Llyranor

I hope you got some action, if you know what I mean. *wink wink*

You're right, 'out of place' is probably the more accurate term. In any case, I'm not arguing exclusively for tighter focus of the game/story (well, I am, but that doesn't apply to TES particularly), since that would entail a significant divergence of the series. In *this* context, though, there is plenty of room to adapt better integration of the storyline into the TES design philosophy, without compromising exploration and so on. If anything, I would hope that Beth learns from Oblivion for its next title, and strives to improve its storytelling/presentation (again, *within* the context of the series), instead of trying to cater to two seemingly opposing priorities and forcing an all-too-obvious dichotomy.

Hahahaha, Lucasarts trying to be relevant again. Nice try.

Like Dhrin says, given the context of the game design, the main storyline ends up in a pretty awkward position and feels rather inappropriate. Would I have enjoyed a storyline that actually integrated exploration and made more sense within that context? Highly likely. There's a certain difference in motivational plausibility between a someone looking for menial jobs to do for a living and someone who does them despite being tasked to save the world. Just because the latter is more 'epic' doesn't make it a better story intrinsically. You can pretty well adapt the first scenario into something compelling both in the story sense and in the world/gameplay/roleplaying sense.

Irrelevant argument. There is a difference between actual interactive storytelling and simple emulation of other mediums. If gamers are satisfied with just the latter, or with generally subpar storytelling, then there will be no progression. That's fine too, if you don't agree there'll lots of room for improvement in the field.

Bias? Perhaps. Sidequests are pretty much an accepted norm in the CRPG industry, but that doesn't make me like them. All that investment infused into making a better main storyline would have made a more satisfying product for me. If the main storyline suffers because of diverging prioritization, then so be it. Was Firkraag different? I enjoyed how performing the quest was linked with the rapid acquisition of gold in order to further the story. Proper motivation. If, of course, you cared for the story. I'm not that big a fan of BG2, but I appreciated how the sidequests could make sense within the context of the story - to an extent. Too bad I didn't like BG2's story that much. Yet, I have some relatively fond memories of how the sidequests/world related to the story. A rather effective means of nonlinear storytelling, sort of how the search for the waterchip brought about a natural sense of exploration. I don't agree completely with some of those games' design, but they were in many ways a step up from the norm. How about in PST? My memorable moments in that games are virtually all related to the story/characters. The sidequests were, for the most part, grossly irrelevant. Some would argue that they helped define TNO's personality in terms of roleplaying, but I didn't see it adding much to storytelling. Would I have liked it more if those resources were devoted to increasing breadth and depth of the main storyline? Where does Oblivion fit in all this? The main storyline in many ways was disappointing. It was an obvious improvement over Morrowind, and effort was observed. How much effort, though, is the question. I couldn't help but feel that they didn't really spend that many resources into making a particularly memorable storyline. Sure, it was an enjoyable excursion, but I'm not going to care a few months from now. Add to that a world/sidequests that can be perceived as detached from said storyline, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. How much importance *did* Bethie invest into the main storyline, other than hiring big name voice-actors? But then, I guess, that was never really the goal of TES series. Too bad. Some people like to explore the world and create their own motivations outside of the storyline, stalk NPCs, murder and eat them, and that's fine too.

More news. If you check on NWN2news, there's a new preview from an interview with Feargus with tons of cool info. French, with available translation. Good stuff.

This is why I keep telling people they should be eating cow placentas and nothing but. Fries, meh. Amateurs.

I might pick this game up, now: what's the patched game like? Any bugs, still? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Played it a few weeks ago. Don't remember any actual significant bugs. No functional ones, anyway.

Sidequests that make little sense in the context of the story really just add to its implausibility. Disappointing design, if anything.

