aries101

To me, it reminds me of how this is done in The Witcher - at various points in the game, you get to see these what if scenerios. Looks interesting.

I think most players only play through a game once. I don't. I have played through Baldur's Gate at least 2-3 times; when I'm finished with BG2:TOB, I want to play again, this time as a bard. DA: Origin's sounds incredible and could be very good and nice indeed. It makes sure that maybe people will play the game, or some of it, at least 6 times or maybe even 12 times, since you can play as both a man and a woman. And yes, the codex (rpg) can be quite critical at times. However, I'm sure most of the codexers will buy DA: Origins - and then mod it - to - life - as they probably, being as critical as they are, can see where DA: Origins needs to be made better.

Amnesia in PS: Torment actually meant something. Whenever you died, you would wake in on the slap in the mortuary where you started the game. Depending on your Intelligence and Wisdom abilities, you would get access to (even) more memories that would help you to remember your backstory discovered throughput the game; one of the most memorable, create and unique ways to implement death mechanics as well as amnesia in an rpg game, I've seen. And I've not seen it used in this way neither befofe nor after Planescape: Torment. Plenty of games have made use of the amnesia option; none have it as different as PS: Torment did.

Even if I'm one of the codexers and share some (less and less, it seems) of the same design philosophies when making a game, I can't stand or muster some of the opinions said on the codex. So, I'll speak frankly to them about it; luckily, the codex actually values well planned arguments as to why a game is good or not. I think I've defended both Oblivion and Fallout 3 - but also pointing out the flaws in both games. Most people at the codex seem to praise Troika's games, and the Fallout games. I agree, they're awesome games. I also think that many (or most? people from rpgcodex don't like games with realtime combat or 3D games at all, at least not when it comes to rpgs. Some of them (or many or most of them?) prefer rpgs to be fully-turnbased when it comes to combat. I don't. I like Bioware's realtime with pause combat. To me, it seems DA: Origins will bring the combat from BG1 and BG2 or at least as closely to this combat as Bioware possibly are able to make today. It also seems like we get more strategic, tactical combat options, like we've had in BG1 and BG2. I still somewhat object to the main quest in which you play as an elite spectre - ehm - grey warden - to fight the rising ancient evil...

As far the first quote (the one about the doctors not having worked on any games) this is simply not TRUE! Sorry for the yelling and all, but I know for a fact that both Ray and Greg (and the third doctor with whom they founded Bioware) worked on both Shattered Steel and Baldur's Gate, MDK and possibly MDK2 as well, I think? I remember an interview (either in text or spoken) when they've stated that for Shattered Steel (and maybe BG1?) they wrote the story, the third doctor (dr. Chu?) coded the game - and one of them, either Ray or Greg (or both) did the level designs. I always wanted what the secret behind Bioware supporting their games many years after they've been released was or is - it seems to be that Ray and Greg themselves have knowledge of the techology and design decisions etc. that goes into making a game. I remember 10 years ago or so when Ray and Greg themselves would post on Interplay or Black Isle's BG forums... Good times

I remember back in the summer/ autum (fall) of 2008 and even further back to the winter 2007/2008 where we discussed the drm for Mass Effect. Plenty of criticism there...both for Bioware as a company and against the drm used in Mass Effect and other games. And it worked.... I have seen people criticizing the videos for Dragon Age being both politely, strongly, vehemently and people arguing, disagreeing in a somewhat constructive way. Some (even myself, I think) have critizised Bioware as company for selling out, for not showing the real content in the game.

Hi all Personally, I can't see any problems in the pictures of Ray being posted on the Bioware site. However, from a certain pointy of view, someone might see this as being a bit too interested in him...to the point of harassment.... And posting pictures of Ray in a thread about another subject is definetely spam. And Maria (if you can) why were you banned? and it is for life or is just a cool down period?

According to Kotaku http://kotaku.com/5302069/ea-combines-myth...giant-rpg-robot the merger will not affect Bioware's current and future operations. And the two Bioware bosses, Ray and Greg, are friends with the head honcho of EA, Riccietiello. This still counts for something, even in today's competitive market, it seems. And is probably why Mythic is being merged inti Bioware --- it certainly seesm this way to me. Bioware and Mythic are being fused together with Mythic being the company being fused into Bioware, not the other way around. Why would Ray and Greg be appointed head honchos of Mythic, then, if this weren't the case?

