Spider
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How come you know about the crack?
He knows someone that maybe downloaded said cracked version?
Actually, I do. Although it's not through that friend that I found out the date the crack was available. That information is fairly easy to find if you know where to look. Don't even have to go to a site that distributes the crack (or cracked version).
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I wonder if UbiSoft would have been so likely to drop it without the lawsuit against them. I also wonder if UbiSoft is victorious over the lawsuit if they'll go back to using it.
Here is a link to the UbiSoft (HoMM) forums with a developer painting Starforce in a more favorable light, with some statistics as well. Whether you believe it or not is probably fit for a different thread entirely.
http://forums.ubi.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc...92/m/8121095173
Just felt that it was worth to point out that HoMM didn't ship with Starforce after all, they went with Securom. A cracked ersion was available 9 days before the official release date (european release). It would be interesting to know how long it'd have taken had they used StarForce after all.
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Where can you get it!?
I got it from here. Free and pretty much all formats:
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Hmm, tough one for me. I'm a bit conflicted. Which is why I haven't voted in the poll.
The thing is, I really hate my party members dying. If a party member goes down in a fight and I don't have any way to cast an immediate resurrection spell, then it's instant reload. So I should be all for the TWOP system.
Only I'm not. I think it's cheesy and removes the challenge from the game a bit. If I screw up, I want there to be concequences, even if that concequence is only a reload. I'll still have the option not to. I actually liked playing Fallout Tactics in ironman mode where any casualty simply had to be accepted (because there was no way I'd restart one of those levels if I didn't have to). Although I didn't like it enough to voluntarily imose such a system on myself unless I get some kind of reward in-game for doing so.
So I guess it comes down to bleeding vs just dying. And here I really can't make up my mind. I like bleeding in theory, but in ToEE it kept frustrating me. Specifically, it was all the idiotic opponents that kept attacking bleeding companions that bugged me. Why someone would keep hitting someone who is already down rather than they guys that are still trying to kill you is beyond me.
But in the end I'm leaning towards bleeding anyway, but I'm still undecided.
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Doesn't change that they exist. One of the reasons why I stopped playing Planescape Torment is because of the lame arse disk swaping.
Good game > trivial issue of swapping a disc
Besides, it's perfectly possible to just copy the cds to the HD and edit the .ini so that the game loads the file needed from there instead. That way you only need to keep one CD (any CD) in the drive for the copy-protection. It does take up a lot of room on the HD though.
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I tried to find info on the bioboards (will want to reinstall BG2 myself one of these days) and apart from ATI issues, this could be an issue with refresh rate.
Apparently BG2 forces the monitor to use a 60 (or 59) hz refresh rate regardless of what the card drivers say, so a possible solution would be to lower the refresh rate through the drivers as well. Maybe by making a profile specifically for BG2. I'm not sure this'll actually work but could be worth a shot.
Other than that I didn't manage to dig up anything and their search function kinda sucks (only 6 months back).
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How well-tuned to the ruleset would a DM really need to be?
My answer to this is it depsnds on the group you play with. And how good you are at improvising. Basically I'd say you should probably know at least as much, or preferrably a little more, than the player with the best knowledge. At least if that player actually care about how the rules are implemented. If no one has any real grasp, then it doesn't matter. It's not like they can call you on it.
But it depends even more on what your group want to get out of it. If they're in it for the dungeon crawling and number crunching, you have to know the rules inside and out pretty much, but if they're a group of players who really could care less as long as they get to play their character properly, then it doesn't matter that much as long as the game flows and there aren't any glaring inconcistencies.
I've played with DMs that claimed to be playing by a rule system (and di use it to gauge the players ability) but when it came to rolling dice it was always concealed and the outcome was mostly what generated the most fun experience rather than what the roll said. basically, as long as the players are ok with it, anything goes.
In Sweden the concept of free form role-playing was very trendy for a while (not sure how it is now, I'm out of touch). Free-form means no rules at all, the GM makes every call. I've played in such games as well and when properly executed they can be great fun. It is much, much harder on the GM though.
