LittleRose

Wait. If this interview is two years old and was just posted right now, I was wrong. There may be an evil side in this one, but it's neither Chris nor Obsidian.

Okay, one word to the ones believing Chris to be a totally innocent victim: All those years, he's been just dropping hints about feeling treated badly. Now he suddenly puts this on the table, just days before the release of Deadfire. Now, what other game with a similare gameplay is scheduled for late summer? Pathfinder: Kingmaker. Who did a major part of the writing for it? Chris Avellone! Basically, he's making these accusations now, years(!) after he quit, because he wants to make sure that people buy Kingmaker instead of Pathfinder. He could have told us years ago, but he's doing it right now. Right now that his new RPG is about to compete with the first major Obsidian RPG he hasn't been working on. He's doing something that could keep so many people from buying this game for ethical reasons, it could destroy the company. It could put how many employees on the streets? Just for his petty revenge on the management and his business benefits, he's putting the jobs of secretaries, game designers, programmers, janitors and others at stake. Many of those have families and would lose their health insurance, too. And in my opinion, that's just as bad as what obsidian ist supposed to have done to him. So, you boycot Deathfire, you should boycot Kingmaker, too. Otherwise you'd be a hypocrate to me. (I know you don't care at all, but I'm saying it anyway.) I don't want to have anything to do with their dirty games, I'm just an innocent customer. So I'm going to buy both games anyway, but later, when they get cheaper. I don't have much money myself right now, else I'd gladly spend the full price on both, because even Chris didn't do all the work on his own, and his current colleagues are as innocent as Obsidian's employees. But most of all I'm going to buy them because I'm a selfish jerk, and I don't want my fun spoiled because of other people's lack of business ethics. If you want to be the one being punished for their mean and unethical behaviour towards each other, be my guest. As long as they don't commit any capital crime, I don't see any reason why I should be the one suffering from this.

I'm not taking sides on this. On one hand, there are enough companies I could imagine doing something like that. On the other hand, every time he talks about this matter, Chris adds more to the story, but this accuse is business threatening, as it could drive the customers away for good. Some forum members here have already left. Could he be telling the truth? Certainly. Does he hold enough of a grudge to want to harm Obsidian? I could imagine that, too. Therefore, I'm not taking sides in this case without any witnesses or evidence. And I'm not taking sides without hearing Obsidians version of the story, either. So, no boycotting anyone from my side until I believe to know what's really happened. After all, a company is more than its management. There are plenty of employees, many of them with families. I don't want to support companies who treat former employees like this. But I also don't want to take part in destroying the financial security of so many people by avoiding Obsidian's games without knowing if their management is really guilty.

You mean like Wizardry 6-8, but in isometric perspective? Count me in. I'm always open for sci-fi RPGs, or for science-fantasy. Oh, the possibilities.

As I keep saying, I love RPGs for their variety. My list of favorite RPGs contains everything from Fallout 1 and 2 over Morrowind to Final Fantasy 9. If I like the atmosphere, I most certainly like the game. Yes, I have some trouble with modern realtime combat, but I'm sure I can manage with a little more practise. I'm as hyped about Pathfinder: Kingmaker as I am about Cyberpunk 2077. I think there's room for all kinds of RPGs. Let's take a look back. Early on, we had dungeon crawlers like the first 3 Ultimas or Wizardry. Okay, I missed that era, but I've read a lot about it. So, what do we have now? 3rd person realt-time RPGs (The Witcher, Vampyr), Isometric RPGs (Pillars of Eternity, Divinity: Original Sin), 1st person RPGs, often combined with an open world (Elder Scrolls, Fallout New Vegas), strategie RPGs (The Banner Saga, Fire Emblem), Dungeon Crawlers (Legend of Grimrock, The Bard's Tale 4), the traditional jRPGs (Tales of Berseria, Dragon Quest XI), and hack'n'slays (Path of Exile, Grim Dawn). Not to mention all those MMORPGs (TES Online, World of Warcraft with a million add-ons). I'm pretty sure I've forgotten some, but you get the idea. Every developer has their own idea of what an RPG should be like, so there are so many different types of them these days. There's something for every taste. I just love it. I have so many different types of upcoming RPGs on my watchlist, it's almost scary. Sure, a lot of those are indie games, but they're being developed, and that's all that matters to me when it comes to games. So who cares if one person's defenition of RPGs doesn't fit everyone's taste, if there are so many other, differently minded developers out there, too? It's not the end of the world.

