SpyderNoir

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What I'm wondering. Is what the heck is level 40+ that he feels needs to be in the same story arc as Vahzilok? The higher level Banished Pantheon maybe?

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I'm not using Vahzilok in my arc; I chose Vahzilok only as an example of a low-level group. In fact, the two significant juxtaposed groups are the Clockwork and the Psychic Clockwork. Why is it required that both coexist in the same arc? Play it and find out! Whether the choice of enemies is appropriate to the story is something that I think may only be known a posteriori; I believe it is foolish to dismiss the use of a given enemy group at a given level without knowing the role that that group plays in the narrative.

In my opinion, the difficulty of the missions is such that the drop in levels forced by the enemy groups is no more than a slight imposition, but I recognize that other people may disagree with me. I urge players who feel that way to attempt to abandon any prejudice when playing an arc for its story, and if they feel that the level inconsistency warrants a reduced rating at the end, to be fair-minded in applying that reduction.

Because this thread is dedicated to requests for Lazarus's reviews and the reviews themselves, I do not believe that this is the proper place to discuss this further. As such, I will refrain from doing so and I hope that others do the same.

There is a separate thread for further discussion.

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I've been looking through my queue and already noticing some issues before I even play the arcs that have been offered to me. The biggest issue, level ranges.

Seriously people, it's issue 15 and you have an easy way to fix this. Unless you're doing a Ouroboros-style time travel arc with the annoying "dude, where's my powers" mechanic, which you ought to be upfront about in the arc description, there is no excuse for things like this.

Mission 1: level range 40-54
Mission 2: level range 11-20
Mission 3: level range 20-20
Mission 4: level range 1-15
Mission 5: level range 40-54

Just what level character is this arc meant for? I know if playing a 50 I'll be really annoyed by missions 2-4 and if I'm playing a level 10 I'd be very unhappy if I was expected to fight something like Malta in missions 1 and 5.

Already I'm looking at that level spread and don't want to bother playing it. I'm not saying who it was here but it's going to the back of the list until the level issues are sorted out.

Crazy, unexplained and unjustified level ranges are a automatic -1 star on the rating. Try to save everyone the annoyance and either fix it now or have a very good reason for it.

And it better be good.

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I will take responsibility for my arc. I have gone in and edited the description to specify that the intended player is between level 40-50. However, I have no immediate plans to change the missions. The reason is that I am not aware of any other way to use high-level enemies in one mission and low-level enemies in the next, such that they are (somewhat) challenging in their respective missions. If there is a feature of the architect system that permits a designer to force Vahzilok (for example) to spawn at level 50, please point me to the appropriate resource for implementing this feature and I will gladly change my arc.

If, on the other hand, the system has no such capacity, then I will not make further changes to address this problem. I must insist on telling the story I wish to tell, even if that produces an unfortunate side effect that annoys some segment of the audience.

(Edit: I believe I can change the 1-15 mission to bring it in line with the 40-50 missions, while not compromising the story. I'll explore the possibility this evening.)

The situation concerning my arc having been explained, I expect either to see some link that will tell me how to address the problem, or for my arc to retake its original spot in the order of reviews.

I figured that rather than solicit a review from one of the "regulars" who may or may not appreciate the thematic content of this mission, I'd let the tikiphiles out there come to me.

My new mission "Mai tai, roa ae!" is based on mid-century American tiki culture and the art of Shag. If this sounds like it's right up your alley, I urge you to run my mission and let me know what you think. I'd be grateful for any feedback.

Mission Title: Mai tai, roa ae!
Arc ID: 261192
Author: @Spyder Noir
Length: 1 mission (about 10 minutes)
No AVs or EBs. Several custom enemies.

Title: Mai tai, roa ae!
Arc ID: 261192
Creator's Global Name: @Spyder Noir
Difficulty Level: Easy
Synopsis: Someone has stolen the recipe for Trader Nic's famous Mai Tai! It's up to you to get it back.
Number of EB/AVs: None
Story Type: Fun / Custom characters
Mission Count: 1
Estimated Time to Play: 5-10 minutes

Note: This mission was inspired by mid-century American tiki culture and the art of Shag. There are enough custom enemies for each thing you fight to be unique, but unfortunately, the game doesn't cooperate and sometimes just repeats an enemy.

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I am acquainted with the Common Rule, and I don't think that Prof. Myers's final product was an exceptionally valuable piece of scholarship. However, I am still not convinced that an IRB would not have granted approval beforehand. Even where there are risks, they may be offset by the benefit of the research.

