Bumdark

Killjoy! lol just j/k... I do know there will almost certainly be low-poly buildings in the game... but maybe if they find and implement techniques that could, somehow, hide that, maybe it won't be so bad... though I have no idea how they would do that, however. And why are everyone dissing the lighting in this game? Sure, the shadows may be dark a bit, but I personally like them like that, gives it more Mystique and all. Who knows, maybe the screen grabbers are intentionally modifying them with Photoshop or something, to try and give the game an extra "mysterious" feel...? Just speculating. You have to admit, though, that the terrains and landscapes look effing sweet! The waters and all look really well done, so much better than SC4's feeble little "sparkles"... though I do like the whales of SC4, they make nice additions to any pics.

Personally, I'm very interested in C-XL... If it turns out as good (pretty hard) or better (suicidally-hard) as SC4, then I admit I'll be defecting there fast. (Of course, that's if I get the game, and if it's even affordable...) The graphics of C-XL look simply superbe. I'm particularly excited that finally, FINALLY, we can have full 3D camera controls, being able to sweep through the city in any angle... I've always wanted to know what my cities felt like on street-level... I simply can't wait. Problem is, I wonder what the System Requirements will be... *Hypothetical Minimal Requirements* CPU: 2.4 RAM: 1.5 GB HD SPACE: 20 GB (for all the buildings - and of course, all the potential Custom Content could grow that exponentially in a really short amount of time...) ... And etc.

A Roman Catholic Priest just taking off in a lawnchair... ... How wierd can these stories get? What un-Priestly behavior... I do hope he ends up all right, though, although they do say he'd prepared for this type of scenario. Let's hope he won't be sleeping with the fishes... hey, that can be literal for once... BTW, I've just found out the real Larry commited suicide. Does anyone know why Due to his unintentional celebrity-ism?

[insert shamefaced smiley here] I didn't even know it was Earth Day, or when Earth Day even was! I may not be the greatest contributor to a green world, or even as I could be, yet thankfully my parents have infused some good habits into me. For example, I always turn off water when I bathe or when I brush my teeth, or shave; I always turn off lights around the house that aren't needed (to the point where it annoys my Dad 'cause he usually does need those lights... *guilty*), I always encourage green bags when shopping (those recyclable paper bags), and I always, ALWAYS, recycle – unfortunately, this last one actually gets overhand, as I sometimes throw away things that aren't recyclable, just out of habit, instead of using the trash can... As they say, one person sure as Hell won't change a thing – it's an entity (many people as one) that does. Say, a planet-wide entity. (That would be my dream! Take those damn Hummers and SUVs off the road, get Hybrids instead!). I'm definately getting a Hybrid when I get my first car... if I can afford it on a Student's salary

I'd gladly post mine... if I were capable of getting drunk without wanting to blow my own brains out later on...

I may not know much, but I'm pretty sure Mexico City is far up there among the highest polluters... Heck, people are dying regularly from the smog and stuff – that can't be good... For the cleanest city, I would have to nominate Tadoussac, in Québec. Sure, it's not much of a village, more of a tourist spot (or trap) on most levels, but it's still by far the cleanest place I've ever been in. Good luck with trying to find a single source of pollution. (All right, cars may pollute... but no garbage, no factories, no smoke, no nothin'.)

It's pretty clear those plans did not find themselves in the trash can by accident - that's one of the best methods of transferring information among obscure groups (with obscure intentions). I mean, how many of us bother looking into trash cans? Thankfully one did, and found them and removed them... And is it just me, or is the fact that two highly sensitive plan documents were found in trash cans, almost simultaneously, in neighboring countries, sound like too much of a coincidence?

... Are you kidding me? This has got to be the most ridiculous weight loss method out there - and they're pretty much all ridiculous. How hard can it be simply to eat less, and move more...? Lazy gits are looking for easier and easier answers to everything these days, at a total cost of common sense. "Slim Coffee"... even the name is ludicrous. Heck, it might even be stupider than that incredibly annoying "Q-Ray" bracelet crap. (Whoever believes that shouldn't have children and pass on their genes.)

I've read "The Game" on Wikipedia... If someone can make absolutely any sense of this wierd junk... I'll give you thanks!

