Tigranes

Now, now, Gorth. That's pretty partial. 1. All things considered it's not a game where you're likely to come across game-breaking bugs. It's an extremely polished game and suffers from very few major hiccups compared to most other RPGs. 2. You do make choices and they do have consequences. Let's see... in one sense, there's a lot of C&C: the entire game branches into two after Chapter 1, then you have two very different Chapter 2's. Within those different Chapter 2's you also make some major decisions, etc. However, it is also quite a 'cinematic' experience and that does palce limits on the kinds of things you can affect. Nevertheless, I'd say what you do matters. 3. Here it's really a matter of opinion. It is 'actiony' and is primarily aimed to recreate the actual experience of swordfighting. Other than that, see for yourself... That said, you really should play it for the PC, if you've got a good machine. It's pretty much one of the best-looking PC games around, period, and is likely to undergo some heavy nerfing to make it work on the aging console.

I keep thinking about going back to Skyrim, but I think the idea itself is more attractive than the experience. Have there been any substantial mods released yet, in terms of character development, gameplay balance or new content? Skyrim NPCs do travel around, more like Ultima's day/night schedule routines than Oblivion's let's gather to talk about mudcrabs deal (though that is still there sometimes).

I can't remember all the rights hoopla, but I strongly, strongly doubt this is anything truly exciting. IE games have held up very well, especially with the widescreen mod, and look quite good already; fans with hundreds of mods have kept the game fresh as well. A HD remake that pulls the trilogy together would be nice, but isn't a big thing, especially not if it breaks mod compatibility. It could be some form of BG3, in that case, who are these guys? Can they make a good game? Sure we know Trent Oster but it's a wait-and-see thing. What would really be so much better is a new IE-style game, but that doesn't quite match with the promo style.

I seem to remember enemies following you through loadscreens, but I can't be sure. It may also be the difference between whether it's to a different floor/room or to exit the fort altogether. It's pretty easy to run away from dragons, especially if you're willing to do some acrobatic tumbling down jagged cliffs. It helps if you have that burst of speed shout.

Calax should come in for Sorophyx, and then Azure next before we start with Generation 2. To be honest in this playthrough, the second half of the game was pretty easy for the most part. In fact, we could probably have survived with zero deaths if I played slowly and obsessively. Walsingham is the only casualty that came from a major 'boss' battle; otherwise, we smashed through Loup Garou, the demonknight, etc. all pretty well. But full SCS is a different story- I think ironman is pretty impossible because the pre-buffed mages and enemy potion use alone make them far too powerful. You also end up using a fair amount of cheese like LOS/aggro, wand spamming, etc., which is why I didn't install it all for this LP. Generally due to low-level parties, one of the biggest causes of death in BG1 is disabling spells (Chaos, Emotion, Confusion, Hold Person, etc), and if enemy mages come into battle with Minor Globes of Invulnerability and Mirror Image, they'll always have a chance to get those spells off. Currently working out how to handle BG2, as I'll probably be without my desktop in my continent-hopping May-August. Hope I can spare some time to get the installation done and make a start, but will also be in Canada next week.

It's spring break, so I'm naturally doing more work than I ever did rest of the term. Will be in Toronto for conference next week, should be cool, I like Toronto. Well, okay, I've only been there for 24 hours, but it snowed then, so there. Would like to play some CK2, and my guitar, but no time.

VD clarifies that the final-final demo build is now being tested, and he expects it up for consumption early next week. That means end of next week, probably, but fine with me.

Well, that's it. 16 updates from January 1 to March 9, and the Obsidianites have semi-ironmanned Baldur's Gate + Tales of the Sword Coast. The survivors will pick up BG2 at some point in the future, though Risen 2 has booked up a fair portion of my life next month. Thanks for watching, and go like us on facebook.

Gorth has done pretty well for coming in so late. We estimate that 11 of those 12 kills were via wand of the heavens, meaning he would have been just as effective at Level 1. Poor Sorophyx. I think the two kills are actually Tazok and Semaj, which is pretty amazing. Clearly, it's not about the levels, it's about the loot. Nepenthe has done alright for himself, and ends the game as the only tank in the party after the fall of Oner and Walsingham.

Without the buffs, Angelo is toast in approximately two seconds. And now it's everyone on Sarevok. We have no more summons available, but the skeletons, as technically a fifth level spell, prove a little more durable. We cast Greater Malison on Sarevok, but he's still invulnerable to most spells, so now it's all about magic weapons. Nepenthe is on the brink... But even as the summons fall, Gorth fires a well-aimed crossbow bolt into Sarevok's face, and he falls to the ground. Pidesco gains half a level from the great bounty of XP that follows. TrueNeutral: Wait, that's it? We've won? Nobody died? Nepenthe: I almost died. Gorth: You don't understand, do you? It's not over. TrueNeutral: What do you mean? We just killed him! Gorth: Here's the thing about adventures, my poor, bugged shapeshifter. It's never over. There's always.... a sequel. Now, for some stats, because that's what all red-blooded Americans like. They're not as comprehensive as they dont' include the dead members, but we see that Tale has eventually accrued a decent number of kills, having largely lived as a pacifist for the first half of the game.

