Messages

I just recently, (last night), got into a conversation with my roomate about this. Where I said that by banning gay mariage, the goverment is persecuting the gay community. He thought the word persecution was too strong for what was being done. I disagree. The word persecution means:

"To oppress or harass with ill-treatment, especially because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs. "

-http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=persecute

To me this is outrageous to call a country "free" and have in the constitution "Seperation of Church and State," and have a situation like this. Why is it, persecution? Because we are denying a people their right to something, we're saying because you're a women and your a man, you guys can have this cookie, but we won't serve anything to you two men/women.

My roomate then went to argue (mind you, he was just arguing to argue, and probably doesn't believe this, as he is liberal), that if we allowed gay marriage, why not allow a man to marry a dog? At first this kind of threw me off. If you say a person should be free to marry whomever they wish, and they wish to marry a dog, why shouldn't they be allowed to? Simply because a dog has no way of telling you that it would like to marry you, and isn't really aware of the lifelong "bond" that is marriage.

The thing that really bothers me about it, though, is it in no way effects me. I am not effected if two men in San Fransisco get married. If two men next door get married, I am not effected by it. Whether I'm offended or not (I'm not), it in no way makes my life better or worse. So why make a law that doesn't give a people a right given to everyone else?

-MillsJROSS

Some recent theories have said that after a while black holes, very slowly mind you, get smaller and smaller until they are no longer a black hole. I can't quite remember the science behind it, though. However, as I'll be dead a long time before the termed "End of the Universe" I'm not too concerned with it.

Deep thoughts? I'm very open to saying I can never prove to myself I know anything. But what I think, or think I think, or think that I am thinking I think...You get the point...is that if there is a god that the universe was created as a mirror, so god could see itself. Try to picture nothing in existence...just a big black void (I'd say don't imagine any of the dimensions of lenght, but I don't think anyone can truly process that image, as it doesn't really exist). Now let's assume that you're the only person in this void. You have no body, nothing. You can't hear anything, you can't see anything, you can't touch anything. How do you prove to yourself you exist? You make yourself a body, with all these nice fancy doo-dads like legs and such (mind you this is you I'm talking about not god). You're still in this black void, and you can see (now), that you do indeed exist. Your arm moves and everything. But yet, if you have nothing to interact with, you are still can't be too sure that you exist. So you make the ground to walk on, the air to breath, vibrations to listen with and see with. What I'm getting at here, is that if there is indeed a entity, I like to believe that existence is just a mirror image of him. Anything/person "evil" is part of the god. At some point this being thought ideas of right and wrong. The god tries to suppress this. It's like when you look in a mirror and see a zit and have the need to rid yourself of it. So god thinks is good, but it's like any of us, we have emotions that if said allowed or acted on, would be considered bad by society. We try to rid ourselves of these thoughts (most of us).

In the end, though, this is all just me having some free time on my hands and thinking of stuff. I'm agnostic, and I just think to myself, this may or may not be true. I can't prove it.

-MillsJROSS

There is no membership into mittens. You just tell whoever is running mittens this year, that you will be attending (Mr. Colossal this year, in NY). That's it.

-MillsJROSS

I'd go with last names, just because whenever you use someone last names it's a sign of formality, and unfamiliarity with a person. Which I think leans better towards a darker atmosphere.

-MillsJROSS

Lately I haven't had any trouble sleeping, because I go to bed late enough where I'm dead tired, and wake up early enough so that I'm dead tired late at night. But if I do have a bad night, I'll get up and read some, see if that works. Turn on the tv, and see if I can pay attention enough where I'm not thinking and then fall asleep. Or, what I used to do, is just try and control my thoughts. I think up a dream scenerio and play it in my head and keep thinking about it till I'm asleep. It keeps my mind off of things that may keep me awake, but it doesn't always work. I also drink coffee which gets me energized, and later feeling very drowzy. And if I work that night I usually get to bed much sooner than usual.

