How do I disable Civ 5's opening movie?

It seems like the opening movie always starts up and won't let me cancel it until it has played for about 10 seconds. Is that because it takes the game that long to load regardless? Is there a way to turn off the movie?


When will the next episode of Starcraft II be released and will there be an add-on for the current Wings of Liberty?

If I understand the plan correctly, Blizzard wants to release three separate games (each one for mainly one race). Did Blizzard mention a general plan in which intervals they wanted to release the three packages? Are there informations if the current Wings of Liberty (or maybe all of the packages) will have expansions like Brood War? Will they be released before the next "main" game? In general words: How many games will be released (that we currently know of, of course) in the series of Starcraft II? ~~In general words: How many games do I have to purchase to get the whole story.~~ **In more detail:**   As already stated in the comments, the two following expansions will probably be expansion priced, but full scale single player games at least ( _thanks for this information already_ ).   Due to this "full scaling", I was asking myself if Blizzard would offer real expansions for each of the three sets and if there was information to this point available.


How to achieve a Domination Victory in Emperor Mode?

I've tried playing domination victory a few times now on emperor mode. In every single play, In addition to the unmanageable unhappiness, as soon as I kill off the first civ (around 1050AD or so), the rest of the civs start denouncing me and will declare war on me within the next 10 turns. This is on standard settings, Pangea map. Any Domination victory tips?


Are boxed PC retail copies of Skyrim region-locked?

I've heard that all PC copies of Skyrim require Steam activation and am wondering if this is forcing region locking. I want to buy a UK copy of Skyrim and be able to activate/play it in the USA. Can this be done without modifying the game?


Differences between SimCity 4 and CitiesXL

Can you tell me the main differences between those two games? Which one is more suitable for a less casual gaming experience?


What is the best manoeuvre in Rose & Camellia?

In Rose & Camellia, I've try to land a slap the fastest and hardest that I can.   What is the best way to move the mouse cursor to get the best results?


I got my merit badge, now how do I get back?

When you reach the PSI level required to unlock a new ability, you can use the bacon to pause whatever you're doing and train it immediately. How do you _get back there_ , however? I was in the middle of Lungfishopolis and the entry point to that is well within the depths of the semi-dry lake floor. I can't just walk back there.


Performance issues with PC games connected to a TV

Recently I bought a TV for gaming mostly. The laptop is connected with an HDMI cable. Laptop native resolution is 1366x768 and the same is set up on the TV screen, as well as in game settings. The problem is - games like FIFA14 or NBA2K14 do not work properly when played on TV. FramesPerSecond on each are between 40-60 when either connected to TV or played from the laptop screen. However, when you play the game, some very heavy lags or drops occur. Even though the framerate is the same, at times it would feel like a slideshow. FIFA 14 for example has it's performance drops for 20 seconds, then normal for 20 seconds again, performance drop for another 15 sec and etc. Any solutions please?


Switching from Warrior to Magician questions

I'm level 27, with 65k, in Chapter 2 (Just got to the mage island), and I kind of want to switch over to a Magician class after seeing and hearing what they're capable of, but I have a few questions first. 1) Where exactly do I get more spell cards? The few I have have come from killing varn, but they're getting harder and harder to find. 2) Where do I find mage-related items (Robes, hats, capes, staves, etc.)? Once again, I've seen them on varns and in overpriced merchants. 3) What school(s) of magic are the most worthwhile? 4) Is it possible to join the Mage's Guild? I haven't found an NPC that lets me.


The lockdown glitch in new Vegas

I went to to McNamara and he's in the process of doing the lock down thing. I tried going out, waiting 3 days or more, and all that stuff but it's not working. And now I'm at the point where I either kill the BOS or have them be aligned with the NCR. But literally several hours of game play later he's still trying to lift the lockdown?! Pleassseeeeee tell me there is a way around this because I am losing my mind! I'm not sure what's wrong, I just need help. I have it for my ps3.


Can I take Legion on Tali's loyalty mission, complete all loyalty missions (including his), and still save my whole crew?

In preparation for ME3, I'm doing a replay of _Mass Effect 2_ and I want to know if I can take Legion on Tali's loyalty mission, complete all other loyalty missions (including his), and still save everyone in the crew. I know at some point, my ship gets invaded and collectors make off with a lot of my crew. I also know that there's some sort of timing mechanic built into the game where if I take too long after a trigger event (which is probably that same event... the crew being kidnapped... but maybe not, I don't know), some or all of them will be dead by the time I find them on the other side of the Omega IV relay. I've read this and this but they just seem like pieces of the puzzle. I want the full picture.   * What triggers my crew being kidnapped?   * Is Legion's loyalty mission a special case that doesn't count as a mission on **The Crew** section of this chart? Are there any other special cases? Is that bit of the chart actually right? As I said, the main reason I'd like to know all this is that, if possible, I'd like to get Legion in my party, take him on Tali's loyalty mission (because bringing a Geth to the Quarian flotilla sounds potentially hilarious), do his and every other loyalty mission, and still save my entire crew. I can't deduce the steps I'd need to take to accomplish this from the other related questions because I don't have a full understanding of what the trigger events are. Is it possible, and if so, how do I do it?


Emergency Food for my dwarves

So I'm out of food, my brewer got a little over excited and brewed EVERYTHING. What's the quickest way to make some more food? My dwarves are hungry!


How can I collect money fast in Mytown?

I spend a lot of time waiting for the next collection, anybody has a good idea?


What's the difference between Miss Fortune and Mysterious Stranger?

The Vault describes both perks in shorthand with the following text: > Chance that `name` will finish off a target in VATS. Where `name` is either Miss Fortune or Mysterious Stranger. However, the official perk text for them is slightly different. For Miss Fortune: > Just when your enemies think they have the upper hand, Miss Fortune appears > to turn their world upside down. Appearing only in V.A.T.S., she has the > ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. For Mysterious Stranger: > You've gained your own personal guardian angel... armed with a fully loaded > .44 Magnum. With this perk, the Mysterious Stranger will appear occasionally > in V.A.T.S. mode to lend a hand, with deadly efficiency. Is there any functional difference other than gender, or is that it?


How can I avoid wasting shots on zombies that are already dead, but haven't fallen in Left-4-Dead?

In Left-4-Dead, zombies don't always fall immediately when killed (especially with a pistol or machine gun), but instead there is a delay. Since I've currently been shooting zombies until they fall, I've been wasting bullets. How do you figure out when to stop shooting and when to move onto the next zombie?


SimCity 4 for Intel-based Macs?

I used to love playing SimCity 3000 and was wondering recently what new versions have come out since then. I found SimCity 4 which sounds pretty cool. I switched to an Intel based MacBook Pro half a year ago, and Wikipedia lists couple of bugs that are told to render SimCity unusable. Does anyone have some experience with it? Is it really that bad? Do you think it isn't worthwhile to buy it for a Mac? What if I installed Windows on my Mac and ran SimCity like that? Would it change anything?


Do the weapons have different melee effectiveness in Left 4 Dead?

Do different weapons used for melee in Left for Dead 1 either do more damage or more knockback or are they different in any other way?


How can you reliably survive Uranium?

I'm struggling to find a way to reliably pass Uranium in Go Beryllium, Hard. I'd rather not use the shield because it can easily make matters worse, even when played to the beat. I have, for example, found that at the start there is a short-lived safe spot at the top, right next to it that nevertheless helps me get by the first wave of... erm... radiation? When I _do_ pass it with enough energy, I don't have a lot of trouble getting at least at the end of stage three -- too many of my attempts, however, finish there.


How do I find out which Research Agreements are active?

How can I find out which research agreements I, or anybody else, has active? I can't seem to find a screen that has a list.


What happens when a city-state captures a city that cannot be razed?

If a city-state captures a city that cannot be razed, what happens? The examples where this will happen, that I can think of, are:   * An original main-Civ capital under the original owner's control.   * An original main-Civ capital under another Civ's control.   * Another city-state that has been previously captured by another Civ.


Total points from achievements

What is the maximum possible achievement point/score total in _StarCraft II_?


Do you lose the respective trading cards when uninstalling a steam game?

These days I want to uninstall some games to get more space for the new ones. I have earned some trading cards playing those games I want to uninstall, but I don't know if uninstalling will make me lose my trading cards of these games. Will this happen? Or I can uninstall without any problem?


Can you earn money at gun point in San Andreas?

When you put gun on someone they put their hands up. Can you ask them to give you money?


In the Rescue from Fort Neugrad mission, why are my contacts waiting for me inside the fort?

I'm at the Rescue from Fort Neugrad mission for Stormcloaks. Ralof and Stormcloak scouts are supposed to wait for me near Fort Neugrad so I can get the quest details BUT it seems their waiting point is bugged. Instead of waiting outside the Fort they are waiting for me **inside** the fort, so as soon as I get near the fort they are seen by the Imperials and the whole quest becomes messed up beyond repair. Any ideas for a workaround?


Is there any benefit to collecting treasure in Return to Castle Wolfenstein?

I remember in the original _Wolfenstein 3D_ treasure counted towards your score, as did kills, and at certain amounts you could get an extra life. Since Doom, the idea of "lives" in id games has gone the way of the dodo. In the "reimagined" _Return to Castle Wolfenstein_ they have carried over some elements, perhaps for nostalgia's sake. Playing through the first couple of missions, I cannot see any gameplay benefit yet to collecting treasures in RtCW since there is no longer any score or lives to be had. Is it just for bragging rights, then? (The game is far too old to have achievements.)


How do I wear hats?

In Find Mii on the 3DS, you can win various hats that you can apparently put on your Mii. I tried going to the Mii Maker to see if that was where I could use the hats but I didn't see an option there. How do I put the hats that I have won on my Mii?


Which walls are bombable?

I've recently started playing The Binding of Isaac, and I've noticed that some walls can be bombed to reveal a secret room containing coins, or items. The problem is, I can't tell which ones can be destroyed and which ones can't, leading me to place (read: waste) bombs on random walls. So, is there a specific way to tell which ones will lead to an extra room?


What are the different colours of magic and what do they do?

In Find Mii, each hero's shirt colour refers to a different type of magic. What are all the different colours? What does each colour of magic do?


