alanschu

The big ones, ctrl-b, ctrl-i, and ctrl-u, are the ones I definitely miss. I don't know if I missed other ones. Ones like copy, paste, undo/redo, still seem to be working fine (and are perhaps controlled by the browser itself, rather than the code to support this text box). If there were other ones missing, they certainly aren't ones that I used with nearly the regularity. (although I miss the formatting ones on probably a daily basis... haha)

I hear people talk about this bias a lot, and yes in some situations there is a bias towards women. In general though, as a 30 year old white male, it doesn't take much for me to recognize how many extra privileges I get simply because of being born a white male. Mom typically gets the kids because, historically, mothers were ascribed the role of child rearer and not qualified or capable enough as a man to earn money via employment. So while you go "The man is screwed here," ironically it's because of systemic discrimination against women and what their capabilities were. In the end, because they were expected to be the ones raising the children, society evolved to feel that they must be the best at doing so. Although the situation you describe in your last sentence is patently untrue in my neck of the woods. Alberta tends to be pretty conservative too, but I know plenty of single fathers because they are the responsible one.

I'm actually quite surprised how flexible some of our programmers can be, especially the more senior ones. It seems like those guys can be put on pretty much any programming task and be quite proficient at it.

Infinitely more than the Planescape: Torment game. The setting itself may be new, but it was validated by Fargo as being acceptable for a Torment game. This means that the decision to go with it meant that the idea had to be related back to the original game, so that it passed the game's standard. It won't just be "new characters" it will be "new characters that we feel are sufficiently Torment." It's not just a new story, but a "new story that we feel is sufficiently Torment." These restrictions don't exist with brand new game ideas, but in the big publishing world that also makes them more risky. What makes Torment so fantastic isn't its game mechanics, or its isometric perspective. It's the content contained within, and the things that they ended up doing. Planescape: Torment is created with a fresh idea and the freedoms that that allows. Torment 2 is created with the intrinsic restriction of "This must be a Torment game, and contain the same themes as Planescape: Torment." For myself, the surprise is already ruined (I already have an idea what the game's content will be about, something I didn't have with Planescape: Torment), and it means that they will always have that niggling thoughts when new content is created of "Is this Torment enough?" Every idea put forth will have to pass the "Torment filter." When you're creating Planescape: Torment from scratch, this filter doesn't really exist. Ideas put forth just have to work with the rest of the content going into the game itself, rather than worrying if it also satisfies external requirements that have been brought in. I know first hand how customers will react if they don't feel that the product appropriately meets the expectations set forth by being a sequel. There's a lot more "I would have liked your game more had it not been a sequel" type of feedback than "The only reason I liked this game was because it was a sequel." I'm of the mind that, a good game that happens to be a sequel to a good game would be a good game regardless. A great game that is the sequel to a great game would be a great game regardless. A good game, however, that is a sequel to a great game, gets critiqued more harshly. So you want Chris Roberts to make a sequel to a game he didn't even work on with who knows what sort of influence he had on the main plot of it? Sounds like something I'm sure he'd just love to work on.

Hmmm, I'm going to have to agree, obyknven still needs some more practice!

Why is Dell looking to buy up public stock? Just tired of the issues that come with being public?

That was interesting...

He called it stupid, so I don't think he feels the Law is right here.

Nah. Just means that the total sum of BG2 was enough to supercede the type that you typically prefer. If there were more along the lines of BG2, you would probably prefer the narrative style instead I agree that it's pointless to get too caught up in trying to define what an RPG precisely is.

I can agree that the term "action RPG" seems to be in decline. Action RPG was more a distinction between a "standard RPG" in how it plays. The distinction is, perhaps, coming along the lines of narrative vs. open world vs. dungeon crawler. I find most RPG discussions futile as many seem to take the label as a badge of pride, and hence any games they don't like that share the label sully that badge in their eyes. I don't think genre crossing is bad, though. Just hard. Some of my favourite games cross genres (System Shock 2, Deus Ex). Even within the RPG distinctions he created, I'd consider Fallout: New Vegas to be a hybrid of sand box and narrative, and it's very, very well done.

You are a bit late Star Citizen already become funded as a Wing Commander(or any good'ol space sim) spirutal successor via crowdfunding. Haha, no I did know about that one He's not just saying "here's a new Wing Commander" though. I think that that messaging is important. It gives him more freedom to try something new (which could be even more mind blowingly amazing). It's what I want to see. Chris Roberts clearly has a legacy and passion for making those types of games, and Kickstarter is letting him do that again. That is AWESOME and great for the industry as a whole IMO. I'm sure that Fargo is passionate about the PST game too, but he's creating explicit links to the other game. That brings with it a lot of extra baggage, but without the additional u understanding that Wasteland 2 has as being a pet project that he has wanted to work on for decades.

