4401

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Watch_Dogs

« on: May 28, 2014, 07:26:34 AM »

I've encountered one of the most interesting multiplayer glitches I've ever come across.


In watch dogs, you can invade other peoples worlds, similar to Dark Souls, and you "hack" them, basically you try to hack them while a timer runs and they try to find you. Well, when attempting to do this, I got stuck in another player's game world, including respawning, etc. While the enemy player could kill me, I could respawn inside his world (usually too far away to be visible). This resulting in extreme shenanigans. For example, the enemy player attempted to withdraw money from an ATM, but was rudely interrupted when an 18 wheeler attempted to flatten him and the ATM against a brick wall. However, as hard as I tried, the player could not die. Either by shooting, running over, exploding his vehicles, etc. It was a complete stalemate. He ended up disconnecting.

4402

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Dark Souls

« on: May 28, 2014, 05:03:54 AM »

You jackasses are the reason we don't have dragons today. 

4403

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: European polls

« on: May 28, 2014, 05:02:40 AM »

Quite true.  People are way too paranoid about nuclear power and its dangers these days.  See the hysterical overreaction to the Fukushima incident for a classic example.

At this point governments really give no shits what people think about nuclear power. We've been building them for a while now, half of the people who hate it probably use it when they turn their lights on.

4404

Science & Alternative Science / Re: Solar Roadways

« on: May 28, 2014, 01:19:28 AM »

http://www.steelguru.com/article/details/MjU%3D/Solid_State_Structure.html
I see your point.

Still, the bonds do help keep it together as well as what else they throw in there.  Gorilla glass is not the same as blown glass.

That's a change in the molecule the glass consists of, but not the structure of the glass. Gorilla glass' primary goals are to withstand impacts, not frictional force; this is evident when you note gorilla glass is scratched rather easily. Most phones have some sort of ablative coating on the glass to avoid this.

I had been under the impression that you favored the current road system.  If I'm mistaken then a lot makes more sense.

Well, it's very bumpy so at least it'll be noticable when it wears.

I'd rather have a bumpy ride than a ride so smooth the wheels can't brake.

4405

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Another mass shooting

« on: May 27, 2014, 10:35:38 PM »

So how did he get a gun?
Isn't there a law about giving guns to people with mental issues?

That depends on the mental issue. He also didn't have any significant mental diagnosis.

4406

Science & Alternative Science / Re: Solar Roadways

« on: May 27, 2014, 10:29:12 PM »

I'm sorry, but what does that picture have to do with covalent bonds between atoms?  You do understand what a covalent bond is, don't you?

I'm not interested in teaching you about chemistry, in fact, I'm not even interested in replying to you. You're boring.

Look, you want to educate me, why don't you go and show me why a crystal structure is stronger than a non-crystal structure and why a microcrystal structure doesn't count as a crystal structure because I can't seem to find anything to back up your claims.

Bonds between molecules are stronger when there are more of them, quite simply there a more of them in a crystalline solid than an amorphous one. You keep using graphite as an example, but it isn't a crystal, it has some crystal structures, yes, but it isn't a crystal. The crystalline form of graphite is called diamond and I don't think we'll be making pencils out of it any time soon.

I've known all along what asphalt was and what was in the road.  It wasn't until I got to the heart of the matter on why you think glass is a terrible idea that I began to wonder if our current roads were any better.

We're not talking about current roads, though. I'm explaining that these solar panels are a bad idea, I have not even once stated that asphalt roads are a good one.

This led me to examine why things wore away with friction and grinding.  Unfortunately I couldn't come up with the same conclusion as you.  From what I've read, it's not about the crystal structure but rather the strength of the bonds.  For example:
Talc is a crystal but it's one of the softest crystals in the world.  You can scratch it with your finger nail. 

A materials structure reflects how many bonds exist. You can reference the picture I replied to Markjo with (who apparently either doesn't understand it or doesn't want to).

This lead me to hardness as being the factor that determines if something will wear away another thing.
And it turns out that the binding agent of the roads (asphalt) has a lower hardness compared to glass.

To wear away a road's traction, you'd have to grind up the entire road. To wear away one of these panels, you just have to grind the texture off.

So if tires are going to grind away glass then they'd also grind away the asphalt in the road.  Based on the hardness difference, it would seem to me that a tire would grind away the asphalt faster than glass.  And when the binding agent get's worn away, what's left but the loose rock?  Well that and the sub-layer if there is one.

See above.

4407

Science & Alternative Science / Re: Solar Roadways

« on: May 27, 2014, 08:20:14 PM »

What makes the covalent bonds in glass weaker than the covalent bonds in crystals? 

4408

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Watch_Dogs

« on: May 27, 2014, 08:11:09 PM »

AMD beta driver 14.6 makes the graphics problems significantly worse (as in unplayable texture and lightmapping). Sigh.

4409

Technology & Information / Re: Apple and viruses

« on: May 27, 2014, 07:38:46 PM »

Thork if you think anything will change what an Apple customer thinks about Apple you have not had enough experience with cults. I am so jealous of Apple. I mean, really. If I could trick that many people into throwing money at me... it's like trolling the world.

4410

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Watch_Dogs

« on: May 27, 2014, 07:36:22 PM »

So how exactly is it a good port

I define an overall good port as not being obstructed playing the game control-wise. Poor optimization doesn't make the game impossible to play, I just have to run it on lower settings and the graphics issues subside.

It's not like the game crashes constantly or anything. The graphics peeve me a bit but I don't think vanity qualifies a game as a bad port.

