kalimeeri
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Posts posted by kalimeeri
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LA should be held to the same standards as any other game company, Star Wars notwithstanding. In the era of Monkey Island, etc., yes, I bought sight unseen -- they were among several game companies I trusted to put out a quality product. I looked forward to new releases with anticipation. That, sadly, has changed. Because of the stinkers that are hyped to high heaven, for the most part I regard any new game with a jaundiced eye and a 'wait and see the review' attitude. I might still buy if the reviews are middling and it sounds like something I might like, but only a couple of dev's (like Bioware and Obsidian) merit more than a passing glance pre-release.
So that's a definite 'maybe'. It has nothing to do with Kotor, because IMO these two games are A-plus all around and LA can bask in the glow from the dev's for publishing them. That does not mean I'm unreasonably optimistic about a third game in the series unless Bio or Obs is contracted to create it. At this point it would be supremely easy for LA to muck it up. If that were to happen, for LA it's the kiss of death, much like the last KQ/QFG/GK games put out by the 'old' Sierra. They sacrificed their story lines for generic 3D hacknslash, because that was what everyone else was selling.
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Anachronox had some great music; in fact while I was searching for some links for it I came across a movie that encompassed the main quest of the whole game, made by Jake Hughes/Ionstorm! It's over a gig to download, well worth watching ... but spoilery if you haven't played. I got to it from Gamespot but there are other sites, particularly http://www.machinima.com--checkout some of the movies/videos made from game SDK's. Neat stuff.
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Kotor2 offered only one challenge to my WinXP machine, and only because of the Radeon, I think. It still does on occasion crash if I get click-happy on the Save/Load or Equip screens. However, I have not installed Service Pack the Second and likely will not because of issues (undocumented features--LOL) it introduces with software I use daily.
There are a number of games, though, that do not get along as well with XP, and for those I keep an old Pent 500 running Win98SE with 16-bit disc structure and an Awe64 Gold for the joystick port. Gotta admit, at times it feels like an old friend.
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Shadow Hearts.
Shadow Hearts: From the New World sounds good as well (at least what's in the trailers)
Shadow Hearts 1 & 2 soundtracks were great; and they are available on CD.
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I like Mandalore, especially because he was great in K1; and I think Bao-Dur is a deep character I'd have liked to learn more about. But Kreia will remain one of my more memorable characters in any video game--someone it's hard to like, yet hard to hate too. Very very well done.
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The whole console vs. pc flame war is simply tiresome. There are as many bigots on one side as there are on the other, and it makes no sense. I don't game on pc because I feel it's superior so much as it's what I'm comfortable using, being an old-skool gamer from the dayz when there were no consoles. I own a console, and there is a certain amount of charm in popping in a CD and not having to worry if the last video driver upgrade (or service pack) hosed my chances of ever playing that game again. I very much enjoy some of the stories in those games.
What people seem to miss is that these platforms have grown into as much a money pit as the next video card/processor upgrade. They're enhancing the systems with hard drives and video processors, just like a pc--so console folks won't be able to play the new games without sinking money into the latest and greatest hardware, either. Not only that, but there are several very different platforms, which limit the games you can play no matter which one you choose. Look at it like that, and you're talking just as much money if you really want 'game'... (BTW, has anyone ever calculated the MTBF of a PS2 controller? They last about a week and then go crazy).
Consoles are big bucks, especially right now with the two giants sitting back with their palms out. They love the division they created between gamers. The hardware manufacturers practically own the gaming industry, the games themselves having become only a pawn. How backward is that? If it doesn't make you feel used, it should. We love playing games, not buying hardware; and latest-and-greatest graphics do not equal a good game. Without quality programming and writing, all anyone has is a dust catcher. That's the message we all need to send.
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I think K2 would have benefitted from having the party members interact more (during quests and even when you're talking to an NPC). I could count on one hand the times when one of them actually had something to say out in the field, whereas in Kotor1 someone was always chiming in with an opinion. Not only that, but they talked and argued with each other, until you almost felt sorry for Revan.
This was a good way to liven the atmosphere a bit and also to get to know your party members. Not a big thing, but something I missed.
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Here's a couple of quotes from Kotor 1's loading screens that might/might not have bearing on the 'Sith' question:
'Millennia ago, a rift in the Jedi order saw the followers of the darkside exiled from Republic Space.'
A millennium is defined as 1000 years, and the Republic is 15000 years old, according to K1.
'Outcast Jedi settled on the Sith homeworld and over millennia, the two peoples became one.'
