GuyPerfect

I can buy that game with only with a £5 note.

I spent my time discovering what is, in most fonts, the equivalent to the backwards uppercase D, which means I can finally post a smiley that's very pleased. Ɑ-:

I was also enable to install this redistributable on a machine installed with a known bad XP license key and load the I20 client on it. The computer was totally disconnected from the internet during the installation process, so a Genuine Windows check was never made.

I think I did see it flash by with a "checking license key" or something, though, so maybe my bad key isn't bad enough? I can't guarantee this will work, but at least it's worth a shot. Not like you have anything to lose, right?

Paragon Studios still keeps their Fail Point.

I just verified that this will not run on XP SP1 for the same reason.

Paragon Studios wins 1 Fail Point.

Isn't the "IT department" redistributable compatible with any XP installation? I don't think it verifies Genuine Microsoft when you run it, but, um... I've never run it.

Touching on the Nictus lore a bit...

The Kheldians (energy balls of alien life) arbitrarily floated out there in space and lived a lifespan of approximately 10 human years. Then one day, someone wanted to live longer and built a device to drain the essence of others to add it to himself. Those who used the device were drastically altered and became known as the Nictus. The other Kheldians weren't too appreciative of that kind of behavior, destroyed the device and began hunting down the Nictus like an angry mob. The Nictus fled and eventually wound up on Earth in, like, the millionzoic era. They hid there for a time, but the Kheldians eventually found them.

The Kheldians and Nictus both have the ability to merge with other beings to create what has been repeatedly stated as a brand new being. When they do this, they don't tend to age. I've not heard it one way or the other if the host ages, but context seems to suggest that they don't. Kheldians are immortal, baby!

Those unbound Nictus hiding on Earth couldn't live there for long; the atmosphere is toxic to them. So where they couldn't infect a host (no Kheldian binding can take place involuntarily), they huddled together. If enough of them were packed in a tight space, they'd create a solid mass called a Shadow Cyst. These crystals have the interesting property in that they can teleport Nictus across cosmic distances instantly. The Nictus planned to plant these cysts and build their forces in such a way that they could overwhelm the planet and make it their homeworld. It's an alien invasion from the inside out.

Arakhn is stated as being the leader of the Nictus. Certainly true of the Nictus on Earth, and apparently the leader of all of them anywhere. Her ultimate goal is to take over the planet and take the fight back to the Kheldians.

So what's she doing in the Council? Well, that's where the Center comes in. Requiem and Arakhn formulated a plan for world domination, and Requiem followed through with his end of the bargain, but Arakhn never did her job and off the Center. She'd spare his life at every opportunity she had to end it. Requiem chastised her for this misplaced affection, but has not been successful in changing it.

I'm not clear on the relationship between the Council and Arachnos, but apparently that's covered in one of the novels. What I can say, however, is that Requiem (prior to becoming Requiem) was involved with one or the other and the Center had Arakhn around his little finger before she even joined up. Arakhn gave the orders to send Requiem to Ravenna to be infected by Nictus, but she didn't expect that he'd be ultra powerful when he came back.

Somewhere along the line, Requiem teamed up with Vandal and Nosferatu and started the 5th Column. There's a big hole here in my knowledge of the game lore, and may be subject to the effects of the intended retcon that never fully happened.

To my understanding, the 5th Column did this "temporal strongholds" antic a number of times and eventually wound up back in the present due to the war with the Council, after which they went into hiding... in the present.

Why the inter-dimensional Reichsman suddenly knew of and swore his allegiance to the 5th Column the moment Roderick Mueller released him from the abandoned Freedom Phalanx base in Boomtown is unexplained (see: retcon discussion). But it was rather rubbed in our faces that he's the reason the 5th Column are active in force once again.

Requiem was the leader of the 5th Column before the Council told him otherwise. Between the time that happened and the time the Reichsman was freed, the 5th Column apparently had no leadership.

The Kheldian story arcs (I know, nobody plays those anymore) touch on all sorts of game lore. And considering it was written WAY back when, it's interesting just how much of the lore was written ahead of time.

