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[Jintor]

It's funny how much more respect* I have for the concept of evolution / darwinism after doing some study via my AI course on Artificial Genetics. Watcing some really neat videos from a computer scientist I don't remember the name of where he made software to generate AI, which would evolve over time to complete abitrary goals, and the AIs which completed those goals were selected to be mutated upon in order to attempt, by pseudo-random procedural heuristics, to do the goal better than the previous lot.

When the goal was to, say, move the furthest distance in half a minute, the resulting output after millions of generations were AI creations that resembled various insects and creatures found in the real world. Snake-like slithering creatures, pushing limb creatures that resembled turtles. It was all really interesting.

And, of course, the one example where the AI simply generated a really, really, really tall cube and pushed itself over, thus becoming the winner by completing the condition of, "getting really far really fast". Showing that a computer always gives you what you tell it to do, regardless of what result you expected.

ohn hey here's the video

* by 'respect' I don't mean 'belief'. I mean, well, admire / understand or something.

Haha.

I didn't expect that the codec explanation of 'growing' aircraft engines in Metal Gear Rising would actually have occurred (at a far smaller scale obviously) in real life, but I guess that makes sense.

 

[Omikron]

My biggest recommendation would be Shut Up & Sit Down. Unlike most other reviews, they actually tell you what the game is like to play, and how it makes you feel. The majority of the rest are just rules explanations, and since when is that ever fun or interesting? Here's links to Shut Up and Sit Down's old site and recently launched new site. There is different content on each, so check them both out. Also, you've probably read and enjoyed their work on RPS and EuroGamer.

If you like rules explanations, have a look at Watch it Played. This guy does an excellent job, unlike the others (namely Tom Vasel *shakes fist*) who will yell the rules in your face and talk about "fun" without any reason why until you fall asleep or close the video in frustration. You'll get a nice run-through of the game in action. Excellent to see how the mechanics work and to understand the flow and rules of the game (especially if you learn better this way than reading about it), rather than an often stale rules book.

The big site that you probably already know about is BoardGameGeek, if not, you do now. Most of the shit you want or need is there. It's an ugly shitfight of a site, but functional once you get used to it.

A bunch of us should probably start playing some board games online together. You can see what type of games you like, and plus we can all play games together. You'll know about BrettspielWelt already, there is also Board Game Arena. One that I haven't even given much of a look at, but has a tonne of modules for all sorts of board games is VASSAL.

Haha, Vasel is ok, he doesn't seem to take himself too seriously and you can guarantee he has probably got a video on a game you are even vaguely interested in. I think he works better doing his group videos / podcasts though where they go into a bit more interesting territory with games. Dice Tower Youtube Channel

They also aggregate a bunch of Board Game podcasts, which is kinda handy (located here), I recommend Flip the Table and Ludology in particular.

As for other YouTube related people... Joel Eddy does an ok job of giving a rules run down and a summary of games. If you want something a bit more excentric, you could go with Rahdo or Undead Viking or Scott Nicholson who gets really into gamification and in depth into design at times.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Holy Shit Bioshock Infinite has amazing level design, art design and animation.

SO YUMMY I WANT MORE AND MORE AND MORE

Real bitch to get running nice though, I've had it easy these last 2 years with most titles running flawlessly even on my decentish setup.

 

[Planet_JASE]

Jane Henson, co-creator of the Muppets and wife of Jim Henson dies at age 78 after a long battle with cancer.

So sad

 

[Dead Man]

Jane Henson, co-creator of the Muppets and wife of Jim Henson dies at age 78 after a long battle with cancer.

So sad

Yeah, saw that on GAF earlier. Amazing legacy.

 

[Kritz]

My biggest recommendation would be Shut Up & Sit Down. Unlike most other reviews, they actually tell you what the game is like to play, and how it makes you feel. The majority of the rest are just rules explanations, and since when is that ever fun or interesting? Here's links to Shut Up and Sit Down's old site and recently launched new site. There is different content on each, so check them both out. Also, you've probably read and enjoyed their work on RPS and EuroGamer.

