Archive for May, 2006

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 5-8

Monday, May 29th, 2006

Shion

Tut, tut… Episode 4 wasn’t the way things had to end. No, no, no, there were other ways things could have transpired during the first four episodes of Higurashi no Naku Koro no (the “Demoned Away” plot arc). Thus, our obliging producers provide us with the Watanagashi plot arc.

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Superiority Coming

Saturday, May 27th, 2006

Superiority Advert

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Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 3 & 4

Tuesday, May 23rd, 2006

Keiichi

In my second sitting of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Keiichi really needs to talk to somebody. He’s got a lot of issues to work through, and the initial indications look like the writers aren’t afraid to give us what they foreshadowed.

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Social Adventures

Sunday, May 21st, 2006

The Dungeon Master’s Guide presents some very clear guidelines for the use of experience points as a reward mechanism for overcoming obstacles during an adventure. This is universally-understood to include combat encounters, but is also intended to include puzzles, riddles, traps, and social interactions. This is all well and good, and even the most inexperienced DM quickly learns how to plan for traps and combat, mapping out a dungeon, ruin, castle, village, or forest in which such obstacles are placed, and handling their presentation as a tactical matter. Where does this leave you when the obstacles that need to be overcome are the attitudes of a group of people that are all roughly in the same place?

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Vista System Requirments

Sunday, May 21st, 2006

Microsoft has officially released the minimum system requirements for the new Windows Vista operating system (formerly known as Longhorn). As we all know that minimum requirements aren’t worth the screenspace they occupy, here are the recommended system specs:

  • 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
  • 1 GB of system memory.
  • A graphics processor that runs Windows Aero.
  • 128 MB of graphics memory.
  • 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
  • DVD-ROM Drive.
  • Audio output capability.
  • Internet access capability.

For the love of God, please don’t try to cram this new system onto anything less. You’ll only cause yourself pain and misery, and earn the enmity of those who you seek help from.