Also, is there another setting that's easier to learn (and overall better, I guess) than DnD?I am very partial to White Wolf's Storytelling system. It has everything I want in a game system, it's simple, allows for complete customization of the character, easy to learn, plays fast and the rules don't get in the way of the role-playing. Exalted is great fun if you're looking for a fantasy game, although if you're players are in it for the powergaming, they can create characters that are almost unbeatable, at least after some playing. The power level in that game is fairly high (although this is not true of all games that uses the system). But the storytelling system is very flexible and can easily be adapted to any genre. I have myself played a pure Cyberpunk campaign using it for instance.
D&D is a very good system to learn the ropes with though. The basic rules aren't overly complex, and the parts that are can easily be ignored at first. But more importantly, if you have any questions there are a lot more people on these boards that know a lot about it and are willing to help than what you get with any other system.
In the end though (in my eyes), the rules are unimportant. What matters is the setting and the characters.
That's where I disagree. AD&D 2e fights can take awful amounts of time once the characters gain multiple attacks, and I prefer the game to be fast-paced.Not to mention all the hitpoints. I have a friend who once said: "When the characters can take more punishment than elephants, something is clearly wrong." That, to me, sums up D&D in a nutshell.
Edit: I missed this one:
And don't outlaw min-maxing. It's not a bad thing per se, because naturally the players will speculate about how to make their characters most powerful. If they do not, then chances are that they're just not very interested in the game, and you really don't want that either. Sure, be aware that min-maxing doesn't go to far, but don't treat is as criminal behaviour either. Many GMs do, and I think they're wrong.This varies greatly from group to group. I can say that any player that loses interest in a game if he/she can't min-max to make their characters as powerful as possible is a player I don't want to play with. I am not saying that min-maxing is bad per se, it's just indicative of a style of playing I don't like.
Basically what I'm saying is, make sure you and your players are all on the same page in regards to what style of play you want to pursue
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To be fair though, Civ 3 went on to multiple accolades and spawned expansions because it was Civ 3, not because it was a fantastic game (at least not in comparison to the other Civ games). It was an inferior game (apart from the graphics) than both Civ 2 and Alpha Centauri.
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Sorry to say this, but I never got BG2 to work on a setting beyond 1024x768. I have tried, but it keeps appearing much like you describe it.
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Is it easier to pirate DD games?
Not really, my guess is that it's probably harder even.
The main lure for me is that developers have more freedom on kind of games that they make because they don't need to justify it to producers.And this is something I am not even sure will happen. High quality games (quality in this case means production values) still costs millions to make and those millions will have to come from somewhere. DD is great for indie developers, because they get a way to distribute their games cheaply and efficiently, but a company trying to make a game like NWN2 will still have to rely on publisher funding.
The other major winners are developers like Valve or Bioware that have been succesful enough in the past to be able to fund their own games.
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IMO if you care about HDD speeds you're probably going to the HDD too often, so you have other things to take care of first. ... If you still want a really uber drive for bragging rights, get a Seagate Cheetah (15K SCSI) :D
Going to the HD too often? As soon as I start a program, I go to the HD, every level loaded in a game as well. And everytime I open or save a file. Or unrar stuff etc.
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I have been thinking about buying a new, silent one for a while though, but they're damn expensive! It's $120-150 if you want a good one.
But they're so worth it. I have a Antec Phantom 500 hybrid (it has a fan, but only starts it when needed, which so far has been never) and it's completely quiet. I couldn't live without it, easily the best piece of hardware in my comp.
Expensive though, I paid 1500 SEK for it (which is roughly
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Well, the raptor was much harder on the overall budget. I might slip in one of the 7950s and go for a more modest HD. Frankly, I've never used more than 50 gigs on a harddrive. I could probably get by with an 80gig drive.
You can do both though. There is no need to get the biggest raptor (although that model is improved and thus even faster). Get the smallest one for apps and then a decent size normal HD for storage. That would give you performance and capacity for roughly the same price as the largest raptor.
(just to illustrate my love for the raptor, the 36BG one is my only HD. When I built this computer I couldn't afford more and got that one with the intention of getting a larger HD to complement it later. I still haven't been able to afford that, but I haven't regretted my decision for a second. The performance boost the raptor gives me is so amazing that I wouldn't give it up for any amount of GB)
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I find the raptor hard drivers overrated personally. It lets me load programs faster and do all that file transfer stuff quickly, but the place where I'm concerned about performance is gaming and I don't see much improvement, outside of the initial load.
