Q&A

Certainly not for a few years yet. Once the mega-multi-core processors come on to the scene, CPU power vastly outdistances the technology speed limits for inter-chip communication, and there is overly adequate number-crunching power for everything to be done in one chip, cost effectiveness / market pressures will drive a consolodation of functions... But until those conditions are met, I believe any attempts at such a thing would be a novelty, and not too popular either. It all depends on how fast the technology develops, and how quickly operating systems are updated to enable such fundamental hardware architecture changes...

How many computers (desktops, laptops...) do you currently have, and what operating systems do you have installed on them?
(Me: 3. A Vista laptop, an XP desktop, and a really old desktop which I will be changing from XP to Linux sometime reasonably soon... just for fun ).

A. Well it depends on what you count as a computer. I have 3 rack servers running windows 2000 server, for Domain controller, webserver, and fileserver functions, another (older) machine running Linux as a databse server, and three desktops and a laptop running XP or Win2k. But there's also a HP Jetserver box which runs as a printserver. So is that eight or nine? Or ten, because I have another Linux box that's waiting for a new power supply before it comes back to life.

I'm not counting the Acorn BBC model B 8-bit machine I have (it still works!) because it's not networked with the others.

Q. Which Linux distro suits you best? I have only used Linux to run servers, as I didn't like the desktop UI, but I'm think of trying out a Linux desktop again soon.

I've lost count of how many old Spectrums I have in the loft.. :woot:
but 3 PC's and 2 lap-tops are running in the house..

Q: - isn't Linux one of the characters in the "Peanuts" cartoon strip..?? :goofy:

Wrong Linus there Blondin... :P

RE: ghastley Q,
I haven't used Linux enough to make an informed choice on an overall favorite... but for my really old machine I'm considering DSL (because of hardware limitations).

When you play RPG's, what's your favorite character name (or names) for your avatar(s)?

Finally a question I can answer.

My names are Volkan (Obviously) for male, and Tempest or Vixxen for female.

What is your favorite MMORPG? Mine is T4C. (The 4th Coming)

Sorry volkan, but I've never played an MMORPG so I don't have a favorite. My favorite FPSRPG (six letters ending in RPG :P ) is DeusEx (the first one... tried the demo of the sequel and it had a bad case of console-itis ).

Note: this is a fun thread. "I don't know" is an acceptable answer.

What's your favorite genre of PC game (other than RPG)?
(For me it would be a tie between RTS and FPS).

Well, I've already answered my own question, so...

Do you have any special plans for the holiday season?

Q: Nothing special on my list unfortunately.

A: How about others?

(Highlight to read)
Secret message:Santa Clause is not real!!!

A: I'll spend the cold times bashing the Krug!

Q: Has anyone played on the Yesterhaven map recently?

Not me...

What's the weather like where you are?
(Here we've had some significant snow and cold recently, but the next couple days are supposed to be above freezing... ).

We had about 6 inches of snow that is almost gone now.

Has anybody seen the latest Will Smith movie, I Am Legend?

A: Haven't seen it, yet..

Q: will Yesterhaven break Hyperborea or Mageworld?

I did play it a few times - way back, but Xaa's stuff is pretty precious
- due to the many, many hours I've spent playing the two games, I tend to
guard those installations quite jealously..

PS: we've had some painters round recently, doing the outside of the house
- and they accidentally broke one of my fuschia's by sticking their paint-sprayer right on top of it..!!

- boo hoo! :rip:

I don't know for sure if Yesterhaven will affect LoH or MW... but you could always set it up in a separate folder with a custom startup shortcut (directing the game to the separate resource / map path).

Have you ever fulfilled any New Year's resolutions, and are you planning on any for the coming year?
(I quit smoking many years ago, and that was after resolving to for three years in a row... :P ).

The only New Year's resolution I was able to keep was one I made about 10 years ago. The resolution to stop making New Year's resolutions as I could never keep to them. :goofy:

How many movies did you see this last year at the box office instead of waiting for dvd/premium channel distribution?

Zero.

Seen any good movies lately?

A: Oh yeah..

