Techwright

Can't recommend any, as I've not been inside AE in a Rocket Raccoon's age. But I'm intrigued and watching this thread for something I'd like to tackle.

Civ VII: I'm taking the "let's see in 6 months" approach. I've seen a lot of negative reviews on it (Steam reviewers have it at Mixed right now, which is 5 rungs down on the ranking scale), and there's no way I'm shelling out $70, or even $20, for that rank. I would like to hope they'll make every effort in 6 months to fix what the players feel is broken. But if there's little change in 6 months, I'll be putting it in the "review every 6 months" category. I loved the early Civ games. At some point, I don't remember which one, a Civ game ruined it for me. It felt like they'd moved the game too far off the heart of the series design. I personally would be very, very happy if they did a remake of Civ II, mostly just improving the graphics to modern standards, and most especially improving the opponent AI. One thing that has always annoyed me in Civ games is the potential for an AI power that you've been treating exceptionally well to suddenly declare war on you, with no build up and no reason. It's 2025, and AI is all the rage. Build in one that acts much more like a human, and Civ II Redux could be the best of the series, despite being largely the earliest model.

I can see how ridiculous that is, But that was one of those ridiculous super powers they went bonkers with in the 1950s, like super-ventriloquism. What I refer to is something separate from his personal nature. And Kryptonian science is supposed to be on the edge of that oft-quoted idea of looking like magic to those from a lesser culture. Yikes! Let's hope an international crisis never involves hotel corridors. It's a fair point, and one I was considering after I wrote it. ID photos for driver's licenses, requiring the removal of glasses, would set that up as well. One thought I had was to use a small transparent "dot" of Kryptonian tech that can be adhered to the temple and act like a temporary version of the glasses (smaller tech = tiny battery = less charge, short term). That allows for short periods of removing the glasses. As it is Kryptonian science-like-magic it would be easy to wave a hand to say the science can baffle any Earth tech as well. I'm sure if a serious writer ever covered it for comic or movie, they could create a definitive Kryptonian tech explanation. I like the idea of a magic wielder getting involved, but then they'd have to appear in every version of the Superman tale. A.I. Jor-El does so now (at least, as far as I can recall) and therefore it's tech "magic" could fit the bill. The takeaway, though, is that, whether advanced science or magic, there's avenues of explanation DC's never explored for a "simple" disguise. I'd also like to add that your concept of the magic user arriving when Clark is in school, is on point. The idea of getting him using the glasses early, magic or tech, means that those subtle changes that happen over the teen years will seem natural to those he grows up with. It reinforces the idea that anyone who goes looking, even back to early Supes appearances around Smallville, will never associate the two faces as one person. Personally, though, I'm much more into the stories where Lois finds out early on, and chooses to sink the story. This maintains her reputation as Pulitzer-level investigative journalist, while fleshing out her compassion over her aggressive "news hound" nature. Great point! It reminded me of a pair of situations the TV show Candid Camera set up back in the 1970s. As I recall, both took place in New York City. In one, the crew built a door right in the middle of the sidewalk. People casually walked around it. A few of them even opened it and walked through it without really focusing on it. No one actually stopped to wonder why someone had set a door up that way. In the second, a guy dressed up in a gorilla suit and walked the city. No one even blinked an eye.

You know, there's an incredibly easy fix for all this: the glasses. Have Fortress of Solitude Jor-El A.I. design and print a high-tech Kryptonian device that looks like a normal pair of eyeglasses. When Clark dons them, they do some high-tech Kryptonian mumbo-jumbo that messes with people's perceptions. To any looking at him, glasses-wearing Clark appears similar but visibly different enough that he's never really considered. In essence, these Kryptonian glasses become his mask. Doctor Who had a similar concept they called a "perception filter". It was designed to hide something in plain sight by influencing people to look anywhere but straight at the object.

