Talraen (Tue 9:31 AM): Hmm, I should review Mega Man 10, but I don't really know what I'd say

Cuzzdog (Tue 9:32 AM): I'm sure you were just missing on purpose (a difficult feat to pull off since it was so hard to hit him accidentally!) lulling him false sense of security so the cleric could get an easy pity kill later on

Cuzzdog (Tue 9:32 AM): "Mega Man 10: It sure is the 10th one! B-"

Talraen (Tue 9:33 AM): That's pretty much exactly what I was thinking, except I'd give it a B+

Talraen (Tue 9:33 AM): Of course, I give everything a B+

Talraen (Tue 9:33 AM): Let's be honest, my rating system is "Is it a B+ or an A-?" unless I played the game when I was 10

Talraen (Tue 9:34 AM): Oh! I accidentally discovered the coolest part about MM10, which is the main reason it isn't a B-: the Wheel Cutter lets you climb walls

Talraen (Tue 9:34 AM): I actually re-ordered the bosses specifically to take advantage of this fact (it really helps in a few stages)

Talraen (Tue 9:35 AM): Also the game has a boss called the "Crab Puncher"

Talraen (Tue 9:35 AM): And a Weapons Archive featuring boss weapons from every previous game, which is pretty sweet too

Talraen (Tue 9:36 AM): Basically, in NFL terms, MM10 is Tim Tebow: Very high on intangibles, but his overall game isn't quite up to snuff

Cuzzdog (Tue 9:36 AM): Ah, see I didn't know about the Wheel Cutter or it's campaign against STDs when I through out the B- rating

Talraen (Tue 9:36 AM): It also has a boss called "Strike Man" who is basically a giant robot baseball that throws balls at you

Talraen (Tue 9:37 AM): Speaking of Mega Man, Steve suggested we have a tournament of cold-based Mega Man bosses. I think there would be too many entrants

Cuzzdog (Tue 9:37 AM): Wouldn't his name imply that he's throwing the balls past you instead of at you?

Talraen (Tue 9:38 AM): That's a good point, actually

Cuzzdog (Tue 9:38 AM): His name should be more like "Forced Walk Man" or "Aggressive Pitcher Man" or something

Talraen (Tue 9:39 AM): Beanball Man

Balerion (Tue 9:41 AM): Why not an RTS with one side populated by flame themed bosses and the other populated by cold themed bosses

Balerion (Tue 9:41 AM): Oh, I finally shelled out $1.99 for a game on my phone

Balerion (Tue 9:41 AM): And it's proven to be totally worth it

Talraen (Tue 9:42 AM): Yeah my brother is obsessed with iPhone games

Balerion (Tue 9:42 AM): A basic puzzle game called Nintaii in which you manipulate a rectangular block into holes

Talraen (Tue 9:43 AM): And I just added them up, apparently fire and water are the most common in Mega Man (5 bosses each), compared to 4 for ice

Balerion (Tue 9:43 AM): But the interface is nice, the puzzles are good (though rarely killer I'm also only about 20% of the way through)

Talraen (Tue 9:43 AM): There are also four electric, five if you count Sheep Man, and water takes the cake with 6 if you count Toad Man (I was trying to stick with bosses whose names are also thematic, though)

Balerion (Tue 9:44 AM): Do you count Pharoah Man for fire?

Balerion (Tue 9:45 AM): I mean, his ability was basically shooting sun beams at you

Talraen (Tue 9:45 AM): No, because it's not entirely clear what his shot is - I always thought it seemed sort of sandy

Balerion (Tue 9:46 AM): Hmmm, I never even considered that

Balerion (Tue 9:46 AM): but fair enough

Talraen (Tue 9:46 AM): OTOH, he reminds me a lot of Solar Man, who I did include (and when you fight the Ring Man replica, he's vulnerable to the Solar Blaze, while in MM4 he was vulnerable to the Pharaoh Shot, so there's that)

Talraen (Tue 9:46 AM): lol I never considered the sun thing

Talraen (Tue 9:46 AM): I think you're right, actually

Talraen (Tue 9:46 AM): But if we include him, we have to include Toad Man, and water still pulls off the shocking upset

Balerion (Tue 9:47 AM): Fair enough

Talraen (Tue 9:47 AM): Of course, if you restrict the tally to "Something Man" bosses it's a tie, since Splash Woman is disqualified

Balerion (Tue 9:48 AM): Doesn't that just mean they're still tied though?