Strength 1 in Original Fallout 1

I've never been a strong character in Fallout 3, as it was a pretty boring skill to have ('woo I can carry more junk'). I also think luck is boring too, and I think I've made the huge mistake of making my character in Fallout 1 have 1 strength and 1 luck. The mechanics are utterly different! Utterly! I am utterly useless in combat (I'm using a knife):               You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     You are not strong enough to use this weapon properly     You missed     Cav Rat was hit for 8 hit points and was killed      It's ridiculous. I've put about 4 hours into this game, wandering around junktown and such and I really don't want to have to create a new character. What are my options? Anyway to increase strength and luck? Or is there some sort of skill my character can still take advantage of? I'm praying energy weapons or explosives?               Strength: 01     Perception: 04     Endourance: 08     Charisma: 06     Intelligence: 10     Agility: 10     Luck: 1      Help my character find his calling!


How do I get past level 4 on Gnome Boccia iOS?

This is crazy hard - the computer always beats me - is it possible? I'm playing on an iPad and the first three levels were pretty straight forward once I got the hang of the throwing mechanism?!


Do food items have any point in Fallout?

There are so many food items in the game, but they all only add 1 or 2 HP plus Rads. Is there any reason to use them? Seems the same with healing powder. And why do they 'wear off' after a while?


Why does the DotA2 Treasure Key sell for more than $2.50 on the Community Market?

The DotA2 Treasure Key costs $2.49 / £1.49 (~$2.48) / 1.79€ (~$2.45) at "retail". However, most of the listings on the first few pages of the Steam Community Market entry are around $2.60. It's not just a fluke: I easily sold four of my keys for $2.60 last night. Why would anybody buy them for higher than retail?


Beating the Developer in Hard Mode

I finished Candy Box 2, and then started on Hard Mode. The last thing I need to do is defeat the developer, but I'm having issues. The strategy I used in normal mode are not working for me in Hard Mode. I tried multiple Beserk potions, the BlackHole-Then-Run method, and even just brute force. He keeps killing me on the last bit of the second set of words. **What strategy can I use here?** I used 5 pains au chocolat (2x power, 2x magic, 1x HP) already, and have the Scythe and the enchanted spoon. I have every other piece of inventory as well. What can I do?


My skin will not show up on my character, what should I do?

I was playing Minecraft and when my game loaded, my skin didn't show up. This has happened before, so I reset Minecraft 2 or 3 times, but still no skin! I'm afraid my skin won't come on. Can I please get some help?


How does resource cost reduction (%) work with skills that spend "all remaining resource"?

There are a number of items that reduce the resource costs of various skills. For example a 20% resource cost reduction to the Ancient Spear skill (Barbarian) would make the skill cost 20 Fury rather than 25 Fury. This seems fairly straight forward. Ancient Spear can be runed with "Boulder Toss" which then makes the skill spend "all remaining fury to deal 20% weapon damage per fury spent" in an AOE. If you save up your default maximum of 100 Fury and then cast Ancient Spear with the Boulder Toss rune you deal 2000% weapon damage to your target and every enemy unfortunate enough to be standing in his vicinity. Pretty cool and again fairly straight forward. But wait...what happens when you mix the resource cost reduction with the skill that says "spend all the resource"? Is the resource cost reduction stat ignored? Does the skill deal more damage? Is there some other way it works that I haven't thought of?


Do you really get 30,000 CP for each fragment?

This is a quote from this website: > Final Fantasy 13-2 doesn’t really require much grinding compared to Final > Fantasy 13. You should be able to level up each role to 99 just by > collecting all fragments (See fragment Locations). Each fragment rewards > 30,000 CP and collecting all fragments rewards you with Defragmented trophy > so it’s worth the effort. Are they telling the truth? Can you really get 30,000 CP just from getting one fragment?!


Do they still sell the limited edition Borderlands 2?

I might be answering my own question by saying "Do they still sell limited edition.." But sometimes they make a lot more or some don't buy the limited edition at all. I was wondering tho, do game stores still sell the Borderlands 2 Limited Edition: Ultimate Loot Chest, and the Swag Filled Limited Edition: Diamond Plate Loot Chest?


Super Paper Mario freezes in world 2-2

Whenever I talk to Mimi in world 2-2 of Super Paper Mario my Wii freezes. Do I have a bad disk, or is it my Wii? (actually, i can talk to her once, but if i try again, the freeze happens)


Do critical hit bonuses apply to staves?

I've decided I want to play a mage in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. However, during the character customization, I wasn't expecting to play a mage, so I chose the +crit chance/+crit damage power. Now I'm wondering, **Does this critical chance apply to the base attack with staves as well as normal melee weapons? Particularly when the staff doesn't have "Physical" or "Piercing" damage?** ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/WWsql.png)


Why do some dialogue options have percentages next to them?

I noticed that some of my dialogue options have percentages next to them. Here's an example: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/mKyl9.jpg) Not only does it have a percentage, but also an icon and it's highlighted green. What's special about it? What will happen if I choose this option?


Equipping Items

I can't believe this is stumping me but I can't seem to figure out how to equip multiple item from my inventory. I can use them from the inventory screen but I can't see how to actually equip them to use on the fly. Playing on 360


How can I change the resolution in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning?

Whenever I first started playing Kingdoms of Amalur, I noticed the cutscenes only filled about half of my screen. It fit from bottom to top, but on the sides I had black bars similar to a letterbox format DVD. I figured it just did this to get the cutscenes a more cinematic feel; but when the cutscenes ended, the bars didn't go away! I tried taking a screenshot, but it ignored these black bars altogether. I have a 17" Widescreen monitor and would like to get rid of these annoying bars. Seeing no option to change the resolution in the in-game menus, I'm curious: **Is there any way to fill my screen with this gorgeous game?**


Is it possible to have more outposts?

In State of Decay: Breakdown, I used all of remaining outposts on the Snyder Trucking Warehouse. I want to have more outposts. Is it possible? (Even with hacks and mods.)


5v5 Ranked Team Issue

I play with 4 of my friend in team ranked. One of my friends only plays one champion. If you look at his solo queue records, he only plays that one champion. (I won't say what champion in case he ever reads this) Basically, he plays top with this champion and builds it like an ADC. So we are down one tank. We can't put him as ADC either because he can't win that lane. He refuses to learn any other champions. One of my other friend only plays unorthodox champions like AP Xin Zhao. He refuses to play over powered champions like Vi or Lee Sin cause he doesn't like jumping the band wagon. I'm not sure what to do. We have lost countless games because we don't have as any tanks or our jungler just simply does not have the ganking power. On average our team's solo queue rank is gold. The only games we have won are when the other team is all silver players or they made terrible plays. I'm just asking what I should do.


How can I reliably find a police car?

I often like driving police cars in games. Usually I can find one at a police station or simply spawn one in. Neither of these seems to be an option in Watch underscore Dogs. How can I reliably get a police car, preferably without messing with police chases?


How do the sets work that call additional followers to your side?

One set is a lvl 70 Demon Hunter Set and the other is Ashera's Vestments, that call additional followers to your side. (Demon hunter set actually calls all companions, pets) How does Ashera's set work? For example. Does it have any effect in a multiplayer game or only when playing solo?   How often are they at your side?   (like do you have all 3 all the time, or is it variable and 1 or 2 more often than 3)


How can I avoid damage from Sniper's Ultimate?

What are the ways we can avoid getting hit by Sniper's Ultimate ability, Assassinate? Which items and/or hero abilities can be used to escape it once it has locked on to a hero?


Xbox 360 Startup Connectivity issue

I've recently set up my 360 to use a static IP address to sort out the NAT problems that I keep running into. This works fine, but has introduced a new problem. When I first turn on the console, it signs into my profile automatically, but stays offline. If I try to connect (regardless of whether it's via the Guide menu, Home Screen option, or otherwise), it fails to connect. This repeats as long as I keep trying to connect. However, if I turn the console off and then immediately turn it back on again, I sign into LIVE immediately, with no problems. Has anyone experienced this before? And does anyone know of a solution? I'm not at home at the moment, but if needed, I can grab the error code the console gives me (though this might have to be tomorrow - I only get this issue once per day).


Playing Old LAN games over internet

There are many old games which had solid LAN gaming systems (like Red Alert 2) and were fun to play with friends. But now that we have internet would it be possible to setup any kind of virtual LAN to play those games online with friends?


What do you do about running out of ammo in Borderlands?

While playing Borderlands I have noticed that whenever there is a boss mission you generally have to go through an entire Sahara desert to reach him in his hideout. Along the way you have to kill everyone present. This is insane. The problem: 1) There is no option to buy more ammo once you are near the boss, so either you have to switch to a different gun or come back to start all the way to buy the ammo. Using a different gun isn't an efficient method because I'll be wasting the proficiency gain which I could use on my preferred weapon. 2) When I tried coming back all the way to the beginning, the game respawns all the monsters, so I had to kill them ALL while coming back. The reward chests, however, do not respawn. 3) I purchased ammo and started running towards the boss again but to my surprise the stupid monsters had respawned yet again. 4) This time I kept rushing forward but just near the boss I was surrounded and died. I went back to the starting point again. I'm finding this extremely frustrating. How do I proceed in this area without resorting to cheats? The mission is Sledge: Battle For Badlands. Thanks a load in advance.


What happens to Shadowmere if I rode another horse in Falskaar?

Skyrim and Falskaar are two different places. Would I still be able to ride Shadowmere in Skyrim if I bought and rode a horse in Falskaar?


I lost my purchased horse in Skyrim - please help?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What happens to my horse if I ride another horse? While I was doing a quest called "The Battle For Fort Dunstad", I got off my horse outside of the fort so it won't get killed while I was killing the enemy. After I killed everyone, I saw a random horse and when I walked towards it, it said "A: Ride Horse". I accidentally pressed A and I mounted the horse. I dismounted it then fast traveled to a city to complete the quest. I went to Katla's Farm to find my horse for another quest but it wasn't there. Instead, the horse I accidentally mounted was there. I went back to Fort Dunstad and went on a scavenger hunt to find my horse all around that area but I still couldn't find it. I DON'T WANT TO BUY ANOTHER HORSE !! I love that horse T _ T


Framerates and smoothness

I'm pretty sure I'm lacking some fundamental knowledge here: in some games 25-30 FPS is EXTREMELY smooth. However, in Minecraft 30 FPS is choppy and laggy. I also noticed that some people record Minecraft videos at 30 FPS, which again is smooth (but when I try it, it's not). What exactly is the reason for this? Edit: I should note that Minecraft runs smooth for me around 70-80+ FPS. But I want to know the reason behind why some games are smoother at a lower framerate.


