Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2008 December 3

= December 3 =

Infinite damage in an RPG
Has there ever been an RPG video game (console or pc) where an attack or spell deals an infinite amount of damage? (infinity damage?) I don't mean an insta-death effect;  I mean with an actual infinity symbol appearing above the target's head. Or failing that, a row of nines all the way across (or better yet, filling up) the screen.--67.180.120.235 (talk) 10:13, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Considering RPG to mean "Role Playing Game" and not "First Person Shooter" (FPS), the third Bard's Tale game has a "sleep spell" (ZZGO if I remember correctly) that did 9999 points of damage to each enemy within 80 feet. Since 9999 was the maximum amount of hit points an enemy could have, it meant that everyone within 80 feet was instantly killed.  However, it was possible for a rare evasion in which the spell would miss.  Also, enemies at the maximum distance of 90 feet would not be harmed.  So, the final battle was against a guy 90 feet away who, every turn, would fill every position from 10 feet to 80 feet with 999 zombies.  You had to sneak a thief 90 feet away and stab the bastard in the back to win the game - hence the name of the game "Thief of Fate". --  k a i n a w &trade; 13:49, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * A lot of the Final Fantasy games have attacks that can do 9999 damage, although some enemies have more hit points than that. Can't say I've ever seen an actual infinity symbol for the amount of damage in any of the games I've played. Recury (talk) 15:24, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * It makes no sense from a computing standpoint. Computers and computer games have now way to represent the value of "infinity".  You have ONLY two choices in RPGs: the attack does X points of damage, or the attack kills the target without making any hit points calculations at all.  You can set X to be larger than the maximum hit points of all potential enemies in the game, but this is not the same as setting X to infinity.  --Jayron32. talk . contribs  13:51, 4 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Yes, I know full well that "infinity" is not a number and cannot be stored in a computer's memory address. But a computer doesn't actually have to internally represent the value of infinity in order to have a "functional infinity."  I had this half-baked idea that infinity damage would somehow function different mechanically than a "kill" effect.  However, after thinking it over I realize that there is no discernible difference.  I would still like to know if there is a game with a "kill" spell that causes a ∞ appear where there would normally be a damage value, just for the aesthetic appeal.  --98.234.32.18 (talk) 04:22, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

Vehicles in Games
In GTA 3 there were couple of cars named Blista, Kuruma, Perennial, Landstalker and Manana and in future GTA games they still used these cars and they're names. Are there any other Driving games that had some cars in their first game and continued to use them and they're names? Tailsfan213 (talk) 11:40, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Gran Turismo will doubtlessly have some but that's not really fair as they are all named from their real-life versions (so there's probably a Nissan Skyline in every version of Gran Turismo). I didn't have the original Burnout games but based on the names they give their cars I guess they might have a similar policy. Consistency is obviously helpful in building the brand/identity of your game so seems logical that games would try to keep names consistent where it is useful. 194.221.133.226 (talk) 13:15, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Wipeout has kept most of the companies that make vehicles for their fictitious racing series (although they come and go at different times) and they all have their little backstories and everything. It's very cute. Recury (talk) 15:21, 3 December 2008 (UTC)

Can speed chess ruin your game?
I'm a casual player who plays on Yahoo chess. Can habitually playing short games (5 mins or less for each player) ruin your game?


 * No. It's really an entirely different game than regular chess, meaning playing speed chess is good practice for speed chess and regular chess is good practice for regular chess.  Playing one is not good practice for the other.  It is possible to be good at both at once, if you practice both.  Also, you may find the first game of the other type is messed up, because it takes one game to fully "switch modes". StuRat (talk) 14:28, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Speed chess might help sharpen some of your opening theory, but it'll almost certainly be of no help whatsoever with analysing complex middle game scenarios. I learned the Vienna Gambit when whipped in about 90 seconds in speed chess. --Dweller (talk) 16:12, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Playing short games means you won't spend a considerable amount of time thinking through complicated positions simply because you don't have the time, which may lead to bad play. StuRat is quite right in saying you can be good at both. If you're serious about chess, you should take your time to play longer games as well. If you combine the two, I see no harm. -131.211.211.5 (talk) 08:15, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

origins of music, first recording of song
Etta James is credited with the title "At Last". Who first recorded song and when? Did JP Morgan ever record same?

I remember hearing this song recorded by the Dorsey brothers in the 1940s, so pre-dating Etta James's career by a couple of decades. I thought JP Morgan was a bank? --TammyMoet (talk) 19:15, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Jaye P. Morgan? Although "At Last" is not listed as one of her recordings.   -- LarryMac  | Talk  20:41, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * "At Last" is a Harry Warren-Mack Gordon song from Orchestra Wives (1942), recorded then by Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle. Here's Jaye P. Morgan's official discography: http://www.jayepmorgan.com/#/discography/4520462174 Pepso2 (talk) 01:37, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

Coca cola ad - holidays are coming
I was bemused to see this dreadful old advert back on my screen this year. However, I appreciate that my stomach-churning loathing of this advert is subjective and indeed our article claims that it was revived in 2007, by popular demand.

However, our article (and the source it references) doesn't give a date for the original airing of this ad - when was it...  spawned? --Dweller (talk) 16:10, 3 December 2008 (UTC)


 * I find www.adtunes.com a wealth of obscure information on commercials. I've only stumped them once. --Moni3 (talk) 15:40, 4 December 2008 (UTC)