Delerius_Jedi

-Planescape: Torment -Doom3 -Curse of Monkey Island -Half-Life 2 -SW: Battlefront -SW: Jedi Academy -SW: KotOR -World of Warcraft Rather nice, diverse selection I've got a Maxtor SATA 120GB drive, one Western Digital ATA133 100GB drive and one Western Digital SATA 250GB drive. Who needs a burner?

Thank you so much for not defending them I find the HDTV issue really annoying as LCD TV's are really kicking off here, they have full high-res support and it just don't make any sense to start cutting features from the machines. Leave them in. I'm not really sure what to make of your external power supply comment: I have a Nintendo GC; are you saying that if I went to the US, all I'd have to do is buy a US (original) GC powersupply and then I'd be able to use the console just fine? Having played KotOR2(yes, my Box is modded so I pulled it outta the aether) I can definately recommend a rental before plucking down

I was referring specifically to Xbox, yeah. The PS2 is totally dominating the International market. And MS has a long way to go. But like I said: the regionalisation has got to go: Think about it: This strategy was created back in the days of the PSX where there was no Internet and the only way to get any information was to consult the publishers. Hence they were able to keep many gamers in the dark about what was happening elsewhere. Now we have the Internet and a great number of ways for getting information and gamers are really getting fed up with this policy. I know I am. Why would I want to buy a system when the points I made still exist? I'm not getting value for my money, which is why I'm selling it. I know I could easily [p-word] every game for the Xbox out there but I just think there is something fundamentally wrong when I have to do that simply to get games when they're finished. The delayed releases ultimately hurts the game sales too: Fable was highly anticipated, yet MS slapped a 1

Yet you are still here talking about it! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Nothing wrong with that; the game did have some good points that I like, but I just can't be arsed to remember to do everything in a particular order to avoid a certain glitch and such. Not saying I hate what's in there, just that I'm not as excited about it as others are.

Actually most PAL TV's are perfectly capable of displaying NTSC. The console makers just don't want to admit it. My 6 year old PAL 20-inch discount TV has been hooked up to an NTSC DVD player and it plays just fine. 60Hz is the big issue here, but PAL TV's have had that capability for the better part of a decade now. The console makers just still love to use it as an excuse to delay or not cater to the international market. I'm with you here, Drakron: As a matter of fact I am selling my Xbox because of this, I've had enough. If you really want to get games; get it modded.

The "Golden Age" has come and gone - and is unlikely to be reborn anytime soon. It's time we deal with it, kumquatq. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Golden ages are almost always down to nostalgia anyway. This is going to be someones golden age in another 5 years.. I've realy enjoyed my gaming since switching to consoles. I've also played things that I would never have played on the PC (thanks to rentals). And best of all 99% of it has worked out of the box and played through to the end with absolutely no hassles. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just hope that the console makers put some effort into the international market. The way it's done today makes consoles a very unattractive option for those outside the US; If we look at Xbox there are several things that would need to be done to make it succesful abroad. 1) Features: On the NTSC versions(US) the Xbox has HDTV support. On the PAL version(international) MS removed that for some reason. So they're selling a machine with reduced functionality abroad. 2) Selection: In the US, MS proudly boasts a gaming library of 500+ titles for the Xbox. However; a quick visit to any of their international sites reveals that only 212 games are available to customers outside the US. And since they region locked the machine, international customers cannot play US games on a stock International Xbox. Add to that a general 3 month delay on every international release except for Halo 2 (even though they're the same English versions). 3) Price. Both the games and the hardware costs a third more abroad than in the US: This is a key issue as many gamers are really put off by the thought of buying a system and getting reduced functionality(point 1) and a reduced selection of games(point 2) 4) Rentals: Doesn't exist over here except for the PS2. Sony has a solid market share internationally. Incidentily; MS just published their fiscal earnings in which they state that they've now shipped roughly 20 million Xbox consoles. 13.2 million for the US, a very low 5 million for Europe and an extremely low 1.7 million for Asia. In contrast; Sony has shipped 26 million PS2's in Europe alone. All this suggests to me that MS is doing something fundamentally wrong as the Xbox is apparently sold out in large parts of the US while they're piling up on stores shelves here in Europe. If consoles are ever going to surpass the PC as the dominating gaming platform(especially internationally) then the publishers really have to look into the points made above; they have to make it a viable, attractive option to everyone and the way the system works now that just isn't so. The Xbox has some good things going for it; it's just a pity that MS can't seem to realise that the consumers of today keep a very close eye on how companies market their products globally and when they see something like the points I listed; alot really lose the desire to purchase the system. And I for one am very sad to see Troika go: I loved Bloodlines and will keep playing it for quite awhile. I hope the very talented people who worked out the story and setting for Bloodlines find work elsewhere as they really have talent.

1 because by the time I'd finished I was so put off by the bugs and incomplete material that most likely I'm never picking it up again.

Well, KotOR had around 3 second load times if you have a good PC with a SATA HDD. So there is a chance that it'll be the same on KotOR2. It still doesn't make up for having to wait 2 months extra without additional content. Bug-fixes doesn't count as bonus content.

The Disciple's name is Michal. He reveals this in the LSM game when he makes a report to Admiral Cede/ after seeing the Exile on Dantooine.