I really use both in about equal measures for day-to-day use... Spent most of my childhood in the States, so I grew up with the Imperial system, yet born and spent the rest in Canada, where Imperial is fast falling out of favor (though most people still use it above Metric for their daily use). Example: for people, I'd rather say 'Wow, look at that giant, he must be near 7 feet tall!' than 'Wow, look, he's 183cm tall!'. (Yes, I'm well aware I suck at conversions, however... never got the hang of math, really.) Yet, for measuring stuff such as when building stuff like desks and sheds and junk, I'll be more likely to use the Metric simply because it's so much more precise and detailed – incidentally, what's the Imperial version of the Metric's Millimeter? (Just wondering.) Seeing as only a handful of countries still officially use Imperial, and more and more are switching to Metrics for its simplicity, it's definately an endangered species that will go extict eventually... Oh, and a side-question. Why the heck is Imperial called, well, "Imperial", anyway? What do Emperors have to do with it? Was it created by one or something...?

Meh... I've never been too fond of Popes (or religion, for that matter) – simply humans with way too much power (anyone with more control of people than the President of the US himself (or, dare I hope, soon... herself?) is bound, sooner or later, to be tempted by power abuse... At least John Paul II (that was his name, right?) was respectable, even honorable, doing everything he can to resolve whatever came up peacefully – even heard he'd prevented a full-blown war once (anyone that does that ought to be proclaimed a hero...). Heck, I even liked him (even though, being 12 or so, I only first heard of him on his deathday... ah well...). But this new guy, Benedict... Heck, he even looks like an evil figure. All he does is try to oppress his following – trying to outlaw gay marriage worldwide (why not outlaw being gay at all while you at it!?), passing new "commandments", boasting all sorts of claims (anyone who publicly denounces Harry Potter as evil ought to be slain by Dante or Van Helsing or something in my opinion just j/k...),etc... Not quite as fond of him meself. Ah well, all those religious people that like him, your choice... just keep that caution bulb lit... They always said the Devil would appear as someone good and important until he showed his true colors... (As if...!)

(continuing from CaptCity) ... And when you have the background color you like (you could always make your own of course), just paste them into the game's plugins folder (careful, not the Plugins in My Documents, the one in "C:\Program Files\Maxis\SimCity 4\Plugins" (If you followed the usual installation route). They'll appear next time you start the game. Beautiful, no?

sandej23: Yep, you need the updates (the EP updates) from the official site, as mentioned above. Nighlights don't work without them.

Shark fin soup... *barfs*

SkiGeek: yes, it is natural to get a little upset at things. That doesn't mean we get to behave badlyquote> That makes it sound like it's a privilege! Although, aren't humans programmed to naturally behave badly for no good reasons...? At any rate, all cooled out now (amazing what a good night's sleep will do ya). Who knows, might even, someday, eventually, start to feel the tiniest bit sorry for that little outburst... Ah well, shnucks. Snowloch: I can't begin to reply in horror at those numbers, honestly... — Chickens: well, that's to be expected, as they're bred and raised for that sole purpose, not really like seals, who live apart from it all but we choose to intrude upon them, etc. Horrible, but if we stop that, then when are our finger-lickin' chicken? (Actually hate PFK – contradictory, eh?) — Fish: Well, we might kill far more fish than just about any other creature, but for every million fish killed there's about a billion more being created and born, so... Plus, we don't use them as fashion accessories as with seal skins, only for their food. — For the cows, same as the first one, though they're also turned into leather... but as most of that leather is actually useful (components for pianos, etc.), it's not just clothes, so I don't have as many objections there... — For the sharks... Believe me, most of the sharks killed are just accidents anyway, they get caught in fishnets and unfortunately die there, but most hunters also kill sharks, either for sport (bastards), or out of fear or reprisal. (Every time there are shark victims, sharks are violently killed and slaughtered in the area for weeks... stupid humans...). — Elephants, for their ivory – I can't begin to describe my loathing for those that bring thise magnificent creatures down just for their tusks. I honestly swear, if I somehow found myself in Africa and found some poachers, I would probably attack them. There are some things you just can't do and get away with it! — Chinese bear farms... I'll get back at you, but why doesn't that sound too good? ... Also, why does everything negative these days happen in or around China these days, exactly...?

Hmm... hard to express views on this one, lots of contradictory stuff... Personally, I don't care about piracy (NOTE to mods: I DID NOT say I'm for it, I just don't care about it, it doesn't affect me) so bills to be passed for or against it... well, you get my drift. Unintrested. I would be against, however, completely banning said Pirates off the Internet forever... that would definately be agaisnt ethics and human rights. If they want to use the internet for non-piracy stuff, who cares...?