If you like rules explanations, have a look at Watch it Played. This guy does an excellent job, unlike the others (namely Tom Vasel *shakes fist*) who will yell the rules in your face and talk about "fun" without any reason why until you fall asleep or close the video in frustration. You'll get a nice run-through of the game in action. Excellent to see how the mechanics work and to understand the flow and rules of the game (especially if you learn better this way than reading about it), rather than an often stale rules book.

The big site that you probably already know about is BoardGameGeek, if not, you do now. Most of the shit you want or need is there. It's an ugly shitfight of a site, but functional once you get used to it.

A bunch of us should probably start playing some board games online together. You can see what type of games you like, and plus we can all play games together. You'll know about BrettspielWelt already, there is also Board Game Arena. One that I haven't even given much of a look at, but has a tonne of modules for all sorts of board games is VASSAL.

Thanks a bunch, Danoss. I actually stumped upon SU&SD from an earlier post you made, although their old site took aaages to navigate through their stuff due to how few articles populated each page. They did a truly fascinating half hour long video on Twilight Imperium which has since made me set on playing that game at least once before I die.

I use BoardGameGeek often when deciding what games to purchase, although only at a surface level. Mostly to make sure that the games I buy work with 3 people, and ideally are best with 3 people.

But, yeah, I really do like SU&SD. Wish they'd do even more video content, though. I think Giant Bomb spoils me for enthusiast press. Or maybe people who play board games are just capable of reading a bunch. >_>

Also,

A bunch of us should probably start playing some board games online together.

deserves to be emphasised. Even if Fogz and Omi have been doing it for a while now.

 

[Fogz]

Let's play Pandemic

 

[Omikron]

I'm keen for something now.

 

[Dead Man]

Oh god, my cousin was on neighbours tonight apparently, the facebook posts are getting sickening.

 

[Poimandres]

They're scallops. I don't want to eat potato cakes.

At least we can all agree they certainly aren't potato fritters!

On a related topic, you're not the kind of jerks that call a pot a "middy" are you? Or the even bigger jerks who call a pot a schooner and a schooner a pint?!

 

[roosters93]

Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours

 

[Planet_JASE]

Yeah, saw that on GAF earlier. Amazing legacy.

Ah. I don't leave the confines of AusGAF much (unless someone's being a Holying sonovabitch) so I miss this sort of stuff.

She quite often gets forgotten but her contribution to generations of people is immense. The Muppets are the same age as me and I've grown to love them more as I get older. To be able to bring so much joy and contribute to modern culture like that is something that I'd like to be able to do. But most likely (almost certainly) never will.

 

[Dead Man]

Ah. I don't leave the confines of AusGAF much (unless someone's being a Holying sonovabitch) so I miss this sort of stuff.

She quite often gets forgotten but her contribution to generations of people is immense. The Muppets are the same age as me and I've grown to love them more as I get older. To be able to bring so much joy and contribute to modern culture like that is something that I'd like to be able to do. But most likely (almost certainly) never will.

Yeah, pretty much.

Edit: Ugh, gaming is so full of defensive whiners at the moment. I know I said it is expected, but bloody hell.

 

[Danoss]

Thanks a bunch, Danoss. I actually stumped upon SU&SD from an earlier post you made, although their old site took aaages to navigate through their stuff due to how few articles populated each page. They did a truly fascinating half hour long video on Twilight Imperium which has since made me set on playing that game at least once before I die.

I want to play that game too, badly. I do know that you need to play with at least the first expansion, otherwise it's broken. Just bare that in mind if you do get a chance to play it. One day I will no longer be able to contain my desire to buy that game, even if I only play it once (I'm even trying to fight it right now since it's in stock at Games Empire).

I had a game of Eclipse, which is kinda TI distilled down into a shorter time period. It is a good game, but it didn't have the feel I wanted.

I use BoardGameGeek often when deciding what games to purchase, although only at a surface level. Mostly to make sure that the games I buy work with 3 people, and ideally are best with 3 people.

