alanschu

I seem to be on Firefox 18.0 (although it says it's "applying update" right now haha). Let me restart.... EDIT: Still no dice Chicago. 18.0.1 and I just see the text tabbed :S

I had to CTRL-F5 but the gold box is gone, thought the quote is still just tabbed text. It works, and much of it I think is just the "inertia of the status quo" but if you are wanting the quote tags to show up, then in the words of Sgt Schultz: "I see nothing!"

Eh, the problem with that is I lose other aspects of convenience with the text editor (I love not having to use [ i] to italicize. I just use CTRL-I. TRUST ME THIS IS MUCH BETTER especially when I want to be rather excessive with my italics because the emphasis is so important TO ME!) >.>

There's no video (thank goodness). Purely a text description haha. Played my first game in a long time and while fun, the body wasn't in agreement with all the things my mind said it could do

Called NBA 2k13?

Do you have it for 360? (I picked it up for 360 so I could milk the "virtual currency" from other angles to help make my player better). If so we should play a game. There's one thing I would recommend. I'll find exactly where you go to find them, but I would turn "CPU Plays" on, so the AI coach will call plays, and then turn on "show all plays" for "all players." I know these last two can be set in the pause menu of a live game. Not sure about the first one. It'll put play routes on the floor for you to follow which can be a big help. I have some issues with the game (sync'd animations can be frustrating), but in general I do enjoy it. Some other things: In the main menu (not in MyCareer), there's a game mode called "Training Camp" which coaches you through various maneuvers and controls for how to play in various situations. Very helpful. There's also a setting for "Shot Feedback" which, when you shoot a jump shot, will give you a grade for your shot, and gives a visual indicator for how well your shot is for shot timing, shot range, and defender presence. Green is good, yellow is average, red is bad. From there it spits out a letter grade. For shot timing it'll also show if you're too early, perfect, or too late. It's a pretty deep game, and it might be intimidating if you aren't too familiar with basketball. The shot timing thing is huge for the MyCareer. Take the "shootaround" mode and just practice shooting shots from mid range to get a feel for the timing for your player. If you have any questions let me know!

Word. Things are much better now.

When I hit "quote", your post is just indented but I don't see any other obvious indicators of what may make this a quote. The quote blocks are gone, and there's no line break or anything. It can be a bit tricky when making a nested quote (multiple people), as well as splitting up the quotes to reply inline more. Though manually inputing still appears to work.

I still remember my first exposure with C++, while also on Linux. My first year was with Java which had built in Exception Handlers. The C++ was using g++ on a console. Try running application: "Segmentation Fault?" WTF does that mean!? Off to google. Although ironically, I learned to love it. "A hard crash! This should be easy to find!" I remember doing an AI course and it was my first exposure to C (and my good friend malloc and free). We were given some skeleton code, and I failed to realized I had accidentally used the wrong variable while iterating over the memory block, and clobbered the crap out of it. My free() call led to some bizarre "glibc" error and I had no idea wtf was causing it. Fortunately some combing with a fine tooth comb found the problem, but yeah... sometimes I loves me a solid IDE and debugger! Haha. Also: I'd agree, but looking at the raw registers and memory words we know this isn't true

I dislike the NRA's commercial. That is all.

You totally googled that.

Can you come work here, please? We have some classes written with methods like class Adder { public int add ( int x, int y ) { return x + y ; } } #define Adder(a, b) (a + b) Ok, there is such a thing as over simplifying Fortunately my knowledge of good ol' cstdlib helped me dissect some of the helper functions for some of the aspects of Frostbite. I don't know the full reasoning, but I know some of them are replicated (IIRC it's so that it probably uses our memory manager in a way that we have ultimate control over. Fun things like small block allocators and whatnot). I remember working stupid hours over Christmas for DA2 trying to isolate some situations that were leading to some grotesque situations of memory fragmentation on the PS3

Well, null is typically a 0 byte, so it's still a fair term IMO But think of how extensible it'd be! You could easily add new alternatives, new menu items, even new days! The versatility! Ultimately my laziness contributes to the KISS. One thing I learned for sure was to not code extra features that people may use in the future. Let whomever needs said feature add it

Me playing basketball after 3 years of not. I had a sweet baseline drive to a reverse lay up for an epic airball! XD

That's what happened to me.

