alanschu

What is so special about them there Warlocks?

I was a bit surprised....as I figured any zooming meant bonus damage. So when I got the actual sniper rifle (the one that Bach uses), I didn't get any bonus damage. I didn't try for headshots though. Though I do know that "headshots" do exist, at least in some way. You can kill zombies instantly with a headshot (in fact, I don't even think it shows damage...they just explode).

Hehehe. Though I still suck enough at the game that that is hard for me. Haven't played RTS games since Starcraft.

On the other hand, attacking with a fleet of star destroyers is still crazy fun! (even though you can't do that in the demo)

Would you be up for a game this weekend? :D

Unfortunately coop doesn't seem to be high up on the list. Though I did talk with a fellow from Bioware that was telling me that coop is actually more difficult to implement that it sounds, which is why it often doesn't make the cut in today's games. I can't really remember his explanation though, as it was a few months ago...but I do remember it actually being a plausible explanation. Though I don't think he was talking about RTS games. It would be "interesting" to have two sides share the same team in Empire at War. People would be bickering about resources and what to build and all that. I miss coop

The 1vs1 point is a bit disappointing. Though I'm not sure what else they could do with a SW game.

There's something about the ending credits theme in Braveheart. One of the few times bagpipes don't devastate my eardrums.

I didn't get the impression that the Galactic Map was turn based. There's a play/pause button, as well as an accelerate time button. If it's turn based, then it is a wierd turn based interface. It's funny that you mention that good AI is the future, as I was part of a research project last summer where the focus was on a smart AI for RTS games.

I agree. Though it was interesting enough, with the galactic map and all that too, that I may consider picking it up.

Don't get on my case for it being old news...you were the one bringing it up yesterday. I agree with Gromnir that the bulk of the responsibility of Troika's downfall was Troika themselves. You can only get away with making buggy games and trashing publishers so long before it comes back to haunt you.

There's so much more that you'll never know behind the scenes. And did Activision make the deal, or did Troika use Activisions money to go for the engine?

Hmmm, makes me kind of glad we didn't sign him then. Fare thee well Zigs. Move Zig Move Zig, Take off every Zig!

That would make sense....if it was true. Actually it wouldn't make sense at all, as I'm sure Activision would rather release the game rather than sitting on it for months. Activision's "permission" had nothing to do with it. However, Activision was nice enough to keep Troika around long enough to release the patch, rather than just cutting the ties right away. (And I wonder how "done" Bloodlines really was, given the buggy state it was released in). If you want to blame anybody, you should at least blame Valve. Though I don't think it's much of a surprise that Valve would not want someone else to be the first company to release a game with their shiny new engine.

Sounds like a lot of micromanagement. Does it get in the way of tactical planning? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well, for me, it doesn't so much get in the way of tactical planning...but perhaps execution. I'm sure with proper grouping I would do way better though. I do wish you could zoom out just a little bit more though.

They do with the Sniper Rifle. Instakills everything but bosses afaik. Maybe not the sewer monsters, never tried it on those. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Really? I'll have to try that. I know that 'Jaime Sue' gets a damage bonus simply for being zoomed in. It doesn't need a headshot though.

The Ziggster go down?

I never really found headshots to do more damage in that game though.

There are minor hero units, and major hero units as far as I can tell. The minors it seem have similar tasks to the majors, but the majors come back after a small amount of time when "destroyed" so to speak. Or so it seems anyways. I was able to make Field Officers to improve all land units in combat, as well as smugglers which the Rebels use to steal money from the Empire. The Empire has a Bounty Hunter to counter these guys, and I did see Boba Fett and Solo/Chewie as the "major" versions of these guys. The major ones can also go into combat it seems. Fett has his flamethrower and Jetpack, and the Han/Chewie Combo can hijack enemy vehicles. I'd imagine as you explore worlds, you unlock heros (Luke on Tatooine for example). I really like space combat, and I find it a bit less cumbersome than the land battles. Thankfully the AI is decent enough to still attack and all that if I am too busy to assign orders. It can get pretty chaotic. I always suck at selecting units though.

I love that Harm spell of theirs...

It is a lot of fun, but I need to relearn how to play RTS games. My basic strategy is often "CTRL-A" "ATTACK" which doesn't work too well. I suck at multiple fronts. Though I only really have a problem in the space battle. However, I probably wouldn't mind slowing things down all around, especially on the overhead map screen. Things go pretty fast. But I'm intrigued.

I'll let you know when I get home from work.

The game gives all vampires a Blood Buff skill though, that boosts Strength, Dexterity, and Stamina for a limited time. Using that alone can make most fights manageable.

Except that combat is in real time, which will probably immediately sell Hades off of the game...as PnP D&D is not a real time combat game.

He turns 30 next year.