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Melan

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Everything posted by Melan

  1. Nothing. All forums have weird personality conflicts and occasional flameouts; some are just better at hiding it than others (and they tend to be repressive hellholes).
  2. Depends on the forum, really. Some have positive and negative ratings, and then there is this:
  3. More seriously, I am sceptical about the market fixing things, or the customers reacting by moving on to a different product. That's Economics 101, but the real world is full of market failures, oligopolies and a whole lot of inertia. Not to mention tremendous sunk costs; private individuals and firms have invested so much effort into maintaining and being up to date on MS-based systems that it would be a herculean task to switch to an alternative, even if it existed. Most customers are either a captive audience or do not care. Other solutions are not really options for laymen. Linux has remained in the nerd ghetto (I have been hearing of the miraculous build that will take over the world since 1997), while Apple and especially Google are even more scary than MS's latest moves. And yeah, some of it will be overturned by governments and various customer protection outfits, maybe a little bit by word of mouth and the markets, too. But some of it will stick. As I see it, we are not facing some kind of monstrous, totalitarian takeover yet, but we are in a tug of war where we, private individuals are slowly but surely slipping. Business models and conduct which would have been unacceptable ten years ago are now commonplace. There is a disturbing amount of collusion between large-scale corporate interests and governments to pressure you into more and more monitored and restricted ways of using computers and the Internet. Microsoft wants you to switch to a business model that sells out your data to the highest bidder, and where you can't install programs to your heart's content. Google wants to know just a little bit too much about you. Facebook's CEO - who is also considering running for CEO of the USA - says privacy is "no longer a social norm". This is today (actually, that last one is 2010). Powerful political lobbies want to restrict your freedom to speak, act and decide in ways that are counter to their interests, and they will use their leverage with big business to harm dissenters in ways that would be illegal in political life. Open censorship through corporate means is becoming de facto everyday practice. All in the name of decency, safety, and a smooth user experience. After all, bad things only happen to bad people. Like Hitler and pewdiepie and that guy who said something bad about the political mainstream, or about more and more surveillance in our lives. Surely, he was some paranoid sicko. It is a good thing he was de-platformed, his credit line got cancelled, and he was fired from his job after an Internet shitstorm. This is tomorrow. Or was that yesterday? A comfortable straightjacket is still a straightjacket. We are losing customer rights, and ultimately freedoms we had once taken as inalienable. Because we accept "being protected" from hackers, terrorists and bad influences. That's my concern.
  4. On the lighter side-- "Bill Gates climbs through my window and places MSPaint in the Recycle Bin on my five-years-old laptop running original and not at all stolen Win 7, while I sleep peacefully", by Noemi Mondik."
  5. I still use Win7, and will continue to do so as long as possible. Paid for my copy, too. But convenience, laziness and planned obsolescence will win out in the end. Remember when Adobe Acrobat was a great, functional product even in its free version? How about Nero, for burning disks? A lot of software has become less useful, or more invasive over the years. Selling out the customer has turned from an outrage to a business model to as natural as breathing air (and you can't stop breathing air, of course). I am one of the people who liked Microsoft when it was fashionable to bash. They mostly did the right thing, and they mostly sold solid, utilitarian, well-designed products. They were a boring, safe, but reliable company. I believe this is starting to unravel, and the ad-supported business model for Win10 was one of the first major steps in a wrong direction. This seems to be the second. I want an operating system and office suite that does what I tell it to and doesn't snitch on me to advertisers, governments and who knows whom. Also, just look: Now that's evil!
  6. Remember when they let you "upgrade" to Windows 10 for "free"? (I doubt it will work exactly like that. This is the scarebait so they can backpedal and sell you on the only-half-as-scary version later. It's bargaining.)
  7. While performance is nice and good, I support the drive for ambitious design. Huzzah!
  8. Congratulations on the mission! It is very good to see new mission designers release something! My impressions: All in all, I hope to see more from you, and looking forward to what you will come up with next!
  9. Nonetheless, it is great to see fan missions receive recognition!
  10. Not surprised. As the Fourth Estate has become the most significant branch of power (especially when we account for the concentration of money and influence in the hands of a few interest groups), the temptation to introduce the modern equivalent of lèse-majesté has grown enormously. What is noteworthy is the bile and venom with which journalists have attacked the concept of free speech now that they feel like they are in power. Disappearing comment sections, going after anonymous Internet users, and shutting down debate when it goes against your wishes show that there is nothing sacred and special about the press - they are just as prone to corruption when allowed to run unchecked as any other human group.
  11. Looking very good! It is nice to see when a project like this finally comes to fruition.
  12. Thanks for your comments, Thiefette! Good to hear people are still discovering this mission. I hope to start work on PD4 this Autumn - I have been out of the loop and kinda burned out, but it should pass... eventually.
  13. It is a matter of practice. The map (if there is one) and the compass helps, but a relational map of prominent locations can also be useful.
  14. A few readables are done, but not many, and (so far) they are all tangential to the main plot.
  15. Sure. My comments are in bold red. Minimum scripting required, or extensive scripting knowledge? - lite, its a classic thief city type mission The mission should not require special scripting knowledge. Story complete? - 70% Map complete - 70% What type of area(s) is needed to finish it? (Builder church, mansion, streets, etc.) - medium-large mansion and some nooks and crannies dotted around the map. Unfurnished mansion needs to be stocked. Action mostly takes place on street level; some interiors exist, but they need to be developed and expanded. There is a street section that is a very rough draft. An underground section started to be built, but is unfinished (current story would have featured a small gambling den). All AI in place? - street patrols, mansion patrols, sewer patrols and then random Ai in the above nooks & crannies. Most AI patrols are still to be implemented. Briefing done? If not, what was envisioned? Simple? Complex? Video? - needs to be done Conversations finished and voice work submitted? - No coversations or voicework Current map size (any quantitative stats)? - TBC YUGE and beautiful The mapper should stick to the map's organic brushwork style. This is really one of the best cityscapes built for TDM, and it deserves to be done justice.
  16. Correction: I would estimate it as around 70% built.
  17. 1) Is your ambient_world set to noshadows? Could be worth checking. 2) 60 FPS is not bad performance by any standard, even if you have a powerful PC. I'd take anything above 20 as good enough.
  18. Very nice shots, refl3ks! That's putting those modules to very good use.
  19. I appreciate them, but could you upload a few screenshots for each? It would be an improvement.
  20. I don't want to find that stuff, but I use MEGA to backup my stuff, including quite a lot of game- and work-related materials. It is a legit service by an entrepreneur I trust more than I do large corporations.
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