Whitemithrandir

Haha, so what "light side" ending did you get playing those games, Volo? Was there a patch that added in a different ending that I wasn't aware of? Your one-liner trolls for the sole sake of trolling is getting boring.

I've about as much merit making the assumption that Bioware will put in a happy go lucky light side ending as someone saying Bioware will do a better job on the game given the circumstances. I've played BG2 about... oh... 20 dozen times. I first registered on the BIS boards back in april of 2001 because I loved the game so much. What's NOT happy go lucky about the BG2 ending? You either become A GOD (it don't get any happier-go-luckier than that, buddy) or you decline and live the rest of your life as a LEGEND with the one you love (wow, so terribly depressing.) If you're talking about the NWN OC, I've played that also. Aside from being a steaming pile of crap, the ending was lighthearted. You kill the time travelling lizards from hell and stop the invasion. Neverwinter is happy! WOO HOO! Aribeth, as the end of NWN OC sets her up, is walking the path to redemption. Bioware, in a brilliant manuver, axes her in SoU, which completely undermines everything you've done to save her in NWN OC. She is, however, later REDEEMED in HoTU and everyone is generally happy... after the demonic invasion of course. Which begs the question... HAVE YOU PLAYED THOSE GAMES?

I have an ATI x800 Pro. I run the game with no problems. Why don't you get your dad to look at it for you? Maybe he can solve the problem. I would honestly try to help you, as many others have, but you just snub them back like a jerk. So instead, I'll take a crack at poking fun of your age.

Women can't be powerful jedi because they lack the ability to urinate standing up.

What are you trying to argue, Volo? That dialogue in KOTOR 1 was more theatrical than dialogue in KOTOR II?

If KOTOR II light side ending had that stupid bullcrap ceremonial hero crowning crap, I'd be the first to set torch to the Obsidian HQ. Yet, if Bioware made the game, that's exactly what we'll get: a crappy, predictable, happy-go-lucky WOO HOO YOU WIN ending.

You need to condition yourself to accept coding as a way of life to such a point that reading the following: for int i =0; i<100; i++ { cout << "Hello World" << endl; } will result in your pants exploding in an orgasmic wave of pleasure. Seriously though... the most important thing, I'd say, is developing a PASSION for the industry. Try programming simple games by yourself like text adventures or logic games and share them with your friends. Then, after taking something like eecs 481 (graphics design) try making some more advanced but small projects like 2d side scrollers. Keep playing around with the skills you pick up from classes and hobbies and find ways to keep yourself entertained.

:: head 'asplodes :: It's all true though. Everything in the review is truth, 100%.

I think Lucas had some talent in his youth, with Indiana Jones, Willow, in addition to Star Wars. Somewhere, somehow, between doughnut #3928 and doughnut #4012, he lost it.

Bingo. We have a winner. You get an e-hug from me. :: e-hugs you ::

Let's bring the thread back on track: What's not finished about this game? The main conflict is OVER and DONE with. Your final showdown with Kreia, the revelations, the quelling of your inner conflict... It certainly wasn't a very satisfactory or conclusive ending, and seemed to hint for a sequel, but IT WAS AN ENDING NONETHELESS. The major conflict, namely you vs. your past, is SOLVED. OVER and DONE with. I don't think ANYONE is to blame for the game as it is. I think Obsidian and Lucas Arts are to blame for what the GAME COULD HAVE BEEN. There is a difference. Using your line of reasoning, all of this doens't change the fact that it IS possible Bioware could not have done better. You like the trend of black and white, morally clear and satisfying tales, great. Hey, I liked Lampchop Sing Along when I was a kid, who am I to judge your tastes? I, for one, despise simple, stereotypical good vs. evil stories. Why? Things in life rarely happen that way, and comparing myself to characters in the story told to me makes me enjoy it more. I'm not alone in this line of thinking. I don't care if Bioware can make a bug-free and shinely polished KOTOR II. It'll be in the same tradition as every other Bioware game: morally clear, devestatingly distinct, and dreadfully BORING (at least to me, since I HATED KOTOR). So you see, it's a matter of taste. Different developers have different styles that appeal to different audiences. Who are you to say who's what and which is better? I'm not defending Obsidian, nor am I attacking Bioware. Both devs are known to make different kinds of games that appeal to different kinds of people. The fact that they're working together like they are on KOTOR II and NWN II should be something to rejoice about, not make stupid and uninformed accusations of "X can do better than Y", because saying that just makes you look stupid.

Do I think Lucas Arts deserves all the blame? No. Obsidian agreed to the project knowing there would be these limitations, and they hold much of the responsibility (for good or ill) for this game. And don't call me Mith. Call me Darth Bal-dur, Supreme Lord of the Sith, Batteries Not Included.

Agreed. I just don't believe people's arguments about Bioware doing better deserves any merit.

