Archmonarch

If, as I seem to remember having heard, the new TV series takes place between the new and original trilogies, would those plots not be covered in said series?

As long as it ends with Bush choking on a peanut (or was it a pretzel? I forget.), I say go for it. Note: I did not say 'to death.' Though if such an incident were to occur, it was obviously God's will and who are we mere humans to object?

While Im working on Chapter 10, I thought Id throw in a few references (similar to those at the beginning of Dune chapters) Ive worked up for another writing project of mine. This story is titled "The Price We Pay." Reference #1: Despite its transitory nature, Time rules us all. We bow to its every whim and crumble beneath its oppressive weight. Why? Because we realize what lies at its end. Death. For everything and everyone. Frightened by this realization, we seek any method to stave off a conclusion. Once, man succeeded in conquering the finality of time, and corrupted by this power, accomplished only further devastation. From this we take a single lesson: humanity, although split into many component pieces, is an animal, large in size, yet simple in nature. Birthed through destruction and suckled on consumption, it proves unable to deny the qualities by which it was created, the inherited behaviors that govern all its activity. Only one trait separates humans from among all other beings: the freedom to choose this savage destiny, or a path of higher motivation. Such was the course Paimon chose.

I believe what was meant is LA rushed the game in order to deliver a holiday release due to the perceived impatience of many fans. Perceived is the key word here. Also, the sooner the game was released, the sooner they got their money.

You do know KotOR had these as well, dont you?

Well, I tried to register, but an internal server error caused the activation email not to be sent out. My nick there is the same as here.

Perhaps in my fervor, my point was lost. My dislike of religion does not preclude me from recognizing the good it has caused. I simply view the negatives as outweighing the positives. Nor do I equate fundamentalists with mainstream religious folk. People have the right to believe what they choose. As Comissar said, however, the fundamentalists are the ones speaking up in politics, and, as such, they are the ones we consistently deal with in our country. Therefore, particularly as I live in the southern U.S., they are the ones with which I am familiar and on which I base my opinions. @ Eldar: Actually, I have a distinct lack of self-confidence and sometimes attempt to "make up for it" with bravado in my debate. I apologize for any arrogance on my part. Know that it was not intended. Religion seems to skip generations in my family, for some reason. My great-grandfather gave practically every cent he owned to the temple, sometimes even forgoing basic living expenses for his family. As a result, my grandfather completely rejected religion. My father seemed to feel a void in his life without religion and so began practicing again. In the process, he basically attempted to cram faith down my throat. This is probably the root of much of my anger and animosity towards religion. And I do not truly object to religion itself, so much as the institutions which are its current form.

I admit it: I am younger than you. If that makes my opinion juvenile, consider whether it is because of my age or your own prejudices. Others in this thread have made similar comments to mine, if in less vocal ways. I simply refuse to allow my thoughts to be limited by someone else's beliefs. The truth does not depend on the support of the majority.

I thought this would be relevant: Debate over Video Game Violence

To what do you object?

It depends on whether they (LA) release anything worth my time or money.

*shrugs* I had no problems with any aspect of gameplay, including framerate.