Well, since the thread has arisen, I'd note that the old comments often referred to having such a con being a trigger for an NCSoft shut down. How about now, since we've now got the official stamp of approval? Also, taking @Doc_Scorpion's original warning seriously, @TalynDerre's "piggy-back" comment seemingly makes a lot of sense, and any coordinated get-together might need to have a video conferencing option for those unable to attend in person.

It's a minor detail, perhaps, but if one is going to utilize temporary items, then find an allied super group base or a server's public base with a Tier II or Tier III Empowerment station. If you don't have access to these, there's also a Tier III Empowerment Station in Fort Trident (enter the Freedom Corp building just east of Atlas Park City Hall). Find it in the back, top level, small side room. With an Empowerment Station, in exchange for some common salvage (white), you could gain 90 minutes of Increase Recovery at 17%. While at the same stations, you can also acquire Endurance Drain Resistance at a 20% resistance, which will really help retain endurance when going up against endurance leeches like the Clockwork or the Freaks. I often use these two to smooth out the end drain when going through the teen security level ranks. Note that with Empowerment stations there are 3 options for each benefit, each option using a different set of salvage, but only one set can be activated during the 90 minutes. Also the arcane-based Empowerment Stations use different salvage from the tech-based ones.

Okay. "I'm not the only one who didn't realize this." See the wiki article on Kurse.

New trailer. Thoughts: The dragons look pretty good, though I can't shake the feeling that they're standing in front of green screens. Weird. I get the feeling the CGI gang tweeked Toothless' details since the teaser. The rest of the effects look pretty good. Costuming is not bad. Hair department couldn't find a blond wig to match Astrid's skin tone? My big concern is the humans. So far they've not really connected with me like the animated ones did. Second concern is that, with few exceptions they seem to be doing a shot-for-shot remake of the original. Why do we need that? I'm not for changing the story, but filling in some of the details a bit more would be nice. Conclusion: so far it's not convinced me to spend my money in the theater. Rental on Amazon, I suppose, if nothing off-putting arises on any future trailer. I'm still not convinced I actually need a live action version.

I'd be down for a Columbo reference. By the way, Westbrush is a play on Eastwood, Dirty Harry's actor. I think you might have gotten it a bit muddled when typing it up. There's so many possibilities: Jo "Lolly" Kak - Bald guy with a lollipop (and I understand KAK is a gun parts manufacturer. Double the fun) Heracles Pear - a little gendarme with a waxed mustache. (the family name Poirot is apparently derived from the French for "pear") Castle - wait. No, not Castle Carnaby Bones - Barnaby Jones Dan O. Bookem E.V.E. 13 a prototype police robot - pun on Adam 12 Officers Martin Mallory and Reed McCord - Adam 12 characters Pete Malloy (actor Martin Milner), Jim Reed (actor Ken McCord) Officers Pancho Franks and Jonathan Boulanger - CHiPs characters Frank Pancherello and Jon Baker etc. I'd like to see this play out in other ways too. Could we get TV pun names on doctors and nurses hanging out in or near hospitals? Could we maybe get a Gage or a Mantooth with EMT equipment standing with the Fire Chief in the Steel Canyon fire events?

Interesting hypothesis on the asterisk in the title. Especially when sharp-eyed fans noticed the number of arms on it changed. Spoiler warning: the link speaks only in concept, but backs it up with some trailer observations regarding one character, which might end up revealing a lot.

Rotten Tomatoes score (R.T.) / Metacritic score (M.C.): Thor: The Dark World: R.T. = 67, M.C. = 54 The Marvels: R.T. = 62, M.C. = 50 Eternals: R.T. = 47, M.C. = 52 Captain America 4: R.T = 52, M.C. = 43 Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: R.T. = 46, M.C. = 48 I didn't include the D+ projects, though I'll report that the hated Secret Invasion scored R.T. = 53, M.C. = 63 which would put it between the top two in this list. So not the worst one out there, but definitely not far from it. It's pretty much tied with Eternals. EDIT: Cap 4's score adjusted to show current status as of Feb 12 @ 6:30pm EDT USA.

