darkmonki

Yet another site where the design far exceeds the quality of the content.

You'd be better off reading/watching GNN anyday...

Any group that does not tolerate anyone "forcing their ideas onto others", yet has a manifesto, is a little out of touch with reality, in my book. A little like starting an anti-corporate website with a mission statement.

Bateau, from GitS, is mine. You didn't know that, prolly shouldn't be on this board. I'd like to make Kaneda from Akira my Avvy, as I too had a jacket with a big Quaalude on the back. But my hairline belies me, and it'd probably be more accurate to have Tetsuo in there instead...

I had a concept sketch of a new vacuum cleaner on my old site which one woman write to me three times asking me where I could get it. Seriously. It wasn't even on the first page, it was buried deep within the site. She really didn't understand that it was a site about the future...

Being powerless is a very weird thing.

Took me 1.5 hours to walk home. HOpe everything at KountZero's place was fine when you got back. Luckily, I have a dynamo-driven wind up radio/flashlight/alarm at home which kept us happy throughout the evening. And a local bar which pretty much runs on candlelight most of the time anyways...

Yep and that was almost one of them, KH...

I scored 20, and I'm Scottish.

I did get an instant 10 points for being able to click a mouse at the right time, but lost many points for not having my soundcard installed right now....

Hey, there sure seems to be a few of here in the good ole seventh level...

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Seventh Level of Hell!

Repenting Believers  Very Low

Virtuous Non-Believers  Low

Lustful  Very High

Gluttonous  Very High

Prodigal and Avaricious  High

Wrathful and Gloomy  High

Heretics  High

Violent  Very High

Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers  High

Treacherous  Low

Level descriptions: http://www.4degreez.com/misc/dante-inferno-information.html

Take the test: http://www.4degreez.com/misc/dante-inferno-test.mv

Somehow I scored really high in the violence section, and I'm not a violent person at all. Not in real life, any way...

Sheesh, I sure am good at killing these topics, ain't I?

Yep. Sounds just like the story of the Puritan Pilgrim Fathers to me. Still, one takes what one wants from a sentence made from sarcasm...

So you shoot the same 6 stunt men five times over and no one knows...

Plus, having faceless enemies always keeps the rating down. Not so important for a movie like EQ, but highly important in Star Wars style movies where the typical body-count in higher than a Rambo flick, but you still want kiddie money...

Yep, well my Big Bad Corporation has blocked my access to this and rpg.net, so I don't get to hang out with the interesting people anymore... I have to creep around on the VAST and digital music message boards instead... I have a computer at home, but I also have a wife. Sometimes one can be more persuasive than the other when demanding attention.

BTW, nice site. Anyone have any more like this?

And as for Gun Kata being taken too seriously by fans? As long as it doesn't reach the realm of The Force becoming a state-recognised religion, I don't mind too much. Though I have to admit, I wouldn't want to be in the bleachers during a Gun Kata tournament...

Yep It was released in the US for about 3 weeks in a small number of cinemas, just came out on VHS and DVD about a month ago. Excellent film in terms of looks, style and attitude, but the plot has a few holes you could fly an AV through. Technically, by that description alone I think that makes it V. CP.  

Game-wise, as far as the gun-katas go, it would unbalance the situation tremendously, even assuming most characters would *not* be top-notch, certainly not as good as John Preston (Christian Bale) in the movie. Then again, no-one was as good as he was. But it would unbalance to a great extent. However, in terms of background, it does give some interesting visual cues as to what a Cyberpunk version of a totalitarian future may look like. Very bleak, very grey concrete, and totally workable (for the UK folks, imagine everyone lives in Milton Keynes, or Coventry city centre - unfortunately I can't think of a US equivalent off the top of my head, though much of the movie, for mainland Europeans, was filmed in Berlin). With a few tweaks, the city of Libria could make a cool setting. Which is funny, as I was already looking into some kind of totalitarian (why can't I spell that right first time?) setting for my game world, if only I could get it to jive with what I already had figured out.

So, cool looking flick with some action scenes that easily rival those of Matrix Reloaded (which got boring very fast IMO), with some cute actors in it. Surprisingly, an American-directed (though European-funded) film with a token American in it, for a change.

For further information, as if you haven't guessed I'm quite a fan and will be buying this on DVD when the wedding season's over, try these sites...

