Darkmark

Snap. I have the same graphics card 1024 of ram is good for any occasion, but for a laptop you'd be looking for 512. I expect EAW to run on my laptop fine with that kind of ram. Not sure about good Laptop graphics cards though.

Thing with BFME was that balance was terrible. Gondor was seriously underpowered as a side, but Gandalf for them was overpowered. So they only nerfed Gandalf. Also if you play BFME online now, don't play against mordor 1vs1. Not unless you enjoy loosing to someone with 1/8th of your skill. It was the strongest race all along, so guess what? EA buffed it. As long as balance in the next one better then it's bound to be more playable and enjoyable. Sure I'd like it not to have the NAT firewall issues of the first, but it's EA. We can't have everything

Sounds good. Wasn't planning on making any direct mention of the droid's longer name, but that's darn good. If it turns up in there don't be too surprised, since it's one of those things I'm adding to the base of information along with character histories etc. Stuff that will never turn up on screen, but just helps with the characters and plot. Thanks Stellar.

Until we get more info on the game, ANY tactics people come up with will be mostly common sense RTS strategy. They're the only ones we can guarantee will hold true even when it's released.

Depends. If you're clearly going to win when Vader hits the dust, then there's no point stopping or you lose everything he fought for. "All for one" and all for the guy next in charge, which with any luck will affect your stormtrooper job promotions. In terms of gameplay the fact that heroes can perminently die would make you more conscious of pulling a full retreat when he gets heavily wounded though. Those who fight and run away... etc, etc. Still, knowing me I'd probably still fight, I'd just withdraw Vader from the heat of battle to a safe distance.

Shame. The only attraction of MMORPGs for me is that you can party up with your friends. Kinda defeats the point if you get left over with those unwilling to help or give you a hand to get those armour, weapons etc. Also, sorry Gen.Vader. Didn't realise you meant custom map. My misunderstanding completely since I rarely play other people's custom maps. Lvl 10 is the higest any of my guys get. and even though it's completely unrelated to the topic, here's my wonderful GW monk in all his glory. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/Lord_Darkmark/GuildWarsMonk.jpg I would paste some W3 pics, but all my good ones were lost when the hard drive on my old cpu died. If I get back around to playing I'll try to get some decent ones.

They didn't do a great job with bfme 1. With any luck they won't be making the same mistakes they did last time, but seems very much the EA way of doing things. If it doesn't work, make a NEW game. That way the consumers have to pay up again. I may buy it, but I'm waiting this time to see what it actually is like, not just what the EA bravado would like it to be. Thing is, the whole idea of setting it away from the events in LOTR makes no sense to me. It's like that console game they had which had no real connection with the story. The reason for the strength of the game will be very much in the original story, which is why the BFME community still exists after the failings of the first. Methinks it is just another EA hunt for the big buck as opposed to a decent game. Also, are they actually allowed to do this? Dwarves and Elves of the north not exactly in the game licence they purchased is it? So yeah, you're right. Even if it's better than the first BFME, EAW will beat the crap outta it no problem.

That's why they call it a canon. They use it to shoot down all your ideas . More gunpowder I think they need. But yeah, as long as the story works and remains consistant in the setting or story world, then there really is no issue. When writing for fun, if you get bogged down in the details it can become tedious and not worth doing. Thing is, did George Lucas stick with all his original ideas? No. Why? Because in order to make a good story you can't be restricted by obsolete and easily avoidable facts. Either you make efforts to change the ideals or you just have to acccept it isn't perfect. Either way at least it's there written, and written the way that you want it to be. There's no point in... wait... ...I think they have more gunpowder now. FIND COVER!

Do you mean in Warcraft 3? Because heroes there have a max of lvl 10 . I must admit, I liked cloak of shadows in W3 a lot. Once you learn where they spawn you can target those creeps specifically. Think I've had a whole hero party with each one having one before. A level 6 tauren chieften with a resurrection ankh doesn't go down too badly either. Haven't played WoW. I'm sure it's pretty decent, but I try not to get dragged into MMORPGs if I can help it. Guild Wars seems to be the only one so far, and that's only because I don't have to pay monthly. also... the thread isn't really dead, it just ain't moving much anymore.

I know. I've already had that debate already (not here). The problem with it being a comedy is that humor doesn't always naturally equate with accuracy. As it is I've already had to nickname the other droid for ease of character introduction. The way I see it, I'm no expert on Star Wars and even if I was, the real experts would find something there I would write wrong. The whole fact I have at least 2 Jedi who survived the purges is bound to be a matter of controvery, but I write it to work in the sense it will be fun and light hearted, not to be 100% spot on. I try to get it as true to the story world as possible, but in certain cases I have to bend the rules slightly. If it gets nitpicked, so be it. I hate to be serious. Hence the droid name. If you need a reason for his dumb name, his master (Now named Husky) isn't all that bright... and actually thinking about it, neither is the droid... In terms of naming convention I try to find something, an object, an adjective, something that sums up the nature of the character in a word. It has to be something memorable, which is probably the problem I have with the names suggested. Our Dark Jedi leader for example is currently named Nefarious. Sounds cool, is memorable, describes nature. Then again that's just me. Other people may have other preferences regarding naming convention.

