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1

Shitty Forum Gamez / Break of Day

« on: February 04, 2013, 10:30:25 PM »

It is 8:00pm EST, October 29th, 2002. You awaken on a cot chained to the wall in a cold, grey cell in a local police station when the beige bars which until recently held you slam open. The poured concrete on the floor reflects the harsh, fluorescent light which beats down from the ceiling. There are no guards that you can see. Around you, others begin to wake up, stretching and climbing out of their cots.

The station is eerily quiet. No radio chatter can be heard from the next room over. The shuffling of papers and hurrying officers which marked your stay here are now conspicuously absent. The door out of the cell block stands open as well. You can feel a cold breeze blowing in from it, meaning one, or more, of the station doors is open.

Looking outside through your tiny cell window, it is eerily quiet. A light, steady snow falls on the streets outside. No sirens can be heard in the distance. The roads are silent, the normal rumble of heavy trucks and angry motorists gone. No pedestrians run across the street or mill around on the sidewalks. The only people you see are the ones who stand around you now in the cell block in the rather large station. What do you do?


Key:
Green - Dom
Purple - Panther
Red - Jack

2

Shitty Forum Gamez / Break of Day OOC

« on: February 01, 2013, 09:34:04 PM »

It is 8:00pm EST, October 29th, 2002. You awaken on a cot chained to the wall in a cold, grey cell in a local police station when the beige bars which until recently held you slam open. The poured concrete on the floor reflects the harsh, fluorescent light which beats down from the ceiling. There are no guards that you can see. Around you, others begin to wake up, stretching and climbing out of their cots.

The station is eerily quiet. No radio chatter can be heard from the next room over. The shuffling of papers and hurrying officers which marked your stay here are now conspicuously absent. The door out of the cell block stands open as well. You can feel a cold breeze blowing in from it, meaning one, or more, of the station doors is open.

Looking outside through your tiny cell window, it is eerily quiet. A light, steady snow falls on the streets outside. No sirens can be heard in the distance. The roads are silent, the normal rumble of heavy trucks and angry motorists gone. No pedestrians run across the street or mill around on the sidewalks. The only people you see are the ones who stand around you now in the cell block in the rather large station. What do you do?


Welcome to yet another RPG thread which I will be running because I am getting a little bit tired of the warhammer universe. This game will be utilizing the D20 modern system, which is incredibly similar to DnD 3.5, if anyone has played that. You have all just awoken in the local jail. You are alone. Your goal is to figure out what has happened. When everyone has rolled up characters, I'll start the actual game thread. For now, post everything here. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Onto character creation! But ungodly, don't we need a book for this part? It will help, but if you can't find a PDF, don't sweat it. d20 modern's character creation is incredibly straight forward. For now, we're going to roll starting stats and go from there.

To generate your starting stats (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma), roll 4d6 6 times, removing the lowest dice roll each time. So, you roll for your first stat, getting 3, 4, 5, and 6. You add up the 4, 5, and 6 to get 15, dropping the three. Do this 6 times for your stats. You may then re-roll the lowest result, keeping the higher roll. So, for example, you roll 17, 16, 14, 9, 10, 13, 16. You decide to re-roll your 9. You roll all 1's. You may now keep the 9 instead of being stuck with a 3, you poor bastard.

After that, pick a character archetype. These archetypes are: Strong, Fast, Tough, Smart, Dedicated, and Charismatic. They all scale off of their relevant characteristic. They all do exactly what you think they would do. Strong characters are generally athletes who depend on strength, blue collar workers, or soldiers (who concentrate on CQC). Fast characters are generally athletes who depend more on grace than strength, pilots, burglars, law enforcement, or soldiers (who concentrate on ranged weaponry). Tough heroes are generally stunt people, bodyguards, bouncers, and wrestlers. Smart heroes are generally white collar workers, professors, techies, and researchers. Dedicated heroes are generally health care workers, clergy, activists, or investigators (anything that requires belief and dedication to helping others, for the most part). Charismatic heroes are generally celebrities, politicians, negotiators, entertainers, or con artists. These archetypes give you class skills, starting HP, feats, and talents.

Finally, pick a job which your character held before the game started. These will give you additional class skills, feats, and bonuses.
Jobs:
Academic, Adventurer, Athlete, Blue Collar, Celebrity, Creative (artist), Criminal, Dilettante(trust fund baby), Doctor, Emergency Services(Rescue workers, firefighters, etc), Entrepreneur, Investigative(reporter, private eye, etc), Law Enforcement, Military, Religious, Rural(Farm worker, Lumber jack, Hunter, etc.), Student, Technician, White Collar. Once you've picked what you want, I'll throw up the stats for it and you can copy it down on

A CHARACTER SHEET

After that's all done and you know what feats your getting from your starting class and job, you can pick feats. Everyone starts with two, in addition to whatever you got from earlier.
A list of feats can be found on the character sheet, and most of them are pretty self explanatory. However, I will be posting a more comprehensive list after we get everything all sorted out from character creation.

I will warn you right now, you will probably die. This game will PROBABLY not last long, so do not be disappointed if you die early on. Other than that, get to posting. Lemme know if you have questions. If someone does find a copy of the core rulebook on /tg/ or something, throw up the link please.


FOUND A COPY OF THE BOOK. GRAB IT HERE BEFORE IT'S GONE.

3

Vidcons / Let's Play Dungeons and Dragons Online

« on: August 24, 2012, 09:58:21 PM »

So, you guys want to get into DDO, huh? I used to play the shit out of DDO, and I will tell you right now, you will probably ruin your first character and have to re-roll at level 9 or 10... unless you follow a build. I highly recommend doing this, as it will stop you from taking feats and skills which SOUND useful, but are in fact complete garbage. You might be saying to yourselves, but I want to build my character however I wantttt, or you might be saying I don't even want to play this game anymore this sounds dumb. Well, ok, some of it is. But the first time you kill a beholder, or a giant, or lord knows what other monstrous creature, you will feel awesome. A lot of the quests have a ton of detail put into them and have an actual DM narrating for you. It's pretty awesome (and also occasionally hilarious because the DM will voice enemy NPC's sometimes). Also there's a level narrated by Gary Gygax which is really cool. Anyways, if you're still here, I'm going to throw you a build guide. Please, please follow a build on your first character or you will be very very sad and unable to complete quests later on and it will suck.

