Tali'Thread vas Clan Zorah nar BSN 6.0

[Vol]

I have half of one and some of the other, it will have to do.

[SciFlyBoy]

That's the idea! Couple people all within distance of it, and it's relatively cheap to stay for a while in the cooler months. I'm tempted to just book tickets now and be bold and reckless, because man, fuck being financially responsible all the goddamn time at my age.

I hear when you're trapped in the desert with a canteen full of water to not save and ration it, but to drink it all up. Many people perished with canteens full of water. Maybe there's a lesson there. If you have the means to spend it now, then perhaps now's the best time?

[The Dragon's Triangle]

Are you sure it's the wrong account? Ohohoho, I'm magic.

...well that's not disconcerting at all...

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxVewjwwhog

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36YFQTFzZwU

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUV53Nn3PhA

[Raga]

Oh I do suck at this combat style, but I'm still getting through my PotD run. Just finished reclaiming Caed Nua, otherwise cleared out everything before Defiance Bay. I cannot keep the systems straight at all. Will, Resolve, Deflection, Reflex, Dexterity, Might, it's all a blur of labels and numbers and I'm still winning somehow with basic tactics. It feels like I should be doing more, acting smarter. The ghost packs in Caed Nua, for example. Wiped me out first try. Second try, made everyone eat that Constitution buff food from the inn, had Eder chug a DR potion, used a scroll to cut the fucking debuffs in half, then spammed buffs, healing, and damage, and it sorta worked out by attrition. Wasn't paying attention to effectiveness of attacks or counterplay at all. So does it matter then?

They really *really* want you to use crowd control spells for one. And party formations matter too. There were some fights were the only way I could prevent a given mob from killing Aloth or Durance (who they target by default) is to form a human wall around them in a corner and turn friendly AI completely off. They want you to use specific spells/items to counter specific abilities of specific enemies (like IE games did, say Negative Plane Projection against Level Drain ability of vampires, or Helm of Charm Protection against succubus), but they completely hamstring your ability to do that by 1) Not giving you stats on your enemies until you've killed like 10 of them, 2) making scouting ahead pointless because you can't cast appropriate buffs before fights, and 3) being so paranoid about preventing rest spamming that they make you really, really stingy with your spells on mobs because you are afraid there's a dragon around the next corner.

The core abilities are also exceedingly ambiguous. Like, WTF does Resolve do?? Why would anybody just know that? Well, among other things, it's the main component determining your concentration score. Meanwhile, Might is a major component in damage for spellcasters as well as warriors. Um, what?? A basic rundown of what the abilities do: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Attributes For conversation purposes, Resolve, Perception, and Intellect consistently matter the most. Perception mattered most to me with combat because it's a main determinant of chance to hit (accuracy). I never had Might or Con higher than like 14 (sometimes a bit higher with racial bonuses).

The game also has severe balance problems. The difficulty of any given fight tends to be tied to nothing as well. The hardest fight in the game for instance is something you can do when you are like 20% in. Meanwhile the final boss is just a cakewalk.

I liked Pillars but it's combat is like 6.5 out of 10 compared to the old IE games.

[Vol]

Having spent all day working in the sun, I'm entirely ready for the autumn. Going to be high 80's next two days too.

I hear when you're trapped in the desert with a canteen full of water to not save and ration it, but to drink it all up. Many people perished with canteens full of water. Maybe there's a lesson there. If you have the means to spend it now, then perhaps now's the best time?

That's a more metaphorical way of saying what I intended to, so let's go with that, yes.

...well that's not disconcerting at all...

Same IP, so it was effectively a toggle, and only because you (indirectly) asked.

