Tigranes

Similar to what happens on your nights out, right? I usually end up sleeping during takeoff, waking up for the meal, reading a bit, sleeping a bit, and lasting the last few hours with movies. Got a 14 hour flight coming up next week but should be fine, unless I have bowel troubles or something. Happy Birthday hurlshot, obviously not much I can say to help but hope it tides over well - though it might take a good while.

I doubt Obsidian will see any money from this, so no, I don't think I'll be rebuying.

They seem to be using the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort (screw you, weird quoting formatting rules), which is where they recommend we stay. I usually look around for a cheaper option nearby, but in this case it doesn't seem to be easy. Hell, I didn't even know a Disney World existed.

Hey, Americans. So for some reason they're holding the National Communication Association conference in Orlando, Florida. To be precise, inside Disney World. Assuming some people have been there (e.g. Hurlshot), how long does it take to get from Orlando Airport (MCO) to Disney World generally? I'm looking to land at 9.30am then make it for my own paper at 12.30, to save on hotel fees. Can't wait to hang around a thousand academics analysing the evils of Disney World even as they skip half the conference to have ****tails and go on rides. Not.

Moderators, tell this capitalist scum that CIS and China still stand proud and don't buy anything. We're like 90% of the planet when it comes to people with computers, therefore the numbers are accurate. Fight capitalism, **** yeah! Clearly, we need to ban everyone with a V, X or Z in their name.

Anyone who gets excited about this is (1) not so bright, (2) just got trolled by Herve.

Yeah, but from what I saw of ME in LPs, you never ever had 'tons of options' for any exchange, it really was Good/Neutral/Evil and sometimes +Exposition or +Special Action.

I think (4) is key - if you keep it flexible enough so that players can rework the spectrum at least several times throughout the game, *and* provide enough range of choices wherever they are on the spectrum (so that they aren't stuck with just 1 choice for a quest or something), then you end up simply having way too many choices. A more limited implementation would be closer to what's already been tried in RPGs - special options that open up in addition to the standard range, e.g. if you are specially good, evil, whatever. Certainly, I like the idea of, say, a PC with precedent in killing innocents to develop a sadistic bent so that it opens up new super-evil options, or even, restricts the PC from making the super-good choice in future encounters with vulnerable innocents, though I'm sure such a game would provoke much ire from players about 'freedom of choice', as if the land of video games were 19th century America or something. I think it's possible to do it, though. Eg: Imagine a setting, say, a futuristic one about neurological drugs or some kind of contraption and the psyche, or a Planescapish setting where your actions have consequences, your actions cling to your body as artefacts, your deeds have physical markers, etc (heh, like a fantasy representation of the ideal of C&C, for full Meta points!) - in such settings especially it would make sense for your decisions to sway the PC towards certain decisions later on. Hell, imagine a split personality PC, or a possessed PC, in such a setting. Instead of the player walking down the street, initiating conversation with a beggar, then choosing to kick him in the balls or give him money, the player regains control/consciousness of the PC after at least part of the event has progressed. Imagine a game where early on, your condition is not so severe, and the PC goes around making choices in a more or less standard way. You see an attempted crime on the street, and chose to intervene violently by disembowling the offenders. This 'good' act, later, has consequences on your psyche, and the inner demon; later you 'awaken' (that is, regain control of your character, or fade in from black) to find the PC with blood all over his body, him having ripped the life out of a couple of pickpockets (or just suspiciously dressed hoodlums). The player then is still in control, and is making choices about what to do aftewards (hide the bodies? turn yourself in? attempt to resuscitate?), but the situation about which he is making choices has been determined by his previous choices. In my mind, such a game wouldn't even be much more restrictive than the standard RPG, where 'plot' already fulfills the same purpose. Right now, cutscenes and other plot apparatuses already pigeonhole the player into certain situations, after which the player is given a standard range of choices, yes? So, in this example, what you have is a situation where previous choices you made about the player has shaped his split personailty / possessed psyche, and in turn, the starting-point from which you are making choices. It could be an interesting way to rework the standard linearity/choice dynamic, and also to introduce the granularity you talk about. ...actually, I'd really love to play a game like that.

Yeah, Psy was actually there: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz4H5WI6bvY&feature=player_embedded#![/media]

Maybe an Android port? Don't see any hard technical reasons for it, just that iPhone/Pad is cheaper and easier to start off with.