This is definately the most replies I've done in half an hour... (And, I'm adressing to Snowloch, in case other people post replies as I'm typing this, which happens far to often...) For the stats, I did find them on Wikipedia, yet having such a rotted memory, I can't for the life of me remember which page it was... I searched for "Seal Hunts" (always want to be well-informed on any subject before I reply) and it was like the third or fourth page down or something... Sorry for the great vageness of this, I honeslty can't recall. I'll go searching for it later on, see if I can retrace my steps... Perhaps I'll be able to use a full quote instead of a snippet this time, For all those excerpts named though, I'm forced to repeat: I'm not against hunting seals as a whole, just against the IDEA (the concept, the image, however you put it) of hunting for living, breathing, suffering, fashion accessories. People hunting seals because they actually need the income, or the meat, byproducts (blubber), etc. – always been for that, always will be. And yet, I do admit, though, that while I'm for actually killing the seals for their meat and stuff, I'm quite repelled at HOW they do it... bashing their skulls in, dragging them around banks with large hooks, leaving them to suffer, etc. – makes me sick people can be insensitive to those kinds of atrocities... Finally, could you explain what you mean by "mass killing going on with any other type of animal"? I'm probably stupid, but I don't know of any. I know poachers hunt elephants (I'd like to burn them up with flamethowers myself), but mass killings... I can't really think of any examples. Please clarify that. Who knows, maybe I have an opinion on them too...! Sorry if I was a bit sharp before, I might need to watch my words a bit... I tend to get carried away and all, and the results usually aren't pretty. If only I had Greg House's indemnity to that sort of stuff...! (Love that show!)

SkiGeek: Dammit, I thought you of all people would understand... Snarky? Sorry, but when people like that don't even bother to try and understand what I say, and then use this misread stuff AGAINST me, isn't it natural for blood to heat, if only just a little? I get attacked in the real world enough as it is, I don't need... people... on the internet doing the same, especially when I'm trying to prove a completely valid and truthful point. Sorry if I was being a tad sharp, i admit I'm heavily impulsive (not trying to make excuses, just part of being Asperger's I presume, I'd be an idiot not to realise it by now) ... yet I honestly (not trying to be smartass here) am not going to modify it. Let the record show I was annoyed and angered by someone who used my quotes, twisted them, and attacked me with them. (Not attacked, maybe, but similar). I'm actually proud for restraining myself as I did. Hate my life. And besides, to me, censorship (which is solely what editing is) is just another way of saying "We don't give a damn what you say or how you say it, so shut up and say what we want to hear so we'll let you say it". Nothing quite as insulting as that, wouldn't you agree? And also, "Shall you edit or shall I?" ... Not trying to be a smartass once again, but wasn't that snarky in itself? (Whatever the hell Snarky even is, I figure it's "sharp+aggressive". Please correct me if I'm wrong... only thing worse than an idiot is a misinformed idiot, I believe.) I meant all the above in complete respect, of course. You're one of the more level-headed (I hope that's the right expression...) members around here, I hope you'll understand reasoned arguments and judgments...

EDIT – Sorry Micah, posted this as you replied. I'm not attacking, I'm defending instead. First of all, to Snowloch: glad to see you know how to read. Now, you only need to learn... how to understand what you read. Notice that part about "feeling pangs when animals as cute as seals are being slaughtered" – I didn't say anything at all, whatsoever, that we shouldn't kill animals that are cute. Never said it, never thought it. It's just sad, but necessary (when we need their meat). And BTW, got those statistics off Wikipedia itself, and if you can't trust wikipedia to be neutral and accurate, you can't trust anything or anyone. (And proving that many statistics are wrong by more statistics – kinda contradictory, don't ya think...? Unless it's in one of those 66% true ones (by your count, which I can also question the validity and source), in which case I can forgive... whatever. Now for (or to, I guess, would be more appropriate...) granto93: I won't deny that many people's (and even villages') livlehoods and lives are based and centered in or around seal-hunting, I'm not against seal hunters or anything, just against the idea of hunting seals (or anything) for vain, pathetic reasons such as using them as accessories to fashion, and related barbarism. Said before and saying again: hunting any creature, seals included, for right reasons (such as when you need them to live, basically) – all for it. Now, if people could stop misreading posts around the forums and actually understand the authors' points, instead of twisting words... eh?