This is something I haven't heard of before, but it seems pretty horrific. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/01/10/uk-usa-foreclosures-zombies-idUKBRE9090GD20130110 The only hesitation I have from being completely outraged is that this is the only link I have read about it so far. Very unfortunate there doesn't seem to be much recourse.

I'd prefer it. There's nothing stopping Project Eternity from delivering an experience we all find as memorable as Planescape: Torment. Themes and ideas transcend games. What I loved about Planescape: Torment was it took me by surprise and did things I hadn't seen before. Making a second game and stating it's THE sequel and will be using the same themes seems contradictory to what I liked about Torment. I'd prefer all my RPG games to have 90% of the things that Fargo described (vague things like well written characters. Really... *that* is a defining feature of Torment, so if you're going to do a game like that then it's a "Torment" game?). I just feel like they'll constantly be having to determine "is this Torment quality?" over production that it'll ultimately undermine it. Doubly so if they allow as much fan involvement as they have with Wasteland 2. The only unique concept I think you can identify as a "Torment theme" is the idea of looking at what it means to be alive and so forth. And that's not unique to Planescape: Torment. PST just did it really well. There's so much well done by PST that should be in a lot more RPGs as far as I'm concerned, and it has nothing to do with a "Torment theme." See, for me, it meant I was measuring up how well BioShock would hold up against System Shock 2. It failed, and IMO took a game that was otherwise pretty decent and left me disappointed instead. I didn't need any sort of frame of reference to compare Planescape: Torment to when I played it. It was unique and fantastic. Game mechanics are more easily shared (which is why I like Obsidian's pitch), but going from there is more restrictive IMO.

Dealing with family emergencies.

Ah, that makes sense, I guess. So the screen displays your overall "reputation" in white, and the higher of your two alignment scores in the appropriate color. Yeah, reputation is basically the sum of your renegade and paragon if I understand it correctly. Part of the reason for doing so, I believe, was to prevent situations where, because you didn't forcibly choose renegade ALL the time, you weren't restricted from renegade options towards the end of the game (which had higher requirements). The alternative, IMO, would have been to not necessarily have a linear progression for Paragon/Renegade requirements, but in this way it still let you make the decisions that your character feels is best for that situation, without preventing the options down the line because you were more balanced in your approach.

Pfft, I always called them "null terminated strings" /hipster

The real question should be "why were people waiting for a sequel?" The disappointing thing is that, to me, all you are saying is "I am just like any Call of Duty fan, except I like a different type of game. Give me my sequels, because then I can be assured that I will like the game. Please don't bother making something different, even if it's possible I may like that even more." It's because it's like saying "I'm going to make a sequel to Citizen Kane." My question is "Why? What purpose would you have in making a sequel to a classic that doesn't really make sense for a sequel to be made?" The thing that gets me is more: Take the description of the game. That sounds like something that I want. Now, how many people are in line with that, but got MORE excited because it was told it was a sequel to one of the greatest RPGs ever made. Why did you get excited? Because from there you can not only go "Oh yeah I like those things," but your memory of "OH WOW, they want it to be LIKE THAT!? THAT GAME WAS SO AWESOME!" If you support this decision, then you can't lambast big name publishers for utilizing sequels to increase their bottom line either, because this is former CEO of Interplay Brian Fargo talking here, especially since he's going to be leveraging this enthusiasm to get people to fund the game for him. Furthermore, I've lost count of how many people have said "DA2 wouldn't have been as poorly received if it wasn't billed as a sequel to DAO. Heck, even if it was called DA:Kirkwall or something would have been better." Someone mentioned Bioshock, a game that I enjoyed but ultimately didn't continue playing past the first one, because I always have that feeling of "It's good, but System Shock 2 is quite a bit better..." There's no shortage of people on this forum that don't care for Dragon Age 2. Imagine that the only reason why DA2 came into being was because YOU funded it. If you're truly just wanting cool kickass RPGs, ask yourself why you're more excited about this game, given its description, because it's called Torment 2? If you just want cool, kickass RPGs, and have faith that inXile can deliver, the title should be irrelevant. But it's not. Obviously simply because it's a sequel doesn't mean that it'll be poor (I've mentioned System Shock 2 a few times now, and I'd say BG2 is superior to BG1), but 15 years is no longer sequel development as an iterative process. They're going to be starting from scratch, with a whole new setting, a whole new set of characters, and a boat load of restrictions that will prevent them from even trying to link it to the Planescape setting (so IMO, the Final Fantasy comparison doesn't work as well). Though Final Fantasy is a decent analogue, it's important to note that there hasn't been 13 years between titles. They took an existing IP that has an exceptionally devout following, and the only reason for doing so is that it drums up excitement and brings in the dollars. Exactly the same thing that the big publishers do. I'd have less issue with it if Fargo wasn't looking on getting funding directly from gamers in order to do so.

