Will H

Can I hear a woot woot? Very happy that Jagex is doing this, although it's been a long time coming. I think I'll join a clan soon, it might spice up the game a bit.

That's a question that needs a bit of clarification. If we're thinking up a hypothetical world where Runescape was created, but no fansites ever came of it because the game itself is different than the one we currently have, then it's clear that Runescape can't have been popular. If on the other hand, and I think this is the one Danq is referring to, we're coming up with a world where the Runescape game is identical, but by sheer coincidence, the founders of tip.it, runehq or any other real or imaginary fansite never discovered the game, then Runescape as a whole would have suffered for it. It would probably never have survived past the end of '06. If the fan sites went away now through sheer coincidence, Runescape would probably last a fair while, at least a few years. If the people who were members of the fansites disappeared too, it would collapse instantly. Then again, there would probably be global panic as thousands of people around the world vanish into thin air simultaneously, so that's the least of our worries.

Pretty much sums up my opinion. Events that benefit you which you can't postpone don't have a place in the game. The Bonus XP Weekends are completely out of character and IMHO shouldn't be continued. You're supposed to be able to play it at entirely your own pace.

I generally try to keep my character as Saradominist as possible, but the game really seems to put you through the path of either Guthix, Zaros, or just being self-centred and manipulative. Saradomin and Zamorak are usually portrayed as supported by naïve and unthinking people, or psychopaths, it's a tad strange when you consider that most of the human kingdoms and society are Saradominist yet function fairly well.

Oh yes they do. If they don't they're lying. Everyone is judgmental, no matter how much they say they're not. Now, being judgmental and taking a chance versus being judgmental and shunning the fellow is two different things. But what you wear, what you do--everything leaves impressions. You need to make friends with nicer people then, as well as grow a bit of self confidence. The only real judgement you will ever experience is your own, the judgements of others are derivative. They're coloured by their misconceptions and very often dumb ideas. I just joined university (my, how time has passed, I joined TIF back when I was studying my GCSEs), and discovering that a big proportion of my friends here used to play or still play Runescape has very much cemented our relationship. I'm probably a world class nerd, but in university and in the wider world that's accepted. I would feel perfectly confident getting and wearing one of the t-shirts, I particularly like the Combat Triangle one, I've always liked that picture.

Fine, Jagex, you win. I'll come back for this month. It's not a guarantee, not a promise, just a single subscription. Don't disappoint me.

I reckon we are going to see more scrolls as rewards exactly as you suggest, they're a really nice way of adding abilities to skills that go beyond the basics that pure level provide. On the other hand, they need to be appropriate rewards, not just 'oh, that's a good idea for a scroll, let's throw that in'. I can't imagine the Barbarians knowing many hidden secrets on efficient jewellery crafting, for example, but the Dwarves might.

The problem has been recognised and Jagex are going to try to address it, in a manner potentially much more elegant than increasing max Constitution. Here's hoping it works.

As I understand it, pking is already broken, and I can understand why. This is an attempt at fixing it, and I reckon they have the right idea. Implementation is another matter, however.

Ok, so why don't you do your little part and not provide business to said banks and self-interested corporations? I don't :P a least not directly Tbh, I'm waiting for everything to implode, indefinite economic growth is not as sustainable as some people think and that's what it's all about now'days. CONSUME CONSUME CONSUME. Of course nature has no economic value. What is nature? That's not a commodity. Move over nature, let me drain your blood, your blood is a commodity. I'm really not sure what you are trying to get across, it's as if you're posting from 2005. The global economy just came out of a recession caused by that mindset, and it's now been rejected by the public, governments and businesses worldwide. Economic growth is cyclical, so the best course of action is to minimise the effect of recession and thus accept it as a fact of life instead of ignoring it and suffering the consequences. Seriously, what's with the pessimism people?

