Grazza

Are you going to stick to Minstrel, Ike? It doesn't seem to have harmed RedShell in the luck stakes! I'd suggest a Gladiator over a Warrior for your 2nd character, as they have higher Deftness and Attack, but hey, what do I know? I'm not exactly having much luck with the drops.

Haha! Well done, RedShell. I'm not too jealous though, as I always put defence before offence, so I mainly want the Grotto boss drops (which are all armour etc). I'd be happy just to get the bloomin' weapons from Rank 10 chests, let alone the ultimate versions of them! (Walks away grumbling...) You can use a Reset Stone (bought from the Mini Medal tent), but I doubt it gives you back all the materials, just the weapon/armour. I wouldn't do it personally (unless I had loads of the Legacy boss Orbs) as, let's say you were lucky enough to get four of any specific item, that'd still be pretty awesome. I'd alchemise them all into the best "guaranteed" version, but would be happy with that. I think. Better quality Grottoes, ie. more chances of Metal King Slimes and Platinum King Jewels, as well as Rank 9 and 10 chests so, like me, you can get frustrated when they give you a Mini Medal! My advice to you is wait until you find a Grotto that is a really good for Metal King Slimes. You might think Platinum King Jewels would be better, but although I've got a few Grottoes with them in, they're all down on the 13th floor and accompanied by very tough enemies (the droids). Ideally, find a water Grotto (mine is "Silver Waterway level 65" or something like that). They're on the 5th-8th floors, and the 7th floor has a really good corridor that I can run up and down, avoiding the non-MKS enemies. Then you can revocate safe in the knowledge it won't be too difficult to get to level 99 again. Another tip is to grind everyone starting from level 1, then the EXP distribution will be more equal. Also, you might like to have a "Grotto Team" in case you tire of grinding. Three Gladiators and a Sage works well, whereas my "true" team is Paladin, Gladiator, Gladiator/Sage, Priest.

I can't make comments on the News page, but I just want to say: good interview with Iain Lee. It's funny to think he was the host of The 11 'o' Clock Show, which launched Sacha Baron Cohen, Ricky Gervais and MacKenzie Crook - must be slightly gutting that he's not as famous as them, but he seems really down to Earth and very pleasant to meet. What's the point of fame if it changes you into perhaps not such a nice person? Also, he didn't mention his video games show was called Thumb Bandits.

Seeing that video, anyone else think it might be a big flaw of the system having to hold it a certain distance?

I'm very impressed/jealous of your team, RedShell. Interesting that you stuck with Minstrel. Out of interest, why haven't you alchemised all your Metal Slime equipment into Metal King? The rarest ingredients it takes are Orichalcum and Slime Crowns, and I've got loads of that, personally, but not the Metal Slime equipment! Also, how many times have you Revocated in your main class? I do wonder if I'm having lower than average luck with this game, because all I keep getting are Mini Medals, even when I know I've got a Rank 9 chest. That reminds me, if you save up 99 Mini Medals, spend them, as you can't carry any more and it will waste them. Does anyone feel Level-5 were too mean with the 2% boss drops? I mean, 2%! Even with average luck, you'd have to fight each one 50 times. Also, getting the specific Metal Slime item you want is a 1% chance. Oh well, I've Revocated 4 times now. Onwards and upwards.

OK, I think I may have misunderstood what you were asking. You said: The answer is "Yes, I would accept that I was not the first person". Who said anything about being the first person? Ghosts have been seen for centuries.

No, no. I don't expect ghosts to be taught as real, nor do I expect people to believe in them. Education should be about what is scientifically proven. My point is people who have seen them don't have to believe they're deluded just because science hasn't been able to prove it yet. It is incredibly naive to think there are no phenomena we don't yet know about or understand. Maybe, just maybe, some people were closer to the truth than the sceptics, but you'd rather bury your head in the sand.

Nothing too traumatic, just a gradual, creeping realisation and disappointment. Which is a bugger when you're 20.

Well wait a minute, a "new phenomenon" is just as interesting as a "ghost" and can't be explained by existing phenomena. I never said what ghosts actually are, remember.

If possible, yes, but I am rational enough to look for all the explanations myself - hallucinations, dreams, light, shadow. Let's put it another way - if, in 2000 years, scientists prove ghosts (or whatever) exist, should people who have seen them only start to believe in them because the experts gave them permission to?

