Aaron Contreras

'3' above is a known bug that should be fixed by now...it has more to do with loot permission than decay times.

I'm hoping the RTW expansion is all about Alexander and Macedon. As for the next total war game...I suppose I'd like to see the period between the fall of Rome and where Medieval picks up. I'm just not a big fan of the Napoleonic era.

Excited as I am to see the Imperial Guard become playable...they really need to make Tyranids, Necrons or Dark Eldar. One of 'em better be in the sequel proper.

When you posted this, WoW had only been released in the North American market. It will surpass L2 as it is released in Europe, Korea, etc. I believe (not 100% sure on this) that it already has far more players if you add in the EU/KR beta. It may indeed be devotion but it is not blind. Blizzard supports their titles better than any other company in the industry. I recognize that they are not supporting WoW as quickly as the public desires - both in terms of content and server stability - but the work is being done with as much fervor as pushing for a release. The connection you draw between SWG and WoW isn't really accurate. On the other hand, the situation is pretty close to what Everquest experienced - way more subscribers than the developers had planned for, resulting in server issues.

Mechwarrior 2 kept me in eager anticipation throughout most of high school. Turned out pretty good, too. Rome: Total War was my latest obsession and also satisfied. MOO 3 was a kick in the nuts. **** that game and the bastards who made it.

My personal opinion is that the Paladin will continue to get some tweaks. Have you tried to make the most of Judgement? My impression was that it adds to the amount of semi-fast effects the Paladin can whip out in combat. They are the easiest/simplest class to play. I believe this is by design. One of my co-workers loves the Paladin and really doesn't like to play any other class. He enjoys going into a situation and not really having to tweak his tactics too much. He likes being able to take his time to react to a situation when soloing and not having to click around or bang out of a bunch of hotbutton keys. I'm not saying he isn't a good gamer - he is probably the best WoW duellist and won second place in a recent WCIII Tournament - he just likes the simplicity and straightforward design of the Paladin. If you don't feel like you're using abilities enough to keep interested, try out a different class. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Rogue, who require you to rapid-fire commands. Hunters, Warriors and Warlocks also require a lot more attention than the Paladin.

Hopefully they have worked out some sort of deal with a major publisher. I remember feeling really bummed out when Relic 'sold out' to THQ...but then they turned around and produced their best product to date with Dawn of War. Troika always struck me as needing a really strong producer / project lead who could make the most of the impressive talent in the company.

mkreku - I feel you on monthly fees. Guild Wars will be a great alternative if they pull it off right. Try to look on the bright side of 'changing the game' - the developers are actively involved in making the play experience better for everyone. All the testing and careful design in the world can't really be expected to stand up to 600,000 players banging on the game 24/7.

Systems - Rolemaster, Amber Diceless. Settings - Fading Suns, Exalted. New book I'm hyped on: The Black Company campaign setting.

Mind if I ask why not? Just uncomfortable with the monthly fee? A certain feature or problem that you cannot stand? Lately I've been splitting my time evenly between WarCraft III and Dawn of War. In the middle of a department-wide WC III tournament and I've been practicing a bit to make sure we win it.

The game is out on X-Box and PS2. I can highly recommend the X-Box version.

Oh, come on. The game itself sold great and has spawned a ton of imitators. Beyond vanilla WCIII are a host of really well made mods. Tower Defense, Rival Nations and DoTA have all been incredibly popular alternatives to melee games. Even if you loathe the single-player campaign and multiplayer melee, you gotta give the game props for empowering the community to create their own content.

This is a very, very (veryvery) long shot. Pitching from outside the company is even more unlikely. If you have a *great* idea, best way to make it work for you is to scrounge up a team and bust ass until you have something playable.

That is what I said. No faction in WCIII is stronger than another.

What are you smoking? There isn't one dominant faction, unit or hero.

Zer"o": Exactly. Percival: Well, you couldn't name a RTS that has a finer level of balance. You did come up with a lot of reasons why you don't like War III. Good for you. The focus of the game is heroes - not pumping out 99 units as fast as you can. To many players, getting a hero to level 6 as quickly as possible is far more exciting and entertaining than focusing your gameplay on pumping out lots and lots of units. None of the abuse issues you mentioned broke the game. All of them were addressed over time - with the possible exception of 'hero nukes' which never was a problem.

Name one RTS that is more balanced than WC III.

So who is developing it? Just 'Atari'?

Warcraft III is great! Possibly the most balanced RTS ever made. Although I can understand how SC fans don't like the focus being on heroes and experience. Have you checked out Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War? Excellent RTS from Relic that makes a lot of SC players happy.

Taken from the Ghost FAQ: Q: What is the current release date for StarCraft: Ghost? A: We have not yet announced an updated release window for the game.

Revision of Arcana Unearthed? Jeez, book hasn't even been out more than a few years. Should've done it right the first time.

Fading Suns - just about every genre or type of story fits into Fading Suns. I like broad settings that allow for a ton of different moods and character backgrounds. A little Star Wars, a little Dune, a little Medieval Europe.

Hell yes I'm going to buy Mercenaries! I cannot wait to enter the PLAYGROUND OF DESTRUCTION!

I like the workbench as it is. Two reasons: 1 - The game is really easy. You don't need to use the workbench or lab stations at all. The stuff you can make on the workbench can get pretty good at high levels of skill but still pales in comparison to the 'rare drop' items. After playing through the game twice I've maybe made one or two items I use a great deal from the workbenches. 2 - Bao Dur and T3-M4 are both amazing tech characters. It just doesn't make sense to have this incredible creative mind on your team and have him unable to make you a better scope for your guns or a cool lightsaber emitter.

Kreia is really easy to influence. You just can't shift her alignment. Work for influence, not alignment - I had Bao Dur almost entirely dropped down to dark side and he was still a good guy as far as his reactions to things. To score points with Kreia: 1. Don't be psychotic. 2. Build up your Wisdom, Awareness and Persuasion. 3. Be all about manipulation - she views all the other characters like tools to be used and then discarded when you're done with them. Freely admit you're using Visas to get to Nihilus, stuff like that. You can unlock everything Kreia has to offer really easily - I don't even think you have to have her in the party. You don't need to take her side in NPC arguments...just treat her with respect and show her you're a crafty bastard during conversations on the Ebon Hawk.