Triad Orion

Boink-boink-boink-boink-BONK! ...Yes, I was amused by it too. That's such win! Congrats, man!

Also, this should go without saying, but horde your bloody molotovs for the finale too. You need at least two to properly deal with the tanks in the finales, no matter where you are. It's probably most important to hold a molotov from stage four of Dead Air because Dead Air is typically very mean about giving you grenade weapons in the finale. Also, prioritize killing boomers when you see them. Particularly in Dead Air, one good boomer attack can screw over your entire attempt.

Now then, have at you! *Plays Illusionary Dance* ...Couldn't resist either.

You're not. I liked IX more than the other PS1 era FFs.

No, it wasn't right after a spawn. I had been pursuing him into a corner and I know I injured him prior to him being trapped in a corner, and I'm quite confident he didn't have any body armor. And I think even if it was a spawn issue, you can't fire GE:S's Autoshotgun six times in two or three seconds. And I've been one or two shot with the Autoshotgun at that close range, which really dumbfounded me about the issue. I haven't had an issue as egregious as that since, but I've noticed that the shotguns are just unnaturally hard to hit with even at close range for me so I end up just staying away from using them if I have an alternative. *Shrugs*

Does the new patch tweak some of the hit-box issues we seem to run into? I ran into a rather ridiculous issue where I was about three yards away from a target with an autoshotgun with my foe in a corner and it took six rounds to kill him. There's no logical explanation of how I should've missed considering I was really close, using the targeting reticle, and using a bloody shotgun. For some reason, shotgun hit-detection seems pretty crappy for me. Other people seem to shoot it fine. I know I'm not great at the game, but when stuff like the above happens on a semi-regular (though less extreme) basis, it tends to be a bit of frustration. Either way, I'm looking forward to the patch. Other than the shotgun thing lately, I've still been having a blast.

Really, my biggest problem with the mod is the people who play it rather than the mod itself. There are some issues and bugs with the mod that the Dev Team's already aware of, but then you get the asses that camp spawns (especially on LtK mode) and then those who attempt to camp the body armor. Unfortunately, camping is something that cannot be meted out of GoldenEye very easily, so it's something you just have to deal with. This is why I want OCR people playing: we get players who are there to have fun, and generally won't be a cheap jerk over something. Playing with friends is always best. Mod issues that I would work on? Specifically, more spawn points for Complex. Other stages aren't quite so bad about it. Weapon sets is a good plan, as well. I wonder, is there a way you can make a set that randomizes weapons within a certain set of criteria? Like, make your starting weapon a random pistol (PP7, DD44, Silenced PP7, Silver PP7, Cougar Magnum), and then randomize the rest of the weapons on the stage? I think that'd be pretty cool. More stages is a good plan. I know Audix mentioned Bunker and another are next in the pipes. I'd like to see stages based on Depot, Dam, and Surface. Oh, and props to whoever on the DevTeam came up with ge_Citadel. That was a pretty cool map. Also, I loved the aesthetic in Egyptian. You guys really out-did yourselves for that stage. Great detail and variety in light and dark there. EDIT: To avoid double-posting, I want to say I really like Audix's "Rocking the Cradle" mix for ge_Cradle. Props, man. Probably my favorite track in the OST.

I'll grant that there are less than savory characters playing GE:S right now, in that some of them are jerks. Not much can be done there, but that Mute Players function *does* come in handy sometimes. After a second night of playing, my opinion remains solid that the mod is worth it. Garian and I played some License to Kill tonight and that was good fun, particularly the round of redundancy where the random weapon setting handed everyone Golden PP7s for the default weapon. Hilarity ensued. Still looking for more people to give it a try.

To all who read this thread: I highly recommend downloading both the OST and GoldenEye Source. GE:S is a blast to play and is really nostalgic while at the same time bringing a few new elements to the game. There is a certain old-school shooter mentality that I like and the new touches to the maps and the aesthetic in general are quite good. And props to Audix for his great work on the music. Personally, I'd like to see more of OCR on GE:S. I think we could all have a blast with that when we're not playing TF2 or L4D. It comes with a high recommendation. A few bugs are still present, but the Beta 3 is very playable and a lot of fun.