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But how much benefit is there to his research? It seems like all he proved is that when he acted like an [censored], people didn't like him. I didn't see anything new in his paper. Other academics have been writing about things like this for ages now and uncovered much more interesting social interactions in The Sims Online.

Like LHF, I'm wondering why he seemed surprised by the behaviors he observed. If he's really an anthropologist, why would this be at all surprising? Forget even being an anthropologist, I think the rest of us would have been able to explain this without doing any "research" and without any fancy credentials.

It doesn't matter if the person you're looking at is in the flesh or represented by pixels. If you treat people badly, you're not going to be making friends. Most of us learn that by the time we're 10.

I suspect this guy just enjoys jerking people's chains and being able to write about it and speak about it at a conference is just the cherry on top. I think I'll just write him off with the people who think "role playing" just means "free pass to be an [censored]."


"Hey, stop griefing me!"

"Back off, man! I'm an anthropologist!"

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As I said, I don't think that there was much benefit. But I have the advantage of having seen the final product. An IRB would not have had that luxury before the research was done. Myers framed his study in terms of deviance, conflict theory, constructed dominant social rules, and the like. That's the kind of stuff that certain academics eat up.

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I still say it doesn't meet the requirements for approval with the population stats, Informed consent requirment and the design.

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As far as informed consent is concerned, 45 C.F.R. § 46.116 permits the requirement of informed consent for human subject research to be waived under certain circumstances (probably the provisions of subpart D in this case). This research may well fail the requirement that the risk to participants be minimal, but I don't know. I suppose that would depend on one's definition of "minimal risk" and whether you consider the research to "adversely affect . . . the welfare of the subjects."

I am acquainted with the Common Rule, and I don't think that Prof. Myers's final product was an exceptionally valuable piece of scholarship. However, I am still not convinced that an IRB would not have granted approval beforehand. Even where there are risks, they may be offset by the benefit of the research.

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He never would have gotten IRB approval.

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I've not yet had the pleasure of serving on an IRB, nor have I sought IRB approval for any human subject research. Perhaps you could clarify why you believe that Professor Myers wouldn't have been able to obtain approval. After all, if the problem is privacy, all it would take is anonymization of the data, such as replacing character, super-group, and server names with placeholders, to render the players he mentions anonymous.

Title: Regicide
Arc ID: 252484
Creator's Global Name: @Spyder Noir
Difficulty Level: Medium
Author: @Spyder Noir
Synopsis: A mysterious Clockwork presence has emerged. The PPD discovers its nature and sends you out to meet this new threat. But does your contact, Detective Guerrero, really have it figured out? You'll have to examine the clues yourself to decide exactly what's going on.
Number of EB/AVs: One enemy EB
Story Type: Complex Mechanics / Canon Related / Drama
Mission Count: 5
Estimated Time to Play: 40 minutes

Note: The levels jump around a bit due to the limitations of the groups I've chosen.

I would like a critical review of my first arc, the details of which are listed below. In return, I've just posted a review of one of your arcs in the designated thread.

Arc ID: 252484
Arc Title: Regicide
Author: @Spyder Noir
Morality: Hero
Number of Missions: 5
Description: A mysterious Clockwork presence has emerged. The PPD discovers its nature and sends you out to meet this new threat. But does your contact, Detective Guerrero, really have it figured out? You'll have to examine the clues yourself to decide exactly what's going on.

I haven't read the other comments so perhaps the things I am about to say have already been addressed.

Good use of color in the clues. It highlighted the name of an important new character very well. I also liked the way you used color for the objectives of freeing the Avatars in the final mission.

The dialog was solid and well-written. That said, I would like to have seen custom backstories for the Midnighters.

The living armor was a great addition! I don't know if it's your custom character or a stock Midnigther, but it worked well. Is there any way to set it to an initial position of something other than cowering? That seems very unlike a suit of armor.

Mindskewer's backstory was short, but suggested interesting plot/character developments. That, along with noticing Percy's strange appearance and the pop-up for the Bookstore mission created a nice sense of foreboding.

The void demons looked very cool (especially for such an ostensibly simple design) and I liked that the clue mentioned how it "faded into the shadows once defeated." I would only suggest giving it a real name, rather than just "???." I get that it's mysterious and that I don't know what it is, but there's all sorts of weird things in this game and they get names. I think you ought to call it something descriptive, but not so particular as to imply that it is a formal name ("Shadowy Figure" for example). I see that you ascribe names to them once Nomaris gives his clue and that makes it a little better. Still, I don't care for the question mark names.