Except that keyboard shortcuts for the formatting that I espoused my love for earlier are now no longer working! While quote headers are awesome, I actually prefer the keyboard shortcuts! Damn I should be in QA! >.>

It is cynical, but it's in large part fueled by listening to Fargo flood the world with Tweets about all the freedom and awesomeness that Kickstarter has allotted him and how he doesn't have to play the Publisher game anymore, only to then see him do the exact same things that big publishers do because it's safe and will bring in additional funding. To be certain, the man definitely knows how to play the game (he's been on both sides of the coin). With Wasteland 2 I at least give him a pass because he's clearly been wanting to make that sequel for over 20 years. Eh, call Modern Warfare something else, and I don't think you get record breaking day one launches (especially if something else is still called Modern Warfare). I think what people like about sequels is that, just like publishers, it makes THEM feel safe and secure too. Relic could make a completely new RTS, but if they make a Company of Heroes one, or even a Homeworld one, fans get those warm fuzzies they once got by playing the earlier game, and the feelings of nostalgia and emotional attachment that goes along with it. People clamour for a sequel to the games that they love, because it's the greatest assurance, in their minds, that the game will deliver on the same awesomeness they got from the original. The irony, and what I want to see out of Kickstarter, is that had a developer decided to make a sequel instead of the original IP that that person now loves, they would have never gotten that original IP that they now love. I don't want to see Wing Commander 7 (or whatever) through Kickstarter. I want to see a resurgence in new space sims that try something a little different with a different setting. It's hard to pitch a game like "Torment 2" to a big publisher because it wasn't a big seller. Thing is, it'd be even more difficult to pitch the original Torment today since there'd be virtually nothing to compare it to.

It's still affect them from a reputation perspective, which is still important. Though PE will have a much greater impact there IMO.

I need to buy a new car so I think it's time to finally start hitting up the Steam backlog. First review: A Game of Thrones - Genesis I got this as part of a pack that included the Game of Thrones RPG. it has some interesting ideas for mixing things up for an RTS, but I'm not really an RTS fan, so I didn't play it for too long. My sole reason for wanting to continue to play it is the main campaign seems to be very tied to the history of the setting, which could be interesting. I give it a 4/10 (if you love the setting or RTS games, you may enjoy it). (edit, I consider 5/10 of to be a "decent" score that some would probably enjoy)

http://x-surface.tumblr.com/post/41282771026/x-surface-dont-believe-everything-you-read

Channeling your inner Volourn? A game with the themes he has listed (especially some of them.... "Well written characters?" Really?) doesn't need to be called Torment. It's a former CEO of a big game developer talking here: if he calls it Torment, he gets more money. The same reasons that companies like Activision and Electronic Arts push sequels as much as they do. The only difference is he's making a calling out to a different group (one that is more starved for their style of games) and will ask them to fund it. Though it's becoming increasingly apparently that people actually have no issue at all with the big publishers pushing out sequel after sequel. The only issue they have is whether or not they are pushing out sequels of games that they want. There's no reason to expect that Project Eternity won't deliver on most (if not all) of the same themes that Fargo wants his Torment franchise to have (I think it will). Project Eternity's pitch is superior because they leveraged the Infinity Engine as a frame of reference from a mechanical and presentation perspective. The story and ideas that they are coming up with are new and creative. It should be noted that Planescape: Torment used the Infinity Engine for its mechanics and presentation, with the story and ideas contained within the game being new and creative. You can split hairs about is this really a "sequel" all you want, but by calling this Torment people are going to be picking it up hoping for an experience that is similar to Torment. For myself, a large part of that experience was that it was new and creative and I had limited expectation. Defining what it means for a game to be "Torment" and then stating that you will make a game that does the things that Torment does (including, paradoxically, breaking down RPG tropes which Torment has now contributed to). My fear more lies in the self-critique of "Is this content we just made really Torment enough" rather than just going out and making the game that you want to make without constraints on what the content can be.

I'd be exceptionally surprised if Relic was shut down.

I believe this is the case, though tweaked to use a Force Power pool instead of health I think.

Loaded up Arcanum. Reminded that having my character critically fail 3 consecutive shots in a row as I face a random encounter with a grizzly bear (that two shots me) isn't a sterling idea of fun. Dropped difficulty. Game is more fun.

I'll take it. Luongo is still a good goalie though.

I hope Vancouver has a goaltending sideshow all season. As much as I dislike the Canucks, I think their fans have thrown Luongo under the bus too aggressively.

Oh, is there any way to change my guys voice? He sounds ridiculous. Maybe I should change my college to an ivy league? Haha sadly no. Although he doesn't bother me too much.

Just verifying that (without any refreshes) I know get the border around the quote. But yeah, don't know from whom. Which usually isn't a concern for me as I don't put from whom 99% of the time anyways

I find defense super duper hard. I tend to NOT use the triggers (Intense D or Turbo) very often, and I turned down the CPU assist (since it made my character move in unpredictable ways. What position are you playing?