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Someone save me I am currently 16 hours into an 18 hour shift at work today :help:
Preview of life as an intern I guess :eek:
 
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Anybody play Fallout 4 yet? I loved New Vegas and I thought it was, dare I say, better than Skyrim (@efle ;)).
 
ZedsDed said:
Anybody play Fallout 4 yet? I loved New Vegas and I thought it was, dare I say, better than Skyrim (@efle ;)).
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Just took my bro to pick up his copy. I'll be playing it tomorrow. I have never played Fallout tho.
 
ZedsDed said:
Anybody play Fallout 4 yet? I loved New Vegas and I thought it was, dare I say, better than Skyrim (@efle ;)).
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The Buff OP said:
Just took my bro to pick up his copy. I'll be playing it tomorrow. I have never played Fallout tho.
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Two tips:
1) Take your time. Immerse yourself in the world and explore.
2) NEVER load a previous save because you regret betraying that one character or whatever. The game is so much more fun when your choices actually carry consequences.
 
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I grew up with a lot more fantasy than scifi (mostly b/cus D&D) so I've always found the Elder Scrolls >> Fallout, the nature environments and atmosphere are much better than the wasteland setting for me. Same with Bioware games, I loved Mass Effect but Dragon Age beat it out by a mile for me

Fallout does have much better combat though
 
efle said:
Fallout does have much better combat though
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Bro, those ****ing maxed-out enemies in oblivion that took like 1000 slashes to kill...:mad: lol

A headshot is much cleaner

Honestly though, sometimes fantasy asks me to suspend my disbelief a little too much. I couldn't help but giggle a little ever time I interacted with one of those khajiit cat-people in Skyrim.
 
At least in oblivion you could custom craft spells to keep mages relevant in lategame high difficulty setting. In skyrim the only viable options were stealth or heavy armored melee

My bet is ESVI is set in Elseweyr/Black Marsh so cat and lizard people galore
 
ZedsDed said:
Anybody play Fallout 4 yet? I loved New Vegas and I thought it was, dare I say, better than Skyrim (@efle ;)).
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New Vegas was fun...but not enough that I finished it out, or went back to it once I got out of it.
Skyrim ftw!
 
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mehc012 said:
New Vegas was fun...but not enough that I finished it out, or went back to it once I got out of it.
Skyrim ftw!
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Nerdy rant ahead:

Story is super important to me when I play RPGs. The philosophical nuances between Mr. House, Caesar's Legion, and the rest of them kept me engrossed. By comparison, the struggles of lizard people in Tamriel were kind of meh. But I agree with efle that the natural environments of Skyrim were badass.
 
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ZedsDed said:
Nerdy rant ahead:

Story is super important to me when I play RPGs. The philosophical nuances between Mr. House, Caesar's Legion, and the rest of them kept me engrossed. By comparison, the struggles of lizard people in Tamriel were kind of meh. But I agree with efle that the natural environments of Skyrim were badass.
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Story is definitely important to me too, but on a much more individual level. Every Skyrim character I have (definitely more than one!) has a complicated backstory in my mind, even if I didn't sit down and try to come up with one, and their choices are definitely guided by that. Some of them are sh¡tbags, some of them are just normal people, some are motivated by revenge, some are trying to be heros. I like that most of the choices are moral grey areas, not cut-and-dry: BOTH sides of the civil war are misguided, the thieves are doing good in the world, both halves of every conflict are bigoted in some way, etc.

In FNV, I felt like everything was too dictated. My character had a specific backstory, the Legion were too terrible to abide by in the first encounter, you go here, then here, then here. I couldn't really come up with a personality to it; just felt like I was trying to game the system the whole way through. I wasn't building a story; I was playing one out, and suddenly, my choices became less about what made sense for my character and more about which was the 'right' answer.
 
The story appeal for Elder Scrolls is in the universe/lore rather than the quests. Vault back stories are interesting but not like the whole fleshed out religions and races and histories of Tamriel
 
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efle said:
The story appeal for Elder Scrolls is in the universe/lore rather than the quests. Vault back stories are interesting but not like the whole fleshed out religions and races and histories of Tamriel
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Yeah, the lore is cool and all, but I personally am much more enthralled by the drama of human interactions. Give me a strong character-driven plot over an extensive universe any day.
 
ZedsDed said:
Yeah, the lore is cool and all, but I personally am much more enthralled by the drama of human interactions. Give me a strong character-driven plot over an extensive universe any day.
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Eh, I prefer film and books for watching characters interact. Vidya games is to get immersed into a fantasy world
 
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mehc012 said:
Story is definitely important to me too, but on a much more individual level. Every Skyrim character I have (definitely more than one!) has a complicated backstory in my mind, even if I didn't sit down and try to come up with one, and their choices are definitely guided by that. Some of them are sh¡tbags, some of them are just normal people, some are motivated by revenge, some are trying to be heros. I like that most of the choices are moral grey areas, not cut-and-dry: BOTH sides of the civil war are misguided, the thieves are doing good in the world, both halves of every conflict are bigoted in some way, etc.