As far as I'm aware the specs weren't anywhere like top of the range ones. Someone else will give a more accurate idea of the specs that have been predicted, but nothing has been confirmed for specs so it could all change by next February.

Yeah, they're the basics, but like I said I'm just a little picky with names, so it was unlikely I'd find something there suitable. But then again, why pass up the opportunity becasuse it was unlikely. The R2 droid I have is currently named I8-U2. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. It's a comedy.

Roll on 200. In the interests of clebration I suggest we praise all those who made the 150 mark possible and becoming outstanding members of the community. Starting with member.... hmmm. Oh let's just say 115... Oh wait, that's me. Hoorah. Btw. Is there any of that pizza left? Mmmm... month old pizza.

Surely they'll have more of a problem taking on Maxis with the Sims 2. It's not even the same kind of audience. Political stupidity alright. Generally it's not the fault of the games makers, who usually end up with decent, accurate ratings. But in the end that's never going to stop people if they want a game. I myself got Doom when I was under age in this way. The fault lies with people not being able to efficiently enforce those kind of restrictions. Like being under 18 at the cinema. I'm sure some people have been there before (on a lighter note I recently went to watch Sin City with the 18 certificate. I'm 20, so no problem there. My younger brother who came with me is 18 next month, but who do they scrutinise. Yeah it's muggins here. Think it makes my point)

I'll start with the stuff I wasn't so sure about. CONS I wasn't too keen on the text that came up along the bottom left, the whole: "Vader's Imperial Fleet" and "Rebel Base Planet Surface". Kinda assumes you're an idiot and that you don't know a whole heap of stormtroopers lined up in a hangar would be part of the Imperial army. "Rebel Counter Attack"... yeah, might have been able to work that out on my own. In my opinion, they should either change them to be more informative and relevant, or do away with them entirely. I wasn't convinced by some of the camera panning. It seemed very staggered in places. Ok, so maybe that's the fault of the engine, but for a trailer they do need the best shots and dodgy battle filming doesn't help. There were occasions when I thought: Why choose that second of film to be in it, the camera pans really badly there. I'm sure smoother shots wouldn't be all that hard to obtain given a little bit more battle recording. PROS Glad Joshinator noticed the snowtroopers. For some reason I completely missed them first viewing. Little things like that really add to the purpose of the trailer... to make you want the game. Like Ismael, I liked the image transitions along with the clear cut thuds. Each made a great impact, and added to the atmosphere of the trailer. Ending works well. Seen similar footage to it before and thought it worked well then too. I think it's the background music that really gives it the edge though. Agree with everyone about sound all around. Seems to be something they've got spot on (with the exception of the oversized Wookie). You can probably tell this was the most impressive thing about it as a trailer for me.

Sounds like a great idea, shame I probably won't have the time to get anything good together. Like Ghostly, I still find it very tempting.

Not quite what I personally was looking for, but thanks for trying anyway guys. May be useful someone else looking for character names though.

Ok, I know it's a little stupid to start a thread when I'm headed away, but it will give me a hand with something I've been struggling with for several months. Basically I lead a small group of people on a machinima project, creating a series based on the Star Wars universe, set after the films. Now, while this isn't written fan fiction so much, it is fictional, and I do write the scripts. One of my major problems is that I'm exceedingly picky about the character names, and as a result I have written characters with no names. Basically I'd like to hear any suggestions for characters. The list so far consists of: Three male Dark Jedi, four Jedi, one of which is a shimmering blue ghost, an astromech droid, a protocol droid, a female bounty hunter and a female ex-Dark Jedi in the role of a spy. Now I don't expect you to come up with anything to fit the characters wonderfully because my description isn't great, but any ideas are welcome. Even if you can't think of a name that would fit I'd still like to hear it anyway. With any luck this thread might also help some people beginning to write a piece who struggle over names. So don't hesitate to come up with names anyone can use. I'll catch up with this in two weeks.

Apparently you can play the campaign with the other sides, Chaos, Eldar, Orc and Imperial Guard in the expansion. I don't mind the multiplayer. It takes a while to get used to the whole stategic point element to it, but once you do it gives way to a whole host of battles over them. I don't know about anyone else who has the game, but I find the squad caps a bit restricting, but I suppose that's to encourage tactics instead of the large army scenario. I'll post some screenshots of my custom army when I play next. *Edit* Here are those screenshots I mentioned. I took more, but these seemed the better ones. I named the team Moonsickle Gurad. Sickle because of my love for Russian history, Moon because it sounded cool and starts with the same first letter as my name does and lastly Gurads is a typo I originally made of the word Guard. I kept Gurad because it sounded sci-fi like and suited them, so that's how it's been for almost a year. You'll notice they're white like stormtroopers, with green which is my favourite colour and carry a custom symbol and banner I designed. Hope you like the pics. http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/Lord_Darkmark/relic00028.jpg http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/Lord_Darkmark/relic00027.jpg http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/Lord_Darkmark/relic00026.jpg http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/Lord_Darkmark/relic00025.jpg http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y143/Lord_Darkmark/relic00024.jpg

I find myself almost lost for words about it. I was planning to be at King's Cross tomorrow morning heading home for a week. Does make you think the difference a day makes, and about all those people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Especially those who won't make it home. I really feel for you Tyranus, being so close to the events. I'm glad to hear you and all your family are safe. It's the kind of event you would never wish on anybody.

