inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Nov 28, 2020 7:04:01 GMT
I haven't actually done a playthrough recruiting Loghain, but I have Youtubed it, and his attitude when Zevran has that conversation with him makes me want to. lol It's my canon worldstate that Loghain becomes a Warden in Origins and heroic sacrifices himself in Inquisition.
As much as I hate having to lose Alistair, Loghain's redemption in DAI makes that decision ultimately worth it. Recruiting him is also worth it because you get to understand his motivations a bit more and that he wasn't power-hungry, but really did think he was doing the right thing to protect Ferelden.
Having that kind of conversation with Solas if we can talk him down and get him to join us, would be really eye-opening to learn exactly what was going on in his mind and why he was doing all the things he did in Inquisition, Trespasser and DA4.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Nov 28, 2020 6:32:16 GMT
despite having the creative freedom this season, which mostly does become the show well, some fun ideas to change the order of things upside down, the writing staff still continue with the annoying over dramatization, too teary and melodramatic ALL THE TIME for my taste. Plus it demonstrates that the only way Alex Kurtzman and his 20 other producers (seriously, the opening titles spend more time on producers than cast members) could make the show interesting was by utterly burning the whole franchise to the ground and start again, removing most of what made Trek, Trek.
(Why do you really think the universe shattering event was called "the Burn").
It doesn't help either that they're ripping off Andromeda by having the crew be relics from a bygone era that were thrown forward in time, only to discover they've entered the Galactic Dark Ages and now must embark on a mission to restore the Commonwealth Federation.
Another Life starring Katee Sackhoff (the main draw card for me) had what I thought would be a good premise but OMG the acting, story, SFX if you can clall them that are pretty woeful. I am giving it a chance ATM after Katee Sachoff's character punched one of the other characters in the nose and threw another into an electrical field and killed them. That is truly how bad some fo the writing and other actors are. I thought it picked up by the end of S1 personally, but I can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Nov 28, 2020 6:14:32 GMT
I've also always been somewhat suspicious of Ariane from Wolf Hunt. She claims to be Dalish and that Morrigan stole a book about eluvians that had belonged to her clan for many years. However, Sabrae clan seemed initially unaware of the connection between the eluvian we find in the Dalish origin and the ancient elves, or it was something only known to the Keeper Marethari and her First Merrill. The Dalish mainly base their knowledge on an oral tradition and things they are able to find in old ruins. So where did the book come from? It seems hard to believe it was just lying around somewhere waiting to be found by Ariane's clan. However, if she had been an agent with the book, who joined a clan in order to use them, much as Felassan did, to try and find eluvians and get them working again, then that could better explain how the clan had the book. Not all Dalish have access to the same knowledge though. Some clans are more fluent in Elven than others, have Keepers capable of shapeshifting or have retained more "accurate" knowledge of their history. That's why most clans try to meet up every ten years or so to share their knowledge and knew discoveries with one another.
Until Masked Empire, it seems that most clans were generally unaware of the existence of Eluvians or otherwise considered them forgotten relics that were best left alone, especially after what happened to Tamlen began to circulated among the other clans (Ariane and Zathrian's clan both mention him).
(But I'll take any excuse to replay Witch Hunt to check if her story holds up)
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Nov 27, 2020 14:09:38 GMT
This talk about Solas agents awakening before him reminds me of Sketch, which is a former companion of Leliana who now seems very sketchy given all the information we've received in the last few years. Elan Ve'mal, the Elf who takes over from Adan in Skyhold has always struck me as very suspicious.
Inquisitor: Where did you receive your training?
Elan Ve'mal: I studied with Adan after he left the service of the King of Ferelden, well, after the King was no longer there to serve. Our college of associate tends to meet informally, I've since been fortunate enough to serve various heads of state. They are all as good as another, truth be told. My skills and contacts are better suited to more immediate need.
She's worked for numerous heads of state, all while maintaining a position that puts her completely beneath notice, making her perfectly placed to be utilised as a spy. At the same time, her work allows her to have numerous contacts across Thedas without it seeming overtly suspicious.
