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Challenge
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December 5, 2005
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Matt Demers - 03:02 EST
I KNOW IT'S BEEN quieter than usual on the Q&A front in the past
little while, and for that I apologize. I promise you all that I haven't killed my partner-in-crime, Andrew,
and no, I haven't locked him in a dungeon, tied him to a pole, or anything of the sort. I promise you that
you'll hear from him sometime soon!
Me? Shouldn't I be studying for my exam which is TODAY (in fact, tonight at 7:00 pm EST)? Well, of
course I should be. Writing this is my break-time from studying, so in a way, you're getting a sort of LIVE
cross-sectional look into my academic life, except that it's not really live, and right now, it feels more like
"academic death" would be a more suitable term. Details, details, I know.
So, you're all going to be thinking of me tonight, I trust? You'd better be. Either way, though, I'm sure that
I'll be in a smashing mood for Tuesday's column, for no matter how tomorrow goes, I will never have to rest
my eyes on a PDE again, ever! Hopefully, that is.
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Matt:
Here is my dilemma. I have been playing games for almost 20 years, since I
was about 5. During this time I have developed a taste in all genres,
though principally RPGs. However, after graduating college and entering law
school I have seen my time devoted to RPGs dwindle. In fact, the last true
RPG I finished was Final Fantasy X (well Kingdon Hearts if you count that).
RPGs aren't the only genre that this phenomenon effects. I still haven't
finished MGS 3 yet! In fact, the only time I found myself making for games
were for quick 30 minute tune out sessions in racing or sports games.
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Matt
Yeah, it's tough. You get older, you get busier, and the time goes by faster.
Gone are the days that you could get home off the big yellow school bus, throw your
booksack and coat on the floor, and turn on your SNES for a good six-hour gaming session,
mom 'n' dad yelling at you all the while. I remember recording Final Fantasy VI music
onto cassette tapes with my sister Diane years and years ago, and on one of the tracks,
you can hear my mom's shrill voice in the background: "TURN IT DOWN!!"
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As an addition to my time struggles I have recently become engaged to a
woman who, bless her heart, doesn't enjoy games. She will tolerate me
playing a GBA for a bit, but playing anything on the tv drives her nuts!
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Matt
Okay, now that can be tough. I know from experience that being partnered is
a giant drain on potential game-time, and I HOPE that that's a good thing, for the
most part; however, you should still be able to do the things you like! If RPGs
are one of your favourite pastimes, you should be able to enjoy them from time to time,
for optimal happiness, just as your fiancée should be able to partake in her favourite
hobbies as well. I don't claim to be a relationship therapist or anything, but I don't
think that you should have to give up the things you like to do to have a healthy relationship
(unless of course, "things you like to do" include murdering baby seals, or other
unmentionably horrible acts. Then, yes, you should give them up.)
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Also, I am graduating law school soon and will be entering into a certain
um, 'governmental service' which will take up a significant amount of time
(60 - 70 hrs per week). All is well and good, but I have to say, I am
missing playing games, specifically RPGs. I know I can convince the wife to
be of letting me spend some time with FFXII if and when it ever decides to
come out, but in the mean time there are plenty of RPGs that I would like to
devote my time to, such as DQ8, Grandai 3, and the new Wild Arms (4 not Code
F, though I would play it if I was back in college). I realize that I
probably will never get the time to play these with work and a family
quickly approaching. So my question is thus, can you ever imagine a time
when your RP gaming days will come either to an end, or at the least reduce
your gaming time to one adventure that lasts nearly a whole year to
complete? And if not, how do you plan on making such time? Oh how I yearn
for the days when I could game freely....
-Ben
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Matt
Not at all. I'm just way too attached, Ben! I can guarantee you that as long
as this genre is around, I'll be an avid gamer. Sure, life will get busier, more stressful,
and I'm sure that I'll have less free time. The way I see it though, everyone has their
favourite distractions in life: Some people golf (or try to), some plant herb gardens,
some take up lawn bowling, and some collect collectibles. Every "adult" I know has something they
do for pleasure, and I figure that role-playing-gaming will be mine, one day.
