GreasyDogMeat

Trapped in the Cupboard... an Urban Opera.

THIS IS SPARTA! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZBA0SKmQy8 Might want to turn your volume down a tad... kind of loud.

I think it would be far more of a true statement if you had said: "The more you buy into the hype the crappier it is."

So, this is why Tigers hate monkeys in the wild... they were bullied as youngsters! 3 minutes of monkey tiger spanking and ear pulling.

Exactly. Its like crying over spilled milk x10.

LMAO, Seth Green is hilarious in that skit! The George Bush one... not so much, but good effort.

Don't see how that would affect frame rate. Complex rules and character creation shouldn't equal bad frame rates/poor optimization and it hasn't in previous games. The extra time spent on the Witcher is a good thing, and I wish an extra year or so had been spent optimizing NwN 2 and adding new features/more flexibility. Either way The Witcher looks interesting. Gears of War for PC might be fun as well. I love coop modes and Gears of War looks like it would be blast in coop.

Looking forward to: Mask of the Betrayer Enemy Territory: Quake Wars - Played the betas and the recent demo and it has really improved. I've enjoyed Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory for years and I love the gameplay. Both will be coming out either within the month or early next. Considering: Airborne: Enjoyed the demo, and I like WWII shooters, but after the Pacific Assault flop... Bioshock: The demo just didn't quite sell it for me. I'm not a big fan of the Unreal 3 engine... been rather buggy for me and feels unoptimized at times. One setting in Biowshock would always crash the game and the recent Stranglehold demo wont even start. Only Airborne worked without crashing issues. In the future: Rage - id software's new post-apocalyptic racer/shooter. Witcher - Don't know what to think of it yet. It will be really embarassing for Obsidian if the Witcher ends up running more smoothly than NWN 2 considering they are both from the same engine. Fallout 3 - Cons: Bethesda's writing style sucks and their quests are usually boring. They also don't offer a lot of the freedom of quest completion that I was used to in Bioware, Obsidian, Black Isle games. They seem to think, just like Fallout: BOS for consoles, that it is only sex and violence that makes a Fallout game. Bethesda is really one of the last RPG companies I would have liked to have seen do a Fallout game. Pros: They make amazing worlds to explore. It really is impressive to be able to walk across a small country and see people wondering about their business, horse riders delivering news etc. The mods for Oblivion have been fantastic and have in many ways saved the experience for me. I'm hoping that if Fallout 3 does have glaring flaws, and I'm sure it will, that the amazing mod community can do something about it. Alan Wake - From the makers of Max Payne, it has an interesting concept. About a horror writer having sleeping issues who's nightmares start coming true. Not much is known about the game yet but the concept sounds interesting. Resident Evil 5 - I recently got the PC port of RE4, and loved it despite the crap port job (Damn you Ubisoft, I hate you more than EA! Actually I don't really hate EA, especially now after the Ubisoft RE4 port.). I'm hoping Resident Evil 5 also gets ported to PC, but from a completly different publisher. Aliens RPG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZAr9E8i3ng This video is rated 'R' for retarded. Simultaneously hilarious and disturbing at the same time. LEAVE BRITNEY ALOOONE YOU BASTARDS! Can't stop laughing, but at the same time, I hope this doesn't turn into something like Grizzly Man... except it will be Britney Man. Could make a great documentary.

The expansion does start out pretty mellow in the combat department, but it ramps up quickly after that. We put a good amount of effort into revising the combat scenarios so they felt tactically challenging. We tried to find ways to differentiate enemy types from area to area and within each area. Tactical difficulty is usually more interesting than numeric difficulty, if that makes sense. Yes it does. I've been a DM of 3E DnD for years and this is definitely true. That sounds very promising, because I often got the impression in NWN2 that hordes of orcs/rogues/watchmen were used because whoever designed those areas couldn't think of anything more interesting for characters to fight. No. Abstracted combat systems like DnD should be CLOSER to the rules, not further from it. I already find it aggravating that many of the most interesting tactics and skills aren't available in NWN2 as it sort of makes some compromises between the original TB 3E combat and the simulated real time rounds it does have. If they want to make a combat system where the player 'drives' combat, don't make the game DnD to begin with. That simple. I never said I wanted it further from the rules. The closer to the rules the better, but I think something more interesting and exciting could be implemented instead of simply clicking an enemy to attack... then sitting back and watching. I'd like to see more exciting in your face combat animations.