Is it possible to increase the size of UI text in Empire: Total War?

When playing Empire Total War at the highest resolution on my laptop, the text on most UI elements (most of the menus, notices, mouseover text etc) is too small to read easily. Currently I have to turn down the resolution to solve this, which is not an ideal solution. Is there some sort of large text option?


How to beat a Zerg that goes for a Zergling/Baneling/Mutalisk mix?

Watch my replay here. (Scroll down, look for "Save file to your PC: _click here_ " in the box) I did Cons Shells against Banelings, Tanks against Zerglings and Marines/AA/Vikings against Mutas.   Furthermore I also upgraded their armor and then their firepower from the Engineering Bay. Tried an harass with Banshees but that failed, so did my push against his natural...   I didn't choose to drop because his zerglings/overlords/mutas would see it coming. That didn't work out well! **What did I do wrong?** The problem were the Mutas, I couldn't take those down. Should I have gone more Vikings instead?


How to obtain rainbow chips?

In Cookie Clicker Collector, you go to the settings button and see this: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/gsYEE.jpg) How do I get rainbow chips in the first place? What can they be used for?


Where does the demo end on xbox

When does the demo of terraria end on Xbox? I'm not sure exactly but I summoned the Eye of Chutulu and I was about to hit it and the game froze then sent me to the dashboard. If this is where the demo ends why don't they tell you?


Accessing DLC without giving Lordvessel to Frampt or killing Sif

In Dark Souls, I have just defeated Ornstein and Smough and acquired the Lordvessel. Now, if I remember correctly, you can give this to Kingseeker Frampt, but that will make it impossible to join the Darkwraith covenant. I'd rather give it to Darkstalker Kaathe. I have never played past this point before so I only know about Kaathe from the Dark Souls Wikis. I have also just bought the Add-on Artorias of the Abyss and have read that the Great Grey Wolf Sif appears as a summonable NPC in a new area, as long as he wasn't killed before, which also changes the cutscene before the fight. As requirements to access the DLC I have read that you have to kill some crystal golem in the Darkroot Basin and to place the Lordvessel. But, to get to Kaathe, if I understood this correctly, you have to kill Sif to get a ring to walk the Abyss where Kaathe apparently is. So if I want to access the DLC before getting to Sif, I would have to give it to Frampt, right? The only other option I could imagine is to place the Lordvessel by jumping down the hole where Frampt is, whithout waking him up, but I read that that makes him angry somehow. Also, can I still help Kaathe after doing that? Long story short: I want to join the Darkwraith, but also access the DLC and have Sif there before killing him to walk the Abyss. Is this possible?


Exactly when do I level up in sneak?

I'd like to grind my sneak in Skyrim. Exactly how does the game decide when I level up in sneak? What are the precise conditions or logic the game uses in making this determination? EDIT: I understand that sneaking around and not being noticed will help me level up. I'm looking for exactly what the algorithm the game uses to decide when to give me experience is. For example, how close do I have to be to someone? Do I level up faster if I'm closer? Does being partially noticed help or hurt? I want to know because right now, leveling up my sneak feels magic. It's always a surprise to me when it happens, and I don't like that. If I could understand why I level up when I do, I think sneaking would be more satisfying.


Harrison Jones and its usage

I recently acquired Harrison Jones, the legendary card. I thought it would serve as a great substitute for Acidic Swamp Ooze, but I haven't had the success in regards to destroying a weapon with Harrison Jones and getting a decent amount of cards. Usually I destroy the weapon, and get 1 card - since those I have faced use a weapon with 2 durability. My real issue is that I don't have a clue in which deck / hero I should combine it into. HearthPwn has a long list of decks where Harrison Jones pops up now and then, but I cant seem to find a suitable combo and usage of Harrison Jones. **What are some great ways to use Harrison Jones and in which Hero combo?**


Final Fantasy VII on PC - what does this have that my original discs don't?

I have got my original Playstation Final Fantasy VII discs in a box at home, and for the past 5 years have been meaning to go back and play the game but of course I never get around to it (at the weekend I just finished Dragon Quest VIII - obviously I have a backlog). Having seen a few FFVII posts on here and noticing the sharper graphics I found it is available on PC: http://www.finalfantasyviipc.com/en what does this have that my original discs don't? What are the differences over the original game? As far as I can see there are 36 "achievements" (?) and a "character booster" (one-click cheat mode which I'd not be interested in). It claims that all I need is an internet connection* to play wherever I am... surely I'd need to download it? Or is it all hosted in the cloud and I could play on my mobile phone? *under Cloud Saves button - "Whether you’re away from home or simply using a different computer to play, enjoy FINAL FANTASY VII wherever you are. With cloud save support in FINAL FANTASY VII you can continue your game progress right where you left off, all you need is an internet connection."


What is upgrade spending and more importantly, why does it decrease?

At the score screen, under graphs tab, what exactly is upgrade spending? Well it sounds obvious but why does it decrease sometimes?


Grand Theft Auto V

Does destroying cars in missions help earn money from the car scrapyard? I'm trying to make a good bit of money and I need help.


How do you become a vampire/werewolf in Elder Scrolls Online

The game is released for a few days now. I have heard that you can turn into thoses beasts. I have a few questions about that   * How do you turn into werewolf/vampire ? On the chat people said they can bite others but who bite them first?   * How long does the effect last ?   * Are there any cons ? Maybe if your are a vampire you take damage from the sun like in older Elder Scrolls ?


What are the requirements to unlock "We are family"?

> **We are Family** > > Become the dominant Religion in every Capital city on a standard-size or > larger map. I have set up a game on a huge map and my religion was spread over all cities, while 35 of them belonged to me. So my religion was clearly dominant. I also made sure they are dominant in the enemies capital cities. But the achievement did still not unlock. While the description seems to be very obvious, a lot of people seem to have a problem with it. I found a couple of sites with discussions about it, including civfanatics, but no clear answer on how to actually unlock it.


Can't go downstairs in Nethack?

I have recently started playing Nethack (ie. an hour ago) and I know just about nothing more than Elbereth and commands. I have looked everywhere for the command to go down stairs to the next level but all I find is `>` and when I press that I am told               There is a staircase down here.      This is not much help. It's not that I can't find the stairways, (I know about secret passages), I just can't get _down_ them!


Diablo 3 Custom Bindings

Does Diablo 3 allow usage of Custom Bindings for Skills and Actions, like World of Warcraft and many other games? I'd like to bind some skills to my mouse buttons. Is this possible on Beta? Anyone found any information about this feature included in the Game?


Productivity in Dwarf Fortress

Will bad things happen if I don't keep my dwarfs busy?   Any reason to not have idle dwarfs standing around other then personal satisfaction of working 'em to death?


How do I get rid of a Dimensional Door?

I was playing survival with the Hexxit mod pack online, and I made a rift door (from Dimensional Doors mod) with a rift blade. Now I can't get rid of it, I have tried to remove it by spamming the rift remover but I can't get it to go. So how do I remove a Dimensional Door?


Why do my proximity mines sometimes prematurely detonate?

When I play my Turian solider in multiplayer, sometimes when I launch a new mine the old one detonates. Sometimes, I can spam them freely even right on top of each other. I'd like to place as many mines on the map between rounds as I can, but often I can only place one. Occasionally, I can place as many as I want. I thought this might be a mechanic to keep players from spamming mines in spawn points, but this sometimes happens during the rounds as well. Anybody know what's going on?


Which items are stackable?

Which items are stackable in _Animal Crossing: New Leaf_? Offhand, I know I can stack fruit, coins and sacks of money. Anything else?


What can I find in the uncommon and rare item packs?

I'm getting destroyed in multiplayer and I'm trying to decide whether or not I should buy some of the cheap 5000 credit packs just so I can hopefully get some new weapons, or if I should save up for one of the rare packs and hope I get something awesome. However, I have no sense of what kinds of things to expect in the more expensive packs. >   * What types of rare and uncommon items exist? > >   * Is there a list somewhere that says which items you can get in the rare > and uncommon packs, similar to how a game like Magic: The Gathering has a > master list of all the cards in a set? > > I need to know what's possible so I can make a better informed decision about how to spend the few credits that I actually manage to scrape together.


Bukkit Permissions Not Being Enforced

Ok so I have a Bukkit server up and running and I want to use the Permissions Plugin to help give different users different permissions to help protect the server. I configured the permissions and reloaded them. However it seems that users have access to commands that they should not be able to run. Here is my set up... **Groups.yml**               groups:         Default:             default: true             info:                 build: false             permissions:         Builder:             default: false             info:                 build: true             permissions:                 - 'worldedit.*'                 - 'mobSpawner.*'                 inheritance:                 - Default         Moderator:             default: false             info:                 prefix: '&b'                 suffix: '&f'                 build: true             inheritance:                 - Builder             permissions:                 - 'worldedit.*'                 - 'motd.*'                 - 'worldguard.*'         Admin:             default: false             info:                 prefix: '&4'                 suffix: '&f'                 build: true             permissions:                 - '*'      **Users.yml**               users:         test_user:             groups:             - Builder             permissions:         admin_user:             permissions:             groups:             - Admin      When I run the `/pr test_user perms listall` command it outputs `worldedit.*, mobSpawner.*` which means that the permissions are being loaded correctly. But when I log on as test_user I am able to use the `/regions` command which is a part of WorldGuard plugin which the test_user should not have access to. What am I doing wrong?


In the third and fourth generations, which pokemon require events?

Between the third and fourth generation of Pokemon games, which Pokemon cannot be obtained without an Action Replay or similar in any of the GBA/DS games without going to a Nintendo Event? And are there any event Pokemon that are still not attainable without an Action Replay at all?


When Fiora does her dash attack, why don't abilities affect her?