"Pain has a face, allow me to show it to you. . . . Such sweet pain." These were good, chilling lines.

In the bookstore mission, I wasn't quite sure what to do when the nav window said "Escape!" I spent a lot of time trying to make sure the hostage was following me, only to find that "escaping" meant defeating the void demons. Perhaps say "Defeat void demons to escape."

In the "A Demon of Darkness" clue, consider replacing the word "shape" with a synonym somewhere so you don't repeat "shape."

Especially nice choice of maps for the final mission. The Avatars look good and a clue for each one is always welcome.


All in all, I was delighted with it. It starts off slow (but then, I suspect that's true for pretty much every arc) but after the Midnighter Club mission I found myself eager to find out what happened next.

Five stars, according to the rating criteria that you've described.

My Defender is just out of range, so I think I'll bring Naphil, my level 50 Peacebringer.

I think I'll bring Naphil, my level 50 Peacebringer.

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16 illegals sue Arizona rancher

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Update on the rancher - illegal immigrant lawsuit
From a UK website
Even though the judge completely dismissed the cases this still happened:
"The rancher was held liable for limited damages involving assault and emotional distress. Two illegal aliens were given $1,000 plus $10,000 in punitive damages each. Two more received $7,500, plus $20,000 in punitive damages each.

All together, the illegals received only $77,804 of the $32 million they requested – and Hardy believes that award will be thrown out in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals."

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The case wasn't dismissed. the battery charges were thrown out but it did go to the jury and the rancher was found partially liable which is why he has to pay something.

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The claims as against Barbara and Donald Barnett were dismissed. The battery claim against Roger Barnett was not dismissed. It went to the jury and the jury found him not liable.

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Its going to be interesting to see how this case pans out. if the illegal immigrants win, then no legal citizen has a right to defend their property and detain trespassers until the authorities arive, If the rancher wins then we will see a massive upswell in really tall fences and private security patrols. It will be many years though before we get a final decision. I guarantee this will be appealed all the way up.

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Well, let's not be too hasty. This case is currently in Federal district court. Whatever the outcome, it is not going to carry the weight of precedent anywhere. Even if the case is eventually ruled upon by the Ninth Circuit court of appeals, it is only binding precedent within the states of that circuit.

And what precedent would be established? Well, several of the claims at issue are tort law claims, which arise under state law. Anything having to do with what a landowner can and can't do to people who are trespassing on his land is a state law issue. This case is in Federal court on diversity jurisdiction, with ancillary jurisdiction over the state claims (if memory of civil procedure serves; correct me if I'm wrong). That means that despite being Federal court, many of the issues are only significant within the state of Arizona. If the case makes its way to an appellate court which then rules on substantive Federal law, the decision's import will be in that legal sphere. I haven't been able to scrounge up much about the case (the best resource for pleadings and other documents is a pay service), but it looks like most of the federal claims of the plaintiffs have to do with conspiracy to deprive persons of civil rights. Any new law arising out of this case is liable to be associated with narrow issues such as that one, or with state action doctrine (that is, when a specific act can be attributed to the government).

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Do people who aren't citizens deserve to have the rights accorded to US citizens? I think that's part of what makes us what we are - we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. It doesn't say that only applies to American citizens.

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While the Declaration of Independence is a great document of principle and history, I'd be careful of relying on it to support legal propositions. In fact, even if it ought to be given that significance, there are some rights that are inconsistent with status as an illegal alien. For example, one of the claims in this case is that the defendant illegally interfered with plaintiff's constitutional right to interstate travel. We'll leave aside the origin of the right to interstate travel in the Privileges and Immunities Clause (wherein the right is explicitly conferred on citizens) and just think about the practicality of rectifying it with illegal immigrant status. How can one argue that illegal immigrants have the same rights as citizens when one of the rights of citizens is the right of interstate travel and the meaning of illegal immigrant is that one does not have the right to be in the country? To look at it from the standpoint of enforcement, we'd be saying that the government may properly keep illegal immigrants out of the country and may properly remove illegal immigrants from the country, but it may not properly restrict the movement of illegal immigrants within the country. This seems to me to be impossible to reconcile.

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[L]itigation is the new Apple Pie, so maybe they're just trying really hard to be Real Americans.

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I think they're called "attractive nuisances."

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You're right. Also, I've long wanted to name a villainess that.