WHEN FOLLOWING THESE BUILD GUIDES, BE SURE TO PICK CUSTOM AND NOT THE ACTUAL PRE-BUILT PATH AS THE BUILDS DO WHAT THE PRE-BUILT PATHS SAY THEY'LL DO, AND YOU NEED TO SWAP FEATS AND SKILLS AROUND!
Newbie build guides

Here is some other useful information which might help you when you're making characters:

Stats

(Stat - 10) / 2 = your modifier, this is what actually affects things. Odd stats don't provide you with any bonus, but there are sometimes reasons to start with odd numbers. Ideally you don't want any end-game if you can help it. And yes, this can be a negative modifier for stats under 10.

Strength - Attack/damage, this is sizable factor in your ability to hit or do damage to things in melee combat.

Dexterity - Armor Class and Reflex Save, this is limited by the armor you wear. Robes have no Maximum Dexterity limit, but other than that wearing armor can impede the amount of bonus you can derive from this. It’s also used for your ranged attack bonus (but not damage!) in place of strength. Don't invest in this for armor class unless you have something very specific in mind -- armor class is currently not that useful past level 10~.

Constitution - Hit Points and Fortitude Save, you get your con bonus * level in extra hitpoints, this is a stat that everyone should strongly consider. A general rule is to not start with less than 14 unless you have a good reason.

Intelligence - Skill points and Wizard casting. How many skill points you get is based upon your class, but you get one extra, per level, for every int modifier you have. You also need 10 + Spell Level, minimum, to cast as a wizard. Wizards want this maxed, many other classes can consider it a dump stat or low depending. For a wizard this is their bonus to Spell Difficulty Class stat.

Wisdom - Will Save, Cleric Casting, partial Favored Soul casting. A cleric needs 10 + Spell level, minimum, to cast. It is also their Difficulty Class bonus stat. A Favored Soul uses their wisdom modifier for their bonus to the Spell Difficulty Class.

Charisma - Bard & Sorcerer casting, and partial Favored Soul Casting. All three of these need 10 + Spell Level, minimum, to cast. For Bards and Sorcerers it is also their Spell Difficulty Class bonus stat. For Favored Soul it does nothing other than small bonus SP after you have the minimum needed for your spells, not worth raising past 12 or so for a Favored Soul.

Casting stats also provide bonus Spell Points (SP), and each stat is also tied to some skills. This isn't something you really need to worry about though in most cases.

Races


Human: The most populous and dominant race of Eberron, humans have found strength in their versatile nature.
Benefits: 1 extra Feat at level 1, +1 Skill point per level (4 more at level 1), good racial enhancements, no stat bonuses or penalties.
Penalties: No stat bonuses, if you want to count that as one.
Recommended Classes: Any.
Unsuited Classes: None.
Favored Weapons: None specifically.


Elf: Thin and waifish, elves in Stormreach are often affiliated with House Phiarlan, working as master spies, illusionists and bards.
Benefits: +2 Dexterity. Solid caster enhancements.
Penalties: -2 Constitution.
Recommended Classes: Wizard, Sorcerer, Favored Soul, Cleric.
Unsuited Classes: Frontline melee. -2 Constitution isn't the end of the world, but it hurts when you're the guy whose likely to be hit.
Favored Weapons: Longsword and Rapier OR Scimitar and Falchion.


Dwarf: Former slaves of the giants, many dwarves in Stormreach find employ in House Kundarak where they work as guards, soldiers, wizards specializing in magical wards and are in charge of much of the banking of the city.
Benefits: +2 Constitution. Solid melee based racial enhancements, though they can be a tight fit depending on build.
Penalties: -2 Charisma.
Recommended Classes: Fighter, Barbarian, Ranger.
Unsuited Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard, Favored Soul.
Favored Weapons: Dwarven Axes and Greataxes.


Halfling: Halflings are short humanoids, often characterized by their nomadic heritage and wanderlust. While often independant, many halflings owe allegiance to House Jorasco in Stormreach, serving as herbalists, alchemists and healers..
Benefits: +2 Dexterity. Racial enhancements for sneak attacks as well as buffing a single friend.
Penalties: -2 Strength.
Recommended Classes: Rogue, Bard, and Cleric.
Unsuited Classes: Fighter, Barbarian and Ranger.
Favored Weapons: Throwing (but don't try to use them as your main weapon, seriously).


Warforged: Living constructs born from the fires of the Last War, these beings seek to find a place for themselves in more peaceful times. While they are technically living creatures, warforged have no need to eat, breathe or sleep and tend to have a hard time adapting to life around those who do.
Unlock: Free to VIPs, purchased for 795 Turbine Points otherwise.
Benefits: +2 Constitution. Strong innate immunities. Capable of being healed by the Repair line of spells.
Penalties: -2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom. Healed half as much by Divine Magic (this can be increased with enhancements).
Recommended Classes: Wizard, Sorcerer, Artificer, Favored Soul.
Unsuited Classes: Cleric, Rogue.
Favored Weapons: Any Two-handed weapon.


Drow: Fiercely territorial and devoted to preserving the traditions of their heritage, drow are cousins to the lighter skinned elves. While drow are not inherently evil, their morality and worship of the scorpion god Vulkoor often makes it appear that way to outsiders.
Unlock: 400 total favor on one character, or bought for 995 Turbine Points. Not recommended for purchase via TP, 400 favor is attainable rather quickly.
Benefits: +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence, +2 Charisma.
Penalties: -2 Constitution. No access to 32 point builds.
Recommended Classes: Wizard, Sorcerer, Cleric, Favored Soul.
Unsuited Classes: Any frontline melee.
Favored Weapons: Rapier and Shortsword.


