Messages

It's nice to hear somebody talking sense, Steel Drummer.   

If more Christians spent time in helping the needy and being compassionate instead of judgemental, I would feel a little different.

However, I do have to give credit to the church (Seventh-Day Adventists) that I was raised in and departed from.  They DO put a lot of effort into distaster relief (which I participated in, only half-willingly, though.  I was just sort of dragged there by my parents.)

And they also stock up food for poor families and the homeless.  Every church member brings some food items, and they put them all into a big food pantry and distribute it. 

That is the kind of behavior I think that they SUPPOSED to have, but all the time their doing that, they're also very fundamentalistic, and many times have a holier-than-thou attitude, because THEY go to church on Saturday instead of Sunday, and THEY don't eat meat, and THEY don't wear any jewelry, and there's no excuse for anybody who doesn't abide by Adventist doctrine if  "God's truth" has already been shared with them.

Helm, you are brilliant.  In any debate, even if I agree with you or not, I've always admired how intelligently you approach everything.

It's interesting, the idea of automatically viewing the existence of God as outlandish is outlandish to me.  I hope I can get where you're at, because I'm sick and tired of all the old voices ringing in my head about "You have to have faith in God, and you should be ready to go when he comes back, and your sins will find you out" and on and on and on. 

Ah, for the joy of an independent mind!

Yes, Eric, do post some links.  I need all the help I can get... I was raised by fundamentalists. 

Sometimes I feel really trapped by the notion of God.  I don't believe in God, but I was raised to.  I've had to undo a lot of programming and learn to deal with life differently, but there's always this nagging question, "What if I'm wrong, and God is real." 

Well, I'm really screwed, because I could never surrender myself to him, because I do not agree with his policies and behavior.  So I'll just have to burn I guess.

I agree with a lot of what Meowster said, and with Helm and many, many others.  Very interesting debate. 

We're only working on ONE for once and i'm not as stupid as you think
and I'll be 14 on summer and Nikolas, SHUT YOUR F@%;#IN' FACE

I love Firestorm Entertainment's PR policy there.

I really don't care who takes the idea.  I just wanna see it made, because every spring and summer when the severe weather starts up, I just get that craving.

We ought to solidfy it here, and then send it to somebody. 

Last year, I started on a design document for the game, and drew some concepts for the interface.  Not a whole lot there, but a basic structure just the same.  Maybe I'll post it here.

Now that's a game I'd like to play.  But it doesn't exist, that I know of.

I've had the idea for a couple of years now.  It'd be a strategy/action/driving game.

Think of it:  You'd start out at the bottom as an independent tornado chaser, and you work your way up to respected scientist, or whatever.  Or, you could just jump into an instant action mode, or maybe even create your own scenarios.

There'd be many different vehicles available, and tons of gear that you can purchase to help in the chase.  You could make money by selling videos and photographs to various stock companies, TV producers, and magazines and newspapers.  Cash would come in handy for repairing the damage done to your car by that last severe hail storm.

In the higher levels of the career path, you'd be hauling various kinds of weather probes with teams of researchers, that would require placement in the direct path of the tornado.  (An oldie scenario but a goodie.)

Of course you can get out of your car at any time to take pictures, admire the scenery, or take cover in a ditch because you got yourself stuck in the mud right in front of the tornado.

This game would have lots of stunning weather effects, including lightning, rain, hail, intense winds, flash floods (which could be a real problem if they're blocking your escape route,) and of course, all different kinds of possible tornados, from spindly ropes to devastating wedges.   And it just wouldn't be complete without lots of eye popping damage effects, with trees being ripped right out of the ground, houses shattering apart, cars getting rolled, and destruction of pretty much anything else in the path of the twister.

And it'd be the job of the player to navigate around all these unpredictable hazards, in attempt to get in the best possible position without getting in real trouble. 

The storms would develope like real thunderstorms.  They'd build higher and higher, often getting more intense as they go.  Some have lots of rain, some have very little.  If it's really nasty, hail begins to fall. 

Then, if you're lucky, the wall cloud develops, and with a little more luck, a funnel extends towards the ground.  The tornados in the game would also behave like real tornados, moving in a east north east direction, and progressing through each stage of the life cycle:  Developing stage, mature stage, shrinking stage, and the decaying stage.

Not all players have the patience or desire to sit around and just watch a storm develope, so there'd be instant action modes, as well as an ability to set how fast the weather changes, and how often severe weather occurs, etc.

There's even potential for a multiplayer mode, with each player driving their own vehicle towards the storm, taking directions from a teamleader. 

The problem with a game like this is that it'd take quite a system to enjoy it to the max, and the maps would have to be HUGE, in order to make it practical and interesting. 

But anybody who had the system to run it, and the desire for the thrills without the spills would probably love this game.  I know I'd play it!

So, yeah, that's my idea.

You know what would be totally awesome??  If they released each of the game's individually, in there original boxes and documentation.  (Of course, they'd probably have to replace the floppies with CD-ROMs.)

But this is just as well.  I'm sure there would be a distinct difference in holding a freshly made box that looked just like the old thing, and holding the original boxes, with that classic game smell, and 20 years of history.

Ah! 