1. I don't care much about the combat system. I love the variety the genre has to offer. But I hate too much combat in general. Divinity: Original Sin feels like a chore because there's a big battle every few steps. I can hardly avoid any of the encounters, because the monsters are blocking my path. I feel like I've spent 90% of the game fighting so far, and after all those hours I'm probably just a bit more than half way through the game, because all that combat keeps me from getting any quests done. Less is better sometimes. 2. I prefer my companions premade, if the game is party based. Selfcreated dummies are boring, and I just love the "friends on the road" feeling of games with well designed companions. 3. Little details that are just there to make the world feel more alive are awesome. I remember how one of my party members in Realms of Arkania stepped in dog's doo and lost a bit of charisma until she'd walked it off. Or when Yoshimo pickpocketed an NPC in Baldur's Gate 2 on his own and even had a dialogue with him, suggesting him to retrace his steps to find his missing ring. I also liked that poster in one of the Umpani soldiers' lockers in Wizardry 8. Just give me those little things from time to time, and I love your game even more. 4. The world has to draw me right in. Arcanum, Fallout, Planescape: Torment, Morrowind, Vampire... all those worlds were unique and fascinating. But even classic fantasy settings can do that. Just take The Witcher, Arx Fatalis or the D&D games. I've also enjoyed space operas like Anachronox or Mass Effect 1. Oblivion on the other hand wasn't drawing me in, though it's a TES game just like Morrowind. It was way too generic. Somehow I also don't really get into Wasteland 2, and I wasn't as fascinated bei PoE as I hoped I'd be. (I'm going to buy the sequel anyway. Maybe the part after the long introduction to the world will be more like it. The lore was interesting, after all. And I want to travel with Edér again.) Which brings me straight to the next point. 5. Please don't try to recreate the classics in a new world. Those games were good enought to become classics because they found their own way. No "cheap" copy has ever achieved that. Do your own thing, be creative. You can only disappoint the old fans if you encourage expectations only the original can meet. You can say it was inspired by a certain classic, but never promise that it will feel exactly the same. It won't. 6. If I read anything about "procedural generation" in a game's description, I'm out. What's the point of exploring, if all I can find is generic stuff? If I enter the abandoned ruin of a long forgotten people, I want to breathe their history. I want to dive into the illusion that there's really been someone living there. Or praying, if it's the ruin of an ancient temple. If the place has just been randomly generated by a program, it's meaningless and boring. Let me give an example: When Daedalic showed "The Long Journey Home" in a lifestream, their representative said, he liked the thought that, if you saw a person stranded on a deserted planet and a spaceship was just leaving, you'd wander what was going on. No, I wouldn't. Because nothing's going on. The game has just randomly placed them there. There's no story behind it. The scene doesn't mean anything. It's as hollow and meaningless as everything else in that game. So, if you want my money, do something for it. Don't be lazy. 7. Don't leave everything fun out. Don't let your game become the original Dungeon Siege. It has no plottwists, not a single word of dialogue more than absolutely necessary, soulless companions (because they don't talk to you), and my party could clean an entire map on its own. It doesn't even have a real character system. It's just dull. I quit it because I was so bored. The only thing I liked about it was how the party members only drank as much from a potion as they needed, saving the rest for later.

In the next summer sale, this will be mine. Terrible port or not.

Okay, then I can be honest with you: I suck at every RPG that I haven't played during my starting years. I have mastered the IE games and Realms of Arkania. But give me just four characters instead of six or different spells, and I just don't seem to get it right. I'm not even able to get the first ambush in Dragon Age: Origins. That's why I started this thread. To remind myself of what I've learned, and maybe to see, if I can snatch a few general tricks from you. I'm just glad to see that I'm not the only one who's still struggeling with some of these games. If your looking for me, I'll be in the shame corner anyway.