Half-Orc: Children of the union of humans and orcs, half-orcs are often looked down upon by the other civilized races for their somewhat savage nature. Many half-orcs work for House Tharashk, where their abilities to track down treasure proves useful.
Unlock: Free to VIPs, purchased for 1,295 Turbine Points otherwise.
Benefits: +2 Strength. Solid melee enhancements.
Penalties: -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom.
Recommended Classes: Fighter, Barbarian.
Unsuited Classes: Cleric, Favored Soul, Sorcerer, Wizard, Bard, Artificer.
Favored Weapons: Any Two-handed weapon.


Half-Elf: Descended from elves and humans, half-elves now have formed their own unique race apart from their parent races. House Lyrander, responsible for the creation of airships and the transport business they generate, is formed of mostly half-elves.
Unlock: Free to VIPs, purchased for 1,195 Turbine Points otherwise.
Benefits: Dilettante feat letting you have minor access to a single other classes abilities (such as cleric wands as if you were a level 1 cleric). Access to some of the Human and Elf enhancements.
Penalties: No stat bonuses, and no extra Feat slot like a Human has.
Recommended Classes: Any.
Unsuited Classes: None.
Favored Weapons: None specifically.

Classes

A note on roles: Tanking is not like you're used to in other MMOs. You can use intimidate and a shield and pretend you're a normal MMO tank, but there are very few situations (usually raids) where this is all that effective. Otherwise a tank is just someone with good hp and if you can get there without giving up much: some passive damage reduction or AC. For normal questing no one is designated as a tank usually.

Recommended Two-Handed Weapons: Falchion, Greatsword, Greataxe. In that order, though dwarves may favor a Greataxe.
Recommended One-Handed Weapons: Khopesh, Scimitar/Rapier. Note that Khopesh costs a feat slot and is likely to be more expensive on the Auction House. Worth considering in the teens however.
Recommended Caster Weapons: If meleeing, see above. For actual casting you're looking for items that boost a specific type of damage by 15-75% for 3 minutes as a clicky. Such as Inferno, Brilliance, Ardor. You'll also want to look for a one-handed Potency item as a back-up or for the rare typeless damage spell. The actual type of item doesn't matter, just it's clicky.

Barbarian: Do you like hitting things? Do you like hitting things a lot? I mean over and over don't stop hitting things DON'T STOP SMASHING THINGS IN THEIR FACES THROUGH THE RED HAZE OF BLOOD AND FURY!!!!!
Role: Melee Damage, Tank.
Recommended Races: Human, Dwarf, Half-orc.
Stats: 12 hp/level. 4 skill points/level.


Bard: You get to spend most of your time singing songs which are either so boring or so incredible (take your pick) that monsters just stand there in a stupor while the rest of your party beats the crap out of them. Also, you have magical parlor tricks that you picked up to impress the ladies at taverns. And because you sometimes impress the ladies at taverns that already have husbands, you've learned to handle yourself in a straight up fight too.
Role: Crowd Control, Buffing, Secondary Melee Damage, Secondary Healing.
Recommended Races: Human.
Stats: 6 hp/level. 6 skill points/level.


Cleric: Do you like praying to gods and killing undead monstrosities with shiny lights? Well boy-howdy, is this ever the class for you. Also I hope you enjoy healing things, because you'll be doing that a lot too. On the plus side, you get to shoot laser beams, call down comets to knock your enemies on their asses, and summon giant walls of spinning blades that enemies just seem to love trundling right into.
Role: Healing, Magic Damage, Buffing, Crowd Control, Secondary Melee Damage.
Recommended Races: Human, Dwarf, Elf, Drow.
Stats: 8 hp/level. 6 skill points/level.


Fighter: You get to hit things. But unlike the barbarian, you get to be tactical about it, using your brains, your smarts, your wits. Which is to say you're slightly more clever than a rock but you've managed to pick up a few dirty tricks along the way to even out a fight when you might be overmatched. Angry ogre lumbering towards you? Knock him on his ass and proceed to introduce your sword into his face.
Role: Melee Damage, Tanking.
Recommended Races: Human, Dwarf, Half-Orc.
Stats: 10 hp/level. 2 skill points/level. Bonus Feats at: 1, 2 and every even level thereafter.


Monk: Monks are masters of enlightenment and serenity, channeling their inner Ki to enable them to perform superhuman feats of strength and agility. Which is a real fancy way of saying they punch the crap out of things using a variety of elemental powers they combine to cause powerful effects. So if you want to shoot fire out of your fists, run across water, leap through the air or use the freaking five step exploding heart technique, this is your class.
Unlock: Free to VIPs, 895 Turbine Points otherwise.
Role: Melee Damage, Tanking.
Recommended Races: Human, Dwarf.
Stats: 8 hp/level. 4 skill points/level.


Paladin: Holy warriors devoted to destroying all things dark, unnatural and unholy in the world. Of course, what is considered dark, unnatural and unholy is purely open to speculation and is at the discretion of the burly dude in platemail with a shining sword. Paladins are tough fighters, able to cleave through swaths of foes without breaking a sweat, and if that weren't enough, their gods give them all kinds of spells to make slaughtering everything even easier.
Role: Melee Damage, Tanking, Secondary Buffing.
Recommended Races: Human, Dwarf.
Stats: 10 hp/level. 2 skill points/level.


Ranger: Friends of nature, companions to all manner of beasts and plants and hahaha who am I kidding. Rangers are racist bastards who specifically pick a group of enemies to hate and get bonuses to slaughtering them wholesale. In order to help them out in their quest to exterminate all life on the planet, they recieve free feats to allow them to dual wield and use bows more effectively. Additionally, rangers get some pretty useful utility spells, including some that help them kill things even better.
Role: Dual Wield Melee Damage, Tanking, Secondary Ranged Damage, Secondary Buffing.
Recommended Races: Human, Dwarf.
Stats: 8 hp/level. 6 skill points/level.


