Stars! comparison

[Erax]

Stars! had better race and planet design. The way Stars! handles planetary conditions may not be ideal (I still don't understand how a planet with too little radiation can be inhospitable to your race), but it's still miles ahead of any other game I've played.

That being said, I think SEIV has the advantage in every other area.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

i think our bodies rely on a certain minimum background radiation.

[Suicide Junkie]

There are studies that show too little radiation can increase the risk of cancer.

The graph of risk vs radiation looks like a rounded checkmark.

http://www.sciam.com/media/inline/00...41890000_2.gif
from
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?art...890000&catID=2

[oleg]

Those graphs show no error bars. It is a no go for a real, serious science. Also, there is no mentions of sampling sizes.

However, if it is indeed statistically significant, I would really like to see the theory behind !
-----

Edit - I checked the original papers and it may reaaly be a case. Hmmm...

Moderate drinking is benefitial to the health. It is a very well established fact now. But how about low-dose smoking ??? Is it possible that one or two sigarets per months can actually make you better off ?

[ October 20, 2003, 22:20: Message edited by: oleg ]

[QuarianRex]

Oleg:
As far as questioning the relevance of the graphs and such, please realize that you are not reading the published article, but merely a sound-bite type of summary.

As far as the soundness of the theory... well it has been known of and used for millenia. ancient herbal remedies often included noxious ingredients that, if used in the right amount, had the opposite effect of what you would otherwise expect. Another great example is the practice of using leeches as a curative. Leeches were not used out of ignorance, they were used because they worked, the barbers at the time just didn't know the actual reason why. Having several wounds, superficial though they may be, throws the immune system into action. To greater action that is required to counter the feeble leech attack. The now aroused immune system would then confront whatever other ailments there were (worms, sniffles, the black plague, etc.). Therefore leeching (and bleeding in general) became a general cure-all because, in some ways, it was.

This type of effect is especially apparent with chemicals. The japanese practice of eating blowfish (one of the most poisonous creatures in the world) is so dangerous not because it is hard to remove the edible part of the fish, that is quite easy, but because it is hard to leave in just the right amount of poison. If the corect amount of neurotoxin is left in then the dish provides a pleasant euphoria. The same goes with strichnine, a small enough amount can get you high. Same with nicotine. It is one of the most deadly poisons we know of (it is often used as rat poison) yet in small enough doses it can be pleasantly addictive (and atually acts as a memory enhancing drug due to its mimicry of the brains own neurotransmitters). In fact, neuologists often advise the victims of certain types of stroke to keep smoking (against their family doctors advice) since it may be the only thing that is allowing them to remember their own name. The possibility of cancer is an acceptible risk in such circumstances and can be dealt with when it comes.

[Atrocities]

For many years I longed for a game like SE IV and Stars without ever knowning what I wanted was already out. I was in the dark, clueless really about SE and Stars completely until someone turned me onto both games demos at about the same time. I instantly took a liking to both, but fell in love with SE IV. I have never really gotten into stars, but I think I haven't because I want to keep it in reserve.

I had hoped that Stars Supernova Genesis would be completed by now, but that game has langered in oblivion for over three years now.

I still have Stars and really want to play it, but after playing SEIV I find it hard to dedicate the time needed to learn Stars.

What is this Game ruining thing you spoke of?

[EvilGenius4ABetterTomorro]

You could check out Stars SG at crisium.com. Sounds cool but there hasn't been any activity or news since the summer of 2002! And Flying Squirrel Sound (does the music for the game) hasn't reordered from my company (duplicates the CD's) since January 2002. Yeah it's dead!

I found there was a little too much micro management involved in Stars. Graphically it wasn't pleasing at all. I played it for a week and went back to MOO2.

[Ruatha]

QuarianRex said:
Oleg:
As far as questioning the relevance of the graphs and such, please realize that you are not reading the published article, but merely a sound-bite type of summary.

As far as the soundness of the theory... well it has been known of and used for millenia. ancient herbal remedies often included noxious ingredients that, if used in the right amount, had the opposite effect of what you would otherwise expect. Another great example is the practice of using leeches as a curative. Leeches were not used out of ignorance, they were used because they worked, the barbers at the time just didn't know the actual reason why. Having several wounds, superficial though they may be, throws the immune system into action. To greater action that is required to counter the feeble leech attack. The now aroused immune system would then confront whatever other ailments there were (worms, sniffles, the black plague, etc.). Therefore leeching (and bleeding in general) became a general cure-all because, in some ways, it was.

This type of effect is especially apparent with chemicals. The japanese practice of eating blowfish (one of the most poisonous creatures in the world) is so dangerous not because it is hard to remove the edible part of the fish, that is quite easy, but because it is hard to leave in just the right amount of poison. If the corect amount of neurotoxin is left in then the dish provides a pleasant euphoria. The same goes with strichnine, a small enough amount can get you high. Same with nicotine. It is one of the most deadly poisons we know of (it is often used as rat poison) yet in small enough doses it can be pleasantly addictive (and atually acts as a memory enhancing drug due to its mimicry of the brains own neurotransmitters). In fact, neuologists often advise the victims of certain types of stroke to keep smoking (against their family doctors advice) since it may be the only thing that is allowing them to remember their own name. The possibility of cancer is an acceptible risk in such circumstances and can be dealt with when it comes.

Hmm, thats the biggest load of rubbish I've read in a long time, in so many, many ways.
I know several neurologists (am a doctor myself) and no-one would recommed anyone to smoke to enhance the memory!

[Renegade 13]

I think aquiring the rights and work already done would be prohibitively expensive for a company of Shrapnel's size to consider.

[Rasorow]

I have played Stars! and Space Empires IV for what seems like since the dawn of time... to me Stars! is a game of logistics... making sure you have the right materials in the right place. Transportation of Minerals plays a much larger role as they have to be at the right planet at the right time. Combat... is much simpler to me in Stars! then Space Empires IV. There is less of a need for speciality ships and less variation in design and action.

Space Empires IV assumes that all planets will automatically have all the resources they need if the Empire has the quanity of resource available. It is much more sophisticated in combat. Even requiring in some situations specialty ships to make up for the lack of general ships in certain areas (point defense comes to mind - but there are others....).

Additionally as mentioned the orders are much more sophisticated and introduces diplomacy and Intel to control combat. (at least thats my use of it)

Rasorow