Ultimo_

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Oh, I don't doubt it for a second. There are people who will do ANYTHING to be a pain.

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Well there is nothing stopping them from getting a name and levelling to 6. So this won't effect that at all. If someone is such a malcontent that they camp names to be jerks (which in my opinion would be pretty useless since you never know if anyone even cares or gets upset by your griefing) then they will take the time to get their name holders to lvl 6

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True. As I say, fixing that kind of thing (which I expect is rare) is possibly unfeasable.

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there are those that sit on names people want just to be jerks (name griefing?), but I don't see that being feasable.

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Really!?!? Thats some serious passive aggression there.

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Oh, I don't doubt it for a second. There are people who will do ANYTHING to be a pain.

You know, what irks me is the infantilization so many people are inflicting on people they disagree with. Calling someone uncreative or unimaginitive is insulting and unnecessary, as is putting infantile words in their mouths. Ad hominem attacks don't strengthen your argument.

Paying customers MUST take precedence over non-paying customers, whether they be potential or former cutomers. That's just good business. The phone rings while you're dealing with a customer on the floor, you ignore the phone. Standard practice.

If a non-paying customer is sitting on a name that a paying customer wants, the paying customer should be given access to it. Level should not matter.


I liked the staggered solution that was suggested earlier. There's no reason to save a character of any level for posterity (whose posterity, exactly?). After a specific period of inactivity (that's ACCOUNT inactivity - paying customers should not have to be concerned by this), your character's name will become available. The period required should be specific to level (ie. L50s would stay safe longer, but would eventually be freed up too).

It would be nice to be able to free up names on active accounts too, as there are those that sit on names people want just to be jerks (name griefing?), but I don't see that being feasable.

A question/suggestion. I tried out the renaming on test and realized something. I could end up paying for a name change and then find the name I was looking for is still not available. Could we have a system of checking if a name is available BEFORE paying for the change?

Example:

Ultimo. is my character's current name (with a period). I want to remove the period, so I pay for a name change only to find the name Ultimo (no period) is unavailable (maybe there's a L7-50 character out there that's been inactve for three years... Lord knows, we have to protect the name for him...). Unable to change the name, I go back to using the period. The money paid is wasted.

If I could check availability BEFORE paying, this could be avoided.

Something I haven't noticed (maybe I missed it). Invincibility is also your taunt aura. HIGHLY useful, especially in light of Gauntlet's repeated borkage.

"Such a thing is tyranny, Facade," replied Xavier, " Nevermind the fact that most tyrannies never last much longer than their progenitors, how long would it take for you to start experimenting with your capabilities? How long before even you abuse your power?"

Facade looked thoughtful. "Power corrupts, is that it? I'm one of the most powerful beings on the whole planet, Charles, and I haven't been corrupted."

"You once nearly defeated the Avengers because someone found a way to manipulate you into attacking friends. Doctor Doom, I believe," Xavier said softly. "Are you so arrogant that you imagine it couldn't happen again? There are many tremendous powers in the universe, my friend. What if you were manipulated again by someone or something beyond your control? And what of those you cannot influence with your power? People like me, Jean and others? People who are simply immune to psionic control (there are a few, you know)? What becomes of them?"

Facade sat back in his chair, his lips pursed in thought as Xavier went on. "I understand the tempatation you are feeling now, but you must understand the slippery slope you would be setting your feet upon. However noble your intent, you would inevitably cause more harm than good."

"The freedom to choose, to feel and think what we wish, is what makes us human. It's what makes us who we are," Xavier continued. "You're essentially asking me why I don't take away everyone's right to feel and think whatever they choose to. My answer is that doing so would undermine the very foundation of human individuality."

Facade paced the room, frustration creasing his face, "And you think that's more important than the lives of innocents, murdered because of unreasoning hate and fear?"

Facade sat across from the Professor again, and leaned forward in his chair. "I'm not talking about taking away all their thoughts, just editing them a little so they don't feel unreasoning hate, bigotry and anger. Everyone would be the same as they are now, they just wouldn't hate anyone without reason. Crime would virtually disappear. Isn't that worth the loss of that freedom of choice you're defending? Isn't it worth taking away the freedom to hate?"

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(nice posts by the way, good to see someone getting into it)

Lol. Alas, there are no winners in this game....

Sigh. I must be getting old. I remember Space Ghost, Blue Falcon, Marvin and Wendy et al. I remember being very excited by Pong. I have the original D&D game, and I have misty memories of my Commodore Vic-20 (we were cutting edge in those days - we had the ultra-rare memory expander that gave us 6k!!! Until my friend got his TRS-80 and his 17k, curse him!). Ahh the olden days of yore... Temple of Apshai, Archon. Defender, Vanguard, Venture. Yie Ar Kung Fu, Wizard of Wor, Defender of the Crown, Pole Position! What heady days...

I was actually at a big fancy club the other night and they had a cutting edge arcade. I was wandering through the shooting games, the dancing games, all the driving games, and there, like a haven in a strange land, was a collection of four old-style consoles in a cluster. My eyes moistened as I saw the names...

