Messages

1

General / Re: Which do you prefer?

« on: 26 January, 2023, 04:22:03 PM »

I could go out on a limb and say I prefer Carl's work on Thrud - but what I really mean is that I read it first and have fond memories.

I liked his work on Langosta al Azar (but didn't appreciate the story much).

2

Creative Common / Re: Sales Spike!

« on: 25 January, 2023, 07:23:26 PM »

Are they fiction or history? Or fictional history?

3

Off Topic / Re: Threadjacking!

« on: 25 January, 2023, 06:13:00 PM »

We had a bear pass through town a couple of years ago. Also, something took one of our ducks - but mostly that seemed about the killing - they didn't seem to eat much of it. We're assuming it was a trash badger (i.e. racoon) because it figured out how to unlock the coop. Problem solvers, those guys.

We gave away our remaining duck - as it felt bad to have a lone duck living in the same place her buddy was murdered, and we weren't in the market for another. The woman that took her has a bunch of pet ducks that she liked to cuddle - and, from the photos, it looked like our duck was going to have a much happier life with a flock, more room to forage and a bigger swimming area.

(That was Jane-Duck. The murdered one was Janet - who was literally a lame duck. Jane's brother, years earlier, we had to give away when he matured and became highly aggressive. He went to live as a duck-stud. Lucky duck.)

4

General / Re: Which do you prefer?

« on: 25 January, 2023, 06:05:03 PM »

I bet Kev prefers the latter style, as it probably takes about a tenth of the time to achieve.

And, on that note, but tangentially, this is interesting: How to Replace the Sky

5

Games / Re: Gamebooks

« on: 24 January, 2023, 07:00:38 PM »

I'm assuming you know that there is access to most of the original books in an html format (something Joe Dever agreed to when he was still with us) at Project Aon.

These include corrections to some original printed errors, but don't include things like the re-published extended opening sequence in Book 1. Mind you, I prefer the original, low-key opening because it ramps up the threats you meet (providing a narrative mystery), rather than having you in a full-blown battle in the opening scene.

6

Games / Re: Gamebooks

« on: 23 January, 2023, 10:35:24 PM »

Lone Wolf, I found fascinating and loved to play - but the balance was all over the place. The first book has lots of different paths to success, and not too many choices that you'd need for later. It's fun to pick up the Crystal Star Pendant, because that crops up a few times later on as a recognition tool for bumping into Banedon but isn't vital.

Fire on the Water does have a one-true-path section, which can fuck you up if you don't have the magic item to defeat the particular undead threat. Gaining the Sommerswerd makes you nigh-on invincible in nearly every fight you get into after that point, but then the balance bafflers get muddled in Book 6 and you have to cheat the RNG gods to win.

I enjoyed book 3 (The Caverns of Kalte), and it offers up a couple of important special items - even if it opens with a multiple-Mungo scenario. Don't miss out on the +2CS Silver Helm and the Kalte Firesphere that works as a perma-torch.

Book 4 (The Chasm of Doom) introduces the idea of you being in charge of a larger force, then drops you into the middle of a major battle, and #5 (Shadow on the Sand) takes all your toys away (but you can find them again if you look in the right place) and has you face off in combat against a major foe (Darklord Haaken).

At that point you've become a Magnakai, and if you're having fun can continue your adventure with super-versions of the Kai Disciplines to collect - and you start with only three of them! You get to visit more distant lands, win a cool magic bow, lose all your stuff again in the Deathtrap Dungeon-like book #7 and get involved in a sort of continent-wide resurgence of the Drakkarim.

After defeating the ultimate evil in the final book (12), you find that (as a Grand Master) there are even more super-powered skills to learn in books 13-20. Amusingly, the things you have to fight in the opening section of Book #13 will eat you up and spit out your bones without breaking sweat - especially if you happen to still be carrying the Sommerswerd. So, y'know, ultimate evils are all about perspective. But Time Bandits taught us that.

And on it goes...

7

General / Re: Looking back

« on: 23 January, 2023, 07:09:22 PM »

You inspired me to go back and read my reviews of Fleisher-era stuff, because the high concepts are like things any child would do with their toys, but don't come close to any sort of narrative logic.

In the Nu Harlems, we get a psycho-cyborg that doesn't know that trains travel on rails, so starts murdering people. In Nu Rogue Lite, we get:

 - the security system on a stolen aircraft kicks in once you've taken off, and then flies you into space.
 - Thur5day jumping on and hot-wiring a cruise missile whilst it's in flight.


It didn't make much more sense with White's stuff, though. In Angels, they quickly superglue a wing back onto a downed fighter jet to quickly win the day.

With all the changes I tracked while reviewing it, I calculated that RT(F) became a retcon of a retcon of a retcon of a retcon of a reboot!

8

General / Re: Looking back

« on: 20 January, 2023, 06:21:17 PM »

Somewhere near Inverness.

9

General / Re: Looking back

« on: 19 January, 2023, 06:37:02 PM »

Didn’t like Middenface the Comical Scotsman either. If I’d been Scottish, and Alan Grant hadn’t, I just might have taken offence.

While I *absolutely never* get irritated by people taking the piss out of the Scots (please don't look at my posting history), there was a lot of lowest common stereotyping going on in the 80s/90s progs and megs.

Calhab Justice was one of the worst offenders. I wrote: "A Scottish Dreddverse tale that struggles to marry well the conspiracy drama of an impending nuclear apocalypse with someone in a tam o' shanter saying 'crivvens'".

10

Off Topic / Re: Threadjacking!

« on: 18 January, 2023, 04:44:42 PM »

It's squirrels round 'ere. And a particularly wasteful bald eagle.

11

Off Topic / Re: Threadjacking!

« on: 10 January, 2023, 06:58:01 PM »

Inspired by this story: "Boris Johnson erased from Grant Shapps spaceport picture"

If you look up Shapps in the dictionary it says "a man who cheats or tricks someone by gaining their trust and persuading them to believe something that is not true ... but he's not very good at it."

12

Off Topic / Re: RIPs

« on: 20 December, 2022, 03:31:05 AM »

Terry Hall of The Specials dies aged 63

Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum

13

Music / Re: Discovered / rediscovered music thread

« on: 16 December, 2022, 07:13:39 PM »

sleaford mods jobseeker jools holland

14

Off Topic / Re: This is the News!

« on: 23 November, 2022, 06:06:36 PM »

The message I'm getting, Shark, is that we might as well close this thread down, or lock it.

I thought it might be an interesting place to talk about current news stories. The problem I'm having is that you're like a guard dog with a bone to pick. Whatever issue gets raised, you start banging on with your pet theories.

It's like nobody else is allowed to have a thought. It's insulting, actually, because you only ever broadcast, you never accept input. And you're always mud-slinging this idea that everyone else is a moron who hasn't had the wit to see the golden truth.

It's really fucking patronizing. But - you know what - you win. You've pissed all over it. You get to keep it.

15

Off Topic / Re: This is the News!

« on: 22 November, 2022, 05:27:15 PM »