Aaaaand all hell breaks lose. Sarevok has three lieutenants: Tazok (currently being flamestrike'd), a dumb brute, and Angelo / Semaj, pre-buffed mages that can cast 5th level spells and begin invisible. In addition, the central emblem is full of traps - we set off a web trap there already. Everyone starts on Tazok with the msot powerful projectiles possible, while Tale dispels invisibility. Semaj tries to get away, but soon dies (see combat log), while two more charges of the Wand keeps Sarevok and Tazok at bay. Nepenthe's gotten himself webbed, but nobody's targeting him for now. Sarevok has a very fast movement speed, so we need to make sure he's kept busy for as long as possible. Tazok too falls, but Angelo, the other mage, enters the scene. A fourth charge of the wand, but Sarevok's pretty much one-shotting these hobbos. (Meanwhile, Pidesco levels up. He is now able to memorize fearsome second level spells like... Mirror Image.) Time's running out; we've used all five charges of the wand, and Angelo still has protective spells. Tale takes a big risk by casting a wild magic spell, and manages to successfully animate some undead. This is what we've been looking for. We've saved up ten arrows of dispelling thus far; a successful hit debuffs the target completely.

Outside the temple, we meet Tamoko again. She has a miniscule role in the game itself, but does a pretty good job of showing who she is, why she wants to save Sarevok, and why she must now fight us. Pity the Forgotten Realms lore on Kara'Tur, as far as I know it, is pretty much "OMIGOD SAMURAIS SO KOOL". Tale decides it would be real useful to explore this area. Alright, this is it. The big bad. The head honcho. We'll either win, or die, or Tale will die in the first two seconds and we'll reload. This is it. We spare no expense with potions of heroism and strength, and other buffs. Pidesco is only level 2/2, but has inherited the ring of invisibility and some high-calibre arrows from Sorophyx. Here are the rules. We don't want to die here, but we don't want to cheese it out, either. It's possible to just abuse the fog of war and spam Wand of Monster Summoning so that Sarevok never lands a hit on you. Instead, we will begin combat, as you can see, by throwing the entire party into the enemy's line of sight, and also limiting ourselves to only 5 uses of the wand. (The wand of paralysis won't work on Sarevok, anyway, AFAIK.) Charge #1 sets us up.

But before that, a hostile adventuring party awaits us, dispatched by the Iron Throne (the Iron Throne in Baldur's Gate that Sarevok commandeered is just a regional branch) to get rid of Sarevok, us, or both. They are incredibly dangerous, as their leader can fire detonation arrows at a rate of around 2 attacks per turn... So we pre-empt them with two wands of fireball and a detonation arrow of our own. Sorry, I missed it with the crappy pause, but it takes out their cleric and does hefty damage on the rest. We run back away from the fireball-spam. Crap, Tale! Drink potion! Tale: 'Tis only a flesh wound. Tale: I LIVE! Baldur's Gate and instantly healing potions: the real next-gen RPG.

Sorophyx: Oh, dude, that was two lightning bolts in a row. That really hurts. Well just drink a potion, and get out of there before the lightning bolt comes back. You'll be fine. Sorophyx: Son of a- Dayum. Tale: He's dead. There's nothing we can do. EXCEPT KICK SOME ALIEN ASS! Gorth: Seriously, snap out of it. That was sorophyx' third death, and so we cannot resurrect him according to house rules. Sorophyx was, of course, the only member besides Tale to last the entire campaign, and as the only thief, invaluable in many situations. Because we are so close to the endgame and a level 1 character will be useless, we decide to push on with five. At the end of the maze is the Undercity; the story goes that Baldur's Gate is built on top of an older city, one that succumbed to some sort of catastrophe. It is here that a temple of Bhaal remains intact, and here Sarevok will make his last stand.

We save the Dukes and present Sarevok's diary as evidence of his crimes. Pidesco: Rawr. Sarevok decides that's too much trouble and attacks. Clearly, someone at Bioware decided a non-violent ending involving intelligent dialogue about Sarevok's guilt should not be an option. And a good thing too, who wants to solve problems with words? Sarevok is teleported away before we can really do anything, though, and we must chase him to wherever he's fled. Belt offers to teleport us to the location... Belt, you suck. The maze is mostly empty, except a few high-level enemies and traps. (On the right, you see the corpse of a helmed horror we dispatched earlier.) Obviously, all we need to do is scout ahead with Sorophyx and proceed carefully. Except, you can't search for traps and hide in shadows at the same time....

