Hamtaro

How far do you think Jagex (or the investors) will actually take this, though? It's going to take a lot for them to release an update that can get much worse than this. They'd have to release full blown micro-transactions where you buy a blue phat for $1k or something ridiculous like that. Come to think of it, what if there were product placement in RuneScape? That would be pretty horrible playing an advertisement. I can see it now... You should reread my post. Read the bold lettering carefully, and see the year progression of Insight Venture Partner's control.. I was actually having a conversation about the bolded contents of your post with one of my non-RS friends earlier. It's a strange thought that RuneScape might not be around a year or two from now if the investors run Jagex into the ground. I'm not really sure how that relates to my query about what else the investors will do, though. I have no doubt that these shenanigans will continue, but I was just trying to brainstorm specific ways that they could ruin the game.

How far do you think Jagex (or the investors) will actually take this, though? It's going to take a lot for them to release an update that can get much worse than this. They'd have to release full blown micro-transactions where you buy a blue phat for $1k or something ridiculous like that. Come to think of it, what if there were product placement in RuneScape? That would be pretty horrible playing an advertisement. I can see it now...

Time Howard on Everton gets a shut out, Arsenal beats City, and Fulham ties Chelsea 1-1 off a goal from Dempsey in the 82nd minute. Great week for football :thumbup:.

Yeah the bracket isn't fixed, which is why you maintain your original seed. Re-seeding is when you take someone else's seed for beating them. Anyway, here's my bracket:

Is that really a re-seed though? I always thought they just based it off the original standings... Yeah, you're right. Re-seeding would be like what the March Madness bracket does where you take the seeding of the team you beat (only if it's a higher seed, the only exception being the final four where it would revert back). If the NHL re-seeded, then (for example) New Jersey would take the 3 seed from Florida if New Jersey defeated Florida in the first round. Winner of 1 vs. 8 automatically plays winner of 4 vs. 5 Winner of 2 vs. 7 automatically plays winner of 3 vs. 6 Winner of 1 vs. 8/4 vs. 5 automatically plays winner of 2 vs. 7/3 vs. 6 Let's say an 8 seed beat a 1 seed and no other game was an upset. This 8 seed would get to play the 4 seed while the 2 seed would be stuck playing the 3 seed. As it works now, the 2 seed would get to play the 8 seed and the 3 seed would get to play the 4 seed. Also, classic Sharks with the hook/extra man combo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daaU4QCM5MY

Yeah I have to admit I didn't even consider Phoenix beating St. Louis a possibility. I didn't even think Phoenix was any good, let alone good enough to beat a top seed. However, I still feel that the whole Pacific division is going down in the first round. Anyway Nashville hosting Detroit is sounding more appealing at this point because I just really hope the Wings don't have to play any west coast teams. Why? Because [bleep] games at 10:30 PM. Over the past two years we've had to play 13 west coast games in the playoffs and the ensuing lack of sleep is miserable. Losing in 7 to Nashville sounds a lot more appealing than playing mostly west coast games... Also, I seriously doubt the 4th seed is an option at this point because, should the Wings beat the Hawks tomorrow, Colorado may conveniently play all rookies against Nashville (just to spite us from the 90s rivalry). Regardless of tomorrow's outcomes, it's playoff hockey time :thumbsup:. Really looking forward to the Pens/Flyers series (and maybe even a Canucks/Sharks series!) right now.

[spoiler=My Predictions (will edit after final positions are set if necessary)]Conference Quarter-Finals: St. Louis (1) > San Jose (8): 6 games Vancouver (2) > Phoenix (7): 4 games Chicago (6) > LA (3): 5 games Nashville (4) > Detroit (5): 7 games New York (1) > Washington (8): 5 games Boston (2) > Ottawa (7): 5 games New Jersey (6) > Florida (3): 6 games Pittsburgh (4) > Philadelphia (5): 7 games Conference Semi-Finals: St. Louis (1) > Chicago (6): 6 games Vancouver (2) > Nashville (4): 7 games New York (1) > New Jersey (6): 5 games Pittsburgh (4) > Boston (2): 6 games Conference Finals: St. Louis (1) > Vancouver (2): 7 games Pittsburgh (4) > New York (1): 7 games Stanley Cup Finals: Pittsburgh (E4) > St. Louis (W1): 6 games Should the positions finish as I've listed them, the only first round series from each conference that could really go either way is the 4/5 game. Pittsburgh appears to be the best team in the NHL right now, but their record against Philly is 1-4. The Detroit/Nashville series is tied at 3 a piece, but Detroit is just not playing like a playoff team right now (then again, neither is Nashville). IMO, Vancouver is good, but terribly overrated due to the joke of a division they played in this year, so I don't expect them to make it to the Finals again. However, I still believe the Conference Finals scenario I've listed could go either way for both conferences.