Again with the millennia thing.
'1000 years ago the forgotten Sith returned to the Republic and the great Hyperspace War began.'
Great Sith War (4,000 BBY). The Great Hyperspace War happened a thousand years earlier, instigated when two Republic hyperspace explorers accidentally crash-landed on the Sith graveyard planet Korriban during the funeral procession of Marka Ragnos. Prior to the Hyperspace war, written history is sketchy or non-existent.
I don't really think the Sith are little green men, although they may be a mix of these very old Jedi (pre-Ragnos) and whatever they merged with; and for sure they didn't all come back to Republic space. Exactly where Revan fits into the equation I'm not sure, but it's certainly possible his ancestors are there, even if he was born on a fringe world or a spaceship somewhere. Kreia might know something about them due to her historical studies of Marka Ragnos, Ludo Kressh, etc., because that's probably where 'they' came from.
"The ancient Sith race developed their distinct culture and civilization. Only later, as these people spread across the galaxy did the term Sith become associated more with their teachings and philosophies than with the species itself. Though the Sith held great power, they were not united, preferring to remain in tribal "circles", bands of Sith led by one or more sorcerers who were responsible for the safety and protection of their charges."
The threat that Revan perceives may be the unification or the emergence of a strong leader, another Exar Kun or Ulic Qel-Dromo. Only this one has the full weight of the Sith empire behind him, not just a group of followers.
I personally think the Mandalorian Wars were to draw Revan out, a way for the Sith to see if Revan was really there. They must have felt him as he felt them. Maybe a bond formed between them in his younger years. How did Revan end out so far from the empire I wonder?@Yeti: Interesting thought. Since Revan was so young, he may have been born outside of Sith space--or maybe his mother fled for some reason, taking him along when he was very young. He did end up in the Jedi order somehow.
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Jedi robes, particularly the dark padawan or dark jedi variety in Kotor II, look sooo good. If it wasn't for the lesser protection, I'd have my PC wear the dark padawan robes throughout, even though I consistently play LS.
I also like the look of the non-restrictive armors with some of the overlays (even though later in the game they don't offer enough protection). I'm currently replaying Kotor I again; some of the robes aren't too bad, but I miss the expanded workbench capabilities as well as the variety of over and underlays that K2 provided. That was a very good enhancement, allowing regeneration, etc. to be incorporated into the clothing.
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ok I must have really screwed up.
I used the savegame editor to set Handmaiden's influence as MUCH higher than Visas.....
and Handmaiden STILL won't talk to me.
grrrrr.
*edit* set Handmaiden's Influence at 100, Visas at ZERO.
handmaiden's appearance changed, but I still get the same stupid dialogue options. all of which end in "This is the end for us." or "Stay with her then."
grrrrr.
can I kill Handmaiden at some point in the game?
Nope. You can get INF gains with her, but she'll never forgive you. The game pretty much plays out the same--maybe even more logically--but she was certainly a lot less interesting. Meh. I played the game four times before and never knew about that little 'problem' until the last one, when I was concentrating on making Atton and Bao-Dur jedi in record time, thinking I could always finish up with HM. Coulda knocked me right over.
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According to 1up.com, Microsoft has signed Square Enix for XB releases.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3140609
If this deal will eventually exclude Sony support from Final Fantasy XII and beyond, that may well herald the end of PS3. Disturbing, indeed. Square's defection from Nintendo made the Playstation a serious contender. It could do the same for Microsoft. Money-grubbing, yes. Dumb, no.
It doesn't really matter which is the better system. It's the game titles, now and future, that will sell it.
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Diablo 2 is fun.... I'm not sure why, but it is
Somehow Blizzard caught lightning in a bottle
I'm not sure why, either. It's the only one of this type of game that I actually played and really enjoyed; its co:op multiplayer shines. It's still loads of fun if you have a LAN and a couple good friends. The rest of the H&S genre get tedious pretty quickly, but this one doesn't seem to age.
@Reveilled
Because sometimes, at least for me, I've spent a long day doing nothing but thinking, and I feel like doing something which doesn't take much thinking at all for a while.True. I'm sure everyone has been at that point from time to time. But is it 'fun'? I think not, if the aim is to go somewhere else for a while and numb out.
Building a character from a wimp to a god has appeal, for some more than others. But there has to be something else to recommend a particular game over and above the H&S masses. For Dungeon Seige, it was music and graphics, but that in itself was not enough to keep it consistently interesting.
