Straightforward failure

[babelfishwars]

@Dawson

the ever-Spockean Babelfishwars

I am very happy.

You have made my Monday. I’m going to sit here thinking about hugging Nimoy.

[xkiv]

@Dawson

There is most certainly nothing wrong with being absurdly lucky or unlucky on the programming end of things—and even if there is something wrong with the RNG program at the theoretical level, the point is still moot as it relates to the topic at hand; since your “good luck” or “ill luck” in reality overlaps 1-to-1 and onto with the results returned by the game, I don’t see how it matters much whether the RNG literally simulates the condition of absolute randomosity in reality. As long as it’s a comparable simulation, the task of the RNG is being carried out effectively.

It doesn’t matter when you are doing randomized interactive story.
It begins to matter when you are doing a game, because players want to be treated fairly (counterpoint: fallen london is supposed to be about making the characters miserable, and since we identify with our characters, it’s about making us miserable too)…
It matters a lot when you start showing exact percentages, because if you aren’t really careful, you are promising something you can’t guarantee. (but this is more of an argument against showing exact percentages than anything else).

Not to be antagonistic to xKiv, since he hardly deserves it,

I first read that as “… he already deserves it,”. It was confusing.

but e.g. the point about ‘there’s always someone better’ is literally a self-defeating non-argument. I’m also not sure how the impossibility of human omniscience is relevant to anything.

I saw it as relevant as a tangentially supporting point to being silly while defending my “honor” against “accusations” of maybe thinking I am a better programmer than someone whose work I have never witnessed.
(I could have also just said that I am sure FBG can run circles around me in some other programming topic)

[babelfishwars]

@xKiv

I saw it as relevant as a tangentially supporting point to being silly while defending my &quothonor&quot against &quotaccusations&quot of maybe thinking I am a better programmer than someone whose work I have never witnessed.

You, person, have no honour! You spelled it ALL WRONG. flaps glove all over the place HA! Have at you! flails sword everywhere Tomorrow! Bring your goat! And a second goat! Let us decide this the old fashioned way.

[xkiv]

@babelfishwars

Bring your goat! And a second goat!

Phew. For a second I was worried you would want me to bring my second goat. Because, I must admit, I only own the one. And it’s not even über.

[babelfishwars]

@xKiv

[quote=babelfishwars]Bring your goat! And a second goat!

Phew. For a second I was worried you would want me to bring my second goat. Because, I must admit, I only own the one. And it’s not even über.[/quote]

I’m going to have to ‘borrow’ some goats. I have none. Much sadness. If no one ‘lends’ me any, I’ll bleat till your one backs away disconcerted.

Edit: forgot the insinuation quotes on lends. I mean ‘has any around for me to nick’, obv.
edited by babelfishwars on 4/14/2014

[xkiv]

[quote=babelfishwars]I’m going to have to ‘borrow’ some goats. I have none. Much sadness. If no one ‘lends’ me any, I’ll bleat till your one backs away disconcerted.

Edit: forgot the insinuation quotes on lends. I mean ‘has any around for me to nick’, obv.
edited by babelfishwars on 4/14/2014[/quote]

That should give me some time to look for a sword. Carrow’s doesn’t seem to carry any.

[cinderfallen]

Meanwhile, I’ll go head to head with all counts 8 people who downvoted me during the course of conversation. En garde! Pulls out a derringer
edited by cinderfallen on 4/14/2014

[snowskeeper]

A side-note: you’re assuming that it’s unreasonable for a Master Thief to occasionally fail a simple heist, or to have a run of bad luck. It isn’t. It would be unreasonable to expect an individual to always succeed at a task, regardless of their skill level; hell, most humans can’t even put one foot in front of the other successfully 100% of the time. [li]

[babelfishwars]

@xKiv

That should give me some time to look for a sword. Carrow’s doesn’t seem to carry any.

I have a few, but only in real life. Not sure how I get them into digital format. Will ponder this one.