They really *really* want you to use crowd control spells for one. And party formations matter too. There were some fights were the only way I could prevent a given mob from killing Aloth or Durance (who they target by default) is to form a human wall around them in a corner and turn friendly AI completely off. They want you to use specific spells/items to counter specific abilities of specific enemies (like IE games did, say Negative Plane Projection against Level Drain ability of vampires, or Helm of Charm Protection against succubus), but they completely hamstring your ability to do that by 1) Not giving you stats on your enemies until you've killed like 10 of them, 2) making scouting ahead pointless because you can't cast appropriate buffs before fights, and 3) being so paranoid about preventing rest spamming that they make you really, really stingy with your spells on mobs because you are afraid there's a dragon around the next corner.
*snip*
The game also has severe balance problems. The difficulty of any given fight tends to be tied to nothing as well. The hardest fight in the game for instance is something you can do when you are like 20% in. Meanwhile the final boss is just a cakewalk. .

My instinct is to use CC, debuff/buff, tank up front, melee on the wings behind, squishies in back, coming out of my MMO tradition.

But yes, that's all largely true. No ability to prepare for specific fights, when often enough, a fight has something that absolutely must be accounted for. Like the Caed Nua ghosts and some medley of confusion/daze they were chaining on Eder and then everyone else. So I go looking through my craftables, and I cannot make anything to directly deal with it, only reduce duration. Then I go through Durance's dozens of spells, nothing directly useful. So in the end, create a bottleneck with Eder and Bardman to sit there and block the spooky ghosts while everyone else spams their best damage. It worked, but it didn't feel like victory.

I like the idea of scouting, getting the layout, finding monsters, traps. Pillars 2 brings in reverse pickpocketing, so, fun times ahead there, which was really what was lacking.

I believe the hardest fight I had on my first runthrough (Hard) was...I want to say Concelhaut, but I think I did that in 3. And I talked my way out of the dragon fights. White March was a streamroll past the fortress. So yeah, it was probably one of the early fights where you don't have the tools to react properly.

[SciFlyBoy]

I'm an idiot. I tried out Play Station's two day PSN Live trial on Sunday at noon, then realized I'm not going to have any time to play it the next 48 hours. Ugh!

[Dragaros]

R. A. Salvatore is writing a new Drizzt Do'Urden trilogy, with the first book coming out sometime this September. Seems like it will flesh out how Drizzt's dad Zaknafein befriended Jarlaxle in the past, and in the present Zaknafein is somehow reunited with his son while the spider goddess of chaos Lolth unleashes demons on the surface world for some evil plan.

Back in the day, I started Salvatore's book series set in the Forgotten Realms, and continued to follow it as new books were released, but Drizzt Do'Urden is a dull as fuck character in my humble opinion. He can write characters like Artemis Entreri, Jarlaxle Baenre, and Gromph Baenre excellently, but his Drizzt just bores me to tears. Almost everyone around him is more interesting and compelling than he is. And on top of that, Drizzt also reaches mary sue/gary stu levels multiple times, and his plot armor is ridiculous. A lot of his victories and accomplishments don't feel earned. Salvatore can write engaging and interesting villains, anti-villains, and anti-heroes, but a classic good guy of the Romantic Hero literary archetype is just not his strength. Following the adventures and character growth of Artemis Entreri, Jarlaxle Baenre, and Gromph Baenre is what's kept me engaged, not the main protagonist.

[Dragaros]

Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom: Blue Episode 1 VR Experience Now Available

https://www.oculus.com/experiences/go/1599089200204462/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxrv3PA7vl4















Blue, give Rexy her space. She remembers what raptor tastes like.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUik9-2ygS8

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPA3QTfwBr4

[SciFlyBoy]

The Boy Scouts of America is officially changing it's name to Scouts BSA as it now accepts girls into it's program. If I have a girl (I so want one or more one day) I want her to be in it so bad. I'm really excited for this. As an Eagle Scout myself I really support this new change. Yes!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/with- ... ar-AAwCUoA

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP6zEprq1zs

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaW0tYpxyp0

[Raga]

*Drizzt stuff*

I used to love these books in high school, but I just can't go anymore. I've tried to make myself keep reading them but it's really a push every time I try one. For one, Salvatore is just not that good of a writer and I mean that in terms of like sentence construction and actual "art" of writing. His writing is just so clunky and always has been that's it's distracting. Also, I can only deal with "The Companions of the Hall are all dead so Drizzt can move on with his 1000 year long life! Wait, people hate this... Nevermind!" about five times before it just gets ridiculous.