Also, I'm sort of leaning towards teaching/professoring as a "life path"... at least, one day.
What do you think summer vacations or sabbaticals are for?
I say: Give yourself some "you-time", three or four nights a week, to just take a block of an hour
or two to sit down with the games you want to play, almost as if you were making time to watch a
favourite TV show or something, scheduling around the rest of your life. Hopefully, this way,
you'll find the time you're looking for; I just hope your fiancée understands.
Good luck with your situation, in any event!
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Sexy Women, their voices, and heroes without them (neither)
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Hi Matt,
I have a few DQ8 comments and questions for you. First off, the biggest and best surprise in the game so far is
Jessica's voice. When I first saw her picture I imediatly assumed her voice would be high pitched, and annoying.
Instead she sounds like a woman, huzzah. Do you know what I mean though, I was expecting her to be the typical
game/anime ditzy airhead snob chick, and was instead pleasantly surprised with the games overall excellent voice
casting... with the following exception.
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Matt
I agree totally. I was taken aback by Jessica's voice acting, which is nothing short of superb. It's so
"hearty", like almost every other voice in the game; it's filled to the brim with believable character, without
so much as a detectable glimmer of overacting. Also yes, given her "va-va-voom" bosom, I agree that they
could have done things much differently; I'm quite glad they didn't!
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Although the silent hero bit doesn't detract from this being an awesome game, I still feel like it could've been
better if they just gave me a voice. The main character is going to be the only one I won't be able to identify
with, or understand what his story is. Why am I on this "Dragon Quest", what's my motivation? To help my king?
Why am I so loyal to him? Am I secretly in love with Princess Medea? Jessica? Random babe walking about Farebury?
When did I become the boomerang wielding super soldier? It's these questions and more that could have been
answered if the hero was a character and not just there.
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Matt
Mm, yes. I'm not entirely sure what the hero's role is yet, but we'll see how well he gets developed by the
end of the game. Dragon Quest heroes have never really been developed in the past to any great extent, but maybe
we'll find out what his purpose is by the end. I have to admit... I'm taken aback by the story in this game so far;
in comparison to Dragon Warrior VII, the plot is really progressing in a most interesting manner. While there
are several smaller stories involved, they're all connected in a way that makes sense. Some of these stories are
funny and anecdotal, and SOME of them are, incredibly, downright tear-jerking. Unlike this game's prequel, though,
these stories all make sense to the plotline, and the game on the whole seems to flow much more gracefully.
Yes, I know that had nothing to do with the main character, but I like going off on tangents when I speak of this
game. In the end, I can't make a fair judgment yet, but I'll be happy to tell you once I've finished the game!
I'm still not entirely convinced that a voice is needed, but perhaps the addition of one wouldn't hurt either.
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Now with the question, whats the deal with Yangus' steal skill. I have a scythe equipped and I use the skill in
battle, but aside from doing damage no message pops up saying, "Yangus has stolen ______". Ocassionally after
the battle a monster will drop a chest, is that my steal skill in action?
Thanks,
Crono8581
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Matt
What IS with that? Actually, Yangus' steal skill works exactly as you think it should; if you manage to successfully
steal an item, you'll see a little shiny thing pop out of the enemy during the attack, and it will tell you that you
managed to burgle successfully. The success rate on the steal, though, has to be 10% or lower; I've used the skill many
times and I've only been successful a couple of those times. Undoubtedly, they want you to "earn your share" of
rarer-than-usual goods. Keep trying!
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Six! Six! Pick up sticks! Seven! Seven! Go to heaven!
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Hello!
I admittedly only read your column a few times a month, but I have both a opinion and a question. As for my thoughts
on the Final Fantasy VII sequels, well; VII was never my favorite, but I enjoyed some of the characters. If the
sequels/spinoffs give some reasonable (and well constructed) insight into those characters, I do not see a problem
with them. I think they are going to end up stretching the VII part of the franchise too thin, however.