IMO it's because it's familiar (which may not appeal to you, but it means you can take more things for granted in development because there are implicit assumptions made).

They don't need to call the game "Torment 2" to make an awesome CRPG. Furthermore, simply because a game is called "Torment 2" does not make it an awesome CRPG. Imagine what you'd think if EA came out with the exact same press release. The problem is that Fargo is doing exactly what you hate about devs like us. He's leveraging an established property simply because it gets him more money. For as much as people **** all over BioWare and EA (and other companies for doing nothing but making sequels of other games - you just don't happen to like them). You hate DA2 because it changes too much from DAO? Well imagine your perspective if Torment 2 doesn't deliver. Though they would have gotten your money (and more of it) because they called it Torment 2. Frankly, I'm not surprised that you think I'm crapping on your happiness. I wouldn't at all be surprised if you're a hypocrite like so many others that lambasts other companies for doing nothing but making sequels, but once it's a sequel of a game that YOU like suddenly such restriction does not apply. Here's the thing about Planescape: Torment: it wasn't a sequel. For all the people that go "GIVE ME PSYCHONAUTS 2!" to Tim Schaefer, or "GIVE ME PLANESCAPE: TORMENT 2" to people like Avellone, imagine what we would have missed out on if, instead of making Psychonauts or Planescape: Torment, they had decided to make a sequel instead. It'd mean we wouldn't have gotten either game. We probably would have still gotten a good game (since Schaefer and Avellone are good game designers), but the glory of Kickstarter is it lets you actually try something new. At least with Wasteland 2, it's something Fargo has wanted to do for decades (even then, he's still including a taste of Fallout, much to the chagrin of some Wasteland purists). If you genuinely just want sequels to games that you like, you're not really being any better than the people you insult that want sequels of games that you don't want (that ultimately take money away from trying new things, like Planescape: Torment). You want MORE games like Project Eternity? Show the publishers that new IPs with game mechanics that you like are what you want. Torment 2 runs the risk of saying to publishers "Lets buy up old IPs and try to revive them." A game inspired by Torment that delivers on the gameplay that Torment has, but isn't Torment, can only say "Hmmm, games like that can be pretty successful." I don't see "someone that still has guts to make good games." I see someone that wants to leverage a near iconic IP because it'll get him more money than otherwise. Naming a game "Torment 2" has no bearing at all on whether or not the game will be any good, nor whether or not InXile has the "guts" to make a good game. Exactly, though this comparison is a detriment to Bioshock. Bioshock is a fun game, but as a spiritual sequel to System Shock 2, it falls flat on its face. DAO was successful, but there's plenty of Baldur's Gate fans that hate that it's considered a spiritual successor. Project Eternity has the advantage that it's not going to be a sequel, spiritual or otherwise. It draws inspiration from the Infinity Engine games, in terms of presentation and what can be done. But it's not a new Baldur's Gate. it's not a new Icewind Dale. It's not a new Planescape: Torment. Even though a part of me feels it has the best chance at dethroning a game like Planescape: Torment. It has all the advantages that Torment had (plus a few extras, like Sawyer), of a unique/unfamiliar setting, and limited expectation on what themes it will deliver on. I have some ideas on what they are thinking they are going to do with souls and whatnot. Torment 2 has already decreed "We have a vision for what the important themes are that make a Torment game." You better damn well hope they line up with yours because if they don't, the game isn't going to be as well received.