I've played it years ago. It's not that good. The beginning is great, but later in the game you're just fighting armies in hack'n'slash combat. You might even have to start over with the same character to get the right level for the later chapters.

We weren't born RPG masters. These games are often quite complex, after all. While I've been reading in the CRPG Addict's blog, I've come across a nice discussion on magic and spell preferences in RPGs that reminded me of my own learning to master this genre. Step by step, game by game I learned to use tactics based on the different games' mechanics. And I still have things to learn. So, let's compare which lessons we've learned throughout our CRPG years, and what influence they've had on our style of playing. -In my first RPG series ever, the Realms of Arkania trilogy, I learned how important positioning my characters is. Protect your mages, make sure your paty members can't be surrounded easily. The number of spells I used was limited, and I didn't get very deep into the magic system. Basically, I used fulminictus for attacks, and turned my foes to stone, or scared them off the battlefield. I used alchemy to create healing potions, magic potions, or poisons. The rest was up to my fighters. This way I got through the games without a problem. -Baldur's Gate I taught me how to use certain attack and different holding spells for tactics. In my play style, that was half the way to win a combat. I also learned that the order in which you fight your enemies is important, too. -Before Wizardry VIII, I had mostly relied on offensive spells like fireballs, and on healing spells. Now, I learned the importance of protection spells. Hardly any battle could be won without casting mind shield and elemental shield first. Non-protective spells I learned to value were spells that kept my opponents from casting themselves, like silence. -In Gothic, I often had to make use of the environment to succeed. Fighting unfair can get you far in the first two games of the series. -Icewind Dale II finally taught me that even small buffs can make a great difference. I remember fighting some ice wyverns (or were they even ice dragons?), that would keep stumping my party to a pulp in no time. So I went through my spells and my inventory and discovered a spell that would give me a few percent of cold resistance. I also buffed my melee fighters' strength a little. To my surprise, my party suddenly swept the floor with those big lizards. I'd never thought that such a few percent could make such a huge difference. Obviously, I was wrong. (After that lesson, Baldur's Gate II was a lot easier to beat) So, what's left for me to learn? Well, I still haven't mastered the action combat of many modern RPGs yet. In the Witcher 3, I have a lot less trouble with it, so im finally going to learn how to judge my attacker's movements and block or evade on time. This will be very useful in future RPGs. Unfortunately, this game is almost unplayable on my current computer, so I'll just have to wait till I can afford a new one. But my time will come, so monsters and evil guys in modern RPGs, prepare. I'm going to get better and won't need to be so many levels above you anymore. Muahahah! Also, I need to learn more tactics for games without magic, though I've already learned a bit about that in the first two fallout games. Otherwise the combat is quite dull, as it's just shoot, take cover, and heal if there's no cover or your action points don't suffice. In the end, I can say that I just love a tactical challenge. It's so much fun to analyse the situation and even rethink my approach while I'm still busy losing my first attempt to defeat a group of evil mages, fighters, or monsters. The more tactical options I have, the better I like the game. No matter if it's spells, potions, environment, special weapons, or gear. Just give me something to work with in a tactical way, and I'm happy. And all that without power gaming too much. I still love to play a character after all, not a one-(wo)man-army. So, how about you? How did you master our beloved RPGs as far as you have by now? How do you still want to improve? Tell me. Maybe I can learn a thing of two from you.

I can't play it on my old PC, but I've heard about this mod that adds manual saving. https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomedeliverance/mods/1

What my mother witnessed this morning: She was waiting to see her family doctor, when another woman unpacked a bowl, poured cereal in it and mixed that with yoghurt. If you don't have time for breakfast at home...

They are, but in Germany, we (non-electricians) use the word "Sicherung" for both. They serve the same purpose, after all.

I live in Germany, so English isn't my first language. But I'll keep that on mind, thank you.

Today I learned the difference between luck and luxury. Luxury: A functional bathroom light after a week without it. Luck: If a rotten cable triggers a fuse permanently instead of starting a fire. We'll receive the bill for this lesson within the next few days. And yes, we left the switch in the off position until the electrician had found the cause. Which was the right decision, obviously.

