Aenye Deithven

Lol, should the title screen be changed to make Baldspot puke rainbow as well ? ^_-

Such as barricaded doors / windows and a perimeter wall ?

State of the art: We can bash and we can smash and make noise and get eaten, all for a plank or two, some hinges and possibly a knob. The idea: Let unlocked doors be deconstructed, provided the required tools are in the PCs possession. Use components gained in this way for crafting of lockables. Benefits: Improved gains in respect to bashing. Possibly: planks, nails, knob, lock assembly, key. Drawbacks: Required tools and a bit more time than in case of bashing. The checklist: Realistic ? No problem, a screwdriver and a claw hammer are usually more than enough to disassemble a door. Well, personally I don't think I could lift a door off of its hinges, but I also wouldn't be able to go on killing zombies all day. Does it fit ? / Would it make the game too easy ? Taking a door apart instead of smashing produces less noise and maybe can yield more components (either qualitatively or quantitatively), as swinging an axe / sledgehammer isn't a very precise action. Rewriting the entire game ? IMHO, this would be similar to the 'add curtains', but with items produced rather than used up, so might be a "quick fix". Adding to the gameplay ? Deconstructing in itself is a cosmetic change, allowing for a time for loot tradeoff. Using the lock assembly/key for making lockable stuff, however, sounds like a nice addition, particularly in terms of multiplayer (as mentioned here: http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/8377-securing-your-safehouse-from-players/ and here: http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/8172-the-upcoming-trapping-system/?hl=traps) This could actually be elaborated a bit to feature different types (simple, two-, four-sided, paracentric, dimple, abloy, etc.) grades (flimsy, average, secure) of key-lock systems, accommodating a potential lock picking addition to the game. Would it be found in Kentucky ? Only the McCoys din' have locks and see what good it's done for them...

Ad. 1 Sure, this would be nice and implementable on the level of open/close curtains (I think - please verify if you know). Ad. 2 Oh yes, this would be wonderful to have, same goes for combination locks (http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/8305-time-to-loggout-crowbar-to-sneaky-open-doors-getting-water-from-river/). This actually gives me an idea... Ad. 3 There actually was some discussion of traps for PCs/NPCs/zombies when the trapping system was announced (here: http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/8172-the-upcoming-trapping-system/?hl=traps). Not sure of the devs approach, nevertheless, this is a fun idea, giving some more importance to the eagle eyed trait. Me likey ! Also, a tip: Build a base in such a place where nobody expects it and where it won't be noticed, but isn't out in the middle of a forest. Worked quite well online ...until we went lumberjacking.

Well, you could always try and convince one of the devs to grab a few brews with you and have the issue *somehow* come up. That or go full ninja-infiltrator-stalker. Just don't be surprised if you still get the same answer - them be some persistently ETA-hatin' folk. Ask the McCoys. )

First of all, we don't even know if it really is a virus that turns you into a zombie. Nevertheless, let's assume just that. Now, if we're talking about diseases and medication or antiseptics, the actual goal of development is not to formulate compounds that will kill the microbe (as we already have a bajillion of those), but one that will selectively kill the microbe only. The same can be said about antiseptics - sure, we can use nitric acid to remove a trail of zombie blood on the floor, but it will remove the floor as well (as in burn holes in your favourite rug, not burn down to the core of the earth). Therefore, I wouldn't be so quick to rule out antiseptics for environmental decontamination. Personal antiseptics stopping / curing the zombification ? That's just would not be PZ anymore...

Shopping carts ! If you're surrounded with a full cart, why not hurl it and knock some zombies over to clear a path ? Also, take two, add a hinge, stick and some thread and you have a great trap for the wildlife (nice and Fallout-y, although that one might have served a darker purpose).

One wheelbarrow of them Ad. not able to pick up more stuff: I've also seen it - it seems that if one of the bags is full enough that the weight of it's contents exceeds your maximum (even though you have it equipped and get the weight reduction), the game does not take the weight reduction into account for picking up more stuff.

One hotkey, bound to alternate between: all walls on, all walls off and proximity transparency ? I would love it and the all walls off option might actually help take a bit of the CPU load when streaming the player's surroundings. Nicely done !

Haiku are just not Zombiette love and french wine- Sing among sakura Oh, we do want to hear them - share your awesomeness !