Balerion (Tue 9:48 AM): Toad Man brings water to 6 and Pharoah Man brings fire to 6?

Talraen (Tue 9:48 AM): Oh, right, yeah

Talraen (Tue 9:48 AM): Either way, I'm disappointed with the ice brigade

Balerion (Tue 9:48 AM): Though if you combine ice and water then water's kicking ass

chaoscat (Tue 9:49 AM): what's the list for ice?

Talraen (Tue 9:49 AM): lol that's true... too bad there's no Steam Man

Balerion (Tue 9:49 AM): But I don't know if transubstantiated molecules count

Talraen (Tue 9:49 AM): Ice Man, Blizzard Man, Freeze Man, and Chill Man

Talraen (Tue 9:49 AM): You could try to argue Flash Man if you want, but there's nothing icy about him except his stage

chaoscat (Tue 9:50 AM): what about that penguin boss?

Talraen (Tue 9:50 AM): Interestingly, but not surprisingly, elemental-themed bosses aren't very common until MM6, at which point they're in almost every game

Talraen (Tue 9:50 AM): Chill Penguin? That's Mega Man X. Which I considered including, but then where does it end? There are literally almost (maybe more than) 100 Mega Man games among the various series

Balerion (Tue 9:51 AM): Well, I'm off for about 5 hours of meetings

Balerion (Tue 9:51 AM): ttyl

chaoscat (Tue 9:51 AM): why is that not surprising? and what were the themes before that? I seem to recall 2 & 3 having strong elemental themes

Talraen (Tue 9:51 AM): Because they can re-use themes, MMX has a lot of fire and ice guys (hell, the first two games both have a Flame Something - Flame Mammoth and Flame Stag)

Talraen (Tue 9:51 AM): Ew, have fun I guess

Talraen (Tue 9:52 AM): 3 had no elemental theme at all, the only boss related to any other boss is Spark Man

Talraen (Tue 9:53 AM): 2 has Heat Man, Bubble Man, and Air Man... hey wait, it also has Wood Man and Metal Man. I never noticed that!

chaoscat (Tue 9:53 AM): 2 had that wood guy

chaoscat (Tue 9:53 AM): and an under water board

Talraen (Tue 9:53 AM): IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!

Talraen (Tue 9:53 AM): Anyway, after 2 the elemental stuff was pretty toned down until 6 (and X)

chaoscat (Tue 9:53 AM): you're welcome

chaoscat (Tue 9:54 AM): so what were the bosses in 3? it's been so long i don't remember

Talraen (Tue 9:54 AM): Actually wait, isn't air not one of the Chinese elements?

chaoscat (Tue 9:54 AM): no, earth is not one of the chinese elements

Talraen (Tue 9:54 AM): Yeah, there should be some kind of earth man... which there isn't

Talraen (Tue 9:54 AM): Oh OK

chaoscat (Tue 9:54 AM): it's replaced by metal and wood

Talraen (Tue 9:54 AM): Then that's awesome, I totally never realized that

Talraen (Tue 9:55 AM): 3 has Magnet Man, Hard Man, Top Man, Shadow Man, Spark Man, Snake Man, Gemini Man, and Needle Man

Talraen (Tue 9:55 AM): The most notable thing about 3 is that there's it's the last game without a legit eight-boss cycle (the first five are one cycle and hte last three another)

chaoscat (Tue 9:55 AM): oh yeah, snake man

chaoscat (Tue 9:55 AM): he was pretty useless

Talraen (Tue 9:56 AM): I think MM1 had a pretty clear cycle, while MM2 had the least cyclic boss order in the series. From 4 on there's a clear progression though, the only question is where to start

Talraen (Tue 9:56 AM): Which meant his weapon was good against the last boss, of course

Talraen (Tue 9:56 AM): That's a trend that started with MM2 and the Bubble Lead, and continues to this day

Talraen (Tue 9:57 AM): Although let me tell you: fighting Dr. Wily's capsule in low gravity makes the Chill Spike (which doesn't shoot very far) way easier to use

Talraen (Tue 12:12 PM): Well that was a productive lunch

chaoscat (Tue 12:14 PM): oh? what did it produce?

