feel comfortable.

pshaw!

Racist

bleh..!
So, if you don't go hugging whatever nonsense other races do, you're a racist.

Way to go, buddy!

They begun already? I didn't even notice, though we had even a special tv channel started for Olympics.

Weekend of World of Warcraft or noble sports?
...
WoW wins!

And maybe some old projects I found last night, too.