Maria Caliban

Link to bigger image BioWare - What's Next? BioWare will be showing a first glimpse at their new IP at the VGA, Dec 11th.

Gametrailers had an interview with David Silverman 'Director of Marketing'. Here. He's very.... He's very Director of Marketing. I'm not sure how original it is (dark elves always seem to be sexy BDSM woman) but I agree the game could use more of it.

*delete*

I'm not sure if you've played Morrowind, but I'd argue that while major destinations were easy enough to find because they were marked on your world map, smaller destinations were a pain. Navigating the Ashlands in the middle of a red sand storm while constantly being attacked by bird creatures is not fun. The first time I played, I would literally spend hours wandering around trying to find the right location because there are fifteen different crypts, tombs, caves, and ruins that might be described as being 'Southwest of the Ursulaka Camp,' and there aren't signs or land marks. No, it didn't. This is the map. There are about 200 locations in Morrowind. And while the map was very pretty, I'd argue that finding the giant city on the main road with a bunch of signs pointing the way was not an issue for the average player, so a map that mostly shows major cities and fortifications isn't all that useful. Because it's largely unwarranted. If someone wants to argue that As I Lay Dying is a magnificent English work and that comparatively The Amazing Spider-Man is pig slop, I'll hear them out. If someone tries to tell me that Deus Ex is a magnificent work and that comparatively Halo is pig slop, I'll laugh at them. Sure, there are very intelligent people in the world and very non-intelligent people in the world, but if you hope to impress people with your intelligence via games, join a chess tournament. If you manage to get through Myst or Riven without using a guide or help, I shall be impressed at your intelligence. If you managed to play through the original Deus Ex, then you've only shown you're as smart as the fourteen year old I lent my copy of the game to.

You are wrong!

Haven't you been playing Fallout NV for the last two weeks?

Can I try?

Another gameplay vid, this one in German. Starts at about 6 minutes in. .

And the potential for better graphics, if you are into that kinda thing.. I find FPS play much better on a mouse and keyboard combination and RTS games benefit from having the 104 keys. Though I think some games would be better overall if the developers worked on simplified GUI instead of a dozen or so hotkeys. Video games are a visual medium and I think graphics are important, but when I say graphics I don't mean resolution and special effects, I mean artistic elements. I don't think what most people mean when they talk about game graphics should be the focus of an RPG developer. Stylistically, DA:O had a generic, Lord of the Rings look and the coloring could be very bland. I thought the modification of art style from ME to ME 2 was a good thing, and I hope it proves to be the same for DA 2. I don't see it right now. It doesn't look worse to me, but it doesn't look better either.

Yes, however the PC has an autoattack. XBox 360 has autoattack, but the by default it's off. I'm not sure where you're getting your information from. DA 2 on PC has the same basic point and click interface as DA:O. Yes, the rest of the team is controlled by AI *when you give them no orders*, but you can pause and issue each one orders and then unpause. Just like DA:O.

You mean the Paragon and Renegade icons? Because they look like skills to me. If not, that's a pathetically low amount of skills for a game that forgoes gear-progression. 1. The paradon and renegade icon bars, yes. 2. That's the swashbuckler specialization for Isabela. She also has the regular rogue skill trees. On the forum, people asked how the story of Dragon Age II would be different from DA:O

Easy access, I assume.

Pictures. The skill tree.. circle thing is interesting and the interface is much cleaner than DA:O's. I assume you drag ang drop skills directly to the hotkey bar. I find the icons a touch too modern looking; the first one looks like a street sign. I thought the DA:O ones were fine. I'm not sure what the heart and circle is in the lower right. If you look at the left of the skill circle, there's a vertical slider that indicates how far you are on the friendship or rivalry path. They *both* are indications of how much the NPC likes you. The idea is that you shouldn't have to agree with your companion's beliefs for them to approve of you as a leader. An image of Lady Hawke She seems to have a cow catcher strapped to her armor.

When ME 2 came out, I started a thread on the BSN suggesting I'd like to see their costume system in DA II. Queue eight pages of posters calling me a console kiddie who wanted to dumb down RPGs. Also, not a real BioWare fan who needs to go back to her JRPGs. I don't think it's just packrats. I think there are many people who see the most cumbersome aspects of Western RPGs as important and defining the genre.

To give them all 'a unique look and feel.' 'Visual fidelity.' You can also find or buy follower specific upgrades to the base armor. *is listening right now, it's 20 minutes long* And some of the high end upgrades have rune slots. The character's armor also progresses on its own when you have the time jumps. Edit: Talent trees istead of a liner progression for all characters. Also, the ability to upgrade previous ones. Link

Listening to podcast now. Hawke = Same inventory and skill/ability progression as DA:O Followers = ME 2 'inventory' + weapons, belt, amulet, and rings. They've said they've made the skill/ability progression 'more unique' for each follower. For example, Isabela is a 'Rivani swashbucker.' Sounds like a unique specialization to me, but not sure.

German Review. Apparently, the cities are poorly designed.

The flooding of those three vaults seems relatively recent. It might have something to do with the attempts to refill the Hoover Dam. There are notes in the vaults about the flooding though. I was wading through irradated water while getting parts for the BoS air filters when I thought, "You know what the Vaults remind me of? BioShock." Rapture is basically one giant Vault. It's a social experiment gone wrong, it's filled with weird science experiements, it's future tech married to the aesthetic of an earlier age, and you make your way through the crumbling ruins and learn the story of the people there by reading their logs and diaries.

How are three Vaults flooded in this game? It's a desert. Yes, there's *flash flooding* but areas don't remain flooded for years.

Are you sure you don't have it? It should automatically end up in the misc part of your inventory.

40 hours in. Returned to the Lucky Casino and Victor attacks me, which means all the robots go hostile. I have no idea why. Anyway to fix this with the console?

I was walking around Primm and had just found a trail of frag mines I was disarming and taking. I got to the last one, it started going 'beep! beep! beep!' and suddenly I was in a conversation about bottle caps. As soon as the conversation ended, the mine blew off my legs.

I think BG 2 was a good game but I don't agree with the level of idolization it recieves. I rank Planescape, Bloodlines, Deus Ex, and the new Fallout as all being better than BG 2. The movement and combat animations look better than DA:O, though even less realistic. I see a number of old warrior moves... with glitter. Like you glow a bit or your weapon sparkles before each one.

I agree it's insulting to suggest someone's a shill because they're enthusiastic about the game. I apologize for that, and would like to say I appreciate you posting your impressions of playing the game. It's useful for those of us who can't go to the various cons ourselves.

A short review of the demo