In FNV, I felt like everything was too dictated. My character had a specific backstory, the Legion were too terrible to abide by in the first encounter, you go here, then here, then here. I couldn't really come up with a personality to it; just felt like I was trying to game the system the whole way through. I wasn't building a story; I was playing one out, and suddenly, my choices became less about what made sense for my character and more about which was the 'right' answer.
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Hmm, well that's certainly not the experience I had. Since you never finished the game, I'm going to assume you don't really care about spoilers.



SPOILERS​



IIRC, in my first play through:
1) I was a morally-ambiguous highway robber who stole from (and sometimes killed) merchants traveling the wasteland.
2) I worked for Mr. House, purely for the money, until I decided that taking over his empire better suited my needs. So, I snuck into his little cryo-chamber and put a bullet in him.
3) I was forced to work for the legion (I was a sociopath, not a psychopath) for a while, until I managed to stealthily kill Caesar in the middle of a brain surgery with his Legion non-the-wiser. Unfortunately his 2nd in command was basically a serial killer, so that backfired.
4) Eventually I beat the legion and used Mr. House's robots to turn on the NCR (long-story short, I bailed on the legion and joined the NCR.) I told them to surrender... they didn't. So in the end I was basically the last man standing.

Not to mention the countless side quests and what-not. In reality there are really only like 6 major endings, but you get the point.
 
efle said:
Eh, I prefer film and books for watching characters interact. Vidya games is to get immersed into a fantasy world
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But... you immerse yourself in the world as a character that interacts with other characters. Moral ambiguity is so much more delicious when you actually get to wield it against fully-fleshed out personalities:cool:
 
ZedsDed said:
But... you immerse yourself in the world as a character that interacts with other characters. Moral ambiguity is so much more delicious when you actually get to wield it against fully-fleshed out personalities:cool:
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I felt the characters in Skyrim were well fleshed-out...actually moreso than Fallout.

ZedsDed said:
Hmm, well that's certainly not the experience I had. Since you never finished the game, I'm going to assume you don't really care about spoilers.



SPOILERS​



IIRC, in my first play through:
1) I was a morally-ambiguous highway robber who stole from (and sometimes killed) merchants traveling the wasteland.
2) I worked for Mr. House, purely for the money, until I decided that taking over his empire better suited my needs. So, I snuck into his little cryo-chamber and put a bullet in him.
3) I was forced to work for the legion (I was a sociopath, not a psychopath) for a while, until I managed to stealthily kill Caesar in the middle of a brain surgery with his Legion non-the-wiser. Unfortunately his 2nd in command was basically a serial killer, so that backfired.
4) Eventually I beat the legion and used Mr. House's robots to turn on the NCR (long-story short, I bailed on the legion and joined the NCR.) I told them to surrender... they didn't. So in the end I was basically the last man standing.

Not to mention the countless side quests and what-not. In reality there are really only like 6 major endings, but you get the point.
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I slaughtered the **** outta the Legion when I first ran into them, because they were terrible. It was super hard because it was early in the game and I was weak (and didn't know about the slomo thing), but I kept hiding in abandoned houses and fleeing in panic, firing wildly, until they ran out of dudes to throw at me. For the rest of the game I had to wear their uniform whenever I was out of town because otherwise I'd be hunted down by their ridiculously overpowered assassins...totes worth it, they were @ssholes. Plus, once I figured out what was going on I could set traps for Legion elites, change my uniform, and get their awesome equipment!

I dunno, basically I was interested until the Mr. House thing made me have to start choosing sides when I just wasn't interested in that plotline. I never felt like the sides were as morally ambiguous as Skyrim...it was pretty clear who was 'good' and who was too terrible to entertain the notion of cooperating with them. Which meant the choices were really false ones and not as much fun.
 
mehc012 said:
I felt the characters in Skyrim were well fleshed-out...actually moreso than Fallout.


I slaughtered the **** outta the Legion when I first ran into them, because they were terrible. It was super hard because it was early in the game and I was weak (and didn't know about the slomo thing), but I kept hiding in abandoned houses and fleeing in panic, firing wildly, until they ran out of dudes to throw at me. For the rest of the game I had to wear their uniform whenever I was out of town because otherwise I'd be hunted down by their ridiculously overpowered assassins...totes worth it, they were @ssholes. Plus, once I figured out what was going on I could set traps for Legion elites, change my uniform, and get their awesome equipment!

