Bay 12 Games Forum

Topic says it.

Western people almost always seem to have the impression that all Asians are natural math geniuses, doing everything without even breaking a sweat (and I probably didn't help—I was in a grade half a year lower than what I was supposed to be in xD). But it's not the case. Even in the US, I've had friends who struggle with math, and in Korea, I see even more people who give up on math.

So... why?

Well, for my Korean homework (worth 5 out of 100 points), I felt like I actually wanted to interview someone, not just asking my dad a couple of questions.
Since I'm interested in programming, I'd like to interview a programmer, over PMs, preferably.
I don't know where exactly to post this, so here it is. xD

Can someone volunteer, or perhaps recommend a interviewee? I think Bay12 had a couple programmers, as in people who code for a living.

It doesn't matter which kind they are, be it designing, systems, or database.

I basically just send the person a suite of questions, probably 15, and that person replies!
I'll be doing the translation. Though what the name would be is a problem... make up one? xD

So... some of you might know that I live in Korea, and want to go international for college, probably a US once, since I have no preparation for other nations' schools. The bad thing about doing that is that you get no discounts for tuition ever, no in-state third-ing of fees, no nothing. :s Colleges also tend to not give scholarships to international students. I've heard that going to a community college for the general class credit, and then moving to a four-year to get a degree is much cheaper, but my parents insist that community colleges are end-of-the line, horrid places where the education is the worst you can get anywhere.

Uh...does anyone have experience/knowledge about the reality of community colleges? Is it hard to move from a 2 year to a 4 year? Are there any special benefits to either one?

BTW, I want to get at least at bachelors (Science) in some form of computer sciences, and work as a programmer or related. :-0

TL;DR: Pros and cons of 2 years CC + 2 years regular university vs 4 years straight of regular university?

Hiya all. Since I might as well ask the opinion of the internet than asking the opinion of a probably biased hakwon tutor, here I am.

I live in Korea, the Republic. Not the Democracy. I am in sophomore year (= 10th grade), second semester here, since it starts in March, not September. I want to go to an American college, and get a BS, and maybe a Master's if it would benefit me well. I wish to perhaps major in computer science. Well, it's all fine and dandy, but there's a myriad of small or large problems. For one, I believe American colleges (from hereon, "college" always means American ones) want your GPA. Korean colleges want your percentile. So Korean high schools make it extremely hard to get a B or an A, since K. colleges only need your percentile, your relative position among the others at your high school. However, this problem can't be overcome by anything, I suppose, so it's not really a question; just a point to reference, I guess, or blowing steam.

Another is that there are no AP classes at regular high schools. How could I go about preparing for AP exams without a course teacher?
Just another tidbit of information: it seems that the few high schools that do offer both courses and exams often refuse to take external people who aren't students of that school for any and all AP exams.

Third, I suppose I'd want SAT II' tests, but I believe those are offered readily, and besides I have already tried it, and it's not too bad. o.O
Forth, the SAT itself, but again "easy" to prepare for, and tests everywhere.

Fifth, would there be an effective way to study while using as little time as possible? xD I know it's asking too much, but ... Well, school here is just that much longer, from six to six usually. Besides that, math hakwons are pretty much needed, and those eat a triad of hours every couple of days.

Sixth, a normal college-preparing question: What do colleges want from me? :S Participation in many school events, which there is an extreme drought of in Korea? Good GPA? Shining SATs? D:

Seventh, colleges seem to be extremely expensive—sometimes $45000 a year or more. ...Are they worth it? I heard of people saying that it's cheaper and just as effective to go to community colleges for knowledge, and sign up for classes at regular colleges if you want more expertise. I wonder how that works with someone like me who wants, or rather needs, for job qualifications, a bachelor's degree. I suppose that I'd need to go to a regular college for a future BS...


Hrng, now I have more questions about stuff like green cards and visas, but I think that's going ahead of myself...

Is it overly difficult to get into an Australian college from a foreign country? I have no information at all regarding that, but I think there's a whole different set of tests they want.