There are some *interesting* (to say the least) speculations about the character, his background, and his origins. None of those mattered in the story. Much of the mystery surrounding the character adds to his mystique. It's not like obsidian pulled him out of nowhere. Kreia has a very long conversation with you concerning him, furthering the mystique and bending shadows around his character. He served two purposes in the story: 1. A symbol of the force having a *will*. 2. A ladder leading up to a moment of sacrifice offered by Visas. Both were achieved. Is Darth Nihilus a DEEP character? No, I don't think so. Is he a totally backgroundless rabbit Obsidian pulled out of a hat as you say? No, not at all. During your first run in with him on his yacht, he says the only reason he's aiding the republic is because the Sith is winning. He wants to restore a balanced galaxy. Your guess is as good as mine. Good for Goto. They were interesting enemies. I won't ask where they come from anymore than I will ask where did all those orcs come from in random encounters of TOEE when I'm 2 inches away from Homlett. Given the information available, Bioware would have made KOTOR II into another bland black vs white, good vs evil, light vs. dark, ying vs. yang indiana jones story with predictable heroes and machievallian villains. No thanks. I'll take Obsidian's story over that ANY DAY, despite not being flawless. Much of it can be inferred, if not directly told to you. These speculations have been bored over and over again here on the spoiler forums. This isn't the thread about that. This thread is about making the conclusing that Bioware could have done better than Obsidian given a one year deadline. I say that's wrong. If Bioware made KOTOR II, half the posters here would be complaining about how stupidly "Star wars-like" and how black and white the game is. haha.... Yeah... right. I write novelettes along side my Engineering classes to get some extra money. Publishers will often constrict my deadline for no reason. If I say no? Too bad, find another publisher. I also interned at Sierra last summer. Publishers have the very final say in how the game is released. That's the end of the matter.

It looks interesting. The demo looks pretty enough, but I found very little deviation from other shooters. Sure the teammate commands add some depth, but most of the time it's still me gun-ho'ing my way through hordes of aliens.

Yes, Gauntlet looks very interesting.

Oh I broke a tear when Kreia told me how proud she was of me... sniff... Maybe it's just because I'm just a big sissy, a big hairy huggable sissy.

I don't see why the fact that things were cut out makes this game any worse than it is. Would it have been better, would it have made you enjoy it more if these cuts were never discovered? Could more elements be put into the game? Could the game have improved if given more time? Yes. But those are words that would have mattered 2 months ago that mean nothing now. Take the game for what it is, whether you consider it finished or unfinished, and judge it for what it is. Me? I find it just fine. It's no Planescape: Torment, but the quality of the writing, the personal effects it had on me, the conflicts over grey domain, they appealed to me, and I like this game for what it is. Perhaps if more time were spent on it I would like it more, but that doesn't make this game terrible as many of you are arguing. Sorry for the double posts and all the ranting, but I do feel very passionately about this situation. It feels like NWN all over again. Neither Bioware nor Obsidian devs find "X company could have done better" comments regarding a franchise that teams on both companies poured their hearts and work into. Saying so, especially out of spite, just undermines everything both companies have done up to this point.

Why don't you put the level setting on difficult? I've played the game at normal for the first 10 hours, found it easy, and stimmed it up to difficult. I enjoyed the game immensely more after that. My roommate, on the other hand, is new to the D20 system and has a hard time even on easy difficulty. It varies from person to person. The reason you hear a lot of complaints about the game being easy is because most people on these boards are familiar with the system. That said, raising the difficulty made me enjoy the game much more. Perhaps it will do the same for you.

Okay, I know you're trolling, but I'm a sucker for trolls so I'll bite: WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Twists don't make a story good, kid, good writing and storytelling style do that. The masked men is Darth Nihilus, a dark lord of the sith who survives by feeding on the force. When he tries to feed on you, he finds to his horror a vacuum of the force which debilitates him to the point of death. This pretty obvious, I thought. The motives of the Exchange are explained aboard Goto's yacht. Goto wants your head because he has in his twisted little head a vision of a balanced republic; you're the catalyst to the recent events that spurred across the galaxy, and he wants you. This, also, is fairly obvious. I always interpreted the HK units as tools of the exchange and nothing more. They don't serve any role beyond that of henchmen. Play the game and read the dialogue next time, and maybe you'll appreciate the fine work that's been put into writing them. Saying Bioware can do better is a stupid and uninformed statement. Given the circumstances, are you REALLY and ABSOLUTELY SURE one dev can do better than the other? When Bioware published NWN, all the Black Isle fanboys were crying about how Black Isle can do better. I argued against them as I will argue against you now. Use your head.

That's just complete fanboyism with none of the logic. Stop trolling, thanks.

I often exaggerate and oversimplify. It's what makes me so irresistable to the ladies. That, and I despise quoting large blocks of text only to respond with 2 lines. This is part of the reason why I simply could not stomach the first KOTOR. Everything was so black and white. All the characters were stereotypical casts made from some factory that bored me to tears. The only character I found myself being attached to was Revan. But hey, he's the protagonist. No. I think the game plot had a nice progression. It had everything a good, typical adventure story should have. WARNING: Vague SPOILERS BELOW!!! 1. The call to adventure (Escape from the Harbinger on the limping Ebon Hawk) 2. The guide (Kreia) 3. The descent into darkness (Telos, and the realization of being chased by sith lords across a war-torn galaxy) 4. The monster (Kreia) 5. The inner conflict (Your past) 6. The outer conflict (The Sith Lords, bounty on your head) 7. The resolution of the inner conflict (Korriban) 8. The resolution of the outer conflict (Ravager/Malachor V/Nar Shaada) 8. The redemption/climax (Dantooine) 9. The final battle (Showdown at the Academy) 10. The reward (Revelation of your destiny/answers) Was the game rushed? Yes. Was the plot not as well developed as it could be? Yes. Was it incomplete? No. It had all the parts needed to form a concrete epic/adventure story, and no matter how much people say the ending sucked, I found it very, very, very emotional and satisfying.

Thanks for derailing my thread everyone. You all get cookies!

Ah ha! Then it must be my memory that's flawed. I'll go check it tonight.

One thing that didn't make sense about this theory is Kreia seems to imply nihilus was around before malachor 5, dictating nihilus to be an "ancient evil". But then, Kreia is a well known compulsive liar.