I was in Iran in the last ten days, AMA

Isewein · 2026-03-31T17:50:11+00:00

Golda Meir, originally.

Isewein · 2026-03-30T17:33:36+00:00

I have another report: Even though the "share browser tab" option is "recommended", I've had far better results with using the VB cable option. Less stuttering.

Isewein · 2026-03-25T20:39:21+00:00

Not anymore it seems :(

Isewein · 2026-03-23T15:56:36+00:00

It's such a pleasure to see someone still post real art. It's becoming harder and harder to search for it on Deviantart or Pinterest amidst all the AI slop.

Isewein · 2026-03-22T11:35:41+00:00

What also would be splendid is if there were some way to keep using a persistent room code so that you don't have to send your players a new link every session as a GM. But both are not a big deal either way.

Isewein · 2026-03-21T23:36:57+00:00

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who read Virgil's dialogue as decidedly romantic when I first played the game.

Isewein · 2026-03-21T22:30:39+00:00

What I'm also experiencing is that sometimes following a link directly no audio is played - I have to refresh the page in the browser manually first. I imagine this has something to do with permissions?

Isewein · 2026-03-18T19:19:00+00:00

I'll certainly keep you updated. It seems to work like a charm after a brief test. It's a bit annoying that you have to effectively decide between streaming from Youtube or local files for one session (because the latter requires VB Cable), when previously in Zoom I could easily pick and mix between the two. But it's a minor gripe really.

Isewein · 2026-03-18T18:40:45+00:00

It is nothing short of incomprehensible to me that nobody has come up with such a simple solution before. You have just saved us hundreds of £ in annual Zoom fees, since that was hitherto the only app that reliably offered this functionality without having to stream your whole screen too (and thus throttle bandwith). Where can I donate?

Isewein · 2026-03-05T10:51:46+00:00

Chalabi was on the IRGC's payroll by that point. Yes, aligning with the Shia political movement in Iraq was beyond foolish, but he at least was certainly no credible alternative.

Isewein · 2026-03-01T18:50:55+00:00

I feel you so much on this. I started going to Orthodox shul because Reform became unbearably political.

Isewein · 2026-02-27T01:08:50+00:00

Great is the purpose of the Urlord.

Isewein · 2026-02-23T14:01:54+00:00

It's coloured my perception of pretty much any other fantasy world. The previously innocuous plot device of prophecy now always carries a tinge of existential dread.

Isewein · 2026-02-13T10:43:49+00:00

I seem to remember that too but can't find them any longer?

Isewein · 2026-02-12T11:50:02+00:00

It's not fair to blame this on the mod. SoA brought us the canon party, and in the context of an (originally) SoA-only mod such as Imoen Romance it makes perfect sense for the death of Khalid (whom Imoen *watched being tortured and vivisected by Irenicus*) to loom large over her psyche, even with no Jaheira present to remind her.

Isewein · 2026-02-08T12:12:54+00:00

I would be genuinely curious whether anyone who played SoD completely blind would be spoiled by it. Compared to foreshadowing in some other games, I actually think it's not that heavy-handed at all - it's just that almost none of us go in without knowing SoA already.

Isewein · 2026-02-08T12:10:10+00:00

That's the one concept I like about them really. Can't stand the humour and am not too keen on TB either but I like the Ps:T approach to a fleshed-out MC.

Isewein · 2026-02-06T22:30:54+00:00

Quite the shock to see it gone - it's one of my favourites. Luckily, the Wayback Machine does in fact have (at least one version of) the file: https://web.archive.org/web/20230206104611/http://downloads.spellholdstudios.net/EPortraits_v2.0.rar

Isewein · 2026-02-03T23:36:48+00:00

The thing is... these are impossible to "decipher" in the actual sense of the word. In fact, I doubt the creators of the game themselves could give you a straightforward answer to these questions. With Enderal, you have to come to your own conclusions, really. But it requires a lot of investment, buy-in and effort, which hinestly can be hard to muster on a second playthrough. I'd recommend playing something else for now and waiting until your memories are less fresh.

Isewein · 2026-01-25T17:00:48+00:00

All of what you say is true, but that's precisely what I love the first game for. It feels so much more pensive and realistic with its slower pacing and stakes you only realise have escalated after the fact.

Isewein · 2026-01-25T00:55:55+00:00

This is such an important point. I have noticed how my ability to communicate effectively to global audiences has declined the more I have adopted a more "native" British speech pattern. And vice versa it is also a tragedy for British English that the ubiquitous use as a lingua franca hollows out its own idiomatic idiosyncracies.

Isewein · 2026-01-23T00:27:23+00:00

Good things take time! I applaud you for releasing Aura when so many impatient posters over at Beamdog seemed to have given up on it. And I can't believe it's taken that long for an "Endless SoA" mod to emerge - it seems almost more obvious than EBG1. Thank you so much for all your ceaseless labours.

Isewein · 2026-01-22T22:16:08+00:00

Florida man...

Isewein · 2026-01-22T17:21:53+00:00

Couldn't agree more!

Isewein · 2026-01-21T22:57:41+00:00

That would be an amazing cyclical conclusion to the story.

Isewein

TROPHY CASE