Inquisitor: I take it you're a city elf, not Dalish? Elan Ve'mal: It's... not a useful identifier. I am an Elf. I was raised away from the Dalish. No, I do not know their customs. Perhaps that was not immediately obvious. It's of little concern. I have skill enough to be evaluated by what I can do. My associates appreciate my work.
This is strange because saying City Elf would have been easier here, wouldn't it? Her insistence that she's an Elf comes across as somewhat defensive, as if she doesn't want to be considered kin to the City Elves that live in slums. At the same time, she seems to look down on the Dalish and their customs. It's very reminiscent of how Solas acts towards modern Elves, making me wonder if she's not another Ancient Elf or one of his agents. On the other hand, she could also be Qunari or part of some other faction, hence why she doesn't consider herself to be City or Dalish. Whatever the case, she then immediately seems to try to change the subject, as though she accidentally revealed too much.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Nov 27, 2020 13:35:38 GMT
I really miss the ability to fall from great heights and not get hurt. I understand that there is a ability that minimizes it, but still... I don't, it was weird that Odyssey didn't include fall damage.
The coolest part of performing a leap of faith in the older games was that it was the only time you could fall from a great height without either being heavily injured or automatically desynchronised. The whole conceit of the leap of faith was that assassins were highly trained and knew how to fall properly into things without being injured.
I enjoyed Odyssey, but being able to jump off a cliff and survive was rather immersion breaking.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Nov 27, 2020 13:12:13 GMT
I'm late to Picard because it finally came out on Bluray. I finished the series yesterday and got serious Mass Effect's Project Lazarus and Reaper invasion vibes off of the plot resolution. Anyone else suspicious that there was some sort of influence there? Also, there was something really weird/meta about having 7-of-9 (the former sexy eye-candy on Voyager) killing the 2 sexy-vampy female eye-candy antagonists on the series with such prejudice. You mean because it has an ancient beacon that gives people visions that can drive them crazy, there are rogue androids running around and the big threat is extra-galactic doomsday machines who want to wipe out all organic life in the Milky Way?
Nah, that doesn't sound like Mass Effect at all.
Between the shutterstock art being used in the beacon's vision and the not-Reapers sound effects being suspiciously similar to the Geth, was there anything in Picard that Kurtzman didn't rip off from better science fiction?
Michael is one of my least favourites, but she changes and it's not a hill I'm dying on. She has potential for growth. True, by S3 she's thankfully no longer that complete charisma black hole she was in S1.
Unfortunately Burnham still exerts a strong gravitational influence over the cast that prevents them from escaping her entirely, as well as meaning that whenever she's around, they only exist to orbit her rather than being allowed to be interesting characters in their own right.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Nov 27, 2020 12:43:17 GMT
In the Red Jenny epilogue slide, the Inquisitor's prosthetic hand even has a GRAPPLING HOOK!
I like Aveline, but I do conveniently forget some of her bullshit it, admittedly This is the sarcastic dialogue options are so satisfying when it comes to Aveline, as you're deflating her BS with constant trolling.
unknown source All hail random Qunari bro.
He protecc. He attacc.
But most importantly,
He got Hawke's bacc.
Precisely! It's the last place in Thedas anyone would ever think to look!
It's quite literally taking refuge in audacity!
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Nov 27, 2020 12:12:58 GMT
"My people had a saying long ago: The healer has the bloodiest hands."
Anders in a nutshell. So... do you guys think Solas is gonna survive DA4? I think it'll be an option, in at least some capacity. I hope it is, anyway. I'd like the option to recruit him as a companion if we spare him, because we've not really had antagonist-turned-ally in a Bioware game for a while now. In Origins and Awakening, three of the Warden's companions actively tried to murder them and they still let them join (leading to an hilarious conversation between Zevran and Loghain).
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Aug 4, 2020 9:37:37 GMT
After his vogueing in the practice section being mostly just him swinging the sword, I didn't have super high hopes, but our boy can move. Earlier in the game he said, "I don't dance".