I would be surprised if they did, honestly. Valve's made a big deal about promising more content for Left 4 Dead, so I would be shocked if they had us pay for it when the idea was to add more stuff in as they went along for PC users. I think we'll likely get this update for free, and even if we don't, whatever. The mapmaking utilities they're going to release will probably allow people to remake those new Versus maps into free versions anyway. The only thing we'd end up paying for is Survival Mode, which would be stupid to charge for. They don't charge for every new variation of TF2 objective, I don't really see why they'd start with that. That being said, if they *do* charge but make the price reasonable, I'd probably still invest in it. I'm with Damned, I think if survival mode's what he describes, that would be a pretty big blast. But personally? I'm really looking forward to the mapmaker utility. If they make it relatively user friendly, we could see some great maps come out, and I wouldn't mind designing a few of my own...

Admission is the first step toward solving the problem, Jam. XDD It's been awhile since I put this game in. Mostly because my Wii stopped reading the disc for some reason. It worked fine for a long time, then it slowly became more difficult to get the game booted up. My Wii runs every other game just fine, but it's first-gen, and I haven't gotten a chance to test the disc on another Wii. Could it be the dual-layer disc issue, or do you think my Brawl Disc could be shot?

I actually received this game as a gift for the 360 and I would say that the game's much better than most of the previous Sonic 3D outings, at least since Sonic Adventure 2. The speed stages are quite brilliantly done as the sense of speed has been ratcheted up while making the levels have fewer pits. A couple of the challenge levels are a little mean about pits, but those are generally optional acts you don't have to do anyway. The speed stages are fun, fast, and are arguably the best Sonic experience in 3D yet, depending who you talk to. The Werehog stages' big drawback is their repetitiveness. As it stands everything in the werehog sections generally work, so the gameplay's not broken like some would have you believe. It just borders on the tedious at times because the stages are often long. The other problem is the game's combat isn't really complex enough. Unlike in other brawling games like God of War or Star Wars: Force Unleashed, there's little incentive to learn to use your combination attacks. Most enemies can be defeated with a flurry of strong attacks. It's pretty much up to you to make your own fun with combat, considering there is a decent variety of things to do to your enemies, like killing them in amusing ways. It's just that they're frequently less effective than Strong Attack. There's the precise platforming elements in these stages too, which work generally, but are kind of unnecessary in some areas. The thing I actually have the biggest problem with are the hubs. The NPCs, all of them, are all absolute idiots with nothing at all interesting to say. The only exceptions are Tails and Robotnik. Sometimes you're forced to talk to them to find out something you need to know. The game strongly stumbles there. The other drawback is the implementation of the Sun and Moon Medals, which serve to block access to later levels if you don't have enough (think Stars in Mario 64, only a lot less interesting.) You can generally find enough to get by if you explore and are diligent about collecting them in the first place, but you may occasionally hit walls on that you need more, forcing you to go play earlier stages again. My recommendation for dealing with this is scouring the Werehog stages for medals on your first trip through, considering they usually have a lot of them. Overall, the game is a step in the right direction. Everything in the game is functional and works reasonably well, which has confounded me why so many reviewers have rated it lower than a 5 or a 6 for that. The game may not meet the expectations of the old-school 2-D Sonic fan (I'm actually one of those, but I don't let nostalgia blind my judgment) but at least it *works* unlike past iterations. The Speed stages are the highlight as usual, and they're generally done very well. The werehog stages could've been so much more, but they fall short of memorable to simply "functional." The hubs are annoying and largely unnecessary, but they're a small part of the game. My recommendation is like the others. Rent it first. If you like it enough after that, give it a purchase. I actually am enjoying the game for the most part, so take that for what it's worth.

This. Really, the only Mana game I was strongly enthralled with was Secret of Mana. SD3 didn't do it for me at all, to be honest. Similar gameplay, but it felt significantly slowed down and was less exciting for it. I didn't like the interface as much either; the lack of an attack percentage really messed with me because I was very bad at seeing the visual cues for when my character was ready to melee again. I would love to see a modern version of Secret of Mana that keeps its fast paced nature intact with a bright and bold scheme similar to that. Oh, and though some may disagree with me on this? Give the series a more defined sense of humor, for Yggdrasil's sake! Cut down on the overly maudlin stuff; it makes what tragedy IS there more impactful. And more importantly, this. I freakin' love this game. I'd love to see it updated with more planes, stages, and weapons. It had a great health system as far as shmups went and was a blast to play.