Gunkatta.com

Grammatoncleric.com

You'll find out pretty much all you need to know from the second one, with some nice screencaptures and even some fan-fiction based in the world.

Garshk! Well, I haven't posted anything here for a few weeks, so I guess I've just made up for it...

Laters!

-R.

Damn. I was hoping for something more street, considering my background, but I guess I'll have to settle for sleazy...

-R.

I never used exotics at all. Exotics were simply invented so CP players could use the vast amount of Shadowrun figures that were out on the market.

Shadowrun was always a game I enjoyed playing, but could never run. The system was way too complicated for me. But a guy I knew ran a fabulously dark SR campaign that kicked #### all over my weird and wild CP2020 stuff.

I've said this so many times before, but as no one else has said it, I'll reiterate it here: The Shadowrun books were fantastic, well-written, brilliantly put together, and incredibly consistent. You'd never have a problem like you did in the old CB2, where all the computers were measured in MB's instead of MU's so you have no idea how they fit into the rules, and a system of NPCs to die for.

CP2020 was a great game system, though, IMO, the world sucked, and the books, as a result of outsourcing, had no consistent feel to them. Possibly the reason being because Cyberpunk was considered the D&D of the cyberpunk genre, and people were constantly looking at it like it was a basic set of rules they could tack their own ideas of a futuristic world onto. Unlike Shadowrun which was a game, rather than a genre, the world of CP would meander off in vast different directions with little or no control in the publishing. Shadowrun was produced entirely in-house, and edited by a staff dedicated to that line of products. I ended up creating my own CP game world because of these inconsistencies in publishing and with my concept of Gibsonian cyberpunk. Argh... Anyway, I'm digressing a lot.

Basically, I enjoyed played Shadowrun as much as I enjoyed running CP2020. Both have their strengths and weaknesses as games, which is all they are. Shadowrun's was the way they put that world together, CP's was the game system which allowed you to pretty much do anything.

Ahem.

And I'm out... -R.

Thanks for the Satire Warning, DS, or I would be forced to point out the difference between the United States of America and the people who run it.

NO... Spear Of Destiny was Kirk Brandon's band after Theatre Of Hate split up. Began kinda punky/new wavy, ended up kinda like a post-apocalyptic version of The Alarm.

From All Music Guide...

Arising from the grave of bleak post-punkers Theatre of Hate, Spear of Destiny was formed in 1983 by Hate singer/guitarist Kirk Brandon and bassist Stan Stammers, also including drummer Chris Bell and saxophonist Lasettes Ames. Spear of Destiny's brand of goth rock encompassed self-consciously romantic, poetic lyrics set to dark, slow dirges, with occasional saxophone work and Scottish melodic touches, plus Brandon's rather limited vocals. The group took their name from the legendary weapon said to have pierced Christ's side at the Crucifixion, which supposedly later aided the conquests of Attila the Hun, Napoleon, and Adolf Hitler. Following the group's debut, Grapes of Wrath, Bell and Ames both left, mostly due to differences of opinion with Brandon over religious issues. Two former Theatre of Hate members served as their replacements — saxophonist John Lennard (also formerly of the Diodes) and drummer Nigel Preston (ex-Sex Gang Children). Unsurprisingly, this lineup quickly self-destructed, just as it had with Theatre of Hate; the band was reconfigured with Brandon, Stammers, additional guitarist Alan St. Clair, drummer Dolphin Taylor (formerly of the Tom Robinson Band and Stiff Little Fingers), and keyboardist/saxophonist Neil Pyzor (formerly of Case). This lineup recorded One Eyed Jacks in 1984, which is generally regarded as their best work. After the next year's disappointing World Service, Brandon fired the entire band and re-formed it with drummer Pete Barnacle, keyboardist Volker Janssen, bassist Chris Bostock, and organist Zeus B. Held. Adam Ant guitarist Marco Pirroni joined this lineup for 1987's Outland, which marked a return to form. Stammers, meanwhile, formed the Crazy Pink Revolvers. Following a temporarily incapacitating ankle injury to Brandon, Spear of Destiny moved to Virgin for 1988's The Price You Pay; in order to steal some attention, Epic released a best-of compilation at the same time, which contained five minor U.K. hit singles. 1991 saw yet another re-formed Spear lineup, with Stammers rejoining on bass, plus drummer Bobby Rae Mayhem and guitarist Mark Thwaite. This lineup released S.O.D.'s Law (1992) and Live at the Lyceum (1993); best-of compilations were also issued in 1992 (Collection) and 1995 (Time of Our Lives).

