Which is the one where you get an automatic confirmed critical and the target has to make a DC Fortitude check based on the damage dealt?

Bard's Tale, especially the Thief of Fate, was my introduction to first person party dungeon crawls.

Wizardry, plus the Might and Magic series, went a long way toward solidifying my addiction.

Frayed Knights, by Rampant Games, is under development with a tongue-in-cheek approach to high fantasy in the same vein. I can't wait.

If Mass Effect had anything like the kajillion worlds of Starflight, the trade routes, and the sheer sense of exploration and capitalization, it would have been ...

Well, it would have been Starflight, with much better graphics and an FPS tacked on. But still pretty awesome to think about.

I am interested in Dwarf Fortress. I really, really am. I love developing environments for autonomous actors, discovering new things in unexplored worlds, managing economies....

I would rather stab myself in the eyes than have to figure out how to decode what I'm looking at. It feels like I'm working on getting my Master's in Imaginary Architecture on a 1967 teletype.

Though, I suppose after a while, you don't even notice the code anymore. It's just blonde, brunette, double-braided beard ....

Star Control 2 is the pinnacle of 1990's game development, in my humble opinion. The developers at Toys for Bob are still inundated with requests to develop a new sequel. (Shame on you, Accolade. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.)

Ur Quan Masters is a game that, with the developer's blessings, brings the original SC2 back to contemporary computers with refinements galore. Updated graphic engine for high-res displays, remixed music, and plenty of gameplay goodies.

My review of SC2 is here.

You know Lucas won't be able to keep himself from fucking with establish events. In this version, Luke goes to Tashi Station first.

"Where did Shamus Young ever get the idea this was about publishers wanting to be the leader in 'serving content'. Nothing could be further from reality.",/em>

They could want to be teddy bears dancing like adorable ballerinas with candy cane umbrellas and sugar floss wigs.

Is that further enough from reality for you?

And then there are sites like Good Old Games, which remove the copy protection/DRM with the publisher's blessing, patch the game up to the latest version, and distribute them for the price of a combo meal at Schmucky's.

In fact there are no other sites like GOG that I can think of. There is only GOG.

GOG rules.

I have yet to see a reliable link to text of this assertion. Please provide.

Otherwise, stop spreading rumour-bait.

*Splutter*gasp*deep breaths*

You. DO. Own. Your. Physical. Books.

Ownership is not the same as copyright. Copyright is not the same as license. Please get your terms straight.

"There are a heck of a lot of advances in things other than graphics ... [such as] AI ... UI ... online play ..."

I think you'll find a many of those developments are part of Planet MULE.

And no matter how much you winge about people having fun, you can't stop them by trolling about it on Slashdot.

Good point. One of the perks of a super hero costume is that it draws so much attention you can't be recognized out in the rest of the world.

I went to the holiday party for the company this year. Because I'm just a voice on the phone to most people, I went almost completely unrecognized. It was kind of nice.

"IT guys are stereotyped as being a bit sloppy."

Fixed that for you.

It's worth wondering why IT is being singled out for uniforms. How about the folks in payroll? Or accounting? Just what is being said about IT here that can't be said about any other department in the company?

If IT needs a uniform, it's nothing more complex that a plumber's set of overalls. We spend all our time in the field crouched under desks and showing our ass cracks anyway, right? Now hand me that left-handed feeblegruber and get out of the way.

I don't know what that would look like, except maybe a browser with no plugin capability. Wave is designed to integrate so many web-centric technologies ... what you're asking for seems a lot like asking for an email client that didn't require written language to send messages.

Which would be cool, come to think of it. Maybe Google will give us that next?

You can still set up your own server though, and retain total control.

The creators went into a significant explanation of how you can federate your server to the outside world, or leave them entirely internal. The protocol is the really significant part, and the product is more like an expression of the protocol than the end-all-be-all implementation of it.