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65 days ago: SWTOR - Crew Skills
Crafting skills
Regardless of how you get the required materials, the Crafting skills enable creation of armors, weapons, implants and many other items and equipment. Your companions will be able to craft items even in your absence as all you have to do is send the orders no matter where you are. The player can specialize in only one Crafting skill, which will be shared by all of his companions. Furthermore, you can assign up to five companions to craft simultaneously. All the crafting skills will benefit from Reverse Engineering, the process of disassembling items to get raw materials with a certain chance to discover schematics for an enhanced version of the dismantled item. There are 6 Crew Skills within the Crafting Skills tree, as follows: Armormech, Armstech, Artifice, Biochem, Cybertech and Synthweaving.
Armormech
Description: With Armormech you can create armor for your character from hard metals and electronic shielding. Characters and companions that have this skill will also be capable of reverse engineering their crafted armors and have a chance of discovering new ways to enhance armor creation. Armormech is using materials provided through Scavenging (gathering skill), Investigation (mission skill) and Underworld Trading (mission skill).
Armstech
Description: The Armstech skill is required for crafting blasters and blaster rifles (such as the Assault Cannon, Blaster Pistol, Blaster Rifle and Sniper Rifle) and weapon upgrades (Barrels, Scopes and Triggers). Just like for the Armormech profession, the Armstech skill also allows reverse engineering to be performed on crafted blasters and possibily find out new ways to improve the creation of blasters. Armstech uses resources mostly acquired through the Scavenging gathering skill and the Treasure Hunting mission skill.
Artifice
Description: Artifice enables the construction of Jedi and Sith artifacts, focusing on creating modifications for Lightsabers, underlays and overlays of armors, focii, wrist items and feet items, namely: Circuitry, Emitter Matrix, Focus Crystal, Focus Lens, Gadget, Harness, Overlay, Underlay and Resonance Crystal. There is a great variety of Lightsaber modifications designed to enhance the attributes of a Force-user in combat, such as color crystals (also affect the color of the Lightsaber), power crystals, hilts, emitter matrices, and focus lens. Through reverse engineering of Artifice-crafted items you will have a chance of discovering new ways to improve creation of armors. Artifice based crafting requires materials gained through the Archaeology gathering skill.
Biochem
Description: With Biochem you can develop attribute-enhancing chemical serums and medical and biological implants. The Biochem skill enables the creation of medpacs (used for healing), stimulants (injections) to enhance physical performance and biological implants that can boost fighting skills. The Biochem products can also go through a reverse engineering process with a certain chance of discovering new ways to improve implant creation. The Biochem skill is using materials obtained with the Bioanalysis gathering skill.
Cybertech
Description: The Cybertech skill allows producing parts and upgrades for Droids and high-tech armors for non-Force classes such as earpieces, implants, wrist-guards, and boots as well as modifications for some items: Harnesses, Overlays, Underlays, Circuitry, Gadgets and Generators. Reverse engineering is available for the Cybertech skill as well and the resources needed for Cybertech crafting come from the Scavenging and Slicing gathering skills but also from the Treasure Hunting, and Underworld Trading mission skills.
Synthweaving
Description: Synthweaving represents the knowledge of creating lighter armors (similar with tailoring and leatherworking from other MMO games to a certain extent) for light-armor wearing classes (most likely Sith Inquisitors and Jedi Consulars). Some of the resources required for Synthweaving like premade solutions, suspensions and composites can be purchased from vendors. Other necessary materials can be acquired through the Archaeology gathering skill but also from Diplomacy, Investigation and Underworld Trading mission skills. Just like in all the rest of the crafting skills, the items resulted from Synthweaving can be reverse engineered.
Gathering skills
Gathering skills stand at the base of the economy in SWTOR. With these skills, you and your crew can find and gather raw materials, access secured computer systems and discover valuable artifacts while travelling from one planet to another. You can sell the found materials and information on the open market or use the discovered resources to craft useful items. There are 4 skills within the Gathering Skills tree, as follows: Archaeology, Bioanalysis, Scavenging and Slicing.
Archaeology
Description: Archaeology allows searching for imbued items such as Lightsaber crystals and ancient artifacts. In other words, this skill provides the ability to mine nodes of artifacts (usually crystals). The gathered crystals can be used in Artifice and Synthweaving crafting skills.
Bioanalysis
Description: Bioanalysis is used for extracting biological materials, such as cell fibers, bacterial strains, toxic extracts and medicinal fluids from creatures and plants. The resulted products can be used in the Biochem crafting skill to produce serums, med packs and biological implants.
