Originally posted by Riune
...there could possibly be plant and animal life? If we can survive, there\'s bound to be at least a few plantses and furry rockland creatures.

Yes

Originally posted by Riune
Oooh- can I do reasearch on deep cave creatures and things and con some friends into doing basic graphic designs?

Only if you and your friends join the team (agree to the PS License and NDA).  Talk to Talad if you have done any specific idea write-ups and/or graphic work.

Well, just to pose a counter argument on the fuzziness of the situation:

Originally posted by Caldazar
I believe that Zion is just another Matrix. I base this on:
1.) How could they take the spoon out?
2.) How could Neo have powers in the \"real\" world. So what if He was overlapped with Smith, Smith is still just a program. And the Architect said that \"The One\" was just a flaw in the Matrix. This supports my idea.

The only thing I am doubting is this: What if it wasnt Neo who used the EMP, what if it was the rescue ship?

1) The spoon was made in Zion.  They didn\'t \"take it out\" of anything.  This was obvious from its crude manufacture and the giver meant it as a joke/inspirational tool.
2) See bellow to how they could \"overlap\".  As for the Neo effecting things in the real world.... the former Matrix residents are all tweaked with mech goodies.  Who is to say they aren\'t riddled with dormant nano-tech or the Matrix/the machines aren\'t contactable through extra-mental methods.  This is, of course, stretching the point, but it shows anything can be rationalized until the 3rd movie comes out.

As for the EMP, the ship\'s EMP makes a shockwave (however unrealistic that is), yet you saw no shockwave.  Of course, this could be a camera angle issue and not a plot hole.  Then again, perhaps the extra-mental powers (via nano-tech or otherwise) simply overloaded Neo.  Which comes to the fact that if Zion was another Matrix, why couldn\'t Neo take the pressure of stopping the machines?  He stopped things all the time in the \"real\" Matrix.

Originally posted by Caldazar
AND, if Zion is real, then how could Smith control that clone?

In a realistic sense, the machine\'s AI is probably neural based.  This is due the fact that it was originally designed by humans, it must continue to interact with humans, and it must (on some level) be able to \"understand\" humans.  Agent Smith has shown emotions and human traits more than once.  Thus, to \"overwrite\" a human mind, the AI would \"simply\" re-train the host?s neural network with the stimuli/behavior that defines itself.  This has been shown every time an agent \"pops\" into a resident of the Matrix.  Also, on a side note, the original Matrix story dealt with machines harnessing humans for processor power, not body heat.  This was changed because it was too complicated for Joe Sixpack.

On the other hand...

Originally posted by cmhitman
I found alot of people didn\'t like the ending.

Well, you can\'t say they didn\'t warn you.  The fact that it was going to be a cliffhanger has been around since it was anounced they were making the sequels.  Anyway, they only have to wait until November.

ATTENTION: ****THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS ARE A SPOILER!  DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY SEEN THE MOVIE!***********








































Did anyone else get that the \"real world\" was really just a part of the Matrix?  The Architect talked about the fact that Zion was a control mechanism and the whole thing with Neo\'s \"machine sense\" supports this. The only thing contrary points are that Neo doesn\'t catch this (doesn\'t mention it to anyone else) and that the machines don\'t just \"reboot\" the Zion area.  Comments?

EDIT: BTW, besides the sometimes crappy CG and some over-the-top scenes (Trinity/Neo love scene and the whole \"orgasm in a pie\" scene), I though the movie was great.

Originally posted by acraig
For the peer-peer system I cannot see anyway it could work without the server validating the data comming in.  What data do you see as being available for peer-peer and how would you work out any cheating issues?

I have actually thought of several ways to implement a peer-to-peer persistent world, but the likelihood of it being technically possible is at least a decade away.  Data validation (player movement, geography, etc.) would have to rely on a multi-system voting scheme, so that a rogue player would not be able to subvert only the local system to gain the behavior wanted.  You would still need an entity with authority (either a person or machine who logs into the p-p network) to add features, distribute updates, and change the world.  The security of said authority can be kept using a public/private key system (like a secure socket) to force clients to update from a central location.  Unfortunately, you would still need a primary server to reload the world into the network if all clients exit, but it would not need the space or bandwidth of a server cluster in a conventional system.  The big draw back is that the clients would all have to have fast connection, plenty of spare cycles, and a lot of space.... which you probably can\'t guarantee for another 10 years (IMO).

Here\'s a random thought:

The traditional argument against an \"all-powerful\" being (the whole \"bend the bar\" thing) assumes that the being in question has only one manifestation/form.  If a being/god has an infinite number of forms, each more powerful than the last, then the current form of said being could be considered \"all-powerful\" from the vantage of the lesser forms.  Conversely, the same being must also posses an infinite number of weaker forms to the point of nothingness.

Thus, while the current aspect (and lesser forms) can?t break the bar, there is always a more powerful aspect that can.  Also, if the least powerful form is ?nothing?, the most powerful form must be ?everything? (or its equivalent) and therefore can alter reality to whatever it desires.  Thus, the being can change the rules to suit the situation and can be said to never ?disprove? itself.

Originally posted by Randolf
Another newbie question:

Is there something like a file or folder with the latest evaluated and \"to-be-realised\" official roleplay story?

- Randolf

To my knowledge, there are no \"official\" stories (beyond histories) about the PS universe.

Several devs have made some short stories and posted them (for example, Kendaro  and myself ), but they were done before acceptance onto the team and can by no means be called \"official\".

Also, to my knowledge, no \"community\" stories have been saved out of this board\'s scope.  Thus, while they provide a platform for settings ideas from the community, they are not re-posted or incorporated into the game unless someone takes initiative (either a user or a dev).  If you participate in a story that you think is exceptional, copy the segments together, and edit them into a \"real\" story.  Make sure you cite all authors of the work and get their permission before you post or re-distribute the work.

Originally posted by Ravenmaster
Why is everyone attacking mtownse for asking for a logical explanation?  Valfaran gave a good explanation, but then went on to say \"go away, so those of us with imagination can enjoy ourselves.\" or something to that effect.  I think that saying, \"It\'s magic\" doesn\'t explain anything.  

Well, the simplest explanation for all questions asked is that you can compare the Crystal\'s behavior to this environment as the sun\'s behavior in ours.  It provides heat, light, and other additive effects.   This creates an entire weather system (wind, rain, clouds, etc) and allows plants to grow.  Of course, there are many other aspects to the environment (the fact that the system is so small, the darker lower levels, and integrity issues with the underground world, etc.) that are sustained by magical means via the crystal and other \"divine\" sources.  I can\'t explain these here, but do not fear.  A \"rational\" system of explanations for these various issues is in the works (or has been done, depending on the topic).

Originally posted by rainmaker
The only way i could see this make any sence in a real world aspect is for the PS stalacite to be located under a relativly high area (above the ocean of the surface world). Perhaps even inside a mountain range but reaching far beneath that into the underground. For example in our world the stalacite would be under the mountains in tibet or perhaps under the midwest of the US.

The dynamics of the PS environment provides several challenges in that its scale is rather unwieldy.  An offset of the cave\'s altitude would explain the position of the water table, but that is not the only feasible explanation.  The position of the water supply can also be effected by the porousness of the native rock, the gravity on the planet (and satellites), atmospheric considerations (content, pressure, etc.), and, of course, magic.  The end dynamic will most likely be a combination of these factors.   The presence of higher elevations above the environment might also explain why the system may have been naturally formed in the first place (water channeling, possible tectonic influences, etc.).  Thank you for your insight.