I dunno, basically I was interested until the Mr. House thing made me have to start choosing sides when I just wasn't interested in that plotline. I never felt like the sides were as morally ambiguous as Skyrim...it was pretty clear who was 'good' and who was too terrible to entertain the notion of cooperating with them. Which meant the choices were really false ones and not as much fun.
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I can't argue with you because I honestly only vaguely remember the plot of Skyrim :p.

But New Vegas is as grey as they come.

Even Caesar had justifications for his actions
 
ZedsDed said:
I can't argue with you because I honestly only vaguely remember the plot of Skyrim :p.

But New Vegas is as grey as they come.

Even Caesar had justifications for his actions
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I know what he said, but at the end of the day I just found him to be a horrible person doing horrible things. Realistic, but hardly grey.

I think we both like plots, we just find different ones appealing...nbd! :shrug:
 
mehc012 said:
I know what he said, but at the end of the day I just found him to be a horrible person doing horrible things. Realistic, but hardly grey.

I think we both like plots, we just find different ones appealing...nbd! :shrug:
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Lemme ask you...
"Game of Thrones" or "Lord of the Rings?"
 
Haven't played Fallout 3... I know I know :smack:
I wonder if it'll enhance the Fallout 4 experience. Any thoughts?

Also I agree with @efle about the depth of the Tamriel universe. It's freaking unreal!!
image.jpeg
 
Cyberdyne 101 said:
Haven't played Fallout 3... I know I know :smack:
I wonder if it'll enhance the Fallout 4 experience. Any thoughts?

Also I agree with @efle about the depth of the Tamriel universe. It's freaking unreal!!
View attachment 197757
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Eh, each new installment stands on it's own, like Oblivion and Skyrim. I don't think one enhances the other.
 
Lawper said:
It's a social thread after all so just getting more activity here. And your profile pic reminds me of the xkcd comics :D
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My profile pic is the cover of the band Sun Kil Moon's landmark record, Benji. I highly recommend it!
 
Anybody else really upset about the attacks in Paris?
SMH. It's just horrible.
 
ZedsDed said:
Anybody else really upset about the attacks in Paris?
SMH. It's just horrible.
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I feel like I'm becoming inured to these sorts of things. Mass public violence has just been a part of the regular news rotation our entire lives, you know?

I mean, I of course find it sad, but it doesn't strike me as...surprising...anymore.
 
mehc012 said:
I feel like I'm becoming inured to these sorts of things. Mass public violence has just been a part of the regular news rotation our entire lives, you know?

I mean, I of course find it sad, but it doesn't strike me as...surprising...anymore.
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I mean, we are talking about 150+ dead people. When was the last time we saw that kind of death toll? And personally, I find religious terrorism to be the most disturbing kind. Not really sure why.
 
Disasters both natural and manmade (like the crane collapse or Hajj stampede) regularly hit 100+. What makes this unsettling is where it occurred and that something so orchestrated could come by surprise. Similar with school shootings, only a few may be seriously injured or killed but it'll lead on the news for being danger in what was thought to be a safe place
 
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ZedsDed said:
I mean, we are talking about 150+ dead people. When was the last time we saw that kind of death toll? And personally, I find religious terrorism to be the most disturbing kind. Not really sure why.
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I dunno, I just don't personally react to it much. I'm burnt out on shootings. I'm supposed to be scared, but honestly the idea that I could be walking down the street or watching a movie or whatever and then BAM I'm dead just doesn't really bug me. I'm more scared of the direction our impending overreaction will take us. There are hundreds and hundreds of people grieving today, and by the time we've finished 'fixing' the problem, there will likely be thousands. Or not; maybe the French are wiser than us.
 
efle said:
Disasters both natural and manmade (like the crane collapse or Hajj stampede) regularly hit 100+. What makes this unsettling is where it occurred and that something so orchestrated could come by surprise. Similar with school shootings, only a few may be seriously injured or killed but it'll lead on the news for being danger in what was thought to be a safe place
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I think that's part of it...so many people already live in a world where disaster could strike any day. It could be weather, illness in the only working family member, a meteor strike, or any of the constant violence worldwide. And for the most part, when those things happen, nobody notices. But when people who are fortunate enough not to feel how fragile their lives and society are, who don't have those thoughts in their heads anymore - when they get hit by the lightning, it's shocking because we remember that we're not immune. I guess I just gave up on believing in immunity a while back...makes it easier not to worry about things.
 