He never said he can't.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Aug 4, 2020 9:24:01 GMT
It's sad that this makes perfect sense when you look at what modern Trek has become.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Aug 4, 2020 9:16:37 GMT
Wow, that is interesting. Thanks for that info. Pretty crazy. I think if the destruction of King's Landing had truly been an accident, caused by wildfire no less (which Dany could have attributed to Cercei then), that would have changed the dynamic of the last two episodes entirely. I am not sure if it would have been better or worse. If they'd have still kept the whole rest of the plot as it is, there would have been endless debate on whether Jon's actions later were justified or not (I'd say going as far as to kill Dany was only somewhat justified because she mass murdered civilians before and showed intent to do so again). It might have been very interesting but it might also have pushed all the other characters into a very unbelievable actions. Or maybe the entire plotline after the destruction of King's Landng could have changed in which case, who knows if it would have been better or worse. Yea, but I can definitely see Emilia Clarke going WTF?!? when she first saw the final cut. I could imagine that might happen to actors rather frequently. There is a lot of stuff you can do with editing. As I wrote before, I think the general plotline with Dany going slightly insane is actually fine. IMO, all they needed was to improve and better explain the flipping moment. But well, that's all water under the bridge now. Also, I didn't realize the inclusion of Dorne into S5 was a last minute decision. If so, it certainly doesn't look it. I am glad they put it in there. What makes it stranger is; The show actually seemed to be setting up the accidentally destruction of King's Landing by wildfire earlier in the season, as we're shown Cersei bringing in civilians into the Red Keep to act as human shields and sending Qyburn to locate all of Aerys' remaining hidden caches of wildfire. It definitely seemed like Cersei's plan was either to blow up the city and blame it on Dany or trick her into attacking the Red Keep and trigger a chain reaction that would destroy the city. The whole Dorne debacle in S5 was due to similar mismanagement.
D&D are huge fans of Indira Varma (which I can't blame them for) and wanted to show her off more than they did in S4, where she was mostly limited to being just Oberyn's girlfriend. So they decided to "re-conceive the role around her" in S5 to make her the leader of the Dornish faction pushing for war with the Lannisters, despite her character being firmly anti-war in the books and largely fading into the background after Oberyn's death.
The set design and costuming department reportedly had to rush to get everything ready/built on such short notice and the fight choreographers had a tough time because D&D insisted on filming the palace scenes in a world heritage site, despite the very strict filming regulations limiting what they could do. That's why most of the fight scenes in the palace are choppily edited and have a ton of continuity errors, because it was an absolute nightmare trying to film.
I get the feeling that in ten years, once all the cast have the freedom to be more candid, we're going to get some amazing tell-all books/interviews revealing some of the mayhem that happened behind the scenes.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jul 30, 2020 7:26:32 GMT
3. The Bells of King's Landing Now, here is probably the bigge4st criticism I have about s8. I agree with most people (I think it's what most people thought) that Daenerys' Dragon attack after the bells rang was just baffling and frankly simply unexplained. Now, I am not saying that it makes absolutely no sense for her to just loose her shit. That was foreshadowed pretty well with increasing (though always somewhat justifiable until now) acts of horrific violence and her increasing enthusiasm for burning people alive. However, I don't think they provided a good explanation as to what turned her in this moment. She saw the bells ringing, Tyrion had explained to her what that meant and she could even hear all the cries of surrender throughout the city. She could see the Lannister soldiers throwing their swords to the ground. She had every reasons to believe that Cercei was trapped in the Red Keep. I'd even get that she'd fly up to the Red Keep and have Drogon blow the upper levels there to bits. But instead she methodically burns street after street in the lower city and THAT did not make sense at all, especially since she only did extremely surgical air strikes on the walls before this. So the authors clearly wanted to show that she lost it in this moment but why? There is no reason given. After watching, I read an article about a deleted scene where she sees all the Lannister sigils in the throne room but it didn't sound like that would make it better. IMO, there wasn't much needed there. Ideally, Cercei would have taunted her one last time (in order to keep her remaining troops from surrendering), maybe by catapulting the remains of the Targaryen ancestors at her or maybe the dragon skull of Balerion from the dungeons (and than Drogon could also be the one going mad and she more follows him along rather anything else). Give us some spark and I would have gotten it but that spark was not provided and thus her final turning point lacked reasoning. (BTW, loved the later shot where the dragon spreads his wings behind her, so she looks like a dragon herself, awesome cinematogrpahy there.) Otherwise, I think the destruction of King's Landing worked well and was visually absolutely stunning. You could tell that they took some glee in taking their sets apart finally. Regarding the Bells, the Youtuber DragonDemands actually got a hold of the script for that episode that was submitted to the WGA for their archives (which anyone can request to see) and it seems to be vastly different from the final episode that we got. This means that it was either an early draft, a fake script that they for whatever reason chose to submit anyway, or that D&D deliberately made huge changes from what they had originally intended.