I'm not an insomniac, but I hate to go to bed early and wake up late. But I'll force myself to get eight hours on the weekend. Even if I go to bed at 4. The downside, is the next night it might take me longer to fall asleep. The upside, I'm well rested and energized for a day.

-MillsJROSS

The problem with that may be the fact that Lucas Arts owns them. That or he didn't release them because they were stinkers, and they were more for learning than playing.

-MillsJROSS

I try to work on only one big project at a time, and collect other game ideas for later. The way I design games is different than when I started. With Ace Quest, I had a general idea that had been floating in my head for several years. So when I first began to create the game I had a general plot. This went on to my second game, as well, until I realised I was to ambitious with this game, that not planning was the most idiotic thing I'd ever have done. I had to keep checking on Global Ints to see how they would affect the game in other areas, because I wan't sure which ones I used or not.

So I kind of now mix a general planned strategy (mind you my games nowhere near completion, because of lack of time, more than lack of motivation. College, atm, is just a wee bit more important). I have the general outline for the second game (in fact I have an outline for the third and the beginings of a fourth, should I decide to continue with the series). Then when making the game, I use Rodekills' wurdsplash program to get my ideas out and kind of check everything off. That way I can record my scripts that affect the game, and know where I am going. That's the most important thing, knowing what to do next. It's soo easy to get lost if you don't plan something out.

But, my general outline is specific in parts. In other words, I splice my game up into parts, and then I write everything I need to do for that one part. Parts subsequently after this part, aren't planned in detail, until after this one part is finished. This allows me to let some ideas mature, so that not all the game is stagnant.

Also, it's good everyonce in a while, to just take a break and make a small game (even if no one is going to see it).

A good strategy, something I'm considering using (but haven't yet), I hear. Build a skeleton. This means, knowing what's going to be in a room, make a room with relacement graphics, and script all the responses and everything. And do so for all the game, so that you have the whole game scripted, and then it's just a matter of adding graphics/soundfx/music. I've found it easier to work on one area at a time. Sometimes I'll be in a music making mode, so let me work on music for the rooms I need now, and perhaps later.

So they key, I think, is planning. You absolutely need to know where you're going with big(ger) games. Hope this helps.

-MillsJROSS

Mills, no offense, but are you really going to sue me if, say, I use a plugin of yours without giving you credit. You could try, but I'm sorry, it's not going to pass in court. The judge wouldn't even hear such a case. Lawsuits like this won't work for another, say, twenty years.

Personally, no, I wouldn't. I was being hypothetical. But if I did care to release something, and wanted credit for it, I would make sure that I legally copyrighted my plug-in. If I told you you could use the plug-in without giving me credit, and you decided not to, I'm fairly certain that  legal action would get the results I desired (not necesarily money, I would just want you to A: not give out the Plug in or B: make sure credit is giving where it is due).

Now if I just made a plug-in, and didn't copyright it, yeah, I wouldn't have as strong a case.

Although, I'd probably make sure my name was embedded in the Plug-in anyway, and wouldn't honestly care unless you tampered with it.

-MillsJROSS

In any event, I don't, personally, care if someone copies some of my stuff. However, if I did care, and you decided to copy my material, and I explicitly told you not to, through some installer of some sort, then I would not only like to stop circulating whatever you "made," I would make sure you did so. Now, this is all hypothetical, I wouldn't really care (see above statement). However, when I give someone material, I have every right to say "If you use this you must give me credit." There is nothing egotistical about this at all. You made it, people should know you made it, even if you're just a bunch of letters to them on a screen. You want people to see your work and say "That's xxxxx's." I am not obligated to ask you nicely, "Please will you give me credit." You are obligated to obey my copyright, unless I give you permission, and if I give you permission only if you give me credit, than you MUST do so, or I will be obligated to take Judicial action to keep my copyright. If a person/company makes no attempt to keep their copyright, they lose it.

As far as fan made games, I have no problem with them. I'd rather people be original, but there are some good fan made games, as long as there done right (Like Tierra, even though it was technically, just a remake, the second one they added to).