In a word, yes. If I saw something, I wouldn't wait for other people to do so before I'd believe it.

There's no "shouldn't" about it. I don't care if people are sceptical or not.

I'm not, I just don't rule it out. Why don't you try to prove that "tricks of light" can create a ghost? Scientists have tried to recreate the conditions in which people can have a paranormal experience but, although they can make people feel strange, it is never anything clear or vivid. That's what you're doing.

Well OK, but say you took a video camera into a house and definitely caught a ghost on camera - it wouldn't be evidence, because no one would believe it was genuine. Perhaps some of the existing evidence is real, but people's first assumption (including mine) is that it's a fake. Thus, they are impossible to prove for now. You'd know you'd seen one and you'd have all the sceptics telling you that you hadn't.

But people don't see unicorns, do they? They don't see fairies or dragons either. We know what does exist and we know what doesn't exist - it's the things people aren't sure about that are the mystery. How are you so sure ghost sightings can always be explained by something else?

Well, on the one hand you have people who get carried away, who believe in psychics, clairvoyants, ley lines and everything mystical. Whilst this is essentually harmless and I wish them no harm, you'd have to say these people are not greatly in touch with reality. At the other extreme you get sceptics who come up with explanations that really don't fit. These people, because they haven't seen a ghost, believe it must always be a lie, a hallucination or misinterpretation of a shadow, fog, a beam of light etc. I believe this approach to be quite irrational. Personally, I try to be open-minded, but I would say I swing about 60% towards "believer" more than "sceptic". Take ghosts, for instance. Intelligent, rational people see them, and they try to rule out all the possibilities themselves, but at the end of a day, if a ghost is in front of you, there's a ghost in front of you. Just because not everyone has seen one doesn't mean they don't exist. That doesn't mean we know what they are. Comforting though it may be to think they're proof of an afterlife, the truth is they could be anything, from pure "images" to beings on a different frequency. In fact, one day, I'm sure they will be scientifically proven to exist. This is the thing - reality is stranger than fiction. Many physicists and cosmologists theorise that many dimensions exists - up to 11. Is it really so far-fetched to think that what we call "ghosts" may exist in one of them, very occasionally blending into our world? Incidentally, my theory is they do not "haunt" houses, and as such, films about hauntings have got the wrong idea (but that's just my theory). As for UFOs (specifically that they are alien craft), whilst we don't know exactly what they are, I do believe there is quite a lot of evidence that they are something extraordinary, and that the masses (perhaps through fear) don't really want to see it. Of course, this evidence may be no more than the governments wanting us to believe in aliens, although I find that more sinister than them actually being so.

Great! What type of Grotto is it? I've seen them in fire and water Grottoes. I've been having a blast today, as I turned it on and got one orange Slime, so I thought I'd have a clear-out of my Grottoes. I ran through each one (it's surprising how short they are when you've got the complete map) and defeated each boss (most of them only take three turns of "Attack" x 4 when you're level 99), then, if I found a duplicate boss, I discarded the Grotto. This is so I can run through them easily if I ever get three orange slimes. I'm currently a level 99 Paladin +3 (can't face grinding again yet). Anyway, I beat Nemean and got... Invincible Trousers!!! The most exciting moment of the game so far, for me. I shouted out "Yes!"

I've now got the Metal King Armour, although it's amazing I've got even that, because they're only in Rank 9 chests and according to this guide you only have a 1% chance of getting the "Metal Slime" equipment: http://dragonquest.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_treasure_map_treasure_chest_ranks_in_Dragon_Quest_IX I realise now I've encountered a Rank 10 chest too, but I deleted the Grotto because I didn't like it! Currently about to Revocate for the 4th time, ho hum...

One thing that might be setting the agenda is the downloadable Quests in Dragon Quest IX, which will persist for about a year, won't they? I do believe there are certain bosses that won't become fight-able for a while, so whilst I want to buy VI, I for one am going to keep playing IX until I've done everything in it.