I would never have guessed that Leliana's voice actor were from France. She does not speak with a French accent that I recognize - or maybe it is just because the only French accent I'm useed to hearing is the one of Maurice Chevalier? Or the French accents from the Disney movie Aristocats? Anyway, I think Morrigan's first voice actress was much better than the current one, much more deeper, much more mysterious than the current voice. It fitted her strong, wild character much better than the coy, girly voice she has now, I find. As far as the content of the marketing vidoes, I've sort of resigned. I still object to the idea of playing an elite soldier going around rallying support for the battele against the Blight. It is just as if Bioware spoke to Bethesda --- and became inspired by Oblivion. The same basic plot is in Oblivion as is in DA: Origins - defeat the ancient evil - gather troops - defeat ---- and so on. And why does everyone seem to think that blood, gore and sex (yes sex!) is = Mature...?

Another German once said something like 'when they came for the communists, I did not speak. I was not a communist.' And then the poem goes on untill it ends with these words: 'when they came for me, there were noone left to speak up.' This is how I feel when we speak censorship for videogames, or other things. If we'ew not carefull, banning videogames or censoring them too much will lead till more general cencorship later on.... And I ask again: What is a violent game? Is the adventure game Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper violent...? Or are violent games just games like Call of Duty, GTA IV ? And what about RPGs like Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins or Fallout 3?

Josh Sawyer is still working on a module for NWN2? I think called The Black Hound - using maybe some of the ideas for BG3...?

Warning SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER There's a new trailer for Dragon Age: Origins up at gametrailers.com http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-dr...94#comments_top It is showing a Grey Warden saying things like 'in peace, vigilance, in war victory' Watching this trailer made me feel sad for some reasons. It seems that the Grey Wardens now is being touted or heralded as some sort of elite military unit like the elite troops in any country's military i.e. the US Nav

- so - the rumour about Shepard being KIA - is grossly exagerated? We will find out soon, I guess...

Dreanfall can be bought for about 15-20 US dollars at the bargain bins, at least in Europe. I also think you can download (buy) the game legally from Steam? edit: you can getb the steam version here: http://store.steampowered.com/search/?genr...p;category1=998 Or You can download it from here: http://www.justadventure.com/GamersGate/GamersGate_2.shtm amazon.com or amazon.co.uk should have Dreamfall, too, for a fair price. And you need to get DVD-version of the game. The latest version is made to work with XP/Vista. That does not solve the Starforce issue, though. Please also note that Vista does not like games to be installed in the C:/Program Files/ folder, it needs to be installed in the games folder on the C:/drive.

But teh codex hates everything! No, the codex does not hate everything. They (and we) just like our rpgs to be a certain way, preferably like Mysteries of Westgate or like Mask of the Betrayer where choices have real meaning and consequences accordingly. We (or they) also like that you can do questt through dialogue, combat or stealth. As VD's excellent review discusses, we'd like to be surprised as well. PS: I got the irony in the response

Gamespy talked to (or chatted with) Casey Hudson from the ME2 team... You can read it here: http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/mass-effect-2/983782p1.html Casey said they fixed the texture popping in ME2, they also fixed about 38 areas of improvement, including the Mako-driving. Here's a tidbit from the interview: Casey Hudson said: Sidequests in ME2 will now tie directly into the main story (or quest) in ME2, according to Casey. You should really read the interview yourselves; it is pretty interesting...

I agree that the visual presentation is vital for a game, play or movie; it is part of the way the story is told or set to stage, so to speak. I rather like FO3's visual presentation; however VATS seems to be broken, imo. (I hope the 1.5 patch fixed it?) Obsidian needs to, I think, set up some sort of trade routes between different settlements or town in Fallout: New Vegas - to at least make sure that the illusion of a future set (more than?) 200 years after the war...