I noticed this the other day. When she does this attack, nothing effects her. Why is that? All the other champions can be hurt and affected during any attack. Why is Fiora different? Or is this a glitch in the game?


Supporting a TerribAD Carry Bot

Solo queue and our team needs support; lock in Sona. Go to lane, AD carry turret dives 60% health Sion and Taric. Complains to Sona for not supporting well enough. Game goes on and AD carry continues to make terrible decisions and complains about support. What should a support character do in this sort of situation?


Can you get the good endings if you play a purely renegade Shepard?

Is it possible to get the best endings playing as a renegade? Or the choices you make (if you are not tempted to break character) are inherently evil at some point, which would prevent them?


How do protections work?

In Smite, certain items grant magical or physical protection. Every mythological character has some degree of natural physical protection. Mages also get natural magical protection (while other chars don't). What does protection do? How (much) does it mitigate incoming damage?


What are armament presets for planes in war-thunder

In the aviation research tab the overview of every plane shows several characteristics such as max speed etc. Another one is the armament preset. In some cases it is set to 1, others have higher numbers such as 5. What does it do and can I use it to improve my plane and scores?


Does each player need their own portal to play Skylanders?

Does each kid need their own portal for WII to play Skylanders or can they use one? New to this game and I haven't read anything that says you need two portals. Please let me know if I need to buy another portal before giving the game as a gift. Thanks!


Why isn't my two station complex showing "Profitability" as a graph choice like the invidivual stations did?

I am playing X3-AP. I had two factories making Hornet and Mosquito missiles in Queen's Harbour. They were both doing brisk business but I decided to pool their resources by turning them into a complex. I towed the Mosquito factory over to the Hornet factory and placed a Complex Construction Kit between them. I see the resulting combined station on my report and, from watching it's cash flow, it's doing great. However, when I select Advanced -> Graphs for the Complex, there's only one choice: Stock. None of the other choices (especially Station Profitability) even appear. How did this happen? Is there anything I can do about it?


Warwick attack speed questions

I am wondering if it makes any sense to activate Warwicks `W` before I ult, it seems like the attack speed increase would have no affect. Better to activate after the ult is complete? > ACTIVE: Warwick blinks to the front of an enemy champion and channels for > 1.5 seconds, suppressing the target for 1.8 seconds and dealing magic damage > 5 times in 1/3-second intervals. MAGIC DAMAGE PER HIT: 50 / 67 / 84 (+ 40% > bonus AD) TOTAL DAMAGE: 250 / 335 / 420 (+ 200% bonus AD) Warwick gains 30% > life steal for the duration. Each damaging strike applies on-hit effects, > life steal, and maximum stacks of Eternal Thirst Also, what is the attack speed cap for Warwick? I noticed most Warwick builds contain Wits End (50%), BRK (40%), Feral Flare (30%) and then also Attack Speed runes (13.5%). Then you add his "W" to that as well.


Can quarry borders overlap in buildcraft?

Can I lay down a quarry which shares a frame border with another quarry, or will it get stuck trying to make the frame?


Can I run a Minecraft multiplayer server and client on the same machine?

Is it possible to host a Minecraft multiplayer server on my computer and connect to it from the game client on the same machine? If it is possible how would it affect other players connecting on my LAN? My computer has a quad-core AMD chip, a NVIDIA 9800 GT, and 4GB of DDR3. I'm running Ubuntu 10.10 x64. My LAN is all wired 1000Mbps. **Edit:** Additionally there would be a max of three or maybe four players on at any given time, all via the LAN.


Connection to own Q3 dedicated impossible

I'm trying to run a dedicated `Q3 1.32b linux-i386 Nov 14 2002` from a headless Ubuntu 12.04. Server is not seen in server list. When trying to connect explicitly by `address:port` from from client machine i get:               Awaiting Connection... 3..5..10... 70...n.      and nothing happens next. This is how i execute:               quake3@iceberg:~/.q3a/baseq3$ /usr/local/games/quake3/q3ded +set sv_punkbuster 0 +set net_ip 10.0.1.5 +set net_port 27960  +exec ./maprotation.cfg      Q3 1.32b linux-i386 Nov 14 2002     ----- FS_Startup -----     Current search path:     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak8.pk3 (9 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak7.pk3 (4 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak6.pk3 (64 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak5.pk3 (7 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak4.pk3 (272 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak3.pk3 (4 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak2.pk3 (148 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak1.pk3 (26 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/pak0.pk3 (3539 files)     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3     /home/quake3/.q3a/baseq3/baseq3     /usr/local/games/quake3/q3ded/baseq3          ----------------------     4073 files in pk3 files     execing default.cfg     execing q3config.cfg     couldn't exec autoexec.cfg     Hunk_Clear: reset the hunk ok     --- Common Initialization Complete ---     Opening IP socket: 10.0.1.5:27960     Hostname: iceberg.gate.kahovka     Alias: iceberg     IP: 127.0.1.1     Started tty console (use +set ttycon 0 to disable)     ^3PunkBuster Server: PunkBuster Server (v0.993 | A0 C0.0) **DISABLED**     execing ./maprotation.cfg      You may have noticed that q3ded runs from it's special user. Running from root does not affect the problem. I started suspecting some network issue. So i did a checkup:               entropy@iceberg:~$ sudo netstat -alp --numeric-ports | grep 27960     udp    0     0 10.0.1.5:27960          0.0.0.0:*      9521/q3ded      A check from the client machine:               tim@thinkpad ~$ sudo nmap -sU 10.0.1.5 -p 27960     . . .      27960/udp open|filtered quake3      I allowed all incoming and outgoing UDP traffic in iptables, but nothing changed. Here is my main config: pastebin.com/wefnEpR6 My maprotation: pastebin.com/UFj2M0DY Configured Q3 according to http://it.rcmd.org/networks/q3_install/q3_linux_server_howto.php What can be the problem with this setup? I'm doomed, any help will be greatly appreciated!


What is the process required to transfer virtual console games from the Wii to the Wii U

I'm looking to buy the Wii U, and one of the major draws of it for me is transferring the virtual console games from a previous Wii. I've actually given the Wii to a relative, so I'd like to know what is involved with the process of transferring virtual console games from the Wii to the Wii u. Do I need the physical Wii to do so? Do I only need information about the Wii (e.g. serial number)? Or would control of my nintendo store account be enough to re-download the virtual console games?


Can spiders swim against current?

In Minecraft 1.4_01 if I have a vertical wall standing on dirt with a water source block placed where the wall and ground meet (see below) can spiders (or any mob for that matter) even reach the wall? C = Cobblestone   D = Dirt   W = Water Source > C   >  C   >  C   >  C   >  CW   >  DDDDDDDDDDDDDDD For the sake of simplicity I've intentionally not listed flowing water.


How can I create server-wide aliases for console commands in Source games?

I'm an administrator on a couple TF2 servers, and I've installed a couple Sourcemod plugins (MeleeMode, ClassChooser, etc.). However, to get these to work the way I want, I have to set variables manually through the console like               sm_cvar sm_meleemode_enabled 1      While I know how to set up a local alias for a console command, I'd like to be able to create a server-wide "shortcut" so that all the admins will be able to use it without any setup on their end. I'd like them to be able to just open the console and type               meleeon      and this command would execute. Is there something I can add to the server.cfg or autoexec.cfg that will do this? Or maybe another workable solution?


How do you get the item list on the right side in creative or survival?

I've watched Minecraft videos and on most of them, people go to their inventory or press the "E" button, and there is a column on the right hand side showing all the items,crafting recipes, and ID names. You can switch it on and off. How do you get that column?


Diablo 3 Witch Doctor Base Intelligence difference

I have two level 60 witch doctors. I'm playing the console version. One of them has about 16k intelligence with no gear, and the other has about 7k, also with no gear. Why? Is it because I leveled the 16k one up at a higher paragon level? I'm currently paragon 47, and was probably around 15 when I leveled up the first one. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/7xqdI.jpg) ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/JGJ26.jpg)


Can you check the stats/gender of starter pokémon in X/Y?

Is there any way to preview the statistics of the starter pokémon before you choose one?


How do I start a new game without going bankrupt?

I have completed the game but didn't research large games until year 34. I feel like I've missed out on quite a few aspects of the game, therefore I want to start a new one. Now I know I could just run my company into the ground, but I want my guy to retire rich and happily (yes, I'm one of THOSE people) and it's very time consuming because I have 150 Million. Do you know how to start a new game without just going bankrupt on purpose?


How do you get a block from a block in creative?

I'm new to minecraft and watched many videos in youtube and the thing that most fascinated me is that players / trollers got the same block that they were looking at in creative !! But How ?????


Teleport pad sometimes keeps teleporting me back onto the ship instead of down to the planet

My teleport pad will sometimes keep teleporting me back onto the ship instead of down to the planet. Is there a solution for this issue?


How do I know when my research is done?

I've been researching for a while, and my Thaumnomicon looks pretty full. How can I know when there's nothing left to research? Is the only way throwing every type of essence at the research table in enough quantity or is there a better way?


How can I play Talon effectively?

I'm struggling to play Talon effectively. I'm looking for specific information on how to:   * Lane properly   * When to engage in a fight   * What item build orders are most effective Any specific information relating to these bullets would be greatly appreciated.


Minecraft Forge 1.7.10 keeps crashing as soon as I launch the game?

