Erkki

Yeah, the online version just uses data files from your computer. AFAIK. It's possibly the same java program, just wrapped in an applet (or is it WebStart, haven't tried it actually)

Maybe they will do The Irrational Soft Beth Thumbtale podcast.

Yes, also known as Friendly Idle Thumbs Interactive FITIF

This thread title made me pointlessly realize that probably all acronyms that are palindromes can be interpreted recursively. Or even if they are not palindromes, but just end with the same letter they begin with.

I have found lava way up above sea level so it's not an indication of the bottom of the world. Actually you can fall off the bottom and die, in space. I think doors and torches keep the monsters out, yes. My caves have so many exists though that I haven't even bothered with doors everywhere (maybe I should)

I've been mostly underground as well, but for a few hours I have been messing around above ground, building cobblestone walkways between mountains so I can get around faster.

You forgot Bandanaman though.

That's one awesome underwater home, Kingz!

I haven't looked into 3D much, but based on what little I've heard I'd say wait a generation. As I understand, there may be 3D TV's that don't require glasses.

RPS has opened a server. Not sure how crowded it is, they have a 32 player limit.

Holy crap, that cave system was more than HUGE, it just goes down and down and keeps extending this way and that. I found all kinds of materials to mine there, but just as I was headed back towards home, some of those sneaky exploding guys killed me

Cool. Maybe the initial area generated was 256 squared then.

The game world is much bigger than I thought. I read somewhere that it was 256x256 but I just dug a straight tunnel for what I estimate is about 500 blocks. I started close to my spawn which I assume to be in the center of the world. I dug, hardly coming across anything for that length, until the passage opened to a HUGE cave system at the other end. I had to run back after killing a few monsters though, they had almost got me even as I was wearing full iron armor. After 6+ hours of playing, I still haven't found anything to heal myself with.

No it wasn't. Wanton is such an awesome word.

Seconded. Although, only one of mine took that much effort. I did take painkillers the next two weeks though...

Yeah, the recipes are intuitive enough, but I did consult the wiki on several occasions instead of figuring them out myself. I've been digging chaotically in a mountain near my spawn point. It's so full of criss-crossing ways that I'm surprised I don't get lost in them but some of it is starting to feel like a home and I'm going to try to make it better looking, building proper stairs and so on. I was thinking of also putting some minecart tracks somewhere if I can find enough iron. Can they go up and down too or only horizontally? Also, are they useful for actually transporting materials once I start building a castle or something?

Found a deep pit with lava in the bottom. I think I'll do some research before going down there.

Ok, I got me some Minecraft. How do I start? Do I have to read a wiki?

That buying guide table is nice. I'm going to have to build a new PC soon, but after reading about stuff for hours I still didn't have a good idea what components to choose. I think I will be building me one of those Outstanding systems. Unless the local prices are much higher -- they usually are -- in which case I'll have to settle for Excellent.

The funny thing is that this PayPal issue might actually get more people to notice Minecraft. Also, WTF 600K euros from a week's sales? That seems enormous amounts of money for an indie game. And he is the sole developer?

The stories of Penumbra and Amnesia are not related at all. And Amnesia has much better storytelling IMHO.

Have any other games scared you? Maybe horror games are just not for you? I played through it again with the developer commentary, brightness turned up a bit, in a fully lit room without headphones and some parts were still scary. Not as much as the first time, of course. IMHO, playing a horror game properly requires you to have a certain mindset. If you think about how the scare-providing game systems work while playing, it will not be that effective. Not sure where you got the feeling that it was supposed to be emergent. I at least didn't expect anything much different from Penumbra, just better execution (based on the demo and reviews). BTW. It's true that many monsters appear after important quest events, but it's not always the case.

Even if I wanted to, unfortunately I have nowhere to host a server right now. My only working computer is a MacBook. I should give Minecraft a try sometime... you guys seem to be having lots of fun with it. I remember playing an early version or prototype that didn't seem very interesting back then.

I don't think the game would make you restart. Though I don't know what it does if you completely run out. In my experience, (just in case, I added spoiler tags since I would consider details about resources in a survival horror game mild spoilers)

Finished it. Truly a great horror game, one of the best. It combines the physics-based interaction from Penumbra and a sanity system and atmosphere similar to Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. For most of the game you have no idea if a hostile monster might appear around the next corner and since you can't fight back... this combined with the need to stay in the light to restore sanity makes the game very tense. There were only a couple of areas where I felt relatively safe and indeed no monsters appeared there; there was also one area where I was constantly expecting something bad to happen, but nothing threatening did. The Eurogamer review said that by the end of the game, the monsters ceased to be monsters and became 3D models, but this never happened for me. As you are discouraged from even looking at the monsters, I think I didn't even see some of the monsters that I could have seen, as I was so concentrated on running away. So I only have a vague idea about how many different monsters there are. If you get all the three different endings,