Sure! There's this place I heard about. Supposedly serves a mean peach tea to die for.

Responding to that specific hidden comment: One thing I've not seen is Baron Zemo. Zemo has a well-established history with the Thunderbolts, and the MCU Zemo is a very popular character. Perhaps his role would come into play in a future Thunderbolts movie. We've also not seen Bill "Goliath" Foster. His connection to Ghost is important and rumor is he will be there for her. Not sure if it is just in the role of surrogate dad or if he'll be digging out the old Goliath suit to help out.

I'm not defending the character, but scientific genius in RL doesn't necessarily mean a heightened thinking in all areas. I once heard it said that Einstein was often escorted across the street by others as his mind was so wrapped up in some computation or other that he would frequently forget to take his safety into account. (Also, pretty much every hero in that council of the Illuminati was an idiot for attacking Scarlet Witch head on and one at a time.)

I've been seeing a lot more of this of late, and its becoming a real annoyance. I'm playing one of my 50s, accept a PUG invite to a task force or trial, and once the full team is assembled, the team lead declares: "Okay, which 50 wants to lead the task force?" Bait and Switch. Sometimes there's another 50, often all eyes skim the list and find I'm the only one, and suddenly, I'm in an unwanted position. Personally, if I'd wanted to lead this task force, I'd have been the one recruiting. I've done it many, many times over the last 20 years. I've zero problems with initiating it myself...except, real life has changed and now there are certain medical conditions in my household that might require my unexpected, immediate safety intervention. I might have to step away for an extended time. Such an urgent response has less effect on the team when I'm a grunt standing outside an instance door than when I lead and the team depends on me for things like contact check-ins. I only point this out as just one behind-the-curtain example of why people don't lead teams. Reasons don't need to be spelled out. If they wanted to recruit and lead, they would have. When one joins a task force, it should be a sign that they are willing to work at the recruiter's level minus one. A TF recruiter in turn should either stick to leading or be up front in the recruitment phase with his intentions: "I'm recruiting but will be asking a higher rank to take over", or words to that effect.

For me, in game, it's all about the considerations for theft and also in regards killing and the legal system. I realize there's going to be an irony to that, as, external to the game, Batman is a vigilante but doesn't kill. Hero - in my thinking, there are actually two levels to Hero: Top Tier: I will not steal. I will not kill. Render unconscious, possibly break a few bones if absolutely necessary, but in the end, turn the guy alive over to the authorities. Second Tier: I will not steal. I will kill or permanently maim, but it is not my first choice. I only do so in one of two conditions: Immediate threat to lives and/or a threat of permanent injury Under state-sanctioned conditions, such as war Vigilante - I will steal only if deemed necessary, such as the need to resupply or the taking of evidence to be analyzed more closely in my lair. I do not take for my own pleasure, but as a means to an end goal. I will kill or permanently maim for three conditions: Immediate threat to life and or permanent safety Under state-sanctioned conditions, such as war When I believe the state of point #2 is so corrupted or paralyzed that it cannot make clear, good sanctions, resulting in an extended threat to those lives in point #1. Rogue - I will steal for my pleasure and profit. I will kill or maim if my heart doesn't intervene. It is not my real objective, so if I can accomplish goals without extreme violence, I will. If I've an employer who orders me to kill/maim, I will do so. It is on him, not me. Villain - The day I plundered and murdered your village was a rather pleasant Tuesday.

Then this is opportunity. Pedro's time to step up. Look, I agree: Pedro didn't strike me as Reed Richards either. Still doesn't. But the role that people say an actor cannot play is exactly the role many an actor dying to be a great actor craves. The one where he/she is not typecasted or otherwise pigeon-holed. Do I think he's right for the part? Not from what I know of his work, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt to see if he can show a range I'd not anticipated in him. I'll be very happy to be wrong in my initial opinion, and am hoping the director gives him enough leeway to succeed. One thing I've been wondering since the trailer and its family pitch is if Pedro demonstrated a "family man" vibe that resonated with the director and producer.