I'd love to see your idea of a porno mag: Saturn, Jupiter and a nice centrefold of Uranus! Not necessarily. Our notion of "cost" is based on the idea we have to pay someone to do something. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Earth may one day be under the rule of one, central government, who could motivate the population to build spacecraft. Even the idea of "wages" may become obsolete. Also, whilst I find the idea of using conventional fuel ridiculous, it would not be an issue if an alternative energy source such as Perpetual Motion or Anti-Matter Propulsion was invented. Add in human lifespans of 1000 years or more, with biological enhancements such as protection from radiation and poisons, and I think space travel is within the realms of possibility. We could even become biologically immortal, susceptible only to freak accidents. I recommend Michio Kaku's blog (and the "Big Think" site that hosts it) to all those interested in space and technology: http://bigthink.com/blogs/dr-kakus-universe

I only felt dislike towards him within the context of the game, of course. In fact, I found it hard to think of an example, because I don't normally take villains seriously at all, but he really is a loathsome character. (Goes off to fight Revolver Ocelot...!)

Immersion is extremely important to me, at least through gameplay, if not plot. The villain I've most passionately hated is Revolver Ocelot in Metal Gear Solid: the Twin Snakes. The fact that he tortures you is, to me, beyond the pale. You, the protagonist, are made to feel like a helpless prisoner, which you are, as you can't progress through the game as you'd like at that point. Up until then, I had been playing the game as humanely as possible, tranquilising guards. When I got free, though, I used the utmost force, which I suppose makes the game very clever in what is has to say about violence. However, I'm not sure that feeling of hatred is particularly a good thing. It didn't make the game more immersive to me, it just made me more passionate. Even with classic novels I find the immersion really comes from the detail, the general vibe and the rapport between characters rather than the plot, necessarily. I'm thinking of the great atmosphere Arthur Conan Doyle could create when Holmes and Watson were waiting for a villain on a dark night, for example. The last game I found truly immersive was Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2. The storytelling was straightforward and the characters down to earth. Doulmagus was an enigmatic villain, creating havoc as he waltzed around the world, his actions noted by the villagers. It particularly stood out how terrified people were when they saw him walk across the sea, even though that scene is not depicted except as an anecdote. Yangus, too, was a charming character and it was touching to have the loyalty of such a thuggish bandit. Then there was the irascible king, the spoilt brat and the princess who longed to be turned back to her true form. I can't mention Dragon Quest VIII without praising the spellbinding soundtrack. Sad scenes were accompanied by sad songs, romantic scenes with romantic songs. I put on the CD whilst I was playing Dragon Quest IX and it brought back all the memories. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything to match Dragon Quest VIII this generation, but I very much hope I do one day.

It does have the nasty whiff of eugenics about it. My alternative plan for the welfare system is more general: we simply shouldn't give people money, we should give them vouchers. The whole point of the welfare system is to make sure people don't starve when they can't find a job. Why the heck should we give them money to buy what they like with? If we gave them vouchers, they wouldn't be able to buy drugs anyway.

It's a shame if it doesn't run as well on the DS Phat and Lite as well as it does on the DSi and XL. I've heard (don't know if it's true) that because the former have less RAM, they have much more slowdown. Excellent! When I get three orange slimes I'm going to fight each Grotto boss four times then discard the map: boss, boss, boss, boss, delete boss, boss, boss, boss, delete boss, boss, boss, boss, delete... I completed "Diamond World of Fear Level 88" last night, and what an epic that was! It filled out a lot more of my Bestiary, taking it to 86%. One of the new monsters was a Platinum King Jewel, although as they are on Floor 14, these particular ones won't be very useful to me. These higher Grottoes, by the way, are so challenging I can't believe I was thinking about whether I should do them at level 99 or not. In fact, I'm changing my Grotto team to three level 99 Gladiators + a level 99 Sage or Priest. My boss team might be Paladin, Gladiator, Sage (or Gladiator), Priest, I'm not sure. One great thing about this game is that I now know monsters who I can quite easily steal valuable items off: Genie Sanguini - Saint's Ashes Metal King Slime - Orichalcum, Slime Crown AU-1000/Gem Slime - Gold Bar Anyone with a reasonable Deftness (Gladiator or above) has a decent chance of stealing, especially with the Honour Amongst Thieves or Medal of Freedom.

Yes, exactly. In a way, this is more modern thinking than believing you're the "wrong" gender. What exactly is this secret ingredient that makes you feel you're a certain gender?