After successfully installing Minecraft Forge 1.7.10 using the Windows Installer,the game crashes as soon as it begins to launch.After crashing,the games screen reads this:               [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Loading tweak class name cpw.mods.fml.common.launcher.FMLTweaker     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Using primary tweak class name cpw.mods.fml.common.launcher.FMLTweaker     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Calling tweak class cpw.mods.fml.common.launcher.FMLTweaker     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [FML]: Forge Mod Loader version 7.10.18.1180 for Minecraft 1.7.10 loading     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [FML]: Java is Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM, version 1.7.0_60, running on Windows Vista:x86:6.0, installed at C:\Program Files\Java\jre7     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Loading tweak class name cpw.mods.fml.common.launcher.FMLInjectionAndSortingTweaker     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Loading tweak class name cpw.mods.fml.common.launcher.FMLDeobfTweaker     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Calling tweak class cpw.mods.fml.common.launcher.FMLInjectionAndSortingTweaker     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Calling tweak class cpw.mods.fml.common.launcher.FMLInjectionAndSortingTweaker     [12:09:24] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Calling tweak class cpw.mods.fml.relauncher.CoreModManager$FMLPluginWrapper     [12:09:28] [main/INFO] [FML]: Found valid fingerprint for Minecraft Forge. Certificate fingerprint e3c3d50c7c986df74c645c0ac54639741c90a557     [12:09:28] [main/INFO] [FML]: Found valid fingerprint for Minecraft. Certificate fingerprint cd99959656f753dc28d863b46769f7f8fbaefcfc     [12:09:28] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Calling tweak class cpw.mods.fml.relauncher.CoreModManager$FMLPluginWrapper     [12:09:28] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Calling tweak class cpw.mods.fml.common.launcher.FMLDeobfTweaker     [12:09:29] [main/INFO] [LaunchWrapper]: Launching wrapped minecraft {net.minecraft.client.main.Main}     [12:09:31] [main/INFO]: Setting user: Jetixrock0     [12:09:33] [Client thread/INFO]: LWJGL Version: 2.9.1     [12:09:34] [Client thread/INFO] [MinecraftForge]: Attempting early MinecraftForge initialization     [12:09:34] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: MinecraftForge v10.13.0.1180 Initialized     [12:09:34] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: Replaced 182 ore recipies     [12:09:34] [Client thread/INFO] [MinecraftForge]: Completed early MinecraftForge initialization     [12:09:35] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: Searching C:\Users\Brent\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\mods for mods     [12:09:39] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: Forge Mod Loader has identified 3 mods to load     [12:09:40] [Client thread/INFO]: Reloading ResourceManager: Default, FMLFileResourcePack:Forge Mod Loader, FMLFileResourcePack:Minecraft Forge     [12:09:40] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: Processing ObjectHolder annotations     [12:09:40] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: Found 341 ObjectHolder annotations     [12:09:40] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: Configured a dormant chunk cache size of 0     [12:09:40] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: Applying holder lookups     [12:09:40] [Client thread/INFO] [FML]: Holder lookups applied     #     # A fatal error has been detected by the Java Runtime Environment:     #     #  EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION (0xc0000005) at pc=0x2b753dc2, pid=3432, tid=3708     #     # JRE version: Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (7.0_60-b19) (build 1.7.0_60-b19)     # Java VM: Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (24.60-b09 mixed mode windows-x86 )     # Problematic frame:     # C  [ig4icd32.dll+0x43dc2]     #     # Failed to write core dump. Minidumps are not enabled by default on client versions of Windows     #     # An error report file with more information is saved as:     # C:\Users\Brent\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\hs_err_pid3432.log     #     # If you would like to submit a bug report, please visit:     #   http://bugreport.sun.com/bugreport/crash.jsp     # The crash happened outside the Java Virtual Machine in native code.     # See problematic frame for where to report the bug.     #      If someone could help me with this problem,or figure out what i'm doing wrong,It would be much appreciated.I'm trying to install the Mine & Blade:Battlegear 2 mod.But,first must install forge.Does anyone know any specific ways I could fix this problem or figure out whats wrong with the forge in general?That way I could start the game correctly.Thanks.This is the version being used: forge-1.7.10-10.13.0.1180-installer-win


How do I delete a custom deck on the ipad version of hearthstone?

On the PC it's easy to delete decks but I can't figure out how to delete a deck from the ipad version. How can I do this?


What is in Blizzard's Cloud?

When installing SC2 on a new computer, some things are preserved when you log into your old account. I thought save games were one of them, but apparently not. This naturally leads to the question, what IS stored in the cloud. Achievements seem to be, but not campaign progess. Are replays? Custom Maps? Friend list? Anything else?


Ancelmo's laboratory - I have the key, but still need to kill the guards?

So I am on the quest to get the falmer decipher book from Ancelmos lab, and I've stolen his key so I can enter it, which is an optional task. But when I get in the lab there are bunch of guards I need to kill, or pay the bounty and leave. Of course If I kill guards, my bounty will skyrocket, and I can't really kill every guard in Markarth, to get away with it... so how do I get around this?


How can I get the Tweeter in Animal Crossing New Leaf?

In Animal Crossing New Leaf, I searched and searched, but I found no tweeter! Am I supposed to invite friends to my town? Or am I supposed to earn it?


What are all the different weapon colours and their meanings?

What do the colours of weapon names and their effects generally mean?


Does attacking a zombie in the nether cause the zombie pigmen to become hostile?

I created a portal in the nether and it led into an abandoned mine. I explored the abandoned mine for a while before re-entering the Nether where I found a number of skeletons and zombies had wandered in. One of the zombies attacked me, so I attacked back and I think the surrounding zombie pigmen became hostile (I died before I knew what was going on). Can someone confirm that this actually does happen? Is this a bug or is it intentional? (ie the zombie pigmen see their overworld counterparts as kindred spirits or something) I was on snapshot 14w06b


On my minecraft sever i cant get my hunger bar to go down HELP

I have tried everything I have looked every where pease help


Siphon units in overview

In Eve Online, do the new Mobile Structures, especially the Siphon unit, show up in the overview within the vicinity of the POS? Are they visible to the POS owner, or do they have to be scanned down.


What happened to my trees?

What's the deal with trees in minecraft? Ever since the update they've been.. er... three-toned. ![alt text](http://i.stack.imgur.com/ablam.png) Is this intentional behavior?


Crash upon returning to "The Underdark Exit"

![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/J5ZEJ.png)I have a big problem. I am playing BG2 ( GoG ). I have SoA + ToB. Until that moment i've had no crashes at all. When i defeated Bodhi in Ch. 6 and took the Rhynn Lanthorn to enter Suldanesselar. And BOOM when i try to return to Elhan in The Underdark Exit i get a crash. And an error " BG2 stopped working "... I have had BG2fixpack and BG2tweaks instaled from theGibberlings site. Every other location works fine. I have re instaled the game multiple , with and without the fix/tweaks. I've sent the save to a frined and he also gets the same error.


How do you get past the dragon?

How do you beat the dragon in _LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7_ for the PSP? I've tried so many times, but I always end up dying! I can't find how to do it on any websites.


Why some items appears red after placing them in my own house?

I stole only one single item so far in the game, and just because it was part of a mission. After buying myself nice house in Whiterun I placed some items for storage in couple of chests. After some time when I got back to grab something I noticed that one item in every chest is suddenly red, as if taking it will steal it! It appears to be random, in one chest it's Bonemeal and in the other iron ingot. I didn't steal them, from what I remember I picked the bonemeal from a skeleton and the ingot was placed somewhere and I took it - didn't steal it. (Crime stats prove this) What can be the reason, or is this a bug? **Edit** : The red items are always the same, and few months have passed (Skyrim time) already. It didn't happen in other storage I have (drawer in Jorrvaskr). **Actions I took to debug this:**   1. Took one of the two Iron Ingots in the chest, the remaining ingot became white and my Stolen Items count did not go up.   2. Took one of the four Bone Meals in the other chest, still red. Took anothr and the remaining two were not red anymore. Stolen items count did not increase as well.   3. I dropped the Iron Ingot to the ground. The command was `Steal` and indeed, after taking it from ground my Stolen Items count increased by one though without any bounty even though it was right near a guard. Same with the Bone Meal.


How can I stop legionaires attacking me during a mission?

I have to report to Legate Rikke on Compelling Tribute and I jumped on the horse I arrived on only to realise that it said steal horse. So I jumped straight off and carried on the mission and when I arrived back Legate Rikke just wants to kill me. I've tried waiting for two days but it's not working, what should I do?


How do you get out of chamber 3?

So, I'm in Test Chamber 003 of Portal 1, and am trying to get into a door, but I can't reach it. I have to go down a set of stairs and then there is no way up... How can I get up there? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/o2MZ2.jpg)


Do nether strongholds only spawn within a certain radius?

In Minecraft beta, normal strongholds only spawned within a certain distance of 0,0, so they would never appear in a world which was explored beyond that radius. In Minecraft 1.0, do **nether strongholds** have a limit like this, or will they appear at any distance? Can you keep exploring and find unlimited nether strongholds?


Are the coins scattered around the castle only useful for health?

There are four coins in the main hallway, and a number of them in the Boos in the yard. Is there anything to gain from them other than health? Do I get anything for collecting them, perhaps in a particular order?


Is there a secret star here?

In the back yard of the castle, there's the course called "Big Boos Haunt", but there's also this curious sign in the corner that says something about a triple jump and a wall kick. The thing is that right near that is a convenient wall, which might be doable with the aforementioned combination. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/tWGwt.png) Is there a secret star here, or anything useful? **Edit:** ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/5psU9.jpg)


What are microtransactions and why are they important?

I was looking at various lists of MMO games etc the other day when I noticed that a lot of them claim to be entirely free, but then accept payment by microtransaction. In computer security, etc, microtransactions are very small amounts of money transfered in real time for services (ie for torrents and traffic routing, though that's not actually implemented in public p2p networks) What are microtransactions with reference to games, how much do they cost, and why are they important in 'free' games?


Can I get Aela the Huntress to use the bow I give her?

Is there any way I can get Aela to upgrade her bow? I've managed to get her to use the armor and melee weapon I give her, although she does sit around the house in her underwear now and I need to take/give her something back to get her to redress. She just keeps using the same standard bow she always did. I didn't see anything I could take from her nor anything that I could 'buy' from her store. thanks.


Hand exercises after a gaming session?

I hope this is not off-topic, but this is important for me, and I assume to many other gamers as well. Unlike most other computer applications, many PC games make liberal use of the mouse for most actions, often requiring fast and / or prolonged movement. Sometimes games may leave my mouse hand aching for a bit. Other than taking a break (and visiting this site meanwhile =D ), does anyone have any good tips for preventing or alleviating the pain? Exercises maybe?


How can I resolve lagging during firefight?

I Play Halo: Reach online a lot and only seem to get lag when playing firefight, Even though in my network status everything is okay. The lag happens more often than not and usually ends up with the other players leaving. when the other players have left I have no lag! Are other players experiencing problems with lag only in firefight?