[cinderfallen]

@Snowskeeper

A side-note: you’re assuming that it’s unreasonable for a Master Thief to occasionally fail a simple heist, or to have a run of bad luck. It isn’t. It would be unreasonable to expect an individual to always succeed at a task, regardless of their skill level; hell, most humans can’t even put one foot in front of the other successfully 100% of the time. [li]

[/li][li]Nope, I’m saying if a &quotMaster Thief&quot is failing to open a simple lock 10 times in a row, maybe she shouldn’t be called a master thief.

[/li][li]

[snowskeeper]

@cinderfallen

[quote=Snowskeeper]A side-note: you’re assuming that it’s unreasonable for a Master Thief to occasionally fail a simple heist, or to have a run of bad luck. It isn’t. It would be unreasonable to expect an individual to always succeed at a task, regardless of their skill level; hell, most humans can’t even put one foot in front of the other successfully 100% of the time. [li]

[/li][li]Nope, I’m saying if a &quotMaster Thief&quot is failing to open a simple lock 10 times in a row, maybe she shouldn’t be called a master thief.

[/li][li][/quote]

[/li]I’m saying that if your Shadowy is at a level where you could reasonably be considered a Master Thief, a Shadowy task requiring you to pick a simple lock is either going to be a White Straightforward task (IE 100% success rate), or the statistical likelihood of you failing it ten times in a row will be so astronomically unlikely that it isn’t worth discussing. Hyperbole is not a good way to win debates like this one.[li]

[xkiv]

@babelfishwars

I have a few, but only in real life. Not sure how I get them into digital format. Will ponder this one.

I have held a sword (used to belong to a great-grandfather), once, 20 years ago. It was short, dirty, and heavy.

Umbrellas at six paces?

[babelfishwars]

[quote=xKiv]Umbrellas at six paces?[/quote] I SHALL WIN. Dad gave me a golf umbrella of golf umbrellas. The kind Spacemarine9 would use in the game of games. I’m embarrassed to use it in the rain as it can cover an entire pavement and thus as I’m not 6’6&quot+ has a tendency to block the way for anyone coming the opposite direction. It’s a monstrosity. I can probably thwop you with it at 8 paces. Sod 6.

I like winning. Excellent.
edited by babelfishwars on 4/16/2014

[cinderfallen]

@Snowskeeper

[quote=cinderfallen][quote=Snowskeeper]A side-note: you’re assuming that it’s unreasonable for a Master Thief to occasionally fail a simple heist, or to have a run of bad luck. It isn’t. It would be unreasonable to expect an individual to always succeed at a task, regardless of their skill level; hell, most humans can’t even put one foot in front of the other successfully 100% of the time. [li]

[/li][li]Nope, I’m saying if a &quotMaster Thief&quot is failing to open a simple lock 10 times in a row, maybe she shouldn’t be called a master thief.

[/li][li][/quote]

[/li]I’m saying that if your Shadowy is at a level where you could reasonably be considered a Master Thief, a Shadowy task requiring you to pick a simple lock is either going to be a White Straightforward task (IE 100% success rate), or the statistical likelihood of you failing it ten times in a row will be so astronomically unlikely that it isn’t worth discussing. Hyperbole is not a good way to win debates like this one.[li][/quote][/li][li]
Not cool constructing straw man arguments either. And not always 100%. It’s usually a green 92% - 96%? Something like that? But there are those challenges that are in the 75 - 85% that are more likely to get really nasty streaks with. I’ve literally had that happen to me, and so have many other people on this forum–it’s not an uncommon experience. People bond over it on the &quotWhat’s the worst thing you failed at&quot thread. Check it out. [/li][li]

[xkiv]

[quote=babelfishwars][quote=xKiv]Umbrellas at six paces?[/quote] I SHALL WIN. Dad gave me a golf umbrella of golf umbrellas. The kind Spacemarine9 would use in the game of games. I’m embarrassed to use it in the rain as it can cover an entire pavement and thus as I’m not 6’6&quot+ has a tendency to block the way for anyone coming the opposite direction. It’s a monstrosity. I can probably thwop you with it at 8 paces. Sod 6.

I like winning. Excellent.
edited by babelfishwars on 4/16/2014[/quote]

I think I will need a nuclear umbrella …