Another idle questions: do American companies dislike foreigner workers who don't have a permanent residence status?

In the year AF 1446, the evil Disilyne, the Merciless Slaughtermaster, the Other Dark One, the Harbinger of Chaos, the Diabolic Tactican, the Designer of Hells et al. swept over the continent of Rodon with his Legion and quickly subdued three kingdoms, oftentimes than not leaving swathes of dead villages and razed fields in his wake. About half of the continent is currently under the control of Disilyne, and the people of the land tremble under the iron fist of his rule. The other half has not yet been able to put aside their differences to conquer Disilyne's kingdom of terror yet, and thus the task falls to the heroes of the land who barely know how to grasp a sword when they start out and end up blademasters and great mages and with beautiful women.

Let us picture a landmass, surrounded by water. It is roughly continent-shaped, and has a sprinkling of island-shape islands strewn in a snaky archipelago on the south side. The centre has a high and treacherous chain of mountains obligatorily named the Backbone of Rodon with only three passes. There is a set of three volcanoes to the west of the center pass, each named Mt Sauron, Mt Hellinabox, and Mt Doomlava. At an equidistant point, or more precisely the interior circumscribed point, to each of the actively planet-killing volcanoes is a black citadel of gneiss and basalt, surrounded by rivers of molten rock and guarded by unsleeping minions of undeath, viz skeletons. Many a hero has come to the castle only to be struck down by the guards, or fall into a river and be burnt to a crisp before he hit the surface.

The souls of the dead heroes would never rest if they knew the castle was empty, and staffed only by a ^_*cough* skeleton crew. No sane person would have an evil fortress in such OSHA-incompliant surroundings, and Disilyne was far from insane. He was many things, but not insane.

This time, picture a gleaming castle of white rocks, hanging banners of gay red and yellow colors with men in burnished silver breastplates patroling the walls. Ask any passerby, and they would grudgedly admit the ruler was fair, though never kind.
This is the real evil fortress of Disilyne.

In his evil, well-ventilated and bright throneroom that had no spike impaling the heads of innocents anywhere in sight, Disilyne in his bright black helmet with three small spikes and a magically darkened visor was having a nice cup of tea the  chief adviser politely refused and left an hour ago. Why he had done so, Disilyne could not understand. Perhaps he was one of those—shudder—Umericanes, who thought the idea of tea as worse than pigs' mud. He mused over the advice given to him: since the Empire of Tyranny had grown so large yet was now in a state of stasis, an unusual strategy was needed. He thought over the situation; to the west there was no land at all to challenge Tyranny. To the south, the Archepelagos of Terfor were steadfast in their naval-based resistance. Legion didn't quite cut it. To the east was the Backbone of Rodon, and the three heavily guarded passes of it. Being rather narrow, any attempt by Legion to break through would be disastrous at best. To the north there was two or so kingdoms that didn't think him a large threat, stupidly squabbling over a single strip of land that was barely fertile just because of honor.

 What he needed, offered the adviser carefully, was a small amount of strong 'heroes' to take lead, since he himself was quite busy with securing the territories. Let the underlings of the Other Dark One do all the work and claim the results. And if they grow too strong cut them from the stalk and throw them into the fire. It was a safe, waterproof plan. That also meant it was destined to go wrong, but Disilyne accepted the fact that he would die eventually. After all, it was a small price to pay for living a couple decade as a king.

He reached for his scribing tools and started penning . . .

---

Elite Evil Minions Needed

To further the great overlord Disilyne, the Merciless Slaughterer, the Other Dark One, The Harbringer of Chaos etc. 's conquest of Rodon, he requires five (5) underlings of the utmost evil but preferably not chaos, capable of:

(regardless of gender, will be referred to as 'he' below)

• sowing discord, debauchery, and depravity wherever he goes
• capable of good public relations
• can follow orders but also take initiative
• capable of basic tactics
• have the ability to lead Legion troops into combat
• have at least five years or more of evil experience
• • special cases may waive this requirement
• have successfully conducted multiple AAA evil projects
• ability to work in a team environment

Application is not first-come first-serve.