3 players is a tough ask and a game has to be of a certain type or robust enough to withstand 3 players. The main problem they have to avoid is 'vote who wins' which just happens naturally when 2 players smash another player out of the game and then focus on eachother. of course this only matters if the game is adversarial.

But, yeah, I really do like SU&SD. Wish they'd do even more video content, though. I think Giant Bomb spoils me for enthusiast press. Or maybe people who play board games are just capable of reading a bunch. >_>

I believe they're trying to get submissions for videos from outside sources, so they can have more content. If the standard is up to what SU&SD has already set then I am very interested, if it's more like the King of Tokyo video by that guy, no thanks. Hopefully it pays off because they've got a good thing going, if they can expand on it they could really help attract more players because they make board gaming look as fun as it is.

I'm keen for something now.

Let's do it then. I miss out because I don't go into Steam chat anymore. I'm pretty much up for board games whenever.

 

[Shaneus]

w00t!


If you used cakes, you would miss out on so many cool rhyming couplets in your mad rhymes!! That would be silly; nothing rhymes with cakes!

Ahhh, SKAlops!

SKAlops?

Ah. I don't leave the confines of AusGAF much (unless someone's being a Holying sonovabitch) so I miss this sort of stuff.

She quite often gets forgotten but her contribution to generations of people is immense. The Muppets are the same age as me and I've grown to love them more as I get older. To be able to bring so much joy and contribute to modern culture like that is something that I'd like to be able to do. But most likely (almost certainly) never will.

I never know enough about the workings behind the shows that were around when I was a kid, but it sounds like it was essentially a 50/50 thing with her and Jim. Taking that into consideration... fuck. If not my future kids, then I will definitely make sure my nephews are familiar with the sheer joy and silliness that was The Muppets. Kids stuff is far too surreal these days without being silly enough (with the odd exception here or there) and almost always talks down to their audience. Beauty of The Muppets was that even though it was a kids show, there was never a condescending tone to it at all. It was what it was, a variety show with things that both kids and adults could have a good giggle at.

I have the first season on DVD, but I'll be sure to weed out some of the less-accessible episodes and copy them for the young ones in my family in the hope that they'll enjoy it. Hopefully they'll remember in the future about the times when Uncle Shane would watch kids shows with them that didn't have CGI, 3D or dumbed-down production.

Did any of you guys catch the movie with Jason Segel? I was relieved that I enjoyed it, so I'm sure that millions of others did too. Glad she left this mortal coil with the legacy of those wacky puppets intact

 

[Jables Swan]

Re-release. Dunno what's different besides art.

Also it's super weird the rule book somehow forgets to mention that you have to discard cards at the end of your turn if you're over 7. It mentions discarding when you go over 7 and it's not your turn, but nowhere does it mention you need to do it at the end of your turn.

Should be the same game but with 2 extra characters. The cubes look pretty sweet in the pics. They look good in person?

 

[Planet_JASE]

snip

Yeah, the early days definitely sounded like they were fairly even. They were both puppeteers and quite creative. They were both working on the early days of Muppets (not The Muppets, just their general Muppet idea) and she even helped train Frank Oz when he replaced her. She wasn't on set for The Muppets, as she had decided to stay at home to look after their kids, but returned during the early days of Sesame Street.

I never caught the new Muppets Movie, and, in fact probably missed the few before that. It was never quite the same after he sold his company to Disney. Regardless, he brought us Sesame Street, The Muppets, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, The Storyteller and, to a lsser extent, Dinosaurs.

They both leave a fantastic legacy that will far outlive them.

 

[HolyCheck]

what did kermit say when he got told jim henson died




















nothing

 

[Dead Man]

what did kermit say when he got told jim henson died




















nothing

Motherfucker. Steve Whitmire should wallop you over the head.

 

[Omikron]

Should be the same game but with 2 extra characters. The cubes look pretty sweet in the pics. They look good in person?

Yeah, but no petrie dishes. They are the best.

 

[Kritz]

Let's do it then. I miss out because I don't go into Steam chat anymore. I'm pretty much up for board games whenever.