Honestly, you would have a better chance at living after downing a gallon of bleach than after such a field-operation, performed by an amateur, even without the zombie issue. There's also the question of whether the one 'patching you up' would be up to the task - amputation is one of the most stressful procedures to be undertaken, even for an experienced surgeon - so it's pretty likely that 'the doc' would have a breakdown halfway... BTW. Rathlord, is it just my feeling or are you in the 'medical industry' ?

The bloody sun sets Beneath feet of walking dead- This is how you died Who's up for a PZ haiku challenge ? Anyone can do better than me - prove it !

That's a nice idea. Lack-of-knowledge issues aside, this might be technically impossible. Why ? Electricity: In normal conditions a power generating station runs without much maintenance. Assuming we have modern technology, the facility is largely automated in terms of diagnostics, so not much training is necessary for day-to-day operation. Furthermore, most machinery used n such places is designed to be as modular as possible, so repairs are a matter of acquiring the relevant spare parts. Backups of critical elements are usually on site, in order to be able to shut off a block rather than the whole station. The problem, however, is fuel - a facility providing power to a city eats through fuel like a swarm of piranhas during mating season. The details may vary, depending on the type of plant and country, however, in most cases the fuel is being constantly shipped to the plant. If the stream of fuel stops, so does the power. That works much faster than any conceivable hardware/software malfunction. Well, apart from Greenpeace, but that's another story. Now, the question is whether any such facility is even remotely close to Muldraugh / WP. Wouldn't a substation be more likely ? If that were the case, virtually no maintenance is needed, however, the actual power station may decide to stop supplying the power to a "quarantine zone" - this is actually how I understand the electricity shutoff that is currently implemented. Water: Pumping stations need electricity to provide and maintain water pressure. End of story ? Not necessarily.- the greater the flow of water out of the system, the more power is needed to maintain pressure. What about low-flow systems ? Well, if such a system were to be operated without electricity (driven by physical labour ?), it would have to be ...miniscule. How small ? Not sure about it (not an expert in the field, unfortunately), but I would put the magnitude at one pipe, running a couple miles at best. Should be enough to provide a safehouse or two with water to drink / for gardening. Comfortable even if this would be incomparably less effective than using the river running through WP. Actually, thinking about it gives me an idea. Without power and, hence, pressure, the water network would essentially become a huge reservoir (many countries actually have water systems of cities built in such a way that they can serve this purpose in case of emergency) of clean drinking water (not for very long, mind you). Knowing this, getting our hands on this water source is simple.

I believe that was meant as a "was talked about" list rather than "confirmed no" one. Impressive work on compiling all these threads, guys !

Deviously brilliant ! Brilliantly devious ? One of the few ideas I've seen that could actually stop PC raider types dead in their tracks. Literally.

The NATO+US dropping bombs on Serbia "issue" (as no other Yugoslavian-originating country was attacked in this way) was already mentioned (AFAIR, page 2-3 of this thread). Not to resurrect that aspect of the discussion, but virtually no details have been established about the Balkan wars, as pretty much every side of the conflict did partake (and the ones that still exist continue doing so) in information control & propaganda actions.