As for my question, I was wondering your thoughts on Final Fantasy VI. As far as I am concerned, if they dropped all
the FFVII sequels and did a fabulous remake of FFVI, I could die a happy woman. FFIV would be wonderful, but not
quite to the extent FFVI would make me wonderfully gleeful. I have replayed VI around once a year since it's release,
and it bothers me a bit that it does not get at least a tiny bit of the recognition that VII gets. Do you have any
opinions on the game? Do you share any of my FFVI-love? ::laughs::
~Anrui
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Matt
Of course! Final Fantasy VI is one of the greatest games of all time, and I think that almost anyone who has
played it will agree with us both on that. The game spins just as epic of a tale as Final Fantasy VII does, and I think
the characters involved within the story are more likable, all in all. I only wish that more FFVII fanpeople would open
their eyes to the games that led up to it; as I've said in the past, I've got many a friend that refuse to play any older
RPG at all for pretty much no reason at all. I usually try to fight with them about it for a few minutes, but then I
remember that they're just stupid. How can you judge a game that you haven't even played?
Anyway, there will be a Final Fantasy VI remake released for the Game Boy Advance within the next year (or two?) sometime,
and I'm sure you know of this. I doubt, however, that it will be any spectacularly huge redesign like the Final Fantasy III
DS one in the works. Why? Well, the GBA can't really do much that the SNES couldn't. I guess we'll have to wait and
see, won't we?
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Hiya, I actually tried to send this email yesterday but your email thingy
was so kind as to reject my email.... so I'm sending it to the qna address
instead, hopefully it gets to you. I didn't change the email except I took a
whole huge thing about Grandia out because I think it's already been talked
about enough... lucky for you too because it was REALLY long and probably
not of any use to anyone. ^_^ Now here's my message.
I just got done reading the last Q&A column and I think I can fill in some
holes for everyone about Dirge of Cerberus.
Here's the list of CONFIRMED characters that were in the original FFVII and
will be in DoC:
- Vincent Valentine (duh)
- Cid Highwind
- Yuffie Kisaragi
- Tifa Lockheart
- Barret Wallace
- Reeve Tuesti
- Cait Sith
I'm also pretty sure Cloud is in it though he hasn't been confirmed, there
is no reason that he would not be in it. In one trailer it shows his
motorcycle, Fenrir, but it does not show the driver. I'm also pretty sure
Lucrecia will be in it as well. So.. yeah only two characters from the main
cast have not been confirmed, them being Cloud Strife and Nanaki (Red XIII)
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Matt
There ya go, all ye Doc-lookers-forward-to. How does one pluralize that term, anyway?
I guess that's why I'm in MATH and not in english. I guess that's why I have an exam
tomorrow that I don't want to worry about!! Auntie Em, I'm frightened...
Also, yes... my mail hasn't been functional in many moons now, which is most
unfortunate. qna@rpgamer.com is where you all
must send until further notice! If you DON'T, you will be punished from above. That
mailer-daemon guy is scary... I SEEN him, as my eight-year-old cousin would say.
Anyway, thank you for the insight... 'twas verily out of sight.
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Some FF name changes...Fire: bbq; Fira: bbq!!1!; Firaga: wtfbbq!!1!
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Sorry if i send more than one, my MS outlook is buggering up at the moment.
For Matt:
(whoo! first time writing!)
I hear ya on the college vacation thing. Looking forward to mine as well. Anyway,
my question..
I played the FFXII demo, I was impressed, I had fun. (still need to play DQ8, it was
at a friend’s house.. I’m thinkin’ Christmas) But the summon you get, which seems to
be some Ifrit-Titan fusion thing, uses an ability called roxxor. wtfbbq?
