I bought SEV...

[narf poit chez BOOM]

...Which threads are best for catching up on stuff?

[Romulus68]

Download the Balancemod V1.03 (http://www.captainkwok.net/balancemod.php) and SEV patch V1.25 (http://www.spaceempires.net/home/downloads-cat-36.html).

Also, SE5 is on the Play by Web options now.....Go text based when you go there.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Thanks. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Don't everybody rush to answer here... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Randallw]

Sorry, I was stunned that you only just got it.

[Atrocities]

Its a good thing to know that at least one person actually bought the game and didn't acquire it via a BT site.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

I was waiting until it was reasonably bugfixed. Didn't want to end up hating it due to too many bugs. (Threw the demo out on the same day I got it.)

[Caduceus]

I bought it at a brick and mortar store, but had to pre-order and still got a "what game?" look when I placed the order.

[Atrocities]

I love that... If it isn't an Xbox or Play Station game, the geniuses behind the counters have a mental melt down.... "ok ok... don't strain your brain.... calm down.... relax... its ok, I will just go order it from Shrapnel games.... Oh DAMN! Their an online retailer...... yes... they do sell video games on line at on line stores.... Dude?? Dude?? Oh great! Someone dial 911 his head just exploded!"

[Atrocities]

On a side note, are we interfering with Gods will when we put warning labels on things? I mean if God wanted them to not hurt or kill themselves wouldn't he have prevented it? By us placing warning labels and safety devices on such things as hair dryers, toasters, medications, and so on, haven't we altered the natures great plan; natural selection?

I say if an adult is stupid enough to take a shower with a hair dryer, drinking poison because its a pretty color of purple, or touch something that is glowing red hot then we let them..... I mean if they want to eat the nasty tasting candy in the aspirin bottle because it looks like something tasty, then who the hell are we to tell these morons no... don't eat that. Kids I can understand, they need guidance, but adults..... oh come on now... if someone has to be told that eating 10 McNasty burgers is bad for them, then why bother telling them in the first place.... that is what common sense is for. If they lack that, then I say let them play with the metal coat hanger and the live electric outlet all they want.

[Lord_Shleepy]

Hmm...having a rough day Atrocities? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Must agree though...our society is far too "sensitive" in cases when it really doesn't matter...while at the same time being completely oblivious to many real problems. They declared a crisis at my job the other day and called in a "counseling team" because one of my co-workers was killed in a car wreck. I'm sure his family would have got more good out of the money spent than the one or two emotionally fragile individuals that had to turn to strangers in order to come to grips with the situation.

[Atrocities]

You make a very good point Lord, our society is far to sensitive to the needs of morons and idiots.

On a sad note, I lost my sister and my brothers best friend to a car accident. That horrible happenstance effected a great many people. You luckier than you know to have an employer who cares enough about the welfare of its employees to offer them such a benefit. Loosing someone you know so abruptly has many unforeseen consequences. Often the strong will break and the weak will step up.

Now when a moron kicks off, much like a bug that flies into the warm glow of a bug zapper, its more an amusement than a tragedy. Nevertheless, we joke, but if that moron was someone we cared about, then perhaps his passing would affect us more profoundly than it would others. I guess we all have a special moron in our lives that we would all miss if something stupid were to happen to him. So in retrospect, I guess it is important to warn idiots about the perils of drinking gasoline because it smells good to them.

[Renegade 13]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss Atrocities http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif That really sucks.

However, the real reason they have warning labels, etc on such mundane things as toasters is because A) the companies that make those items are too afraid of being sued, which unfortunately is a legitimate concern in today's world of "I was an idiot so I'll sue you...and probably win", and B) even if people didn't seriously injure themselves (which is a definite possibility, considering just how stupid people can be), there will still be medical expenses when people *are* stupid, and that will cost society as a whole a lot more than a warning label http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Beck]

The real problem is that idiots and morons won't/can't read warning labels. What sort of label will work with someone that has the brain power to think that lifting an operating lawn mower to trim a hedge is a good idea. Two morons + one operating lawn mower = 16 missing fingers. Of course they won their case. This sort of silliness isn't going to end soon since lawyers make the laws in Congress and they make a lot of money "protecting" idiots and morons. Make a product idiot-proof and they'll simply make a better idiot.

[Atrocities]

That is a good point Beck. If the label cannot be read, ie its not in Spanish or Russian, can the companies then be sued because they failed to warn people in their own language not to try and dry their hair in the shower while taking a shower?