I think you're out of luck then. I haven't read the novel, but according to TFN it's supposed to be the "official" novel version of the game. As for the game itself: I think it's gonna be one of those titles that will probably do better on PC than Xbox. They based on on the UT2004 engine, after all. I've tried the demo on Xbox and it was ok. It did feel sorta like Halo with the SW license added, but maybe it'll have a better, more fresh feel on PC.

I prefer KotOR's graphics. The game looks much cleaner than KotOR2, and the areas aren't as bland. *Edit* I should mention that KotOR runs at 1600x1200 w/ 4x Anti Aliasing, 8x Anistophic Filtering and soft shadows. KotOR2 just runs at the Xbox's meager 640x480 with medium quality textures.

Lol...this almost makes me laugh as much as when I see all the "Xbox RPG of the year" awards that KotOR2 is "winning". Come on: It's pretty much the only RPG for the Xbox out there. Sudeki flopped, and Fable was more of action-adventure than true RPG, so what's left? Yup: KotOR2.

A delay would be alright if it meant a bug free game, where all the story elements cut to rush out the Xbox version were restored. In other words: Additional content is really the only acceptable excuse. And from a realistic standpoint: If Obsidian ever hopes to sell another PC game again then they can't afford to tick more of their customer base off.

Fear not! Ubisoft has not abandoned the Ghost Recon series on PC. Behold: Ghost Recon 2 PC They're just taking awhile longer to make sure it runs properly

Greater Storm Beast Seriously though: Malak. Was more rewarding to beat him, too. TSL's bosses just didn't feel rewarding to beat.

In that case, I'm glad to say that I'll never contribute to any KotOR II sales figures

Meh, anyone with an Xbox, an ethernet cable, a copy of TSL and a PC can get the music off the DVD. It's not hard.

All I was saying is that sales figures don't always equal popularity. It unfortunately also shows that LA can get away with abandoning their commitment to their PC and International customers and ship half-finished games. Which really puts a damper on any possible KotOR III situation for me. I think the series should just be allowed to die with a little dignity.

Oh, I think Obsidian could've done a good job. They just need to stand up to LA and say "We need this much time to do a good game, if you don't like that: Find another dev." I am also of the opinion that several design choices made by Chris Avelleone on KotOR II just didn't fit in with the series. The lack of deep going romance plots being the one that stands out the most, IMO. The influence system was a good idea: But poorly implemented. Next time try not to tie key plot points into it. I'd prefer Bioware back for a possible KotOR III, but I think Obsidian could also do a decent job, they just need to go back and look at what made the first game so great, like the romances and NPC sidequests. People are still talking about those, so that should be a definate indicator of popularity right there. The influence system needs a complete overhaul and party members have to be able to interact with each other outside of the Ebon Hawk as well, running back there all the time gets tedious. And lastly: Time! If I recall correcly, Bioware spent 2

Of course what those statistics don't show is how many people traded it in again at their local EBGames or whatever after they found out how unpolished and buggy it was.

If I buy it, it will be PC, if I aqquire another version, it will most likely also be PC. I can't stand the 30 second loadtimes on Xbox, plus my PC is much more up to specs. *EDIT* And Kotorianruler: KotOR II has no Xbox Live support, whatsoever.

Hmm...I don't mean to add to flames or anything but I have been wondeing how some games have technical and story issues that go largely overlooked by most of the larger gamesites. Especially as most consumers who then play said games will be quick to point out what would seem to be obvious flaws in the products. Interesting...

Are you suggesting it rivals Master of Orion 3? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Not possible. If there was something worse than that, reality would shatter and we'd all die in the aftermath. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Indeed: I don't think I'll ever be able to shake that feeling. In terms of the original poster's comment: What you could do was to go to the party that has the majority of blame for the number of technical issues that appear in KotOR2: LucasArts. It was LucasArts that decided that KotOR2 was "good enough" to be released in December, thus cutting two months' worth of QA time. The game was always meant to come out it February but LA wanted it out for Christmas. Now: I'm of the personal opinion that while Obsidian can indeed be held accountable for things like plot holes and such, most of the technical issues probably stem from the fact that they lost two months' worth of testing time. I've stated this before: When I look at TSL it becomes more and more obvious that the game wasn't ready for a release. But it was forced out. Again: Obsidian certainly has some responsibility here but it was LucasArts that rushed the game out. I'm still hoping that the PC and PAL Xbox versions will redeem the game on the bug issues and maybe some modders will find additional stuff in the game files and incorporate them back into the plot or such when the PC version is released. We might one day see TSL as it was meant to be.

No...KotOR for PC runs on OpenGL, just like Neverwinter Nights does. Bioware's engines have used OpenGL for 3D acceleration for as long as I can remember.

I just had the game lock up on me twice yesterday. I was running low on save space, so I decided to go back via the in-game load menu and delete some of the old saves from previous characters. I'm one of those people who save alot so a run through a game like KotOR or KotOR2 usually lands me at around 150 saves. Anyway: I go into the menu, select the appropriate character and start to clean up the old saves. I manage to delete three saves, before the game and the console locks up completely. I had to reset it. I tried the same thing a second time and once again: It was three saves that I could delete before the Xbox locked up totally. I seriously hope Obsidian fixes this for the other versions.