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Matt
Double-you tee eff barbeque indeed? While rolling on the floor laughing my ass off, laughing
out loud, laughing out loud, laughing out loud, no less. See, Dragon Quest has
converted to rapster-sounding spells: "Swoosh the Sizzle to my Kafrizzle. That's Whack!
Deceleratle, go Crack!" It's only fitting that the Final Fantasy series follow in its
footsteps, since that's how the series was born in the first place. I guess instead of silly
nonsensical rhymes, they've decided to go with popular online pseudovocabulary, for
a reason that currently escapes me.
Of course, there's the outside chance that they're actually going to change it in the end to
something more appropriate; that would be ideal.
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Also, what do you think Square-Enix had in mind when they decided to make this many
FFVII sequel projects? Some, like Advent Children, Before Crisis, and Crisis Core
make sense, since they flesh out the story more. But Dirge of Cerberus just seems
like a way to milk the cash cow, no?
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Matt
Ha! Just that one? The only reason that they've decided to make ANY of this slew of add-ons
is for one singular reason: A GAJILLION FFVII fanpeople cried out like hungry-for-barf baby birds after the announcement
of Final Fantasy X-2 occurred. Frankly, it would be stupid of them not to take notice, wouldn't it?
With the amount of hype that has been generated to this point, Square Enix is guaranteed
to make a mint off of these titles.
I personally have a grander theory that I've alluded to a couple of times in the past,
but I won't say it today. Nahh. I'll save it for another time... I don't like to
spread rumours, after all.
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A million questions! If you have to go pee, do it now, before you start reading this one
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Evening, Matt
Just thought I’d a drop a few cents about the current
topics.
As a question was posed as to what we thought about
it, I’m going to do something I don’t do very often:
Defend the Xbox.
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Matt
*gasp*
You may proceed.
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Now, I know the cool thing to do is badmouth
Microsoft’s clunky, overly large system, and in this
particular role-playing crowd, it’s generally looked
down upon. Its main offerings are aimed at sport fans,
shooter fans, and what’s generally viewed as “casual
gamers,” it’s understandable. But there are a few
must-own titles in its library.
Any RPGamer worth his controller owes it to himself to
have the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games.
Not only for fans of the series, they’re great games
with solid game play, wonderful storytelling, and a
very deep level of customization for your characters.
I also here that Jade Empire is the bee’s
knees, but have yet to play it.
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Matt
Yeah, I've heard that they're really good too. Since I never HAVE been a big Star Wars fan,
it just doesn't instill the desire in me to pick up the game, whether you say it's great
or not, for some reason. Maybe I've been burned by movie-to-games sooo many times before,
the burning feeling inside me screams "DANGER! DANGER!" When the movie that the
game is based on isn't really one I'm passionate about either, it doesn't justify
a purchase, at least to me, much LESS the purchase of an entire console. Besides,
isn't that a PC title as well...? Maybe, though, I'm just a stubborn old coot.
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As for the Xbox 360, I don’t see any reason to buy it
now (I don’t buy anything at launch, period.), but I
have no doubt it will have at least a few quality
titles. A new Knights of the Old Republic is almost a
given, and they’re doing better with third-party
support, with support from Square Enix, and exclusives
from Capcom (My top two favorite developers.), and
Mistwalker.
I’m not saying it’s the number one console of choice,
but I do think people give it too much flack. I know I
myself make many jokes, but it’s not the hell spawn
people make it out to be.
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Matt
No, it's not... I think that Sony is equally evil, to be honest. It's just the
evil that is more desirable to me and most others that frequent this site, due
to its obviously superior RPG-richness. I would have given Microsoft more credit,
though, if they hadn't resorted to releasing shoddy products too, in reference to
the rocky launch. At least, though,
they're willing to clean up their messes instead of passing the buck like
certain other large electronics companies...
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Secondly, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed
King is indeed an awesome game, and is so far
living up to my expectations. I shouldn’t have bought
it, as funds are low from opening my own business, but
I couldn’t resist, and I’m glad I picked it up.