So what element makes one H&S more appealing than others? What did Diablo have that makes it different? I'd really like to know.
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To get the convo option, you really only have to kill those two thugs who hold you up when you enter the Refugee Sector; amazingly enough, the rest don't bother you unless you try to steal the loot or try to rescue the little brat on your own. However, once you take the pacifist route with the two thugs, they like you, and you don't get the choice to fight with them. You can't even bait them into it. Past a certain point, the quest becomes unsolvable.
With regard to the Exchange, you can kill the whole pack, or you can stealth around and steal all their goodies. But it seems a little odd that even if you kill Visquis, he still shows up later at Jek-Jek Tar. I generally let them live unless I'm hard up for XP, because getting rid of them doesn't matter one way or the other; it isn't tied to any quest.
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First game, I died, reloaded, died again. But I was trying to duke it out with these folks, and with a bit of strategy (not-poolside, LOL) it really doesn't matter who you take with you as long as you have 'a' Jedi, and beef up your characters with immunity to critical hits, if possible. At the start of the fight, run your Jedi off to the side. Atton's a good choice for the party because he keeps them busy knocking him down every time he gets back up, so your Jedi can concentrate on Force Storming their butts (and healing the others). Even with the mod that boosts the game to 'hard', this works a charm.
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The only character I actually hate from both games is Juhani. Her voice and accent make my ears bleed, and talk about whine, whine. To me she was unconvincing--and if you think I'd ever let her back in the Jedi order...
Oh, and I can't stand Wookie-talk. I just can't.
The rest of the characters ranged from decently-acted to fantastic. Some are vaguely disturbing, like Handmaiden being such a righteous snob, GOTO, etc. Others are annoying as characters but true to personality and likeable in spite of it (Mission and HK would fit into this category).
Top of the line are Kreia, Carth, Canderous, Jolee and Bao-Dur (and I have to say it--Revan and Exile) as far as acting, character, and backstory. I'd have wished that Exile had a voice, because Revan's few words reminded you how young he really was, and the 'tude was just right.
I like both games equally, but I think I've put my finger on what K2 lacked and that K1 did so well--to have the party members take an active part in what was going on. For instance, in K1 Carth throws in comments while you're trying to talk to an NPC, or he and Bastila get in an argument about how she got captured in the first place. He's always saying something from his perspective--'don't trust this guy', etc. In K2 the party is sort of along for the ride--there are very few instances where party members chime in, and then it's just a one-liner. I missed that.
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THEN (and this is the part most people are missing out), you have to find them outside the Czerka docking bay BEFORE you head for the surface of the planet. If you go to the surface of the planet before seeing them in the czerka office AND outside the czerka docking bay, they never appear on the planet (and are gone by the time you get back) so the quest remains uncompleted.
This isn't a case of a condition not being set properly, it's a case of the trigger being hidden in a bit of a stupid place. I have a feeling that yet again, with more time for testing Obsidian would have been able to set the citadel station encounters as optional, and have it so that you got the bounties from Grenn and then they'd attack you on Telos with a little extra conversation options beforehand.
Oh ... I think I do remember that I did go to the docking bay and saw them in one game, but in subsequent ones I forgot/didn't. That would make sense as to why they didn't show up on the planet's surface. Thanks.
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Yes, you can get Force Sight from Visas as a female Exile, perhaps I should have been more clear -- I meant the Sight scene with Visas just prior to the game's end run. As a female character, you usually see Disciple at that point. While there is no gratuitous anything in the Visas scene, it is more satisfying emotional and implies a greater sense of intimacy as a male character. Unless I'm really missing something else, there is no real equivilent as a female character. Does that make more sense?
I know that I am new here (and that you are not), but I assure you that I did "get it" and it, frankly, wasn't enough. That I wanted more is a testament to the writers' ability to take the player to an emotional level but were not either willing or able to see it through. I am sorry that you see that as me "dissing" the game because I did not "get it." If we can get past that, I think we can have a very worth-while conversation about this topic. Otherwise, it was good to try on both our parts.
Cloris
The difference is in the idea of 'romance' rather than seeing graphic actions. (With 'whom' or 'what' you will). We don't necessarily have to see in detail what went on in the cargo hold. What we needed was a resolution to romantic involvement, yet there was none. Especially for a female PC.
We've come to expect more--I ended up in a major romantic triangle in BG2, and that was how many years ago? Perhaps the romantic sub-quests were cut, or maybe they just couldn't decide how far to take them, but in that sense K2 was a let-down. I mean, we got 3-4 men and 3-4 women on a spaceship all alone in space for long periods of time... That's realistic.