The evidence pointing to the script being changed include;
Concept art and comments by the VFX team revealing that most of the destruction of King's Landing was originally supposed to be from an accidental Wildfire explosion set off by Dany, rather than her intentionally carpet-bombing the city with Dragonfire. The VFX team even talk about how some of the shots of civilians being killed by Dragonfire was meant to be Wildfire and they changed the colour from Green to Red, as well as how the bricks collapsing on Jaime and Cersei was originally meant to be Dragonfire. (Another note about the VFX being changed at the last minute is that they were still working on completing the finale three weeks before it aired... yikes.)
In Emilia Clarke's interviews she never acts like Daenerys snapped or went crazy, but instead talks about how her anger was directed entirely towards Cersei. That makes sense if she believed that Dany's sole target was Cersei and that any destruction Dany caused in King's Landing was accidental, whereas the final episode has Dany take her sweet time burning the city needlessly rather than go directly to the Red Keep to take down Cersei.
DragonDemands actually went further to suggest that Emilia Clarke might not even have known that Dany would burn down the city and it was kept from her. After all, all her filming for that scene involved sitting on a rig surrounded by Greenscreen, so it's not exactly like she'd see anything that would tip her off. Keep in mind, we never actually cut back to Dany's POV after Drogon takes off.
While that might sound conspiratorial, Emilia did admit that she was confused why in the next episode that Jon was acting so furious towards Dany in the throne room, as if she was completely unaware of what Dany had done in purposefully burning down King's Landing. Another interesting detail is that Emilia completely made up on the spot Dany's speech in the final episode, cobbled from what she remembered of previous speeches she's given in previous seasons. That she had to improvise it rather than having it written by the language consultant who'd normally write that dialogue, definitely hints at this being a last minute change to the script, meant to make her seem more sinister and justifying Jon having to kill her. Of course, the entire thing is speculation, but the various bits of information we've gotten, coupled with how much of a complete omnishambles S8 was and how D&D often seemingly made huge creative decisions on a whim (like adding Dorne in at the last minute in S5), it does kinda paint a compelling picture.
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Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jul 30, 2020 6:39:11 GMT
Oh, great. More Midnight's Edge hysteria. Aye, my issue with Midnight's Edge is that when they do investigative reporting, it's frequently well researched and top-notch stuff. But then they'll follow that up with a video that's nothing but naysaying and riddled with their own personal biases, overshadowing the actual news they're trying to report on.
The flagrant misrepresentation of certain facts in videos also annoys me about that bunch of Youtubers.
I remember a few of them did videos about how Doctor Who S12 had the lowest ratings in 31 years... which is kinda odd, because I seem to recall that 31 years ago the show was cancelled and then wasn't on the air for the next 16 years. If they wanted to claim that S12 was the lowest ratings since it came back in 2005, that's fine, but are they seriously claiming that the show had better ratings when it wasn't being made or on television, compared to now?
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jul 3, 2020 14:03:27 GMT
They'd do better to start by erasing the whole thing starting with Force Awakens, as that movie had just as many problems as TLJ and ROS did when it came to how it treated the original characters and how poorly conceived the whole setting was.
We are left to assume the First Order are the Imperial Remnants, but how big are their forces? How big is the New Republic? How powerful are the sides in comparison to one another and why are the Resistance the only ones seemingly fighting them?