-MillsJROSS

I know I won't participate, but I wouldn't shoot this idea just right yet. (I just won't participate because of laxk of time). Maybe people are getting sick of some of the competitions, although, the Tune contest is lively. About voting, you'll probably have to have one judge, who won the last time. But I'll let you work out all the kinks. I think this could be a fun idea, and perhaps we could get rid of some of the competitions that don't get many to participate, and revive them later if needed.

-MillsJROSS

I wouldn't necessarily say colleges here in the state are a joke. My income increases 60% for getting a major here. And though my school was #1 party school three or four years ago, it's renoun in several fields of study (music for one). And those who go to school for parties either end up realising what the uni is about, or they are booted out when they don't pass their classes.

Now as to Bush in Yale. That doesn't say anything to me. I have a friend who got into a college through family connections once he was at first declined.

The argument to the economy being complicated, I agree fully. Lucky me I've taken both Micro/Macro economics. And I know a little about the subject (as I was considering it for a major at one time). I never argued that everything bad in the economy is Bush's fault, it isn't. However, he hasn't done much to improve the economy after 911 as I feel he should have. He went to war when we were economically depressed, and people were opposed to a war. His tax cuts have only manages to raise prices of goods, which in the end doesn't do much for an economy.

I would agree, perhaps that he has average intelligence, comparative to the dolt we make him out to be. But a man of average intelligence shouldn't be running the country.

And what's this I hear about being constructive when we critisize? Because Bush is going to go to the forums and say "Well, gee, he put it so nicely, How could I not do it?"

And I'll be one of the first to admit that I don't know the complexity of everything that is involved in running a country. But fortunatly, there are people who do, who give me their oppinions on the news or through other forums, and from them I can make an educated decision. It's like complaining people are idiots for not knowing how a computer works, when you get really deep down into it, and that those people are incapable of using Word because they don't know binary.

-MillsJROSS

Look at the list of best games ever and all lucas arts games are in there, but where are all the sierra games?

Um...Space Quest, Kings Quest, Goblins, Leisure Suit Larry, I've never played Gabriel Knight but I hear it's good. Sierra made several great adventure games. And you can find great games of theres in other genres. The Incredible Machine, Half-Life, Homeworld, Hoyle games, many more.

Sierra as a game company is very strong. They, are, no longer geared towards making adventure games, and when they were, they were the first. So they made a few mistakes along the way of making a few games.

And just to say, Space Quest 4 I would consider one of MY top ten adventure games, in fact SQ as a series would go before MI as a series in MY list. And while it's not your fault that it doesn't run on your machine, it's not really theirs either, considering what computers were capable of when the game was released. And from your computer speed, the applications to slow down your system would have worked wonderfully well for you. You should try one sometime and notice the vast improvement over the timing issues.

-MillsJROSS

http://www.geocities.com/millsjross/Music0.mid

-MillsJROSS

SQ4's thing with the shuttle was easily fixed when you adjusted your computers speed with an application, easily found when looking for SQ4 bugs. It is an annoying aspect to the game, (all the time isssues within it), but the game itself is a great game. And 90 Mhz is a good amount faster than when the game was originally released, so, yes, your system is fast, in context with it's relationship with Sq4. Mind you, it's not my favorite SQ (that would be III), but it was a great game, and it had such an appealing dark edge.

The Myst games, because as much as I enjoy puzzles, it seemed just a waste of time to flip a lever walk around for fifteen minutes before you see what that button did. But it did revoltionize the market graphically. It was nice eye candy back then, and while it may have had influence in the adventure game market going down, because of the push of bigger better graphics, it has added to a lot in other genres.

Other than that, I usually look at reviews for games before I buy them, so all my games are usually good games.

As far as in the AGS realm of hated games, I can only think of Rob Blanc. Not that it was horrible, it just seemed that it was being overpraised, for something that was only bleh. Larry Vales was a much better series.

