Tigranes

Absolutely. As I extrapolated above, this 'weakness' isn't suggesting that we lack moral fibre or something, but that in the current situation, boycotting is a thankless job that makes you feel like a solitary tinfoil man, even if you aren't. Although, I wonder how similar/different it is with, say, FPS.

Yeah, that's just a whole new level of stupidity. How stupid can you get? I'm not even angry, all that surprise leaves no room for any other emotion. They're just making sure I never buy Spore, I think. It just shows how it takes a long time for any attitudinal change to roll out across the industry. Some people realised years ago that banning negative discussion is the worst way to do public relations; others are still failing to realise that simple truth.

It's probably antithetical to the setting, but the Witcher was crying for either a lot more magic or gadgetry. Imagine applying the specific 'hands-on visceral' approach they took to sword combat to that. Magic which involves not just throwing one damage spell after another, but creating synergistic effects (soak in water, which slows them, but then you can also use lightning, etc). Or just a lot more gadgetry in the Thief vein. They probably felt it was already too much with a very engaging sword fight system and potions, I guess. But god, I wanted to use a bow with that mechanism.

You sure 'bout that? I think the biggest factor that stops consumers having an impact is because, well, consumers are weak. You might be angry about X when the news first breaks, but eventually, you're going to buckle down and pay up because, likely, the only reason you were that angry in the first place is because you really wanted to play that game! And part of the reason it's so easy to buckle down is because it's so hard to see what effect you have. Even if you do have an effect (usually as part of a not-very-well-mobilised whole), it's so hard to see that.

Perhaps you could tell us the exact nature of your problem: i.e. what is stopping KOTOR2 from installing and running normally?

*shrug* I'm sure we'll all enjoy MoW when it does come out. Due to its nature, it's not going to be that hurt by the delay I think. I really dislike the sluggish nature and lack of 'sharpness' of the Aurora/Electron engines.... and I think OE is quite ready to move on from it now as well.

Now that would bring forth a storm like no other. Look, I think it's a 99% possibility that any BG3 in the works would not continue the story of BG1/2/TOB's protagonist; it might look at the Bhaalspawn saga from another angle and therefore approach that protagonist's story, but that's probably the extent of the connection. So, it boils down to, a new game based around the Sword Coast characterised by big open world, tactical party combat, classic FR setting... heck, I'm all in for that. (Don't know enough about 4E yet to comment on that.)

Well, that's a different kind of 'bad writing', really. But yeah, VA & written dialogue both can really kill immersion if they go off the deep end. The dialogue I've seen so far seems standard Bioware fare, like the 'filler' stuff you'd get in the BG series. The thing with, say, BG2 was though, they were interspersed with some great bits (i.e. Minsc). We shall see this time.

Probably because it's way, way bigger than Torment. Full voice doesn't automatically make anything better, because if the VA is crap it's a detraction. However, this just confirms my suspicions that it's shpaing up to be / trying to be another SoA. Which is cool.

Ah, I missed the turbo cache then. Dedicated memory is a basic requirement, IMO. Nothing's worse than getting a butchered graphics card. At least it seems like I know what range I want and can get now, I just have to find something thats actually sold in NZ.

Note: I live in New Zealand. I just converted all prices to US 'cause nobody will know the NZ currency. Okay, I had a look in you guys' links and all over the place elsewhere. I can find, in terms of graphics cards: -> 8700M GT, which is similar and for a similar price. -> FX 770M; I hear its a 'slightly faster 8600GT'. So probably not, right? I keep getting confused because sometimes cards with lower numbers are actually better. -> Alienware provides top of the line 8800M GTX even in NZ, but prices start from $2500US and its very unlikely I can afford that. -> What I'd really like is something inbetween the Alienware insanity and the original post's 9600MGT seems a happier solution: such as, Dell Precision M6300 with Quadro FX 1600M 512MB. Although that bit about 'discrete' worries me, is that anything like integrated graphics cards (ugh)? It seems to go at around $1700US elsewhere, but apparently in NZ, I have to call for prices. Will do that monday I guess, if you guys think it's worth it. -> The MSI laptop you linked me samm, with the Mobility Radeon HD 3850... also looks like a good middle-ground... if I can just find it in New Zealand (gah)! Finally, I used to think, way back, that laptops were pretty much impossible (or too much bother) to upgrade. Is this still the case?

Ain't worth my money, 'cause my computer still can't run Oblivion properly and I found I was done with that game after the first 60+ playthrough. Anyway, I've seen some of the Shivering Isles dialogue (with that crazy-ish King who is supposed to sound megalomaniac?) and of course the dialogue in Megaton. It looks.... Biowarian, except they tried too hard to be 'edgy' sometimes. i.e. It's generally to a decent standard and well-polished, but doesn't make the game or bring it up to another level like in FOs or Torment.

