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Started by Agramon, June 21, 2013, 02:55:17 AM

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Blackleaf

Quote from: Hydra009 on September 24, 2019, 12:01:58 AM
Right.  Hence, Pelinal Whitestrake, a frequent wanderer, champion of men against the mer, and even a rather fitting death.  A much more stronger candidate for Lorkhan than Maiq, imo.

It's possible for Pelinal to be an avatar of Lorkhan, but that doesn't really take away from M'aiq, whose first canonical appearance (so far) was thousands of years after Pelinal's death or...whatever happened to him. I mean, he does eventually reappear in one of Oblivion's DLC, I believe, but that doesn't necessarily mean that M'aiq couldn't be a separate manifestation of Lorkhan.

QuoteBut it does mean that they essentially merge.  You can't have Talos merge with Lorkhan and still have Lorkhan roam the world as Maiq.

I mean...I suppose that maybe that's possible, given the multiple shezzarines in Talos.

But to be honest, I'm kinda leaning towards doubting that because that's such a huge can of worms for any writer to deal with.  As if tracking a single being wasn't bad enough, tracking multiples would make you tear your hair out.  Granted, Michael Kirkbride has done far stranger things than that...

I'd say it's not only possible, but practically confirmed. There's the example I gave of gods varying to the point of contradiction depending on the culture communing with them. There's also an in-game book where the author defensively denies the assertion that Akatosh and Alduin are the same god. We could take that text at face value, or see it as the developers introducing the idea of the two gods being identical via showing us a controversy we didn't know existed.

Or perhaps everyone is wrong, and reality, including the gods, is shaped by perception. So multiple cultures worshipping the same god each have their own versions of those gods with different goals and personalities. The Skaal believe in a single true god, the All-Maker. They believe that the godhead is a dreamer, and that all existence is a result of his dream. If he were to awaken, the world would cease to exist. It's not as simple as the dream not being real, though. It is...kinda. The process of Chim is understanding that the world isn't real, but that you exist. Fail to properly wrestle with this dilemma, and you may disappear from existence. Succeed, and you become a god, shaping the world to your will. Any person within the TES universe can achieve Chim, meaning they're not just lifeless NPCs the dreamer imagined up. There may even be a level above Chim, where the person becomes the godhead or dreamer of another universe. It's a lot of weird stuff.

QuoteImho, ESO is a generic MMO with the words "Elder Scrolls" bolted on top of it.  Its lore is of scant concern to me.  Its lore may in a very technical sense be called canon, but its lore definitely does NOT supersede established lore.  It is granted a seat at the Council, but it does not have the rank of Master.



I actually consider ESO a pretty good MMORPG. I quit it because of the lack of roleplaying support (which no MMORPGs seem to care about these days), but the gameplay was solid and fun. It's just a shame the main quest is a rehash of Oblivion, the alliances sometimes make no sense, and they just flat out ignored the lore in some places.

One other point, which I'm surprised the video didn't make. Consider M'aiq's first appearance. He wasn't in Arena or Daggerfall, but he appeared in Morrowind, which also had the Heart of Lorkhan woven into its plot. Maybe Bethesda was just fucking around. After all they also gave us a mudcrab merchant in the same game. But it's also possible that while fleshing out the lore around Lorkhan and his role in the story, they also hid a physical manifestation of Lorkhan in the game world. Maybe they brought him back later as just an Easter egg, or maybe they wanted to show him wandering Tamriel and cause people to question how he could possibly appear in games separated by hundreds or even thousands of years.

Consider also his title. "The Liar." Lorkhan was defined by his lies, tricking the other gods into giving up their essence to create Nirn. Maybe Lorkhan is still lying to us.
"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--

Hydra009

Quote from: Blackleaf on September 24, 2019, 01:02:16 AMThere's also an in-game book where the author defensively denies the assertion that Akatosh and Alduin are the same god.
Don't believe everything you read.  The lore books are notoriously subject to the unreliable narrator trope (the lore book's author may have incomplete information, biased, deliberately lying, reality has changed since then due to a dragonbreak, etc)

It's up to us to very carefully piece this stuff together in a way that's coherent and makes use of as much of the ingame lore as possible.  A very difficult task.

QuoteOr perhaps everyone is wrong, and reality, including the gods, is shaped by perception.
Yes and no.  Perception colors things, but it does appear that some things are set in stone.  For example, the basic structure of the creation myth is the same for all races, but some of the details are different.

QuoteConsider also his title. "The Liar." Lorkhan was defined by his lies, tricking the other gods into giving up their essence to create Nirn. Maybe Lorkhan is still lying to us.
Did Lorkhan truly lie?  He certainly kept some facts hidden - like how creating Nirn would bind the et'Ada to it, causing them to give up much of their essence. Deceptive, but not outright lying.

The elves have the dimest view of Lorkhan, but perhaps he's not as terrible as they make him out to be.

Lorkhan supposedly intentionally failed at transcendence to show others how to do it correctly.  Viewed this way, he made the ultimate sacrifice to help others.

Also, does Maiq lie?  I'm sure that some of his statements are not correct, but he's often completely correct.  His title may be ironic or the devs showing us to take everything with a grain of saltrice.  Besides, his role seems mainly to be metacommentary on the game, like poking fun at the lack of ridable horses or the lack of multiplayer.