Rogue: Yeah you're not as tough as a fighter and you don't hit as hard as a barbarian. You have less hit points than even a cleric. So why would you want to be a rogue? Because you can learn every single useful skill in the game, and, while your friends are busy getting their spleens stuck full of swords, you get to stab enemies for sneak attack damage. So what you might say. Oh boy, I get to do damage if things aren't hitting me. Well, one of those skills you can learn makes things forget about you, and attack your friends. Which even if you're not trying to get sneak attack damage is still a great party trick. And as for the damage itself? Well, let's just say you will murder the shit out of everything. So to recap: you get to be batman.
Role: Melee Damage, Secondary Trap Disarming.
Recommended Races: Human, Halfling, Elf, Dwarf.
Stats: 6 hp/level. 8 skill points/level.
Note: You generally can't sneak attack while solo, making pure rogues one of the worst choices for soloing.


Wizard: So all that reading in some poorly lit dingy room finally paid off. You can now cast magic missile! How proud you must be! But wait, you just gained a few levels and now you can create walls of fire on the ground that incinerate everything. Oh what's that? You've gotten some more spells now and learned some forbidden necromantic arts and are now a lich that can easily instantly kill entire rooms full of enemies with a single spell? Surely no self-respecting wizard would turn to the forbidden arts of necromancy in order to gain incredible godlike power. That would just be wrong.
Role: Magic Damage, Crowd Control, Buffing.
Recommended Races: Human, Warforged, Elf.
Stats: 4 hp/level. 2 skill points/level. Bonus Feats at: 1, 5, 10, 15, 20.


Sorcerer: Books and scrolls? Screw that stuff. You're better than a wizard because you don't need none of that there book learnin. You gain spells naturally as you level up, and sure you might not have as many different spells to choose from as one of them book-learned wizards, but you're inherently better at magic than they are. You cast spells faster, have more magical energy to draw on, and can attune yourself to the very elements themselves, gaining incredible power.
Role: Magic Damage, Buffing, Crowd Control.
Recommended Races: Human, Warforged.
Stats: 4 hp/level. 2 skill points/level. Double benefit from SP increasing items. Higher base SP than a wizard or cleric. Faster casting and less recast than a Wizard.


Favored Soul: You're a special person. A very special person. You see, some god decided that you were a pretty cool dude (or dudette) and has decided to make you one of their champions. You have a stronger connection to the divine and as such gain various bonuses related to the god that has chosen you, as well as having more magical power to use on spells. So essentially you're the envy of clerics everywhere. Oh and you get wings. Magic angel wings that let you leap distances and look super cool. And a little glowing light ball friend that hangs out over your shoulder and shoots laser beams at everything, kind of like the shoulder mounted cannon that the Predator has.
Unlock: 2500 Total Favor or 895 Turbine Points.
Role: Healing, Magic Damage, Buffing, Crowd Control, Secondary Melee Damage.
Recommended Races: Human, Warforged.
Stats: 8 hp/level. 2 skill points/level. Double benefit from SP increasing items. Higher base SP than a wizard or cleric. Get a short distance forward teleport with Wings at level 17.


Artificer: You get to be Megaman. No, seriously. You have a cool mechanical dog and an arm cannon that you can charge up which has various effects, much like boss weapons from Megaman games! Other than that, artificers, as their name might imply, are tinkerers and dabblers in mechanical devices. Many use repeating crossbows, though some people do use melee weapons. Additionally, artificers get quite a number of unique spells, several of which can be used to increase damage, bypass damage reduction of enemies, or provide useful defensive buffs. Being tinkerers, they are skilled at disarming traps and also are the best at crafting items, giving them a bit of a unique edge over other classes in that regard.
Unlock: 150 House C favor or 995 Turbine Points. Favor unlock not recommended, difficult even at level 20.
Role: Ranged Damage, Buffing, Secondary Magic Damage, Secondary Trap Disarming.
Recommended Races: Human, Warforged.
Stats: 6 hp/level. 4 skill points/level. Awesome mechanical dog companion.


Druid: Become a bear. Become a wolf. Become a water or fire elemental. Shoot magic. Claw dudes in the face. Write up a better description here when I get unlazy.
Unlock: VIP or Standard Expansion Pack. 1495 TP when available individually in the store.
Role: Healing, Magic Damage, Melee Damage, Tanking, Buffing.
Recommended Races: Unknown. Human and Half Elves are solid choices likely.
Stats: 8 hp/level. 4 skill points/level. Awesome wolf pup companion.

Anyways, I hope anyone who decides to play will stick with it and enjoy it. If you have any questions, I can probably answer them. In conclusion, here is a picture of my sorceror casting disco ball and dancing with the Kobolds.

4

Nonsequitur Bullshit / The New Politics Thread: God Bless Income Disparity

« on: November 20, 2011, 03:31:05 PM »

Random crap has been increasingly taken over by links to politics, mostly from me, but also from a few others, and I think it warrants its own thread at this point, as it is rather jarring to go from police beating the shit out of someone to a live action sonic movie trailer. There is a lot happening around the world and, more immediately for a lot of posters, in the United States with Occupy movements going on and just general fucked up stuff happening. So, for now, keep politics links in this thread and other... um... random crap in random crap. To start off with, I gathered a bunch of the more recent posts and put them in here. So, uhh, keep posting links to things as they happen and help keep people informed.

lol

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmuw9js9ezE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmuw9js9ezE</a>

lol

 

Who indeed

Police Brutality at US David Our little Crembaw might get in trouble. :C

Occupy Oakland is in more trouble btw, don't have reports on that.

Occupy Philly forecloses on a Wells Fargo This is kinda of dumb though, they should have done it outside of the bank.

There's more to it.

METAPHORS!

Elderly woman at Occupy pepper sprayed.

One in three Americans either live in poverty or just barely above it the new census data and measure for poverty suggests.

Why are people angry and protesting?

5

Vidcons / The Fighting Game Thread: Mash the buttons. All of them.