We only really know any of that information from supplementary materials, but none of it is explained in the movie proper. From how TFA depicts the NR, it looks to be five planets clustered together that we only see right before they are atomised by Starkiller base. It neither does a very good job of showing, nor telling us what the stakes are.
In the original trilogy, right from the first shot we could see the oppressive juggernaut that is the Galactic Empire as it hunts down a tiny Rebel ship, setting up how severely outmatched our heroes are. That is then reinforced when we see the Death Star in action for the first time, setting up the stakes and letting the audience know why the Empire cannot be allowed to win.
The original film didn't explain everything, but we were given enough information and shown just enough to be able to follow the story, without needing an artbook and looking up Wookiepedia to understand what X Plot Point was. We weren't told what the Kessel Run or Clone Wars were about, but they trusted that audiences were smart enough to figure it out from the gist of what the characters were talking about.
Unfortunately the sequel trilogy seems to treat worldbuilding as though you can simply namedrop things without providing any context for them, while not bothering to further elaborate on those things when they later becomes relevant to the plot.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jul 3, 2020 13:18:11 GMT
Yes, reviews are totally immune to pressure from outside sources.... /s Ya'll need to wake up. Theodore Roosevelt: Critics don't matter. Historians: Hang a moment, didn't one of your critics shoot you? Theodore Roosevelt: And I still finished my speech, because it didn't matter.
Historians: So your response to criticism, like bullets, was to ignore it?
Theodore Roosevelt: Yes. Historians: Huh, I guess Troy Baker's quote checks out then.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jul 3, 2020 12:58:05 GMT
What it says, I always felt my channel’s video had a void where Grey Warden lore should be and now I have filled it! Also, GRIFFONS! How long do you think it'll be before someone makes an obligatory "Does this video have any Griffons in it?" comment?
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Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jul 3, 2020 12:49:53 GMT
Making progress with my playthrough of BG1, currently in Chapter Four; About to head to Cloakwood, but debating over whether to pick up Minsc and Dynaheir now or wait until after? Gameplay-wise I know there's no reason not to do this and I could have picked them up way earlier, but storywise I've been travelling with party members who have reasons to be going to the places that I'm heading; For example, I travelled with Xzar and Montaron to Naskhel before parting ways, travelled briefly with Kagain to discover the missing caravan before leaving him back at his shop, helped Branwen get revenge on the mage who turned her to stone (since I had my own reasons for finding him) and currently been helping Ajantis and Kivan fight bandits, while making my way to Tazok to help Kivan get revenge on him for killing his lover. (I know that I'm making the game far more complicated than it needs to be and there is no benefit at all for doing any of this, but it's meant to be an RPG, right?) Not sure if keeping Kivan around until after Cloakwood is going to hurt Minsc or Dynaheir level-wise or not? I'm still rather low-level (3 or 4) so it hopefully shouldn't impact them too much, but at the same time, I'm not sure how tough the enemies are in Cloakwood?
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Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jul 3, 2020 12:00:16 GMT
Don't know if I mentioned it the first time but the episode with Pike finding out about his fate and then finding out that it would change if he does not take the time crystals has some interesting parallels to Picard's time traveling experiment with Q where he got to find out the back story behind his artificial heart. Pike's horror at learning his fate and then without hesitation still deciding to set himself irrevocably on that course, sacrificing himself for the greater good, was the moment that cemented my love of the character.
While I didn't agree with all his decisions in S2, he is exactly what I think a Starfleet Captain should be and Anson Mount's immediate charisma from the moment he showed up left me thinking by his first episode that I'd much rather be watching a show about him than any of the characters on the Discovery.
First poster for "Lower Decks". I don't think this is going to be for me. The art style of the characters looks too cartoon-ish for my taste. Unless it is super funny and has exactly my kind of humor, I doubt I'll watch it for long. I actually kinda like aesthetic of the ship though (I like that they went with an Enterprise D style deflector dish). But one question: How the heck are people getting from the saucer to engineering and the warp core on this ship? The turbo lifts would have to run through (or at least alongside) the nacells. That sounds like a really bad idea. Especially in a show that is supposed to take place mainly on the lower decks, that seems very odd. Ensign Boimler's face on the poster mirrors that of most fans, I expect.
