aries101

Obsidian was formed by former Black Isle/Interplay members, including Feargus Urquhart. So, technically while not having anything to do with BG1 and BG2, some of the people were in the two companies (though not at the same time, of course). Most notacibly, of course is and was Feargus Urquhart, MCA, and J.E. Sawyer.

As Fernando Melo said in the livestream publised yesterday via gamespot (can still be found at gamespot? or other places, I think?) Bioware did listen to feedback from their users and fans. And I fear that maybe they have listened a little bit too much; apparently people want to fight Darkspawn, want to save the world, want there to an epic boss battle at the end - and apparently people also want to fight (the) ancient evil.....who apparently is some sort of conductor (at least that's the info I'm getting from reading The Bioware DA2 topics on this subject) - maybe it is Herbert von Karajan? this time around.... Jokes, aside, though, I was one of the people that loved that DA2 did not have big bad evil, ancient or new, to fight. From threads at the Bioware forums about DA2, and the story in it, I have gathered that it is not the story in itself that is bad, it is the execution of it, the way they have done it, so to speak. From the footage shown of the dlc at this event, it still looked like an action game to me; casual they were playing on though. It maybe doesn't mean much, but the whole combat sequence still felt like an action rpg, too me, not the promised tactical combat. However, good to see that even on casual the team members, and Hawke, took a beating or two. The game still looks -ahem - not good visually....

As for the lawsuit, Adam Kicinski, the CEO of CDP Red said this: (source is link from pmp10's post) He also says that the financial situation is very good at the moment. On happier news, Ive found this from the witcher's current website - http://www.thewitcher.com/community/ The changelog van be viewed here: http://www.thewitcher.com/media/upload/Changelog%201.3.pdf It is quite a long changelog, so head on over. However, an excerpt: No ETA, though, yet.

I doubt any BioWare dev even heard of any Divinity game. It's too low on the radar. You would be surprised at how many games, and PnP games, in different game-universes Bioware devs, actually play. However, you may still be right here, as I think Flemeth is a shapeshifter, and can turn into a Dragon. Maybe there's a hint of evidence of some some cut content here?

Also, unlike other places, talk about torrenting and pirating (this is just info, not a suggestion!) runs rampant on the Codex forums. Other game website will deal with those that suggests this swiftly and harshly - either with a temp ban or a more -ahem- permanent ban. If repeated that is. And yes, it was nice when Gaider posted at the Codex. However, 2 or maybe three years ago, Gaider decided that he didn't want to visit the Codex anymore because of the posters', or maybe rather 1 or 2 posters, direct lashing out at Gaider, as Purkake said. Very sad indeed On the Watch, we used to have Patrick Weekes come in from time to time and comment. It was nice However, I think Patrick's boss (which is also his wife) or some of the other bosses at Bioware told him to stop because sometimes he would be way to open-mouthed about things. And say something that he really shouldn't, not in a bad way that is. He just revealed something about something that maybe Bioware would have thought it nice to have hidden for 2-3 months or longer. And yes, Fallout, Planescape Torment and Arcanum are all examples of games in which the rpg mechanics for the Codex, as others have mentioned are done correctly - and that you can have a good story with good gameplay and interesting characters.

I'm currently playing two old games -- Gooka - the mystery of Janatris (rpg) and a traditonal point and click adventure called Gilbert Goodmate - the Mushroom of Phungoria. Both are very nice and good games, I think. The story in both games are nice, the gameplay is nice, the characters are better in Gilbert Goodmate, graphics is not the best, but I can live with that. Scorewise Gooka, I'd give a 7/10 - Gilbert Goodmate around 8/10, maybe 8.5.

And maybe, just maybe that line in the DA2 demo is a potshot, a tribute, or a nod to the game Divine Divinty 2 - Ego Draconis. A game in which you become a dragon.

As a member of the both rpgwatch since it started bback in 2006 and the rpgcodes from around 2004 or 2005, I can honestly say that I've seen decline of the codex in all its glory. Back in 2004-2007, or maybe 2008, Vault Dweller ruled the Codex with, no not an iron fist, but he ran a very tight ship. Then he wanted to make it more professional with somewhat harder posting rules (temp ban for people posting false links or to post to tub girls...not nice....) Then late 2007, or maybe early 2008, some people decided to stage a coup, and the site was down for days. Then, VD, and the leadership got control back. VD decided that it was too much for him to monitor etc. rpg codex - he left to do his indie rpg Age of Decadence. And ever since then the decline has been going on. In the general forum (which I rarely visit now) people are spouting racist remarks, generally trolling, flaming etc. Not so much in the news post, though, VD at least did try to limit this by temp ban people who overdid all of of the above. Back then, before 2007-2008, we would have real discussions about Bioware's games, Arcanum's plots or the story in PS: Torment. Today, anytime someone try to discuss this, people start spouting, sorry to say this, vitriol. And not only this, are allowed to this. Sadly However, once in a while, brilliant things comes to mind, and happens on the rpg codex such as VD's reviews of Witcher 1, or Witcher 2, or someone writes a good review about an indie rpg like Din's Curse. And in these threads, there actual discussion in which people actually lay out solid arguments for what they think about a game like Witcher 2. I've also found that most of the posters at the Codex site are really helpfull if you say ask a question about how to do something in Arcanum or PS: Torment. The Codex generally, as site, (and I'm saying this based on my observations) likes rpgs old schools. That's whay they like Dragon Age: Origins (sort of), and games like Witcher 1 and 2. They also like some consistency in games e.g. that the combat featured fits with the game i.e. combat in witcher befits how a witcher will do combat (irl) and virtually. So yes, I do agree that about half the posts are forgetfull and half the posts are worthwhile to read. Explaining rpgwatch -? It is a site about rpgs, traditonal and non-traditonal, but not MMOs. And it is nice site Moderation are light, but firm. As it should be.

In Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, I had a lot fun, kicking enemies into spikes, trowing barrels at them or even at one time (I think) downing a chandelier on them. I could see Geralt do the same in TW3. I've always wondered why we, or rather our, characters could not interact with the environment more in rpgs? Must be an engine limitation problem or?

I'm not sure about this either, judging the game's story from the demo. Let me clarify then. Being Obsidian, I really looked forward to a non-conventional story with unique and creative angles, not a story told a million times before. Go find the big bad bad guy or woman and defeat it. I've seen and played enough games (or watched stories on film and television) to predict where a story will go just from the first five-10 minutes or so. Only game, I haven't been able to do so with in recent years: Witcher 1...

I tried the demo last night and here are my impressions. Let me first say that I absolutely adore Obsidian and have bought all their games. I just bought Fallout: New Vegas.... 1) Story - eh what story. There's been an attack, you must find out who did this and what is this about people (npcs) having Legion (pure) blood? I thought we did this once - in reality.... 2) Graphics, or rather art design, not that great, mediocre at best. And who decided to motion cap human heads and then put them on cartoonish characters? 3) The characters themselves look sort of unfinished or unpolished, and lije they were cut of cardboard paper or something. Not trying to be harsh here, but I do think so. I'm no graphics whore, but still characters need to be beliveable in the world. They're not - this is partly because 4) the voiceacting. Lucas' voice is way to solemn and boring without any intonation whatsoever. Same goes for other characters. 5) The controls for pc are just -ahem - horrible and terrible. Maybe with a gamepad in the real game, it will get better. I often found myself dying because of the controls, especially since you apparently can't target the enemies you want. Very annoying. 6) I could overlook the controls issues, if the story was great. It doesn't seem to be.

Just to do the comparision again between DA2 and Witcher 1: How much influence did Geralt really have when it comes down to it? Sure, he is able to take sides, but is the world a better place because of this? Wouldn't it be fair to say that everything sort of happens around him as well, and he only plays but a little part in it all? Just like Hawke apparently?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_art I've found this site on wikipedia using google so the rugs and carpets were similar to these shown on wiki? Or were they arabesques? Or were they carpets with mosques on them?

Since I haven't played the game yet, I'm guessing that this perhaps&maybe are persian carpets? If it it, then they shouldn't have deleted or replaced them as the persian carpet tradition(s) predates the islamic traditions... And why wouldn't a brothel a have nice persian carpet? I clearly remember a carpet in a brothel in BG1 that looked like or were similar to a persian carpet... And what is an islamic themed rug or carpet anyway? Is is the pattern in the carpet that decided whether or not this is so?

I think it is time someone mentioned the Grand Dame of all sci-fi, Ursula K. Le Guin - who in her books explores the relationsships people have in different futuristic setting and also explores some really interesting concepts like what if there were nor wars or what if everyone was poor or rich... Back on topic (a bit) David Gaider has himself said that he got a lot of inspiration for DA: Origins, from A song of Fire and Ice, it also seemed heacily inspired by The Witcher, especially Witcher's tale of suppressed elves and dwarves. The story in DA: Origins do not come even close to the one presented in The Witcher, (1), though. As for DA2, of course he would mention the war on the terror as an inspiration for the game. However this just push people more and more into believing that the Qunari are in fact, stand-ins, or symbols, for muslems. And that they are just waiting to invade, the Qunari, I mean, not the muslems. As a more general comment, these days, for some reason, fantasy is seen as kid's genre more than books for adults. The same apparently goes for game magazines. My local library have them placed in the children's sections

David Gaider talked with Fantasy Magazine about DA2. http://www.rpgwatch.com/#17393 Apparently, the framed story was Laidlaw's idea: David Gaider:

I seriously don't get the hate for DA2. I mean, I have only played DA2's demo (as funds are sort of low right now). But I do like the more responsive combat. I went back and played Golems and Witch Hunt after playing the DA2 demo. And I detested the combat in both Golems and Witch Hunt after having played DA2's demo - simply because of this time around npcs + Hawke actually did what I ordered them to do. Instead of just standing around, slugging their way to 'ok, maybe I'll do a swing with my big two-handed sword . if I feel like it - in a minute or so - meh.' The only problem I have with the combat in DA2 (from the demo) is that rogues are now ninjas that magically backstab by flying through the air - as if someone had ordered all strings from Crouching Tiger - Hidden Dragon to be available for the rogue's backstabbing movements. It does take some of the fun out of hiding in shadows, sneaking up to the enemy, and then planting the dagger in his back, before he or she (or the monsters) even know what's going on. I can understand much has been said about the re-use of areas, guess what. Every game out there does it, even Witcher 1. I clearly remember seeing the same cave at least 2 or 3 times; however, this was maybe 20 with a timespan of 20-30 hours. DA2 is a much shorter game, (than witcher 1) so maybe that's why people are upset? As for the non-equipment of your character's followers (npcs), I can understand why people want this. But maybe there could be a middleground here? NPCs having their own unique dressing style really build their characterization in game - meaning that they will wear what they will wear. Maybe there could be unique outfits for them througout the game, and maybe unique weapons as well that got upgraded too (like the armor) during the game. Most comments I've seen agree that this game's plot, DA2's plot, is something an rpg hasn't done in many years, telling a more personal story throgh Hawke's ris to power. Most comments, however, also seem to agree that the design and the execution were - to say the least - horribly done. Possibly because of the 12-18 months development time. And most comments also agree that the way the story unfolded in Act three were ridiculous. To me, it seems that Bioware aimed at telling a story like the one in The Witcher (1) where everything is in chaos after the end game, and nothing really has changed. Except that something has changed in the game's world (thedas) after the ending. Bioware didn't quite pull this off in a believable way. However, I do like the idea behind it: to pull the curtain away from the player, to pull the rug away under the gamer, to kick over the sandcastle they seem to have built during the first game. It is a bold move to do, imo. Especially because players expect that now there is peace and quiet in Ferelden, and Thedas, and now it'll be the time to relax. But no, says Lead Writer Gaider. Now is the time to drastically change the world, to show how a man's actions influences the world - or not. As I understand, Hawke, like Geralt, is a bystander, trying to get by, and gets involved by coincidence, like Geralt. And like Geralt, he is powerless when it comes to preventing a war, in Hawkw's case between the Mages and the Templar's. And to, this plot is refreshing - and a novel idea. (instead of the let's save the world again...for the nth time...)

L.A. Noir plays on both PS3 and the Xbox 360; Shouldn't Witcher 2 be able to play well on consoles, too? I mean, the hardware limitations for the 360 and the PS3 doesn't hinder L.A. Noir in playing well on these systems. And this game looks just as beautiful as Witcher 2...

It seems to me that this game, DA2, should not have been released 1

In this thread at the Bioware's DA2 forum, there is a nice discussion going on about the story and the way it was implemented. Spoilers abound so be warned (especially ending spoilers...) http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/304/index/6853352/3 I still think that the devs. maybe wanted to make a story ending like the one in the first Fallout game; DA2's ending also seems more open to me than say DA:O's. It certainly seems to leave it up to the player, the gamer to speculate what happens next. As far as the framed story goes, it does rewuire people to think for themselves and to fill in the blanks (the missing parts) themselves. Some people, not all obviosly, do maybe not know how to do this - to fill in the gaps in the story by themself. Because they have learned how to do do this - for various reasons. There's also this thread at the Bioware DA2 forums discussing plotholes etc. http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/304/index/6872575/5

If you look at what Chris Priestly says (source: [url="http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/to

As for game sales, remember that at least 50% of the games now are being sold via download services such as D2D, EADownloader, Gamer's Gate, etc. ME2's 1.2 million could easily be just half of maybe 1/3 of all games sold...

Baldur's Gate did not sell that well - in the beginning. BG2 did not either. However, after 5 or 10 years or more, BG2 has sold, I think, 2,5- 3,0 millions? 1,6 millions during the first 6-8 weeks is not (that) bad. More will buy ME2 copies at some point. [interestingly, though ME2 is now already an EA Classic....I was like when I saw this....]. Ray M. and Greg Z. has said once (jokingly?) that they'll need to sell 10 million copies. This means coming close to the sold units for Call of Duty - or is that really shipped units? As Bioware and EA will be paid when the game is shipped to stores. Today, however, it seems that games, like movies, need to have an ROI (return of investment) during the first 4-6, or maybe 8, weeks after the game's first release period. Such is the way of the market, apparantly.

According to this interview with Laidlaw http://www.destructoid.com/the-old-school-...es-194234.phtml at Destructoid, they changed how the players get into the game: And yes, this decision has been a result of telemetry data: As for the telemetry data, I first turned it off, but I quickly turned it on again after I learned that the reason Bioware decided to make Hawke human was the telemetry data they got; 80% of all people played Human Noble. Also, uploading the telemetry data helps Bioware do stuff like analysis for bugs in gameplay etc.

Since someone 'stole' or 'copied' the master key illegaly, it must have been an inside job? Who else has access to all these things like the master key for the online activation services... edit: The assumption or guess here seems to be that an illegally copied game is equal to a lost sale. I'm not sure that it is so - necessarily. Alan Wake would maybe only have sold 600,000 copies (and a bit more) rather than the about 1,7 million copies if we add the 1,1 million + the 0,6 million up. And the reason behind this is that not all people who illegally copied this game would have bought it, maybe only 1 in ten would have done so...