LostStraw

You might want to check out Project Freedom. http://www.city-interactive.com/projectfreedom.html I have reservations on how it will turn out, but I'm holding my breath. As far as space sims go you're probably better off just playing Descent Freespace2 over and over again.

My vote for graphical style would go to American McGee's Alice. It didn't have very good gameplay, but the level design and graphical style were done in an abstract way that was pulled off very well. I never played Thirteen very much so I don't know how it really looked, but you might want to check out Farcry's cell shading ability. That was a fun game

(Flagship Studios) Flagship Studios has been formed by David Brevik, Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer, Bill Roper, and Kenneth Williams to create quality computer games. Joining them as additional co-founders are David Glenn, Peter Hu, Philip Shenk, and Tyler Thompson. The entire founding team was previously employed at Blizzard Entertainment

Guess I should get out and jog then. I really hope they do start a new IP it's always interesting to see something new and hopefully original. I'm looking forward to Flagship Studios (A new company as well) hoping they can pull something unique out of their hats.

I dun knoow I lik spelig budy mor B)

I'd had a playable alpha for Doom 3 for ages. They've had two years to improve what's already in my hands. I can only imagine. I got the Doom 3 leaked alpha too, scared me a few times while playing it. I'm dissapointed that they only released new info for the Xbox version this years E3 and it didn't really look very good on there. And in an interview I read somewhere Doom3 will also have advanced physics and per pixel colision detection (or something like that). As for comparing engines I'd say that the Farcry probably has both the HL2 and Doom3 engines already beat. Support for DX9 pixel shaders, realistic shadows, physics, great AI.. etc (a very beautiful game). Now I can't say much about the actual game itself cause I hate the realistic fps type of gameplay.

It was the same way with Carth, and somehow after that cutscene I ended up with two of Carth's blasters instead of just the original one. Anywho...

cool

how bout a beginning cutscene, which introduces the game, a middle cutscene, the big plot twist, and an end cutscene, which is the end. That could work, depending on what the cutscene was, in the middle plot twist. I remember how Bastila was kidnapped in KOTOR1 and you had no control over it? I kind of like how Deus Ex handled things which I don't remember having too many cut scenes. When you were captured by the German, it was an impossible fight against him but you had the option to keep on fighting him until you were captured. You found out your brother or that friend of yours in UNATCO were still alive not through a cut scene either. I prefer game developers writing the storyline to directly involve the player rather than taking control away through a cut scene. Providing more choices during the storyline makes for a better game. Oh, I hated the cut scene where Bastilla got kidnapped. I just finished kicking Malak around and then SHE comes barging in telling me to run away.. pshh. That scene probably would have been better if it had taken all control away from the PC including the fight. At least it would have made more sense if it actually looked like you were being beat by Malak. I think cut scenes can really help in advancing the story or perhaps explaining some of the back-story if they're done right. I'm also not opposed to rendered movies as long as they aren't too obtrusive. P.S. The Warcraft3 movies were absolutely amazing. (And I vote YES for a "reload last saved game button")

Hmm, I remember something different. When I think of the "Old Games" I can't but help thinking of text-based adventures, which if I recall were usually a lot more about story then combat. I don't think there was ever a time when I've existed that games were all action... I've always seen a Day of the Tentacle* or Quest for Glory* game even through the large shareware movement of Jill of the Jungle* games. Now, they may not be as popular but they're still around and most likely always will be. And if you want you could always head off to the http://www.the-underdogs.org/ and pick some of those old classics up. *I don't mean those exact games, but types of games like them. P.S. Has anyone here played Twinsen's Relentless Adventures? I still have fond memories of that one (probably because I wasn't too old when I played it ).

The DS/LS points in the KotOR represent a Jedi/Sith preference for the light or dark side of the force, and hence they get bonuses in their force abilities and power, when they are mastered. For non sensitve characters, even droids, it just represents a morality meter: their tendecy to commit good or evil acts. So, it is just an alingment scale. But for the Jedi/Sith it represents more than just that. If you are in the light and keep committing evils acts you will fall to the dark side and vice versa for the dark. There are bigger implications for force sensitive beings. The problem with that is droids have no morality, they only do what they were programmed to do. Unless you're arguing for a self conscious droid, which I could see having a morality.

The player will control T3-M4 if they go through the tutorial. It's still unconfirmed if he/she/it will be able to join the party in the actual game. You bring up a good point though, how will a person who hasn't played KOTOR1 be able to tell KOTOR2 what happened in the first game with any understanding.. Just saying it might be a little confusing when a person starts getting asked questions about KOTOR1 and has no idea how to answer them because they haven't played it.

I'm beginning to think I'm the only one who didn't like Jolee.

I dunno, it depends on how advanced the droid's AI is. I could see largely in part because of my Asimovian readings, a droid in the Star Wars universe being connected to the force. Perhaps not an astromech Droid, but I have no qualms about HK being connected to the force. I don't remember his name, but there is that one clone Jedi in the New Academy that Luke runs, comes from a world of asexual clones, all completely identical genetic data, other than slight personality or physical variants; only something went awry with him, and he had a connection to the force. So I could see an advanced, and extremely quirky droid such as HK having a connection with the force. What about Midi-Chlorians? Or are we just trying to forget about those little bastards?... http://www.theforce.net/midichlorians/

I don't think it could have been any worse.

Unless the bullet was vaporized instead of just melted. If the bullets were made out of the special carbon-weave stuff or whatever the swords in KOTOR are made out of, they'd bounce right off even though they'd be incredibly hard to hit if you were going with a "realistic" approach. However, I'm trying to argue that the "KOTOR" universe is not about realism.

I can see what you're saying but from the description from the StarWars Databank I don't think there's anyway to realistically describe how the blaster works using modern day physics. And if they have such varied technology to our own, that they somehow harness "light-based" (yet slow traveling) energy and launch it in bursts called "bolts" I don't think their projectile weapons should really have to show much resemblance to our own either. "The standard ranged weapon of both military personnel and civilians in the galaxy, the blaster pistol fires cohesive bursts of light-based energy called bolts. Blasters come in a variety of shapes and sizes, delivering a wide range of damage capability. Many blaster pistols have stun settings that incapacitate a target, rather than inflicting physical damage. While blasters do deliver a searing concussive blast, they can be foiled by magnetic seals and deflector shields." - Star Wars Databank