One of those arcs details an e-mail conversation between Arakhn and Requiem, who are both Nictus, and who both work for the Council. Some of the details:

• Requiem (his human part) was sent by Arakhn to the Path of the Dark in Ravenna a long time ago and merged with a Nictus named Dirge of Entropy. Arakhn didn't expect that he'd be so powerful, and has since found herself unable to control him by overpowering him, hence why he's still somewhat autonomous. Seeing as how Cimerora takes place right around where modern-day Ravenna is, it's very likely that the second mission of the Imperious Task Force is the same place Requiem was born.
• Though it's only mentioned in passing, Arakhn belittles Requiem for his prior desires for "temporal control of the world," which is oddly specific considering the Temporal Strongholds detail outlined in Issue 12. Given that Requiem was working with the 5th Column in the ITF, which he was doing before the Council took over, it's pretty clear that chronologically (in terms of Requiem's life time), the ITF took place "before" the Council gave him a new uniform.
• Arakhn once worked for Arachnos. Ouroboros totally shoulda touched on that.

The biggest thing you can do as a good leader is understand how the game works. This isn't something you can pick up in five minutes reading about, and it's not something you tend to fully grasp researching in-depth how the game works. If you want to get a good understanding of how the game tends to flow, you'll need to team with a lot of people. This sounds backwards, of course, since you need to team to be a proper leader, but you can't be a proper leader without a team. A vicious cycle!

A few things I've noticed over the years which may or may not apply in any particular team you lead:

• People like to be led. A great many people play this game so they can turn their brains off and have fun doing it. If you go AFK (away from keyboard), there's a pretty good chance the team will just loiter and wait for you to return. Veteran players who have characters that can solo entire team missions tend to organize themselves pretty well, but in situations where you're actually leading (usually in content that requires a level of coordination), all eyes are on you.
• Some players just don't get it. No amount of explanation or reiteration will get through to them. Sometimes they're just ignorant (and I use that in the context of "they ignore things") and probably won't notice if you kick them from the team, though everyone else will rejoice. Other times, they may be new players or, as touchy as the subject is, may have a disability. Use your discretion on a case to case basis, but bear in mind that sometimes players really do need someone to be patient with them.
• Occasionally, even overpowered teams get hesitant and won't engage the enemy until they see other people engaging the enemy. This often leads to sitcom-esque awkward moments where people are standing around saying "so who's gonna aggro?" The best thing to do in this situation is to charge in and aggro stuff. Your team will follow you. And then you destroy the enemy and do it all over again. If you're alert, you probably won't even take much damage.
• Consideration of your teammates' preferences and abilities is important. Part of this is where encyclopedic knowledge of the game comes in handy, but part of it is just common sense. If you like fighting large groups of enemies two levels above you, that's great, but the person you're sidekicking who has Dual-Origin Enhancements might not feel the same way. People also have their likes and dislikes for enemy groups, and for different reasons. If you're not sure how a mission will be perceived, just ask the team how they feel about fighting whoever's next on the list.
• On the flip-side of that last one, some teammates will throw consideration out the window (I'm looking at you, every single stealther who rushes to the end of the mission before everyone has entered the map). This applies to things besides rushing to the objective; it's practically any time someone abandons the group. As a leader you should keep them in line. If a person persists in refusing to actually play with the team they're on, it's easier to remove them than to clean up the messes they make.
• If you have room for more people, use the /search slash command to find more people. Between every mission, just check and see if anyone's available. As people come and go, you'll get a fresh rotation of players and things will continue to be fun and interesting until you pass the baton and head out yourself.
• In some rare cases, you will need to brief your team on a plan of action. This requires you to be familiar with the content and your teammates' abilities, so make sure you know what you're getting into ahead of time. It's worth noting, however, that most situations in the game can be taken on with the simple "if you have powers, use them" approach. It's only once in a great while you'll need to outline what needs to get done.

"I can buy that game with only a £5 note; not a £1 note or a £10 note." Quite a bit different meaning using "with only" in that sentence. Does it adhere to the uncompromising and rigid regulations of word ordering in the English language? Or is it something up with which we can put?

Incidentally, there's a brief article on the wiki, regrettably without sources, touching on tidbits of information in regards to the 5th Column retcon.

Among them is the statement that the devs at one point planned to specify the 5th Column as Italian rather than German. It's a bit farfetched that they would consider revising their intellectual property unless legal issues got in the way.