efle said:
Disasters both natural and manmade (like the crane collapse or Hajj stampede) regularly hit 100+. What makes this unsettling is where it occurred and that something so orchestrated could come by surprise. Similar with school shootings, only a few may be seriously injured or killed but it'll lead on the news for being danger in what was thought to be a safe place
Click to expand...
mehc012 said:
I think that's part of it...so many people already live in a world where disaster could strike any day. It could be weather, illness in the only working family member, a meteor strike, or any of the constant violence worldwide. And for the most part, when those things happen, nobody notices. But when people who are fortunate enough not to feel how fragile their lives and society are, who don't have those thoughts in their heads anymore - when they get hit by the lightning, it's shocking because we remember that we're not immune. I guess I just gave up on believing in immunity a while back...makes it easier not to worry about things.
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Personally, my disgust is not with the fact that it was sudden, or random, or that the death toll was high, or even that it was murder. Rather I find the fact that this was carried out in a cold, calculating manner by completely sane individuals in the name of an ideology to be extremely disturbing. I am less disturbed (though still disturbed) by the wanton murdering of people in a public place by a clearly insane gunman.
 
ZedsDed said:
Personally, my disgust is not with the fact that it was sudden, or random, or that the death toll was high, or even that it was murder. Rather I find the fact that this was carried out in a cold, calculating manner by completely sane individuals in the name of an ideology to be extremely disturbing. I am less disturbed (though still disturbed) by the wanton murdering of people in a public place by a clearly insane gunman.
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Isn't cultural enrichment a blessing for Europeans?
 
ZedsDed said:
Personally, my disgust is not with the fact that it was sudden, or random, or that the death toll was high, or even that it was murder. Rather I find the fact that this was carried out in a cold, calculating manner by completely sane individuals in the name of an ideology to be extremely disturbing. I am less disturbed (though still disturbed) by the wanton murdering of people in a public place by a clearly insane gunman.
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Honestly, I find it no more disturbing than most religiously-motivated behaviors. At least it's one where they clearly put themselves in the wrong. Most of the other ****ty things carried out in the name of religion are much more insidious (and, imo, therefore more dangerous).
 
ZedsDed said:
I mean, we are talking about 150+ dead people. When was the last time we saw that kind of death toll? And personally, I find religious terrorism to be the most disturbing kind. Not really sure why.
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Also, to get back to this question...multiple times in this year alone, apparently.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents,_2015

But only one in a place we *care* about. The rest are in places like Africa or the Middle East, which doesn't make us feel as threatened...of course those people face violence all the time, but people like us are safe, right? No sweeping facebook profile pic changes for Nigeria, Egypt, Yemen, Turkey, Camaroon, Kenya, etc., right?

To be clear, this is directed just as much at myself as at the world at large. And it's certainly not that I think we shouldn't stand in solidarity for those in Paris who have suffered from such violence...it's simply that I am also reminded of times when we let such things slip by without remark, and feel rather guilty. As with before, I think it's important to recognize that this sort of planned, intentional, ideologically-driven violence is FAR from unheard of. In some places, it is quite common. Incidents like this are terrifying not because they are rare or surprising, but because they remind people that they share that unsettling reality when they thought they were exempt. Who it affected is just as much a part of the impact as what happened or why.
 
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22031 Alum said:
What was dinner?

Is your avatar you?
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Came home and there wasn't much to eat. I ate 3 bean/cheese burritos (size of your palm) and some potato and crab salad. I'm currently not in my own house so there isn't much cooking from me.

No, but close enough. ;) I'm actually cutting back on the weight I do. I started bodybuilding about 6 years ago and I finally got tired of being a big man (bump into stuff, clothes I would like to wear don't fit).
 
Hi everyone! Anybody have any advice for a gal who can't find time/space for alone time with her boyfriend?:( My guy shares a room with three other guys in a frat house, and I can never get the room to ourselves for some loving. Lately we've been running off to the bathroom for quickies but it's kind of gross and quickies get old anyway. Frankly, I don't want to ask the guys to leave because I know they'll go downstairs and tell everyone and it just makes me feel like kind of a slut:oops:. I live with my Auber-religious parents and I think my dad might actually kill me if he finds out I have a bf... Anyone have any tips?
 
JewishPrincess2 said:
Hi everyone! Anybody have any advice for a gal who can't find time/space for alone time with her boyfriend?:( My guy shares a room with three other guys in a frat house, and I can never get the room to ourselves for some loving. Lately we've been running off to the bathroom for quickies but it's kind of gross and quickies get old anyway. Frankly, I don't want to ask the guys to leave because I know they'll go downstairs and tell everyone and it just makes me feel like kind of a slut:oops:. I live with my Auber-religious parents and I think my dad might actually kill me if he finds out I have a bf... Anyone have any tips?
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Get a hotel?
 
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