Bay 12 Games Forum

Quote from: GreatWyrmGold on April 15, 2014, 04:37:27 pm

Quote from: Empiricist on April 15, 2014, 03:47:32 pm

Quote from: GreatWyrmGold on April 15, 2014, 07:22:53 am

Quote from: Empiricist on April 15, 2014, 04:13:36 am

Quote from: IamanElfCollaborator on April 15, 2014, 03:45:13 am

Quote from: Twi on April 15, 2014, 03:44:38 am

In any event, I assume that at least one rule exists, directly or indirectly: you cannot travel backwards in Creation time by taking a hop through Void. Doing that would lead to all sorts of problems, grandfather paradoxes, and what have you.

That's not an assumption. It's the truth.

I believe the reason we agreed on is that the past is a concept, nothing more. Trying to travel to the past is like trying to travel to pie (not as in a pie, as in, literally, pie).

You can, however, travel to a specific pie. Can you travel to a specific past?

No, because pie has actual instances of pies. Past is a concept only.

Hardly. There are specific pasts. Five minutes ago, fifteen, an hour ago, last week, two years ago, the last time I went to the planetarium, the Renaissance...

That still isn't an accessible instance.

Why not? Your logic is that you can't go to the past because it's a concept (like pie), not an instance of a concept (like that specific apple pie). So why can't I travel to a specific past?

at Aphestadil levels of summoning, the circle is more or less just a fomality.

What about other summons?

Well, some magic works through words and runes of power; you have mundane languages, which have words resembling an object or aspect, then you have a magic language, which has words actually for an object, and can incant the word to control said object or aspect. If you've ever read the Inheritance Cycle by Paolini, sorcerers and the such use magic this way. For example, the word Brisingr is for fire in the books, and can be incanted to control fire. More complex spells need phrases put in to give the spell specific instructions. The magic language has a name, but it is not known. If one did know the name, then they could control everything and thus have the power of a god.

Spoilers are involved in expanding on that last point.
Anyways, this leads to several questions. Like why the language of everything is conveniently pronounceable by humans, or how it can be converted to diagram format.

Son Goku disagrees

an we'll see who wins in a fight, Lunette or Son Goku

"Gandhi thinks conquering and oppressing people is wrong. Ghengis Khan disagrees. We'll see whose army is stronger."
Who wins in a fight depends more on strength than tactics, when the difference in power is that severe.

behold the power of yelling loudly for 20 minutes to gather your energy being a grown man with superhuman strength and toughness beating up a little girl

FTFY.

Oh.

And as noted IC, I was right.

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They wouldn't shoot if they weren't aimed. Unless they were hoping for a little acceleration. Even so, a good burst of speed roughly towards the planet should lead to aerobraking sooner or later, followed at some point by lithobraking.

I see your KSP let's play has thought you some terminology and such. Good for you!

Indeed. Although I'd actually known the terms before I started, just without using them much.
The difference between "hardware-assisted lithobraking" and "litho breaking all by hardware" came up recently. (The main engine of a Minmal lander ran dry earlier than expected, and I landed without enough fuel to return. If I had hardware-assisted lithobraked, I would have more fuel and less weight.)

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Honestly, I found the whole thing pretty hilarious. I eventually stopped reading but just opened to see the spoilers and realize, "Damn, these mofos' still going at it."

Same, but I actually read through all of it. Pretty damn funny, how they forgot half their points or what they were arguing about somewhere midway, yet just kept steaming on. Can't stop the groove train baby.

Stubbornness is an amazing thing.

Surrender to the Dark Drake?

Meme introduces the two to Angel as Mimi glomps Gurgle!

Angel is introduced!
"Should we invite others?"

<I am contemplating summoning an extremely powerful entity to assist us in the battle. Aphestadil, the very arbiter of the domain of Lolgrammoth, second strongest entity in the domain. She is the bringer of deadly procrastination, she manipulates others and can even alter the flow of time itself. Such a strong entity could be controlled with the proper sacrifices and by the learned summoner, but can seldom be done without danger. So, I ask of you my allies--should I summon such an entity?>

<No. I'll tell you why later.>

Quote from: Elephant Parade on December 31, 2013, 12:06:45 am

Quote from: mastahcheese on December 31, 2013, 12:05:07 am

Quote from: Dermonster on December 31, 2013, 12:01:59 am

Quote from: mastahcheese on December 30, 2013, 11:57:14 pm

Quote from: Dermonster on December 30, 2013, 11:54:26 pm

WHICH GROWS ON SOIL, INBRED PEASANT!

THEN HOW COME WE DON'T SAY "GROW ON SOIL" FOR EVERYTHING, SINCE TREES ALSO GROW ON SOIL,  FECKLESS KNAVE?

BECAUSE THE ORIGINAL SAYING WAS A CONVENIENT IDIOM FOR THE RARITY OF AN OBJECT, SEEING AS THE TREES THAT PEOPLE WERE MOST FAMILIAR WITH GREW APPLES WHICH ARE QUITE COMMON, YOU UNEDUCATED SWINE!

ARE YOU INSINUATING THAT GRASS IS UNFAMILIER TO PEOPLE? I SHOULD NOT EVEN HAVE TO INSULT YOU IF YOU ARE INSINUATING THAT GRASS IS UNFAMILIER TO PEOPLE.

WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE, WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE GRASS. WE HAD DIRT, AND THAT WAS IT. IT WAS OUR DINNER, OUR TOYBOX, OUR INTERNET, AND OUR ONLY FRIEND.

Oh so SIGGED.

I'd forgotten about that! I'm laughing.

I don't think it's that hard to miss a planet. Doesn't rocket science involve quite a bit of learning on how not to miss a planet? Planets are like fast and tiny little bastard fish in the vast gulf of space, after all.

Hitting a planet is easy enough, if you're in orbit. Therefore, missing is hard.
It depends on how far away they are, and if you count "hit the wrong continent" as a hit or a miss.

Although they could probably hit something else on the way if they're shooting from orbit. Like one of their own ships, for instance, especially if their targeting computers are top-of-the-line Hephaestus software.

Not likely unless they're using that software.
Yeah...Hephaestus is good with hardware but sucks at software.

Also, there's likely little room for precision aiming.  Given the description of the main gun Lars saw, it's likely that it simply fires in the direction the ship is pointing, which is big and lumbering.

They wouldn't shoot if they weren't aimed. Unless they were hoping for a little acceleration. Even so, a good burst of speed roughly towards the planet should lead to aerobraking sooner or later, followed at some point by lithobraking.

Unrelatedly, I think Anton's little accident so far marks the only instance when a manipulator was involved in taking off someone's limb without involving space magic.

...
Story time?

An AI playing an actual game? I don't know if it would be entertaining. The most interesting part of Perplexicon is doing science yourself, trying to figure out the pattern, or making cool spells. I doubt that any waitlister reads a turn for anythin other than being prepared for whenever he pops into the game. A public wordlist woul change that, though.
So, I wouldn't put an AI as a player.

Eh. It wasn't ever likely to be more than a dancing bear anyways.