P.S.  Vict0r, what exactly is your avatar??  I find it exceedingly watchable and amusing. 

This is the great thing about the AGS forums, and it's what always brings me back.  The people here are all more than willing to give you advice, opinions, and the occasional insult, and yet, we're all friends at the end of the day.  Just one big happy family! 

I'm serious.  It seems like there is no other forum where you could post the kinds of posts we do (especially ones that are personal, asking for advice) and get away with it. 

Not that Matt was actually asking anyone's advice, but hey, what're friends for?!?   

Sorry guys ... again, I see the point(s) you're making.  But I simply don't buy that somebody is sitting around and says, "gosh ... I CAN get a gun, so I'll go kill some folk".  Just simply don't agree with that.  A person that wants to commit a violent crime is going to do it with or without a gun.

Is a person stabbed to death any more/less dead than a person shot and killed?

(the reason I made the point about the poisoning the soup is to counter the rebuttal that it's far harder to kill 33 people with a knife than with a gun)

I do agree that there are WAY too many guns.  I didn't mean to imply otherwise.  I just think there are deeper issues causing these things than the availability of guns.  And again, as I said before, if you remove people's right to own a gun legally, you're simply not going to stop those that want/get them illegally.  I wish it weren't so ... but it is.

This is one of those issues that people tend to stand 100% on the left or 100% on the right.  I'm the odd ball standing in the middle I guess.  I would love to see less guns on the street but I'm enough of a realist to know that removing the legal right to own guns isn't going to lower this number.  At the same time, though I don't personally own a gun, I love to go shooting ocassionally.  I have no intention of ever shooting anybody (and hope I never have to) but I like going to the range with my father and shooting some paper targets.

The very last thing I want to make people think is that I'm a card carrying member of the NRA ... I'm not.  I'm personally sickened by these types of events and would be willing to take a shot at (pun intended) ANY solution that is realistic.  But the sad truth, as I see it, is that removing the second ammendment won't make a damn bit of difference.

I tend to agree with Darth.  Availability of weapons isn't what is causing killing sprees are murder.  It's something more than that.  You might as well blame the video game industry if you're going to blame guns themselves.  

Is owning a gun for  defense a bad thing?  Especially in such a violent nation?

In America, most of the rednecks who literally have rooms full of guns always get very defensive in this argument, because they "only use them for hunting," and so therefore, a gun does serve a purpose.  They miss the point that the whole purpose of the weapon is still to kill. 

But then again, do those types even factor into the argument?  I'm pretty sure that all of the good ol' American gun nuts that I know would never shoot anybody, they're just gun fanatics who like to kill animals.  But still, is there something wrong with somebody to begin with that has a real gun obsession?

Naw, I'd only be afraid of that if I were in a position of authority.  *Wonders why he's never been made a moderator...*

Mainly because the forums are so huge now, and I would've been really intimidated, knowing absolutely nothing as I did back then.

All I can say is I'm glad I joined when I did.  I'd hate to be a newbie joining today.

Is America the only country in the world where you can walk into your local pawn shop and buy a gun?  I went into one near me and asked about buying a handgun.  The guy behind the counter said that you have to be 21 to buy a handgun.  However, at age 18, you can buy a rifle or shot gun.  WTF?    :o

I did the same thing at the local Wal-Mart.  I went in and asked if they sold handguns.  The old guy behind the counter says, "No, we quit carrying those."  And I'm standing there looking at these big display cases of rifles, scopes, and shotguns.

Does any of this make ANY sense to anybody out there???  (Especially folks from other countries.)

Another interesting fact is that you can buy a liscense to carry concealed weapons.  Good idea or bad idea?

I don't know what to say about the whole guns and gun laws thing.  I tend to think that taking away our right to bear arms would just put more folks at risk, IF the whackos out there were able to find a supply on the black market. 

However, the United States is in hyper-security overdrive right now, so what next??  Metal detectors on every street corner? 

The GK games are some of the best I ever played.  (Actually, I haven't played the 3rd one yet, but I'm gonna try and get my hands on it.)

I know of places you can download these games, but I just couldn't say...

It really sucks that you can't get a computer without some sort of security and anti-virus software installed on it.  It wouldn't be so bad if the antivirus software didn't hijack your computer to prevent it from being hijacked.

I ordered a new PC last year, and as soon as it arrived, I uninstalled McAfee.  Now a little window pops up all the time saying, "OMG!!11  YOUR COMPUTA MIGHT BE AT RISK!!!11!! BUY PRODUCTS NOW!!"

I just don't think I could ever stop using Google, no matter what.  It's like my best  friend.  It's always there when I need it.  It listens to everything I tell it.  It even corrects my spelling mistakes. 

I... I love you Google.

In celebration, I think we should all change our profile locations to Singapore for one day.  WHoSe wITH ME??/   

I am not from Singapore.     I am from the US.       But sometimes I wish I were from Canada.       But to look on the brightside, I always see it best...       At last I'm not from Louisiana.   

Not suprising that games with the most sexual content are the ones that get the most downloads.  After all, AGSers are nothing but horny, sex-starved losers with a computer mouse in one hand and something else in the other.   

Seriously though, this is an interesting topic, and more details and some revisions would be nice.