I will continue my subscription so long as there are no micro-transactions. However, I will never pay for any "bonus" items (like the ones from the 3 month cards), spins, or anything other than the subscription fee.

Baseball, basketball, rap, drinking, Call of Duty, sports video games, and movies would be my list. I can see the appeal for others, but they're just not for me.

The first two episodes are (legally) online here: http://www.korranation.com/ Episode 2 was even better than episode 1 in my opinion.

So did anyone have any thoughts on the list-style article? Is that something that you would like to see again in the future?

In context, it is quite expensive to get it to 99 and it was even more difficult to do so before the hyper-inflation of Summer '09. That hyper-inflation was unforeseen by Jagex and was caused by (as NukeMarine reminded me) the 76k trick. Nowadays, it might not seem so expensive as it was intended to be.

Hello there, Lmac. Thank you for your feedback. We actually have a thread dedicated to feedback on the direction of the Times here. Just as recently as 2 months ago, we were being criticized as "Jagex fanboys" and "wanna-be-mods" because of the content of our articles. I think you just happened to catch us on a bad week. Normally we try to have a balance of articles, but there was a bit of a messy situation this week, so we were forced to publish an article we were planning on publishing at a later date. As a result, the week may have seemed particularly negative. I have an article due to be published this week and I can assure you it's positive.

Write a piece of at least 600 words on a single topic and submit it to to any member of the Editorial Panel (such as tripsis or me).

Ironically, despite our unemployment issue, we actually give more than we get for welfare. I can rest assured knowing that we're not receiving money from Texas or anywhere else for welfare. Random states, maybe a bad example. Wouldn't you prefer it if you knew you didn't have to send money to D.C. only to have them hold it hostage or give it to someone clear across the country? I completely agree with you, actually. I'd rather have Michigan tax dollars put to work here rebuilding the city of Detroit than sent to some drug addict hundreds of miles away. Each state should be responsible for maintaining the safety net for its own citizens. I'm perfectly fine with paying for unemployment and food stamps for good, honest people in my own state, though. I only wanted to point out that we aren't getting any welfare money because Michigan has an unjustifiably bad reputation in certain social aspects. I feel obligated to point out that weren't not so bad as the media portrays us to be.

My home state of Michigan is attempting to require mandatory drug testing for all welfare recipients. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet, but I'd like to see the effects it will have in Oklahoma and Georgia who are adopting similar policies. I'm hoping it will be a step forward to improving the viability of the safety net we have in the U.S. by actually funneling the money to honest people, but I'm worried about the potential side effects. Ironically, despite our unemployment issue, we actually give more than we get for welfare. I can rest assured knowing that we're not receiving money from Texas or anywhere else for welfare.

hate to say it, but this. Possible to request positiveness next week? :lol: My article planned for next week is quite positive :grin: Yay! :mrgreen: The one I'm curently writing has a positive twist also. Inb4 same ideas? :D Mine is an experimental historical article. I can't share anymore than that right now, though :wink:

hate to say it, but this. Possible to request positiveness next week? :lol: My article planned for next week is quite positive :grin:

[spoiler=Big Pictures]

[spoiler=Big Pictures]

[spoiler=Big Pictures]

@ the last three posters Relevant conversations are strictly not allowed in this thread. Haven't you seen the last few pages of edited posts?

Dragon armor looks horrible now (not that I use any of it but the boots, though). The boots, unfortunately, look like socks. Otherwise, no complaints from me. The update was much needed.

Was Wilson doing anything particularly inept or was he just the scapegoat for a collection of problems? I haven't watched very many Leafs games this season, so I can't really make an accurate judgment.