Fill out the below form:

Name:
Age:
Gender:

Description of self, including resumé, bio, appearance:

Physical and mental abilities— (six points is a +1, while each point is a 16% chance of a +1. All abilities start from -1, which is a 100% chance of -1. You have 12 points.)
Strength (used for physical attacks as well as strength)
Intelligence (used for rolling stuff like Think Of Way To Activate Superweapon)
Agility (used for dodging and hitting)
Charisma (used for talking with people and persuading or intimidating. Also doubles as a measure of will.)
Magic (used for, obviously, magic rolls*)
Legion (gives bonuses in combat rolls of the Legions you lead)

Skills— (6 skill points. Examples of skills are as follows, but you may create skills of your own with the GM's permission. Magic skill's cap is 1, because you are spending the skill point to learn magic. The rolls are influenced by the Magic stat. You may fluff your magic, or suffer Generica Magica*.)

: Magic
: One-hand swords
: Two-hand swords
: Blunt weapons
: Torture
: Public Relations
: Tactics
: Genre Savvy
: Disguise
: ‼SCIENCE‼
: Maniacal Laughter
: Attractiveness

(This list is obviously short and non-comprehensive. Think of your own skills if the above list doesn't suffice, especially since I did not spend too much time on creating the list >.>)

Intro
After the Incident, which originated with a careless mage creating a perpetual power-eating spell, the various kingdoms and countries of the world made sure to prepare Vaults in the event of a catastrophe. They were simply sealed underground rooms equipped with anti-spell doors and walls at least three meters thick, batteries of power stored away to regulate temperature, humidity, and provide life, and simple facilities for rest, production, and research.

Inevitably, another disaster has struck. This time, it was caused by an overabundance of power, unlike the Incident, which was characterized by the lack of it. Plumes of magic appeared from tiny seams in the fabric of the world, which served to separate the seams more, which brought forward more otherworldly magic. In a positive feedback cycle much much wild power appeared in the world, which attracted strange creatures and warped many existing ones into more powerful, feral and tougher versions.

Needless to say, the world collapsed.

You and the others grouped together in the confusion and chaos. Some of you knew where a Vault was, and led the others on the dangerous path there. Though you lost three forths on the way, at least you made it here. The entrance to Vault E — made of metal and ceramic checkered and about ten meters tall, ten meters high, and square — looms before you. Far off, the thick, boiling clouds crackle as thunder and lightning ripple through them, while the surrounding hills are sparse and covered in hardy brown grass. There is a minor river about a kilometer away.

---

The sights

Jurith approaches the lever set into one side of Vault E's doors. Remembering the short code his father told him, he raises or lowers the levers accordingly and waits until the system detects them. With a heavy clunk and a low grinding of machinery, the doors slide to either side, ponderously and solidly. Inside is dark, at least until a dim set of red lights embedded into either side of the opening flicker on. The passageway leads into the main complex of the Vault. Landren, Tricton, Albri, Jurith, Sil, Olson, Achadias, and a number of other people cautiously head in. Jurith remembers that he has to pull another lever to seal the Vault again from the wild magic and creatures outside. There is supposed to be a small airlock somewhere, but he doesn't know where it is.

Though each Vault is said to be different, this particular one is built into the side of a mountain. This means that most of it is on the same level as the entrance hall. The main hall leading from the large double doors ends in a round room, lavishly decorated yet sparsely furnitured (which probably is not a word). There is a sort of carpet made of woven fiber and square covering most of the room. The high dome of it terminates in a set of extinguished chandeliers. Four pillars stand equidistant from the center of the room and from each other.

Other, narrower halls lead perpendicular to the main hall. They lead to various closed doors and smaller passageways. Meanwhile, there is a small flight of stairs leading down to the second floor in the middle of the hall.