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If caught in the commission of a crime involving trespass by the owner of the property you are trespassing on, you don't get to complain about how he reacts.

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Actually, you do. I'm not going to take a definitive position on the merits of this case as I am not well acquainted with its facts, although as a general proposition I favor the rights of property owners.

That having been said, the common law of torts does not privilege a landowner to do anything he wants with respect to a trespasser on his property. I'm not sure exactly what the claims of the plaintiffs are--probably at least assault, battery, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress--but there is a good chance that at least one of them represents a valid cause of action against which self-defense, defense of property, or other common privileges do not provide an absolute defense. Certainly the defendant can counterclaim trespass and probably win, but that doesn't mean that the plaintiffs haven't stated claims on which relief could be granted. That's all the judge found and I suspect that he was probably right.

Roger Barnett claims "[he's] the victim here" and he's absolutely correct. But that's not to say that, as a matter of law, he can't also be a perpetrator.

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Meh, reading the lefty, tolerance-dripping write-up seems like it'd be worse than passing a few zealots on the road.

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While I agree that I would have preferred to read the story as published by a news source that is not so politically biased, I think that it can hardly be gainsaid that the substance of the story is heartening to anybody who finds Phelps's crusade to be misguided (a class of people that I'm sure is broader, both in number and in political persuasion, than the readership of the cited source).

Bill Gates playfully frees swarm of mosquitoes



LONG BEACH, California (AFP) – Microsoft founder turned disease-battling philanthropist Bill Gates loosed mosquitoes at an elite Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) Conference to make a point about the deadly sting of malaria.

"Malaria is spread by mosquitoes," Gates said while opening a jar onstage at a gathering known to attract technology kings, politicians, and Hollywood stars.

"I brought some. Here I'll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected."

Gates waited a minute or so before assuring the audience the liberated insects were malaria-free.

TED curator Chris Anderson fired back at the legendary computer software maker, joking that the headline for the video of his talk to be posted online at Ted.com would be "Gates releases more bugs into the world."

As he has in travels on behalf of his eponymous charitable foundation, Gates detailed the strides made in dealing with malaria in affluent countries and the need to fight the disease in impoverished nations.

"There is more money put into baldness drugs than into malaria," Gates quipped, triggering laughter. "Now, baldness is a terrible thing and rich men are afflicted. That is why that priority has been set."

Gates called for aggressive distribution of insect netting and other gear proven to protect people from disease-transmitting stings.

He also shared that a malaria vaccine backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation should start Phase Three testing in a few months.

"I am an optimist; I think any tough problem can be solved," Gates said.

"The market does not drive scientists, thinkers, or governments to do the right things. Only by paying attention and making people care can we make as much progress as we need to."

Gates' clever candor continued as he filed a question from Anderson about the pall he felt shrouding the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last month.

"I think it is good that the mood in Davos was bleak," Gates said.

"It was a great meeting where people really had to say 'Hi, how is your economy falling apart ... Gee that is different than how mine is ... What is your solution?'"

Gates said he is confident the economy will recover, with new technologies playing vital roles, but that the financial meltdown was "a great checkpoint" compelling people to think realistically about money and business.

"For me, it was a chance to make sure aid for the poorest doesn't get cut," Gates said of his time at Davos.

His foundation plans to increase annual spending this year to 3.8 billion dollars despite its investment portfolio's value sinking.

In a TED session titled "Reboot," Gates also called for vastly improving the quality of teachers at US schools because it will take "brilliant people" to solve the world's woes.

"I hope I'm not in the Reboot session because you have to reboot your computers and associate that with me," Gates joked. "That might be fair, but don't think about it."

I remember thinking this was a good idea when I first saw it sometime last year. With a new issue coming out soon and people once again thinking about exciting new features they'd like to see, I hope that anybody who, like me, forgot about this proposal (or has never heard about it) will take a look with new eyes. It really has a great deal of potential.

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If I was able to jump and higher/further with the jump jet, then I would land in a different MMO. So, needless to say i am having fun with it.

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That's great! What I wouldn't give to jump over to WoW, switch to Nova form, then start blasting the heck out of everybody!

I've found that the jump jet and tikiport power (my neologism, but feel free to use it) are both very useful for getting around and out of the shard for TFs. Last night I was doing Sara Moore when a mission in the Hollows came up. Everybody groaned, but those of us with the VIP card were spared the miserable ~3 mile trip back to the Firebase Zulu portal. And as I'm a Peacebringer, the jump jet's little boost to my energy flight comes in handy.