For my evil playthrough, I think I'll just import my Tiefling Warlock that I'm playing the OC with now. For a good play through, I think I'll replay the OC with one of the new races/classes/prestiges then over to Mask.

Short of a few reviews before purchase, I hadn't heard of Fable so I hadn't been built up by any previous hype machine. For me it was decent adventure game in the vein of the Zelda series. I suppose if I had known of the game beforehand and followed the hype I would have been massively let down too.

I doubt MrBrown is also praising the stories or roleplaying (or, the complete lack of) of DA/FOBOS. I would enjoy seeing D&D RPGs get combat that involved the player more but still keeping the rolls involved with D&D combat. Something like a cross between Jade Empire and D&D Online (Only tried the trial/beta, but enjoyed the implementation of combat).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20677230/?GT1=10357 Good to know our tax dollars are at work jailing these hard core criminals. How much more time would she have got if she spit in the burger? 'I said no onions! Thats it, you're under arrest!' "tried to thump the salt off.

"some parts are very difficult for someone with his relatively-low familiarity with D&D. D&D is a complicated ruleset and there's a minimum level of understanding required to do anything with it -- especially at 20th+ level. The only real way to get around that is to selectively shave off so much of the complex D&D rules that you're left with something like BG: Dark Alliance or the old Capcom D&D games." What I'd like to see is more detailed tutorials that explain as much as possible about what makes a good and bad character. I started D&D games with Baldur's Gate and I remained a noob nub newblet for a long time because the game just sets you down with little to no explanation out of the manual about stats, saving throws and all that jazz. One of the few things I liked about Temple of Elemental Evil is that it contained an in-game dictionary of all the D&D rules within the game. If you didn't know what wisdom influenced, you could click on wisdom on your stats page and an entry would pop up explaining the effects and importance of the stat. Something like this would have been a HUGE help in my infinity engine days. Hell, even today with NwN 2 it would be handy to have an in-game encyclopedia instead of having to search through a fat rulebook or instruction manual. I deffinitly agree with Josh though as far as difficulty was concerned. I loved Icewind Dale 1, the music, setting, atmosphere and story were all top notch, but Icewind Dale 2 really improved on the combat. I felt a real sense of accomplishment beating IWD 2, even if I did have to skip the optional dragon battle and the graveyard of heroes.

The expansion does start out pretty mellow in the combat department, but it ramps up quickly after that. We put a good amount of effort into revising the combat scenarios so they felt tactically challenging. We tried to find ways to differentiate enemy types from area to area and within each area. Tactical difficulty is usually more interesting than numeric difficulty, if that makes sense. I think that weathered veterans will at least find the combat engaging. Total nubs (e.g. Adam Brennecke) will probably be wiped out at a few spots. But hey, you're playing an epic-level D&D game, so suck it up and get promoted out of the Nubtorian Guard. I certainly believe that the majority of players moving from NWN2 to MotB will find the latter more interesting and challenging overall. Sounds a bit like Icewind Dale 2. One thing I enjoyed in IwD 2 were a few optional mega-hard battles, like the Dragon and the graveyard of heroes. Both battles kicked my ass and I ended up skipping them to finish the main storyline. Sometime, when I decide to replay the Infinity Engine games I'll make a more powerful party to finish those battles. I remember being excited about the sub-races, a first for an IE game, so I had a party full of Drow, Duergars and Deep Gnomes... made the game more challenging, but a real biotch for the tough battles.

That WASD bug was "driving" me crazy when playing through MotB. I finally had enough of it and fixed it with Brock's assistance about two weeks ago. I'm glad you noticed! As for the inventory issues, there's a few more tweaks and features that will be coming soon that may make you happy. -Brennecke Any improvements to the inventory system make me very happy. The new flashing icons really do help when picking up new items. I have a habit of spacing items at various pages and with slots seperating them, every time I pick up a horde of new items it just throws it into the mix and it takes a while to sort. The flashing lets me immediatly spot what I've just picked up for faster sorting. Also, I'm glad to report some of the emotes have been fixed. In previous versions dust off and a few other emotes were playing a digging animation and they now play the correct animations. It may be small, but I like to emote and it IS nice to see.

