Kush

Epsilon, I know a couple of people in Montreal. If you can get a train into downtown, you'll be fine. Now, the same cannot be said for anyone else in Laval or other remote regions. Any word on other possible retailers down the line?

Not to worry Epsilon, you'll get a copy of the game one way or another.

Epsilon, there is an EB in Ottawa, on the first floor of the Rideau centre. If I remember correctly, Laval is like an hour and a half away by car. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Jaguar, those guys weren't solialists. I've got the membership lists. Trust me, the folks down here at the Kremlin are so pro Derek it's not funny.

Yeeeeehaw! Welcome aboard there stranger!

Hey, think of it this way, he kicked Gabe Newell's butt!

Waoh, hold the phone!!!! It says on VE that the demo will be released TODAY! And only for 24 hours. Wait a second! Who - what - where do I go? When, what time of the day? I've got to head out, I can't sit by my computer. I just need a hint when should I be there? I want to make sure I'm 2nd in line! "Toss me a frikin bone here!"

Oh could someone help me out here, please. Yes of course I think it's better that someone get a job, if there are jobs to be had. I get the feeling that some of you aren't old enough to remember trying to find work in the late eighties early nineties. If you really want to live in a country with VERY low taxes and absolutely NO welfare programs, move to Central America. Guatemala is a great place if you have money and a place to live. Just don't do anything to loose either. You could move to Brazil where not only is there no Welfare cheque, but all those children born to single mothers? They're killed indescriminantly by roving police squads. Heck you can have a little fun playing Deathmatch for dollars, toss a hand full of american money onto the street, pull out a rocket launcher and let the fun begin. I'm kidding. I understand the argument you're trying to make. I'm just trying to point out that nothing is as simple as a letter to the editor would have you believe.

The only reason why I refuse to hate Eminem is because I promised my self as a teenager that I would never EVER say 'I don't get the music that these kids are listening to.' I promised that I would look past the shock value and try to see if it has any merit. I don't know how much longer I can hold out. I can feel it building... 'Why in my day we had real music! We had Led Zepplin and Prince. Ozzy Ozborne, now he knew how to cross the boundries of good taste. Biting the heads off of bats and Pigeons, that's one thing, but this Eminem character, he's too much!'

Well it looks like you have your mind made up, and that's fine. But if you seriously would like to know more about social welfare programs, their history, their impact on society there are many books you should read. I found some great references to the impact of early english social welfare programs in a book called 'The Causes of the English Revolution 1529-1642' by Lawrence Stone. It's a good place to start. One of the reasons why the English revolution and the French revolution differed so drastically were the differences in their social welfare programs. The english were generally more lenient and the nature of the conflict reflected that fact. You should of course look into the history of Bismark's Germany, and for good modern day examples of countries with interesting social welfare programs, I'm sure you could look at places like Norway, Sweden or Denmark. Each of the countries I just mentioned have their own policies with their own pros and cons, but I believe it is important to look at an issue as important and vital as social welfare from many different angles. Find out what works and what doesn't in different countries in different periods of history. Find out why. One social welfare program I'd love to see here in Canada is the Free Degree. Someone told me that in England, you're given one free degree from any university. I'd love to hear back from anyone in the UK about this program, is it actually true and does it work? [This message has been edited by Kush (edited 03-12-2001).]

Hey, you want nuclear armaments, you GOT IT BABY! All their base are belong to... oh never mind.

I agree. Welfare IS degrading. Most human beings want work. The vast majority of human beings want to work and will chose to do something that fulfils them over staying on welfare. I think it's a little too easy to sit comfortably in front of a computer and chastise what you imagine to be a group of people you wish to believe are beneath you, but they're not. Yes there will be chronic abusers of any government system, but the vast majority of people on welfare want something to fulfill their lives, and work provides that fulfillment. Here we have what's called and un-employment insurance (or I think it's called employment insurance now) You work, you and your employer put a little bit of money away each paycheque. If you are layed off, that money is payed out to you a bit at a time. Or you can use that money to study and upgrade your skills. I don't know if you have a program like that in the states, but it works here. I know many people who have used it to cushion the down time between jobs and used it to gain education to improve their skills and get better jobs.