I agree with Stellar that the layout needs work, but then again most all online fiction avoids normal convention. Usually typed word is double spaced fr paragraphs, as you do, and new line (only single line space) for a new speaker. I assume you are American Stellar, so I know layout conventions we know are bound to differ slightly between us. I guess the single line speaker one is one of those differences between English and American English layouts. Like starting a sentence with 'And' ) It felt very paced for not a great deal happening. You get the impression that every other paragrah the point of view has changed, or that we've moved on. While I know this isn't strictly the case, being able to expand upon the small events might help to make it feel less rushed. I've got to commend you for going for something very action oriented, so it would be natural to move on from one event to another quickly. Try to stick on one area for a little longer descibing as many small details before advancing on to the next. You use a whole load of paragraphs when you really don't need to break it up so much. For example the first two paragraphs could easily be one, and it would flow much better. A new paragraph breaks the reader's attention, so by breaking so often you lose some of the attention that you build up in each section. Also when you do create a new paragrah, don't always spit it up in terms of story. The bit where Cess notices Dooku, then Kaan lands sticks in my mind. After the main paragrah ends there's one short paragrah followed by another, when they could just be one. Try to think of it written as one paragragh, so events are seen to happen from both perspectives. By using the short sentence to start the paragrapgh "Count Dooku." it gives a good punch to the piece, but it doesn't really need it at that point. Try explaining what is going on, show what Cess is thinking perhaps. Then followed up by a recognition, and the punch has reason and breaks mid paragraph instead, so that attention isn't lost so much. Again, with Stellar on the showing-telling. A lot of the time here you are telling, when showing would be so much more valuable given the active nature of the piece. I'll try and give an example. "Kaan veered to the left rotating his fighter 360 degrees firing his dual laser cannons at a droid starfighter pursuing a LAAT/i. The unshielded, unmanned starfighter exploded with ease. Kaan smoothly guided his fighter to a higher..." You tell what he does, then tell what he does. If you can try to show what's happening, the detail at the time, it could really help. it would also slow down the pace of the piece so things don't feel so rushed. Your writing of speech is good. Apart from the layout, it generally works well. There are some instances I would have changed, but overall it's not bad. I'll say again, what I say isn't meant to be taken badly, it's just to help you work upon. I do hope it helps.

Same, I'd like the ability for people too add their own models in game without replacing any of the game's existing ones, but it's a bit of a longshot. Plus, I'm not modeller, so even if they did I'd still have to wait for those people who can to release the models I'd want.

In the screenshot of minimap, you can see tree grey points running diagonally from bottom centre to the left. From what I could see on the main map, only the far bottom one is an asteroid field. The other two are Dagobah and Hoth, both in one piece. They have rebel presence (indicated by rebel symbol above it) and the asteroid field has the yellow sun like symbol. Asteroid fields don't show on the minimap, but do on the main galactic one. The other force could be supportive neutral. In the end it's very open ended until we get more info. But nice to know there's a little more to SP than just Rebels vs Imperials.

It could work, but it depends on those vessels your opponent leaves on DS defense duty. What you may find is you get those outer rim worlds, only to allow them to complete their DS. Once they have it, you lose a great tactical advantage. Might just be better off drawing the star destroyers away so you have the chance to get rid of their DS, but still, my prority would be to get rid of that weapon they spent all their money on, as opposed to a few measely worlds.

Ah yes. I'm a general Sci-Fi fan, but the 6:00 viewings here of Star Trek TOS and TNG when I was little are responsible for it, hence it seemed natural for the avatar. Anwyay. Showing usually comes naturally and occurs most of the time, so if I was to show pieces I'd be quoteing most of the piece. Telling is also natural, but can be an issue if it stands out too much. The two instances of telling in the last piece that caught my eye were: "...motioning for his ex-apprentice to follow him away from the review chamber and into the grand hallway of the Jedi Archives" You show the motion, but there's a great deal of telling as to what it means. The motion itself is the important bit, so it becomes more important to describe the movement than the reason behind it. Admittedly this isn't that big, but for some reason it did catch my attention. "...away from the eyes of the Jedi and the Senate. Well, they were about to get a big surprise. " It's the way you explain there will be a surprise. Foreboding can work well, but the whole idea of surprise is to build suspense and then release at it's peak, or induce the feeling that things start to happen very quickly. Instead of saying this, you'd simply have to build up a little before the event happens, or introduce a more vague form of forboding at this point. The thing about showing over telling is that it isn't usually a bad thing unless it is starkly noticable. I'm pretty sure these things wouldn't have been too distracting to most people, as it only becomes prominent when dealing with lots of events happening. The thing is a certain amount of telling is always going to happen even in the best of pieces, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I know I still do it, but that's what 2nd, 3rd drafts are for, to cut it down as much as possible. Hope that helps.