Talraen (Tue 12:16 PM): A haircut, a sub, and a copy of FFXIII - at Gamestop without a preorder no less

Cuzzdog (Tue 12:57 PM): I'm not sure I ever had a problem getting a new game from Gamestop without a preorder

Talraen (Tue 12:58 PM): Really? That's why I stopped going there. Not only would they never have new games, they'd insult me for thinking anyone would have it without a preorder

Talraen (Tue 1:25 PM): Interesting, the FFXIII guide isn't by BradyGames for the first time since the Playstation era... it's by Piggyback (the only thing I know they made was the Halo guides)

Talraen (Tue 1:25 PM): Seems pretty nice in any case

Balerion (Tue 3:34 PM): Just went and canceled my Amazon Prime membership, pretty much in the nick of time

Cuzzdog (Tue 3:39 PM): Nice save

Balerion (Tue 3:40 PM): Oddly I'm canceling because the service is too good

Balerion (Tue 3:41 PM): I find myself buying all manner of stuff that I would usually pass up or hold off on

Talraen (Tue 4:09 PM): They announced Rock Band 3 and that it will (again) "revolutionize the genre"

Talraen (Tue 4:09 PM): But I have to be honest, I can't imagine what they could do that isn't just going to result in even more plastic crap

Cuzzdog (Tue 4:12 PM): You say that like you don't love plastic crap.

Talraen (Tue 4:13 PM): I have no room for more plastic crap

Talraen (Tue 4:13 PM): And even if I did, I would not appreciate all my current plastic crap becoming obsolete

Cuzzdog (Tue 4:14 PM): Well, I think RB2 taught us one thing: Jethro Tull songs were painfully missing a plastic flute to play them with

Talraen (Tue 4:15 PM): From rumors I've heard, plus the recent appearance of this, I suspect RB3 will have an actual working guitar or something quite like it

Talraen (Tue 4:16 PM): OTOH, I think there's a fair chance RB3 may actually make use of the separate drums and cymbals of the Ion set, and that would certainly be nice

Talraen (Tue 4:17 PM): In other Rock Band news, I don't know if anyone saw the South Park episode where Cartman was singing Lady Gaga in Rock Band, but next week not only is that song coming out, Cartman's version is coming out as well

Talraen (Tue 4:18 PM): In other non-Rock Band news, FFXIII starts on a train... I feel like I've seen that before somewhere!

Talraen (Tue 4:20 PM): Also, I am annoyed, now that I've noticed it, that they changed the side-of-the-packaging PS3 logo when the PS3 Slim came out... now my PS3 collection is inconsistent on a shelf! BOO

Talraen (Tue 4:28 PM): I'm pretty sure this is the skankiest FF outfit I've seen, even including X-2 (not a permanent party member)

chaoscat (Tue 4:31 PM): that's pretty skimpy

Talraen (Tue 4:32 PM): It really struck me as incredibly ridiculous, and not really in the aesthetic of the rest of the (first 20 minutes of the) game

Talraen (Tue 4:34 PM): I mean, even X-2 thief Rikku at least wore a skirt

chaoscat (Tue 4:44 PM): it's been a while since i played X-2, but I recall Pain's bird form being the most risqué outfit

Talraen (Tue 4:49 PM): Wow, the way Vanille runs is way too ridiculous

chaoscat (Tue 4:51 PM): oh?