How can I talk to my Battle.net Real ID friends?

So I'm playing wow again. The last time I played (a year or so ago or so) I added a few peoples as my Real ID Friends. Now that I'm back I'm clicking around the wow GUI and I can't figure out how to send them a message. Help?


How to get off a minecart unharmed

In Minecraft, when I exit a minecart, I often lose half a heart (sometimes even more). But occasionally I don't get harmed. I wasn't able to find a rule, what to do to exit the cart unharmed ... is there a specific point to look at? Or something to do?


Is it okay to not have a rogue in my party in Dragon Age 2?

I know that one's supposed to have all three varieties of members in a party, but the thing is: I am a mage but I also like to have Anders and Merill along. For the remaining slot, I usually prefer Fenris. So, thats three mages and one warrior. The battles were always satisfying with the above party but I just want to know if there would be any advantange if there's a rogue except for the fact that they can detect traps and unlock locks.


Do US PS1 Games downloaded from Playstation Network work on a PAL PS3 Console

i've been reading up on Shin Megami Tensei Persona 2 Innocent Sin and released that unlike the Snow Queen Quest in the previous game, Shin Megami Tensei Person 2 Eternal Punishment carries on after the vents of Innocent Sin now Eternal Punishment has been re-released on PSP but only in Japan and only the US has it on PlayStation Network (according to Wikipedia),Ii have a PAL PS3 console, while PS3 games are region free and PS1 Physical Games still have Region Restriction I am wondering, if I was to buy and download Eternal Punishment from the US Store, would it work on my PAL PS3?


Is there a generic way to show FPS on NVidia cards?

Is there a generic command for NVidia cards to show the current framerate while in a game? More specifically, I'd like to use it on a GeForce 9400 GT in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, but it would be cool if there was a generic option.


How do I obtain the additional soldier customisation options in XCOM: Enemy Within?

I have noticed some videos on YouTube showing the soldier customisation screen with more options (e.g different suit/colours/helmet). Is this a cheat or just an additional DLC pack I don't know about?


What does the percentage value on my gear represent?

Whenever I find a new weapon, it has a number below the name which is represented by a percentage, like 93%. What do these numbers mean?   * At first I thought it might have been weapon durability, but the number doesn't seem to go down after even extended use of the item.   * The value is also over 100% in some cases.   * The value appears to be coloured towards green as it approaches 100%. What does this number represent? Here's some examples: ![axe](http://i.stack.imgur.com/L1TNC.jpg) ![spear](http://i.stack.imgur.com/7MT2w.jpg) ![sword](http://i.stack.imgur.com/nDF10.jpg)


Moving From Vanilla Server to Bukkit

I have a server running the standard, unmodified Vanilla server on a Linux box. After talking to the people on the server we have decided that moving to a Bukkit Server would be better because of the awesome plugins. However, it seems that Minecraft generates "nether" and "overworld" files differently than Bukkit. Bukkit generates a `world` and a `world_nether` folders. I have read the forum post that copying the Vanilla's world folder to `world` and `world_nether` seems to work but I feel like this a a bit hackish and might cause problems in the future. Has anyone successively done this?


Why aren't my rooms accessible?

I took a look at some of my rooms, and a lot of them are labeled as "not accessible from entrance". I thought I left room for people to walk into them, but apparently not. How is this determined? How can I fix it?


Self-host a minecraft server with high security

I heard that hosting a minecraft server (public) is super super secure. Like, you'd need a government hacker to hack into it (I'm not talking about client- hacking) to gain access to your system. In order for other players to play on your server, you have to give others your public IP. Many times I've heard that that is a big no-no. I would really like to host a minecraft server but I'm currently in a network of other computers that shouldn't be tampered with (or, hacked in to from the minecraft server). How would I be able to highly prevent, or completely stop someone gaining access to my system or a network of systems? I can accept that if there is no solution is the answer, than that's okay as well. I am currently using a macintosh computer.


Stuck on The Key to Redemption - Find the Archon

In Darksiders 2, I'm trying to do the quest _The Key to Redemption_. I'm at the Crystal Spire and unable to go any further from the second floor. I have defeated the 2 corrupt angels and can't seem to utilize that yellow explosive sphere correctly. How can I proceed?


How do Miner Trees work?

How exactly does a Miner Tree (Twilight Forest) work? Does it literally PULL ore from below it to the surface, thereby removing the ore that was below it, or does it COPY ore that is below it and place the copies around it at the surface? What if I place ores below it manually? How large of an area does it effect? What are all the quirks and tricks and behaviors of this wonderfull tree?


Is there a maximum number of Grandmas you can have or any other item?

You can buy different sources to produce your cookies. But is there any actual maximum in grandmas or factories you can have?


If I scan a sector to 100% can a future mission decrease that number?

In order to avoid missing any side quests I put my priority missions on hold and I'm off playing galactic go-fer. I know that I may not be able to get to 100% if certain conditions aren't met, but once I get a sector to read 100% explored is there any chance that a mission or plot line can open up and bump it back down? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/yBjmR.jpg)


Is there any penalty for a wrong guess?

Sometimes I'm tempted to write rude words to my friends (not random people!) as a joke guess. Is there any penalty for incorrect guesses, such as losing coins? There's no visual indicator, but then again it seems like the Draw Something interface is not always very clear.


How can I prevent mobs from spawning in unlit places?

In vanilla minecraft mobs don't spawn if the light level of the block is 9 or above. However, I often don't want to fully lit all my structures. I might want a courtyard or a cellar that isn't fully lit. Also controllable light systems with redstone are a lot of fun to make, but I can never turn the lights off in fear of spawning mobs. Is there a mod or another solution to have both unlit places and no mobs around? Maybe some kind of block that prevents mobs from spawning within a radius.


Which Hero has the largest vision?

In Dota 1&2, Which heros have the largest vision at :   1. Night   2. Day   3. Both Combined


How to colonize a planet?

I took the first 3 tutorials and played a game. It went fine until I tried to colonize a planet. A neutral and perfect planet. But I couldn't colonize it there was no button for that. It was possible in the tutorial. But I can't do it in this game. Do I have to research the ability? The wikia wiki it just said some of the capital ships could colonize. I have a capital ship but the button isn't there.


What is the frequency of witch huts in Minecraft?

I'm on a quest to find a witch hut in Vanilla Minecraft, in my usual world, with no mods. I've traveled about 10K squares, and have found 3 relatively large swamp areas, and no witch hut. I can find no information on the frequency of witch hunt generation. Thoughts? Also, I'm assuming witch hut's generate in peaceful and easy modes? i.e. world generation is independent of difficulty setting? Any thoughts on tools to use to identify witch huts in already generated areas? Thanks


How can I calculate the right number/types of parachutes for my craft?

In earlier versions of Kerbal Space Program, even in Career Mode, parts cost and recovery was never an issue to be concerned about. So a typical space mission might only return to Kerbin with the command pod and perhaps some scientific equipment. This would typically just need one or two parachutes - rarely more, and you could usually just make a "gut instinct" judgement call to decide when to throw on one or two more. Version 0.24, "First Contract", changed this significantly. Now, vehicle components have monetary value and that value can at least partially be refunded by returning the component to Kerbin safely. This doesn't just go for the stage containing the command pod, either. If you can get lower stages landed intact, you can recover those costs as well. This new responsibility to keep whatever parts we can greatly increases the complexity of spacecraft design in terms of the number and placement of parachutes. After a bit of trial and error, I think I've more or less gotten a handle on placement. For small chunks that are good at landing vertically (and staying that way), it's no big deal - just use radial symmetry and put 'em wherever. Larger pieces need all of their parachutes on one side, and evenly distributed from the center of mass - otherwise, when the tail lands first and the 'chutes cut automatically (Why?), the rest of the component will free-fall to the ground and likely be destroyed on impact. The problem I'm having though is figuring out how many parachutes are appropriate to safely land a given mass. A couple times, I've put on too few and some (or all) parts ended up destroyed when they touched down too fast. So what I usually wind up doing now is putting on too many parachutes, which causes the final descent to be unnecessarily and inexorably slow. So, given the following known values:   * Total Mass of components to be safely returned to Kerbin   * Impact Tolerance of weakest component   * Mass and Drag of each parachute model Are there any easy ways to calculate how many parachutes will be appropriate to safely return the components to Kerbin without slowing them down much more than is absolutely necessary? I'm sure there's a certain amount of complexity to the "right way" of doing it (and I'd definitely be interested in seeing that), but I'm really looking for something that's more easily done by those of us who _aren't_ rocket scientists outside of KSP. A general rule along the lines of "You need _x_ drag per unit of mass to reduce the impact speed by 1 m/s" or "Use _x_ drag per unit of mass to reduce the impact speed to _y_ m/s and _z_ drag per unit of mass per 1 m/s after" would be preferable, if the problem can be indeed simplified that far. I'm also aware there are some online tools and possibly some mods for this sort of thing. While those would also be interesting to know about, the preferred solution should be a calculation that someone with a non-specialized U.S. high school education (or less) could do in their head (or in one or two calculation steps on a _basic_ calculator), given the above known variables, while playing the stock KSP game.


How to build a Quarry of a size larger than 64x64 in Feed the Beast?

Please explain with screenshots how to do this and how an in which order and where I have to place and activate the quarry and the landmarks. I have read that this is possible, but I fail at replicating this.


Can I quick detonate C4 while another weapon is equipped?

When I've placed C4 and have my primary (or other) weapon equipped, is there a way to detonate the C4 without re-equipping the C4 again? In a previous Battlefield, or maybe it was CoD, you could double-tap reload to do this.


How do I kill the enderdragon?

I've been battling away at this thing for a while, I always end up dead. I'm assuming you need to use some kind of trick or tactic to beat it, any idea what I should be doing?


Longbow of Extra Shots (+1) Only Uses One Bolt

So, I just found a Heavy Crossbow of Extra Shots [...] (+1). When I fire it, I notice that it only uses one bolt; judging by the status messages, it seems like enemies are only being hit once. What's up with that? When I press shift-C, the character screen assures me that I get "Shots: 2/turn." I'm playing as a Half-Troll Warrior; I heard that bows of extra shots are the only way to get more than one shot off at a time, but I don't seem to be getting that. I'm not sure if it's important, but my strength is 18/160 and my dexterity is 15.