Most of the time companies are allowed to reduce your pay and demote you at will, much like how they're able to raise or promote you at their discretion. If you're unsure, you're better off talking to someone you know in person who may know employment law. But to be honest, I don't really think you have much legal footing to stand on, unless the case involves active discrimination or what have you. It varies heavily state-to-state what does and doesn't constitute a violation in this sort of matter. Workers generally don't have a whole hell of a lot of rights when it comes to job security in the private sector, and this is a double edged sword. This obviously sucks for the little guy, but it's good for the company's business. Good for capitalism and free market, bad for people who have to actually earn a living. My sympathies to you, man.

Granted, they don't. But they put you into melee range in order to be at all effective. Though this is less of a problem in L4D, in the event of an actual zombie apocalypse, you'd be far better off just not using one. Probably better off with a blunt weapon to stagger them so you can escape.

You've just mostly described Dead Rising. Just saying. XD I dunno, I think Left 4 Dead works pretty fine the way it is. Some better beatin' weapons would be nice and I've talked with Feliks about adding a tier of weapons between the current ones, but otherwise...

To answer your question, I was there. There was a Versus Mode game, and Big Giant Circles was the tank, and Bahamut was playing as Bill. BGC punched a Forklift at Bahamut to try to incap him, but oddly the forklift bounced off the ground in such a way that a nearly-sure shot ended up veering away just enough that it looked like Bahamut dodged it or... like, used the Force or some shit. BGC's angry ranting followed. And it became the gag of the night. And week apparently. Don't you know? Green Berets have forklifts as favored enemies!

Now, I normally argue in the defense of closets, but Feliks and I came to this idea while talking yesterday. Considering you don't respawn in Versus as a survivor, why not simply lock and make invincible the closet doors? Sure, it doesn't get rid of say, bathrooms or other closet-like rooms, but the tiny spawn closets would cease being an issue. That was one idea I threw around with him and I'm not entirely opposed to it in Versus Mode. But that said, I still do think hiding in a closet and taking a total defense is a smart tactical move and a valid strategy during certain events if things are looking bad for the survivors.

I'm with Damned on this closet issue. It's a very valid strategy, and it's certainly one that would be used in real life for such a situation. It's one of the first things they teach you in combat, minimize your blind spots and concentrate fire. The closets are one of the best ways to do so, so punishing intelligence in terms of combat-savvy would be counter-intuitive. It's not an exploit, it's playing smart in this case. Also, while it may be difficult to really do much to the survivors when packed into a closet, a smart Boomer can really cause hell to a group of clustered survivors. They send more zombies their way and just keep them pinned in there longer. Then the other infected would be wise to capitalize on that much like how Damned suggested. Will they succeed? No, probably not, but at least you can do damage and harass them, and that's the point of playing Infected. No, my chief problem with playing Infected is that bloody 20 second plus respawn timer. I understand the balance it's there for and respect it entirely, it's just it's bloody aggravating to have to do nothing for that period. In Team Fortress 2 it's less of a bane because it gives you a decent cooldown period and you're on the same footing as your foe generally. In Left 4 Dead it's just really annoying to have to see that screen so much especially if you're not all that good with Infected to begin with. Unfortunately, I don't really have any better ideas what to do with that time (short of giving players control of crappy regular Infected for a short period), so this is really just blind complaining on my part. And the tank burning to death on its health bar now? THANK YOU. It always bugged me that gunfire had no bonus effect on a burning tank, especially on Expert. Though I *am* concerned that the tank might become a joke now between combined arms fire and well... fire. The thing is supposed to be terrifying, but I'm wondering just how much bite the tank has lost now. It needed that nerf on Expert something terrible, but I'm wondering about Advanced.

Neat picture there. Those kids are done, though. Done like dinner. XD Though I'm surprised that the zombies have the dexterity to climb ladders... the ones in L4D simply jump well.

We know. Actually, Miyamoto in Nintendo Power has gone on record saying the Triforce emblem is a Shinto symbol and is seen occasionally around Japan in its proper context. So in fact, the religion's use of the so called Golden Triangles has been around considerably longer. That said, I do think the developers were doing it to drive up hype, unless Shintoism has some sort of strong influence on this new game.

Debate over. Or it should be, at least. XD

Happy Birthday, man. Congrats.

A month ago? So what? Some of us didn't know when it was at all, and maybe some of us want to wish you well anyway! Happy Belated Birthday, dude.

I do believe Sephfire has won one internets.