« on: October 04, 2011, 07:45:19 PM »

Here is a thread for to talk about the different fighting games floating around right now. Post interesting info, videos, and other fighting game stuff here. If you have something you want added to the OP, lemme know and I'll edit it in so it's easy to find later (assuming this thread even goes anywhere).

Games out now:

Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition

The latest in Capcom's line of Street Fighter games. It's a good time despite balance issues with certain characters and it's pretty fun to look at. Come play with me on PC and beat the hell out of me!

Links:
Daigo v. Latif at Evo 2011
Event Hubs Guide



Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition

A really good game with a lot of depth and insane things like parrying which don't make an appearance in any other Street Fighter. Chun Li is broken but DEAL WITH IT.

Links:
That video. You know the one.
Your life on girls.
Dudley full parry cross counter. It ownsssss.
Event Hubs guide for SF:TS


Marvel vs. Capcom 3

It is literally what it says. Only it's kind of unbalanced. However, cool things happen and there are upsets and all that even with the balancing problems. The Ultimate Edition promises to fix balance issues, but who knowsssss.

Links:
PR Balrog v. Viscant
Justin Wong v. Richard Nguyen
Yet another Event Hubs guide.


Mortal Kombat

I have no idea and have no real information on it. It is a thing maybe I guess? I don't know.

Blazblue

I have no idea. Someone who has actually played it can type something out if they want/post videos.

STUFF COMING SOON!!!!

Skull Girls

A neat little game coming out soon with really nice art.

Meet videos:
Filia
Peacock
Cerebella
Parasoul
Ms. Fortune Character Walkthrough courtesy of Fox.
Painwheel revealed as new Skullgirl character.
Also there are game play videos floating around.

Marvel vs. Capcom Ultimate Edition

Again, supposedly going to be fixing issues with balance. I haven't seen specific info on this, so if someone has stuff, I'll update the OP with it.

Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition 2012

Another Capcom attempt to balance out a long running fighting game. I believe they've been releasing what they're considering for character updates, but I haven't seen anything final yet.

Streams

Places to check for streams:

Team Spooky. Mostly East Coast stuff.

iplaywinner. Mostly Norcal stuff.

Gootecksss. Check here for Socal streams that are happening.

Courtesy of Naff: Wednesday Night Fights that start around 9pm PST

Finally, last but not least

Stick Purchasing Guide from Shoryuken

If anyone has anything else, I'll add it in. For now, talk about fighting games, post cool shit, or post videos of yourself doing cool shit.

6

Shitty Forum Gamez / Dark Heresy Thread 2: Darker Heresy

« on: August 16, 2011, 04:51:51 AM »

Your wake up, as though out of a daze. Your senses and mind sharpen, suddenly bringing the room and three figures around you into focus. The floor judders and shakes, and the small view ports in the cramped enclosure make it clear that you're aboard some sort of shuttle, but it seems too small. Trying to move your limbs, you find yourself unable to, as though they are weighed down. Suddenly, you hear a voice. It sounds like it's in your skull, but can only be coming from outside.

"Greetings, I am Inquisitor Rackham. I apologize for using my powers on you as I did, but I needed agents in the sector, and you were the only ones with the correct skills for the job and the mental patterns that would allow me to interact with you over the distances required for this operation. I would normally have sent my own men in, but they're currently in another sector on what was determined to be a wild grox chase, so I do apologize again for having to drag you into this, but it is of the utmost importance that I act, and therefore you act, upon the information I have acquired. An... associate of mine has taken something rather important to me, and you will get it back for me. Let me fill you in.

Approximately one month ago, this.... acquaintance... sent some thugs to take something very dangerous and powerful from my personal collection of artifacts. Using several leads, I tracked the item down to the rogue trader vessel The Benevolent. Unfortunately, it entered the warp as soon as my team had gotten on board and disappeared soon after. However, it has resurfaced. The crew appears to be gone, and I can only imagine my men with them as I cannot contact them, and the ship is drifting. Already the vultures circle it, waiting for their chance to pick it clean. We cannot allow this to happen until the artifact is safely back in my possession. If it is not returned to me, I will lose a considerable amount of standing with my colleagues for allowing this artifact to fall into the hands of a radical and not destroying it when I first came upon it. If we allow them to recover it before us, the power crazed maniac may actually consider using the damned thing, and Emperor alone knows what it will actually do. Further, if we can recover it, I may be able to bring charges against the foul old wretch.

Unfortunately, this associate of mine has already mobilized agents to attempt to recover the item as well. We cannot allow them to succeed. If it is recovered by them, then things will become considerably more difficult and we may not be able to stop them from using it against us, or Emperor forbid, attempting to use it against the Great Enemy themselves. If you can recover the artifact for me, I will appreciate it immensely. Not to mention that having the appreciation of an Inquisitor has benefits outside of my undying gratitude and support. Monetary benefits, to be precise. And in case you were wondering, you want my undying gratitude, because not having my undying gratitude tends to shorten your lifespan considerably.

As for your actual objectives during this operation, the first and foremost is to recover the artifact. I would imagine they were transporting it in the cargo hold, so check there. If you find it is gone, then you must find a crimson level security terminal to download the ship logs from. There is one on the bridge, one in the captain's personal quarters, and one in the main fire control battery. This may give us a lead on where it went or what happened to the ship. Third, and as a personal favor to me, I would like you to discover the fates of my men if possible. They were some of my closer comrades, so I would appreciate it. Their last known location was the captain's personal quarters. I believe they were having a rather friendly chat with the old man. Fourth, if you determine what happened to the crew leaves the wreck beyond salvaging or far too dangerous to allow it to continue to exist, you must overload the warp drives. I have given each of you a data-slate. Simply plug it into any of the crimson level security terminals and select the program you wish to use and it will execute the function, whether it is overloading the warp drives or downloading the log data. The warp drives should take close to an hour to overload, which gives you ample time to flee the doomed ship if it comes to it. Fifth, if you encounter agents from my associate, do not engage them if at all possible. A civil war is all I'd need right now. If you must engage, only engage long enough to retreat or meet one of the objectives lain out here. Finally, you are currently riding in a boarding drill shuttle, and it is a one way trip. It should deposit you close to the cargo hold. Once you complete your objectives you'll have to locate another way off of the ship, presumably one of the shuttles left in the hangar bays.