- "Conan The Destroyer" was on TV tonight..
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087078/
- Arnie should get the third project "Conan The King" into production,
- it could be a real treat..!!

- and "Hawk The Slayer" was on a couple of weeks ago, too
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080846/
- Jack Palance is completely mental in that one..

- great fun!
- I just love those crazy fantasy films..

Q: when's "In The Name Of The King" due out on DVD??

- simply must get that one.. :woot:

A: DVD's usually come out about 6 months after box-office release.

Q: What are you expecting from Space Siege?

I'm expecting it to be like the preview gameplay videos suggest: an upgraded Siege engine running a fast paced action RPG, with an Uber Ranged character as the avatar, a pet robot as a side-kick, plus a highly customizable set of character attributes / upgrades. Unfortunately I also expect a very linear map design (although I hope to be wrong).

Have you watched any of the gameplay preview clips for Space Siege yet? If yes, what do you think of the game's potential?

I guess I've already answered my own question...

What game(s) are you playing currently?

A: Dungeon Siege, of course! (BW version right now, testing a new character model)

Q: I've seen an Elf blog entry at the Forge that nobody else saw. I saw a Blog entry here from Blondin235 (more Charlatans stuff) that I can't see anymore. Am I hallucinating?

A: YES!!! :goofy:
(But it appears to be mass hallucination as I saw the post by Blondin235 as well.)

Q: What genre of book do you usually read?

...of a few flavours, but mainly: spy thrillers, fantasy fiction and science fiction. I like to browse the occasional cook book too.

What do you think of cheat codes / exploits within games?

Cheat codes are useful to the mod developer, so that they can make adjustments when testing things in game context. There are arguments for having a mechanism for turning the whole set on or off, which kind of makes the "on" setting a super-cheat-code, so it probably doesn't change the discussion much. But cheat codes can be tuned to their purpose, and don't really break the game, especially if they are reversible when you don't like the result.

Exploits are always things the developer didn't intend, so in my opinion they always break the game. And if they were intended, they're not really exploits. Sometimes the game author wanted you to think outside the box and do something non-standard. I can think of a few places in Diablo where you could get into a situation where you could attack with no risk of damage to yourself, but you had to set that up by luring the opponent to a specific place, or use a special weapon with the right range, and frequently the character who could do those things would have offsetting difficulties elsewhere. That kind of thing actaully enhances the gameplay.

The effect either has on the game really depends on whether you can go back and remove the effect later. If you use a cheat code to get past a really difficult part of a game, but can reload a save game and retry without the cheat once you know what you're doing, it's not a bad thing. In some games you'd never get to see the final levels if there weren't cheat codes to get you there! Some "exploits" are really part of the game as intended (RoF for example).

So the question is: do you go back and do it again without the cheat when you use one?

A: Kind of the opposite. I always play through the first time without any cheats, to get the full flavor of the game. Any consecutive run-throughs, I may or may not use a cheat, depending on my present mood. (Any cheat is inappropriate for on-line play though)

Q: Have you achieved any of the goals you set for yourself as a youth?

I only remember setting rather broad goals: work towards financial security and find someone to share and enjoy life with... I have yet to stabilize my finances (if such a thing is even possible) and I'm still looking for that special someone, so my answer would have to be "no" in that context. That doesn't mean I haven't achieved other things... just not the big picture stuff (of what my dream life was / is).

What do you want out of life? (Be as specific or general as you like).

Well, I've already answered my own question so time for another:

With the changing of the seasons, are you looking forward to anything?

There are a lot of good movies just released/soon to be released. Plan on catching a few this spring.

What are your expectations for Space Siege?

A: I don't really expect much from it. Not really my type of genre but I hope it brings money to GPG's bank account so they can put more effort into developing DS3.

Q: Do you have any allergies?

A: - I'm allergic to pine needles..
- If I brush up against any pine, I instantly break out in a rash..!!

- used to get awful hay-fever as well - not nowadays, though..

Q: what's your favorite wild flower..??

A: I would probably have to say an Orchid. Very beautiful flower.

Q: What is your favorite past-time? Not counting game-playing/modding.