Baruch

Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

drunkenshoe

It's beautiful. But did I see people worshipping in a temple, directly to a statue? Ancient Greeks did not worship inside of temples. Only priests/priestesses entered temples and took care of the statues and the place. Washing the statues, eating the food offerings.
"science is not about building a body of known 'facts'. ıt is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good." - tp

Baruch

Quote from: drunkenshoe on September 28, 2019, 02:43:28 AM
It's beautiful. But did I see people worshipping in a temple, directly to a statue? Ancient Greeks did not worship inside of temples. Only priests/priestesses entered temples and took care of the statues and the place. Washing the statues, eating the food offerings.

Correct for big temples.  The Parthenon was also the State bank, just as the Temple in Jerusalem.  Mods made to the game to help it relate to modern people (who are followers of many Baconian idols).  Priests were ritual specialists, not congregational leaders.  Same as Hindu Brahmins.  But folk religion in the streets, fields and in homes, didn't involve priests.  Puja was given by ordinary people daily and upon encounter with a folk shrine.  Same as in India.

Baconian Idols:  Idolus Tribus, Specus, Fori, Theatri.  The modern religion of man.  Even of atheists.
Ha’át’íísh baa naniná?
Azee’ Å,a’ish nanídį́į́h?
Táadoo ánít’iní.
What are you doing?
Are you taking any medications?
Don't do that.

Hydra009

Homeworld 3 has been announced.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about (it has been 16 years since Homeworld 2 was released), this used to be THE space RTS.

It had stunning graphics at the time, a truly 3D plane (which was unique at the time, and is still somewhat unusual, even Sins of a Solar Empire is technically 2D despite looking 3D), a wide variety of unit types (presaging Supcom), and an extremely engaging story voiced by the unforgettable late Campbell Lane (who also narrated Gundam Wing)

No other game has even come close to recapturing the magic that was Homeworld Catacylsm and Homeworld 2.

Suffice it to say that this is kind of a big deal.

Blackleaf

"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--

trdsf

The 13th Doll, the long-awaited second sequel to The 7th Guest, has a release date... of October 31!

"My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution." -- Barbara Jordan

Hydra009

#3398
I've been playing more World of Warships and Sins of a Solar Empire.

It's funny, my brother says those are complicated games, and to some extent they are, but the basics are extremely simple.  You could explain the basics to a total novice in like 5 minutes.

But yeah, there's also some byzantine, complicated stuff going on under the hood that non-players and probably a lot of players don't understand.  Most games are like that, imo.  The best games communicate the mechanics really well and the worst ones try to hide it or make it intentionally confusing.

It's funny, I never actually realized just how much data I'm filtering and processing when playing those games.  I'm just so used to both the games and the genres that it's practically muscle memory at this point.  If you asked me to narrate my decision tree and explain my reasoning, I probably couldn't.  It's like the old adage about the millipede - ask it how it walks and it confesses that it doesn't know and finds itself unable to remember how and thus unable to move.

Gawdzilla Sama

I have Sins of a Solar Empire. Keep forgetting I own it. Never made it all the way through the demo. Time to dust it off.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Hydra009

Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on October 08, 2019, 05:29:53 PM
I have Sins of a Solar Empire. Keep forgetting I own it. Never made it all the way through the demo. Time to dust it off.
I recommend a small or medium map and TEC for ease of play at first.

Then branching out to larger maps (or intentionally crowded maps) and switching to either the Vasari or Advent.

Advent is by far my favorite, but I always admire TEC durability and industry.  The AI either plays Vasari poorly or is absolutely terrifying with them.  It's kind of a crapshoot.

Shiranu

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/09/blizzard-strips-gamer-of-earnings-after-support-of-hong-kong-protests.html

Another American business kowtows to China and Xi, because a Hong Kongnese player won a tournament and had the audiacity to suggest that democracy and freedom is in Hong Kong's best interest.

Obviously as an American company, they could not stand for such a message and had to strip him of his winnings and ban him for a year.
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur

Hydra009

Blizzard/Activision really stepped in it this time.  The community is in uproar.  Definitely not a wise move on their part.

Gawdzilla Sama

Quote from: Hydra009 on October 08, 2019, 07:23:13 PM
I recommend a small or medium map and TEC for ease of play at first.

Then branching out to larger maps (or intentionally crowded maps) and switching to either the Vasari or Advent.

Advent is by far my favorite, but I always admire TEC durability and industry.  The AI either plays Vasari poorly or is absolutely terrifying with them.  It's kind of a crapshoot.
I'll give that a go.
We 'new atheists' have a reputation for being militant, but make no mistake  we didn't start this war. If you want to place blame put it on the the religious zealots who have been poisoning the minds of the  young for a long long time."
PZ Myers

Shiranu

Quote from: Hydra009 on October 09, 2019, 06:31:01 AM
Blizzard/Activision really stepped in it this time.  The community is in uproar.  Definitely not a wise move on their part.

AngryJoe talked about it a bit, and honestly... I don't think BlizAct actually needs to give one shit about their American market.

The American gamer population is in the low 100 million range. The Chinese gamer population is in the mid-600 millions. They could completely pull out of the American game market and still make massive gains by only selling to China.

Same problem with movies, and apparently both games and movies have seen content cut and quality decrease as they make "artistic" decisions based on what will be more likely to work for the Chinese market than what necessarily is better art.
"A little science distances you from God, but a lot of science brings you nearer to Him." - Louis Pasteur