Talraen (Tue 4:53 PM): I can't even really explain it, it's just... I guess it's a typical anime overdone preteen girl run, basically

Talraen (Tue 4:53 PM): I hope she's not the party leader very much, lol

chaoscat (Tue 4:54 PM): so is FF finally becoming too japanese for you?

Talraen (Tue 4:55 PM): Nah, there's always that one character who's too Japanese, but you can usually ignore them

Talraen (Tue 4:57 PM): I also have no idea what her weapon is even supposed to be... antlers on a stick with four yo-yo's attached to the points? It's a mystery

Talraen (Tue 5:01 PM): Someone at Square Enix needs to discover the over-the-shoulder camera

Talraen (Tue 6:59 PM): OK, this game has a friggin' crazy advancement system

Talraen (Tue 7:27 PM): I think it's safe to say that this battle system is totally awesome

Talraen (Tue 7:42 PM): Wow, auto attacking is automatically tuned to exploit the weaknesses you are aware of, and you learn weaknesses by fighting... I think I designed this system once!

Cuzzdog (7:40 AM): How is this not the sluttiest FF outfit? Even her thong is showing in this one.

Talraen (8:00 AM): Because she's wearing something over it

Talraen (8:09 AM): So, further FFXIII reaction: I never thought implementing one of the lamest features from Mystic Quest of all things would make an RPG better

Talraen (8:10 AM): But the fact that "game over" just places you outside the battle you died in is actually pretty awesome, because it let them make the battles legitimately difficult (and thus, interesting)

Talraen (8:10 AM): It's very easy to die in a battle that you could, with the exact same party and setup, completely own with the right tactics

Cuzzdog (8:12 AM): That's cool. Spamming the attack button in RPG's has been played out, so it's nice to see them spicing up the battles a bit

Cuzzdog (8:13 AM): That's typically why I like action RPG's instead of traditional RPGs

Cuzzdog (8:19 AM): So, have you finished FFXIII yet?

Talraen (8:23 AM): Oh yeah, turns out it's only like four hours long

Talraen (8:27 AM): The battle system actually sort of encourages spamming one button (the auto attack button), at least in the early going - for the most part it's paradigm shifting that's important

Talraen (8:28 AM): It's a very macro-managed battle system... sort of like the difference between playing Total Annihilation and Command & Conquer

Cuzzdog (8:29 AM): So if your encouraged to just spam auto-attack, what kind of challenging fights are you facing that requires different strategeries?

Talraen (8:30 AM): Well "auto attack" doesn't mean attack, it means the computer is choosing your specific attacks, presumably the same way they choose your other party members'

Talraen (8:30 AM): It's just faster to hit auto attack than Ruin-Attack-Attack - although if my ATB bar gets any longer I'll have plenty of time to choose attacks while it fills

Talraen (8:32 AM): But it's all about buffing against large groups, debuffing nasty monsters, healing when people are about to die, and maintaining damage chains the whole time

Talraen (8:32 AM): The whole "damage chain" thing really ties it all together, since otherwise you'd just set up DPS-DPS-Healer and chip away at everyone

Talraen (8:33 AM): As it is, that might work, but it would take ten times as long and be really boring

Cuzzdog (8:34 AM): Damage chain is something like where you do more damage for maintaining a combo?

Talraen (8:34 AM): It might also stifle your advancement - you get rated after each battle (based mostly on speed), but I'm not sure if that determines CP (which is this game's XP)

Talraen (8:35 AM): Yeah each hit raises the damage per hit by a little bit - it starts at 100%, say against a particular monster each hit raises it by 1%, so after 20 hits you're doing 120% damage

Talraen (8:35 AM): Each monster also has a "stagger point," a certain percentage that, if you hit, the percent goes up by 100%, and you have a limited time to keep raising it and dish out ridiculous damage

Talraen (8:36 AM): Most of the bosses so far have had upwards of 90% HP until I staggered them, at which point I go buck wild and have gotten as high as 650% damage

Talraen (8:36 AM): And the way the bar works is, after each hit, it slowly drains back to 100%, but if you hit the monster before it's fully drained, it's reset to where it was

Talraen (8:37 AM): The net result being that you have to keep hitting them. And there are other considerations: Ravagers (magic DPS) raise the chain meter very quickly, but it also drains really fast (like really fast),...