16. Iiiiiiin theee eeeeeeeeeeeeeend Gorth: We're going after Sarevok now, aren't we? Tale: We can delay no longer. The enemy awaits. It's time to hit him where it hurts. It's time to bring it on. It's showtime. FOR FREEDOM- Sorophyx: What happened to him? Gorth: Too much Mass Effect 3. Nepenthe: Ooh, that's a wonderful game, that is! A tale of heroes like our one should aspire to! Gorth: You just want more romances. Pidesco: Grrrrrrr. Nepenthe: It's all about emotional storytelling, man. The Ducal Palace is closely guarded, and only those with formal invitations may enter. We, of course, acquired them from the assassins, Slythe and Krystin. Apparently the masters of ceremony in these parts never thought to write the invitees' names down on the invitations to prevent such accidents. The remaining Dukes that Sarevok has not had killed or incapacitated, Belt and Liia Jannath, start the whole thing off. The nobles are rather upset that Duke Entar got done in. Sarevok's acceptance speech. Sorophyx: Oh, dude, he's one of those people. You give him a podium and five minutes and he goes on for forty-five. Gorth: But he's very clear and informative about his new policies and potential conflicts of interest. Aren't you interested in those things? Sorophyx: Not really. I can't take him seriously with the spiky armour deal. Gorth: You should judge them on their policies, not their style! Sorophyx: How can I do that when I haven't been listening? The procession is interrupted as all the noblemen turn into dopplegangers, obviously planted by Sarevok. Obviously the plan was to kill the remainder of the Dukes and seize control of the city, but I'm not sure why Sarevok would think that is not suspicious. I mean, look, he's not even doing anything. At least wade in and get a black eye, or something.

I do recall that you turned down a couple of jobs because you didn't want to relocate and everything, though, so that's all good to hear. I'm juggling some relationship troubles, a paper for a conference next week which is one of those papers that keeps changing its identity as you write it, the lack of an Age of Decadence demo, and the terrible fact that Radiohead will be in New Jersey when I'm in New Zealand, in France when I'm in Korea, in Japan when I'm in Korea, then in New Zealand when I'm back in Philly. Yee-haw.

Climbing tall rocks: the secret cognitive science behind TES' success.

The evening's entertainment, of course.

Don't you disappear on us, GD, we want the old timers to stick around. (I'm half your age, but still...) Looks like the new work is letting you keep the house and the dogs and all, then?

Next update has been mostly ready, but I'm currently dealing with some personal issues. It will come soon, and set us up for the very final battle with Sarevok. The attention is appreciated.

No. It's my conjecture. But I'm pretty certain of it. You don't want a BG3/Van Buren situation where you get two messed up projects on a home-grown engine, then it's too old so all the work goes to waste. And in my eyes one of the key goals of DS3 was to use a proven franchise, publisher funding and a relatively conservative design remit to ensure a solid and timely debut for Onyx - Obsidian devs have spoken about how this now lets them say to publishers, "look at DS3 and how well its engine, at least, was received". We've also heard numerous times about how Obsidian is very keen on Onyx, thinks it's good, and that a in-house engine can only help for development. (And, Onyx was designed from the start to support different variations of RPG mechanics.)

I thought you'd always have my back, Walsy. Beer-chuggin' proper British character from blighty and a wide-eyed foreigner from the colonies! We were in for Rush Hour, just with a narrower target audience! (I think Gorth drunk the last pot of heroism for that fight, BTW)

Hard to make judgments based on one story, though. I mean, Tim Cain's own retelling of his story sort of sets himself up for failure, as well - i.e. he constantly stresses how he didn't want to run a company, he had no idea how to run a company, and Troika was never run like a company. In fact, it reads as if even if Bloodlines was released in a professional manner (something we all know already was a massive what-the-hell) and they got another contract for some game, Troika would never have lasted. They would have needed to change in some way, somehow, or at least have begun the company 5-10 years earlier. We have to remember that the initial sales figures for Arcanum were pretty damn low, unfortunately. That's in stark contrast to how Feargus tells his story. From the beginning, and we've seen this quite transparently in the deals Obsidian have made over the years, he's quite aware of and always looking at what is required to make the company last and to grow. As someone who likes their products and doesn't want them to go bankrupt, it has always reassured me because it always looked like they had some sort of coherent and realistic business plan (though the book is good at showing us how anything can always go wrong). Arguably, Alpha Protocol+Aliens might have been fatal for other companies, whereas for Obs, it's merely set them back a couple of project cycles; and now the big short-term priority is to really get Onyx out before it becomes outdated.

Happy Birthday, sorry I keep getting you killed in Baldur's Gate.