I'll be honest. I hate religion and all for which it stands. I view it as the cause of most of our world's problems, particularly with the idea of heaven. We accept the great loss of life every single day because we expect the dead to go on to a paradise where we will one day meet again. Think about it a little and I think you will realize what I mean. However, I believe people should have the right to believe if they want to do so. Likewise, I should have the right to not believe if I choose. Yet, religious groups dont care to see a quid pro quo relationship in any aspect of life. According to them, religion is the right way, and many say Christianity is the only proper religion, and if you dont believe in it (religion in general in most areas or Christianity in particular in some areas) then you are a "heathen" and are destined for damnation and eternal punishment. Furthermore, if you dont agree with them in any debate, you are automatically wrong due to a supposed "lack of faith" and that God will prove them right. Nevermind, the logic and science behind your opinion; you are wrong because you dont believe as they do. Unfortunately, it seems this is the group which inch by precious inch is creeping into our hall of power in the United States. I fear what may one day come if we continue along this path. Politics was never meant to be mingled with personal religious ideals. Even the framers realized this and most of them were deeply religious men. I simply hope that the forces of reason can somehow overpower the oppression of religion and continue along a reasonable path. Also, I would like to make another point on the topic of religious freedom in the U.S. Despite what anyone may think or pronounce, the United States was founded by a bunch of Christian fundamentalists. This is and always has been a Christian country. People expect you to be Christian (unless some other physical feature "disqualifies" you) and act surprised or even offended if you are not. For example, maybe five years ago a friend of mine's younger brother once asked me what kind of Christian I was. When I replied I was Jewish (I was at the time), he acted startled and asked me what that meant. He didnt even know what Judaism was! Granted, he was seven at the time, but I hope most seven-year olds know of other major religions. I suggest that the farther we go towards America's roots of religious oppression and censorship, the worse this kind of behavior will become. As they say, the winner writes the history. Well, Christianity has won the religious war in this country. And this bodes poorly for us all, if the current trend of their chosen use of power continues. Even now, other religions are tacked on almost as an afterthought. There are fringe groups in every religion. That said, most of the "conventional" religious organizations can be just as bad. I speak only from what I have read and seen, but Christianity seems to be among the greatest offenders, most likely because of its size. I once read a report (cant remember from where right now) that said many of the Christian church headquarters (such as the Vatican, etc.) spend as much as 15% or more of their funds in efforts to convert others to their religions. A great deal of this is aimed at Jews and Muslims, as they are seen as "easier targets," due to the marked similarity between the trio.

My two personal favorites are Karn Elco and Galael Delune. But Im biased, as both are characters in my writing.

What you seem to miss is that this game was never intended to be an RPG. It is and has always been an action-adventure game designed with a sci-fi story in mind. Personally, as I said earlier, I absolutely loved it. And in my opinion, judging the quality of a game based on the developer's ability at rhetoric surpasses stupidity. Skill at one task is not to be judged by a deficiency in an unrelated aspect of life. I suggest you try it at least by renting it before completely writing it off.

Then I doubt you'd like it. The story definitely isnt its strong point.

Yet you fail to notice a distinct difference in those situations from the one which we discuss. If something is good, it should be rated highly because of its quality, not because of its superiority to something else.

Games should be judged on their own merits, not rated higher or lower based on other examples in the market.

Well, heres the end of Chapter Nine. Its rather short so I might elongate it later. More likely, however, I'll just incorporate the rest into Chapter Ten. Hope you enjoy it and sorry for the wait. Chapter Nine.... Cont.

Actually, for once this debate is on topic, as we are discussing our opinions of who should develop Kotor 3 in a thread which focuses on the laying off of the in-house LA dev team. Thus, speculation on said topic is to be expected and welcomed. That said, Bioware makes okay games. They aren't great, they aren't excellent, they are just okay. See, what prevents Bioware from making great games is their overuse of foreshadowing, their inability to create "surprising" storylines that aren't readily apparent from the first hour of play, and their equation of evil with thuggery. Combat isnt one of their strongsuits either. If given the time and proper resources, I believe Obsidian could make a highly superior game to any of Bioware's. I suppose we shall see with NWN 2.

I believe you mean me...

I had been waiting for this game for several years, and so was disappointed by the reviews and debated whether to even get it. I rented it yesterday and do not regret my choice to try it. Well, I beat it a few hours ago and I have to say I loved it. It does have it technical shortcomings, but they were so rare in my game as to be almost nonexistent. While some scifi cheese was there, overall the story was enjoyable and I found myself engrossed in the game. Several reviewers have found it too easy, yet I found it somewhat challenging, being forced to replay multiple sections numerous times. That might just be a comment on my skill at action games, however. I normally play just RPGs and the occassional strategy game. Though I dont play many games, I do play the ones I have a great deal. And, in my opinion, Advent Rising was one of the most enjoyable I have played in a long time.

Not only would an Xbox version be impractical, but it would violate a number of laws. Besides only people willing to break said laws and mod their boxes would be able to play it. I say stick to the PC version.

The creators and regulars of the site are quite serious, yes. Check their homepage.

Wow...I havent been to that site in months. It can be both funny and infuriating, especially if you know the science they attempt to debunk.