-MillsJROSS

Just would like to say, I live in Florida, and Gore requesting for a revote, didn't seem so babyish at the time. There were a lot of things that were fishy with the first count, and there still remains some fishiness on that issue (I mean look at who's governor of Florida, Jeb Bush). The numbers were sooo close, and Florida was so important, I can understand the mans intentions. And who wouldn't want all their votes to be counted?

As to the original post, I think I'd honestly save Bush. And, politcally I hate the man. I don't know, I couldn't bring myself not to save him, not that I wouldn't think of it, but it's still almost killing a person if you can prevent their death with no harm to yourself. That would bother me.

As to hatred of Bush, I just watched an interview with him today on Meet the Press. Now think of the economy in the U.S.. And guess what he proposes to do about it? Lower taxes...yay! Oh wait, that doesn't really help the economy at all, as taxes will be taken out in other places when Bush realised he needs money to run a government. This is what I hate. How can you ignore common sense?

As to using Iraq as a reason for hatred of Bush. Why does this argument suddenly become void of it's importance? Because it's in the news all the time? If that was his only mistake, that mistake would be enough for me to hate him. He spent my money on a war most people never desired or were partial to, and it turns out he did it for no good reason. Thousands of Iraqi's died.

Hey, but in the end that's what's great about this country, and many other countries now. We can say, "The president sucks" and I won't be gassed tomorrow/shot down/improsoned. We have the right to an oppinion, whether it be against our country/president.

-MillsJROSS

Someone would probably end up hosting AGS, and the last version CJ made would be the final version. It's already complete enough as it is. And with plug-ins, you can always fix/add more. Frankly, I'm impatient for his death. The arsenic is taking longer than expected.

Now what would really break up the community, would be if I died. Then what would happen to the ever lovable, ever fat, Ace Quest? It would be a scary world without him. That said, I'm impatient for my death as well.

-MillsJROSS

Just a though, passed by, to those making the demo, and the thought, might have already crossed your minds. But wouldn't it be cool in the demo game if you made it tutorial like. What I mean is the player tells you what to do, and the demo detects if you've done it. For instance, you're in a room with a switch that's labeled "power to kitchen", you walk into the kitchen and it's still dark, and the player character says "Hmmm...must be something wrong with the Global Integers, these lights should be on", and then it explains how to go about editing this. They can then follow the directions and when they come back, the player can say "Good job." Something like that would be awesome.

-MillsJROSS

The only suggestions I can think of, if you don't have any clue as to it's name (because I have no clue what it is, and can't really spend the time to search for it). Is...

Run your computer on s4fe-mode (notice l33t spelling, just in case it looks for these words, too). And see if you can't do something from there.

Or f0rm4t your system, and get win XP, while you're there, as ME is complete crap.

Or ctr1+4lt+d3l and d3activate programs running and test out, until ***** doesn't respond anymore. Then you'll know where to hopefully locate it.

You could also get a program to record what programs are activated and when, and then do something to trigger ***** and look to see what does the job.

Hope that helps.

-MillsJROSS

The reason Americans (U.S. Americans, that is)  are uptight about this issue, is easily seen when you look at how the U.S. was formed. Extremely religious people were sent to live here, and their high-moral values are entrenched into our society. Personaly, I think a tit is a tit, and don't really care about the whole incident, I can understand people (ie. Panda) getting offended. It's also just amusing, so people are going to keep talking about it until something else comes along. But really when you say America, I'm fairly certain that half or more of U.S. don't really care, we just here from the people who do. The people offended, don't necessarily make the majority, though. Their just in the light more.

Oh, and someone asked, or remarked, why the Superbowl wasn't called the Superball. The bowl part of the name, really applied to the stadium...which is bowl shaped. While, I agree, Superball would have been an equally good name, they decided to go with Superbowl.

-MillsJROSS

That, and the chances of anyone seeing the pictures who has the copyright (which in this case, I'm sure no one has), is very small. You could put something in your read-me to cover your a**, though. As long as the game is free, I see no problem, it's when you start making money, that copyright laws are more likely to be enforced.

-MillsJROSS