On a side note, it won't be long before some arsehole tries to sue a game company because their kid enacted or tried something at home that they saw on a video game. They will blame the game for the act of their child instead of taking responsibility for the act themselves. After all its better to leave your kids alone to play games, watch tv, and listen to rap, that way when they do something bad based upon those exposures, they can sue. Oh of course its never their fault for leaving their kids unattended, for not turning off the TV, or taking away the cellphone, the Xbox, or insisting on moral behavior and self respect. Oh no, its never the parents fault for what their kids do, its always someone else who is to blame.

[aegisx]

hrm.. hope no kids try to conquer the galaxy....malfador could be in some legal trouble.

[Baron Grazic]

Atrocities said:
On a side note, it won't be long before some arsehole tries to sue a game company because their kid enacted or tried something at home that they saw on a video game. They will blame the game for the act of their child instead of taking responsibility for the act themselves.



And pretty soon they will have scientific 'evidence' to back them up - http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=42942&eid=1&edate=20061201

Surely these Medical researchers could be spending there time better on on Cancer research or some such advancement of medicine.

[Atrocities]

aegisx said:
hrm.. hope no kids try to conquer the galaxy....malfador could be in some legal trouble.



R O T F L M A O - You get a 5 star laugh award for this one! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Suicide Junkie]

Baron Grazic said:
And pretty soon they will have scientific 'evidence' to back them up - http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=42942&eid=1&edate=20061201

Surely these Medical researchers could be spending there time better on on Cancer research or some such advancement of medicine.

Alternatively, think about how good it is that these particular ones AREN'T doing cancer research.

[capnq]

Atrocities said: On a side note, it won't be long before some arsehole tries to sue a game company because their kid enacted or tried something at home that they saw on a video game.

I could swear this has already happened, repeatedly, but I'm probably just thinking of criminal cases where that "logic" was used by the defense. Don't recall any cases where that argument worked, fortunately.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Somewhere, I've got some links to a couple of studies that say that not only are lawsuits only 5% of the court cases, awards and chances of an award are declining, on average - And that juries are less likely than judges to give either.

I don't know how accurate either are; I havn't had time to look them over.

[capnq]

aegisx said: hrm.. hope no kids try to conquer the galaxy....malfador could be in some legal trouble.

Depends...if the kid succeeds, he'll be positioned to change the laws and let Malfador off the hook.

[Baron Munchausen]

Atrocities said:
That is a good point Beck. If the label cannot be read, ie its not in Spanish or Russian, can the companies then be sued because they failed to warn people in their own language not to try and dry their hair in the shower while taking a shower?

On a side note, it won't be long before some arsehole tries to sue a game company because their kid enacted or tried something at home that they saw on a video game. They will blame the game for the act of their child instead of taking responsibility for the act themselves. After all its better to leave your kids alone to play games, watch tv, and listen to rap, that way when they do something bad based upon those exposures, they can sue. Oh of course its never their fault for leaving their kids unattended, for not turning off the TV, or taking away the cellphone, the Xbox, or insisting on moral behavior and self respect. Oh no, its never the parents fault for what their kids do, its always someone else who is to blame.



It's already happened. Several times.

http://videogames.yahoo.com/newsarticle?eid=360025&page=0
Rockstar parent Take-Two Interactive, Sony, Wal-Mart, and GameStop are blamed for the murder of three policemen by a teenage car thief.
(Yes, they are suing the retail store as well as the game developer!)
Last winter, a multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed in Alabama against the makers and marketers of Grand Theft Auto, claiming that months of playing the game led a teenager to go on a rampage and kill three men, two of them police officers.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/sep/25/video-game-maker-blamed-04-killing/
Video-game maker blamed in '04 killing
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed today against Cody Posey and the makers of "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," alleging that the video game trained the southern New Mexico teen to gun down three members of his family.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_24_15/ai_54968253
The Violent World of Video Games
(from 1999, as Michael Carneal staged his school attack in 1997)
The lawsuit filed by Breen in April is starting to wend its way through the courts. "Michael Carneal clipped off nine shots in about a 10-second period" says Breen. "Eight of those shots were hits. Three were head and neck shots and were kills. That is way beyond the military standard for expert marksmanship. This was a kid who had never fired a pistol in his life, but because of his obsession with computer games had turned himself into an expert marksman."