Scavenging
Description: Scavenging is required to salvage usable parts and materials from old and damaged technology. The recovered resources are used in Armormech, Armstech and Cybertech crafting skills.
Slicing
Description: Slicing is the SWTOR definition for hacking. This skill allows one to access secure computer systems and lockboxes such as electronic safes, data stations, security mainframes and biometric footlockers and acquire important information and rare schematics. The data retrieved through Slicing actually consists of various recipes used to create droid upgrades and high-tech armor through the Cybertech crafting skill (and possibly for other crafting skills as well).
Mission skills
Mission skills enable a player and his companions to engage in different types of missions such as negotiations, acquiring important information and tracking down valuable items or trading goods on the black market. Each companion has bonuses for two skills so it’s most likely you will assign missions based on that. The resulted rewards and benefits can come under many forms starting from crafting materials, gems and lockboxes up to Companion gifts and Light side or Dark side points. Just like for the other skills, companions will carry out missions in their own time and will return with the rewards when they are done. Since Mission skills have no limitations per player you can fill up the three skill slots with Mission skills.
Diplomacy
Description: Diplomacy missions consist of arranging and handling negotiations. Certain missions can enable you to earn light armor crafting materials or gifts for your companions used to raise their level of affection but also can contribute to your Light side/Dark side points.
Investigation
Description: Investigation will enable you and your companions to analyze classified data and follow clues to reveal valuable secrets. Successful Investigation missions can earn you prototype schematics for all the crafting skills, medium armor crafting materials and Companion gifts.
Treasure Hunting
Description: Treasure Hunting missions consist of following a series of clues to locate and retrieve valuable items. Treasure Hunting can bring a large variety of rewards, such as rare gems, lockboxes and Companion gifts. When sending your companions on a Treasure Hunting mission they can also acquire gift fragments of Premium, Prototype or Artifact quality that can be traded at the Curator on Nar Shaddaa for Companion gifts of corresponding quality.
Underworld Trading
Description: The Underworld Trading skill provides the competence of trading goods and services on the galactic black market. Successful missions carried out by the player or his companion can yield valuable spices used for building prototypes and relic implants, heavy body armor crafting resources and Companion gifts.
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67 days ago: SWTOR
Primary Stats
Aim gives 0.2 ranged damage
Strength gives 0.2 melee damage
Cunning gives 0.2 tech damage
Will power gives 0.2 force damage
Secondary Stats
Presence – boots companion health, damage and healing
Power – adds melee, force and tech damage
Force/Tech Power – Found on weapons, works like Power but does not provide melee/ranged damage
Accuracy – Gives +hit and gives armor/spell pen over 100%
Crit – gives melee, force and tech crit
Surge – increased critical damage
Armor – reduces physical and kinetic damage (all Tech and Force powers unless listed otherwise are Kinetic)
Defense – increases Parry/Deflect (deflect is just ranged parry)
Shield – increases chance to be shielded on attack
Absorption – increases the % of damage shaved off shielded attacks
Alacrity – Cast/channel Haste
Expertise – PvP stat. Increases damage and healing done, reduces damage taken.
Bioware just announced that they will patch the current Beta build (Thanksgiving version) to Early Access/Live. What this means is that you will no longer need to re-download the game at launch/early access, instead, you just need to patch it.
The first vehicle you can buy with 8000 credits at lvl 25. It gives 90% speed.
The Old Republic.net info site.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The story of this game takes place 4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire. Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith and Darth Revan’s former apprentice, has unleashed a Sith armada against the Republic. Malak’s aggression has left the Jedi scattered and vulnerable; many Jedi Knights have fallen in battle and others have sworn allegiance to Malak and Revan.
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93 days ago: Always Always Always
Always let friends and family take your picture. It’s better to be remembered in a bad photo than to be forgotten.
Always dance when asked. The people who would make fun of your dancing won’t remember it but the person you turn down will.
When you find yourself falling, and you’ve exhausted all other possibilities, always flap your arms. If you going to fail to fly don’t let it be for lack of trying.
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232 days ago: Veg Fest 2011
We have the house we rented last fall in Panama City Beach, FL reserved again for this year. The house is reserved for Friday September 30th to Friday October 7th. We have to be out by 10am on the 7th.
I’m hoping since I don’t have the resources to travel very much that my friends will be able to join me at the beach each year so I can spend time with my “adopted/extended” family.
Renting the house for a full week gets us a great rate so depending how many of us go the cost will be between $20 and $40 per person per night. Judson, Bob, and I will definitely be there the whole week.