4411

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Watch_Dogs

« on: May 27, 2014, 07:31:54 PM »

How's the performance on it?

I assume you mean graphics wise? Abysmal. This is honestly the only game I've ever played (on my computer) that I can't run on Ultra (and the graphics aren't exactly new-age or anything). I see constant stuttering and I get random video lag spikes. I can't imagine the mess of a game engine this thing runs on with Ubisoft releasing it on 4 different consoles and PC.

I can only hope it gets better over time. I just downloaded the newest beta driver from AMD that they released today claiming better crossfire profiles and a 25% performance increase on Watch Dogs so I'll check in when I can play it again.

4412

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: European polls

« on: May 27, 2014, 07:27:08 PM »

The entire patent system in general needs an overhaul. Watching countless companies get patent trolled is just infuriating. Of course the same people who can make these sorts of changes are the people who make money off of them.

4413

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Watch_Dogs

« on: May 27, 2014, 07:02:41 PM »

The game sucks.  I watched a video on YouTube, it sucks.

No, I will not shut up about this.

This would work if Watch_Dogs was a shitty linear RPG with "artificial difficulty" and includes you defeating every boss by stabbing them with a toothpick.

4414

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Watch_Dogs

« on: May 27, 2014, 06:57:26 PM »

I've played about 4 hours so far. The PC version is excellent, and it isn't a port. PC was the lead development platform.

Not sure if serious.

The game is loaded with radial menus that are pretty obnoxious on PC. It is a good port overall, but it is still a port, you can feel it. I do give props to Ubisoft, though, as the interface is still fairly easy to use on PC after you adjust. There are also a lot of graphics options which are normally overlooked.

The game itself is fun, though some of the mini-games feel like afterthoughts that weren't fully developed, but the multiplayer is interesting and challenging. It even gives you multiplayer pop-ups from time to time when it notices you aren't doing anything particularly important.

 The biggest gripe I have about the game is driving, in which a single press of the forward button results in your character slamming the petal down. Driving is well done other than that, since I can feel they  put more effort into realistic car physics rather than arcade racing cars.

4415

Science & Alternative Science / Re: Solar Roadways

« on: May 27, 2014, 06:36:36 PM »

Try again.

Amorphous graphite is made of microcrystals, which don't have the same properties as a full crystal structure. For example, diamond is a crystal, but graphite in pencil lead is not. You make this too easy yet again.

You're the one who seems comfortable driving on a gravel asphalt mixture and not worrying about wear.

Let me guess, you just learned during your google adventures that asphalt isn't what a road is actually made of. Should I golf clap that you can try pedantics now? Up until this point you seemed rather okay with my use of asphalt as a colloquial and interchangeable term.

4416

Science & Alternative Science / Re: Solar Roadways

« on: May 27, 2014, 02:47:41 PM »

I have not seen anything about amorphous solids having very weak bonds between atoms.  What I have seen is that the bond type is what determines strength.  A covalent bonds, for example, are quite strong.
Also saying that a crystalline solid is stronger can be disproven simply by taking a pencil to paper.

The graphite in pencils is actually called amorphous graphite. Wow. You make this too easy.

Amorphous graphite is generally used in the manufacture of lead for pencils

Are you suggestion that the road you drive on are pure asphalt?

Are you going to play pedantics now? I hope you're used to playing with yourself then, because I can assure you the only one playing pedantics will be you.

4417

Science & Alternative Science / Re: Solar Roadways

« on: May 27, 2014, 04:03:07 AM »

Right.  Counting atoms now?

Well in the case of styrofoam versus rock, probably. Rubber versus glass? I could count a few moles.

You know, I've been reading up on amorphous solids and for the life of me I can't seem to find anything that suggests that they deform easier or are more prone to frictional damage.  Do you have evidence to support your claim?

The bonds between atoms in an amorphous solid are very weak (being the exact opposite of a crystal).

If you drive on an asphalt road enough, it'll erode into gravel.  What's the coefficient of gravel again?

Hahah, what? Did you read this after you wrote it?

4418

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Atheism vs. religion

« on: May 26, 2014, 09:47:31 PM »

That restriction does not apply in my revised versions of all the religious texts.

You're just trolling, then; good to know.

4419

Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Atheism vs. religion

« on: May 26, 2014, 09:42:59 PM »

Religion is just a belief system. Science and atheism take huge leaps of faith (where did the big bang come from? For example). Each religion requires you to make an educated guess at the end of the road, science and atheism fit into this and are therefore religions. This doesn't make any of them right or wrong, but it does make them all possibly correct. My belief system is based around this principal: they are all possible, so I believe in all of them. That way, at the end of the day, I'm saved regardless.

As I said before, most religions include a mutual exclusivity principle. For example, if you are a Muslim, you must believe that Allah is the only true God. This would directly impede your belief in Christianity because Christians believe Jesus to be God. You can't believe all of them simultaneously, their religious texts and commandments have ensured that you must pick one.

4420

Arts & Entertainment / Re: Watch_Dogs

« on: May 26, 2014, 07:35:37 PM »

Performance update

Catalyst 14.6 will also provide performance boost to Watch Dogs, Thief and Murdered Soul Suspect (which is not yet released). You should expect 25-28% better performance in Watch Dogs with the new drivers. Catalyst 14.6 also has new CrossFire profiles specificly for WD. AMD claims it will provide up to 99% scaling to Watch Dogs.

Considering that I use Crossfire, this gets big thumbs up from me for AMD. They normally aren't this well prepared when it comes to drivers.