Well, technology is simply how humans get on so well. Relative to other species on the planet, we don't have claws or big teeth, we can't run or swim fast, we can't fly or breathe underwater, and we're fairly useless with regulating heat in extreme hot or cold, and our physical strength is average. Our sense of smell and hearing is mediocre, although we have reasonably good eyes (which don't work very well at night). What we do have is our intelligence, so we can cooperate, make tools, create things that allow us to make up for our physical limitations. Evolutionary-speaking, we're the dominant species because that method is so much more versatile than actual physical abilities. To reject that is to reject part of who we are at a fundamental level. As such, technology has to be the way that we solve problems, and 'green' activists seem very keen to ignore the fact that these problems are being solved and the conditions imposed by the industrial revolution are being lifted. Our transport systems, particularly cars, are getting ever cleaner, especially now that they are fitted with catalytic converters as standard. We are developing better and better ways of generating energy from our world, and we can see a future where we get nuclear fusion sorted out, which will solve our energy problem for decades or even hundreds of years. That's enough time to actually colonise another planet like Mars or beyond. The idea that population is spiralling out of control is a myth. In many countries the fertility rate is lower than the sweet spot of about 2.1 and still falling, and the rate is falling on average all over the world. That number is the rate required for children to replace their parents. Any lower than that, and the population declines in the long term as the generations move on. Japan is a prime example of this. Fertility Rates If you really want to help the world, get into science and help fix it. Vegetarianism and technological recession is a cop out when a long term fix is available.

Really? Another reason why Canada is awesome.

I kinda do too. Why would a site like that even exist? I mean, if it's sole purpose (as it could be construed as:) is to leak documents... Couldn't that be said to propagate treason and thus by federal law be shut down? It's not an American based website, so no. The point here is that governments should be going under a 'nothing to hide' basis, and if they don't, Wikileaks will just force it. I think it's an admirable cause. If governments can't keep secrets from the world, then rather than being shown up with incriminating evidence, they'll be forced to toe the line even when they're not under the public spotlight. To me, that's strictly a good thing.

Of course they have the motivation to. The thing is, do they think they have the means to do it? You see, the image of a "perfect Korea" is just the military selling propganda to the civies so they don't think their lives suck. The military KNOWS the West is better for their people, and if they ever found out, the military will be wrong and thus loosing control and faith with the people. So in essence, it's the classic parent-child saying "Everything's ok". Really, its not, the parents know this, but the kid accepts it. Damn that's messed up. I see now, it's a power thing, I should have known. Even if the North overpowered the South's military, they'll never get the South Korean civilians to comply. You can stop them from learning about free markets, communication and democracy, but you can't make them unlearn what they already know. It's just a real pity that it's coming to this.

Kim spawnlings = Kimlings? :P But yeah, I've heard that as well. Apparently the older Kim's health isn't great....and promoting someone to general is pretty big in NK since head of state is also head of the army if I recall correctly? Correct. And Kim Jong Il is believed to have cancer, heart problems, and failing kidneys, among other things. I guess he's pretty Il. [/hide] lol'd :lol: Anyways, I don't know if South Korea is actually in alliance with any of the big boys. BUT, if they do ever start a war, it'd be best to leave the two Koreas to duke it out alone, without the aid of foreign countries. I mean, they were one country before, and if the States didn't go half way across the world, they probably still be today. Why did the States get to station their troops south of 38 after 1945? Why do they have to put their nose in everything? Same to the Soviets. Just leave them alone for chrissakes. We went over there because North Korea probably would have defeated South Korea, spreading communism through the entire country, strengthening their resolve, which would have only gotten stronger with time. The same reason we went into Iraq, to take down Suddam before he got too powerful (no, there were no weapons of mass destruction, but we did rid the world of him, which is a good thing). And to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if that's where I'll be deployed to (korea) within the next couple years. I think we should leave the whole Iraq debate for another thread if necessary, it's been flogged to death. One question, does the North really have any motivation to invade another country? They might throw a hissy fit and attack the borders in the name of self-defence, but I can't imagine why they would want to leave their country to invade another. I always thought they had the idea that North Korea was some kind of perfect place that shouldn't get involved with the 'outside world'. 'Nothing to envy...'

Sorry, I can't make sense of what you're saying. What is the extra feature, and what exactly is working once you've installed Firefox on the second laptop?

I couldn't help but think 'Achievement Unlocked' when I read some of the really cheesy titles. Still, it's a more elegant way of doing it once you accept its newness and foibles, and I approve. ...still not convinced to go back to members though.

Well, that's placed the Disturbing Mental Image of the Day in my head. Thank you.