The raptor is fantastic and not at all overrated. As for gaming, it helps a lot with the gaming experience as well. Not while actually playing, I'll give you that, but level loads as well as the initial load counts for a lot, especially the level loads. Since I got my raptor, not one game has felt like the levels load slowly. Not even Vampire Bloodlines.
I don't know if I'd get the 150GB one, although it is even faster than the smaller ones. So if the money is there, it's probably worth it. My preference is a raptor for OS and apps and a larger HD for storage.
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In my opinion, what you really should do if you're under budget is to add a Raptor to the mix.
Second, don't you already own a copy of Windows XP? Seems a waste to pay for it again.
Third, where in that list is the video card? Or am I just blind?
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Actually, we stopped talking about it in the other thread. And basically stopped here as well.
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Until those types of posts stop, you'll have to deal with gnomes don't matter b/c few players use them!' analogies too!!!
The "few players" argument is kinda stupid in both directions, I'll give you that. The argument still doesn't quite hold up though.
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We hate your relentless optimism on this and the easyness at which you accept that OE screwed up as much as you guys hate our wish that games are shipped when done and work for all people right out of the box like they want.
Who the hell says I'm being optimistic? I've voiced my concerns on the state of NWN 2 in several threads. The cutting of the DM Client is one reason for my concerns. However, I still don't think the specific issue of the DMC being delayed is a big deal. If it is release within a reasonable time, then all is fine and well.
It is symptomatic of a much larger issue and that is what concerns me more.
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Darque, we've tried. The people who want to be upset will stay upset, logic has no effect in this case.
Volourn, I've already told you the analogy doesn't work. It was cute the first time in a "heh" sort of way, but now it's just getting repetetive.
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Only the number are five and six respectively (for the PS3). Otherwise I agree.
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You call that cheap? Man, if I had to pay that much for my connection I'd scream bloody murder.
For LAN connection 100/10 I pay roughly half that (and yes, that includes e-mail and webspace). And that's standard price here, maybe a bit on the expensive side even.
Edit: just to clarify (since you used kp/s above), those speeds equal 8 or so mb/s downstream and 1mb upstream (theoretically 11 mb/s down, but that never ever happens)
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"It's not the fact that doesn't make sense, it's the analogy. If we're talking about cutting completely it works, but if we're talking about cutting at release and patching it in at a later date, then it falls apart at the seems."
Why not? They just call it a content patch, and pimp it as and now you can play NWN2 the evil way... just download it for free!!!
Simple. Acoording to what you have said in the past, most people play through the game only once. You're actually using that as the basis for this whole line of arguing. So if the stuff you're talking about isn't in the game when people start a new game, they're never going to see it at all even if it gets patched in. Also, having these things in the game affects people that don't use them as well. RPGs are about creating choices and if they for instance take out the evil option, they remove my ability to choose good. Then it becomes more of an adventure game or a hackfest.
The people using the DM Client are people that plan on using the game for a long time. There probably won't even be much use for the DM client for the first month or so of the games existance.
Edit: And as alanschu said, how many people actually apply patches to their games? That hadn't actually crossed my mind, but it's a valid point. Everyone interested in the DM Client will be online and they will be patching (ok, maybe there is one guy or five that creates mods to dm for his/her gang of friends, neither who likes or has acces to patches, but that figure is so miniscule that it can be ignored).
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Oh? You disputing BIO's claim that the majority of people only play games once and do so the good way only?
You are so quick to accept their other asertions but that one?
It's not the fact that doesn't make sense, it's the analogy. If we're talking about cutting completely it works, but if we're talking about cutting at release and patching it in at a later date, then it falls apart at the seems.
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The only person who's ever said anything about a month is me. And I only used it as an example. No one has any idea on when the DMC patch will be released. Could be days after release (remember, the gold copy goes out something like two weeks before the game hits retail) and it could be months.
Ubisoft officially dumps Starforce
in Computer and Console
Posted
On the other hand, Oblivion didn't really have any copy protection and it seems to have done just fine.
As has been said before, what is interesting is whether or not theinvestment in copy protection actally provide enough sales to make it worth it. I'm not convinced.