When they're level 60 like everything else in the world

You know you wanted this thread. Life just wouldn't be complete without it. When a game allows you to host a teaparty with dead naked people as your guests, this thread is almost demanded. (I'm still working on the teaparty. I'm having a little trouble getting these bodies to conform to my will. I think I might try doing it with the lizard people. That way, I can stick their tail in between the back and seat of the chair and anchor them in pl - okay, time to stop thinking about it.) My character is pretty stealth-focused, with skills in Sneak, Security, Light Armour, Blade, and a couple other ones I forget. My goal in this game is to join the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. I've known for quite some time that I need to kill an innocent to get into the latter, but so far I haven't found anyone worthy enough (until today!). There's a few snotty NPCs I considered slaughtering in their sleep, but I knew I wouldn't get much satisfaction in that. So I went on a journey. If I was to become a murderer, I wanted my act to mean something. I wanted it to be symbolic. After a while of having nothing to jerk off to, it became apparent to me that Oblivion suffers from a terrible lack of attractive female NPCs. So I promised myself that the moment I met one, she would be my mark, my tribute to the Dark Brotherhood. I found her in Burma. For many days I watched her. Each morning I would enter the inn, take a seat, and enjoy some breakfast. Whenever I felt brave enough, I would look away from my companion and take a peek at her. She was quite social, my Lyra. Like a little butterfly, hovering from table to table and exchanging the latest news. For instance, did you know that the Fighters Guild was recruiting? I didn't, until I met Lyra. I only spoke to her once, the last day of her life. She didn't seem to like me very much. I gave her a lot of money, and then she liked me more. Her smile made me happy - but was she only smiling because I had lined her pockets with gold? If so, she was a prostitute. My heart was broken. I made a decision that the **** would die that very night. I stepped outside into the cold, frosty air and loitered around for a few hours. When nightfall finally came, I stole away to the stables and quickly retrieved my horse. If something went wrong, I would need a quick exit. I tied Glueboy to a tree just outside the city walls and went back inside. Lyra was still at work and her door was locked. I considered breaking in and waiting in a closet, but something told me that was the wrong way to go about things. Late in the evening, my darling Lyra finally left the inn and went home. I followed. I waited for an hour or two, not wanting to catch her undressing or within earshot of my breakin. The undressing would come later. Five lockpicks later, I was inside. Her house was immaculate, just like her. I crept around the first floor and took a flowerpot. I decided I would put it on her grave. I listened to the ringing from the church down the road. It was midnight. In the gloom of her house, I sat down and ate her leftovers. After I was done, I snuck upstairs and found her sleeping on the grandest bed I had seen to that point. She was beautiful. I stripped off my clothing and sat down across from her, mesmerized by the delicate movement of her bosom as she breathed her last breaths. After a little while I began to lose track of time. Before long, she began to stir. Realzing this was my chance, I removed my dagger and struck her with it. How she fought! She staggered to the bottom of the stairs and ran toward the front door. I couldn't have that! I drained her stamina with my Greater Power and she fell to the ground. Moments later she was dead. Beside myself with passion, I began to undress her, exposing long, regal limbs. After making love to her, I thought she felt a little cold. Trying to warm her up, I dragged her body to the fireplace. And then I ate her. True story. ... I mean.... stolen from the Codex! .... Yes.

What generalities? The specifics were pointed out from the beginning of this thread.

Yeah, I played a bit of the original RoN. More thoughful than a standard RTS, but not really enough to impress.

I've played a bit of the Doomsday campaign as the Russians. Having an all-out war on all fronts is, frankly, awesome. I've been doing pure warfare so far, haven't touched the intelligence/research/production/etc parts, since it's time-limited, anyway.

I was too, until I found out Gamespot are just a bunch of treacherous liars.

Ask Hades

Clearly you are unaware of last year's drama.

No one needs your wiseguy comments in here, metadigital. This is about pixies getting a new videocard, not a computer? LOL PIXIES WHY DONT U BUY A PS2 TOO!!!!! LOLLERS I GIVE GOOD INFO LMAO

6 yrs old, eh? Just go for the cheapest one that will run Freelancer at a good framerate, then. No pointing wasting money into it. Check out which cards fit the 'recommended' spectrum for the game.

Go for ATI, nVidia promotes communism through subliminal messaging in their products. Like Mr. Awesome says, x700 would fit.

Also, it lacks the phallic appeal that GJK and I seek.