If you need to contact me, you have all had psycrystals implanted in you. Simply place your hand on your chest and think what you want to tell me and I will respond if I am able to. May the Emperor protect and good hunting."

As the voice leaves your head, you feel the weights on your limbs lift and are able to move them again. You feel what has to be your kit stowed under the seats. A light appears over the hatch which leads out, counting down from a minute thirty....

7

Shitty Forum Gamez / Post here to pledge your undying loyalty to the God Emperor of mankind

« on: August 13, 2011, 02:16:24 AM »

Music

It is the 41st millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die. Yet in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battlefleets cross the Daemon-infested miasma of the warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperor's will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super-warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion, the Imperial Guard and countless planetary defence forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus, to name but a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from aliens, heretics, mutants-and worse. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

Welcome, welcome to Dark Heresy. First things first, you're gonna want to create a character. I'm going to lay out some basics on what everything does, and maybe give you ideas on what you want to play, assuming you haven't already decided or are wavering between stuff. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me, talk to me on steam, or post in the thread. Now to get started.

First, you're going to need to choose a world, of which there are 4. If you're interested in using a supplemental world or something not in the original rule book, shoot me a message using one of the things I listed above and I'll probably say ok sure unless its something that lets you be a Space Marine or some crap.

Worlds

Feral World

Maybe your world was recently brought into the Imperium's fold or maybe they're just leaving it like it is because it makes good Imperial Guard regiments. One way or another, your world is low tech, primitive, and probably stone age or maybe medieval like. You're good at smashing shit, eating horrible things, and surviving. Pick this world if you want to melee the ever loving bajeezus out of things and don't care about using technology and guns.

Hive World

The complete opposite of a Feral World. Your world is probably heavily polluted, with the populations living in huge manufacturing towers called hives. Chooose this if you want to be good at moving around in large groups of people, be innately good with technology, and HATE that fucking open sky, because who the feth doesn't live in a grim dark enclosed city, holy Emperor damned throne screw those people.

Imperial World

The generic world. It might be an agricultural or semi-industrialized planet, but it doesn't particularly stand out. You have access to average Imperial tech. You're slightly more pious than others, with little knowledge of the warp, but an increased understanding of the Imperial church, the Adeptus Ministorum. Also you're a fething stuck up snob who thinks their world is the best, which boosts your will or some shit. Emperor damned if I know.

Void Born

You were born on an Emperor damned ship, you creep. You look a little off from living your entire life in a ship, which makes people less likely to trust you unless they were also born on a ship and you're weak due to the weird gravity. You're lucky though, seeing as you were born outside of the safety of a planet and lived. You're good at getting around ships and piloting them.

Classes

Adept

You know EVERYTHING. You're not a good combat class, but if someone needs to know how an organization functions or the gross domestic product for a planet, you've got that shit. You're not very good at talking to people though and are probably a socially awkward nerd. There's not a ton more to say.

Arbitrator

More or less the police and detectives of the Imperium, only you're usually not really held back by petty things like human rights. You're a tank who can track people and things down. You're alright at melee, but better at ranged.

Assassin

Can be good at both melee and ranged, but should really pick one and focus on it. Good at dealing a lot of damage to a single target. You have trouble with strength, toughness, and fellowship.

Cleric

A member of the Emperor's most holy state sanctioned church. You're pretty decent all around, and don't really have any high costing advances for your stats. You're good at knowing things, but not as good as the adept. You're the spiritual backbone of the group who reaffirms everyone's faith in the Emperor, or just annoys everyone with your constant Emperor bothering nature.

Guardsman

Do you like being a tank? Do you like blowing shit up, shooting a shit ton of bullets into something, or being a superior military leader? Then this class is for you! You're the epitome of combat class. That is what you do. You point your gun/sword/flamethrower/rocket launcher at something and make it go away. You probably shouldn't talk too much, you're not good at it.

Imperial Psyker

Meddling with forces beyond your control? Pshaw. You're just testing reality's limits. If your idea of a good time is tempting bad shit to happen whenever you use your powers, then this class is for you. You're the groups caster, but also one of its largest liabilities, as you are the only one who can explode into a warp gate that lets a bunch of daemons out to eat them. If the idea of exploding in a fountain of gore or accidentally turning fucking gravity off for a minute as a side effect of one of your powers are a good time for you, this is for you.

Scum

You're more or less a rogue. You steal shit and fast talk.

Tech-Priest

You know about machines and computers. That is your job. If the group needs to figure out how to get a door open or get info out of a computer, you're their go to person.

If anyone has questions about character creation, buying shit, etc, post, talk to me, pm me, or whatever. I'm more than happy to answer questions. As soon as everyone has a character all set, I'll make the first story post and we'll get this train wreck moving. Also, say in your post if you want to play in IRC or by post. This is important. If we do it in IRC, then we have to figure out days when everyone is gonna be around. By post, obviously, it's whenever, but it takes longer for shit to happen.

Thought for the day: A good soldier obeys without question. A good officer commands without doubt.

8

Nonsequitur Bullshit / Privatization and you! (aka, the politics thread)

« on: February 03, 2010, 04:30:24 PM »

The Heritage Foundation is about "freeing up the market", a service which it is willing to "offer" to earthquake-struck Haiti. The process consists of implementing the "free market trinity": privatisation, deregulation, and cutting down social services.

This thread is about privatization. It's one of those themes people rarely really think about because who owns the company of which you are a customer doesn't seem to make a difference. It's also a pet peeve for libertarians. Libertarians share a belief that an unadjusted free market is in everyone's interest. This thread makes an attempt to refute this bullshit.