We love it, too. Seems to be short on real details, and I don't actually know a thing about Warhammer, but I guess it's going to be a party RPG? More of those is always good.

In Korea it's yet another trendy upbeat hit song that everyone loves for 2 weeks then forgets. The difference being this somehow became an international meme of the week, too. There's nothing special about the song itself, but I find interesting how (1) the lyrics in particular treads that ambiguous territory where it clearly makes fun of party culture while cashing in on it, (2) Koreans know this but choose to ignore the subtext completely and enjoy it as another party song. Wait, hang on... What the hell?

That's pretty crazy, but speaks to just how low it was previously, I guess. Yeah, I think I generally agree with these improvements and am pretty excited to see the game improve.

On the final mission of Thief 2, Expert. Very good game, especially since the pagan stuff is kept to a minimum. Loved walking on the wooden beams on the ceiling, abseiling down with vine arrows to grab the masks without triggering the gas traps.

1.04 looks interesting, interesting enough for me to fire up D3 again once I'm back in the States next week and the patch actually comes out. Certainly fixing legendaries alone makes a huge difference, though have they said anything about drop rates and AH dependency? Probably not...

Guy makes thinly veiled stab, 15 D3 devs go nuts and take off their shirts on facebook. Oh boy.

Since we have a lot of kickstarters these days maybe we can pool it together and alert each other to the more interesting of the moneygrubbers. Obviously, currently we have a thread on Expeditions: Conquitador (Kickstarter: http://www.kickstart...ns-conquistador) Also looking interesting is, as spotted on RPS (http://www.rockpaper...l-funding-push/): Chivalry, a Source engine multiplayer medieval melee combat FPS. Not exactly down the RPG alley but seems interesting nonetheless, we're still far from having games that do this well (Mount & Blade having turned out a bit different). Kickstarter here: http://www.kickstart...edieval-warfare God I hate the new linking rules.

I wish I had people to be pissed off about (OK, not really). Early immigration + Introspective high school years + a university with no campus life + yet another move overseas = Very Few Good Friends scattered over the globe then a small amount of decent friends, but no country where I have more than 5 people I could ring up on a late night. Currently looking up a fried chicken place so I can eat it all. By myself. Bwahaha!

*shrug* both this video and the first reveal gameplay video - the place looks great, but it looks boring the same reason Assassin's Creed 1 failed for me; I only get to do a few mildly interesting things before cutscenes take over every 30 seconds in a highly linear sequence. Back to playing Thief 2.

Hard to say, really. I agree that it's too much of a slog, but it feels like there's not much to the game besides the fighting. I'm only up to Trynton, but the wilderness areas are terrible, and writing/quests/etc are just cardboard placeholders. The Monastery was great and maybe it should be more like that, e.g. an Arx Fatalis kind of world, though of course older Wizardries were set inside dungeons entirely. Having been on my old laptop since May I'm also kind of keen to go back soon and fire up Witcher 2 or Risen 2 or something, though that probably won't last that long. Maybe Alpha Protocol, since I can never get sick of that game for some reason.

Wizardry 8 is interesting but just taking so long for each battle is wearing me out at the moment. Might do a rerun of Thief 2, also eyeing some modded versions of RTW. Hope they release Europa Barbarorum 2 mod for M2TW one day, it'll likely be better than anything CA have made for a decade.

It's disappointing compared to what PB can do, but yes it is definitely worth a playthrough. My second's been on hold since I've been travelling May-Aug, but will be nice to finish that other path.

Hope it goes well for you Guard Dog, come back in one piece and let us know. Finalising the lease for my new apartment in Philadelphia, all with the Agents From Retardo-Land who finally figured out how to hit the Reply button on their emails after 3 months and several polite phone calls. Now, of course, I have to figure out how a Personal Liability Insurance works in the US and all other kinds of silly hoopla. You'd think they'd teach you this stuff somewhere.

Lookin' awesome.

I like pretty, and I like cute. I just want people who act cute to succeed at it, even a little bit. The crappy region system means I am not letting myself have any interest till September, but I guess I'll have some time to get impressions. It's a pity, though, my favourite part of a multiplayer game is when it's just released and everything is new for everyone.