Actually, it wouldn't be so easy... Explosive devices (such as grenades) consist of two basic types of high-energy material - the primer and the detonating agent. Practical solutions have been devised so that these two come separately, as the detonator (detonating cap would be the direct translation to english) and the bulk "explosive". In order to explain those citation marks, I have to at least mention the mechanism of the phenomenon. Typically if a condensed phase (solid or liquid) releases gas slowly, we will observe the formation and escape of bubbles (example: opening a bottle of pepsi - as the pressure and composition of the gas phase over the liquid change, carbon dioxide dissolved in the liquid is being released until equilibrium). Chemical explosions and detonation follow a similar mechanism - gas is produced (as a result of a decomposition reaction), however, it may occupy the volume of the condensed phase it originated from. This means extreme pressure. Furthermore, decomposition reactions are typically highly exothermic, so if they occur rapidly, a great amount of heat is also produced. A high-temperature, high-pressure gas is not a stable state, so it has to release the energy contained within somehow - typically by simultaneously increasing its volume and exchanging heat with anything colder than itself, such as molecules of the explosive which didn't decompose. Heat + pressure = decomposition of the explosive and the initiation of a chain reaction. The critical factor in the process is the rate at which the "decomposition front" propagates through the material. Extremely slow propagation would result in simple burning (such as coal in a furnace), where the gas actually has enough time to expand and not much pressure is built up. Faster propagation may be similar to gunpowder - if we employ a closed vessel, pressure will build up fast enough to rip the vessel open. Even faster ? Explosions. Faster still ? At some point the mechanism of the gas phase processes begins to change into an adiabatic one. When we have adiabatic transfer of heat, the process is called a detonation - the speeds at which the decompostion fronts propagate are typically of the order of 5-10 km/s. A front of gas travelling at such a speed ? That's the blast wave (or, as a friend once summarised "pop goes the weasel"), carrying a lot of energy. Enough to ignite most materials or initiate detonation of high-energy materials... Now, the question is how much energy is needed to provide a sufficiently fast rate of decomposition for detonation ? If we provide enough to decompose all of the material instantly, a detonation will occur. Decompose half of the material ? Probably yes. A tenth ? Maybe. The amount of energy needed to initiate the process is called the "detonation threshold". If we provide less, the material will decompose, but it will not explode - the most spectacular example of that is being able to burn TNT in a chimney safely (nevertheless, please do not try this). Now, back to the "explosive" - it's because if a high-energy material is to be used for munitions, it needs to be safe. Therefore, it should be possible to store it indefinitely and dispose of it in a controlled way. Therefore, its detonation threshold should be high enough to be beyond the magnitude of commonly encountered stimuli. If we want to detonate the material, we just insert a primer (made of an "initiating explosive material" with a relatively low detonation threshold and, hence, lower stability). The amount of explosive in a primer is small enough to be relatively safe (if any work with explosives could be called safe...) and large enough to provide the energy required for the detonation of the bulk explosive. Going back to grenades in the microwave - should the grenade still have the safety pin, the primer might be located beyond the bulk explosive (depending on technical solutions of course), so if it were to go off, it might not set the grenade off. That and the fact that the primer in grenades is relatively stable (can be stored for some time), can result in a warm grenade. One can just make a mechanical trap to simulate the grenade being primed or use electricity. Many explosives are actually detonated by application of an electric impulse, which actually carries a lot of energy... TLDR: Instead of cooking grenades, just hit their contents with a discharge from a capacitor.

Gantz is cool just because of that - all throughout the show you ask yourself the question "WTF Gantz is anyway ?" and then... no spoiler. Also, came back to an old hit: Monster. If you're talking about the first movie, then also note the hauntingly well chosen and set music...

Pretty much so, however, in the jewish case it was actually endorsed by the government, whereas now the government seems to be rather passive on the issue. It depends on the region - I grew up in a rather traditional community, where homosexuality was "frowned upon", but any actual talk about it being bad/forbidden was reserved for boys, it seems. On the other hand, in Piter, we had a "gay pride" action last year. It ended badly though - with pro-gay and anti-gay demonstrants fighting being broken up by a police intervention. Not sure what became of the subject though... Exactly - it's a big change in mindset, that will take some time getting used to. The West has had this issue for a longer time than we have and, hence, have already adapted (at least partially). If talking about problematic social matters, I would actually compare our "homosexuality issue" with the "muslim immigrants issue" that France (among others of course) currently face - they are both still very fresh and, therefore, sparking a lot of emotions.

With all due respect, I remember the exact same phrase being applied to the Jews in the Soviet times... IMHO, it's neither the country nor the culture - some people just need to have an "enemy" looming on the horizon all the time, regardless of who that enemy actually is. The easiest choice is somebody whose values and ideals are somehow opposed (or just different) to our own. It's the same in every country I visited - the only thing that changes is the actual "enemy". Well, "changes" might be too big a word for a chocie of homosexuals, jews, immigrants and muslims. Different and not fully understood = easy to hate. So, why is Russia being called out to the spotlight ? First of all, the anti-homosexual acts have been quite high-profile and the media loves such stories. Second, lately we have been the talk of the world - not very happy talk to say the least. "So", the media think "let's add some more fuel to that fire !". The same thing basically happened with the US and the Snowden media blitz - the only thing the media care about is their ratings. As for the "no bias" thread - it's good to remember that there is no such thing. Everyone has some agenda whether they realise it or not - the guy may well believe that he is being unbiased, but that is simply not the way our brains work. Whether it's a brainwashing ateempt or a person acting in good will (which we will never know, by the way), the outcome may be exactly the same. Just to keep in mind. ;-]