Space Invaders
Donkey Kong
Centipede
Missile Command

>snif<

Have to go... now...

Keyboard getting ....wet.....

Some years ago, I created a character called Facade, who possessed the power to alter his physical attributes in any way he could concieve of. He could be older, younger, fatter, thinner, taller, male, female - even alien (as long as he remains basically humanoid). He could be stronger (by increasing the density and elasticity of the tissues in his muscles, bones and so on), he could fly (by rearranging his mass to provide wings of sufficient size to support his mass and rearranging his muscles to use them), and so on. The only limit was his ability to figure out how a given effect would work, biologically. I created him as a character who would interact with the Marvel universe, an ally of the X-Men and a former foe who nearly defeated the Avengers (only Thor was able to stand up to him). I recently came up with this discussion scenario. I will write it out and leave the ending open for everyone to comment on.

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Passing unseen and unheard over Westchester county on feathered wings, Facade descended slowly toward the home of his old friends, the X-Men. Landing lightly on the back lawn, he activated his powers and changed the organization of his body, incorporating the wings back into himself as he pulled a shirt on.

The door to the mansion opened, and the X-Men's leader, Cyclops, strode out with a smile on his lean face.

"Facade!" said the X-Man, holding out a hand, "It's been ages, how have you been?"

"Pretty good, Slim."

Cyclops chuckled. "Boy, it's been a long time since anyone called me that. What brings you to the America? Tired of the snow up there in the Great White North?"

"You know me, Scotty, cold doesn't affect me anymore." Facade's face was grim, though, and Cyclops' brow furrowed with concern.

"Business call, then?"

"I have to see the Professor, Scott. It's important"


Cyclops led Facade into the mansion and to the study of Charles Xavier, the X-Men's founder. Turning his wheelchair as the two men entered his study, Xavier smiled to see an old friend.

"Well, now this is a pleasant surprise!" said Xavier.

"You may not think so, Charles." Cyclops turned and left, patting Facade on the shoulder and assuring him they would talk together later. I have a problem, and I need to talk to you about it."

Xavier's look darkened and his eyes narrowed. "You never ask anyone for advice. I shudder to imagine a problem that would bring you to me."

"I'm not looking for advice, really. I need to ask you a question." Facade settled into a chair opposite the Professor and continued, "You know how my powers work, Charles. I can do anything I can figure out the mechanics of. Things I can't figure out, I can't do. That's why I could never duplicate Magneto's powers or Scott's Optic Blasts, or your Telepathy. I just didn't know how they worked."

"But something's changed," said Xavier, "You've learned how to do them now?"

"I began by examining the way the brain works. Transmitters in the brain send electrical impulses to receptors in the brain to generate the process of thought. By increasing the sensitivity of my receptors, I learned to 'hear' the thoughts of people around me."

"Telepathy..."

"Of a sort. As I have experimented with it, I've grown more and more powerful. I'm not nearly as strong as you, but I've learned to do everything you can do. I can read and transmit thoughts, and I can change people's minds."

Facade leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Charles, I can make people think and do anything I want them to. I can take away hate and bigotry. I can remove fear and the stupidity of man. I can change the WORLD, Charles. I can make Earth a Utopia."

"And that is your problem?

"Not exactly. It would take me quite some time, but I can do it. You can do it overnight. You're the most powerful telepath on the planet. You could have done it at any time." Facade looked thoughtful as he stood and strode around the room. "My question is, why haven't you? I mean, you could take away the unreasoning hatred and fear that haunts all mutants, yet you haven't. Why? I need to be convinced, Charles, because I frankly can't see any reason NOT to go ahead and do this. Tell me there's some good reason that you haven't done this already."

Xavier regarded his friend as if seeing him for the first time. "Facade..." he began, carefully.



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There you have it. A moral dilemma. How do you think Xavier would respond? How would you respond? This is just a discussion, mind you, so let's try to keep it fun, but thoughtful.

(what can I say, I'm a philosophy major...)

I agree. I'm not able to do damage, and since the mobs are ignoring me I can't take it for the team, which makes me as useful as... well, you know.

At present, only the actual Taunt power is taunting, and only sporadically at that. I've attacked foes and had them run right over to pound the blaster on the team, ignoring me. Despite Invincibility, and despite Gauntlet. The only way to pull him was with Taunt, and often it would only affect the one foe I targeted, and all those around him would be unaffected (running over to splat the team while I am unable to do anything about it...).

I will also mention Gauntlet. It also seems not to taunt anymore (apart from the guy I'm actually hitting, and sometimes not even him!). I watched a whole crowd of whites and yellows go charging past me to get to my team despite my Taunt aura and the fact that I was pummeling some of them.

Ok, pretend I don't know anything about computers. Now, can I get a description of how to set up a key bind and also how to set up a macro?

For instance, I want to have my character say something while performing an emote, all by pressing one key. Likewise, having him say something whenever he fires a specific power is a goal.

Very nice work - some excellent ideas here!

/sign