I'd have to say 1.07 is the most impressive patch so far. The game feels much more polished now. -New inventory items flash to show you that you just picked them up. This helps a lot with organization, but I would still prefer a list style KoTOR 2 inventory system that sorts by item type and name. I do not like grid style inventories anymore, and NwN 2's grid inventory is one of the most basic, difficult to see (the items are not immediatly obvious what they are) and annoying. Really, where is the fun in going into the inn or keep, then leaving to switch characters, passing items, rinsing and repeating. In the castle/inn you should have a shared inventory with all party members like the Ebon Hawk in KoTOR 2. Likewise I would like to see access to all party members inventories for easy organization/passing/buying and selling. It is a real bitch to keep having to travel to a location, swapping members, then heading back to a store. It is even more annoying than the old IE games because atleast in BG 2 the inventories were much smaller while in NWN 2 characters can carry ridiculous amounts of potions, weapons, crafting supplies etc. and passing them is a nightmare. The new inventory flash is GREATLY appreciated, but it is a peice of gum on a broken dam imho. Even if a list style inventory is, for some strange reason, out of the question, there is no reason a sort button couldn't be implemented. You could click this button and it would put all items of a like type near each other. All potions by other potions, all weapons by others etc. This issue really isn't noticable in the early parts of the game, it is once you get to the keep and have a large party that inventory management becomes a nightmare. I really could go on and on about why I hate the NwN 2 inventory... it really bleeds time better spent on actual role playing and battles. I in no way want a 'consolized noob' inventor, a weight limit and even a space limit could still remain in effect, there just needs to be a better sorting mechanism, and an easier means to pass and sell items between the party. Luckily, with Mask of the Betrayer, it sounds like fewer NPCs means less inventory management woes. -I like how new journal entries appear in bold yellow text on your screen. -The game feels a bit more fluid now and performance has been improved with shadows. It still is not enough to actually allow high shadows on in city locations though. Shadows are awkward in NWN 2 in that I can turn them on in many locations and get smooth frame rates of 30-40 with 1600x900 resolutions, while other locations, mainly city locations in Neverwinter bring my frame rate down to the low teens, even at very low resolutions like 800x600. This is also with shadow quality on the low setting. Makes no sense that I can get great shadows in the Unreal 3 and Doom 3 engines. Perhaps more options could be added. The ability to turn off shadows on grass, or self shadowing for instance could greatly improve the frame rate. -I like to use the WASD keys to move my character, and I've noticed a glitch has been fixed. Previously if I ran into a scene where a character dialog starts up, my character would continue to run in place, this seems to be fixed now. -I'd like to see a custom difficulty setting that allows you to activate/deactivate all of the difficulty options the player desires. Prime example: I like many of the 'D&D Hardcore' difficulty settings, but I don't like how spells also damage your own party. It would be fantastic if I could keep all of the 'hard' options on except this one item. The reason I personally don't like it on has to do with enemies immune to other enemies area of effect spells. Qara casts a fireball at your group and you all get hurt, enemy wizard casts a fire ball at a group of his friends and they are immune. -Either ragdoll physics, or a Call of Duty 1/2 style body alignment to slopes would be very nice. It is really distracting to see bodies lying halfway into hills.

Oh, cool, 1.07 beta is out! I'm going to have to try it and see if there is any noticable difference in frame rate with shadows on. My native resolution is actually 1680x1050, but I've noticed a slight frame rate improvement with 1600x900, and it doesn't stretch things too badly.

Just finished the free release of Prince of Persia from Fileplanet. It certainly has it's moments but it gets extremly repetitive in areas. Beat 30+ of the same enemies over and over to create a save/vision sand pilar, solve some puzzle, rinse and repeat.

Shadows are a real monster in NwN 2. I can run the game at 1600x900 resolution and get a decent frame rate, but turn shadows on, and everything else off, set the resolution to 800x600 and I still get a horrendous frame rate in city areas. Wilderness areas actually run fine with shadows on, even at a high resolution but the city locations just kill it. Makes me wish NwN 2 had used the Doom 3 engine.

You can only save at swirling sand locations. NOT the ones that you suck out time energy from with your dagger, but the larger sand mini-tornadoes. I've never been given a save option at a drinking pool, but I'm only 12% in the game. So far I feel kind of mixed about the game. Amazing combat animations, but some rather awkward controls.

The recent spoof movies, starting with the first Scary Movie have been absolute unfunny garbage. At first I thought I was getting more mature, but I can go back and watch some of the old classic Leslie Nielson spoofs and still laugh like crazy. I just don't think the Wayans brothers 'get it'.

Pets, especially dogs, are a great motivator for excercise. Since my dog died a few years ago I know I get out hiking much less frequently than I used to.

Far Cry is an amazing game, if you don't have it... get it... now! I'm going to have to try Prince of Persia and Raving Rabbids. I've also heard good things about PoP, but have no clue about Raving Rabbids.