What do the red x's on the physical map represent?

Folks who buy a physical copy get a physical map to go with it: ![Skyrim map](http://i.stack.imgur.com/YD87e.jpg) What do these x's mark? Standing stones? Shrines?


> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What books increase skills? There is a lot of books, I'm only interested in them for skills. How to know what books will give you any skill?


So I've been playing the "Why can't I click the Save BILLIONS option?" greyed- out paragon score dance with Dr. Michel and I finally have my paragon score above the first dash on the squad screen. Since I was in the citadel anyway to enable access for the students and instructors of Grissom Academy (I just finished rescuing them) I thought I'd pop into the med bay and see if she wants to join my band of intergalactic misfits now ... and she's nowhere to be found!?! Ashley's a spectre now and out of the med bay, so I can understand Michel not needing to stand in the lobby caring for the visitors Ash is getting but where did she go?? Did she finally make up her mind to come with me, give 2 weeks notice and decide to use up her banked vacation time or what?? I'm doctorless and now wondering if I've waited too long club her over the head and drag her back to the ship. Did I miss my chance to have a ship's doctor? If not, who is going to step up? If so, what's the ultimate consequence of it? > It's clear that Mordin can't help out since he died ...


Prevent kids from "accidentally" making purchases in Steam

Kids play with the gaming computer that has a Steam acct always logged in. I'm worried about them "accidentally" purchasing something in the store, is there way to require a password to complete a purchase in Steam?


Is it worth upgrading my equipment for warzones?

When entering a Warzone PvP arena in Star Wars: The Old Republic, players receive a buff that reportedly increases your statistics for weapons, armor and base attributes to what they would be at Level 49. With this in mind, is there any benefit to acquiring better equipment for use in Warzones? If I were to upgrade my weapons, would it make any difference at all?


How can I beat the endless quarry without resorting to advanced barricading

In Orcs Must Die 2, using the sorceress and any combination of weapons, traps and trinkets available to her, what is a valid strategy for surviving 40 waves in the endless quarry map **without resorting to advanced barricading "strategies"?** By advanced barricading I mean the use of barricades to forcefully redirect monsters to another rift/exit rather than the exit they originally were heading for. This redirection is a result of bugs in the code and I consider it to be an exploit.


When did Udina become Councilor?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Why is Anderson not a councilor? At the end of Mass Effect (1), I declined to voice an opinion regarding my preference for Human representation on the Council. At the start of ME2, I was forced to choose. I picked Anderson. However, at the start of ME3, Udina has the job and there's no immediate explanation for it. Also, Anderson seems to be just as deeply involved with the military as if he'd never left his original position. Is this ever explained in the Trilogy? Is there an explanation for it outside of the games?


Whats the best way of defending in the post?

While the offensive post game has been updated in 2k12, the defense still remains the same with the standard clutch, steal, and block key strokes. What is the best way to defend down in the post? Just use the standard clutch defense and try to block if possible (hoping that you weren't pump faked) or should I avoid jumping and going for the block completely and focus on the steal? Also, whats the best way to defend the turnaround fadeaway jumper in the post? Should I call for a double team?


Easter Eggs/Hints in “Jewels of the Oracle”

In _Jewels of the Oracle_ (the first one), there is a file on the CD named `JEWLHINT.MVB`. I cannot figure out what it is used for because there do not seem to be a hint function for the game. There is a part in the file that mentions has the words `MVBMP2` and `Viewer` in close proximity, but if that was a thing, it is long gone now and only useless sites mentioning a DLL can be found anymore. Further, in the file there is also a list of room names and one of them mentions both `Hall of Order and Succession` and **`Hall of Order and Succession: "Easter Egg"`**. I can’t find anything special about that room (with the sliding number-puzzle). Does anybody know what the file is for or how to use it. Does anybody know what the easter egg is?


How can I choose my squadmates in Mass Effect 3?

In Mass Effect 3 I have trouble choosing my squadmates, as the choice seems to be made for me. Twice now Shepherd has told a squadmate to go and do something which means they leave my squad. When encountering Liara, James gets ordered away and when encountering Garrus, Liara gets sent away. Is there a way to choose who gets sent away?


How should I use Janna's ultimate?

Janna's Monsoon is not that big of a heal, and if used poorly it can be a bad thing. How should it be used in team fights?


Why won't my trade port accept deliveries?

I can import or export. But my refineries and oil wells simply won't deliver to the trade port, only trade depots.


How do I make more skilled workers?

My industries are complaining about not enough skilled workers but my grade schools, high schools and community colleges aren't maxed out on students?


Can objects unboxed in crates be traded or crafted?

If I found a crate in Team Fortress 2 and open it with a key, can I trade or craft the item stored inside?


Are there any visual changes to Kerrigan when / as she levels up?

As you advance in level does Kerrigan's appearance change in any way?


Xbox 360 - hardware decisions?

I'm looking into buying a complete Xbox 360 setup within the next month or two, including speakers, decent display, etc. I would like to use some kind of LCD monitor instead of one of the crappy big fuzzy CRT TVs I already have. I'm wondering what I should use for the sound and display, though. 1080p LCD monitor, or lesser display resolution? HDMI vs. component? Analog or digital audio? I also find very little information online about what kind of outputs the Xbox 360 is capable of out-of-box, which is troublesome. I've tentatively chosen a few items, but I really don't know if the setup will work properly or if there's a better set of hardware for the task. For the display, I picked out the ASUS VH242H. It uses HDMI, carrying both video and audio through the cable, and has speakers attached (or built in?) to the back of the display. I am concerned the audio quality will be poor, but I'm not sure if the Xbox supports HDMI video + some other audio output at the same time. I also have concerns about price, and most digital speakers I could find were very expensive and designed for much more elaborate setups. Anyone know what outputs the Xbox has, and which audio/video outputs would be best to use? And what should I be looking for as far as speakers go? I seem to only find big expensive digital ones designed for home media centers or tiny analog ones for office workstations. I also elected to add a spare wireless controller. I wonder though, how long do the batteries last? Do controllers lose the signal at all? Would it be better to buy a couple wired controllers instead? Thanks for your help in advance!


What are the most efficient ways of downing the mighty Onos?

As the Frontiersman, it's a moderately terrifying experience to hear the roar of a Kharaa Onos rumbling down the halls towards your base (and your face). Many times, in that situation, my team has resorted to firing wildly at the thing, but to no avail. I've seen the Onos spawns charge into our house, make a mess of things, retreat a ways away, and then come storming back again and again. **What's are the best ways to stop these things in their tracks?** Do they have a softer side in which to flank? Is using mines effective? Is there a way to make them less lethal? Help!


What can I do with these coins I'm collecting?

I have something on the order of 50,000 coins at this point, and there's no clear use for them. What are they for?


How to use pre order bonus items?

I have an Amazon preorder bonus code for Assassins Creed 3. I followed the steps to get the bonus items -               From the main menu of your game, go to the Extras section,      select 'Exclusive Content', and then input your unique code.        Well, I did go through all of the steps okay and entered the code, it was accepted too, but I don't see any difference or where to wear the Aquila's uniform or get the boarding axe.. I thought I might have made a mistake and tried to enter the code again, but it just says the code has already been used up. Is there something else I need to do in order to get the mentioned items?


What's the most efficient way to get (rid of) experience?

So, there I was, farming xp from my skeleton farm, getting myself set up with a set of enchanted tools, weapons, and armor, preparing for an excursion into the Nether. After ending up with a second helmet with Aqua Affinity and a bow with Flames (so useful in the Nether), faced with the prospect of punching another couple of hundred skeletons, I became weary. I still had two bows left to enchant! But I couldn't face it. I figured, _what's the harm? I'll just give myself a little boost out of this tedious rut._ So I fired up console commands, not entirely sure what they did. I figured why not mess around with it? There's even a help page, this can't be so difficult. So I found the `xp` command:               xp <amount> [playername]     xp <amount>L [playername]      Hmm. Let's try this:               xp 10 mikeTheLiar      Oh. Well that only bumped me up about half a level. How about this?               xp 5000 mikeTheLiar      Sweet! 120 some odd experience levels! Let's get enchanting! Now fully equipped, I had a good deal of illicit xp that just didn't feel right keeping. How can I get rid of it?               xp -5000 mikeTheLiar      Hmm. "Can't give negative experience." Wait, wasn't there another command? I wonder what that does?               xp 5000L mikeTheLiar      ### NOOOOOOO! I didn't want this. No, not like this, _I didn't want to win like this!_ Anyway, so now I have several thousands levels of unwanted, ill-gotten, _dirty_ experience, and on top of that, it's completely broken the game for me. I just didn't want to have to spend another 20 minutes farming, not render my farm _obsolete_ (after all, I spent a good deal of time and effort building the thing). How can I get rid of the evidence, without turning all of my materials into tools/weapons/armor, enchanting them all, and then throwing the result into a lava pit? Is there a command to get rid of it? Is there a tool like MCEdit that will get the job done? The only thing I can think of is killing myself, but I'm deep in the bowels of Hell right now, and I'd rather not have to lose all of my sweet, newly enchanted equipment. I could just wait until I get home, but then I'm losing all of the xp that I'm honestly earning killing Blazes and Ghasts right now.


Pokemon transferring

If you transfer your Pokemon from one game to another, like let's say from Soul Silver to Black 2, will the Pokemon that were transferred be yours in the Black 2 game or the other games Pokemon? I'm asking this because I have a different name in my Soul Silver game than in my Black 2 game.


Proving grounds endless mode (DPS)

I recently started playing WoW again and I was pretty sad when I saw that there are guilds that boost casuals who don't deserve it through Challenge modes so I asked a old raiding friend of mine if there was anything you could do to represent your PvE skill (all my titles and apparently also the CM gear is worthless now) and he told me that there is an achievement for Killing 30 waves in the Proving grounds which is a solo scenario. So I started with this stuff and now I unlocked the Endless mode. However I didn't really have time to test it out and my friend also told me it took him around 6 trys to finish it (a pretty long time if you take 1 min for every wave. He's a tank btw). Since I didn't really have time to test the endless mode I wanted to know a few things:   * Are the trash spawns fix or are there just random adds spawning for 30 waves?   * Are there any new adds that didn't appear in Bronze/Silver/Gold?   * How hard is it compared to gold?   * Is there anything else I get from it besides the achievements?   * Can I use Raid Pots in there?