It does hurt paying customers. It just doesn't happen to hurt you, at this moment, with your specific lifestyle, with this specific DRM. That's a narrow cocoon to shelter yourself in when DRM is changing and becoming more draconian. I didn't register Spore online because it's my friend's copy and it's going back next week, after which I will uninstall. I don't know if it still activated anything, but the game installation process was fine. I'm not sure where you are going at with tho. Let's say I did activate online and had no trouble. Is that evidence for anything? This is wonderful, we have some kind of asynchronous parallel quote monster horde going on here.

What. Anyway, actual examples please. Who's going to believe what they say after Oblivion?

Thought so. I should be looking at mid-high range, really. But that's the thing. You can look at HP laptops that are a thousand bucks more expensive, and they still use the same damn card. It's as if that's as good as laptops get, which would be depressing indeed.

Thanks LS, although I already knew about the site. I suppose I should have clarified. I know where to get that kind of information, and for example I can understand the bits you quoted of course - but I can't really extrapolate. i.e. It says the 9600m GT can handle current games at mid-high details, but where is that likely to leave me 2.5-3 years on? Unable to play the newest games without cutting down all the settings to try and get the FPS over 20? If it can handle Gothic 3 high at 35fps then it's probably good enough for all the games I want to play now, with possibly the exception of MTW2, but what I want to do here is sink as much money as I can into it, just to make sure I am happy with the laptop for the projected lifespan (instead of running on Computer Savings Time after the first year).

Would be nice if it didn't, but I'm certainly not going to lie down and make it more likely. I'm not saying you should join in the 'crusade' even if you personally have no reason to. I'm saying your "hey I'm fine with it" argument doesn't hold water anywhere, except to justify why you personally won't invest time & effort in the issue. It depends on the exact situation and the degree, but if DRM continues to be fronted using the same (sometimes invalid) excuses and arguments, and the degree of severity and idiocy escalates, say, to the level of Starforce, I certainly won't be buying that junk. I don't pay money for a virus. Spore has just eased another of their DRM restrictions, and that's a great thing. But the thing with ME and Spore is, EA came really strong and blunt, then quite quickly eased off... thinking that they did that on purpose might be too much of a conspiracy theory (although that is very well possible), but the point is: if for example Starforce becomes the industry standard, games like Spore might get its measures repealed through widespread discontent and the weight of numbers, but will others? As someone who plays a lot of non-blockbuster releases, that's a concern. That's why killing this idiotic policy trend before it becomes a standard is a concern for me. Not going to intervene in rn-hk quote war, since I don't have time to read. Heh.

That is so true. I completely agree with Volourn. His logic is so handsome, I cannot stop myself.

So after chugging along for 4 years, my self-built $700US PC is breaking down. Even with a new PSU it keeps shutting itself down, the 160GB HD is full and sagging, and I can't play NWN2, Witcher or uh, mid-settings Oblivion at more than 5fps. The thing is, depending on where I do my Masters, and where I work in the meantime, it's very likely that I'll be city-hopping at least, and probably hopping half the Earth away. That means, laptop. I may be doing my masters over in the US/Canada come next september, and I'll want to be carrying it around on campus, I think. So it's a challenge. Can you get a laptop that can play current games (Witcher as benchmark) at top settings, and ~2.5-3 years down the line, play the newest games then at low-to-medium settings... for $2000US max, $1500US preferred? Only a few years ago doing that on laptops was a pipe dream, but I'm hearing that things are perhaps marginally better now. Still, I remain very much confused about all those different graphics card models, etc, so I want advice. Let's get a sample out there. There is an HP Pavilion for ~$1500US with the following specs: # 2.26 GHz Intel

But then, with the nature of the Black Hound as it is, we haven't really seen the proper 'first exposure' yet, which is probably what JE was referring to.

Dragon Age is as Morgoth describes, as well. It looked great. I prefer the satisfaction of control over some stupid rotary gamble. The 'surprise' in ME dialogue wheel is like the 'surprise' you get when you're 13 years old and you try to say something and you crack a high.

Short-sighted, Hurlshot. The "seems fine to my situation" argument only works for specific situations, and not the debate as a whole. So you buy Spore and let them do whatever, but what if, later on down the line, they introduce more draconian DRM that does affect you? I'm sure you won't be thinking the same then. But why wait until it gets there? It's a matter of principle because sooner or later this hurricane might wreck all the homes, not just your neighbour's. Here I can see your logic, but I'm curious as to what prompts you to say that customers can win the battle against EA's customer support, but not against DRM. EA have been doing [insert all the expletives you know here] crap customer service for years. They've been on the radar for it before, they've had complaints before. It's still a piece of crap. DRM, Customer Service, trying to change both you come up against the wall of the silent majority... the only variable is, will either issue generate a newsworthy story enough to get it going on mainstream media, and get the people to really dislike/boycott EA (or others) for it?

Yeah. I was wondering if anybody'd be confused about that. Briosafreak seemed to figure it out, but probably nobody else looks at that 'About' on the right.

If only I could read Chinese. I assume you're talking about this.