Talraen (8:38 AM): While Commandos (physical DPS) don't raise it as much, but keep it from decaying, so it's easier to maintain the combo

Talraen (8:38 AM): So like, Ravager-Ravager-Ravager can quickly stagger monsters, but it's a risk since if they get interrupted, all the work might be for naught

Talraen (8:39 AM): At the very least, it's a good idea to have a Commando in your healing paradigm to make sure your chain doesn't go away

Cuzzdog (8:40 AM): Crazyness

Talraen (8:45 AM): And the game has ghouls, ghasts, and wights! Not that they're anything like their D&D equivalents, but I don't think I've seen those in an FF since 4, maybe 5

Talraen (8:49 AM): Oh, and rumors of FFXIII's literal linearity have been greatly exaggerated... I mean, the game is super linear, but in the same way every other FF is. It reminds me of FFX

chaoscat (9:31 AM): i remember when you pronounced FFX to be literally a straight line, and despite everything you believed about RPGs at the time, this was fantastic.

Talraen (9:32 AM): Well the world map is, but the individual areas weren't

Talraen (9:32 AM): The fear is that FFXIII's were, and there are some, but no more than usual

Talraen (9:32 AM): That said, they're both still a single path and may as well be straight

chaoscat (9:34 AM): so given this, and given the article you posted the other day about how RPGs lost their way

chaoscat (9:34 AM): do you think it's possible to create a modern RPG that feels like an old school game?

Talraen (9:35 AM): No

Talraen (9:36 AM): For JRPG's, though, I think this is an improvement

chaoscat (9:37 AM): not a dragon warrior fan, eh?

Talraen (9:38 AM): Hey, I count early FF games among my favorites, but the structure of FFXII and FFXIII (so far) just strike me as... better

Talraen (9:39 AM): I mean, if nothing else, FFXIII's plot has been engaging and easy to follow so far, and I think limiting the world (so you don't need to justify visiting every town) helps in that regard

Talraen (9:41 AM): More to the point, the fun of a game like an Ultima is in discovering clues as to what to do, that's never been the good part of a JRPG

chaoscat (9:42 AM): i guess that's what i'm asking - do you think a game like ultima could be made (and succeed) today?

Talraen (9:42 AM): It could be made (see: Avernum), but not as a "modern game"

Talraen (9:43 AM): The higher the fidelity, the harder it is to simulate an open world

Talraen (9:43 AM): Your best bet is something like GTA, where the world feels real, but you aren't exactly spending time information gathering

Talraen (9:43 AM): The need for graphical fidelity, voice acting, and the problem of scale are all pretty dire

chaoscat (9:44 AM): if voice synth ever gets decent, that could solve one of those issues

chaoscat (9:44 AM): but yeah, i see your point

chaoscat (10:08 AM): i just downloaded the demo of the first avernum game

chaoscat (10:08 AM): i'll try it out when i can get away from work for a bit

Balerion (10:10 AM): You should also try Geneforge from that company

Balerion (10:10 AM): I played through the demo of that and loved it . . . never got around to buying it though, I should see what it's selling for now

chaoscat (10:11 AM): it appears to be $25, same as avernum

chaoscat (10:12 AM): i'm going to stick to just trying avernum for now - if i like that, there's a lot of content to acquire

Balerion (10:15 AM): fair enough

Balerion (10:18 AM): BTW, just mentioning Dwarf Fortress to two of my friends has pretty much ruined their lives

Balerion (10:18 AM): I think for my friend Asa it's pretty much exactly the game he's always been looking for

Balerion (10:18 AM): He says that he'll be planning on turning it off, then some event will happen and he'll be like "oh, let me just deal with this quickly" . . . and then 3 hours go by

Balerion (10:20 AM): Also, I picked up the Underworld book for Exalted yesterday, and the Book of Exalts

Balerion (10:20 AM): The latter basically being a full sized softcover splat book just filled with NPCs of all different Exalt types and power levels

Balerion (10:21 AM): Well . . . kind of . . . . for those Exalt types where higher power levels make sense, you get those levels (e.g. Lunars and Sidereals).