All of the halls are tiled in cut but not polished stone in a varying grey-and-white checker pattern. Ten sets of key-rungs are hanging on each of the pillars in the big room. The room temperature is about twenty degrees Celsius, or roughly 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The only lighting as of right now are the solemn red strips of lighting lining the walls. The center of the big room at the end is mostly dark.


Summery: Long wide hall, circular room at end. Three narrower halls are perpendicular to main hall, each has about five doors; total of 15 doors on narrower halls. The long wide hall has two large doors about halfway down, between Narrow Hall A and Narrow Hall B.
The air is at 20 Celsius / 70 Farenheit. It is dim.

Ambient magic : [50/50(s)]
If you are a mage, record 20/20 power on your sheet.

Intro
After the Incident, which originated with a careless mage creating a perpetual power-eating spell, the various kingdoms and countries of the world made sure to prepare Vaults in the event of a catastrophe. They were simply sealed underground rooms equipped with anti-spell doors and walls at least three meters thick, batteries of power stored away to regulate temperature, humidity, and provide life, and simple facilities for rest, production, and research.

Inevitably, another disaster has struck. This time, it was caused by an overabundance of power, unlike the Incident, which was characterized by the lack of it. Plumes of magic appeared from tiny seams in the fabric of the world, which served to separate the seams more, which brought forward more otherworldly magic. In a positive feedback cycle much much wild power appeared in the world, which attracted strange creatures and warped many existing ones into more powerful, feral and tougher versions.

Needless to say, the world collapsed.

You and the others grouped together in the confusion and chaos. Some of you knew where a Vault was, and led the others on the dangerous path there. Though you lost three forths on the way, at least you made it here. The entrance to Vault E — made of metal and ceramic checkered and about ten meters tall, ten meters high, and square — looms before you. Far off, the thick, boiling clouds crackle as thunder and lightning ripple through them, while the surrounding hills are sparse and covered in hardy brown grass. There is a minor river about a kilometer away.

---

The sights

Jurith approaches the lever set into one side of Vault E's doors. Remembering the short code his father told him, he raises or lowers the levers accordingly and waits until the system detects them. With a heavy clunk and a low grinding of machinery, the doors slide to either side, ponderously and solidly. Inside is dark, at least until a dim set of red lights embedded into either side of the opening flicker on. The passageway leads into the main complex of the Vault. Landren, Tricton, Albri, Jurith, Sil, Olson, Achadias, and a number of other people cautiously head in. Jurith remembers that he has to pull another lever to seal the Vault again from the wild magic and creatures outside. There is supposed to be a small airlock somewhere, but he doesn't know where it is.

Though each Vault is said to be different, this particular one is built into the side of a mountain. This means that most of it is on the same level as the entrance hall. The main hall leading from the large double doors ends in a round room, lavishly decorated yet sparsely furnitured (which probably is not a word). There is a sort of carpet made of woven fiber and square covering most of the room. The high dome of it terminates in a set of extinguished chandeliers. Four pillars stand equidistant from the center of the room and from each other.

Other, narrower halls lead perpendicular to the main hall. They lead to various closed doors and smaller passageways. Meanwhile, there is a small flight of stairs leading down to the second floor in the middle of the hall.

All of the halls are tiled in cut but not polished stone in a varying grey-and-white checker pattern. Ten sets of key-rungs are hanging on each of the pillars in the big room. The room temperature is about twenty degrees Celsius, or roughly 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The only lighting as of right now are the solemn red strips of lighting lining the walls. The center of the big room at the end is mostly dark.


Summery: Long wide hall, circular room at end. Three narrower halls are perpendicular to main hall, each has about five doors; total of 15 doors on narrower halls. The long wide hall has two large doors about halfway down, between Narrow Hall A and Narrow Hall B.
The air is at 20 Celsius / 70 Farenheit. It is dim.

Ambient magic : [50/50(s)]
If you are a mage, record 20/20 power on your sheet.