I'd be all for killing seals if it was solely for their meat, to eat and etc. But meat counts very low for their deaths (somewhere about 5-10%), and the rest of them are killes solely for their pelts and etc. Anytime animals are being killed to create fashion accessories... just sickens me to think we'd feel great and proud by wearing furs torn from innocent animals' backs. People often say (as in this very thread) that killing seals is just like killing rats and other sorts of vermin, so why do we cry about it? ... and etc. Uh, hellooooo... Vermin are just that – vermin. We kill vermin, because they're bad for us. They propagate sicknesses, they destroy our goods, they eat our foods, etc. That' why I'd be for killing vermin. But you can't possibly compare that to killing seals, who, as far as I've heard, the only bad thing they've done to us is perhaps eat some of our fish. (But when we start to think the fish belong to us and not them, then it's US who have the serious problem in our heads...) Someone also compared killing seals to eating cats and dogs. I admit to completely fail to see the comparaison. Sure, cats and dogs are eaten by Chinese and similar people as delicacies (turns away to barf, being a dog and cat-lover), but as stated above, Seals aren't killed for meat, but for pelts and skins, as those are the most exported of the chases around the world (from Canada in particular). When killing seals will be solely for their meats, I'll be all for it (though I'll still feel a pang or two at thinking about slaughtering such beautiful creatures), but while we keep at it just for their furs and skins, I'll be one of the strongest anti-seal-hunts advocates around. I mean, sure, some eat seal meat, can't blame them (what for?), but meat counts for, as stated above, 5-10% of the total hunts that go around...

By now, I've pretty much given up ever solving my incessant, completely random, somehow increasing CTD problems. I've tried every single damn solution and trick in the book, and I've pretty much eliminated all leads and suspects (from Plugins to updates, Drivers, etc.). I've given up hope, even though it makes the game barely playable. So what I'm doing here, is I'm trying to use a different tactic. If you please, could anyone, who once suffered from CTDs (or any related Crashes and sudden Desktops, really) and somehow managed to solve it (or if the problem just magically went away on its own), post their experience here? This way, if you post your solution, and what you did to eliminate this, it just might help... Once again, I'm not actually asking for help – you'd need a virtual Bill Gates checking every line of code in the damn game – but for anyone who somehow stopped having this problem, to share their experiences. Please. I really want to play SimCity again. I miss it real bad, but I can barely make any changes to my cities before the game crashes before I could save. (I did notice, though, that it never crashes when the game is idle, such as running smoothely, yet always seems to crash whenever strained – zooming in or out, rotating, scrolling past some dense development, saving, etc.) Thanks to anyone who answers this.

Most can handle what others say without giving even the worst insults a second thought, but God knows some people are more fragile than others. I'm kinda shamed to elect me in that position – people start attacking me for reasons I don't quite understand sometimes, and I get so mad I wish I could just find them and rip them apart. And no, I'm not exagerating... I just think courtesey and politeness should apply to the Net as much as in real life... I mean, why spend our time destroying each other when we could be helping each other instead, right? Not to hark on about anything, just throwing that out there that not everyone is a stony hulk that can take anything. Real people can get real(ly) offended and hurt. And now I realized I should have eaten hours ago, that's what playing SC4 will do to you. BTW, you do need the "EP" updates from simcity.ea.com, even with Deluxe Edition – as I found out to my expense when I lost half my cities to some damn bug related to not having the darn updates yet.

Kicking an innocent 3yo out of school because of some inoffensive, even cool, haircut... that's beyond ridiculous. If it said 'F-Y' or whatever, sure... This is just stupid. Somebody ought to slap them. Repeatedly. Is it like this all over the Western world, or was this a single isolated incident of natural stupidity? 'Stop that kid!' 'Why?' 'He's got a Naruto-themed haircut!' 'Ah, yes... the dangers that Naruto-themed haircuts pose on our society are worst that terrorism!' (PS – No idea whatsoever what Naruto is, I'll check it up now before I once again make a fool of myself...)

Holy crap you bastards are good... I can't get my own up to 200,000, and yet here are a bunch of Coruscants! I've got an idea for SC5 (which, with the name of "Creations", will probably be as big a flop as Societies): if they incorporate Night View as in SC4, they ought to put the lighting – both the buildings, and the artificial lighting – at realistic levels, as you'll agree, SC4 is way too bright to be realistic...

Here's proof the Amish are better than these wierdos: they aren't talked about (at lease, not negatively). Personally, I wouldn't care if the girl was 15 and the man 115 years old, as long as they both want it and agree to marry. Marriage shouldn't have an age difference limit, as long as both know what they want. But in this case, the girl was reportedly forced to marry – that, I'm against. Safe to say they're probably not the only creeps like these hanging around... (A side question: are these "Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints" cults the same as the commercials that regularly pass on TV?