If you want to join us for part or all of the week just get in touch with me.
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514 days ago: Strip-Monopoly
I picked this up from my friend Jay’s Facebook feed.
A SEXY game of strip-Monopoly almost saw one stark-naked player sent directly to JAIL.
Gary Williamson’s jealous girlfriend Leah McDonnell came to blows with pal Micha Robinson because he couldn’t keep his eyes off her Community Chest.
The trio were playing a cheeky version of the famous property trading board game which involved removing items of clothing rather than paying rent, a court heard.
After a lengthy round, Williamson, 22, playing as the boot, McDonnell, 20, the battleship, and Robinson, 20, the racing car, all ended up totally nude.
Unusual
Magistrates heard the racing car made a play for the boot, which enraged the battleship and ended in a scuffle.
Police were called and Williamson was arrested on suspicion of assaulting both girls.
He claimed he was simply trying to separate them — and yesterday, the charges against him were dropped.
Ian Dacre, prosecuting at Blackpool Magistrates Court, said: “The charges arose from a somewhat unusual game of Monopoly.
“They players had been drinking and they all ended up stark naked.
“One of the young women the took exception to the behaviour of the other.
“An argument started and one of the girls said she was headbutted by the defendant and the other said she had her hair pulled by him.”
District Judge Jeff Brailsford was told neither of the girls had come to court to give evidence.
The prosecutor said: “It may well be that their decision not to attend comes from being embarrassed by what happened.”
Judge Brailsford dismissed the charges, saying: “I have taken the view that the two girls may not wish to attend taking into account what is said to have gone on.”
Robert Castle, defending, said :“My case would have been that my client’s girlfriend was annoyed by the other girl’s advances towards him and that all he did was to try and keep them apart.”
Outside court Williamson said: “I am glad it’s not hanging over me. I won’t be playing strip-Monopoly ever again.”
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541 days ago: Bacon!
The following is an article from HERE!
The podictionary word for today is bacon: I had a moment of slight panic the other day. I was listening to an NPR podcast and this guy was talking about bacon and how it came from porkbellies. Now that in itself wouldn’t put most people into panic mode but you see I had just the day before sent the last and final corrections for my book back to the publisher. No more changes to be made.
And there in my book I mention in passing that the word bacon comes from the same Germanic source as the word back. So shouldn’t bacon itself come from the back of the pig? I rushed to the bookshelf and pulled out my Larousse Gastronomique. To my horror there is said “lean cured sides of pork” and went on to say
“The word derives from the Old French bakko, meaning “ham.” In French this became bacon meaning a piece of salt pork or even a whole pig. It was then adopted by the English and returned to France with its present meaning.”
The beads of sweat began to form on my forehead. I know I make mistakes, but I hate knowing. I clicked wikipedia.
“Pork bellies are the underside of the hog, from which bacon is made … in the United States in other parts of the world, bacon is more often made from back and side meats”
I cracked open Mark Morton’s Cupboard Love and read The term back bacon is redundant in that bacon derives from the old German bach, meaning “back.”
So that’s where I learned it. Could Mark be wrong? No, Mark is right. In fact everyone is right. What is normally called bacon in North America is from pork bellies. While in other places it is often loin. The word did come into English from French, but it got into French from German. I was surprised to see that the phrase saving one’s bacon goes as far back as 1654. To save your bacon means to save yourself from getting into trouble and I can see most of the path in the development of the word bacon in English to guess at how we got this idiom.
As Larousse said, bacon came from French and when it appears in English back in 1330 it meant salted meat from the back and sides of the pig. But over time people started using bacon to mean not only those cuts of meat but the entire carcass, as well as unsalted, fresh meat. To a very limited extent the word seems to have been applied to other flesh. There is a citation for whale blubber called bacon, I suppose due to the fat association.
The point is bacon had come to apply to an entire body, not just certain cuts. In parallel a new sense of bacon appeared—and it appears in Shakespeare in Henry IV—with a meaning of a country bumpkin. The idea here is that much of the population of rural England was sustained by eating pigs and just as French have been called frogs because they sometimes ate frogs’ legs, the hayseeds from the country were called bacon. So here we have the word bacon applying on the one hand to the full bodies of animals and on the other hand referring to actual people. It’s only a short hop to think that to save my bacon would mean to “save myself.”
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644 days ago: It's a girl!
I just got a text from Jason, He and Yaz are having a baby girl. The little girl in this video always reminder me of Yaz so I predict this is how baby “Jazz Hands” will turn out.