Oh, okay, I'll bite. I don't think it's that simple. You can tout all the statistics you want, but sometimes the reason why people are out of work is because there are no jobs. It's easy to look down on people when the economy is doing well, but when the economy isn't doing well, sometimes people need help. It's not black or white. This is an old debate and we have different ways of dealing with it here in Canada, but I do think that liberals, (and socialists) have to wake up and provide reasoned arguements. Yes when the economy is doing well, sure people should get out and find a job. But when the economy isn't, we should be compassionate towards those who have less than we do.

It just struck me that these next few months are going to be essentially the culmination of a very long, long journey. You are personally going to be going through a major crunch mode that has probably been going on for a few months now, and you've got to be going through alot of emotions and so I just felt like askin... How's it goin' eh? I'm just checking in to see how you're doin. Everyone here's pulling for ya. Other than the occasional Eminem download for the girlfriend, is there anything else you need? That any of us can provide? That's legal?

Heeeeey, that's not fair! Well, then, hoist one for me wouldja.

The Rich and Dynamic universe is not in the Demo. The demo has a sliver of the rich and dynamic universe, because... well... it's a demo. Only meant to demonstrate the potential of the full game. If you can find a copy of the Interplay version, do. They are hard to find. And I really wish there was some way of patching the Take Two version of the game, but I don't think there is. If you can't find the game, then you're just going to have to sit and wait until BCM is released, which actually is going to be relatively soon. It's in beta testing as we speak. It looks like they've tackled alot of gameplay issues and are soon going to be implimenting the terrain engine. If I were you, I'd have fun goofing around with the demo for a bit, then put it away once you feel like you've got a handle on some of the gameplay elements. BCM is going to be slicker, more user friendly with a tutorial or some kind of training mission. Some of the skills you learn from the old version will be usless. Some won't. The whole game, however, will be ten times better than the last version. Have a bit of patience. They're almost there.

Nice box! The wait is KILLING ME.

The article was great. I wish actually that the game preview had more depth to it. It kinda ticked me off that they give this great spread for Derek and didn't really go into what he fought so hard to create. Am I alone on this one?

I think Soback's got his eyes on doing some sound design for GCO.

You know, you could always write your own music, translate it into mp3 format and play it in the game. In BCM you'll be able to play your own Mp3's. Not that the theme song isn't enough, it's great, but you have freedom.

They said it could never be done. A space sim with depth and freedom, planetary exploration... "And they said he was quite mad! Hehehehehe." It's gotta be pretty cool to usher in a revolution in space sims.

You're NOT ALONE. It's killing me! On a VE forum Derek mentioned that he wants to time the release with some big announcement and the launch of a site where you can download the demo and pre-order the game. I assume the announcement has something to do with the site, and some promotional deal. We'll find out soon enough later this week. [This message has been edited by Kush (edited 03-06-2001).]

From what I've seen so far I prefer BCM over E&B. I have nothing against Westwood. I think they're a great company. Just what they describe so far may come close to GCO, but it won't beat it. But I'm a little worried. Sometimes the best game doesn't always win. Personally I found Seven Kingdoms to be a way deeper and more satisfying game than Age of Empires. But AoE had Microsoft money, enough to plaster Montreal with posters in English and French. Seven Kingdoms didn't have 1/100th the ad budget and look who won. I hope BCM sells really REALLY well and Derek can pull out all the stops for GCO. I hope both games prosper. I want GCO to prosper more.

Oh it just sucks not being in the beta.

It's not much safer. If the base gets destroyed while you're docked, you get blown up too. And you can't do anything about it. I know all the reasons why the change was made. It makes sense to me. I understand! I'm just a little worried about the fun factor. Isn't it realistic that a starbase would have some advantage over your own crew? Repair times a little faster? Not instant repairs, but more effecient maybe?