Shadowstrider

I'm perfectly reasonable... so long as you give me everything I want!

I tried to read this thread and make sense of it, but I have come to the conclusion that everyone involved in the past page or two posted while under the influence of some sort of intoxicant.

1) Better combat yes. Auto-targetting and "real" 3rd person no. 2) Yes.

The persuasion mini-game is just that; a mini-game. You're not forced to use it, much like you're not forced to make casual conversation with people you see at school, work, or anywhere else. Yes, you do see whether or not the people will like, dislike, love, or hate an attempt in advance; but in the long term it doesn't matter. Why doesn't it matter? It doesn't matter because in ANY attempt to persuade someone you must use EACH persuasion tactic at least once. In that regard, the mini-game has an element of strategy, and last I checked the speechcraft skill effected the increase/decrease associated with each attempt. An NPC has a base reaction (ranging from 0-100), and this is effectively a timer in the game. Every second it decreases by 1. The key to increasing a reaction is to learn their personality, and crack jokes, boast, coerce or intimidate quickly based on this. Is it realistic? No. Is it fun? Yes, assuming you're not doing it for hours on end. For clarification, dialogue choices do matter in this game. Based on how you interact with people in dialogue, the gameplay is effected. For example, if you mock someone, they might not be inclined to ask for your help. Both the dialogue and the persuasion mini-game can effect things; for better and for worse.

I'd hit it.

Ya caught me.

Mos def.

Yeah, we have Guitar Hero here, as well, but no one has played it in a few weeks. We have too much pizza. We do have little contests and such, plus we get pie and burger king crowns if we do something right for a change.

Newsflash: If you have a community, and they decide as a community that they should do X, that is a democracy, not an anarchy.

@astr0creep 1) QA work does begin at the beginning of a project's development. You just don't see it if you're not a project lead. 2) It wouldn't be called a deadline if it was meant to be flexible. @Shadowpaladin Writing a "deep" story that allows freedom and development isn't difficult. Implementing it is also surprisingly easy. If I can do it in modules using NWN, I'm sure a professional development house can manage. The problem here isn't that it is out of reach, it is that the focus is not on this. Most of the focus nowadays is on "cool" features that enhance gameplay, or "cool" game mechanics. The major problem with it is the problems that arise in bug testing and fixing, and the art assets required.

I feel violated! Damn Frappr! stalkers... 350,- over here... but witout additional stuff... (MSI NX7800GT VT2D 256MB PCI-E) Or 560,-, altough I fail to see the difference between the 2 except a X (MSI NX7800GTX VT2D 256MB PCI-E (B)) So, is that a special Bethesda-deal... or do you really have a cheap hardware seller over there that should go international ? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> http://newegg.com They had a deal on an eVGA 7800 256mbit card that you get a free mobo. I needed a PCI-E mobo, anyway. So I got the package and a CLAWHAMMER AMD Athlon processor. Not top-of-the-line stuff, but it can run most games on top specs with no little noticeable slowdown. Anyway, back to the card at hand. Haven't played with it yet, but my response to any new card is "don't believe the hype." Until anandtech.com and a slew of other sites release their reviews, and enough user reviews from people who have actually used the card post theirs. Plus, you're a sucker if you buy a new card when it comes out.

Wait till Nvidia answered on this card... or miss a very good pricedrop (and thus waste alot of your cash) Golden Rule of PC-gaming; Never buy the latest graphical card, nor give up to anything like SLI... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My 7800 cost around $300, but came with a free $129 mobo, so I got a hell of a deal. As for SLI, that has to be enabled in the game you're playing in order to take advantage of it. Crossfire supposedly does not.

Don't believe the hype.

You do not need to have one or the other. It is entirely possible to have both character freedom and character development within a "deep" story. Simply because something has not been done does not mean it is impossible. Unfortunately, when you're working on a tight schedule, if you add something you must take something away. Editted Clarification: I am not saying that this has not been done, rather I was using the statement to make a point. A game can have both of these things wrapped neatly up in a pretty package. The problem is that it could be buggy, and could lead to development problems.

Look at definition #1 of what you posted; 1 a state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of government or other controlling systems. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=anarchism Anarchy boils down to "no form of central power" which inherently leads to chaos and mob rule. Revolutions need leaders. Anarchy does not and can not work.

If it is anything like here, with a thread of random, funny movies and things found on the internet. Also probably a "strange screenshots" thread with a slew of goodies. A little bit of the zombie thing, too.

lawl lawl Zing zing. Who'da thunk it? A political thread where we take pot-shots at the US Gov't. U r so smrt.

Irrelevent. Anarchy does not work because those with guns/weapons/bigger balls take control and become the central government. If the USA were to suddenly say "okay we're done here, no more government" within a few days/weeks organized crime would rule the roost. Edit: Anarchy Chaos Sounds a lot like chaos to me.

SPAM is a violation of forum rules and moderators should start warning people for it when it is purposefully used to close a thread.

He did, or a moderator editted the poll.

Sometimes.

Development houses tend to have QA divisions, or at the very least have artists, designers and execs. testing games as they go.

Well, for one, if you played the Tomb Raider series the writing I'd check your priorities. K. Yes. No, I'm not. You're not very good at thinly veiled insults. This is possibly among the least mature replies, ever. For someone who likes reading, and has an irritating fondness for pretentiousness (in both latin and english forms), you don't seem to comprehend posts. Where, ANYWHERE, did I state, imply or even hint at graphics being MORE IMPORTANT than writing? I'm saying graphics are important. They are. Writing is important, too, probably more important in the planning and even pre-production stages. However, once the game is in full production, the visual and technical aspects of the game take center stage. If a game still needs a ton of writing when the developers should be implementing, something is wrong. Denial isn't a river in Egypt, but you seem to be bathing in it. You can say it a dozen times, it has nothing to do with writing vs. graphics. It is about gameplay, gameplay systems sound "really cool" when written down. The implementation (Gameplay) is what will be the deciding factor in whether it is boring or not. Some of the best ideas turn out to be utterly boring when you actually play. Seems to me you are saying exactly that. *snip* Once again, your reading comprehension seems to be exceedingly low. Physics and traps were an example. You're more interested in arguing semantics, than the core of the issue, though. So nice attempt at a dodge. Players demand visual representation of their actions, thus a visual representation is necessary. Traps and physics was an example, I said that traps and physics are not mandatory. Next? This might be one of the dumbest replies I have ever seen. I'm not sure why I even bothered to reply, other than the fact that you seem to think you have convincing arguements that graphics aren't important to games. A fact that is ludicrous. Basically, you're saying choose-your-own-adventure or MUD games are the pinnacles of game design. An idea that is laughable at best. Thank god you do not work in game development. P.S. Please get better at insults.

LAWL. No. You assume this, and you're wrong. Most of my day is spent writing.