_{Fig 1a: this is what libertarians actually believe}

All this is sort of complicated and dry stuff, so if it's not your thing you better close this thread before you get disappointed. If it is, you're welcome to post and chat.

Why do we privatize?

• A brief history of the push towards privatization in the first world
  In the USA, most of the privatization was carried out by the Reagan administrations, who were heavily influenced by economists from the 'School of Chicago'. With Milton Friedman as the best known thinker, this institution has been fighting against what they saw as a slippery slope towards socialism: public institutions. Friedman and the other had been pushing the free market as a solution to everything, and got the chance to put their ideas into practice with the arrival of the Reagan administration.
  
  
  Reagan privatized ConRail and allowed private companies to build rockets for NASA, most of his other attempts became stranded somewhere halfway. Clinton continued his legacy by selling Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserves, U.S. Enrichment Corporation, half of the EM spectrum, and introduced competitive contracting of more than a hundred airport control towers and numerous military base functions.
  
  One of the key moments in the wave of privatizations in Europe is the 1973 oil crisis. A conglomerate of members of the IMF, the World Bank, OESO, and the European Commission discovered a whole new source of capital: the states' assets and public services.
  
  These had been steadily built up from WWII on, where governments made large concessions in fear of the rise of union power, communism and socialism. UHC, unemployment benefits, public retirement funds, ... all started in that era. In France, president De Gaulle nationalized Renault, Air France, the energy sector, four of the largest banks, insurance companies, and the coal mining industry of Nord-Pas-De-Calais.
  
  The ERTI (European Round Table of Industrialists), started in 1983, unites around forty of the most important European multinationals. They put forth huge efforts in the media to convince the public that public services would be better run as a privatized organization.
  
  In most countries, the center-left social democrats joined into this choir under the veil of the "Third way socialism": a socialism that acknowledges the central role of the free market in society. (In many South American countries this move was heavily resisted, some places being more successful in stopping it than others. Uruguay had a Referendum that stopped the attempt by neo-liberal president Lacalle dead on its tracks. Bolivia wasn't so lucky.)
  
  Telecommunication services were the first to go. Having recently been modernized with the profits made as a public service, they were very attractive targets. On average, telecommunication showed a yearly growth of 7%. In France, a telephone contract was € 1.79 in 1996. Today, the cheapest one is €12.55. They used to have unlimited calling time, now they pay by the minute. In Belgium, Belgacom dumped 42% of its employees since it's been privatized. Prices have gone up, service has gotten worse, shareholders got rich(er).
  
  Next was rail. Since large investments had been made under public ownership (HST for example), these were ready to be sold out.
  
  From 1992 onwards, public mail services had to go. Sweden (!) was one of the first. Prices for customers rose with 90% (inflation adjusted), and employment dropped from 72000 to 38000. Same for Deutsche Post AG: 306151 employees in 1992, 150548 in 2006.
  
  The 'state monopolies' of energy production and supply were the next victim the private sector laid eyes on. If you live in Europe, you might have noticed a big rise in prices over the last 5 years. Cap Gemini calculated that this rise had netted the 5 largest energy providers € 175 bn. Electrabel, the main supplier for Belgium, made a 2.3 billion profit for 2009. On a population of 10 mn, that's € 230 per citizen!
  
  
  
• The use of the Shock doctrine in developing countries. Either by making use of natural disasters or CIA-assisted coups, developmentalist leaders just had to go.
  
  The coup by General Suharto to oust Sukarno in Indonesia is an example. The CIA provided Suharto with a 'kill list' of 4000 to 5000 leftist thinkers, and a handbook of techniques to put the country in such a state of shock that it wouldn't resist any of Suharto's plans. Suharto's troops killed somewhere between 500k and 1 mn people.
  
  
  Plan Condor in South America: The Military dictatorships immediately opened the markets to foreign corporations after years of military CIA influence and academical influence from the School of Chicago, quashing efforts by several movements aiming towards "Import substitution": the idea that South America would be more independent both economically and politically if it started manufacturing goods that were being imported and made from the continent's own prime goods. I won't go into detail about the South American story as it could fill a series of posts in itself, but here's some c/p's from The Shock Doctrine:
  
  
  
  
  
  It seems democracy and capitalism aren't the best match after all: the best match is a dystopian dictatorship and capitalism.
  
  
• Coupling of support from IMF/World Bank to privatization and "opening up the markets" in 3rd world countries. When there's no leftist dictator to oust, and no disasters happening, wrap your greed as a gift.
  

What's wrong with privatization?

Effects for customers

• Privatization promises a 'more efficient' service to the customer. This is true, but highly dependent on what you see as efficiency. If efficiency means higher profits, then yes, many privatizations have been very successful. If you mean a better service at a better price, you'll find yourself wrong most of the times.

Energy prices in Europe have risen ever since the energy markets were 'opened up'. A company like Electrabel (the Belgian branch of GDF Suez) books bigger profits every year, while their customers have to scramble to get by. Invoices have gone up as much as €700 in a single year for the average family.

• Non-lucrative markets are abandoned by private companies. If you're trying to get high speed internet or a smooth public transport connection in a rural area you know what I mean.
• Privatization doesn't fuel innovation

This is another patently false claim by free market gurus. Why would a corporation be interested in innovation? The most cost-effectivemo is to postpone any investments as long as possible to get maximum return from the old infrastructure (that was usually paid for with tax dollars). Do private owned medicine manufacturers invest a lot into a cure for TBC, malaria, or HIV? Or would they rather bet on advertising boner pills, making up first world luxury diseases, milking UHC,...?

Many of the innovations that have shaped the world we live in, stem from cooperation of governmental or educational organizations. The internet, space flight, and CERN, to name a few.

Effects on employees

• Massive layoffs:
• Pay cuts: here are some data that are from a pro-privatization source, all up in arms because the government pays it's employees better than they do. So apart from having to do the same work with less people, the employees that are left behind have to do it for a lower wage as well.
  