I feel bad now since you actually missed out on two really bad games of Pandemic because you weren't in chat

THIS WILL NOT BE THE LAST PANDEMIC GAME WE HAVE.

That's right, we lost a game of Pandemic in two turns.

That game we lasted a good, let's say, 15 minutes before we got a reaaally bad string of Epidemic cards one after the other, leading to an Osaka and Shanghi one two punch.

Should be the same game but with 2 extra characters. The cubes look pretty sweet in the pics. They look good in person?

They look positively delicious. They resemble King of Tokyo's cubes.

 

[Shaneus]

Guys, Henry Rollins is (in the words of a mate on FB) an enlightened badarse. Must watch.

Yeah, the early days definitely sounded like they were fairly even. They were both puppeteers and quite creative. They were both working on the early days of Muppets (not The Muppets, just their general Muppet idea) and she even helped train Frank Oz when he replaced her. She wasn't on set for The Muppets, as she had decided to stay at home to look after their kids, but returned during the early days of Sesame Street.

I never caught the new Muppets Movie, and, in fact probably missed the new before that. It was never quite the same after he sold his company to Disney. Regardless, he brought us Sesame Street, The Muppets, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, The Storyteller and, to a lsser extent, Dinosaurs.

They both leave a fantastic legacy that will far outlive them.

Honestly, I highly recommend watching the new movie. Someone like Jason Segel maybe be a stoner prankster or whatever, but he's the sort of guy that isn't going treat the legacy of something like The Muppets with a lackadaisical approach.

It may not have been perfect, but given what it could have been (what with CGI and Hollywood and whatever) I think it's fucking incredible it turned out as well as it did and that it managed to retain a level of whimsy that escapes even the best Pixar movies are yet to achieve.

And man, on your last point... I do hope so. As the stuff from our childhood gets diluted, there are things like The Muppets which I hope are able to live on for more than just a generation or two. It's hard to say just how long those sorts of legacies will last, given that we're really only up to our second generation that has been able to grow up with things like TV... but I hope it's the same as with music, just as people today find influence in The Beatles, The Doors and even earlier pioneers like Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

PS. Not real funny, Holy :/

 

[Omikron]

I feel bad now since you actually missed out on two really bad games of Pandemic because you weren't in chat

THIS WILL NOT BE THE LAST PANDEMIC GAME WE HAVE.

That's right, we lost a game of Pandemic in two turns.

That game we lasted a good, let's say, 15 minutes before we got a reaaally bad string of Epidemic cards one after the other, leading to an Osaka and Shanghi one two punch.

Look what you have done to my stats!

 

[HolyCheck]

where's evlcookie?

EVL ARE YOU OK.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Saw Best of the Worst so I gave Deadly Prey a watch, pretty hilarious. High point was this actor named Troy Donahue who would have been the perfect G-Man. Robotic voice and could pull off the look easily. Unfortunately he died in 2001.

 

[FormallyMegadrive]

Robert Plant was pretty great. Support was Playing For Change, also pretty good, soul/blues music. Zep songs played were Black Dog, Whole Lotta Love and finished the with Rock & Roll. Apparently its been 17 years since he came last.

 

[BananaArnie]

Thanks a bunch, Danoss. I actually stumped upon SU&SD from an earlier post you made, although their old site took aaages to navigate through their stuff due to how few articles populated each page. They did a truly fascinating half hour long video on Twilight Imperium which has since made me set on playing that game at least once before I die.

I use BoardGameGeek often when deciding what games to purchase, although only at a surface level. Mostly to make sure that the games I buy work with 3 people, and ideally are best with 3 people.

But, yeah, I really do like SU&SD. Wish they'd do even more video content, though. I think Giant Bomb spoils me for enthusiast press. Or maybe people who play board games are just capable of reading a bunch. >_>

Also,



deserves to be emphasised. Even if Fogz and Omi have been doing it for a while now.

i enjoyed my time playing discworld with clipper

 

[Gazunta]

Maximum chips.