Maybe the Broken Blade series by Kelly McCullough. There are better books out there, but the special skills of the main character and his shadowy familiar would make an awesome stealth game. Get cloaked in magical darkness, glide from roof to roof even across the main street with the help of shadow wings, or sneak behind a guard and put him to sleep with a specially prepared egg (or better with the stuff the eggs are filled with), and infiltrate fortresses and temples without being seen. Just a few examples, there's more, but not too much. Of cause the game would have to be set before the books, because in the books the temple of Namara, the goddess of justice, has been destroyed, the goddess herself is dead, and her former assassins, called Blades, are also either dead or on the run. That's no spoiler, but a part of the world design which is explained right in the beginning of the first book.

I decided to waste some money and bought three. -Normality, an old adventure that I haven't played since my brother has bought it more than a decace ago. It wasn't great, but nice. -S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Call of Pripyat, which I haven't got yet. -Spacecom, maybe I should try a new genre. Not that bad, after all. It could have been worse. Edit: Had another go. -Gemin Rue (Already own it on DVD, good game) -Eador -Hard West Looks like I have to take a look at turnbased strategy/tactics this year. I'm curious.

Thank you, Raithe, but I don't have a kindle. I've chosen another brand of e-reader, so I'm not bound to one store.

I've just realised, I've been so busy discovering other genres during the past years that I've let my favorite down. I've fallen behind on reading high fantasy! How could I? That's never happened before. I couldn't recommend anybody a newer series to save my life. 5 books to go before I may start a new series. Excuse me. I really need to get some reading time today. No surprise I'm so bored these days, the lighter stuff isn't doing it anymore. I need more complex new worlds and magical adventures to experience.

Finally started with Wasteland 2 and I just love it. Yes, the combat could use more tactical options, but I love it anyway.

Something unique. Something they've always wanted to make. That's what I want their next game to be. Because it's the unique games that become legendary. It's the games a developer has always wanted to make that he puts most effort into. Those are the games that have a soul, the games that just feel right. Those are the games that are most fun and most motivating to me. I love the companions in PoE, and the lore is well detailed, but somehow it feels too much like a BG without the DnD license. I can't help it. Most of the best and most atmospheric games that I've played weren't copies of anything. Exceptions like Arx Fatalis only prove the rule. Don't worry, I'll still buy PoE II, because I miss Edér and Pallegina. Actually, I'm missing all of my companions except for Durance. I don't like him at all. And that murderer from Caroc. I didn't even pick him up, because I wasn't playing an evil character. Too pathetic? Okay, okay, I'll admit it. I'd like steampunk or science-fiction. Or maybe urban fantasy. Something that hasn't been overused in RPGs yet. By the way, Sony is still looking for someone who has a good concept for a new Anachronox. Modernize the combat system, work a bit on the lore, add some good graphics, and you could create the new Mass Effect without copying Mass Effect. (Hey, a woman needs her dreams, okay?)

I'm getting closer to the moment when I'll have finished several of my current favorite book series and can choose a new one to read. Oh, the bittersweet feeling between saying goodbye to some favorite characters and their worlds, and looking forward to new universes to discover, new people to meet, and new adventures to experience. I love it. *checks endless list of possible candidates* I think I have a slight problem here. Where do I go next? Dragon searching in the desert? Enter a bookworld for the first time since Thursday Next? Explore the stars? Solve crimes in Victorian London? Or hunt monsters in a the big modern day cities? It's a tough choice, but I'll get this.

I'm still torn apart between not watching Doctor Who anymore if they keep changing everything and sticking to it till the (hopefully not) bitter end. Can we at least have an additional male companion, please? And make him cute. We women like eye candy, too. (Just kidding)

Thank you. So there's no hope.

Just a moment, please. A German gaming magazine released a few videos about the history of some games companies on their website. In the one about Bethesda, they claimed Beth had bought the rights to make Fallout 3, 4, and 5. Can anyone confirm this? Is it true? Is there a limit?