I was just chatting about this with a friend and I think he summarized my verbosity nicely: I get the impression that a Torment 2 is akin to saying "I want to copy PST because the thing that made PST special was that it didn't copy anyone else!" "Inspired by Torment" would make me a lot more confident and optimistic than "The sequel to Torment." JMO.

My objection is that (especially given the restraint), there's no point in naming the game Torment aside from tugging on the heart strings since people highly regard the game Torment. For the same reason I'm not a fan of Interplay reviving the old Black Isle Studios name. It's manipulative and not necessary. Stating that they want to make a torment style game would be fine. But noooo, they are naming this game Torment straight up, and have said "Torment games have these themes." What made Torment amazing was that it was new, fresh, and unexpected. He's already handicapped himself for what the game's themes can be (i.e. a rehash of the same themes explored in Torment, so what was surprising and unique in the original game is now being leveraged to acquire more money, all the while undermining the potential for being surprised and unique in the same way that the original game could be." Yes, PE has expectations based on its comparison, but they have some wiggle room in still doing their own thing. Torment 2 has handicapped themselves to have the same things that Torment had. The irony of suggesting "breaking down RPG tropes" like the first game, all the while mandating that the game has to have the same RPG tropes established by the original game. Project Eternity has more freedom because they can take what they want from the "inspired by Infinity Engine games" comment. A lot of it mechanical (which is just a means of delivering an experience, with it's strengths and weaknesses). My objection is that this seems like a pretty blatant attempt at grabbing more money for a Kickstarter by latching on to one of the greatest RPGs ever made and milking the title for additional funds. The idea they have is fine, but this isn't the same as "I've been wanting to make Wasteland 2 for decades now." This is "I want to make an RPG that has some of the gameplay elements that Torment established. I might as well name it Torment 2, and all the pitfalls it comes with doing so, because it will get me more money." This coming from Brian Fargo, who allegedly hates big name publishers and all they do, and their sequelitis because sequels are safer, known commodities. And yes, I understand that I work for a company (and on a project) that is a sequel as well. He's underutilizing the kickstarter angle which allows him the creative freedom to try new things, by latching on to such a powerful franchise because it will get him more money. PST is pretty much sacred to me, and I suppose I'm a hypocrite because I was okay with things like Fallout 3 and so forth. But none of those games were developed under the guise of using a novel new funding mechanism that frees developers from their creative shackles and lets them try new and riskier methods. As a developer that works for a big name publisher, what excites me about PE (and even WL2) is that it provides the avenue to make games that are considered "too risky" for big name publishers, and has the potential for them to be home run knockouts that force big name publishers to take notice. Project Eternity is taking general game concepts from a mechanical point of view to proof out that those mechanics are viable for a game dev to focus on. Torment 2 is saying "lets make a game and get more money by associating it as a sequel, while also increasing the intrinsic risk since the idea of satisfying the fans." Project Eternity isn't ACTUALLY an Infinity Engine game (and even then, it's just an engine). If Project Eternity had been "Baldur's Gate 3" then the expectations grow immensely. At least Fallout 3 was pretty unabashedly being made for a different crowd. Torment 2 is being aimed specifically at the same fans of Planescape: Torment, with promises that it will deliver on the same themes and situations that Planescape: Torment did. In other words, this isn't just another isometric RPG... it's a game that is going to blow our minds like Planescape: Torment did. At least it better, since they've leveraged the title in order to solicit more support. It is limiting, because we as gamers already know what the game is going to be about - the new and fresh themes that were established in the original. Which is completely contrary to what PST delivered (since Torment 2 is bound to attempt to recreate what PST delivered, lest it be a failure). Might as well just say "we're going to wow you just the same as PST did!" and step on your landmine right from the get go. It probably doesn't help that I have less confidence in Fargo and Co. delivering (in large part based on conversations/topics he posts on the forum for WL2. I have seen him consider very simple and obvious "third choice" outcomes as being examples of meaningful choices and consequences for WL2. The idea that the third choice actually turn out WORSE for him was something he found pretty surprising. Sure, he was receptive to feedback and admitted he'd need to go back and reexamine, the idea of Torment 2 being a "community developed project" in the same way that WL2 has been doesn't inspire much confidence either. I dunno, I just see people like Avellone and Sawyer as being some of the strongest in their respective suits. I contributed to WL2 because Avellone was involved in some capacity.