 

[reptilescorpio]

 

[Dead Man]

Baha, just saw the Neighbours scene she is in, she is supposed to be some scandalously young thing some old bloke has a fling with. LOL

 

[Danoss]

I feel bad now since you actually missed out on two really bad games of Pandemic because you weren't in chat

Related, it seems there have been repeated problems with the Mumble server. I've put in a ticket with the provider (GameServers) mentioning them and hopefully there will be a resolution and maybe an improvement. I'm not expecting this to happen, but I'm hopeful.

Now, I've got a couple of different providers in mind should we need to change and I'd like to start on the cheaper side first and see how it goes from there. If anyone has prolonged positive experiences with certain providers, be sure to speak up. Does anyone have anything against/problems with Hypernia?

 

[Shaneus]

Maximum chips.

WHY HAVE I NEVER THOUGHT TO ASK FOR THIS?!?

 

[evlcookie]

where's evlcookie?

EVL ARE YOU OK.

what? You posted that at 11, I was fast asleep by then.

Oh the GOMTV Dota 2 thing? Eh

 

[Jables Swan]

Yeah, but no petrie dishes. They are the best.

Same as with the original base game , I expect them to appear in the On the Brink expansion.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Hope you guys at least get a discount or something to watch the film:

Australian govt pay Disney Studios $22.6 mil to film "20,000 Leagues" in Australia

 

[Jables Swan]

Hope you guys at least get a discount or something to watch the film:

Australian govt pay Disney Studios $22.6 mil to film "20,000 Leagues" in Australia

I would prefer them to keep LucasArts open.

 

[Planet_JASE]

Hope you guys at least get a discount or something to watch the film:

Australian govt pay Disney Studios $22.6 mil to film "20,000 Leagues" in Australia

Nah, if anything they'll have to charge us more to cover the cost.

 

[Fogz]

I would prefer them to keep LucasArts open.

My LucasArts died years ago

 

[HolyCheck]

what? You posted that at 11, I was fast asleep by then.

Oh the GOMTV Dota 2 thing? Eh

You weren't on steam lol, seemed odd!

 

[Rahk]

Minimum chips? Potato cakes? Get outta here.

Urgh, open retail copy of game, punch cd key into steam, cd key already used

blurgh.

What game was it? Maybe Steam could do something about it if they investigate the account it is linked to, although Steam support is terrible so probably not. Worth a try.

 

[reptilescorpio]

I would prefer them to keep LucasArts open.

Eh, really sucks that people lose their jobs but my expectations were nil for their projects. Even after the 1313 trailer. Just tasted like bullshot and wouldn't turn out good enough.

EDIT: 150 is a lot less than I expected actually.

What game was it? Maybe Steam could do something about it if they investigate the account it is linked to, although Steam support is terrible so probably not. Worth a try.

Steam will just tell you to contact the publisher since it is most likely a double print.

 

[Jintor]

Yeah, steam's faq page is basically "NOT OUR PROBLEM BUB"

 

[codswallop]

I never caught the new Muppets Movie, and, in fact probably missed the new before that.

Someone like Jason Segel maybe be a stoner prankster or whatever

Jason Segel is a massive Muppets fan (watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall, that's basically him realising he'll never get to make a Muppets movie, or pitching one) so I'd say that one tried to stay true to the spirit of the early Muppets movies, even if modern considerations forced some other changes onto him.

 

[jambo]

LucasArts =[

 

[Omikron]

Sad, but LucasArts hadn't made a good game since Jedi Outcast.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Sad, but LucasArts hadn't made a good game since Jedi Outcast.

Raven made that.

RIP Raven

 

[Omikron]

Raven made that.

RIP Raven

Fucking. They did too.

So even further back!

 

[Fogz]

Grim Fandango

 

[Jintor]

I was going to mourn more but they haven't really done any games I liked since the Adventure era. Still, end of a venerable old institution kinda dealy.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Fucking. They did too.

So even further back!

Republic Commando was the last great internally developed game back in 2005 during that brief period they threw caution to the wind and made games like Battlefront.

Needed a fucking sequel.