In case you were at all interested. I used to own Outland, which was a pretty good album at the time. Had lots of BIG DRUMS, which I like.

S.O.D., the German Death Metal band was like an Antartica away from my mind at the time...

I have to admit, I was entranced by Bowling For Columbine, and I saw it less as a gun control propaganda film than a Canada propaganda film  

Seriously, the points he brings up in the movie make for fairly sound debate. Forgetting the comments he made about Japan and Europe, what is it about Canadians that allow them to have a massive amount of legal firearms (though I hear laws are changing about that?) and still have a rather small per capita amount of gun deaths per year? What is it that makes Americans shoot each other, and not people from other countries? Don't forget he was a card-carrying NRA member.

BTW, I'm not expecting anyone to answer these questions.

And, as someone said earlier, Moore may be a cheat and a liar, but he's a cheat and a liar who happens to make public some of my concerns about this country. So if he's a liar, then he's a liar on my side, and certainly about the closest thing to a left-wing voice I've heard since I landed on these shores. If only Bill Hicks were still alive...

Ack!

I turned 32 on Saturday...

30 bloody 2...

Ack...

I fully concur. I'm half way through reading this book and it's storming! Anyone who's interested should actually go to his website at www.michaelmoore.com as it contains links to corporate and government shenanigans going on all over the world right now that us CP refs would never dream of. Not that I'm advocating the utilisation of human suffering for RPG ideas of course...  

... What I've been up to for the last few months.

As a matter of fact, I've made an album, which I think is a little better than okay. Fairly Darkwavy, well, enough for four of the tracks to currently sit within the top 10 of mp3.com's Darkwave charts, anyway... Hotter than a Greenhaus? Who knows...

Anyways, not one to blow my own trumpet, but I thought you'd like to hear some of the tracks from it here...

Take care guys, one of these days I'll be able to post like I always used to...  

Lurve,

Ridski...x

Garshk! I just realised I fell into the 21+ category. Started with a friend who had blue-book basic D&D in 1981, and then got into Traveller and Runequest, tho Twilight 2000 was always my fave game to play and Cyberpunk, when the black box first arrived in the UK (I think there were, like 30 ordered by Games Workshop in London, and I had number 27) became the only game I enjoyed GM-ing.

Solid until about 1990, when I took a hiatus at Uni in order to get a girlfriend, then went back in about 93 up until 97. Haven't really roleplayed since then, but have been active on boards and have been writing my own game system since then (no cyber version yet), so I guess while it doesn't really class as actual gaming, I'm still involved in the hobby...

Have to admit, tho, I gave up all my CP2020 books when I moved to NYC, as I had to travel light, so the reason why I don't comment on the game I've been running on and off for 15 years is because I don't have a copy of the rules anymore. Dumb, eh?

But I will finally start getting my old stories and background notes from my campaign world online soon. I'll make an announcement when it's all ready...

Yep, me a happy mega-corporate wageslave, too! But not really an edgerunner. There was a time when I was fast and loose and kept my posessions in a backpack and hung out in bars until I could find somewhere to sleep that night, but I've never been a true cyberpunk. And I've spent a lot of ebergy over the years trying to convinve the people at alt.cyberpunk that none of them are, either, but they never seem to believe me. Usually those people who forgotten the difference between fantasy and reality...  

Well, so far, no-one's as late as me in offering the Shaker of Bones a very happy b-day. So... Happy birthday to yer, Nina, hope you had a great time.

Personally, I've been out of the loop here after losing access to cyberpunk.co.uk at work last November, and when you spend 10 hours a day in front of a monitor the last thing you want to do is get home and boot your own machine up. Seeing as today's a very snowy holiday for me, I thought I'd pop in and see what's happening.

Later guys. I'm sure I'll pop back in when I finally get my Metrovirus site up and running...  

Ridley...x

Where in NYC are you? I live in Queens but work in Manhattan. Mucho 2020 experience on my part, had the game since the UK arrival of the Black Box Edition.

I would say go any any store where you can purchase Oriental clothing. There are many in Chinatown here in New York, I'm sure you could find one wherever you are. Failing that, try checking online for Chinese or Japanese clothing suppliers.