XD

: And they usually don't make credible villains. I mean, they'll have the
: heroes bent over a barrel, and then they'll make some stupid mistake like
: 'giving the hero an even chance.' As an aspiring writer, I can attest that
: when you read that, the author has just thrown in the towel and said
: "I have no clue how to get the hero out of this. Enjoy."

Also an aspiring writer, on a side note.

Ok, I'll grant you that. They could have come up with a better way to get the Chief out of those situations. I still don't think it was a damning flaw (see second to final note below before you respond to this).

: What about my counter-arguments?

I feel everything's been said about it that needs to be.

: The Librarian stored the Didact in a Forerunner-built Halley World with the
: Mantle's Approach and a Promethean army. Forgive me for doubting that
: those were the only hardware she left behind. And even then, as I
: explained to Vagueness, there's stuff the Didact could have done with the
: terrain to kill the Chief.

Well, it never does say exactly what kind of control the Didact has over Requiem. I don't think he had total control. That section in Shutdown where he moved the floor could have been a retraction of the parts.

: And you know what the difference between a fabrication plant and maintenance
: units intended to keep a shell world intact for a hundred thousand years
: is?
: Absolutely nothing.

Not really sure what you're talking about here.

: Uh-, no. Was he really going to 'delay' the Chief for the days or weeks it
: would take to 'Compose' all of Earth? And after that, what? Does the Chief
: lay down and die because Earth is destroyed? C'mon, where's the exit
: strategy?

You bring up a good point here and below to Vagueness when you mention how long it could take to Compose the entire Earth. Still, a lot of it's conjecture. Well thought out conjecture, sure, but conjecture nonetheless.

: Sigh. Nein.

Well, according to you, tropes are justifiable if the story is good. And since "good" is subjective after a certain point, then it's really not a yes/no kind of thing.

: No, no, it was pretty much spot on. =D

No, no. XD

: Oh, hey, I do enjoy fiction. It just has to be well-written.
: And before I can appreciate a villain, he has to rise above the bare tropes.

I know you're going to disagree with this, but I'm going to say I think the Didact DOES rise above bare tropes even though he does have some. His whole point is that he doesn't think Forerunners should have to recede as a society. Hell, the Forerunners are the only reason humanity is around anymore because of the Forerunners' own sacrifices. Now he sees his empire dead, and humans running around Reclaiming their work for their own.

Now to me, that's an interesting character.

: "Hey! Want to know why the Didact acts so differently from the books?
: Well, you're going to have to quit the game every level and watch a soap
: opera."

I'd argue that he didn't really act too different from how he did in Cryptum. We only saw him for a relatively short time, and he's already hinted that he didn't like humans with the possible exception of Chakas and Riser. Likely his FULL character change will occur in Silentium.

: I get the feeling that's a common reaction with you.
: *Shrugs*

Not sure if you meant it, but that sounded REALLY condescending. :(

: Some people enjoy a lot of stuff. Some people, well...
: Take me. I can't stand anime. I absolutely loathe Star Trek. I'm finicky
: about what I enjoy.

Well, as an avid anime fan, I have to say that's a real shame to swear off an entire medium. There's a lot of good stuff there. *reads post to Vagueness below* If you DO want recommendations, let me know. ;)

To bounce off what you and I said as aspiring writers:
One of the things I've learned is that every piece of work has good and bad parts. You have to appreciate what works and identify what doesn't. And, going on from that, I tend to appreciate what something does right rather than obsess with its missteps. This only changes if the missteps are egregious. This isn't to say that I ignore them, mind you. That's my philosophy on the matter.

: Truth is different from the Didact. The Covenant is spent from civil war, the
: UNSC and the Separatists have fought through the Loyalist ground armies,
: and now they've teamed up with the Flood. Truth was powerless, and the
: fact that there was nothing he could do as the Flood consumed him and the
: Chief deactivated the Ark drives that home.

Fair point.