  
  
  
• Violations of workers rights: it's not uncommon for privatised services to combat strikes and other means of power for unions by firing unionized workers. A more brutal technique is simply firing everyone, and subsequently only rehiring old employees that aren't part of a union at a lower wage.

Effects on governments

• Huge investments are lost when assets are sold: yes, governments sell their institutions for a hefty price, but it should be taken into account that they are often the ones making the investments to upgrade their services (in Europe, this would be GSM for telecommunication and HSTs for public transport)
• Subsidizing is still necessary in Too Big To Fail cases: whether it's a bank, railway, or water provider: if a company has gotten so huge that its failure affects the whole country, should it not have been public in the first place?
• Governments lose power when privatizing essential services, giving corporations huge leverage by letting them threaten to cut off the service (electricity in Buenos Aires, Suez flat out refusing to pay for the nuclear plants the government built in Belgium)
• A public company may choose to run a deficit to stimulate other sectors of the economy, or to provide the needed service for those who can't afford it. Corporations are legally bound to aim solely for profit.

Can we stop it?
Maybe. Hardly. There are examples where it happened:

• New Zealand has had to bail out their airlines, and was smart enough to hold on to it afterward.
• US Air security renationalized post-911
• Nigeria reviews all privatizations carried out under the Obanjo government: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7117629.stm
  
• shit even chinese workers managed to stop a privatization: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8204634.stm
  

What is your point exactly?

I'm not trying to say everything has been hunky dory when all the companies used as an example in this post were still publicly owned. There is a history of wasteful behavior, bad customer service, reckless spending in many public services. These are problems that shouldn't be minimized.

The difference with privatized services lies in the cause of the problems. For public services, this is usually bad management and nepotism. These are problems that can be solved by replacing the managers, implementing a more strict control body, and countless other solutions.

In privately owned businesses however, the problems listed here stem from the profit motive. There's no way to fix this, as it's the single aim of a corporation. As a society, we need to ask ourselves if we want important service providers to be accountable to a few shareholders only, rather than to a whole nation of taxpayers?

9

Nonsequitur Bullshit / Odd happenings, Conspiracies,and Unexplained disappearances

« on: June 02, 2009, 08:56:44 PM »

I've been poking around, and keep finding freaky ass stuff that's a pretty good read, and I don't want to keep shitting up Random Crap with them, so I figured I'd start a new topic for these types of stories and such.

To start off with, here's a few I located in the last few minutes.

Disappearance of the Beaumont children in Australia.
Dissapperance of pilot Frederick Valentich.

Transcript of radio communications between Valentich and Melbourne.

    [TIME-19:06:14]

    DSJ = DELTA SIERRA JULIET, The plane the guy was flying.

    FSU = Ground Control at Melbourne.



    DSJ Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet. Is there any known traffic below five thousand?

    FSU Delta Sierra Juliet: No known traffic.

    DSJ Melbourne, I am...seems to be a large aircraft below five thousand.

    FSU DSJ, What type of aircraft is it?

    DSJ I cannot confirm. It is four bright...it seems to me like, landing lights

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET???

    DSJ Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet. The aircraft has just passed over me at least a thousand feet above.

    FSU DSJ, Roger. And it is a large aircraft, confirm?

    DSJ Ah...unknown due to speed it's travelling. Is there any airforce aircraft in the vicinity?

    FSU No known aircraft in the vicinity.

    DSJ Melbourne? It's approaching now from due East towards me.

    ***10 seconds silence***

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET???

    ***14 seconds silence***

    DSJ //open mic for 2 seconds//

    DSJ It seems to me that he's playing some sort of game. He's flying over me two, three times at a time...at speeds I could not identify.

    FSU DSJ Roger. What is your actual level?

    DSJ My level is four and a half thousand. Four Five Zero Zero.

    FSU DSJ, and confirm: You cannot identify the aircraft?

    DSJ Affirmative.

    FSU DSJ, Roger. Standby.

    DSJ MELBOURNE, It's not an aircraft. It is...

    FSU Delta Sierra Juliet MELBOURNE, Can you descrive the, er, aircraft?

    DSJ It's flying past. It's a long shape...Cannot identify more than that. It has such speed! Before me right now, Melbourne.

    FSU Roger. And how large would the, er, object be?

    DSJ It seems to like it's stationary...What I'm doing right now is orbiting and...the thing is just orbiting on top of me. Also it's got a green light, and sort of metallic, like it's all shiny on the outside.

    ***23 seconds of silence***

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET?

    DSJ It's just vanished.

    ***9 seconds of silence***

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET?

    DSJ Melbourne, would you know what type of aircraft I've got? Is it a military aircraft?

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET. Confirm the aircraft just vanished.

    DSJ SAY AGAIN?

    FSU Is the aircraft still with you?

    DSJ It's ah, Nor- It's approaching from the Southwest.

    ***14 seconds of silence***

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET?

    DSJ The engine is rough idling, and I've got it set at 23-24 and the thing is ***coughing***

    FSU Roger. What are your intentions?

    DSJ My intentions...ah...are to go to King Island...ah...MELBOURNE, the strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again...It is hovering and it is not an aircraft.

    ***13 seconds of silence***

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET?

    DSJ //17 seconds open microphone//

    ***21 seconds silence***

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET?

    FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET? MELBOURNE.

    [TIME- 19:12:49]

    REMARKS-

    There is no record of further transmissions from the aircraft.
    Weather in the Cap Otway was clear with a trace of stratocumulus cloud at 5K to 7K feet. Scattered cirrus cloud at 30K feet. Excellent visibility. Light winds. End of daylight at Cape Otay was 19:18.

    SAR procedures were declared at 1912 hours. At 1933 hours when the aircraft did not arrive at King Island, the Distress Phase was declared and search action commenced. An intensive air, sea, and land search was continued until 25 October 1978, but no trace of the aircraft was found.

    The reason for the disappearance of the aircraft has not been determined.

And finally, the Battle of Los Angles.