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Matt
Yes... and the more I play, the better it gets, too. I'm utterly shocked
at how great the storyline is; if this keeps up, I'm really going to have to
think about placing this title among the top few games of all time in my
not-so-official ranking system. It is... absolutely wonderful.
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The old school game play and challenge, the expansive
world, humor, and superior audio and visual
presentation all come together beautifully to create
one of the best games I’ve played these fast few
years. However, I don’t think it will be able to
secure my vote for game of the year. That vote is
currently held by Resident Evil 4 (The Gamecube
version, not the shoddy Playstation 2 edition.).
I can’t say anything more about it that hasn’t already
been said, so I’ll leave it at that.
Third! I guess I’m in the minority here, but I
actually enjoyed the demo for Final Fantasy
XII. Shocking, I know. Yes, it bears some
resemblance to online games (From what little I’m
played of the genre, anyway.), but more so, it also
strongly resembles the aforementioned Star Wars
titles, and that’s a definite good thing.
I love the way the action is still on an active-time
system, but is always in motion. It gives the battles
a more fluid… flow. The ability to decide between a
waiting and active mode, as well as the ability to set
how your allies act during a battle makes for some
interesting customization choices. In the end it still
has the mechanics are still as they’ve been, it just
doesn’t look that way.
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Matt
Heh, I don't think you're in the minority there. It seems that to my chagrin, everyone
else really enjoyed the demo. I've heard so many people say that "the battle
system grew on them". Well, poo. The only thing growing for me was my desire to get
to the end of the mission to hear how badly they massacred the victory theme of olde
(which, mind you, was massacred in quite a manner).
The blend of action-time battle and real-time movement left me fumbling with the
controls, the camera, and my patience. I'm sure that the play control will become more
natural over time, but to me things just seemed really awkward and chaotic (rather than
strategic, which Final Fantasy X's battle system certainly was). Also, not being able
to control my own allies without putting forth massive effort is a bit of a turnoff.
Add this to the lack of battle music, and the cheapness of auto-MP-restoration, and I
was fuming by the end of the demo. Sorry, guys, I just was!
Lots of people seem to be really happy with these changes, though, so I guess my
points just go to show you that different people have different tastes. I'm still
going to try the actual game out; you never know, I might end up liking the final
product.
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Besides, it’s from the genius behind Final Fantasy
Tactics and Vagrant Story. It can’t be bad.
I may be the only one, but I’m very much looking
forward to this title.
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Matt
Hmmm... there's something not quite sound about that logical argument, but that's okay.
Anyway, rest assured that you're not the only person squirming with anticipation.
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Lastly, the holiday season gift desires question.
Hmm... I want Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance,
but it’s still brand new, and my crowd doesn’t roll
like that. We buy our games used, baby! I have it on
good authority that I’m getting Kingdom Hearts:
Chain of Memories, and Final Fantasy IV, so
other than that, there’s not much out at the moment
that I can think of. I Guess I'll find out in
twenty-six days or so if I forgot anything.
Too bad someone had to push back the newest Zelda
title...
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Matt
Yeah... silly Nintendo. They like to shoot themselves in the foot, don't they?
Oh well; there's always Mario Kart!
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Well, I guess that’s all at the moment. Have a good
night, and I’m going back to questing for
dragons...
Thanks,
~ J
P.S. Yeah, I think your copy of Star Ocean: Till
the End of Time is screwy. My allies handled
themselves just fine in fights.
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Matt
Have fun! I suspected my copy was defective, but then I remembered one thing: My brother
is a psycho fan of the game and used the same game that I did to play through- allll the
way through- and he didn't find many problems either. Quite obviously, the fates just
want to make my life miserable!
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IN CONCLUSION:
This exam break is turning out to be a little bit longer than I expected it would.
I'd better wrap this up shortly, lest I fail my entire course; it is needless to say
that that would be quite undesirable.