(How) can I create or join a custom chat channel?

I'm fond of custom chat channels. I use them a lot in online games where people are often online, but not always playing together. As with most games, it _appears_ that, the `/join` command works in D III, except for the fact that any of the channel names I try throw an error that the channel "doesn't exist." (I tested with some established names that I expected someone to have created. I also tried some alternate syntax like `/join <channelname>` with little success. The help displayed from the `/?` command provides the various channel join and quit commands, but none for creation. In other Blizzard games, trying to join a nonexistent channel created it automatically, but that doesn't seem to be the case here. How do I get into a chat?


Are any conversation achievements missable?

There are several conversation achievements (listen to every Blacksmith, Jeweler, Cain, Leah, Tyrael, Adria, town merchants, followers, etc.). Is it possible to miss any of these by not talking to them at a specific time? If so, which, and when?


British SAS Emotes: Are we rushing in, or are we going sneaky-____ like?

Simple question: when the British SAS emote in Counter-Stike : Global Offensive, what do they say? "Are we rushing in, or are we going sneaky- ___ _ like?" Is it sneaky-deaky, sneaky-beaky, or sneaky-peaky? I've found multiple unreliable sources that claim to know the answer, but I am skeptical, especially since the sources do not agree with each other. The SAS wiki, editable by the community, is not a reliable source in my mind (http://counterstrike.wikia.com/wiki/SAS), and neither is Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sneaky-beaky). What do you guys think?


How should I record high-quality video game footage?

How should I record **high-quality** video game footage off consoles? I am interested in PC and mobile platform recording too. And Secondarily, how can I edit the footage professionally for YouTube trailers and gameplay videos? P.S. for amateur level recording, please see How can I record demos of my gameplay?. # Why: This is primarily for professional trailers and footage from our indie game studio (i.e., http://youtube.com/xonagames), but also for posting YouTube videos of personal gameplay accomplishments (i.e., http://youtube.com/matthewdoucette). # Current setup:   * Blackmagic Intensity Pro capture card   * Dell Precision T3400 workstation   * four 7,200 RPM hard drive RAID-0 array      * simulates a single 28,800 RPM hard drive     * Blackmagic recommends a 10..15 hard drive RAID-0 array, with a minimum requirement of a four hard drives   * Recording in 720p JPEG compression (5:1 file size compression compared to raw) <-- this is as high as I can go in compression and I need at least 720p resolution to maintain professional quality.   * Windows Vista (Windows 7 soon)   * edit raw output capture files in VirtualDub   * final edit in Windows Movie Maker (I know...) This is a system we purchased and setup for professionally recording footage of our games. It needs improvement. I also use it to record personal video game play and would like to do this more. The inconvenience of it all is what stops me. # Example output of current setup: Here's an example trailer of our own video game, produced with this system: If you have a good eye, or even not, you can see the swap fields problem on all the game play footage. I know the solution, but it requires too much meddling with VirtualDub to "fix" the huge raw output files from the Intensity Pro. In the trailer above, I simply forgot to do this and ran out of time to fix it. This trailer took about a day's work from start to end. Too much time for indie developers without time. But, there's pros too. Here's example quality achieved by this setup, courtesy of Forza 3: Amazing quality. Please note, which the very informed of you will already realize, that the above Forza 3 footage is from Forza 3's replay mode, which actually plays at 30 fps, not 60 fps, and it _blurs_ the screen with motion blur effects. This is why it translates to the 30 fps (I think) of YouTube better than 60 fps gameplay with every second frame cut out. I want software that does this for me from my 60 fps footage, using every two frames (or more) together to produce a lower frame rate with proper motion blur. # Problems with current setup: Even with a four hard drive RAID-0 array, it still skips frames. A single skipped frame is not so bad, but when they add up it takes the video out of synch from the audio which is not skipped. Imagine separate video and audio buffers each being filled independently, but not equally whenever there is not information to fill it, which is what happens when the hard drive is too slow for a moment and skips recording the frame. You can see this effect at the end of this video, slightly, when you watch and listen to the "ting" of breaking the gates (Geometry Wars 2)... ...and this is only after 3 minutes. Imagine how far the audio/video synch would be after an hour. (The reason the video is ahead of the audio, and not vice-versa, is perhaps at first unintuitive depending how you think about it. I'll clear up the confusion: The video buffer is not filled as "high" as the audio buffer due to all the skipped video frames. Now imagine the final video frame, where there is extra audio to spare topping off the more filled audio buffer. Necessarily, the video is matched with audio from the "past". So when the player breaks a gate in Geometry Wars 2, you see the gate breaking and the audio of the gate breaking has yet to come. So upon replay the video happens first.) Inconvenience #1: Because of the above skip frame problem, I have to take video in small chunks. A level at a time. I'd rather record for hours and forget I'm even recording, when playing games. Inconvenience #2: Nothing on the computer can be loaded or in focus while the video is being recorded, which is Blackmagic's way of making sure they have full power of the computer to not skip frames. Not a flaw, but just inconvenient to have the PC unusable. Swapped fields (think every two scan lines are swapped), which require editing in VirtualDub for importing into Windows Movie Maker. What I would like to do is record for hours, preferably at 720p or 1080p at 60 fps or 30 fps blurred from 60 fps input. # Bonus points You'll get bonus points (not really) if you can help with any of the following: Answer the same question for recording off of PC's (with an HDMI output in my card, I think I can use the same solution as a console) and mobile platforms. Suggest _anything_ that helps me have a better video recording setup. Including operating system (even though I'll be unlikely to change), hardware (HD PVRs maybe?), and software. Including anything cost-effective. We certainly do not have an unlimited budget, but have a need for professional video capturing. Preservation of the 60 frames per second input, in the lower (30?) frames per second output, while keeping in mind whatever YouTube does for processing as well. For example, if the final YouTube video is only 30 fps, it's smoother to _not_ drop every second frame but instead incorporate all the frames into a more blurry, but more information packed, 30 fps. This is why videos captured on 30 fps handheld cameras from our 60 fps games look smooth, as they do this maintaining of all frames' information inherently. Here's an example of my 30 fps camera recording my 60fps game, where you can feel the smoothness compared to other videos of the same game... ...you can see in the video above, especially when pausing it, that each frame contains more than one frame (of the original 60 fps frames) of information. THis video may only be 20 fps, as I can tell from the larger bosses that there are three distinct explosion rings when I know the game (at least at the time of the recording) only had one. All of this makes for a much smoother viewing which also more accurately portrays what you would see in real life. Lot of stuff here. Lots of thoughts and rambling. Edit this question for clarity if you will. Any and all help is appreciated. (Note: I have posted links not for spam, but to be informative. Remove if need be, as well as this message.)


Does buying a Police Car reduce the chances of getting into a police pursuit?

In Midnight Club: Los Angeles for the PS3, I bought a police car. But I was wondering if buying one would reduce the risk of a police pursuit?


In Postal III, how can I pour gasoline on objects farther away than my own toes?

I just bought Postal III and played through most of the introduction level. At one point, the Postal Dude has to douse three zombies with gasoline and set them on fire. I took me a long time to get all three zombies because the gas just seems to dribble out of the can and onto the ground around the Postal Dude's feet. How can I increase the range of the gasoline flow? I'm setting _myself_ on fire more often than enemies.


Why I can't vote for myself in Regiment Election?

Today is 15th, when we cast our votes to `Party President` and `Regiment Captain` of `Military Unit`. I've Participated as a candidate for my MU (`Marcos, 7th Regiment`). I know that I can vote for myself in all other elections, but I can't see vote button there in regiment election screen with my name. There're no other candidates, so can't see vote button for anyone.   So is it due to no other candidates available or due to the fact that I can't vote for myself?


How do I get the guards to stop attacking me, and get them to arrest me?

I broke out of jail, and my bounty is high. I'd like to pay it off. How do I get them to stop attacking me so I can pay them.


Morph multiple gateways into warp gates simultaneously

I've seen a number of higher-level players select a number of gateways and morph them all simultaneously into warp gates. How do you do that? If I press the "G" button, it just starts one of them warping. Can they be set to all morph simultaneously, or are my eyes just playing tricks on me?


How do I ensure that the Ebony Blades I have are powered-up if I used console commands to procure them?

Background info on why I am asking this: I used console commands to give myself the Ebony Blade, and murdered multiple clones of my spouse (through the `player.placeatme` console command) to power up (increase the _Absorb Health_ effect of) the Ebony Blade. I wasn't sure that the Ebony Blade was being powered-up so I checked out UESP's article about it which stated that " _For every two such NPCs that are killed with the blade, Mephala will speak to you_ ". Mephala never spoke to me while I did the killing, so I finished the Ebony Blade's related quest (The Whispering Door) without using console commands and got the Ebony Blade the normal way. I then again proceeded to murder multiple clones of my spouse and this time, Mephala spoke to me every two kills. After I fully powered-up the blade (verified through the console command, `sqv da08ebonybladetracking` as suggested by the UESP article on the Ebony Blade), I realized that I still have my console command-procured Ebony Blade. So now, I have two Ebony Blades. Since the game doesn't state how much 'Absorb Health' effect the Ebony Blades have, I am unsure if both weapons are powered-up. I also would like to know if further Ebony Blades I add through console commands will be powered up as I would like my follower(s) to use the Ebony Blade too. Note: I have the Unofficial Skyrim Patch (USKP) installed which fixes bugs related to the Ebony Blade. USKP changelog here (search for 'Ebony Blade' to find its related fixes) My questions:   * Are both Ebony Blades powered up?   * If I add another Ebony Blade through console commands, will that Ebony Blade also be powered up? If not, how do I power it up? Do I have to kill people again per console command-added Ebony Blade?    * If I give a console command-procured Ebony Blade to a follower, will that Ebony Blade also be powered-up?