The concept of a "Lower Decks" show is brilliant, but I don't know why they decided to make this an animated series rather than a live action one? I suppose if they wanted to do something more lighthearted and comedic, that does suit animation better than live-action, but wouldn't a Star Trek series with a large ensemble cast that doesn't focus on the same 6 people on the bridge be a cool change of pace?
And you're right about the ship's design, why name the show "Lower decks" when then engineering section looks like it only contains the warp core and deflector, with the main hub of activity being located in the saucer section (upper decks). I suppose technically the name can apply to anything below the Bridge, but still... the name did make a lot of sense on the Ent-D because the engineering section was where most people worked, while the saucer was where they lived.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jun 22, 2020 7:11:23 GMT
Starfleet's insignia is already based on NASA's. I have a feeling that's true even in-universe.
Starfleet seems to have been born out of the United Earth Space Probe Agency, which itself was likely formed out of NASA, the ISA and the various space agencies merging when the United Earth government was formed.
Kirk even claimed the Enterprise was part of the UESPA in early TOS, which makes me wonder if "Starfleet" was once a separate branch of the organisation that eventually took over responsibility for all other departments, or else was a nickname for the UESPA that later was adopted as their formal name.
So the United States seems to be tearing itself apart...for reasons...but perhaps completely coincidentally I got to Far Beyond the Stars in my rewatching of DS9. It is one of the few advantages that episodic television has over the more serialized stuff today...its rare that you have pure episodes of concentrated awesome like this. Though I guess Disco's season 2 finale could also count but I introduced it to my wife as 'perhaps the finest hour of Star Trek ever'. It really is a foot race between this and In the Pale Moonlight. And oh so relevant to what's going on in the news. I'm struck by how relevant and eerily prescient parts of the "Past Tense" two-parter have ended up becoming.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jun 21, 2020 13:33:33 GMT
- We don't yet know how quickly the Quickening had an effect on the ancient Elves. Did they immediately start growing old and dying once the Veil was raised, or were the elves who were born pre-Veil immune to the Quickening and it was elves born afterwards that started showing signs of mortality? If the former, then perhaps now that he is out of uthenera, Solas is aging so he feels the keenness of time.
I think that all Elves were affected after the Veil came down, as Solas seems to suggest it completely severed them from whatever it was in the Fade that was responsible for maintaining their immortality.
The prime evidence supporting them all being mortal would be Abelas.
If you drink from the Well you are able to translate the mysterious codex entries from the Temple that are written (seemingly) by him, which laments how the younger Sentinels do not remember things as they were before or when the Creators would walk among them, implying that he comes from before the Veil.
However Abelas tells us that he and the other Sentinels only ever awaken from Uthenera to defend the temple, before returning to their slumber, suggesting that rather than immortality is the only reason any of them have survived until the modern day.
If any Ancient Elves from before the Veil still possessed their immortality, you'd expect to hear about those who opted to take the slow path through the centuries to maintain their vigil while the others slept. You'd also expect to find the Temple in a much better state than an overgrown ruin, if there had been anyone around who could have maintained and repaired the place over the years.
(On a slight tangent, isn't it weird to think that the elderly "Librarian" Sentinel could actually be younger than Abelas, but due to spending more time out of Uthenera, might have ended up appearing decades his senior?)
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jun 21, 2020 12:44:32 GMT
Damn, we've lost a national treasure. Holm was a very good Bilbo, Also good in the 5th element. One really good performance of his is in a movie called "The Sweet Hereafter." Not sure how many people have seen that movie. From Hell was another great performance from him.