Looking at the video and there's so many questions: 1. Is there even a functional Avengers team anymore? They've done a good job disassembling them. By my count at least 7 are now dead, 8 if you include Coulson. Another handful have left for deep space or other dimensions. I can think of 5 as possibly active, none of which, with the exception of Hulk, pose anything significantly more threatening than a team of super soldiers and elite assassins. One of those is Spider-Man, whose life is so altered that I'm not sure he's even part of the team. Theoretically, they should be able to pull in some non-Avenger allies, like She-Hulk, and Black Panther 2, but they'd be in the same boat as the Thunderbolts: not functioning at a trained team level yet. 2. What on earth did they give USAgent for a shield? It looks not much better than his homemade one was. 3. What's happening with all the construction at the former Avengers/Stark Tower? I know the Thunderbolts now occupy it, but it looks like they're adding a missile silo onto it or something. 4. How on earth are the Thunderbolts supposed to stop that? They've got a specific set of skills and that ain't it. It's more Doctor Strange's turf, and he just did some dimension hopping. (Wong is where, exactly?) While I find such a mismatch intriguing, I've a fear they're going to resolve this by Picard'ing the situation and talking the villain down. That would kind of take the wind from the movie's sails. 5. The most important question: Why did Red Guardian shave his head? (and leave his beard unkempt?)

Knowing Fillion's sense of humor, he probably was on board with the bowl cut from the start. I'm puzzled by the color though. Guy's supposed to be a deep auburn. Perhaps it's just this clip but he looks more like a blonde, and if it is a strawberry-blond, they need to buy more strawberries.

No doubt the Scourge of Savile Row, it seems. 😉

Congratulations!

There's dark roots at the hair part. Not a real red head. (We natural gingers tend to notice these things. 😉 ) Using dark roots to imply dyed hair: that's a level of design sophistication I didn't previously realize AI had reached.

First off, Welcome Home! Victory is our newest server, merged in from its previous solo status. As a result, the population is still getting started. If you need to have plenty of options in the time available to play, you might wish to look into transferring to Excelsior (the most populated server) or to Everlasting (second most populated server, and the main home to the role-playing crowd). Not to knock Victory or any other server. I'm just conscious that many players do not like to spend long looking for a team to join or lead. If you've not found the transfer process yet, go to the page where you select your character, and look for the 2-arrow button in the top center-right of your screen. That will guide you through the transfer process. Please note there are a limited number of transfers available each week before the amount resets, but there should be more than enough to jump around to different servers at least once and back to Victory if you don't find a server to fit your needs otherwise. Sounds like you're already into either "blue side" (hero/vigilante) or "red side" (villain/rogue). That's good. We've got a "gold side" (Praetoria) as well, but it can be a tad complicated and confusing if you're new, so I'd suggest holding off on that for now. But not never. Praetoria has a great look and some fun storylines delving into the concept of "gray" morality. I'd also suggest holding off on archetypes Peace Bringer, Warshade (both collectively known as Keldians), Arachnos Soldier and Arachnos Widow. These were deliberately designed to be a bit more challenging, so it helps to be more familiar with the game before choosing one of these as an alternate character. You're already level 8 so you may have seen much of this already, but I like to to aid new players by posting a list of common abbreviations we use in chat : Likewise, you may benefit from a list of slash commands used in the chat box. Personally, I use "/ah" all the time (except in missions or super bases) to access the auction house without having to visit the buildings. Lastly, you may want to peruse @WuTang 's "new player" thread of a year ago, where other helpful tidbits were dropped:

Why would you want an old casket filled with dirt from the mother country?

I've not looked into that previously. I realize it is a temp power, but why would one choose that, and waste candy canes in the process, rather than buying a permanent Renewal of Light from the START vendors for only INF 1,000,000? Is the temp version perhaps on a separate timer and usable when the permanent one is on cool down?