Balerion (10:21 AM): Solars seem to all be Essence 2 or 3, Alchemicals the same thing

Balerion (10:21 AM): A few Abyssals are Essence 5

Balerion (10:21 AM): Generally very usable though, and better organized charm blocks than they've ever done before, which is nice

chaoscat (10:23 AM): that's cool

chaoscat (10:23 AM): and yeah, i hear you about dwarf fortress destroying lives

chaoscat (10:24 AM): i've been religiously not touching it until i have more free time

chaoscat (10:24 AM): man, i cannot get my brain started today

Cuzzdog (10:35 AM): Hey Matt. I finally finished Fables 13, the crossover one. I was surprised about how large the repercussions of the end of this book will be in the Jack series, but there actually seems to be very little done on the Fables storyline

Cuzzdog (10:36 AM): So I think this book can be pretty skippable if you want to pickup the series again from book 14

Balerion (10:36 AM): Yeah, we'll see how it goes

Cuzzdog (10:48 AM): Actually, now that I think about it, the resolved so much of the jack line it's possible that they may have just folded the two series together

Cuzzdog (10:49 AM): Ok, never mind. They do have another Jack book coming out.

Cuzzdog (10:51 AM): Actually, actually, looking at Wikipedia, it's possibly they created another spin off series from that book call "The Literals" as book 13 is issues 83-85 from Fables, 33-35 from Jack, and 1-3 of "The Literals"

Talraen (10:54 AM): You know, if they really did give FFXIII a 25+ hour linear intro sequence "for the masses," I think they missed the part where the masses don't like hard games. I'm 7 hours in and Odin repeatedly kicked my ass, and I barely managed to pull off a victory

Talraen (10:55 AM): Sure, I might just be dumb, but if they're trying to get some random Modern Warfare player to play this, good luck with that

Cuzzdog (10:58 AM): 7 hours in and you're fighting Odin? Isn't that early for an FF game to pull him out? Are you sure you didn't skip part of your tube?

Talraen (11:02 AM): Eh, I fought Shiva like two hours before that (I'm not actually sure how I won that fight either)

Talraen (11:04 AM): I am curious to see what other summons are in the game, and whose they will be

Talraen (11:04 AM): Shiva is Snow's and Odin is Lightning's, so those weren't exactly rocket science

Cuzzdog (11:08 AM): You fought Odin before Ifrit?

Talraen (11:09 AM): I don't even know that Ifrit is in the game (also, yes)

Balerion (11:28 AM): Wow

Balerion (11:28 AM): I just loaded up Penny Arcade, and initially thought the ad being displayed was some sort of RTS ad with power plants at the top of the screenshot

Balerion (11:29 AM): However, it is in fact an ad for a fantasy based strategy rpg

Balerion (11:29 AM): Power plants? Those are actually breasts

Cuzzdog (11:31 AM): The ones for Immortal Empire?

Balerion (11:31 AM): yeah

Balerion (11:31 AM): It was a very surreal moment

Cuzzdog (11:32 AM): The top banner or side one?

Balerion (11:32 AM): The side one

Cuzzdog (11:33 AM): Was it the lightning nipple that did it?

Balerion (11:34 AM): I don't seem to be able to get it to load again

Balerion (11:34 AM): But it wasn't really a specific image, just the vague impression

Cuzzdog (11:37 AM): I could imagine how confusing boobs and power plants could be a disconcertingly Dali moment

Talraen (12:07 PM): Bah why can't Google Docs rotate a pdf page 90 degrees

Balerion (12:16 PM): Adobe has a patent on rotating things 90 degrees

Balerion (12:16 PM): not just PDF - stuff in general

Talraen (12:17 PM): lol

Balerion (12:17 PM): I end up paying them about $5 every time I try to solve a rubik's cube

Talraen (12:17 PM): I guess that's why Commando Man has an Adobe logo on his weapon

Talraen (12:36 PM): Based on leaked info, FFXIV sounds more like a tweaked FFXI than a WoW clone - not sure how to react to that

Cuzzdog (1:08 PM): I know almost nothing about FFXI, FFXIV, or WoW, but that sounds like a "The sky continues to be blue" kind of news announcement.