I can never decide if that film is good or bad, only that the cast was stellar and Ian Holm's portrayal of Jack the Ripper was downright terrifying.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jun 21, 2020 12:15:41 GMT
In many ways, the idea that Merrill is an innocent puppy is a misconception that both fans and the other companions share. She shows interest in sex in many party banters, which reminds us that she isn't a child. She can be sarcastic when she wants to be and knows how to defend herself from insults. And her goal with the mirror involves a concept of "The end justifies the means", which is unwise but a mature theme regardless. If she seems clueless or a little slow, that's simply because she is out of her element as a Dalish elf living in the city. The DA2 companions and part of the fandom see a cute little flower because they're only looking at the surface. At the risk of igniting another debate regarding the "Unreliable Narrator" aspect to DA2, Merrill's fluctuating characterisation throughout the game could lend credence to the notion that Varric may have skewed his portrayal of certain companions based on his perceptions and feelings towards them (especially in the case of Anders), as well as how he might have wanted to portray them to Cassandra.
After all, Varric would be trying to convince the Seeker interrogating him that his close friend, a maleficar who has freely consorted with demons and been obsessively tinkering with a magic mirror for several years, wasn't dangerous despite of all of the above reasons giving her ample reason to think so. Wouldn't he have had a better chance of convincing Cassandra that Merrill wasn't dangerous by playing up her sweetness, absent-mindedness and innocence?
By painting her as someone who wouldn't hurt a fly, Varric could downplay her more questionable activities as the result of Merrill being naive, reckless and largely unaware of the danger of what she was doing. When in reality, she knew what she was doing was dangerous and chose to do it anyway, which is why during her personal quests, she appears more mature, less meek and fully cognisent of the consequences of her actions.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
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8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on Jun 21, 2020 10:59:12 GMT
#Seb is basically ‘I accidentally joined a gang but they’re too nice to leave’ I wonder how long it took him to realise that his new friends hadn't exactly killed the members of Flint Company because they were noble spirits actively seeking to avenge his murdered family... but more because they'd just happened to stumble onto them while on the way to kill an entirely different group of people (that day)?
Loving this thread
This is canon and I refuse to believe otherwise.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on May 14, 2020 8:44:00 GMT
So let me see if I understand this logic from Dolores; Caleb not wanting to rape robot women is what made him eligible as future leader of humanity and arbiter of his species' fate. I know that she's not got exactly the best view of humanity after all she's been through, but I dunno, doesn't that like a really low bar for picking someone?
What if it turned out that Caleb was gay and that his decision wasn't just based on his belief that it was morally wrong, but because those hosts went against his sexual preference? Or what if he didn't want his men to sleep with the hosts because he's simply not down with the concept of robosexuality?
I'm sure that Delores would have checked his profile to see exactly why he made that choice, but that's information the audience is never privy to, so it comes across as a pretty flimsy rationale for choosing him of all people to be such an integral part of her scheme.
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inherit
Champion of Kirkwall
1212
0
8,023
Sifr
3,737
Aug 25, 2016 20:05:11 GMT
August 2016
sifr
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquistion, KOTOR, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Jade Empire
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Post by Sifr on May 14, 2020 8:20:41 GMT
No so much a confession as a random thought I had last night: I've said before that I think there was a servant in Redcliffe (Goldanna's mother) who died in childbirth, along with the babe, right at the time infant Alistair was brought to Redcliffe. King Maric might have visited Redcliffe near enough to the baby's conception (or at least near enough for a child's logic) and Goldanna convinced herself that Maric was the father. But what if Eamon actually was having an affair with the servant, and he was the father of Goldanna's brother? And it was the subsequent rumors of the other servants coupled with Eamon's interest in young Alistair that had Isolde convinced that Alistair was Eamon's. Then Eamon was left to privately mourn a son that no one else is even allowed to know exist, because that kid is supposed to be Alistair. Do I necessarily think this is true? No, but something to think about. I've never put it together until now how much Alistair's story is cribbed from Jon Snow's.
He's a royal bastard and secret heir to the throne, doesn't know who is mother is, his (supposed) mother supposedly died in childbirth, his uncle is mistakenly believed by most people be his father, he joined an secretive order of warriors dedicated to protecting humanity from a hidden threat, a witch with mysterious powers is attempting (reluctantly in Morrigan's case) to bang him for her own purposes, and lastly, he has the "blood of the dragon" in his veins (if you believe Yavana).
I totally deserve that massive "whoosh" that's coming my way.
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