Thinking that the trick isn't getting back more or equal energy as much as it is getting usable energy from something new, or from an old thing in a new way. Probably not going to come from this but would still be interesting if it develops along that kind of path. Out of curiosity, while we get energy out of both atoms, we only have to 'create' the antimatter, right? Might be interesting to see if we could use antimatter as a more efficient* way of disposing of matter we don't need or can't use. * More efficient than burying it or dumping it in the ocean Actually, that's a really good idea. If you can create a constant stream of antimatter, and then send it into the waste matter, it would annihilate it and convert it into photons and heat (feel free to attach a generator to reduce the cost of the matter-antimatter generation). Then, if we can trap the produced matter particles, slow them down enough to bind with each other, it would be possible to form fuel for nuclear fusion. Deuterium or Helium-3 sound like good candidates. You'll also release energy doing so, feel free to generate electricity from that too. ...there's probably a reason that you can't do this, but if the technology's refined enough, it sounds like it could work.

Fair enough. Just making things clear. :) Particle physics me is now curled up in a corner, silently weeping. It's physically impossible to get back more, or even equal energy, no matter how good we get at it. First law of thermodynamics; the energy you put in to create the particles would equal the energy you get out from annihilation. Also, you'll always lose some energy during the process of trying to get the energy into a usable form from the annihilation, probably in the form of heat. On the other hand, it's stores energy with 100% efficiency, which is still pretty funky.

I swear Angels and Demons was both the worst and best things that has happened to particle physics. It's made people interested, but it's given them completely wrong ideas. Antimatter is unfeasible for use as a weapon, or at least by any known or experimental methods. You have to stop the stuff from colliding with the walls of the container. You can do that with very strong electromagnetic fields, but that requires supercooled magnets at a temperature barely a degree above absolute zero. That in turn requires machinery the size of a large office block, not to mention the liquid helium and a huge electrical supply. And that will only hold a few atoms of antimatter. You may as well keep your nukes.

This is going off A-level knowledge but basically, it's possible to create matter from energy if you've got enough of it. The only snag is every time this happens, two particles are always created instead of one. One is considered 'matter' and the other 'antimatter'. As far as we know, they are physically identical, although they have opposite charges. So, if you have the right wavelength of light, it can split into an electron and a positron, which will arc away. These particles can also collide in the reverse process, producing the photon with the same wavelength and energy which created them in the first place in a process called annihilation. The same thing can be done with any particle if you've got enough time and energy to do so. It's so difficult to keep antimatter in a container made of matter because it will easily hit the side and convert into photons again. If you take an electron made of matter, and a proton also made of matter, and let them bind together, they form hydrogen which is found everywhere in the universe. Similarly, if you take an antimatter positron (the counterpart of an electron), and an antimatter antiproton (the counterpart of a proton), they form antihydrogen. Presumably, antihydrogen has its own chemistry and if the stuff didn't annihilate as soon as it touches anything made of matter, you could create bigger things like anticarbon and antimolecules. The problem is, if matter is found everywhere in the universe, where is all the antimatter? Scientists are trying to look for a subtle difference that antimatter has that made so much of it disappear without taking nearly all of the matter from the universe with it. The ability to trap antimatter and keep it in place for a long enough period to study it in detail is a big step forward, although it's not a discovery as such. It's the prelude to a discovery, and I'm looking forward to it.

Isn't keeping the source code a secret exactly what developers hoping to gain a profit from their software do anyway? If this is the case, how does patenting software serve any justifiable purpose? Nobody could have possibly infringed your patent on your own software because they can't access it.

Hooray, SMP damage will be out next week! :D But wait, there's more... Transcribed from The Word of Notch, since copy/paste did strange things to it: Extremely excited for the future of SMP. I think we're really nearing beta now, if this update doesn't do it.

I thought body modification was dying out, something that was popular about 10 years ago. I rarely see anyone with even a visible tattoo nowadays. I'm not going to stop anyone from going ahead with it, but you deserve exactly what's coming as a direct consequence of it. To be honest, I don't mind if people have one that symbolises something important to them in an elegant way. On the other hand, anything generic or ugly just makes you look desperate to stand out, and it never works. Also, please don't mess with your face. It's how you communicate with others and anything you do to it is never going to be something personal. People will associate you with the tattoo, not your personality, and no tattoo can ever look as good as a good personality.