[Raga]

@Vol

I forgot about Concelhaut largely because I get why he's so strong. The one I'm talking about is Raedric fight #1 which is just ridiculous. It comes complete with a stupid dialog sequence that forces you to be surrounded as well. The second fight with him is only slightly less ridiculous.

[Raga]

Eh, Sorry for the post spam but I thought this was sad but also cool.

Traditional jobs that are almost extinct: https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/ ... bs/559382/

[Vol]

@Vol

I forgot about Concelhaut largely because I get why he's so strong. The one I'm talking about is Raedric fight #1 which is just ridiculous. It comes complete with a stupid dialog sequence that forces you to be surrounded as well. The second fight with him is only slightly less ridiculous.

I've never actually done the Raedric fight, because I left him on the throne. In part, because his posse look nasty, in part because I've played my characters are fairly consistent about respecting sovereignty, and in part because his cousin fucked with me.

[Grand Admiral Cheesecake]

The Boy Scouts of America is officially changing it's name to Scouts BSA as it now accepts girls into it's program. If I have a girl (I so want one or more one day) I want her to be in it so bad. I'm really excited for this. As an Eagle Scout myself I really support this new change. Yes!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/with- ... ar-AAwCUoA

Are the Girl Scouts doing the same thing? And if so why not just merge the organizations if people really want this shit?

[TheodoricFriede]

And they thought they had trouble with Boy Scouts sneaking into Girl Scout tents during summer camps before?

I hope they start giving out "How to use a condom" badges.

[Mazder]

The Boy Scouts of America is officially changing it's name to Scouts BSA as it now accepts girls into it's program. If I have a girl (I so want one or more one day) I want her to be in it so bad. I'm really excited for this. As an Eagle Scout myself I really support this new change. Yes!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/with- ... ar-AAwCUoA

Are the Girl Scouts doing the same thing? And if so why not just merge the organizations if people really want this shit?

According to the article no.

So it's yet another "The men's only one has to change to include more girls, even though it'd be more sensible to merge the two, or have them both do the same it's gotta be the boys that change!"

Urgh this is once more another stupid change for the sake of pleasing a bunch of soccer moms because little suzy doesn't want to play housewife as her mother wants her to so she's gotta get the boys to take her in and then change what the boys club is allowed to do because of health and safety and inclusion and wah wah wah.
Put them all in one group called "The Scouts of America" and be done with all this needless posturing over girls wanting to do the non-feminine railroaded activities.

And they thought they had trouble with Boy Scouts sneaking into Girl Scout tents during summer camps before?

I hope they start giving out "How to use a condom" badges.

It's gonna make the scout salute also have a whole different meaning.

Scouts honour? More like Scouts-On-Her, AMIRITE?!?!?!
Sorry I am just done with this kind of horseshit changes and I just got up to find this shit out.

[Raga]

They did it because membership was wavering. They want girls to bolster their ranks. The Girl Scouts of America actually had a pretty mixed reaction to it: some approval, some resentment they were trying to poach members.

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntksQKuM7kk

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMN3rKxg_Pw

[Mazder]

They did it because membership was wavering. They want girls to bolster their ranks. The Girl Scouts of America actually had a pretty mixed reaction to it: some approval, some resentment they were trying to poach members.

I still say fold the two together, that way everyone is the same.

[Vol]

Boy I sure love going from 50 degree weather right up to 90 in one week, and then working outside 4 days in a row. Fuck any temperature over 80, unless it's a spa.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pZbgiBzYLE

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkJvVTelOqg

[Rune]

-

[SciFlyBoy]

...Ms. ___'s Snail Maid video....