Super SOCK submission sellout time is on, and I'm seeing all sorts of swell
suggestions. I am in your debt! If you've given me some ideas, do not despair if
yours doesn't come up right away. While I can choose several questions to answer
every day, I can only pick one clever piece of trivia!
Now, to take up the answers from last Thursday:
I was a little bit shocked that more of you didn't get #61 correct. The Earthbound
Town's name did NOT rhyme with orzo, you silly geese. It rhymed with a) Spaghetti,
because Algetty was its name. Maybe I should have made that one worth more than just 25
points...
Also, incredibly, e) 50 years passed between the invention of the tin can
and the invention of the can opener. Those silly 19th century people... they weren't
always the brightest folk, now were they? Imagine how blunt their knives must have
become! Anyway, that was from Jbumi, who receives 60 points. Thank you!! All correct
guessers receive 30.
Question #63:
Follow me!--> In Chrono Trigger, what would "La, la, la!" of Ayla's native language
mean if it were translated into english? (25 points)
a) "Big, big, big!"
b) "Black, black, black!"
c) "Sky, sky, sky!"
d) "Dark, dark, dark!"
e) "Fire, fire, fire!"
Question #64:
Ask Bucket!--> In the Nintendo DS Game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, what is the
name of the prosecuting attorney you are up against in the first episode,
“The First Turnabout?” (30 points)
a) Miles Edgeworth
b) Manfred von Karma
c) Jack Thompson
d) Winston Payne
e) Mia Fey
Things to work for (the SOCK item shop!):
200 points: Tilde (infinite number remaining!)
500 points: Guest-co-host Opportunity #1 (5 remaining!)
700 points: The Final Fantasy 1 "Official" Crazed-Chipmunk-Hold-your-Ears Zipfile Soundtrack (5 remaining!)
1000 points: The Mattie's Mom Cookie Recipe Compilation (5 remaining!)
2000 points: Guest-co-host Opportunity #2 (5 remaining!)
That's about all, guys, so thanks once again for reading!! Wish me luck tonight,
and keep the mail coming in! We should talk more, I think about the Final Fantasy XII
demo. Who else is really, really excited about this game? Is anyone feeling
crotchety and angry towards Square Enix besides yours truly? Well, let me know, and you
might be featured in the next episode of Q&A!
***Matt can classify PDEs with grace!
My studying is coming to a close now!! Ohhhh I'm nervous!
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About the Host
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Matt's Top 3 Current Games:
1. Dragon Quest VIII
2. Makai Kingdom
3. Warioware: Twisted!
Matt's Top 3 RPG Desires:
1. Final Fantasy III
2. Mario & Luigi: PiT
3. Wild ARMs: Alter Code F
A PC Game for Christmas?
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Planescape: Torment
Recommended by:
DDX
Cookie o' the Week:
Mattie's Partial Differential Equations squares
The only study food while preparing for an exam with the coincidental same name. Tastay.
-1 1/2 cups of flour
-1 1/2 cups of butter
-1 1/2 cups of sugar
-lots of chocolate frosting
-1 set of Dirichlet conditions
-1 travelling wave front at time t = t0
-1 domain, D
Cream the butter and sugar, and add the flour. Mix until well combined, and spread into the domain D
according to Dirichlet conditions, and place a travelling wave front at time t = t0 anywhere
within D. Bake at 350 degrees; the heat will distribute according to the heat equation uxx = ut
until t = 15 minutes. Remove from oven; the travelling wave front should have maintained its shape and the crust should
be golden brown. Spread chocolate frosting everywhere and eat while studying differential equations.
SOCK standings:
1. Ourobolus
635 pts
2. Jbumi
583 pts
3. DDX
522 pts
4. Flamethrower
444 pts
5. MagRowan
370 pts
6. Bainick
331 pts
7. Arros Raikou
322 pts
8. ~Sean~~
319 pts
9. Jeremy
312 pts
10. Xlash
300 pts
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