* All of this from a quick Google. Serious research would probably turn up many more. An Attorney named Jack Thompson seems to be particularly active. Googling on his name might turn up more information.

[Atrocities]

Oh for the love of God give me a break... its time we kill all he lawyers. (Say for those who play SE IV and games from shrapnel games)

[se5a]

that third one sounds unbelevable, you can't tell me that you can be an expert marksman with a handgun by only playing computer games. it's stupid, if you think that, then you've never ever fired a real gun in your life.

[Renegade 13]

se5a said:
that third one sounds unbelevable, you can't tell me that you can be an expert marksman with a handgun by only playing computer games. it's stupid, if you think that, then you've never ever fired a real gun in your life.

I 100% agree. Some kid who's never fired a gun in their life, will not be able to do that. The recoil alone has to be experienced several times before it can adequately be compensated for, especially for a large caliber hand-gun. A smaller caliber handgun, such as a .22 (about the smallest caliber hand-gun that's made) would have much less recoil, but still would be plenty to throw off the aim of someone who's never fired a gun before.

[Phoenix-D]

Yeah. For a little perspective, one of my biology classes involved firing a bolt-action .22 tranq gun and a net gun powered by a .303 or so.

Now, we had several game players there. Most of them MISSED with the net gun, despite the fact that the thing spreads the net over five feet or so! Even with the .22, at less than 10 yards, the best most could do was hitting the target. Forget about bulls-eyes or any sort of precision.

[Atrocities]

Good old 303 Lee Enfields. Gotta love those British rifles. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I can remember being shot and killed while playing HL2 on line. I remember shooting the SOB in the head with my SR but he didn't die.... instead he shot me from the other side of the map with a pistol and bang, I was out of the game.

I would like to see him try that in RL. I guarantee you it wouldn't go down like it did in the game.

[Baron Grazic]

Phoenix-D - sounds like your school lessons were more exciting than the crap I had to put up with. Mind you in pottery, I majored in 500 and poker.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Some parents never want to believe that 'their precious little angels' could ever do anything bad.

I had a principle like that in elementary.

She wasn't a bad person at all, but because of her...

...Let's just say I still hate her and that school.

[frightlever]

Atrocities said:
I guess we all have a special moron in our lives that we would all miss if something stupid were to happen to him.



I love you too.

[President_Elect_Shang]

frightlever said:

Atrocities said:
I guess we all have a special moron in our lives that we would all miss if something stupid were to happen to him.



I love you too.



http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[AminMaalouf]

narf poit chez BOOM said:
...Which threads are best for catching up on stuff?



See mod section: "Dark UI Mod".

[Spectarofdeath]

If I ever go on a rampage, please blame it on barney the purple dinosaur. He's sitting on my shoulder telling me "kill all those mfers KILL THEM ALL NOW!!!" And what big birds telling me can't be repeated it's so graphic. Anybody with half a brain knows you can't NEVER fire a gun and play some games and then all of the sudden, your a marksman. The sheer fact of having never fired the gun, he's probably not going to know how to aim the thing, he'd be looking for the auto target button.

[Possum]

It's not just the recoil, it's the noise. The report actually has more to do with flinch. And yes, I am a shooter IRL.

As far as that "study", OMG what bull**** science.



The groups didn't differ in accuracy or reaction time, but those who played the violent game showed more activity (brightly colored scans) in the amygdala. That is an area of the brain connected with emotional arousal.




And that proves exactly what? Hello? Just how does activity in the amygdala translate to violent realworld behavior? Obviously, it does not, which is why there's no stated conclusion, only the cleverly implied one...




Dr. Vincent Mathews, an Indiana University radiology professor who led the study, said..."During tasks requiring concentration and processing of emotional stimuli, the adolescents who had played the violent video game showed distinct differences in brain activation than the adolescents who played an equally exciting and fun - but nonviolent - game,"




Oh, so "exciting" and "fun" are now scientific terms? Pray tell, just how were these properties quantified, measured, and compared, to determine that the non-violent games were "equally exciting and fun" ? And just how does being a radiologist (ffs!) qualify the good doctor for this study?

Furthermore, at no point are the terms "violent" and "non-violent" defined for purposes of this study. Is Madden Football non-violent? Hell, no. Is NASCAR racing non-violent? Tell it to the ghost of Dale Earnhardt!

This whole thing reeks of Jack Thompson-style bull****.