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I bought the normal version for like 20 US dollars; then I bought the Enhaced Edition for the full prize - just to support an indie developer and publisher like CD RED Project. I certainly don't think anyone that did this are stupid; they probably just like to support CD RED Project. I also like to have to retail discs of my games - just to be on the safe side...

My problem with VATS is basically two things: 1) VATS is a combat mode where you (as the player) don't take much damage from the enemies while the enemies take full damage. This should (hopefully) be something that is somewhat easy to fix or tweak, I hope? 2) In VATS, whenever you get a hit, heads and limbs will explode, gore and blood will follow - no matter if you have the bloody mess perk or have just hit someone with a critical hit. I'm fine with gore and blood in Fallout: New Vegas as long as I only (and this is just a wish, not a demand) see heads roll and limbs fly when I have the bloody mess perk and hit someone with a critical hit. And then there's a third thing that annoys me about VATS; it doesn't really work. Hitting V do bring up the VATS scheme --- but there seems to be something wrong with the control scheme for VATS, I find. Can't say what it is - it is more of feel, I find.

I agree that more than 200 years or so after the Great War in 2077, communities and small societies would have existed. From what I've played of FO3, I haven't seen any people farming or tilling the land, let alone a foundry or someone who makes weapons or deal in trades for a living. It would be nice to have this in Fallout: New Vegas. Someone who actually tills the land and sells the produce they make at the market in the nearest town. Or someone, since it is in Vegas, who grow oranges or whatever they grow around Vegas. Or least tradesmen that deals in different imports and exports of different products, both food, weapons and all the sorts of thing people need when living in a town the size of New Vegas. The roads should maybe not be mended to before post-war state, but a little mending of the roads would't be out of the way - so to speak

Pidesco wrote (from the previous thread) . I actually happen to agree with this. In my mind, it would have been better to just have had pure realtime combat and then the ability to stop time with a bullet mode like in Max Payne (the game, not the movie). Halo and other FPS games has shown the way it can be done. (Halo not knowing a bulletime mode, though). As for the combat in F:NV I definetely would like to see something along the lines of what bhlaab suggests; it reminds me so much of how Bioware is planning to do combat for DA: Origins. Maybe Obsidian needs to speak their very good friends at Bioware? about this? As for armor, even Power Armour, my take is that any armor should make you take less damaga, not be harder to hit; a higher agility score should make you harder to hit, but in Power Armourm you should still take damage, maybe only 1 damage if people hit you. I mean, you ehither hit or you miss. When or if you hit, you should at least do 1 damage to the guy, even if he is Power Armour; it might mean that you only will get a dent in the PA, but is is much realistic than the whole 'I have armour on, therefore I'm more difficult to hit' tune... And no, Vegas does not have subways apparently, but it does have 'casinos' and 'casino's again. And these could well be seen as dungeons, couldn't they? Anyway, I do get your point, Mikhailian, it does become tiresome at one point to run around in subways... As for writing dialogue that will reflect if a character has high intelligence or low intelligence; I agree that this would be great to have in the game. However, the production value alone for this is probably tremoundous; each line has to be written for at least maybe 3 or 4 characters in the game, and then the game has to respond with 3 or 4 lines appropriately to character's lines. It really is a lot of work - at least according to David Gaider, the Lead Writer for DA: Origins over at the Bioware DA forums. And it does add very little to the game - in terms of how many manhours there would need to be invested into writing such (great) dialogue.

I'm not against VATS, I'm enjoying it --- I still feel it could have been done better though. As it is now, it just seems like a glorified bullet time combat system - similar to the one found in Max Payne (the game, not the movie)

You're also missing Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper The new Runaway game Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis Culpa Innata 2 Yormujak's Ring (can only at this time be downloaded from the adventure shop) in the adventure game department. Then there's a little add-on to NWN2 known as Mysteries of Westgate (made by Ossian Studios) And then there is Bioshock 2 Assasins Creed 2 and probably some other games I have forgotten

Obsidian making Fallout: New Vegas is a good thing, imo. I hope this ensures that the quality of the writing will be very well done, great dialogue, more than avarage characters and character interaction. As for the ongoing discussion, let me say that I bought Fallout 3 (it was on sale for