Talraen (1:09 PM): It's not, it would be downright shocking if FFXIV is anything like FFXI at this point, between what they've said and basic business sense

Cuzzdog (1:56 PM): You should write to Square Enix and let them know they're doing it wrong then.

Talraen (2:20 PM): I saw something almost unbelievable in Best Buy the other day: an adapter so you can use your Logitech Harmony Remote on a PS3 (which is a great idea)... for $60 (which is not)

Cuzzdog (2:34 PM): Isn't the PS2 IR remote, that would basically achieve the exact same thing, only $20? Or maybe even cheaper now?

Talraen (2:35 PM): The PS3 doesn't have an IR remote

Talraen (2:35 PM): But the PS3's Bluetooth remote is $25, so the point stands

Cuzzdog (2:37 PM): With the PS2 IR remote, it included an IR dongle to plug into the PS2 that the Harmony remote would be able to use.

Cuzzdog (2:37 PM): Does the PS3 not have ports to support the PS2 controllers?

Talraen (2:37 PM): The slim PS2 didn't need any attachments

Talraen (2:38 PM): Uh, no, where've you been?

Talraen (2:38 PM): You can, in theory, get a USB->PS2 converter, which might work with the remote, but at that point you may as well just buy the PS3 remote

Cuzzdog (4:17 PM): Where have I been? Never anywhere near a PS3

Talraen (5:05 PM): Well then you shouldn't be making wild assumptions about it

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= :p (Sticking out tongue)

7. How do I use formatting tags?

There are several types of formatting tags available for use on the Four Light Network sites. Normal HTML is not available for use. Instead, various tags inside [brackets] are used. All formatting tags have both a start and an end tag, with content in the middle: for instance, [link]www.fourlight.net[/link] (which is shown as www.fourlight.net). Some tags, like the link tag, have optional parameters that are specified within the starting tag in the format name="value". The equals sign and double quotes are required. For example, you can create a link with a name that differs from the url by entering [link url="www.fourlight.net"]The Four Light Network[/link], which displays as The Four Light Network. For those familiar with HTML, this is exactly equivalent to <a href="http://www.fourlight.net/">The Four Light Network</a>.

You do not always have to type the tags in yourself. The tag buttons provided when writing content will insert a blank tag at the current cursor position, or wrap highlighted text in a tag. There are even keyboard shortcuts for most tags that will work whether there are buttons or not. The shorcut for the [link] tag is Ctrl-L. You can also get a [link] tag with a pre-written url= parameter with Ctrl-U. (Note that some keyboard shortcuts are not supported by all browsers, particularly Safari.)

8. Which formatting tags can I use in site chat rooms?

In addition to the [link] tag, a number of tags are available in Four Light Network chat rooms. There are standard [b]bold[/b] (bold, Ctrl-B) and [i]italics[/i] (italics, Ctrl-I) tags, as well as an [edit]edit tag[/edit] for ~~edited text~~ (Ctrl-E). You can hide spoilers behind [blackout]blackout tags[/blackout] (Ctrl-K*), which appears as a solid bar that can be read only if the user highlights the text in their browser.

Note that you can also use these tags in the content and subject lines of all types of content, as well as in header quotes. The [link] tag is not available in subject lines, however.

*In subject lines, the [spoiler] tag shortcut (Ctrl-S) will instead create a [blackout] tag.

9. What other formatting tags are available?

Several tags are only available for large, multi-line content such as the body of a review or forum post. Here is a list of available tags and some examples of their use.