Gratuitous exploitation is another thing altogether. Maybe it's inevitable, but I for one would use the filters (language or whatever)--not because I haven't heard or seen it before, but because if it serves no real purpose, it's just annoying.
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The whole "Revan has gone to the Outer Rim" device was used to remove the character from the first game totally from the universe, so that the sequel could use the same universe and not run into Revan (and all the mess that would ensue to describe Revan / physicality / motives / alignment / etc). Nothing more.
And quite neatly done, actually. I don't see it as a device to avoid dealing with those issues, though. Instead of creating a rip-off clone (which they very well could have), Obsidian made something different, yet relatively consistent. Revan was a great character, with a compelling story. Introducing another PC connected to that story was a smart move, cleverly done--while at the same time they respected Bioware enough not to trounce all over the myth. Just in case Bioware decided to continue.
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I have a similar system and had similar problems before adding the Vertex Buffers line to .ini. I even had a surreal experience where Exile was walking far above the ground on Korriban. The change to the .ini file didn't noticably impact my frame rate, but the only difference I can see in our Graphics options is that I have Anti-aliasing set lower (4) and Anisotropy (
. Oh, and I do have grass and shadows on, with a refresh of 85. I don't know if that's much help. 
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The final Danttoine sequence embodies the fall of the game. The intial portions are decent and semi-emotional, but it soon becmes rather peculair and contorted, Kavar and Zez-kie-whatever agreed with your decision and had some compunction about exiling you, so why do they jus automatically side with Vrook, especially if you've been utterly LS for the entire game?
Vrook has the power; he's a bit of a manipulator too. I tried to see if the two semi-sympathetic masters were stringing Exile along just to get him to Dantooine, and couldn't. I don't think that was the case, so that means Vrook did some heavy lobbying against Exile before the meeting. The other two masters were reasonable men--they listened. Vrook won out. I sometimes wonder if the reason he hated Exile so much was that he saw a younger version of himself, if he had some of the same abilities and perceived them instantly as a threat.
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I finished almost all the blinkin' quests in the first game, right up to the end, ready to start Tribunal ... and my hard drive crashed. Oy. I did reinstall it and both expansions, started over, but my heart isn't in it. Don't even remember where I am at this point, because K2 intervened.
You have to finish Morrowind to start playing the expansions?
No. The expansions insert themselves from the start, but I'm just stubborn that way.
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I finished almost all the blinkin' quests in the first game, right up to the end, ready to start Tribunal ... and my hard drive crashed. Oy. I did reinstall it and both expansions, started over, but my heart isn't in it. Don't even remember where I am at this point, because K2 intervened.
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I think before he left Revan already knew that the true Sith were going to wage war on the known galaxy; he left strategic planets intact and gave certain leaders instructions (Canderous, Carth). He could not take anyone with him because, according to HK, one of the better ways to fight Jedi was to attack their friends.
As a Sith Lord he had probably gathered most of the information before Malak attacked him. It's possible that Malak did not agree with whatever he was planning after the war, and that was what provoked the attack--because Malak was ambitious and jealous. Once the war was over and Malak was dead, he kept searching and trying to remember.
I wonder if there was another Star Map or two--the Star Forge was not the end of the trail. I also wonder about Kreia's comment that Revan may have been born in the Unknown Regions. If he found proof of both in another ancient computer, knowing the threat that the true Sith presented, he might well take it as a personal battle that he alone should/could deal with.
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yeah. umm.... i think the guy is just making a joke. so no need to take it seriously :D
Crude and offensive does not equal funny. While intelligent posters are doing their best to lighten up the heavy-handed sarcasm (if that was what was intended), the sandbox is still too kind a fate. I'm with Kalfear. The only really funny part of this poll is "please state nicely below".
. Oh, and I do have grass and shadows on, with a refresh of 85. I don't know if that's much help. 
Training Jedi Party Members
in Star Wars: General Discussion
Posted
The problem that I had with K2's Jedi training was that by the end there was little to no individuality among the party members. There was no reason to pick one over the other; they were all Jedi with basically the same powers. I think this took something away from the game, even though the point was to create a 'new improved' force user. I think I prefer the 'pick-up' path, mainly because the Master/Padawan route annoys me. Guess I'm not the patient teacher sort. A flawed character with emotional baggage is more interesting than a lump of molded clay.