Ad. 1) I believe it could be done with secondary school level of knowledge. Knowledge of mineral deposits in the area aside, of course. Going back to my school days, there was quite a bit of talk about making cement/concrete in both the chemical and technological aspect. Sure, most of that, I've forgotten, but the books are still there, so I'm one read away from knowing how is it done. Theory is just theory and it would take a lot of practice to get everything going (to exemplify, clay has to be heated in a certain way, so as not to compromise its mechanical properties by rapid escape of the water bound within the material). One could start from simple clay bricks and gradually progress to more "advanced" kilning. Having this covered, why stop at clay/concrete ? Clay cups can be further kilned with some more materials to obtain a nice glazing, which, while not exactly sophisticated, does look pretty nice. Ad. 2) Well, this is an issue. I'm not a programmer, so I can't say how much work would be necessary to introduce such a feature. Couldn't it be a part of the natural tiles system, like another layer, where one could bestow resources (and obligatory indian burial grounds) upon the map ? It would be wonderful to enrich the PZ world a bit, but that may be "beta-talk" for the future. Depends on stamina and luck - if he hit a large spot, rich in clay / limestone, it might take a day or two to gather the necessary resources. Depends on the metal you want to extract from the ore. Smelting iron ore with a reductive agent such as coal actually yields steel. The main source of trouble would be finding iron ore. Keeping in mind with Wilson's mention that iron ore is quite rare in the area, melting down scrap metal might prove to be more sensible.

First of all, welcome to the forums ! Now , down to business: When giving suggestions, don't limit yourself to slogans - please elaborate on the whats, whys and hows of the subject, so the ideas may be refined through discussion. We wouldn't want to give the busy, busy devs a great idea, without providing some basis for implementing it, would we now ? You might also want to read through the sub-forum, as some of these subjects have already been thought of (well, with a community this large and active it's inevitable). Cheers !

The second war in Chechnya started because a terrorist unit, involving some Chechens,radied Dagestan. This was an uprising, which could have been dealt with without collateral damage. Nevertheless, this was an excellent excuse to "suppress" Chechnya once again, particularly in light of the then-recent bombings.Furthermore, it took only several months of fighting in Chechnya for Maskhadow (Chechen president at the time) to offer his full cooperation in dealing with the terrorists and (AFAIR) two weeks more to offer unconditional surrender. We didn't accept that and the army pushed south, using quite a bit of artillery and air support. Enough so that almost half of the citizens of Chechnya fled to other republics or through the border... After less than a year we took Grozny and the federal institutions were reenacted. Alongside concentration camps (sorry, "filtration camps" - a perfect copy of the ones set up during the first war and another horrid progeny of ГУЛаг) for those of an "unsuitable mindset towards the Federation". That was so defensive, that it started a guerilla war which consumed the next ten years and nobody knows how many people... As for Georgia, the government did not instigate the war via military action but through political means. To exemplify: If Finland suddenly decided to annect Piter along iwth the whole region, what would our answer be ? What would the US do if Mexico suddenly took Texas ? IMHO, the mechanism Putin hoped for in the case of Crimea was exactly the same as in Georgia - spur the Ukrainians to attack us, crush their army and "take necessary countermeasures against the aggressor". Summarising this part: Putin is no angel or peaceful defender of the country, but an extremely efficient, cynical leader who is capable of doing incredibly scary stuff if only it benefits his agenda. In light of these things, it really doesn't come as a surprise that, as a nation we are hated by most of the world, does it ? A comparison of Kosovo and Crimea ? Sure, the two seem similar at first glance, but when you consider them for a moment: Kosovo got independence, Crimea was annexed by Russia,Russia did guarantee the territorial integrity of Ukraine (in return for them passing their nuclear arsenal over to us) and no such guarantee was made for Serbia,Kosovo was a region contested at some point by seven (!) different fractions, while Crimea was bestowed upon Ukraine as a gift,The former Yugoslavia was the area of some of the most vicious ethnic cleansings in recent history, while nobody envisioned such a future in Ukraine,Serbia was in a state of war with its neighbours as well as consumed by a civil war, Ukraine had a political revolt, without any direct military action (even though the situation in Kiev could have easily evolved into a military intervention),Serbia had virtually no foreign policy (apart from "US, can you stop bombing us ?"), while Ukraine was trying to "westernise" (something that our government didn't like at all, especially in light of Poland becoming a successful nation). So, is the comparison really justified ?

Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension

Such a big map would be lovely for multiplayer, even though it might pose some issues in terms of performance. I can help a bit with mapping, particularly buildings, in my spare time. I would actually suggest to make a separate project for the map alone and get more of the community involved, as in the case of the awesome Bedford Falls. @Jela: We did, but it seems that my question has derailed the discussion on the topic quite nastily... sorry ?