The [image] (Ctrl-P) tag can be used to show any online image. You simply include the image URL between the tags, such as [image]http://www.fourlight.net/images/dragon.gif[/image], which would be displayed as:
The [code] tag is indended for showing source code or other text that requires a mono-spaced font for proper formatting. It is equivalent to the HTML <pre> tag.

function code_example () {
  echo "This is an example of the [code] tag";
}

You can specify a block-level quote with the [quote] (Ctrl-Q) tag, which will envelop its contents inside a formatted box to make it clear that the content is quoted text. You can optionally specify the quote's author with the "name" parameter, but the tag works equally well without it (and will replace the name with "Someone").

Talraen wrote...
This is an example of a quote block created with [quote name="Talraen"](content)[/quote]. Note that the "quote post" button available when replying to a forum post will fill in the previous post's author automatically.

The third and final block-level formatting tag is the [spoiler] (Ctrl-S) tag, which differs from the [blackout] tag in that it requires a user to click the spoiler to reveal the contents. It is also useful for condensing large amounts of text that some users may not be interested in. The [spoiler] tag allows an optional "title" parameter that will replace the default unrevealed text. Examples of both styles of spoiler tag follow:

Click here to show spoilers

This is a spoiler tag with a title

Finally, there is a convenient [youtube] (Ctrl-Y) tag designed for simple embedding of youtube videos. You simply provide the youtube code (the "v=" parameter) between the tags, like so: [youtube]eBGIQ7ZuuiU[/youtube].

Note that these tags will not necessarily work the same way in the site RSS feeds, due to the limitations of RSS readers. Youtube videos will not be embedded in RSS feeds, nor will they be shown in the "splash page" (a link to the video will be provided instead).

10. How do the Leaderboards Work?

The statistics on the leaderboards are not up-to-the-minute totals, but rather are updated nightly. All scores include the current calendar month (from the 1st to the current date) unless otherwise indicated. You will always be able to see your own position on the leaderboards, as well as the top 5 and any users ranked near you. By default, the current "score" (see the next question) is shown, except during the first week of the month, when the final score from the previous month is shown.

11. What Exactly Is My "Score"?

Your site score is a combination of a number of factors, including the content and comments you've posted, responses and ratings you've received, and other data. Your score can never decrease, but it is important to note that it is not cumulative. That is, if your all-time score is 1000 and you earn 200 points in the current month, your score will not be 1200 after that month (though it will be higher than 1000). The monthly score is a scoring "rate" based on similar factors to the overall score, but designed so that no user can take an insurmountable lead. The winners each month will be recognized, so it pays keep your score up. The best way to do this is to post content that will be read, responded to, and highly rated.

12. What is the network privacy policy?

Anything marked as private, whether they be forums, blogs, or some future content, will never be visible to non-logged in users (or search engines). Exactly which users have view rights to private content may change over time, but we take promises of privacy very seriously. We won't share your private messages, publicize private forums, or publish chat logs that have expired.

13. What do the moderators/administrators do?

Moderators are assigned on a per-forum basis, and have the ability to delete posts, lock threads, and make threads sticky. In private forums, they also have the ability to send out a broadcast e-mail to all forum users (except for those who have suppressed e-mail notifications). Site administrators, on the other hand, have complete control over user rights. In addition to assigning moderators and granting users access to private forums, administrators can give or take away your posting rights or your chat rights. Their job is to keep the site running smoothly, dealing with problems and problem users as necessary.

14. I'm having a problem with the chat and/or page formatting...

Many of the special features of the Four Light Engine are powered by JavaScript and Cascading Style Sheets, and these source files are not always refreshed by all browsers. If you're having problems, try a hard refresh (Ctrl-F5) and see if that fixes it. Also note that when an update requiring a hard refresh is made, an alert will appear on the page.

15. Can I get my own private forum or Four Light Network site?

Private forums are created by site administrators, so you should ask them to handle that request. Creating a new site with the Four Light Engine is a bit more involved, but we are happy to oblige. Contact Superior Software Logic for more information.

Four Light Network Frequently Asked Question Index