That was rather cute. Music was neat. Thanks for sharing.

[Azint]

http://www.didthanoskill.me/

Thank you, Grimace.

[Raga]

Boy I sure love going from 50 degree weather right up to 90 in one week, and then working outside 4 days in a row. Fuck any temperature over 80, unless it's a spa.

Yea, I was actually succeeding in getting a lot more yard work done this year than I normally do and found it weird that I was mostly okay with it for once. Then I noticed that it's been unseasonably cool and not like 80+ in early April and thus working outside wasn't completely miserable. But the mosquitoes and heat got started in the last couple of weeks so it's back to yard work levels that will keep the HOA (which is pretty chill in my neighborhood) off my back and no more.

[SciFlyBoy]

Planted spinach,kale and other kale in an egg carton two weeks ago and they sprouted up a few days after. Since then they've been sitting at about a four inch length with the two proto-leaves each...and doing nothing else. I'll water them and keep them moist, but I thought after a week and a half they'd be doing more than just siting there. Should I feed them? Does anyone know anything about starting seedlings? I feel I shouldn't transplant them outside until they start having real leaves.

[TTTX]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvX2bdFewMM

[Vol]

Alright, so I fought Raedric properly. Took two shots, but it went well. Stacked as many food buffs and potions as I had, Eder and a paladin NPC I hired up front, then nuked from the back real hard. Ray of fire on Aloth is what saved it, since Eder was getting gangbanged by most of the enemies at once, and RoF was frying them. Really does make the game so much easier to play a cipher and get a second tank soon as you get to Gilded Vale.

[Rune]

-

[Dragaros]

Boy I sure love going from 50 degree weather right up to 90 in one week, and then working outside 4 days in a row. Fuck any temperature over 80, unless it's a spa.

The warmer weather has been nice where I am, but the pollen has been a bitch. I don't even have pollen allergies, but there's so much of it everywhere its like a suffocating cloud of miasma. Its like the flowers are in overtime to make up for the extra long winter this year.

[Dragaros]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v3v__fKuzM

[Vol]

Around 85 degrees, that's when I notice a marked decline in cognitive abilities and constant discomfort. I get dumb and angry, which is an interesting effect. Pollen though, doesn't phase me. It's actually made the house exterior we just painted look like shit, so much has come down, but I breath clear. Which is funny, because my brother is crippled by the stuff, and it clogs up my mother and father to varying degrees.

[Vol]

@Rune: What is the context of that image? You're a dev? You got a thing only for devs?

[Rune]

-

[Someone With Mass]

When it's 22 C outside or inside (you do the conversion if you want to know what that is in Fahrenheit), I think it's perfect. Not that obnoxious kind hot which makes you want to rip your own skin off to get cooler, but also not chilly. When it gets closer to 28, it's slightly discomforting. When it goes up to a level close to my own body temperature...well fuck that, I'm staying in the shadows for the sake of my own sanity.

[Mazder]

Right now it's 23C here (73-ish F) and is bloody lovely.

[Someone With Mass]

Tfw you've been rendering something for almost three hours and notice something that's slightly off in the preview, but you don't want those hours to go to waste and choose to sit through the entire thing as you start to notice even more flaws. For me, it's too much exposure mixed with a lack of shadows in a part of the image. Have no idea how I should fix that, but it's there.

Edit: Eleven hours later when the renderer had reached its target quality, but didn't stop, I decided to give my computer a break.



Ugh, those troubled parts are going to bother me a lot.

[Raga]

Alright, so I fought Raedric properly. Took two shots, but it went well. Stacked as many food buffs and potions as I had, Eder and a paladin NPC I hired up front, then nuked from the back real hard. Ray of fire on Aloth is what saved it, since Eder was getting gangbanged by most of the enemies at once, and RoF was frying them. Really does make the game so much easier to play a cipher and get a second tank soon as you get to Gilded Vale.

I usually pull back and use that hallway over to the left as a bottleneck.